As always, starting elsewhere and ending in South Bend.
College Football's Top 50 Quarterbacks of the BCS Era | AthlonSports.com
Neither Brady Quinn or Jimmy Clausen made an appearance on this list. They didn't even make it into the leftover section at the bottom for numbers 51-75.
WSU, Idaho football teams fight for dominance of fertile Palouse region - CougCenter
Nothing says spring football like a nice territorial brawl. Jets, Sharks, Greasers, Socs, Cougs, Vandals, whatever. Wazzu wide receiver Mansel Simmons ended up in the hospital though. Sadly I found no Mike Leach quotes about the incident.
Speaking of fighting. Or shoving. Or something.
Johnny Manziel got in non-fight with non-coach - SBNation.com
Is it just me or does it seem like every time Manziel does something that everyone seems to go into "this is getting blown way out of proportion" mode? Am I just imagining that? I still think the kid is a bit of a time bomb. If nothing else he seems to be what Charlie Murphy might refer to as a habitual line stepper.
Following his last of three interceptions, on a short pass into the end zone as he ran into the right sidelines, an exuberant graduate assistant jumped up and down within what appeared to be inches of an irate Manziel. So Manziel shoved him. Players and coaches, who were all gathered along the sidelines, quickly separated the Giddy GA and Manziel before anything escalated.
Johnny Footbaw did nix his Twitter account on the heels of his latest non-incident though. So much for photos of homey kicking it at casinos with a handful of cash money.
R.I.P. Johnny Manziel's Twitter account: 2011-2013 - SBNation.com
Sun Belt to reportedly grow by four teams, including Appalachian State | Dr. Saturday
With this I am officially giving up on trying to keep track of who is in what conference.
Old Big East expected to move on adding C-USA's Tulsa - CBSSports.com
The Big East is still playing musical chairs too. I can't wait to watch that first Big East title game! How are we still considering the Big East an AQ football conference?
The league has a 10-team lineup for 2013 and 2014, when East Carolina and Tulane replace Louisville and Rutgers. Navy is committed as a football-only member in 2015. Tulsa, a small private school coming off a Conference USA title, makes 12.
Speaking of AQ conferences and the BCS this little tidbit surfaced this week.
Cowboys Stadium ‘virtual lock’ to host first major-college football playoff title game | SI
Jerryworld. Because why not right?
Baylor gets snazzy new uniforms to go with snazzy new helmets | Dr. Saturday
A few miles down the road from Jerryworld Baylor unveiled their new uniform lineup. Is Oregon going to sue or what? It would appear that the Gold chrome style helmet that leaked a few weeks ago wasn't the only Ducklike thing in the hopper. What do you all think of these uniforms? Murtaugh up!
Elsewhere in Texas...
Texas' Mack Brown energized for the 2013 college football season - College Football - Stewart Mandel - SI.com
I might have to keep a close eye on the Horns this fall. This situation really has the potential to get interesting.
"Two years ago we stunk on offense, and we were good on defense. Last year we stunk on defense but were pretty good on offense," said Brown. "Next year we're going to be older, everything's come together. We've got depth, the quarterback's older, he's been in that Oklahoma game two years. I finally think that all comes together and we're a lot better."
Remember Aaron Lynch? His new coach Willie Taggart likes his haircut. I wish that was a joke.
Q&A: USF coach Willie Taggart - Big East Blog - ESPN
Q: One of those kids is a pretty talented recruit, he had a great first year at Notre Dame, Aaron Lynch. What's it been like being around him so far, and how do you think not playing for a year has maybe put a bit of a chip on his shoulder?
WT: It's been fun being around Aaron. He's one of those guys, my first days on the job I sat down and talked with him, talked with him about expectations on this football team and him making himself better as a football player. And he's been committed to doing that. His winter conditioning has been great. Watching him go out and run and compete, making himself better. He's becoming a mature kid. He got married last year. He's one of the guys on the team that's married. He just came back from spring break and he cut all of his hair off, looks sharp now.
Virginia Tech Hokies embracing staff changes this spring - ESPN
I totally missed that Frank Beamer finally replaced Brian Stinespring as the Hokies Offensive Coordinator. I'm slipping. He didn't totally fire him though so the Deer Hunter can rest easy. He's still around. That's not awkward.
The highest-profile change was the hire of former Temple and Auburn offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler for the same position, but equally as important were the hires of former Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes and former Stanford wide receivers coach Aaron Moorehead -- two position groups that were at the heart of the Hokies' struggles last year and lacked physicality. Embattled offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring, the main target of the fans’ wrath over the years, has been reassigned to recruiting coordinator, and he will continue to coach the tight ends.
Notre Dame researchers scoring a win-win with novel set of concussion diagnostic tools // News // Notre Dame News // University of Notre Dame
If you see Notre Dame players talking into a tablet on the sidelines next fall you will know why.
The system sounds simple enough: An individual speaks into a tablet equipped with the Notre Dame program before and after an event. The two samples are then compared for TBI indicators, which include distorted vowels, hyper nasality and imprecise consonants.
NDFootball BK by Fighting Irish Athletics on Spotify
CBK has a curious lineup of jams on this playlist.
Notre Dame football recruiting: ND trip solidifies Hayes' choice - southbendtribune.com
It's always good to hear recruits talk about having a great experience on campus. It sounds like Jay Hayes really enjoyed his first trip last weekend.
"It was off the charts," Hayes said. "It's a great school, great institution. Just to be there in person is amazing. Seeing the Basilica, the field, tapping the sign, putting on the jersey, all of those things and talking to the coaches -- it's definitely a place where I'm wanted and it's definitely a family there. I really enjoyed it."
Notre Dame football: Absolutes emerge in early stages - southbendtribune.com
There are several interesting tidbits in this Eric Hansen piece. He talks about Malik Zaire, Amir Carlisle, Troy Niklas, the inside linebackers, Sheldon Day and picking up the pace on offense.
"We were deficient in areas offensively last year, and one of them was our inability to play fast, so that is definitely a part of where we want to go. We want to be much more unpredictable offensively, and I think this is going to help us."
I really like that last picking up the pace part.
Chase Hounshell and Amir Carlisle suffer injuries | Inside the Irish
I really hope these two can shake the injury bug over the summer. For the time being let's just hope they have been tremendously unlucky thus far.
Spring practice video breakdown: Part two | Inside the Irish
On a better note Keith's practice video breakdowns are always a good time.
Notre Dame Football To Wear Camo Uniforms In 2013 | Subway Domer
Subway Domer is still obsessed with the Camo.
Dark Side of Green: A History of Notre Dame's QB Exodus
I really enjoyed this post. Be warned it did depress me a little bit though.
While "Dissecting [the] epidemic of QB transferitis" in South Bend over the past 15 years, Eric Hansen flagged an amazing stat in the South Bend Tribune: "Of the 22 scholarship quarterbacks who have matriculated to ND since the end of the coach Lou Holtz Era, starting with Zak Kustok in 1997, only two have finished their careers as Notre Dame quarterbacks with no eligibility remaining. "Brady Quinn and [Evan] Sharpley are those two." We thought it was time to look back on those 22 quarterbacks; a drop back into history that many Irish fans won't enjoy.
What else? Davonte Neal has left the program but Murtaugh already told you about that. He has you covered on the Notre Dame Pro Day too.
What does our esteemed commentariat think about all of this?