Stanford QB Josh Nunes retires

April 29, 2013 News No Comments

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.

The way we look at college coaches in the NFL may be changing

December 18, 2012 Football No Comments

The following is an excerpt from today’s column on Examiner.com, taking a look at the success recent coaches from college have had in the NFL. Read the full story by clicking the image below or using the link at the bottom of this excerpt.

The San Francisco 49ers were the NFL’s Team of the 1980s, with Bill Walsh reinventing the way the game was played with NFL icons such as Joe Montana, Jerry Rice and Ronnie Lott and more winning four Super Bowls and always seeming to be in contention for another in most seasons.

Recent success in the NFL by former college coaches could be changing the way we look at coaches going pro. Read full column on Examiner.com by clicking the image.

Walsh joined the 49ers after two seasons as head coach of Stanford, where he put together a record of 17-7, with a couple of bowl victories to show off. Walsh’s success at Stanford was no small deal. Under Walsh in 1977 and 1978 Stanford finished each season ranked in the AP Top 25, a feat that had not been done in the five previous seasons. Stanford may not have been playing in the Rose Bowl as Pac 8 or Pac 10 champions, but Walsh found a winning formula to work with by pulling from his experience as an NFL assistant with the Oakland Raiders, Cincinnati Bengals and San Diego Chargers. His quick success at Stanford caught the eye of the NFL and San Francisco hoped to see that string of success continue at the next level. Needless to say, it did.

Walsh’s success had NFL teams around the country scouring for the next big college coach to imitate the success but as the years went by it was rare to see that trend spread the way Walsh’s west coast offense did. For every Jimmy Johnson in the NFL it seems there were five Steve Spurriers.

Pac 12 Championship Game scenarios

November 20, 2012 Football No Comments

UCLA has already clinched a spot in the Pac 12 championship game for a second straight season, and this year they did so without the need for an asterisk. A season after representing the Pac 12 South in the conference championship game because USC was ineligible for postseason play, the Bruins surprised many by winning the outright Pac 12 South Division this season following a home win against rival USC this past weekend.

With UCLA heading to their second Pac 12 championship game, it remains unknown who they will face form the Pac 12 North. As it turns out, UCLA will play a role in determining who they face, and where they face them this weekend when they host Stanford. UCLA could face Stanford or Oregon in the Pac 12 championship game. Here is the rundown on all of the Pac 12 scenarios to sort through this weekend.

College Football Week 3 Highlights

September 17, 2012 Football, Video 5 Comments

It is not even October yet and the top two spots in the college football rankings will look like they were copied from last November. With the USC Trojans losing on the road at Stanford Saturday night and with Alabama and LSU blowing away their opposition, the Crimson Tide and Tigers will occupy the top of the polls heading in to week four of the season, with little standing in their way between now and their Game of the Century, 2012 Edition.

If Louisiana Monroe wounded Arkansas last week, then Alabama took the kill shot in a 52-0 victory. LSU let Idaho hang around in the first half but left no doubt who the better team was in the second half of a 63-14 decision. With the Crimson Tide and Tigers flexing their muscles, it looks as though we will have a whole month and a couple of weeks to hype up this year’ meeting in Baton Rouge in early November.

Alabama returns home to play Florida Atlantic and Ole Miss before a bye week. The Crimson Tide then travel to Missouri and Tennessee and have a home game against Mississippi State before meeting LSU. The Tigers have a tougher stretch of games, including three straight games at Florida, home vs. South Carolina, and at Texas A&M but LSU gets a bye week before hosting Alabama. … Continue Reading