Darrin Kirkland, Jr. (image via 247 Sports)
Former CB commit Gareon Conley: Conley made 1 tackle and 1 interception in Ohio State’s 17-16 win over Michigan State.
Former defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin: Durkin’s Maryland Terrapins suffered a 28-7 loss to Nebraska to fall to 5-6. They have a chance to become bowl-eligible with a game against Rutgers this coming weekend.
Former RB commit Damien Harris: Harris made 13 carries for 91 yards and 1 touchdown in Alabama’s 31-3 win over Chattanooga.
Hit the jump for many more updates, including Brady Hoke, Ondre Pipkins, and Mike Weber, among others.
Former head coach Brady Hoke: Hoke’s Oregon Ducks upset Utah with a 30-28 victory. For the first time since week three, Oregon allowed fewer than 500 yards. Oregon is 4-7 and Hoke might find himself without a job in the off-season.
Former LB commit Antonio Kinard: Kinard made 9 tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in a 34-7 loss to Memphis.
Former LB commit Darrin Kirkland, Jr.: Kirkland made 9 tackles and 1 tackle for loss in Tennessee’s 63-37 win over Missouri.
Former DT Ondre Pipkins: Pipkins made 1 tackle in Texas Tech’s terrible, horrible 66-10 loss to Iowa State. Iowa State is 3-8, and the high-flying Red Raiders scored only 10 points. That’s not a typo. 66-10. Loss. To the Cyclones.
Former FB commit David Reese II: Reese made 12 tackles and 0.5 tackles for loss in Florida’s 16-10 win over LSU.
Former CB Terry Richardson: Richardson made 1 tackle in Marshall’s 31-14 loss to Florida International.
Former LB Kaleb Ringer: Ringer made 3 tackles in Georgia State’s 30-24 win over Georgia Southern.
Former head coach Rich Rodriguez: The season continues to spiral downward for Rodriguez and the Arizona Wildcats, who suffered a 42-17 defeat at the hands of the 3-8 Oregon State Beavers. Arizona started off 2-1 and has since suffered 8 straight losses. Yikes.
Former DE commit Darian Roseboro: Roseboro made 3 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, and 1 sack in North Carolina State’s 27-13 loss to Miami. He has 23 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 7 sacks so far in his true sophomore season.
Former CB commit Garrett Taylor: Taylor made 1 pass breakup in Penn State’s 39-0 victory over Rutgers.
Former RB commit Mike Weber: Weber had 14 carries for 111 yards and 1 touchdown in Ohio State’s narrow 17-16 victory over Michigan State.
You need to login in order to vote
Thunder,
It seems every time you post these updates Reese is putting up solid numbers for the Gators? Have you watched any film on him? Do you feel he would be a contributing or starting LB for us?
You need to login in order to vote
It’s kind of an example of recency effect, I think. He has 43 tackles on the year, but he only had 20 through the first 9 games. He has 23 in the past two games against South Carolina and LSU. He also has 2 TFLs on the season. I haven’t watched Florida the past couple weeks, so I don’t really know how he’s playing, aside from the tackle numbers. I doubt he would be contributing much, since Devin Bush, Jr. was more heavily recruited and still has a hard time getting on the field. Florida suffered some injuries and a lot of departures from last season, so a better opportunity developed there.
You need to login in order to vote
Dang, had a feeling Darian Roseboro was going to be big time. Here’s to hoping that we sign Jeter and he becomes a player similar to Roseboro.
You need to login in order to vote
Have to think Rodriguez is gone. Will be interesting if he goes back to an OC gig or finds a lower-prestige job. WVU success starting to look like a one-off and you wonder if the game hasn’t caught up to him. I bet he will still find success somewhere but it’s clear the demands of head coaching in unfamiliar environments has pushed him beyond his ability so far.
Still think there’s a decent chance he ends up back at WVU at some point. Time heals.
