Appalachian State's Jackson hopes to cap good week with strong Shrine Game performance
HOUSTON (AP) -- Dexter Jackson became the face of Appalachian State's stunning win at Michigan when he appeared on the cover of a national sports magazine the week after the victory.
Thanks to that win, he benefited from the type of publicity players from the Football Championship Subdivision rarely see. Despite the notice, the small school player is likely a long shot to be chosen in the NFL draft.
Jackson is in Houston this week showing off his skills in preparation for Saturday's East-West Shrine game. The speedy receiver's performance in practice has made him the darling of the group.
"Everyone is talking about him," East team coach Dick Vermeil said. "I think he's lighting it up. He's just jumped out at me."
Jackson knows his chances of being drafted aren't great. Corey Hall, who was chosen in the seventh round by the Falcons in 2001, is the only player from Appalachian State drafted this decade.
Instead of focusing on that, he could contemplate the success of another former Mountaineer who shares his first name. Dexter Coakley was drafted in the third round in 1997 and the linebacker played 10 seasons for the Cowboys and the Rams.
"I've always been told to stay focused and don't worry about being at a little school, just worry about you," Jackson said. "It's all about you and any ballclub that needs what you have, they'll get you."
His speed was on display in the 34-32 win at Michigan, when he scored two touchdowns. He finished the season with 30 catches for 688 yards and eight touchdown in helping the Mountaineers win their third straight national title..
Last year's Southern Conference champion at 200 meters, Jackson ended up at Appalachian State. He was recruited by the likes of Florida and Georgia, but he failed to get a qualifying SAT score until just before signing day.
"I really think it was good for me because we got exposure through the national championships and then the Michigan game was overwhelming," he said. "We always thought, don't worry about a name of a school or any of that. Just compete."
Before he arrived in Houston, Jackson was already well-versed on a small-school success story that came from last year's event. Jacoby Jones, from Division II Lane College, caught the eye of the Texans during last year's practices and they drafted the receiver in the third round. Jones, who like Jackson was a track star and became a punt returner for Houston, was just the second player drafted from Lane.
"It makes me very encouraged because it shows that if you work hard, it can pay off in the long run no matter where you come from," Jackson said.
He could meet Jones this weekend as the Texans player is scheduled to take part in pregame activities.
Another player gaining notice this week is Houston running back Anthony Alridge. Though undersized at 5-foot-9, 175 pounds, Alridge is said to run a sub-4.3 40-yard and has earned the nickname "Quick."
"I've showed these guys my speed," he said. "They think I'm the fastest person in the world, so hopefully I can show that in the game."
He has impressed West coach Mike White and is looking for a big game Saturday after struggling in Houston's 20-13 loss to TCU in the Texas Bowl.
He had 1,568 yards rushing and 14 touchdowns in the regular season, but managed 28 yards on 15 carries against TCU. Alridge's stock could increase because of his receiving skills after he had 42 catches for 428 yards and five scores this season. He got some work at receiver in workouts this week.
He'll get a chance to make up for his subpar Texas Bowl performance at home as the only Cougar participating in the event played at Houston's Robertson Stadium for the first time.
"I get to have my own fans watch me play one more time in my house," he said. "Hopefully they'll get to see me on Sunday, but I'm glad this last one is here."
This is the third year the game will be played in Texas after it was held at Reliant Stadium last year and in San Antonio in 2006.
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Richmond coach Dave Clawson chosen Vols offensive coordinator
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Richmond coach Dave Clawson resigned Friday and accepted a job as Tennessee's offensive coordinator.
Clawson, who led the Spiders (11-3) to the Football Championship Subdivision semifinals this season, steps up to the major college level and will work under coach Phillip Fulmer. After four years at Richmond, Clawson was ready to move to the Football Bowl Subdivision.
This was always a goal professionally and a dream of mine," Clawson said. "This is not the first phone call I've had for an opportunity like this, but this was the first one that excited me. I really believe Tennessee is one of the premier football programs in the country."
