2013 LOTT Impact Trophy watch list

The first college football award watch list was released this week, which is always another positive sign that our favorite season is coming. The LOTT Impact Trophy watch list includes 42 players from 37 different schools representing the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, SEC and Mountain West Conference in addition to Notre Dame, BYU and Army. No finalists or semifinalists from last year’s award are on the watch list this season.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy is awarded to the top defensive player in the country, with respect to on-field performance and personal character as determined by a panel of selected voters. It is named after former USC Trojan College Football Hall of Fame player, and one of the top defensive players in NFL history, Ronnie Lott. Last year the trophy was awarded to Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o. For a full list of past LOTT Impact Trophy winners.

• Henry Anderson, DL, Stanford
• Geoffrey Bacon, LB, Army
• Calvin Barnett, DL, Oklahoma State
• Anthony Barr, LB, UCLA
• Nat Behre, DB, San Diego State
• Chris Borland, LB, Wisconsin
• Max Bullough, LB, Michigan State
• Ibraheim Campbell, DB, Northwestern
• Ross Cockrell, CB, Duke
• Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma
• Scott Crichton, DL, Oregon State
• Alden Darby, DB, Arizona State
• Aaron Donald, DL, Pitt
• Steele DiVitto, LB, Boston College
• Ahmad Dixon, S, Baylor
• Ifo Ekpre-Olomu, CB, Oregon
• Antone Exum, CB, Virginia Tech
• Jake Fischer, LB, Arizona
• Chase Garnham, LB, Vanderbilt
• Bryce Hager, LB, Baylor
• Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
• A.J. Johnson, LB, Tennessee
• Lamarcus Joyner, S/CB, Florida State
• Eric Kendricks, LB, UCLA
• Devon Kennard, DL, USC
• James Morris, LB, Iowa
• C.J. Moseley, LB, Alabama
• Damien Proby, LB, Northwestern
• Ed Reynolds, S, Stanford
• Bradley Roby, CB, Ohio State
• D.T. Shackleford, LB, Ole Miss
• Ryan Shazier, LB, Ohio State
• Danny Shelton, DT, Washington
• Spencer Shuey, LB, Clemson
• Derron Smith, DB, Fresno State
• John Timu, LB, Washington
• Stephon Tuitt, DE, Notre Dame
• Jack Tyler, LB, Virginia Tech
• Kyle Van Noy, LB, BYU
• Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
• Avery Williamson, LB, Kentucky
• Ty Zimmerman, S, Kansas State

Helmet sticker to College Football Talk for the full list.

Stanford QB Josh Nunes retires

Photo: Getty Images

Stanford quarterback Josh Nunes will not play the 2013 college football season after deciding to step in to early retirement from football. Citing medical issues as a concern, Stanford announced the news Monday via Twitter.

We regret to report that senior QB Josh Nunes is medically retiring, ending his Cardinal career. Please join us w/ thx to Josh! #gostanford

— Stanford Football (@StanfordFball) April 29, 2013

According to San Jose Mercury News, Nunes suffered a right biceps muscle injury in January and was not a part of Stanford’s spring practices. With Nunes out of the picture throughout the spring, redshirt sophomore Evan Crower saw increased reps in the spring game and head coach David Shaw believes Crower will be prepared to takeover the back-up duties in the fall behind Kevin Hogan.

Nunes led the Pac 12 champions in passing with 1,643 passing yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games. He split playing time with Hogan last season as Stanford looked to replace Andrew Luck. Nunes won the starting job at the beginning of the season

Hogan is currently listed first on the updated depth chart for Stanford, with Evan Crower backing him up. Stanford added five-star pro-style quarterback Ryan Burns in the Class of 2013.

ACC thinking about a football Euro Trip

It is called the Atlantic Coast Conference for a reason. The ACC may be putting together a plan to cover both sides of the Atlantic Ocean if recent comments by the commissioner are any indication.

ACC commissioner John Swofford says playing football and basketball games in Europe is a realistic possibility in the future for the conference. Having recently established an extra level of stability with a new grant of rights package in place and no longer considered a target for future conference expansion options from rival conferences, the ACC is now in position to try and make a splash with their membership as the age of the four-team playoff dawns near.

“We need to think big,” Swofford said in an interview with CBSSports.com. “One of the things we brought up to our schools last week was we may play football, we may play basketball in Europe. Across the pond, so to speak.”

Before anyone goes nuts over the idea, keep in mind this is just an idea on the table. It is a complex idea to ship ACC football to Europe, and a costly one at that.

… Continue Reading

Boston manhunt sends bullet through college football calendar

I woke up this morning to the news that one suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing was involved in a shootout overnight, with wounds later killing him in a local hospital. Suspect 2 is still on the run and hopefully he is captured soon enough.

I cannot imagine the fear running through the citizens of Watertown, Massachusetts as this all plays out and hopefully most are staying safe this morning. But the heavy gunfire exchanged last night meant bullets flying all over, and some entered homes of innocent bystanders, including this one that struck a calendar. The image of a bullet hitting a wall in a person’s home is somewhat striking, but at the same time I couldn’t help but notice the vintage program art from the calender depicting the 1956 meeting between Oregon and Colorado.

Via @Dutchguy000

Oregon was a member of what was then called the Pacific Coast Conference. This conference pretty much laid the groundwork for what is now the Pac 12, although the conference officially disbanded in 1959 in light of a massive scandal we should really dive in to more later. Colorado was a member of the Big 7, which eventually became the Big 8 (which then subsequently merged with members of the Southwest Conference to form the Big 12). The game would be the season opener for both teams, with Oregon winning by a score of 35-0 in Boulder.

But college football history and art is nothing but an afterthought right now. Police are on a manhunt in the streets of Boston and the surrounding towns. Hopefully this comes to the apprehension of one of the men responsible for the bombings at the Boston Marathon.

Stay safe Boston.

Kentucky sends 115 handwritten letters to QB recruit

I did not get any mail today. None. I was like Charlie Brown looking for one simple Valentine in the mailbox, with my voice echoing “Hello in there” to no avail.

Drew Barker, a high school quarterback in Kentucky, got some mail today. In fact, he got a lot of it from the University of Kentucky. Kentucky sent Barker, a Class of 2014 Army All-American, 115 handwritten letters.

115 handwritten letters.

Photo source: Drew Barker Instagram

Getting Barker, one of the top recruits in the state of Kentucky and one of the top ten pro quarterbacks in the country according to 247 Sports, would be a huge pick-up for Kentucky under new head coach Mark Stoops, who knows a thing or two about what it will take to succeed in recruiting battles in the hotly contested SEC. Whether or not Kentucky can keep Barker in state remains to be seen. Following a recent trip to South Carolina it appears Barker is enthusiastic about a possible future with the Gamecocks and Steve Spurrier. But this is high school recruiting. If we know nothing else, nothing is guaranteed until the letter is signed in February. Even then nothing is assured.

This is not the first time we have seen this technique employed by schools, but my question continues to be whether or not this actually works with recruits. Has anyone kept track of these stories to tell if it is worth the time, effort and postage to send so much mail on one day to a kid? Or is it nothing more than a publicity stunt aimed to gain viral attention on social media and spark some interest in the program?

Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.