Tag: Dodd Trophy

James Franklin makes midseason coach of the year watch list

Penn State head coach James Franklin is in the mix for a coach of the year award this season

Although the last game he coached resulted in a loss, Penn State head coach James Franklin has succeeded enough this season to earn some praise midway through the college football season. On Thursday, Franklin was included on a list of midseason coach of the year candidates by The Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and the Peach Bowl.

Franklin was one of 16 college football coaches named to the midseason watch list for The Dodd Trophy, which is one of the coach of the year awards in college football.

Franklin was originally part of the preseason watch list released by The Dodd Trophy over the summer leading up to the start of the 2021 season.

The Dodd Trophy was first awarded in 1976 to Georgia head coach Vince Dooley. Penn State’s Joe Paterno is one of two coaches to ever win the award twice. Paterno won the Dodd Trophy in 1981 and again in 2005. Kansas State’s Bill Snyder is the only other two-time winner of the award.

2021 Midseason Dodd Trophy Watch List

  • Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina
  • Dave Clawson, Wake Forest
  • Mario Cristobal, Oregon
  • Ryan Day, Ohio State
  • Dave Doeren, NC State
  • Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
  • Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
  • Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
  • James Franklin, Penn State
  • Jim Harbaugh, Michigan
  • Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
  • Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
  • Nick Saban, Alabama
  • Kirby Smart, Georgia
  • Mark Stoops, Kentucky
  • Mel Tucker, Michigan State

Follow Nittany Lions Wire on Twitter and like us on Facebook for continuing Penn State coverage and discussion.

Michigan State football coach Mel Tucker named to Dodd Trophy watch list

Tuck Comin! Mel Tucker has been named to the Dodd Trophy watch list

The head man of the Michigan State football program Mel Tucker has turned a lot of heads this season, leading the Spartans to a 7-0 start to the season.

Coming off of a 2-5 season in 2020, expectations were not that high coming into the 2021 campaign, but that didn’t stop Tucker from shattering them all.

The rise of the Spartans, seemingly from out of nowhere, is a huge feather in Tucker’s cap. Tucker’s accomplishment this season has garnered a lot of national attention and that is shown again when Tucker was named to the Dodd Trophy watch-list.

The trophy, named after the legendary coach Bobby Dodd, is a coach of the year award that is annually given to the head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Mel Tucker has a chance to be the first coach in Michigan State history to win the Dodd Trophy.

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Ryan Day one of 17 coaches on Dodd Trophy preseason watch list

Let’s hope Ohio State has the type of season that keeps Day in the running for this all season long. We know the off-the-field stuff will be there.

It’s no secret that Ryan Day has taken the college football world by storm. Heck, he’s yet to lose a Big Ten or regular-season game in two-plus seasons as the head of the Ohio State program. His only two losses have come in the College Football Playoff.

And though everyone used a get out of jail free card early on by using the “yeah, but he’s too new” excuse, Day is starting to get recognition. The latest comes by way of the 2021 Preseason Dodd Trophy Watch List where Day is one of 17 coaches appearing.

The list was made using a selection process that considered each program’s graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, projected success for the 2021 season, and academic progress for student-athletes.

“The Dodd Trophy is the most coveted coach of the year award because it looks beyond just the results on the field and measures the overall impact these coaches have had on their players, universities and communities,” chairman Jim Terry said in a statement.

The other coaches on the watch list include:

  1. Tom Allen, Indiana
  2. Mack Brown, North Carolina
  3. Matt Campbell, Iowa State
  4. Jamey Chadwell, Coastal Carolina
  5. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin
  6. Ryan Day, Ohio State
  7. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa
  8. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
  9. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M
  10. James Frankin, Penn State
  11. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame
  12. Jimmy Lake, Washington
  13. Dan Mullen, Florida
  14. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma
  15. Nick Saban, Alabama
  16. Kirby Smart, Georgia
  17. Dabo Swinney, Clemson

“These coaches are coming off one of the most unprecedented and trying seasons in the history of college football, but found a way to persevere in the face of adversity.” Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan said. “They have consistently found success no matter the circumstances and we look forward to seeing how they lead their teams as we return to a sense of normalcy this season.”

