Tag: Bennie Wylie

Trojans Wire YouTube show makes it clear: Fire Grinch and fire Bennie Wylie

This is not just an Alex Grinch problem. Bennie Wylie must go, too. We joined @Tim_Prangley and @MarkRogersTV.

The USC football program has to make significant changes. Lincoln Riley has to make personally tough decisions. The Trojans need to be able to change the way they practice and how they train in the weight room. They can’t simply think that firing Alex Grinch fixes everything. They need to fire Grinch for sure, but they also need to make other changes in addition to the defensive coordinator spot.

We discussed these topics and more with Tim Prangley and Mark Rogers at The Voice of College Football.

The video of the show appears below, after our College Wire links:

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Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Salt Lake City radio hosts told us before the Utah game: Utes have elite strength training

The good people at @KSLSports told us: Utah’s strength and conditioning program is elite. It always shows up vs #USC.

We went on the air with KSL Sports radio in Salt Lake City last week, before Utah’s latest win over USC. The radio segment included our own thoughts about USC, which touched on the need to fire USC strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie.

The point emerged in our discussion that Utah’s strength and conditioning program is elite and has set the industry standard. The hosts, Scott Mitchell and Alex Kirry, emphasized how much Kyle Whittingham gets out of all his players. Lower-ranked recruits become good, tough, useful, productive players because the strength and conditioning program works very consistently for the Utes.

That toughness always shows up against USC. Utah was clearly the tougher, better team on Saturday, just as it was last year in the Pac-12 Championship Game.

The large gap in strength-training performance between Utah and USC is a very clear and substantial reason why Lincoln Riley has to fire Bennie Wylie and get a significant upgrade at the strength training position on staff.

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Follow Fighting Irish Wire for more on Notre Dame.

Follow Buffaloes Wire for complete coverage of Deion Sanders and Colorado.

Follow Ducks Wire for coverage of Oregon football.

Oklahoma fans were right about Lincoln Riley, at least for this specific season.

USC assistants need to be coaching for their jobs.

Lincoln Riley did not assemble an elite 2023 roster, which surprised us and a lot of other observers.

Is USC ready to win in 2024 with Miller Moss or Malachi Nelson at quarterback? Lincoln Riley has to be honest about how he answers that question.

Brent Venables is coaching Oklahoma far better this year than Lincoln Riley is coaching USC. It’s up to Riley to change that reality.

Utah ran the ball on USC, which is why Lincoln Riley must fire strength coach Bennie Wylie

Riley has to fire Bennie Wylie in addition to Alex Grinch. Real accountability has to emerge in the weight room.

USC’s defense had its good moments on Saturday against Utah, but they were only moments. A little here, a little there, but nothing sustained. The Trojans had some really good defensive possessions. They came up with a pick-six to keep the team in the game. They made a late defensive stop to set up Zachariah Branch’s electric punt return which led to a touchdown and a 32-31 USC lead. The defense had its moments, but when it really counted, the Trojans weren’t tough enough.

The game was tied at halftime. In the third quarter, Utah took a 28-14 lead and overpowered USC’s defense. The game was up for grabs in the final minute, and USC allowed a 25-yard run to Utah quarterback Bryson Barnes in the final 20 seconds when the Trojans had a chance to nail down the win. If Barnes runs for five or six yards, Utah would have faced a very, very long field goal — over 55 yards — to win. Barnes’ long run enabled Utah to set up for a 38-yarder and win, 34-32.

The Trojans were tough at times, but the full body of work — the full performance — wasn’t tough enough.

Given the centrality of the need for toughness in major college football, Lincoln Riley has to look at this insufficiently tough display against Utah and fire strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie.

Reactions during the Utah game help to paint the larger picture, but we also have a few points to make as well.

Let’s dive into the reactions and then our closing analysis:

Oklahoma Sooners’ assistant coaches receive extensions

Multiple Oklahoma assistant coaches receive contract extentions at Board of Regents meeting.

As each college football season comes to a close and another one dawns, it is not just the roster that is evaluated. Coaches are as well for the optimization of talent. The Oklahoma Sooners made a statement about their assistant coaches, granting many a contract extension at the Board of Regents meeting per Sooner Scoop staff writer Bob Przybylo.

Offensive line coach/co-offensive coordinator Bill Bedenbaugh, inside receivers coach/co-offensive coordinator Cale Gundy, cornerbacks coach Roy Manning, running backs coach DeMarco Murray, inside linebackers coach Brian Odom, defensive line coach Calvin Thibodeaux, outside linebackers/defensive ends Jamar Cain and director of sports performance Bennie Wylie all received extensions through 2023.

Defensive coordinator/safeties coach Alex Grinch and assistant head coach/passing game coordinator/outside receivers coach Dennis Simmons both received contract extensions through 2024.

In addition, Gundy was given a $20,000 raise and Simmons a $90,000 raise.

Locking up Alex Grinch for several years is key for the program’s success. Grinch significantly improved the defense over the past couple of years in Norman. The unit went from being the laughingstock in the Big 12 to one of the best in college football. A testament to the energetic man with the headset. Grinch took over as defensive coordinator/safeties coach in 2019 and revamped the group. The defense improved from a total defense ranking of 114th in 2018, 38th in 2019, to 29th in the nation in 2020. That is telling. The squad also drastically improved in rush defense (2018-59th, 2019-32nd, 2020-9th), interceptions (2018-112th, 2019-100th, 2020-3rd), and sacks-per-game (2018-74th, 2019-34th, 2020-7th).

His “Speed D” is built on playing aggressive, downhill, high-effort football to generate turnovers. In his hybrid 3-4/4-2-5 system, the defensive line operates in a one-gap, quickly penetrating and attacking style at the line of scrimmage. The dominance from the front frees things up for the linebackers and nickel backs. On the back end, Grinch prioritizes stopping the run, moving guys around in the box to disrupt tempo. His developed unit has poised Oklahoma for their next national title.

On the opposite side of the ball, Bill Bedenbaugh has created the protective wall surrounding Oklahoma’s high-profile quarterbacks. He continuously produces elite offensive lineman entering the NFL draft and primes them for success at the next level. Whether it be the team’s bread and butter- the counter pull, pass protection, or run blocking, the guys in the trenches perform at a high level under Bedenbaugh’s tutelage. His O-Line has paved the way for two Heisman Trophy winners and one runner up. Without the big guys up front doing their jobs, Oklahoma’s explosive offensive attack would be nonexistent.

He led the 2018 Oklahoma offensive line that was recognized as the nation’s best with the reception of the Joe Moore Award. The Sooners led the country in total offense (570.3 yards-per-game), scoring offense (48.4 points-per-game), rushing yards-per-carry (6.6) and yards-per-play (FBS-record 8.6). Bedenbaugh was a finalist in 2017 and semifinalist in 2018 for the Broyles Award, given to the nation’s top assistant coach. He has established himself as one of the best talent producers in the country and Oklahoma took notice with a well-deserved contract extension.