Clawson replaces David Cutcliffe, who left Tennessee to take over as head coach at Duke.
Clawson is credited with re-energizing the Richmond program. After going 3-8 in 2004, the Spiders went 9-4 and made the playoffs the following year. This season, Richmond was beaten in the semifinals by eventual champion Appalachian State.
Tennessee officials planned to introduce the new coordinator on Saturday morning.
Clawson, a two-time Division I-AA coach of the year, also will coach quarterbacks, as Cutcliffe did for the Vols. He also spent five years coaching Fordham and was the offensive coordinator at Lehigh and Villanova, where he worked with Tennessee's new running backs coach Stan Drayton.
"His multiple offensive system using the talents of the players available to their fullest has been impressive," Fulmer said. "He has a great passion for recruiting, which is important for Tennessee, and his experience as a head coach will serve us well."
Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
JoePa forgoes yard work for coaching Penn St. at Alamo Bowl
SAN ANTONIO -- Joe Paterno isn't one for yard work, but if he retires from coaching he fears that's what he may be left to do.
So there's no place he'd rather be than leading Penn State against Texas A&M at the Alamo Bowl on Saturday.
The topic of how much longer Paterno plans to go comes up often around the 81-year-old coach, who was asked about it again while having drinks earlier this week at his hotel.
"I said, 'Now, if I wasn't going to ... wasn't coaching, what would I do this Saturday? Cut grass? No. You can't cut grass at State College," Paterno said Friday in relaying the story during a news conference at the Alamodome.
"Shovel snow? I don't like to shovel snow. OK. What are you going to do? I don't play golf. I don't fish. I don't hunt."
He has plenty of experience coaching though -- a record 42 years leading the Nittany Lions. He's set for his record 34th appearance at a bowl, and he's the all-time leader in bowl wins (22).
Paterno's latest contract expires after next season, and he has said he feels he can coach at least another three years.
Paterno also hasn't lost his gift for gab. One reporter began a question about the coach's future by saying that Paterno was in "great shape if you can -- you can still do it. You have been doing it, and you will continue to do it."
Paterno interrupted the questioner by referencing Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, who is also 81.
"What are you talking about? I'm not Hugh Hefner, you know."
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press
Florida State president: Lack of oversight led to cheating
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) -- Florida State's president attributed an academic cheating scandal to a lack of oversight by athletic department officials, an inattentive faculty member and a rogue tutor.
T.K. Wetherell on Friday described the course in question, a three-hour music history class, as "contaminated" and said changes have been made.
Although Wetherell has said in the past that the recent resignation of athletic director David Hart Jr. was not related to the incident, his statement suggested otherwise.
"The violations focused on a poorly structured online course, lack of attention to detail by a faculty member, and insufficient oversight by the athletic department of one rogue tutor -- all coming together to result in a 'contaminated' class," Wetherell said in the statement.
Wetherell, who has been vacationing in Montana since the suspensions were announced Tuesday, said no coaches were involved and that many of the athletes simply used poor judgment.
The student-athletes, who come from a number of sports, did not enroll in the course with the intent to do anything wrong," he said. "However, a university-employed tutor provided inappropriate help on exams. In the final analysis, these students made the decision to use the answers provided for an online exam, and they are suffering the consequences."
The school has suspended roughly two dozen football players, including some starters, for its Dec. 31 game against Kentucky in the Music City Bowl at Nashville, Tenn. Two players, receiver Joslin Shaw and defensive end Kevin McNeil, were suspended during the season.
This is the school's second serious brush with the NCAA in as many decades. The university received a five-year probation in 1994 after several of its players received free shoes and athletic gear from a sporting goods store at a mall.
