Around the Big Ten

[Chuck Mallory]

I must say, I'd like to have him on the Panthers D line.

[entropy]

Wisconsin loses WR coach, maybe more

The Todd Graham domino effect is continuing to have an impact on Wisconsin.

Graham bolted Pittsburgh for Arizona State, leading to Badgers offensive coordinator Todd Chryst getting the Pitt job. Chryst also brought offensive line coach Bob Bostad with him to the Steel City.

Wednesday, the school confirmed receivers coach DelVaughn Alexander is going to Arizona State to work for Graham. Alexander spent the past five years as an assistant in Madison. This season, both Nick Toon and former walk-on Jared Abbrederis had excellent years under his tutelage.

That may not be all the departures, either. The Wisconsin State Journal reports that linebackers coach Dave Huxtable appears headed to Pitt to join Chryst. Huxtable said before the Rose Bowl that he was definitely staying with the Badgers. He reportedly could become defensive coordinator for Chryst. Huxtable did good work with the linebackers, as both Mike Taylor and Chris Borland were All-Big Ten performers.

Huxtable and Alexander no longer appear on the roster of coaches on Wisconsin's official football Website.

The Wisconsin State Journal is also reporting that Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator Jay Norvell is a candidate to replace Chryst as the Badgers' playcaller. Norvell is a Madison native who coached at Wisconsin from 1990-94.

[entropy]

HARRISBURG, Pa. -- Penn State's board of trustees and president focused on repairing the school's tarnished image and braced for financial backlash in the immediate aftermath of the child sex-abuse scandal that erupted two months ago, going so far as to recommend reminding any outraged donors that they wouldn't get their money back, according to internal memos obtained by The Associated Press.

Four memos sent Nov. 14-18 and released to the AP this week describe the school's scrambling response less than two weeks after former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was arrested on child molestation charges. Two Penn State administrators also were charged with lying to a grand jury and failing to properly report suspected child abuse.

In the first memo, issued nine days after the charges were filed, new school president Rodney Erickson told the 47-member Board of Trustees that the public relations teams of the university and the athletic department had met to "align our messages" and that he had received positive feedback after two network television interviews.

"This is another indication that we are taking control of the narrative of our story," Erickson wrote.

The scandal led to the ouster of Graham Spanier, Erickson's predecessor, and the firing of venerable football coach Joe Paterno, a decision by the trustees that triggered rioting in downtown State College.

A Nov. 18 note from Erickson also included an attachment with "talking points" for donors, including that the school had not changed its policy that gifts are not returned.

"The overwhelming majority of our leading donors have made public statements affirming their faith in the university and its future," according to the university's talking points. The document named a couple who gave $88 million to launch an NCAA ice hockey program, and another who endowed the position of head football coach.

Both the number of donors and number of gifts to Penn State increased in November, compared with the same month a year earlier. Total donations to Penn State were $3.1 million in November, compared to $1.1 million in November 2010, according to the university.

Another positive sign for Penn State was last month's announcement of a $10 million gift from an anonymous donor to bridge engineering research projects with other fields of study.

Erickson told the board he had participated in a conference call with a fundraising committee.

"Our volunteer leaders remain committed to Penn State, and my message was well received," Erickson told the trustees.

The records were obtained through a public records request filed Nov. 22 with the state Department of Education. Penn State, which receives hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer support annually, is largely exempt from the law and has declined requests for certain information as its internal investigation continues.

University spokeswoman Annemarie Mountz said Erickson's memos continued after Nov. 18, but she declined to provide them to the AP.

The memos also reflect close monitoring of the widespread publicity surrounding the scandal. Erickson noted on Nov. 14 that "blogs, tweets, news stories, Facebook postings, YouTube videos, etc." had declined 50 percent from the previous day and 90 percent over the prior four days.

"Review of Top 20 search terms on Google today shows no Penn State terms on that list for the first time in nine days," Erickson wrote.

On Nov. 15, Erickson told the board that the Penn State Marketing Council was asked to help identify pressing needs, naming admissions as one area that required attention. He said the school was developing a video and "more symbolic game day experiences" for the Ohio State football game on the following weekend.

Also Nov. 15, the two top-ranking members of the Board of Trustees wrote to other board members to say that debate among the full board, including emeritus members, had become too cumbersome in the eyes of many trustees.

The board has 31 voting members, including Erickson, Gov. Tom Corbett and members of Corbett's cabinet, as well as 16 emeritus members. Although board membership is concentrated in Pennsylvania, some members live in other states.