Ohio State is expected to once again be one of the best teams in the country with Ryan Day steering the ship. If he has more success on the field and continues to be there for noble causes like mental health and the well-being of his student-athletes, there’s a real good chance Day could nab this award.

That all comes later though. For now, it’s at least a nod in Day’s direction that he has been included on the preseason watch list.

[listicle id=53990]

Contact/Follow us @BuckeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes and opinion.

Nick Saban named to Dodd Trophy watchlist for 2021 CFB season

Nick Saban is being watched!

Many would consider Alabama head coach Nick Saban a living legend and one of the greatest coaches in the game of football. Well, one year after earning national championship No. 7 in his collegiate career, Saban is on the watchlist for the Dodd trophy, which is awarded to an FBS coach, “whose program represents three pillars of success: Scholarship, Leadership and Integrity.”

Coach Saban has won the award once in 2014 and now was the opportunity to win it for a second time.

He joins a list of other talented coaches with high-profile programs, such as Penn State‘s James Franklin, Ohio State‘s Ryan Day, Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and many more.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion.

 

Mel Tucker named Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week following upset of Northwestern

When you pick up a big-upset victory over a highly ranked team, you’ll get some recognition.

[jwplayer W5c9uJnW]

When you pick up a big-upset victory over a highly ranked team, you’ll get some recognition. That was the case for a pair of Michigan State football players on Monday, and new head coach Mel Tucker got the same treatment on Tuesday.

Tucker was selected as the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week on Tuesday after leading the Spartans to a 29-20 victory over then-No. 13 Northwestern. The victory was Tucker’s second of his career at MSU, with both coming against highly ranked teams.

“Coach Tucker is already leaving his mark at Michigan State with two marquee wins during his first season,” Jim Terry, chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation, said in a press release. “Coach Dodd believed every game was important, but there’s no doubt that he would admire how Coach Tucker has been able to motivate his team against some of its toughest competition this season.”

Senior linebacker Antjuan Simmons and senior kicker Matt Coghlin each received Big Ten Player of the Week honors on Monday, with Simmons being named Defensive Player of the Week and Coghlin named Co-Special Teams Player of the Week.

The Spartans return to the field on Saturday against No. 4 Ohio State. Kickoff from Spartan Stadium is scheduled for 12 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on ABC.

[vertical-gallery id=32515]

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1362]

Texas Football: Longhorns honored with Big 12 and National honors

D’Shawn Jamison, Joseph Ossai and head coach Tom Herman were all recipients of weekly honors for the victory over Oklahoma State 41-34.

Taking down a top ten team is no easy task. Especially when it comes on the road but the Texas Longhorns found a way to pull it off. It was the first instance this happened for the Horns since they beat the No. 5 Nebraska Cornhuskers in 2010. The last time this team pulled off a victory over a top ten team on the road they followed it up with loss, let’s hope that history is not on the Longhorns side.

One of the players that was a key cog for the Longhorns victory was D’Shawn Jamison. He returned a kickoff 100 yards for a score to immediately answer Oklahoma State.

The kickoff returned for a score was the only scoring play for the Longhorns in the third quarter. That kept them within striking distance for the win they secured for their efforts. D’Shawn Jamison took home Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week.

As big as the return by Jamison was, no one had the impact of ‘Jack’ Joseph Ossai. He secured the walk-off sack that gave the Longhorns the victory. In the game he led the team in tackles with 12. Six of which were tackles for loss. Couple those stats with three sacks, one fumble forced on a strip sack and a fumble recovery. That is much the reason that Ossai was the talk of college football on Saturday.

[lawrence-related id=26260]

Not only did Joseph Ossai pick up Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors but also three other national honors for his performance. Walter Camp Football Foundation, Chuck Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy Player of the Week also went the way of the Longhorns top defender. Not a bad week for Ossai. With that performance National NFL Draft analysts are circling him as a potential first round draft pick. B/R’s Matt Miller even mocked him as high as No. 16 in his latest mock draft.

