One of the best sound bytes I have heard all season was the reaction from Turner Gill after his Buffalo team won the MAC title, beating previously undefeated Ball State. Gill was overcome with joy. Asked about where this victory ranked with all the great moments he had had in his career, he said this was the greatest, and then he talked about his players -- "They did it" -- showing tremendous humility.
Gill's work at Buffalo, arguably the toughest program to turn into a winner in all of 1-A, made him a hot commodity this winter.
But with most of the top coaching vacancies having been filled, it would appear that unless Gill gets the Iowa State job, he will be back at Buffalo in 2009.
I think Gill -- and Buffalo -- might turn out to be the big winners in what has become a very messy situation. Auburn, to me, right now is a toxic situation. Whoever got that job was going to have to replace Tommy Tuberville, a guy who beat Alabama six consecutive times, won a lot of other big games and didn't have a program that was always in the news off-season for having players arrested. On top of that, you have a very awkward group of boosters to contend with. Said one coach about Auburn, "Lunatic boosters are fine, as long as they're headed in the same direction." Worse still, now you have to cope with an Alabama program that is running at maximum efficiency, too. Good luck, Gene Chizik, you're really going to need it.
Iowa State, meanwhile, doesn't appear to be a great landing spot for Gill, either. While it might be true that Chizik left behind some promising young talent, it's unrealistic to expect the Cyclones to win eight or nine games in 2009. Expecting a coach to turn ISU into an elevated program like, say, a Virginia Tech has become is a long shot. At best, Iowa State is another three- or four-year job along the coaching ladder. However, if Gill can sustain Buffalo's level of play another season (UB's top offensive weapons, RB James Starks and Naaman Roosevelt, are both juniors, and their best defenders are all underclassmen), he would figure to have a much better shot at a higher-profile opening in 2009. Maybe that'll be Virginia, Louisville, Notre Dame or Colorado.
RANDOM STUFF
• Big blow to Cal football when Steve Sarkisian hired Bears O-line coach Jim Michalczik to become Washington's offensive coordinator. As Rusty Simmons wrote, Cal is losing the man who turned a two-star recruit (Alex Mack) into one of the nation's best.
From talking to some people who have coached against Cal, Michalczik's rep inside the coaching world is fantastic. He's been called the best O-line coach on the West Coast, and he will be a very tough guy for Jeff Tedford to replace.
• Speaking of Washington, Jake Locker's cousin, Casey Locker, is headed to the archrival Washington State Cougars after turning down an offer from U-Dub, reports Howie Stalwick.
"When Jake went to Washington in 2006, Casey replaced him as quarterback at Ferndale High. Casey was offered scholarships to play safety by WSU, Washington and Eastern Washington. Boise State and Idaho State also showed interest in Locker as a safety."
• Rocky Seto has turned down an offer to become defensive coordinator at Washington and will stay on at USC, becoming assistant head coach, Pete Carroll has announced on his USCripsit blog:
"We're very glad that Rocky has decided to continue on with us," Carroll said. "He's a very valuable member of the staff with a ton of experience, so this decision is a great thing for the Trojans."
• Even though this has been a very disappointing season, LSU is still apparently thriving on the recruiting scene.
A big credit goes to blue-chip QB Russell Shepard, who, Glenn Guilbeau writes, "is LSU's unofficial recruiting coordinator. He regularly checks on LSU's various commitments as well as some of the nation's top prospects whom LSU hopes to land as commitments or signees. He is one of the few people that can get Bastrop wide receiver Rueben Randle on the phone. Randle (6-3, 195) last week was elevated to the No. 1 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. The battle for him is between LSU and Alabama with Oklahoma also in the picture. 'I would love to be able to play with Rueben,' Shepard said. 'He's the No. 1 player in the nation, and we could help each other. He's still very interested in LSU and he likes Alabama. I'd also love to be able to hand off to Trent Richardson.'"
Shepard is rated as the nation's #1 athlete and is one of the nine Tigers commitments in the ESPN 150.
• Boise State snared the nation's #24-rated OT, Charles Leno, Greg Biggins reports.
"Leno's greatest asset is his feet," says ESPN's Bill Conley, the former Ohio State recruiting coordinator. "He is athletic for a big lineman and is especially impressive when pulling and turning upfield to pick up linebackers and when leading around the perimeter. It's not unusual to see him getting a big downfield block to spring the ball carrier for a big play. His agility makes him a superb pass protector that can shuffle his feet and mirror opposing pass rushers."
• One-time FSU signee Anthony Hill a 6-foot-4, 300-pound DT from Pensacola, Fla., has committed to South Florida.
• Mississippi State is getting new helmets, reports Kyle Veazey.
Bruce Feldman
