2011 College Football Predictions: 10 New Coaches Who Will Make Biggest Impact
Now that we have more technology at our fingertips, it’s easier for fans to become familiar with college players across the nation.
Still, as much as the game is won on the gridiron itself, football, more than any other sport, is impacted by the head coach on the sidelines.
Especially in college, with the head coach heavily involved in the recruiting process, the coach is often viewed as the mastermind behind the concoction. If things work out well, they’re beloved and praised. Yet if things take a turn for the worse, everybody wants to call for their heads.
We will see a host of new head coaches in 2011 for some of the most respected programs in the nation. Legacies have the opportunity to be built or destroyed.
Two of the top coaches in the nation have deserted the collegiate ranks for greener pastures. Will Muschamp will take over for Urban Meyer in Florida. David Shaw will replace Jim Harbaugh, who bolted to the San Francisco 49ers, at Stanford. Brady Hoke will arrive in Michigan to dazzle the country with the Wolverines.
Everyone is wondering how these new head coaches will fare in the 2011 season. Will their programs boom or bust in their debut seasons with the school?
Muschamp, Shaw and Hoke are just three of the top 10 newly hired head coaches who will make the biggest impact with their new teams.
10. Paul Pasqualoni, Connecticut Huskies
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He’s back from the NFL to once again try his hand at the collegiate level. He made the right choice, but it’ll be interesting to see if UConn did the same.
When he last coached in 2004 with Syracuse, he had a .500 season. He failed to post a winning season with Syracuse in four of his final five years with the program. Still, he finished his Syracuse career with a 107-59-1 record.
He loses two quality offensive starters in quarterback Zach Frazer and running back Jordan Todman.
It seems Randy Edsall left at the right time, and Pasqualoni will have some work to do with this team. UConn fans may not see themselves at the top again in 2011 with West Virginia lurking closely in the shadows.
9. Bill Blankenship, Tulsa Golden Hurricane
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It didn’t take Tulsa long to hire Blankenship, who was already with the program.
Expect the new Golden Hurricane head coach to make waves in his first season ever as a head coach.
He inherits a fantastic quarterback in G.J. Kinne, who is going to lead Tulsa towards the top of Conference USA. He is going to excel mightily, as he threw for 3,650 yards with 31 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a junior last season.
Blankenship should consider himself lucky to inherit such a player to orchestrate the offense in his debut season.
Although Tulsa will be improved in 2011 and Blankenship will receive most of the credit, it will most likely be because of the efforts of his star quarterback.
8. Rocky Long, San Diego State Aztecs
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Rocky Long has been a rather average head coach, as he is barley over .500 for his career. He had an up-and-down career with New Mexico.
Luckily, Long gets to go to a program which Brady Hoke left great shape.
The Aztecs’ new head coach will have a grin every game knowing he has the privilege of coaching one of the best running backs in the land in Ronnie Hillman. He ran for almost six yards per carry, gaining 1,532 yards with 17 touchdowns on 262 carries as the focal point of the offense.
Long will be able to ride the coattails of Hillman’s success as he force-feeds his running back.
He actually inherits a very good offensive team, as quarterback Ryan Lindley threw for 3,830 yards with 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.
Long will be able to succeed in 2011, nearly matching SDSU’s nine wins from last season, but should the team falter, given this offense, the blame can only be placed on his shoulders.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Jon Embree, Colorado Buffaloes
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Embree has an interesting task heading into 2011. Colorado had a decent season, finishing 5-7 overall but 2-6 in the Big 12.
Lucky for him, he won’t be in the Big 12 anymore!
The Buffaloes are stampeding into the Pacific-12 this season and will have some easier opponents to beat up on, but they will stay in the middle of the pack. This division is dominated by Oregon and Stanford, not to mention that Utah is also joining the conference.
He will, unfortunately, be without cornerback Jimmy Smith, one of the best in the nation, who bolted for the NFL. He would have been an excellent cornerstone for 2011.
He does inherit a workhorse running back in Rodney Stewart, who rushed for 1,318 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Still, expect Embree and his Buffaloes to appear in a bowl game this season in his debut.
6. Randy Edsall, Maryland Terrapins
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It’s always nice to inherit a quality team, no?
Edsall, who did a great job with the Connecticut Huskies, takes the Terrapins job and will be able to coach one of the brightest young quarterbacks in the nation in Danny O’Brien.