Wetherell, who played football for the Seminoles in the mid-1960s, is trying to keep the school from having the NCAA investigate lack of institutional control, a violation that often leads to severe sanctions. Wetherell said the school expects to have its report to NCAA officials early next year.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Auburn names Franklin offensive coordinator
AUBURN, ALABAMA (TICKER) -- Auburn named Tony Franklin offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach on Wednesday.
The move comes a day after Al Borges resigned as offensive coordinator and less than a week after Tigers coach Tommy Tuberville signed a two-year contract extension.
This season, Auburn ranked ninth in the Southeastern Conference in scoring (24.3 ppg) and 10th in total offense (327.8 ypg). The Tigers (8-4) finished second in the SEC West and will face Clemson in the Chick-fil-A Bowl on December 31.
Franklin, who served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past two seasons at Troy, also spent four years at the University of Kentucky, helping both programs achieve a high level of offensive success.
"Tony has had a tremendous amount of success offensively in the Southeastern Conference and during his most recent position at Troy," Tuberville said. "He teaches an exciting brand of offense that has posted some very impressive numbers, statistically. We're excited to have him on staff and look forward to having him get started with us during preparations for the Chick-fil-A Bowl."
During his tenure at Troy, Franklin helped lead the Trojans to back-to-back eight-win seasons, consecutive Sunbelt Conference co-Championships and a New Orleans Bowl victory in 2006.
Troy's offense, which was last in the conference in total offense prior to his arrival, was second in the Sun Belt in 2006 and was first in the league in total offense (452.8 ypg) and scoring offense (34.0 ppg) this season.
Troy ranked 17th in total offense and 25th in scoring offense this past season.
"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to return to the Southeastern Conference and work with an outstanding program at Auburn," Franklin said. "I'm very appreciative of coach Tuberville for giving me the chance to serve as Auburn's offensive coordinator and I'm excited about getting started and working with the coaching staff and players. I'd also like to thank (Troy) Coach Larry Blakeney and the Troy family for the opportunity they provided me during the last two years."
Copyright 2007 PA SportsTicker. All Rights Reserved
Navy football coach Paul Johnson heading to Georgia Tech after 6 years at Annapolis
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Navy football coach Paul Johnson is headed to Georgia Tech after turning around a struggling program in six years at the military academy.
Johnson informed the team at an 11:45 a.m. meeting at the Navy's Ricketts Hall, where the football offices are located, said Scott Strasemeier, Navy's associate athletic director for sports information.
Georgia Tech has scheduled a news conference for Friday at 5:30 p.m. EST, when athletic director Dan Radakovich will name a new head coach.
Johnson, a former Georgia Southern coach, also negotiated with Southern Methodist and Duke this week.
He will replace Chan Gailey, who was fired one day after a 7-5 regular season ended with his sixth straight loss to Georgia. Gailey had four years left on his contract at $1 million per season.
The Midshipmen had a miserable 1-20 record in the two seasons before Johnson took over. He had a 2-10 record in his first season, but turned things around quickly. He led the Midshipmen to five-straight bowl games, a school record. Navy will play Utah in the Poinsettia Bowl on Dec. 20 in San Diego.
Johnson was 37-29 at Navy. He was also successful against the other service academies. He got his sixth straight win against rival Army last week, an unprecedented streak.
Earlier this season, Navy beat Notre Dame for the first time in 44 years, winning 46-44 in three overtimes.
Navy has been known for its rushing attack under Johnson, breaking school records for rushing yards per game.
Johnson came to Navy from Georgia Southern, where he lead the Eagles to two national championships. Overall, Johnson is 107-39 in 11 seasons.
Defensive coach Jon Tenuta was selected interim head coach for Tech's Humanitarian Bowl game against Fresno State on Dec. 31. Tenuta's status is expected to be addressed at the news conference Friday.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Army-Navy: 'Truly brothers, fighting on the same team'
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Clint Bruce played in four Army-Navy football games, never winning one of them.
