Tag: Graham Harrell

Mike Leach’s innovations changed football forever and helped the sport enter the 21st century

Many college football luminaries, including Lincoln Riley, mourned the death of Mike Leach, whose central legacy is his influence on the evolution of offense in the sport.

On Tuesday morning, Mississippi State head coach Mike Leach passed away at the age of 61.

It was a deeply sad moment for many across the country, and reality set in as the news came down from Mississippi State.

Leach was a beloved head coach, and one of the most unique personalities college football has ever seen, in this or any other era of the sport’s 153-year history.

Leach’s coaching tree was long and influential. Lincoln Riley — the current USC Trojans head coach — credits a ton of his success to Leach.

After the unfortunate news hit the wires and the headlines, Riley, Alex Grinch, Gus Malzahn, and many other prominent figures in college football came to show their support for Mike Leach.

What emerges from these tributes is an appreciation of how great an innovator Leach was within the larger evolution of football. The number of credentialed coaches and tacticians taught or influenced by Leach is expansive. That’s a central part of Leach’s football legacy, which will become apparent when you see the recollections and photos below:

Oklahoma at West Virginia Mountaineers: Sooners Wire staff predictions

Oklahoma looks to get back on the right side of the win column on the road against the West Virginia Mountaineers. Sooners Wire Staff predictions.

The Oklahoma Sooners (5-4 and 2-4) look to rebound from their loss a week ago to the Baylor Bears on the road against the West Virginia Mountaineers (3-6, 1-5). The Sooners are undefeated since West Virginia joined the Big 12. They’ve won nine in a row, and generally, they’ve been high-scoring affairs. Last year’s 16-13 win in Norman was an aberration, to say the least.

Against Baylor, the Sooners’ offense couldn’t get out of its own way, and the defense couldn’t stop a Baylor rushing attack that put up 281 yards, led by Craig Williams’ 192.

Oklahoma will look to bounce back with a cleaner performance on the road in what is generally perceived to be a tough place to play, even if that hasn’t been the case for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Let’s get ready for Saturday with this week’s staff predictions.

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West Virginia Eve: Will the Texas defense be aggressive or cautious?

Texas has to raise its defensive standards on Saturday.

Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has a decision to make on Saturday. He can either be aggressive and force West Virginia’s hand or the Mountaineers will dictate to the Longhorns defense.

By now, we have a solid idea of what Kwiatkowski wants to do. The veteran play caller wants to eliminate explosive plays and make teams drive the field. That sounds great on paper, but it didn’t work last week against Texas Tech.

Despite the lack of talent in the conference, Big 12 teams have a reputation for being well coached and fundamentally sound. West Virginia was not that last season, but is vastly improved with new quarterback JT Daniels and offensive coordinator Graham Harrell. Texas can’t count on the Mountaineers to make mistakes.

Nobody should question whether or not Kwiatkowski can coach an effective defense. Whether or not he creates a game plan that protects his linebackers in coverage is to be seen.

Kwiatkowski has to force the issue. The Longhorns need to move the game behind the West Virginia line of scrimmage and make JT Daniels hold the football.

If Texas can take away passes within ten yards their defensive line will wreak havoc. Texas has to raise its defensive standards on Saturday. If they do, the Longhorns have a chance to erase last week’s loss from memory.

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JT Daniels, Graham Harrell prepare for huge season-opening game with West Virginia

The former USC QB and former Trojan offensive coordinator will face the Pitt Panthers on Sept. 1. The clear concern for West Virginia is on the offensive line.

Before Lincoln Riley coaches his first regular-season game with the USC Trojans on Sept. 3, a different USC-flavored drama will unfold.

On Sept. 1, a Thursday night game filled with high-profile ex-Trojans will unfold on national television. West Virginia, with former USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell and former Trojan quarterback J.T. Daniels, will go up against the Pittsburgh Panthers and former USC signal-caller Kedon Slovis. Two USC quarterbacks will face each other, one of them guided by an offensive coordinator who worked with him in Los Angeles.