[lawrence-related id=25992,19347]

These two defensive players weren’t the only individuals associated with the Longhorns to earn weekly honors. Texas head coach Tom Herman was named Coach of the Week by the Dodd Trophy. The award given annually to the top coaches in all of FBS. Herman was named to the preseason watchlist earlier this year.

Gus Malzahn named to 2020 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List

The award is given annually to the head coach whose team excels on the field, in the classroom and in the community.

Five coaches from the SEC have been named to the 2020 Dodd Trophy Preseason Watch List and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn is one of them.

The watch list was released on Thursday and Malzahn finds his name alongside Nick Saban, Ed Orgeron, Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen as representatives from the conference.

The Dodd Trophy, college football’s most coveted national coaching award, celebrates the head coach of a team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity – the three pillars of legendary coach Bobby Dodd’s coaching philosophy.

The watch list was created through a selection process by the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation and Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, taking into consideration each program’s graduation rate, commitment to service and charity in the community, projected success for the 2020 season and Academic Progress Rate (APR). Coaches in the first year with their current team are ineligible to receive The Dodd Trophy and only those coaches who have played during the fall season will be eligible for this year’s award.

Interestingly enough, Boise State’s Chris Petersen won the award in 2010 over Gene Chizik while Malzahn wasn’t eligible during his first year in 2013. The award instead went to Duke’s David Cutcliffe.

Locked on Longhorns Podcast: ‘Top 25 and Tom Herman on award watch list’

The Locked on Longhorns podcast discusses the Locked on Podcast Top 25. Plus Texas head coach Tom Herman named to award watch list.

The Locked on Podcast Top 25 was released. Where does Texas rank on the initial ranking? This was voted on by the hosts on the Locked on Podcast network. Any surprises on the list?

On the crazy side of college football the Big Ten news just keeps coming. Buckeyes Wire reported that a vote could take place on Friday to determine plans for fall football. Just another crazy twist in the Big Ten saga coming off the heels of Nebraska players filing a lawsuit against the conference.

The head coach of the Texas Longhorns has made the list for the Dodd Trophy. It is given to the top coach in college football that meets certain criteria. Tom Herman was named to last year’s list as well but failed to be named a finalist.

Herman has often been linked to being on the hot seat but USA TODAY Sports writer Dan Wolken stated that there won’t be any hot seats. Given the state of college athletics, it would be difficult to justify having a coach on the hotseat. If a coach is fired during the season, could you justify a buyout given the issues with finances? Plus celebrity chef Guy Fieri received a special delivery from Longhorns legendary running back Earl Campbell.

College football returns to the field on Thursday night. What are the game picks for the two games? Central Arkansas travels to Alabama-Birmingham plus South Alabama against Southern Miss. Not to mention our biggest surprise of the week.

Gators head coach Dan Mullen named to Dodd Trophy preseason watch list

Gators coach Dan Mullen has gained quite a bit of national prominence after just two seasons in Gainesville, and that is starting to show.

[jwplayer bjTEpCFz]

Gators coach Dan Mullen has gained quite a bit of national prominence after just two seasons in Gainesville, and that is starting to show on national coaching award watch lists.

The Bobby Dodd Trophy is given annually to the nation’s top coach, and Mullen was one of 13 coaches nominated for this year’s preseason watch list. Last year’s winner was Utah’s Kyle Wittingham.

He’s joined on the list by fellow SEC coaches Ed Orgeron of LSU, Nick Saban of Alabama, Kirby Smart of Georgia and Guz Malzahn of Auburn. With five coaches represented, the SEC leads all conferences on the Dodd watch list.

The award is limited to coaches whose teams will be competing this fall, so only the SEC, ACC, Big 12 and AAC are represented. However, nine other coaches from the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West, all of which have canceled their fall seasons, met the criteria for the Dodd Trophy watch list and were recognized accordingly.

The watch list will be narrowed midway through the season to semifinalists and later to finalists after the conclusion of the regular season. The winner will be announced in Atlanta the week of the Peach Bowl.

[lawrence-related id=21703,21684,21656,21650,21642]

[vertical-gallery id=20711]

[vertical-gallery id=20730]