Tag: NCAA football

Everything Dabo Swinney said ahead of Clemson’s spring game

Clemson Football: Everything Clemson Tigers coach Dabo Swinney said ahead of Saturday’s spring game.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney doesn’t want his team to pick up where it left off last season.

The Tigers won their last five games of 2023 to salvage a 9-4 campaign after a disappointing 4-4 start. The new season, which officially begins with the team’s annual spring game Saturday, represents a blank slate and a chance for Clemson to erase the sting of last year’s disappointments.

Swinney spoke to reporters Wednesday ahead of the Tigers’ ‘Orange vs. White’ game, scheduled for 1 p.m. EDT Saturday. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) and ESPN+.

“This is the only opportunity we have. There’s no preseason for us. There’s no exhibition games, there’s no jamborees, there’s no scrimmages against other teams. This is the only true opportunity that we have to create a game feel,” Swinney said during his opening statement.

“For a lot of these mid-year (players), this is a big moment because the next time they actually play, the scoreboard’s going to be lit up,” Swinney added. “So this is a great opportunity to hopefully try to create that game opportunity for some of these guys. And then we’ve got some guys who are getting some more opportunity as your team changes every year and you start over.

“So it’s going to be a great day. I think it’s going to be maybe 60 or something, a little cool early and beautiful sunshine. So hopefully we’ll have a great crowd. We’ve got a lot of recruits coming, a lot of families, so let’s pack that thing and make it a great day. I think it’ll be a very competitive day.”

Here’s everything Swinney said ahead of Saturday’s spring game.

Cade Klubnik is this analyst’s biggest question mark for Clemson football

Clemson Tigers football: Cade Klubnik is the Tigers’ biggest question mark in spring practice and entering the 2024 season, according to this college football analyst.

After a 4-4 start last season, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik faced more than his share of doubts from fans and pundits alike.

A five-game winning streak that included a thrilling fourth-quarter comeback and 38-35 win against Kentucky in the Gator Bowl to close the season isn’t enough to quell all of Klubnik’s critics, either.

In fact, CBS Sports’ Chip Patterson lists Klubnik as the Tigers’ biggest question mark in spring practice and heading into the 2024 season.

Asking if Klubnik can up his performance from a season ago, Patterson writes:

“Clemson’s coaching staff is challenging Klubnik, the former five-star prospect who enters his junior season with 21 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as a Tiger, and looking for him to improve in several ways in order to unlock the offense’s full potential. They want Klubnik to get stronger and have more pocket awareness (he took 28 sacks in 2023) as well as get a better feel for situational football after some of his more disappointing moments came in key spots of close losses.”

Patterson notes that the burden doesn’t fall squarely on Klubnik’s throwing shoulder and highlights coach Dabo Swinney’s program’s need to develop solid receivers.

To that end, incoming freshman and five-star recruit Bryant Wesco has been on many lists of players turning heads in spring practice this year.

Per Patterson:

“This is not a one-man scenario, though; Clemson needs pass catchers and a solid offensive line to help Klubnik in those efforts. Given his blue-chip pedigree, it’s fair to look for a big step forward from the Tigers quarterback in his second full season as a starter.”

Klubnik finished his sophomore season with 19 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed 64 percent of his passes and threw for 2,844 yards in 13 games.

College football ‘Super League’ proposed, per report

According to reports from the Athletic, a college football ‘Super League’ has been proposed.

In the ever-changing world of sports, crazy things happen. Another crazy change could be coming to college football if a group of people find a way to make it happen. 

According to reports from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand and Stewart Mandel ($$$), a group of several college presidents and some of sports’ top executives have proposed what is being dubbed as a ‘Super League.’ If this group succeeds, college football will never be the same. Here’s what I took from Marchand and Mandel’s writing about the situation. 

The proposed “Super League” in college football aims to reshape the sport’s governance and structure. This comprehensive plan involves replacing traditional conference affiliations with a tiered system featuring promotion and relegation, inspired by models seen in European football leagues. The proposal suggests direct player compensation, addressing ongoing concerns surrounding athlete compensation and rights. While facing skepticism from established powers within collegiate athletics, proponents argue that it represents a necessary step forward to ensure the sport’s sustainability.

At the heart of the “Super League” concept is a simplified playoff format that eliminates subjective selection committees, favoring a more straightforward performance-based qualification process. This proposed change seemingly aims to bolster competitiveness and increase television revenue, drawing inspiration from successful models found in professional sports leagues mentioned earlier. Despite encountering resistance and logistical hurdles, proponents stress the urgency of their agenda, citing mounting legal pressures and the need to adapt to evolving norms within the sports landscape.

After breaking things down, it is truly crazy how far college football has come in less than a decade. When changes happen, it tends to induce more change down the line, but down the line, it has become a much more rapid thing in recent memory when considering college football. 

