Clarett faces multiple-game suspension
Maurice Clarett was cleared to resume practicing with national champion Ohio State but faces a multi-game suspension, the university said Friday.
The NCAA supplied Ohio State with a list of allegations against Clarett on Thursday. Members of the university discussed the allegations with the sophomore Friday, Athletics Director Andy Geiger said.
The NCAA and university had been investigating allegations about Clarett's academic performance and the player's acknowledged overstatement of the value of items stolen from a vehicle he had borrowed.
Clarett remains ineligible for games, but could rejoin practices as early as Sunday, Geiger said.
"Our next step is to make a recommendation to the NCAA concerning the length of Maurice's suspension," Geiger said. "Then, we wait for their reply.
"We have no way of knowing how long this process will take, but it will be a multiple-game suspension."
Clarett remains on scholarship. Classes resume Sept. 24.
The replacements
Matt Leinart is ready to step in at Southern California. The same goes for Brock Berlin at Miami, Matt Kegel at Washington State and Chance Mock at Texas.
Who are these guys?
They're the starting quarterbacks at their respective schools entering this season, replacing a quartet of standout signal-callers who manned the position with excellence in recent years.
"That's the fun part of coaching college football - you don't have a Steve Young for 10 years," USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "You have to have another guy ready."
Whether Leinart, Berlin, Kegel and Mock can do the job will soon be known.
If not, someone else will get a shot.
A third-year sophomore, Leinart succeeds Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. The first pass Leinart throws next Saturday in the season-opener at Auburn will be the first of his career.
"I've sat the last two years behind Carson - it's finally my turn to step in there and fill his shoes," said Leinart, who like Palmer is tall and rangy. "The last two years were like a blessing in disguise."
Berlin, a fourth-year junior, didn't play last season after transferring from Florida to Miami. He follows Ken Dorsey - third in the Heisman voting two years ago and fifth last year.
"I don't think it is realistic to think that he'll come in and be Ken Dorsey," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "I think potentially he has tremendous upside. But Brock has had 15 days of coaching in our offense; Ken had four years. That's a tremendous difference."
Kegel, a fifth-year senior who has extensive experience for a career backup, having completed 87 of 174 passes for 1,035 yards, succeeds Jason Gesser.
"Now it's my show," Kegel said. "I knew my chance would come, I would have one year. I just cherish the upcoming year."
Mock, a junior who has thrown nine passes in his career, steps in for Chris Simms.
Coaches, old and new
They are in the twilight of their careers, yet desperately trying to stay connected to the changing world of the kids they lead. On the recruiting trail, their rivals assail them for their age and the well-known fact that they won't be coaching too much longer.
Still, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno keep plugging away - two of the best coaches in history, neither with anything left to prove, both hanging in there while they struggle to find anything that would satisfy them more than being on the football field.
Paterno, 76, is entering his 38th season as head coach at Penn State. With 336, he has more victories than any major college coach. Bowden, 73, is heading into his 28th season at Florida State. His 332 victories rank second.
"I don't know why, but I have no desire to retire," Bowden said. "There'll be a day when that will change. It will come from losses."
Losses have been building at Florida State - nine over the last two seasons - and so have the problems. Gambling allegations involving quarterback Adrian McPherson and a few odd slips of the tongue have fueled the long-held belief that Bowden is little more than a titular head of a program running amok.
It didn't help Paterno when Penn State lost 14 of 20 games during a span in the 2000 and '01 seasons. But the Nittany Lions rebounded last year for a 9-4 record, quieting those who insisted that "the game was passing him by."
Despite last season's rebound, Paterno hinted that he might step down after 2006.
Meanwhile, there will be 18 new coaches in Division I-A. None will receive as much scrutiny as Mike Shula at Alabama.
"I'm going to work as hard as I can to get this team ready to play," Shula said. "We're at Alabama. We should go out and take the field thinking we can win every week. If we don't, we shouldn't be here."
The other big coaching change came at Washington, where Keith Gilbertson took over in June when Rick Neuheisel was fired.
Gilbertson has more talent to work with in quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams and a more patient fan base, which should ease the transition.
Hard road to the Big Easy
The road to the BCS national title game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 4 will be treacherous for some teams. Here are some of the nation's toughest schedules:
1. Tennessee: Trips to Miami, Auburn, Florida and Alabama, as well as a home tilt against Georgia will make running the table a tough task for the Volunteers.
2. Ohio State: Repeating won't be easy for the Buckeyes despite eight home games. Washington and N.C. State visit Columbus early in the season and Ohio State has conference trips to Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan.
3. Auburn: The Tigers can establish themselves as a national force with a tough opener at home against Southern California and then must overcome Tennessee and Alabama at home and LSU and Georgia on the road in the SEC.
Easy street
Some teams with a smooth road to New Orleans:
1. Michigan: Wisconsin and Penn State aren't on the schedule and the toughest Big Ten tests against Ohio State and Purdue come at home. Hardest nonconference game is also in the Big House against Notre Dame.
2. Mississippi: Eli Manning won't have to face Georgia or Tennessee and gets Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State in nonconference games. Toughest road test will be at Auburn on Nov. 8.
3. Oklahoma State: Even with a trip to Norman to face the Sooners, the Cowboys have a schedule made for success. A win in the opener at Nebraska could set the stage for a big year with nonconference games to follow against Wyoming, Southwest Missouri, SMU and Louisiana Lafayette.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030823/1050106.asp
Maurice Clarett was cleared to resume practicing with national champion Ohio State but faces a multi-game suspension, the university said Friday.