Harrell coached both Daniels and Slovis in 2019 before Daniels got hurt and Slovis took over the position. It will be fascinating to see how Harrell uses Daniels in the West Virginia offense, and it will be interesting to see how well West Virginia scouts against Kedon Slovis, with Harrell knowing Slovis’s tendencies from his time at USC.

What should Harrell and Daniels be most concerned about for West Virginia heading into the showdown with Pitt in the game known as the Backyard Brawl?

West Virginia analysts made their views clear on a recent segment:

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Which matchup does Athlon Sports think could be a ‘trap game’ for the Oklahoma Sooners?

The Big 12 looks to have the makings of a competitive conference in 2022, but who does Athlon Sports think could be a “trap game” for Oklahoma?

The Big 12 conference looks like it could be a pretty competitive league in 2022. Though Baylor was chosen as the favorite in the Big 12 by the media, five teams received first-place votes, and the Oklahoma Sooners came in a close second.

It’s a league that’s deep, providing upset potential throughout the season for the Oklahoma Sooners. Over at Athlon Sports, Steve Lassan took a look at each schedule of the national title contenders to determine what games could be “trap games in 2022.” For the Oklahoma Sooners, Lassan chose the West Virginia Mountaineers.

Nov. 12 at West Virginia: The Big 12 doesn’t have a runaway contender for the league title, and with very little separation in the middle of the conference, expect the middle class to pick off the teams at the top a couple of times in ’22. A trip to Morgantown is never easy, and Oklahoma gets that honor a week after hosting Baylor and a Saturday before the Bedlam showdown versus Oklahoma State. Also of note, games against TCU (week before Texas), Oct. (29) versus Iowa State (before Baylor), and Nov. 26 at Texas Tech (after playing Oklahoma State) certainly fit here too. – Lassan, Athlon Sports

West Virginia’s addition of J.T. Daniels gives the Mountaineers a legit quarterback option if he can stay healthy. With Graham Harrell as his offensive coordinator, Daniels could finally live up to the promise that’s made him one of the more highly sought-after quarterbacks over the last several years.

Going to Morgantown is always a tough road trip, but at the same time, the Oklahoma Sooners haven’t lost to West Virginia since they joined the Big 12 back in 2012. Though they’ve played some tightly contested matchups, Oklahoma’s been able to come out on top with nine straight wins.

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Which Big 12 assistant coaches could take head coaching jobs next

Brennan Marion is one of the best head coaching candidates in the conference.

Many young up-and-coming coaches are joining the Big 12 conference this season. With Jim Knowles departing for Ohio State, the overall schematic edge in the league may have shifted to the offensive side of the ball.

This offseason, TCU poached their rival’s head coach and offensive coordinator. At SMU, Sonny Dykes and Garrett Riley built an offensive juggernaut. Riley, the brother of former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, could be in line to become a head coach soon.

At Texas, Steve Sarkisian brings in the architect of the go-go offense, Brennan Marion. His transcendent offensive mind paired with his recruiting and development track record make him one of the best head coaching candidates in the conference.

Elsewhere are coaches with experience that have been passed up far too often. Jeff Grimes and Graham Harrell have some of the strongest resumes in the conference.

Here’s where I would rank the most likely coaches to receive a head coaching offer.

Former five-star, Georgia Bulldogs QB J.T. Daniels Transfers to West Virginia

Former 5-star QB JT Daniels will transfer from Georgia to Oklahoma’s Big 12 foe West Virginia.

The Oklahoma Sooners’ road to the Big 12 Championship got a little bit tougher on Wednesday when former five-star quarterback J.T. Daniels announced that he’s transferring to West Virginia. He will be the first five-star quarterback in the school’s history.

The 22-year-old quarterback originally committed to USC coming out of high school in 2018 and transferred to Georgia in 2020. Daniels was QB1 for the Bulldogs in 2021 before getting hurt and losing the starting job to Stetson Bennett.

Daniels is the more physically gifted and talented of the two, but clearly thought a change of scenery is what was best for his playing career as Bennett returns to Georgia for the 2022 season.

Interestingly enough, Daniels played for Mountaineers’ new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell while he was a Trojan. Daniels was easily the best remaining QB in the transfer portal. This is a huge catch for West Virginia, which chose the Mountaineers over Oregon State and Missouri.