"We need to streamline the communications among and with members of the board," chairman Steve Garban and vice chairman John Surma wrote, days after media reports surfaced of eroding support for Paterno and Spanier. "First and foremost, there have been serious breaches in confidentiality of our discussions and we will take the necessary steps to address these. Second, a smaller group will be more effective to provide feedback to President Erickson."

The executive committee was designated to serve that function, Garban and Surma wrote, adding that no major policy steps would be taken without appropriate participation by the full board.

The third update from Erickson said the school's vice president for university relations, Bill Mahon, had asked Penn State deans and chancellors to emphasize "remorse, humility and resolve."

"It is critical that we show that we are moving forward under the leadership of President Erickson," Mahon told the administrators. "Please be sure that there is broad understanding that he is the president, not the interim president."

Mountz said Tuesday that the internal memos show the president and board working "to reinforce all the positive elements" of Penn State while addressing the scandal.

She said the documents showed Erickson "focusing on improving communications, reaching out to students, faculty and alumni and the public, and appointing new leadership."

The school's public relations challenges continue, with a permanent successor to Paterno still not named and a couple of football recruits revoking verbal commitments to play for the Nittany Lions. Former players and other alumni have criticized how the university treated Paterno, the winningest coach in the history of major college football.

Erickson plans to meet with alumni to discuss the abuse scandal next week in town hall-style meetings in Pittsburgh, near Philadelphia and in New York.

Messages left for Garban, Surma and several other trustees were not returned.

Sandusky has been charged with sexual abuse of 10 boys over more than a decade, charges he has denied. He is free on bail while awaiting a trial in Centre County, where Penn State's main campus is.

Charges against two administrators, athletic director Tim Curley and vice president Gary Schultz, were sent to county court in Harrisburg for trial after a daylong preliminary hearing last month. After being charged, Curley was placed on administrative leave at his request, and Schultz retired.

Curley and Schultz deny the allegations that they lied to the grand jury investigating Sandusky and did not comply with a state law that requires suspected child abuse, in certain circumstances, to be reported to higher authorities.

The day the charges were announced, Spanier released a statement expressing unconditional support for Curley and Schultz and predicting they would be exonerated.

[iam416]

I would chalk up the Penn State O'Brien hire as a bloop single. Wow. That program is hurting. The best thing PSU has going for it is the remarkably short memory of the American public.

But, man, zero head coaching experience. In terms of Pats coaches going to CFB, I rate this hire as much more likely to be a poor man's version of the Jabba than a replay of Petey.

[hack]

The best thing PSU has going for it is the remarkably short memory of the American public.

yikes/lol/true.

[entropy]

Former PSU players upset with O'Brien hire
January, 6, 2012

By Brian Bennett

New England assistant Bill O'Brien hasn't officially been hired yet by Penn State, but some former Nittany Lions players are already voicing their displeasure with the choice and the process that led to it.

Former Penn State linebacker Brandon Short told USA Today that he and two other prominent ex-players will meet with interim athletic director Dave Joyner today.

"There is a tangible standard at Penn State that this poor (O'Brien) guy knows nothing about,'' Short told the paper. "I feel badly for him (because) he is clueless and will not have the support of the majority of the Lettermen. This is a hornet's nest (for him).'

O'Brien, who was a longtime ACC assistant before joining the Patriots, has no ties to Penn State. Short also said Joyner's attitude during the search was a problem, describing him as "arrogant, nonchalant and egotistical attitude by anyone who approached him.''

"It shows he wasn't concerned about getting our point of view,'' Short said. "Dave Joyner is not qualified to be athletic director.''

Former star defensive player LaVar Arrington is also upset with the hire. Here's what he told Blue White Illustrated:

"I will put my Butkus (Award) in storage. I will put my Alamo Bowl MVP trophy in storage," Arrington said. "Jerseys, anything Penn State, in storage. Wherever Tom Bradley goes, that's the school I will start to put memorabilia up in my home. I'm done. I'm done with Penn State. If they're done with us, I'm done with them."

Arrington later tweeted: "Alums I will always love you and the Penn State I knew. But until there's a new board and new leadership they can have their corrupt/disgusting school that they've created."

Judging from the e-mails, comments and tweets I've seen, most Penn State fans are underwhelmed -- to say the least -- at the news of O'Brien's hire. That doesn't mean he won't turn out to be a great coach, but he and Penn State have some convincing to do.