Last season, he threw for 2,438 yards with 22 touchdowns and just eight interceptions. O’Brien is ready to emerge as one of the top quarterbacks—period.
Although he loses wide receiver Torrey Smith to the NFL, all that matters is that the new head coach and his sophomore quarterback are together for the next three years.
He does face a bit of an uphill battle, as the ACC is getting tougher to compete in, but he was the right man for the job.
Edsall won at least eight games in six of the past eight seasons, so expect further success for the Terrapins under his watchful eye.
5. Dave Doeren, Northern Illinois Huskies
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Doeren was justifiably given the NIU head coaching position after displaying excellent work with the Wisconsin Badgers.
This is a great opportunity for Doeren in his first stint as a head coach. He inherits a fantastic offense, which is great for him because he’ll have a lot of work to do with the defense.
Hey, that’s why they hired him, right!?
It’ll be a great feeling knowing that he won’t have to worry much about this experienced offense, led by quarterback Chandler Harnish. For his career, Harnish already accumulated 5,728 yards, 40 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.
The former linebackers coach for Kansas and Wisconsin is going to put junior linebacker Tyrone Clark to great use. Watch him have a breakout season for this defense after a great sophomore campaign, in which he totaled 76 tackles, two sacks, four interceptions and one touchdown.
Doeren and Huskies fans are going to have a lot of fun in 2011 as they once again finish undefeated in the Mid-American Conference.
4. Al Golden, Miami (FL) Hurricanes
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The biggest impact Al Golden can make on the Hurricanes is to remove Jacory Harris as the starting quarterback—but that is unlikely. At least he only has one year left with Harris at the position.
Golden should steadily take control of the program and begin to position the Hurricanes on the right track. That, combined with the reputation of “The U”, will heavily assist him when it comes time to recruiting next year.
He does inherit a great defender in senior Sean Spence, who posted 110 total tackles, three sacks and two forced fumbles in 2010.
Golden did a golden job with Temple the past two seasons, so he clearly has the track record of turning the program around. I fully expect Miami to give him every opportunity to do so.
3. Will Muschamp, Florida Gators
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Muschamp has the biggest shoes to fill on this list, as he has to follow a two-time national championship-winning head coach in Urban Meyer.
It will be a couple of years, in my opinion, before Muschamp can truly succeed in Florida—and he may not even stick around long enough to see success if the team continues along its current downward spiral.
He does inherit a host of talented players in quarterback John Brantley, running back Jeff Demps and cornerback Janoris Jenkins. All three have elite talent, except Brantley was a major disappointment following superstar Tim Tebow and Demps needs more carries.
Muschamp is lucky Jenkins is back for his senior season, as he is the top cornerback in the nation now and would have been a sure-fire first-round NFL draft selection this year.
The new Gators head coach had better hope he can woo some young crop of talent and hope the name of Florida carries a long way, because Demps and Jenkins, his two best players, will be in the NFL next season.
2. David Shaw, Stanford Cardinal
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Many would like to think David Shaw has it easy in 2011, considering he has the best quarterback in the nation, Andrew Luck, leading the way. Yet Shaw has huge shoes to fill, as he replaces Jim Harbaugh, who took the program to a 12-1 season in 2010, including an Orange Bowl victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The best thing going for Shaw—aside from Luck—is that he was able to work with Harbaugh.
Harbaugh was an excellent mentor, and clearly, the program would not have handed the keys to Shaw without Harbaugh’s input.
Should Luck and Stanford stumble and fail to meet their high expectations, all of the blame will be placed on Shaw, which is a tough position for him. We’ll see how well he can handle the pressure in 2011.
1. Brady Hoke, Michigan Wolverines
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Brady Hoke will have the biggest impact of any new head coach. He is the man who will finally bring the Michigan Wolverines back to prominence.
After just one losing season with the San Diego State Aztecs, Hoke coached the team to a 9-4 record in the Mountain West Conference. He used running back Ronnie Hillman to the best of his ability, and now in Michigan, he has arguably the most dangerous toy as his disposal.
Hoke will unleash quarterback Denard Robinson on the rest of the Big Ten and collegiate teams. Robinson is one of the preseason Heisman hopefuls after throwing for 2,570 yards with 18 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. He also ran for 1,702 yards and 14 touchdowns.
After the offense he put together at SDSU, watch Hoke mastermind a masterful offense for the Wolverines that will slice through opposing defenses.
Expect Hoke to turn this program around much sooner than later.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