You need to login in order to vote
I don’t think the game has caught up to him, necessarily. I mean, he had a decent season the past couple years. I haven’t paid close attention to Arizona this season, but I know a couple injuries at QB have hurt them. Maybe he’s gone, anyway, but I don’t think he’s lost his ability to coach. Sometimes bad things just happen. He could very well have a 9-3 season next year or something pretty good. Arizona’s just never going to be a team that’s in the national title hunt. They just don’t have the ability to attract that much talent.
You need to login in order to vote
Agreed with the first part but totally disagree with “Arizona’s just never going to be a team that’s in the national title hunt. They just don’t have the ability to attract that much talent. ”
This stuff changes all the time and Arizona has great weather to sell. Who would have thought Oregon was going to become a perennial top 10 recruiter? Ole Miss? Miami? Wisconsin? Clemson? Stanford? Utah? These programs all were nobodies at times and have pulled in top classes and or contended for a national title at others.
There’s nothing inherent to the AZ program that prevents a strong coach from building a powerhouse there. The nature of college football is such that a great coach can build almost any program into a championship contender.
You need to login in order to vote
>> There’s nothing inherent to the AZ program that prevents a strong coach from building a powerhouse there.
Generally agree, provided the University and alumni got behind that with some money. They did *some* updates after RR arrived a few years ago, but their facilities still fall short in some ways. Generally speaking, it’s a basketball-focused school.
Football in southern Arizona is a bit of a “meh” proposition in general. It’s just hotter than hell in August and September. And Tucson and the surrounding terrain really is another world from what talent from, say, Los Angeles may be used to. Tucson is really a fairly sleepy town, despite its size.
But, as you say, if a place like Eugene, OR can attract players, or even Morgantown, WV, then Tucson should be able to. If a sugar-daddy benefactor were to be found (ala Knight at Oregon), then maybe with the right investment they could move the needle and establish some momentum. But if things stay as they are now, it’s gonna be tough.
I drive back to Tucson in a few weeks. I’ve been gone 8 months. It’s going to be weird. The green hills of WV are sorta in my blood right now.
You need to login in order to vote
I’m biased against the desert, so take this with a grain of salt, but it has to be double tough getting football kids to come to Arizona. Especially when your facilities are not first class. Oregon had/has a wonderful advantage in Nike that easily shows up when making pre and post Nike comparisons.
You need to login in order to vote
>> “Have to think Rodriguez is gone”
Maybe, but my spidey-senses say they’ll retain for another year to see if this year was an anomaly, or if it’s the start of a trend. They put up with Stoops for quite some time before they finally gave up. Plus, who could they get to replace him, best case?
>> Still think there’s a decent chance he ends up back at WVU at some point.
Not if the chatter I have heard this summer in central West Virginia is any indication. There is still a lot of resentment for his leaving as he did in December of 2008. Pretty bitter words spoken about him. Plus, I think Holgorsen has bought himself at least a year or two more with this season’s results.
You need to login in order to vote
Best case: PJ Fleck? The dude at Wyoming? There are plenty of solid candidates floating around outside the big conferences.
I have a lot of respect for Rodriguez but he’s been there for several years now and the trajectory isn’t as good as it seemed at Michigan. The Pac12 is tough sledding. There are no easy weeks like you get in other conferences. If Arizona wants to avoid being a doormat they may need to look elsewhere.
But yeah, I could see Rodriguez try to land an OC gig somewhere prestigious to build his name back up. I meant WVU in the long run. I would think Holgersen is more than safe and, if anything, may get poached by another school.
You need to login in order to vote
The game has passed RR by as a HC. He still talks about his conditioning program as if it is some huge difference maker. His biggest issue – he cannot attract top assistants. That really affects his recruiting and quality of defensive play. He needs to go back to being an OC, where someone else is managing the staff, recruiting, etc.
You need to login in order to vote
I mostly agree with you Smurf, but I’m not sure RR can get out of the way of his own ego to accept an OC position under another dominant head coach.
Surrounding himself via cronyism, and dictating defensive schemes would have to go. Also, he couldn’t recruit exclusively to his vision when competing with a team of quality assistants and with the over site of a true head coach.
You need to login in order to vote