His first challenge will be convincing recruits it's OK to come to State College. ESPN recruiting analyst Jared Shanker writes that O'Brien has a lot of work ahead of him. Several prospects have either decommitted or said they are keeping their options open, and others have ties to the former assistants.

Plus, with the Patriots poised for a long playoff run after clinching the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye, O'Brien will have to juggle building a staff at Penn State, recruiting high school seniors and planning for whichever team the Patriots will face next weekend.

The best-case scenario for the Nittany Lions is O'Brien can turn his full attention to Penn State on Jan. 16, which gives him less than three full weeks before recruits can sign.

But Shanker writes that O'Brien's pedigree in the pros and relationship with Tom Brady could be attractive to recruits, whom he can sell on reaching their NFL potential. And at least Penn State finally has a permanent head coach, more than two months after Joe Paterno was fired.

Now all the school and new coach has to do is convince fans and former players that Bill O'Brien is the right guy.

http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/57705/former-psu-players-upset-with-obrien-hire

[Mackenzie]

Maybe he can get a special dispensation from the NCAA to have CUM come and help recruit.

[entropy]

Offensive

Here are the five offensive players who could be on the verge of stardom next season (in alphabetical order):

Wisconsin WR Jared Abbrederis: His costly late fumble in the Rose Bowl loss to Oregon overshadowed a terrific all-around day to that point. Abbrederis accumulated 346 all-purpose yards to set a Badgers bowl record. He'll become the clear No. 1 receiver in 2012 with Nick Toon gone, and he has already developed into one of the nation's top return specialists. The only real question is who will be throwing him the ball next season.

Nebraska WR Kenny Bell: The Huskers freshman came on strong late in the season and had a 30-yard touchdown catch in the Capital One Bowl loss to South Carolina. He also had five catches for 93 yards against Iowa in the season finale as he emerged as the team's top receiving target. Nebraska returns the vast majority of its offense, and the passing game needs to become more reliable. Expect Taylor Martinez and Bell to hook up often next season. Plus, Bell has one awesome Afro.

Minnesota QB MarQueis Gray: He definitely had his ups and downs while adjusting from receiver to starting quarterback in 2011, but Gray seemed to figure things out down the stretch. He threw for 295 yards and three touchdowns against Michigan State's stingy defense and ran for 327 total yards in the final two games of the season. The 6-foot-4, 240-pounder is hard to tackle when he takes off on the ground. He needs to improve his accuracy in the passing game after completing just 50.7 percent of his throws in 2011. But another year at the position and in Jerry Kill's system should help, as should some competition in practice from sophomore Max Shortell and incoming prospect Philip Nelson.

Ohio State QB Braxton Miller: An obvious choice, but one that can't be ignored. Much like Gray, Miller is a dangerous runner who needs to continue to improve as a passer. But what he showed as a true freshman leads you to believe that superstardom is right around the corner. Miller's development under Urban Meyer in a system that seems to perfectly suit his talents will be one of the Big Ten's top storylines in the 2012 season.

Michigan RB Fitz Toussaint: The sophomore emerged in 2011 to provide the Wolverines another running option in the backfield along with Denard Robinson. Toussaint ran for 1,041 yards, and more than 700 of those yards came after the first seven games. Imagine what he can do if Michigan commits to giving him carries as the No. 1 tailback for a full season. Offensive coordinator Al Borges doesn't want to take the ball out of Robinson's hands too much, but Toussaint showed that he could be a dangerous weapon in his own right.



Defensive


Michigan State LB Denicos Allen (junior in 2012): "The Waterboy" made a name for himself with his leaping sack of Ohio State's Joe Bauserman at The Shoe. He went on to put up big numbers for a ferocious Michigan State defense, finishing second in the Big Ten in sacks (11) and fourth in tackles for loss (18.5). He had seven quarterback hurries and finished second on the squad with 83 total tackles. Allen is one of the Big Ten's top blitzing linebackers and should be in line for bigger things in 2012.

Illinois LB Jonathan Brown (junior in 2012): Brown has a very similar profile to Allen, as he put up some huge numbers in his sophomore season. He finished second in the league behind teammate Mercilus in tackles for loss (19.5) and ranked eighth in sacks (6). Brown was constantly around the football and finished sixth in the league in tackles per game (9, 108 total). He also recovered two fumbles. There's no doubt about Brown's talent and play-making ability, but the big question going forward is how he'll perform under a new defensive coordinator in Champaign (yet to be named).