 

Daniels has two years of eligibility remaining. If he can stay healthy, the Mountaineers could make some noise in a top-heavy Big 12 conference.

With [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] transferring to OU and Quinn Ewers transferring to Texas, that’s three big-time transfer portal acquisitions by Big 12 schools at the quarterback position.

OU plays West Virginia in Morgantown on November 12. This could shape up to be a gun-slinging primetime matchup. At least we know it’ll be more fun to watch than last season’s 16-13 defensive battle.

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Athlon Sports picks the Oklahoma Sooners to finish second in the Big 12 in early 2022 projections

Looking ahead to the 2022 season, the Oklahoma Sooners were picked to finish second in Athlon Sports early Big 12 predictions.

Change isn’t always a bad thing. It comes with questions and some uncertainty, but the new can often be better than what you had or where you were.

That’s what the Oklahoma Sooners are facing heading into the 2022 offseason: A year of change and transition. Out is Lincoln Riley and in is Brent Venables, Jeff Lebby and a new defensive staff. Venables wants to make the Sooners fast and physical on defense while they run the football and controll the pace on offense.

Despite all of the changes, the program has much to be optimistic about this offseason. Steve Lassan of Athlon Sports has the Oklahoma Sooners picked to finish second in the Big 12 in his early 2022 predictions.

Lassan admits the league is pretty wide open.

“The Big 12 should feature a wide-open race to win the conference in 2022. A strong argument could be made for Baylor, Oklahoma or Oklahoma State as the early No. 1 pick in the league, but regardless of which team is the favorite, the gap among those programs is small.”

Here’s what he had to say about the Oklahoma Sooners.

It’s been a busy offseason in Norman, but new coach Brent Venables has the pieces in place to push for a Big 12 title. Assuming Caleb Williams doesn’t return, UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel should take over the quarterback spot and reunite with his former coach (and coordinator) in Jeff Lebby. The Sooners lost running back Kennedy Brooks and a couple of linemen to the NFL, but Gabriel’s arrival should keep this offense near the top of the conference. Venables was one of the nation’s top defensive signal-callers at Clemson and should make an impact right away on this side of the ball for the Sooners. – Lassan, Athlon Sports

It’s incredibly early the Oklahoma Sooners will worry about proving it on the field. What’s evident is the top of the Big 12 will be competitive once again. Baylor and Oklahoma State should be strong contenders for the conference title again in 2022. Oklahoma looks to rebound and get back into the Big 12 title game. And you never know what you’re going to get with Texas. After a terrible year, the Longhorns could bounce back and find themselves in the Big 12 race as well.

Here’s how Lassan ranked the Big 12 members.

Big 12 Football: WVU hires Graham Harrell as offensive coordinator

Graham Harrell is returning to the Big 12 as West Virginia’s offensive coordinator.

Former USC offensive coordinator Graham Harrell is headed across the country to take the same position at West Virginia. A huge slash hire for Neal Brown and the Mountaineers program.

Harrell stems from the Mike Leach coaching tree. He was an accomplished quarterback at Texas Tech under Leach during his playing career and later served as his wide receivers coach at Washington State. Harrell has had successful stints as offensive coordinator at North Texas and USC since then.

 

Expect Harrell to bring a new look to West Virginia’s offense that finished No. 9 in the Big 12. An up-tempo passing attack with RPO concepts is a staple of a Harrell run offense.

West Virginia hopes Harrell can help take the program a step forward and become contenders in the Big 12 conference year in and year out.

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Offensive coordinator hot board: Who Auburn is considering

Who do you think Auburn should get?

The Tigers are currently without an offensive coordinator after firing Mike Bobo.

I doubt Auburn makes a hire within the next couple of days, but I’m sure the Tigers will have an answer a couple of weeks before their bowl game rolls around.

There have been several names tossed around, but specifically Eric Kiesau, the current wide receivers coach at Auburn. It would not surprise me if Harsin elected to make an in-house hire, or if he went out to get someone he’s very familiar with.

Here are the candidates Auburn is considering hiring to be the next offensive coordinator.