As captain of the 1996 Naval Academy team, Bruce helped the Midshipmen beat California in the Aloha Bowl and earned a spot in the prestigious Hula Bowl. That didn't erase the agony of losing to the Cadets by 1, 2, 2 and 4 points.
At the time," he recalled recently, "it was like the end of the world."
It wasn't until Bruce became a Navy Seal that he realized the true importance of being part of college football's biggest rivalry.
"I'm not diminishing the significance of the game when you're playing in it, but after you graduate and start running across guys who played with or against you, that's when it really means something," said Bruce, a former linebacker. "Knowing the sacrifices they made to play football, knowing how far they're willing to go, it gives you the peace of mind to go into battle with those men. They're warriors."
Unlike Bruce, Navy quarterback Craig Candeto was extremely successful against Army. He scored six touchdowns in the 2002 game, a 58-12 rout, then guided Navy to a 34-6 win as a senior.
"People still come up to me and say stuff about that 2002 game," said Candeto, now about two months shy of completing training to become a naval aviator.
"The guys I played against, I may end up saving their lives. Or they might save mine," Candeto said. "That kind of makes the football game seem kind of small. We are truly brothers, fighting on the same team."
There are older rivalries and games that feature more talented players, but no football game elicits more emotion from the participants -- and their followers -- than Army-Navy.
"When I got to Army, I just thought it was another rivalry like Michigan-Ohio State, teams that didn't really like each other," senior receiver Jeremy Trimble said. "But around campus, everywhere you look there's a sign that says 'Beat Navy.' Everything we do during the season, the offseason, even in class, in the back of our mind it's all about beating Navy."
Decades ago, the Army-Navy game matched up two of the country's finest football teams. Navy won the national championship in 1926 and lost only to Notre Dame in 1943; Army won the national championship from 1944-46.
Three Army football players have won the Heisman Trophy; Navy has produced two Heisman winners, including Roger Staubach, who vividly remembers his feelings as a starting quarterback in the 1962 Army-Navy game.
"I didn't sleep the night before," Staubach said. "President Kennedy was there, there were about 100,000 people. ... It was probably the most excited, as well as nervous, I've ever been for a football game."
This, from a player who participated in four Super Bowls. Even though Staubach became a star with the Dallas Cowboys, he often returns to the Naval Academy to offer words of inspiration.
"You could see how much the Army-Navy game meant to him, 30 years down the road," Bruce said. "Something like that gives you the sense of being a part of something that's bigger than you."
Staubach played his last college game in 1964, graduated in 1965 and served four years in the U.S. Navy. After a tour in Vietnam, he joined the Cowboys and played for 11 seasons. It is rare for a player to go from the service academy to the pros, mainly because high-quality players aren't willing to follow up their college career by serving in the military.
"Our young men are not necessarily destined to serve in the NFL," Navy athletic director Chet Gladchuk said. "But they will do something greater: Serve our country."
According to legend, the series began when Cadet Dennis Mahan Michie accepted a challenge from the Naval Academy to play a football game. Navy won that game, 24-0, on Nov. 28, 1890, and the teams will meet this Saturday for the 108th time.
The Super Bowl, in contrast, is a just an infant.
"Our game is way bigger, and I don't think it's even close, from an emotional standpoint and by the people it affects," Army coach Stan Brock said.
The players in the Army-Navy game aren't just playing for themselves or their teammates. From San Diego to Iraq, from Afghanistan to Iran, soldiers at virtually every U.S. military instillation in the world will be watching Saturday's game.
"There's just so much pride, playing for the men and women serving our country," Candeto said.
"I think it's the biggest college rivalry there is," Navy linebacker Greg Thrasher said. "Everybody from around the world pays attention to this game. That makes it special to us."
Bruce never beat Army. Irv Spencer, a senior linebacker on Navy's current team, has never lost.
"It's one of those things, when you come here people say, 'We don't care how you do in the season; Just beat Army,"' Spencer said. "It's not about you. A whole lot of people are depending on you to win. It humbles you."
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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