Michigan CB Blake Countess (sophomore in 2012): He had a rough night in New Orleans last Tuesday, but he still held his own for most of the season and showed great potential. Countess started six games and recorded 44 tackles, six pass breakups and a forced fumble. He's a sound tackler and shows good instincts for a young player. Countess is a bit of a projection pick, but we feel that with a full offseason he'll take significant steps for a Michigan defense that might lean more on its back seven in 2012.

Michigan State DE William Gholston (junior in 2012): It's hardly a stretch to say watch out for Gholston in 2012. If any Big Ten defender looks like a future superstar on the national level, it's the Michigan State defensive end, who flat-out dominated games at times this season. He finished the season with 70 tackles, including 16 for loss and five sacks, and added a forced fumble, a fumble recovered and three quarterback hurries. Like Devon Still last year, Gholston ended the season with a breakout performance in a bowl game, recording five tackles for loss, two sacks and a fumble recovery in the win against Georgia. He'll be an All-America candidate in 2012.

Ohio State LB Ryan Shazier (sophomore in 2012): Like Countess, Shazier is a bit of a projection pick, but we see him doing big things in an enhanced role for Ohio State this coming season. He appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman and worked his way into the starting lineup late in the season. Shazier ranked sixth on the team with 57 tackles, which included five tackles for loss and three sacks. He added two forced fumbles and a blocked kick. Although Ohio State makes a coaching change, Shazier once again will be playing under Luke Fickell.

[entropy]

http://m.espn.go.com/ncf/story?storyId=7449879

Penn State president faces alumni

[entropy]

They really should just consider bulldozing the place. Not much in PA worth saving anyway.

***********

Jerry Sandusky caught Joe Paterno's record 409th win from the president's box at Beaver Stadium days before the disgraced former Penn State assistant football coach's November arrest, according to a newspaper report.

The Patriot-News of Harrisburg, citing sources close to Penn State's trustees, said that the 67-year-old Sandusky was seen in then-president Graham Spanier's box on Oct. 29 and later stopped in at the school's Nittany Lion booster club.

University spokesman Bill Mahon told the paper, however, that a look over the guest list for the box for every Penn State game dating back to 2008 revealed that Sandusky was never invited to sit in the school president's office's box.

The Nittany Lions toppled Illinois 10-7 on Oct. 29 to make Paterno the winningest coach in the history of college football. Less that a week later, Sandusky was charged with sexually abusing 10 boys over a 15-year period. Sandusky has denied the charges and remains out on $250,000 bail while awaiting trial.

Spanier was ousted amid the scandal and replaced by Rodney Erickson, who said Tuesday he will step down when his contract ends in 2014.

[iam416]

Current rankings of various B10 recruiting classes. Big 2/Little 10?

Scout

3. Michigan
4. OSU
38. nFw
39. PSU
40. Wisconsin
43. MSU
44. Purdue
46. Iowa
48. Indiana
56. Nebraska

Rivals

3. OSU
5. Michigan
29. Purdue
36. Wisconsin
37. Nebraska
39. Penn State
41. Iowa
49. Michigan State

[Paul L]

Certainly looks that way. Especially like seeing sparty in the mid/low 40's.

[entropy]

Current rankings of various B10 recruiting classes. Big 2/Little 10?

Scout

3. Michigan
4. OSU
38. nFw
39. PSU
40. Wisconsin
43. MSU
44. Purdue
46. Iowa
48. Indiana
56. Nebraska

Rivals

3. OSU
5. Michigan
29. Purdue
36. Wisconsin
37. Nebraska
39. Penn State
41. Iowa
49. Michigan State

can you do the same thing based upon average star ranking.. or quality? thanks

[iam416]

Meh. For Scout:

6. OSU
8. Michigan
15. Wisconsin
22. Nebraska
24. Penn State
26. MSU
40. Iowa
46. NW
50. Illinois

[entropy]

Sorted By team - commits - average star ranking.

1. Ohio State – 22 - 3.64
2. Michigan - 24 - 3.54
3. Nebraska - 11 - 3.45
4. Wisconsin - 12 - 3.33
5. Michigan State - 14 - 3.14
6. Penn State - 15 - 3.13
7. Iowa - 18 - 3.06
8. Purdue - 25 - 2.96
9. Illinois - 13 - 2.85
10. Northwestern - 19 - 2.84
11. Indiana - 24 - 2.75
12. Minnesota - 21 - 2.67