The NCAA supplied Ohio State with a list of allegations against Clarett on Thursday. Members of the university discussed the allegations with the sophomore Friday, Athletics Director Andy Geiger said.
The NCAA and university had been investigating allegations about Clarett's academic performance and the player's acknowledged overstatement of the value of items stolen from a vehicle he had borrowed.
Clarett remains ineligible for games, but could rejoin practices as early as Sunday, Geiger said.
"Our next step is to make a recommendation to the NCAA concerning the length of Maurice's suspension," Geiger said. "Then, we wait for their reply.
"We have no way of knowing how long this process will take, but it will be a multiple-game suspension."
Clarett remains on scholarship. Classes resume Sept. 24.
The replacements
Matt Leinart is ready to step in at Southern California. The same goes for Brock Berlin at Miami, Matt Kegel at Washington State and Chance Mock at Texas.
Who are these guys?
They're the starting quarterbacks at their respective schools entering this season, replacing a quartet of standout signal-callers who manned the position with excellence in recent years.
"That's the fun part of coaching college football - you don't have a Steve Young for 10 years," USC offensive coordinator Norm Chow said. "You have to have another guy ready."
Whether Leinart, Berlin, Kegel and Mock can do the job will soon be known.
If not, someone else will get a shot.
A third-year sophomore, Leinart succeeds Heisman Trophy winner Carson Palmer. The first pass Leinart throws next Saturday in the season-opener at Auburn will be the first of his career.
"I've sat the last two years behind Carson - it's finally my turn to step in there and fill his shoes," said Leinart, who like Palmer is tall and rangy. "The last two years were like a blessing in disguise."
Berlin, a fourth-year junior, didn't play last season after transferring from Florida to Miami. He follows Ken Dorsey - third in the Heisman voting two years ago and fifth last year.
"I don't think it is realistic to think that he'll come in and be Ken Dorsey," Miami coach Larry Coker said. "I think potentially he has tremendous upside. But Brock has had 15 days of coaching in our offense; Ken had four years. That's a tremendous difference."
Kegel, a fifth-year senior who has extensive experience for a career backup, having completed 87 of 174 passes for 1,035 yards, succeeds Jason Gesser.
"Now it's my show," Kegel said. "I knew my chance would come, I would have one year. I just cherish the upcoming year."
Mock, a junior who has thrown nine passes in his career, steps in for Chris Simms.
Coaches, old and new
They are in the twilight of their careers, yet desperately trying to stay connected to the changing world of the kids they lead. On the recruiting trail, their rivals assail them for their age and the well-known fact that they won't be coaching too much longer.
Still, Bobby Bowden and Joe Paterno keep plugging away - two of the best coaches in history, neither with anything left to prove, both hanging in there while they struggle to find anything that would satisfy them more than being on the football field.
Paterno, 76, is entering his 38th season as head coach at Penn State. With 336, he has more victories than any major college coach. Bowden, 73, is heading into his 28th season at Florida State. His 332 victories rank second.
"I don't know why, but I have no desire to retire," Bowden said. "There'll be a day when that will change. It will come from losses."
Losses have been building at Florida State - nine over the last two seasons - and so have the problems. Gambling allegations involving quarterback Adrian McPherson and a few odd slips of the tongue have fueled the long-held belief that Bowden is little more than a titular head of a program running amok.
It didn't help Paterno when Penn State lost 14 of 20 games during a span in the 2000 and '01 seasons. But the Nittany Lions rebounded last year for a 9-4 record, quieting those who insisted that "the game was passing him by."
Despite last season's rebound, Paterno hinted that he might step down after 2006.
Meanwhile, there will be 18 new coaches in Division I-A. None will receive as much scrutiny as Mike Shula at Alabama.
"I'm going to work as hard as I can to get this team ready to play," Shula said. "We're at Alabama. We should go out and take the field thinking we can win every week. If we don't, we shouldn't be here."
The other big coaching change came at Washington, where Keith Gilbertson took over in June when Rick Neuheisel was fired.
Gilbertson has more talent to work with in quarterback Cody Pickett and receiver Reggie Williams and a more patient fan base, which should ease the transition.
Hard road to the Big Easy
The road to the BCS national title game in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans on Jan. 4 will be treacherous for some teams. Here are some of the nation's toughest schedules:
1. Tennessee: Trips to Miami, Auburn, Florida and Alabama, as well as a home tilt against Georgia will make running the table a tough task for the Volunteers.
2. Ohio State: Repeating won't be easy for the Buckeyes despite eight home games. Washington and N.C. State visit Columbus early in the season and Ohio State has conference trips to Wisconsin, Penn State and Michigan.
3. Auburn: The Tigers can establish themselves as a national force with a tough opener at home against Southern California and then must overcome Tennessee and Alabama at home and LSU and Georgia on the road in the SEC.
Easy street
Some teams with a smooth road to New Orleans:
1. Michigan: Wisconsin and Penn State aren't on the schedule and the toughest Big Ten tests against Ohio State and Purdue come at home. Hardest nonconference game is also in the Big House against Notre Dame.
2. Mississippi: Eli Manning won't have to face Georgia or Tennessee and gets Louisiana-Monroe and Arkansas State in nonconference games. Toughest road test will be at Auburn on Nov. 8.
3. Oklahoma State: Even with a trip to Norman to face the Sooners, the Cowboys have a schedule made for success. A win in the opener at Nebraska could set the stage for a big year with nonconference games to follow against Wyoming, Southwest Missouri, SMU and Louisiana Lafayette.
http://www.buffalonews.com/editorial/20030823/1050106.asp