The Atheltic’s duo makes it clear that there is resistance here, and not much ground has been made, but this it’s definitely something of note. Some have been vocal about this being the direction college football is going. To their credit, this further affirms that it could be (pat yourself on the back; you know who you are). The key here is could. 

Like many things in our lives, the future is uncertain, and that is incredibly clear with a sport like college football. Does the sport ‘need to be saved’? No. College football may be, in a way, a mess right now, but drastic changes by no means guarantee positive change. 

One thing I can promise you is that college football will continue to be, well, wild.  

Clemson’s Bryant Wesco on list of players turning heads in spring practice

Clemson Tigers Football: The hype continues to build for freshman receiver Bryant Wesco.

The hype continues to build for Clemson’s Bryant Wesco.

The 6’2″, 170-pound receiver, a five-star recruit out of Midlothian (Texas) High School, chose Clemson over LSU, Tennessee, USC and others in 2023.

247Sports ranked Wesco as the sixth-best receiver nationally in the class of 2024, as well as the fifth-best player from the Lone Star State.

Noting that Wesco chose to play with another Texas native in quarterback Cade Klubnik when he committed to Clemson, B/R Sports listed Wesco on its list of 10 college football players that were turning heads in spring practice.

Per B/R’s story:

“Simply put: The Tigers haven’t had many talented weapons at wideout like him in the past couple of seasons, so he could team with Antonio Williams to give them a major threat on the outside who can stretch the field and make huge plays downfield.

“Transforming the offense to one that instills fear in folks is why Riley was brought onboard, and coach Dabo Swinney certainly won’t outfit his roster with portal talent, so incoming youngsters like Wesco have to.”

Clemson offensive coordinator Garrett Riley recently told The Clemson Insider that he likes what he’s seen from Wesco so far in spring camp.

“Bryant’s done a nice job,” Riley told TCI. “Anytime as a freshman, the whole thing is just, can you handle mentally? And then just the grind, the speed of the game, transitioning at his position at receiver and once you transition to the college speed. He’s been able to mentally handle things, and I think he’s a guy that’s transitioned really well with the speed of the game.”

Wesco caught 109 passes for 1,903 yards and 29 touchdowns during his prep career.

Notre Dame Must Fix This Issue To Contend In ’24

Where Notre Dame needs to clear things up in 2024 to be playing in the CFP…

Notre Dame is certainly trending in the right direction as we’ve turned the calendar to 2024. Marcus Freeman is finding his footing as the head man, the assisting staff instills confidence on both sides of the ball, and the roster has a nice blend of veterans and young talent. The Irish fully intends to make a real run in the inaugural 12-team expanded CFP.

With this framework in mind, I start to think hard about what hurdles there may be for Notre Dame as they try and truly make some noise next season. One of these challenges is how the Irish performed in true road contests in 23′. Not well. Slow starts. Sluggish play. Not able to match the emotion of the home squad. This trend led directly to two losses and almost a third, ruining the high-end prospects of the season.

Let’s examine the evidence of this issue and what may be causing it.

CFB analyst believes there could be way more post-spring portal action

Josh Pate can see more post-spring transfer portal shakeup than we’ve seen in early portal action.

The transfer portal has been active this offseason. It could see even more change once spring football is over according to one college football analyst.

247Sports’ Josh Pate shared the following on his Late Kick podcast of what could happen in the portal over the next couple months.

“The post-spring transfer portal cycle coming up may actually be wilder than the December window. There are no rules.”

Pate continued on what the lack of regulation means for the rest of the offseason.

“The impact is going to be enormous. A lot of you are nervous. Frankly, you should be nervous because there are no players who are safe right now.”

What does it mean for Texas? Like every other college football team, the Longhorns will likely have to continue to recruit their own players. Why? Because college football teams tamper. They do so because they can with little to no repercussions.

The above has become the new normal for Texas, and they’ve done a good job fending off teams trying to lure away their top players. Unfortunately, it could mean the Longhorns lose quality depth this offseason. After all, backups can play more and see better NIL opportunities elsewhere.

Despite the difficulties Texas will face in maintaining its roster, its challenges are shared with every other team in college football. The Longhorns will simply need to be one of the best at retaining their players to enter the season with an advantage.

Notre Dame Football: Which QB Style is Best for Irish Success?

What style quarterback would be best at Notre Dame?

As Notre Dame gears up for what will be a supremely intriguing Spring Football session, many questions arise. One of the top ones revolves around the Irish’s quarterback room. Presently, Riley Leonard, Steve Angeli, Kenny Minchey, and CJ Carr are all excited to show what they can do. Each has special specific gifts that have gotten them to this point in their careers and this is the deepest quarterback room I can recall Notre Dame having in a long time.

With this in mind, looking at the Notre Dame quarterback picture big picture, what style of quarterback do you prefer? Do you like a more traditional passer like CJ Carr projects to be? Or do you prefer a mobile more athletic dual threat like Deuce Knight? I generally prefer, with exceptions we will address later on, a dual-threat ultra-mobile player. Let me explain why.

