Easy Falcon Nation

The news is shocking. Scooter McDougle, and possibly others, are alleged to be involved in point shaving. McDougle has been charged.

This is shocking, shocking news. It will bring ramifications to UT, and the MAC. It may well cost Amstutz his job. It apparently spread beyond the football team.

I have made my feelings clear on the Rockets here before.

Yet, today, I say this.

Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

We should avoid gloating, until we are sure our own house is clean. I'm not saying it isn't, but we aren't perfect.

Note this, as posted on AZZ.com....from some message boards frequented by gamblers, who seem to think MAC games are routinely fixed. FWIW.

Cites funny betting patterns....

Cites MAC games being taken off the board

My heart actually goes out to the Rocket fans, who are posting a collective primal wail.

The fact that something I have spent so much time and money follow with my heart could actually be fixed (or less than honest), that just makes me sick to my stomach. I can only imagine what they feel.

Someone in there mentioned the tip of an iceberg. I have a feeling by the time this is over, we're going to know a lot more, hopefully everything.

I can only hope that no Falcons had a role in this.

No Spring Depth Chart Yet

But the word is that the Falcons made a bizarre change. They have moved Senior TE Sean O'Drobinak to D-End. That just isn't a position change you see too often--and, he seemed to be producing at TE. From this, a few conclusions may be drawn.

1. We're about to take the TE back out of the lineup or most of the sets.
2. We're lousy at D-end.
3. We have some very talented up and coming TEs.
4. O'Drobinak played D in HS (which he did)

I do think we want to open the attack up. Coach said so in the Sentinel--that we need 65% completions to make our offense work.

Still, all in all, I find it hard to believe O'Drobinak ever produces at D-End.

Falcon Football picks up a new recruit

He's a DB from Kenneth Brantley's HS in Louisiana.

Update: Here's the write up from bgsufalcons.com...got the all-district and all-state (2nd team) credentials I like to see. This guy looks like he has some potential. I'm ranking him a "tweener" in my uniformed rankings, which are now updated here.

Derrick Williams (6-0/175, DB, Evangel Christian Academy, Shreveport, La.) High School: Lettered for four years for coach Dennis Dunn at Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, Louisiana ... helped lead the Eagles to three state championship titles in four years, including the Class 5A state title in 2002 and 2003 and the Class 1A title in 2005 ... named first team all-district and second team all-state as a senior ... named second team all-district as a junior ... had career totals of 131 tackles, four interceptions and 20 pass break ups ... also a member of the Eagles track and field team as a junior and senior, competing in the 400-meters and on the 800-meter and 1,600-meter relay teams. Personal: Son of Annie Franklin and David Martin ... brother, Marvin, ran track at Wichita State ... Born Dec. 12, 1987, in Shreveport, La.

Quick Hit:Louis Orr

The Blade reports today that Louis Orr, formerly of Seton Hall, is interested in the Falcon job. While not the "next Urban Meyer" that Falcon fans yearn for, this guy is a proven winner who might be a good fit.

Spring Football

Spring practice started Saturday, and to welcome it, a brilliant sunny day burned off what was a foggy and dreary morning.

Normally, the U releases a Spring Prospectus--giving position changes, etc, and a Spring outlook. No such document has been released, possibly because the Communications Staff is busy with our Sweet 16 women's hoops team. Anyway, they did release a Spring Roster, and like hungry dogs jumping onto a scrap of food, the Falcon Nation leapt.

Some of this I researched myself, some of it came from a thread on AZZ.com.

First, there had been much talk about players leaving, and in the Fall, rumors that, in fact, defections were way ahead of what was publicly acknowledged. In fact, that is not really true.

We had heard about:

Frericks, Mahoney and Williamson.
Ellis and Rojas.
Thomas James

And that appears to be all of the substantive losses.

Others did leave--but I don't believe any of these players ever showed up on a depth chart:

Scott Goodwin (R-SO LB).
Kevin Colyer (R-SO DB)
Trevor Germany (FR RB).
Kevin Munroe (Fr LB)
Trevon Winston (Fr TE)
Michaels Woods (R-JR DB)
Kyle Wright (R-FR P)

Beyond that, we have apparently shored up the RB position.

Andre Boomer is now an RB. He was a little used WR.

Brandon Mack is an OL. He is a true senior, if that makes any sense. He made 3 tackles on the D-Line last season, and played sporadically the two years before that. At 6'5 283, he has the making of an Olineman.

Lewis Parks was initially recruited as a DL or TE and is now a RB.

The Blade has weighed in with its spring practice story. Pretty common stuff, in fact. ALL the positions are up for grabs...that's an unusual spring move. Brandon hopes he won't have to coach the coaches.

In fact, save for what I am about to relay below, the key to the players appears to be status quo for this spring. With the new coaches, the system can only take so much change.

Now, the Blade article does have this little nugget on special teams. You will recall that our special teams were abysmal last year. Awful. An embarrassment (See my post "The Horror.")

Citizens in the Falcon Nation have noted that the new coaching lineup does not include a special teams coach. I do not understand this. I know that Brandon is not the only coach who doesn't think this part of the game deserves a specialist coach. You will see below where GB outlines his "philosophy" on this.

That's all well and good, if that is your philosophy and all. But you're going to be philosophizing your way out of head coaching if the special teams don't improve.

Here's the plan.

Arguably the team's biggest woes last year were punting and kickoff. Bird will oversee the former and Gonzaga the latter. Hargreaves will be responsible for punt return, while Campbell and running backs coach John Hunter will coach the field goal team.

Phillips will focus on field goal block, and tight ends coach/recruiting coordinator Troy Rothenbuhler will be responsible for kickoff return.

"That coach can use any player he wants on the team and any coach he wants to help him coach his units," Brandon said.
"As far as naming a coordinator, we don't have a coordinator. My philosophy is you get a coach to handle a unit and be responsible for it."

Great Run Ends

What a remarkable group of athletes we had, and what a great run it was. Falcon Nation gives our returning warriors a (virtual) standing O.

Three Quick Updates

Go Falcons!! Go for the Elite Eight!!

More men's coaching buzz. Louis Orr (formerly) of Seton Hall is rumored to be interested, and Ray Mernagh of Hoopwise told Norm Wamer on the ticket that he thought it was Cuonzo Martin (of Purdue)'s job to lose.

And, rumors have it that Dan Dakich will be an assistant for Steve Alford at New Mexico, where Paul Krebs is now AD.