Notre Dame Football: New Found Confidence in Fighting Irish

Feeling better about Notre Dame football lately? You’re not alone…

Recently, with all of the massive changes going on within college football, there’s been plenty of talk from me and others about Notre Dame’s place and standing in whatever college football may end up looking like. How will the Irish adapt? How will they fare in the new College Football Playoff model? How will Notre Dame navigate a landscape that now feels more professional than collegiate?

These are legitimate questions and concerns. One that especially in the last 30 years would have been existential threats due to a lack of proper administrative action to protect and support football along with inadequate coaching leadership. I feel that this has changed recently on multiple fronts and I now have more faith than I have previously in Notre Dame’s ability to navigate this new landscape and still try to compete.

Let’s examine why I feel this way.

NCAA Football Rules Committee Proposes New Technology Rules for 2024

The NCAA Football Rules Committee has proposed multiple new technology rules.

The NCAA Football Rules Committee proposed optional technology rules, effective with the 2024 competition season.

All rule recommendations must be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel, which is scheduled to discuss football proposals April 18.

In games involving Football Bowl Subdivision teams, each school would have the option to use coach-to-player communications through the helmet to one player on the field. That player would be identified by having a green dot on the back midline of the player’s helmet.

The communication from the coach to the player would be turned off with 15 seconds remaining on the play clock or when the ball is snapped, whichever comes first.

For all three divisions, teams would have the option of using tablets to view in-game video only. The video could include the broadcast feed and camera angles from the coach’s sideline and coach’s end zone.

Teams could have up to 18 active tablets for use in the coaching booth, sideline and locker room. Tablets could not be connected to other devices to project larger additional images and could not include analytics, data or data access capability or other communication access. All team personnel would be allowed to view the tablets during the game.

Committee members also had a thorough discussion regarding wearable technologies.

The committee invites non-FBS conferences that are interested in using wearable technologies to submit an experimental proposal to the committee. Any proposals must be made to the committee by June 15.

“The use of technology has been on the committee’s agenda for several years, and the time is right to introduce it in NCAA football,” said A.J. Edds, co-chair of the committee and vice president of football administration at the Big Ten Conference. “FBS conferences have partnered together to ensure the consistent application and work through the details of the technical requirements for implementation.”

Two-minute timeout

The committee proposed adding an automatic timeout when two minutes remain in the second and fourth quarters.

This recommendation synchronizes all timing rules, such as 10-second runoffs and stopping the clock when a first down is gained in bounds, which coincides with the two-minute timeout.

“The two-minute timeout will allow all end-of-half and end-of-game timing rules to be simplified and synch up with this timeout,” said Steve Shaw, secretary-rules editor. “This will also help broadcast partners to avoid back-to-back media timeouts.”

Uniforms

In recent years, the committee has expressed concerns about the look of players’ uniforms, specifically pants. The committee is proposing a stronger enforcement structure for clear violations of the rule. On the first violation, a flag would be thrown to indicate a warning for illegal equipment, and the offending player would have to leave the game for at least one play and could return when the issue is corrected.

Any subsequent uniform violation by any member of that team would result in a timeout being charged to the team. If a team is out of timeouts, it would receive a 5-yard delay-of-game penalty.

First-down timing rules

After a year of review, Division III committee members decided to adopt the timing rules where the game clock would continue to run when a first down is gained in bounds. The game clock would be stopped when a first down is gained during the last two minutes of either half. Divisions I and II schools used this timing rule last season.

Other rules proposals

  • Allowing conferences the option of using a collaborative replay review system. This would be formally added to the rules book; it has been an experimental rule.
  • Penalizing horse-collar tackles that occur within the tackle box as a 15-yard personal foul. Currently, a horse-collar tackle within the tackle box is not a foul.

Permanently allowing head coaches to conduct interviews with broadcast partners after the first and third quarters. This was allowed on an experimental basis last season.

–Press release via the NCAA (ncaa.org)

College football to add two-minute warning amid rule changes in 2024

The NCAA announced three rule changes for the 2024 football season on Friday with the addition of a two-minute warning on top of two long-expected tweaks.

The NCAA football community long expected some rule changes ahead of the 2024 season, but Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported a trio of confirmed tweaks on Friday.

Starting this coming season, college teams will have access to in-game footage through tablets on the sidelines and during halftime. Coaches will also be able to communicate directly with players through one-way in-helmet communication systems.

Both practices are used at the NFL level, and both were tested this past bowl season as teams anticipated their immediate approval. The ACC approved both changes earlier this month as the conference awaited the national verdict.

A third change was added in the wave of 2024 revisions, however: college football will add a two-minute warning. The clock will automatically stop for a timeout with two minutes left before halftime and before the end of the game, another common NFL practice.

Within an hour-and-a-half of Dellenger’s report, the NCAA confirmed all three changes.

The NCAA statement adds that any rule changes still need to be approved by the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel. The panel will meet on April 18.