NCAA Briefings

[Durango53]

O-Coordinator Norm Chow has reportedly accepted a similar job with the NFL’s Tennessee Titans; Jeff Fisher, the Titans’ head coach, will officially announce the hiring at a news conference later today …
ACC

Florida State
Sophomore-to-be DT Chris Bradwell, who had been suspended indefinitely last Friday after being arrested for marijuana possession on Thursday, has been permanently removed from the team as of this past Monday …

Big Ten

Minnesota
Head coach Glen Mason has promoted strength and condition coach Luke Tressel to be the new wide receivers coach; Tressel is the nephew of Ohio State head coach Jim Tressel …
SEC

LSU
An Oklahoma City television station has reported that Oklahoma Sooners co-defensive coordinator Bo Pelini has accepted a job offer to become the new D-coordinator for the Bayou Bengals …

Mississippi State
Junior starting safety Darren Williams has been dismissed from the Bulldogs program, due to an undisclosed violation of team rules; Williams joins several other players who were on the team in 2004, but will not be returning in 2005 …
Misc

--Prep recruit Ricky Jean-Francois (CFN’s No. 3 DE & No. 30 overall) is still deciding between LSU and USF; He is expected to make a decision by the end of this week …

[Durango53]

Big XII

Colorado
Former CU national championship winning QB Darian Hagan has been added to head coach Gary Barnett’s staff; Hagan worked on the staff last year as an intern, but will occupy a full-time spot as a general offensive assistant in 2005 …

Texas
Senior DT Larry Dibbles, senior RB Selvin Young, and sophomore CB Erick Jackson will not be participating in the Longhorns spring drills, which begin on Feb. 25; Reasons for each players absence have not been disclosed, but it appears to be due to academic issues … Austin American-Statesman …

Big Ten

Illinois
New head coach Ron Zook has hired Ed Zaunbrecher to coach the Illini QB’s; Zaunbrecher ran Zook’s offense at Florida from 2002-03; then spent last season as the Gators’ QB’s coach …

Michigan
Junior DT Larry Harrison Jr. has been ordered to stand trial on four felony counts of indecent exposure …

Wisconsin
Paul Chryst has decided to resign his O-coordinator post at Oregon State and will join the Badgers staff; Chryst spent the past two seasons running the Beaver offense, but will now contribute to Wisconsin offense, which is run by Brian White …
Pac-10

UCLA
All three starting LB’s will miss spring drills due to off-season arthroscopic surgery; Seniors Spencer Havner (right shoulder), Justin London (right ankle), and Wesley Walker (right knee) are all expected to be healthy for fall camp …

Misc

--The NCAA’s Football Rules Committee is proposing that instant replay be used in all games during the 2005 season; The Big Ten’s 2004 experiment was received well by other conferences, many of which have already expressed an interest in using replay for the upcoming season …

--SMU & North Texas, which are separated by just less than 40 miles, will renew a rivalry with a home-and-home series beginning in 2006; UNT hosts the Sept. 9 contest in 2006, then SMU entertains on Sept. 8, 2007 …

--Former Tennessee WR/QB James Banks has returned home to Indiana to attend Franklin College; Banks will try to improve his grades before deciding whether to transfer to another D1-A university or opt for a D1-AA, Division II, or Division III school …

--The Memphis/Ole Miss season-opening contest has been penciled in for an ESPN Labor Day game …

[Durango53]

Southern California and Fresno State will hook-up on Nov. 19 of this year; The game, which will take place at the Coliseum, was finalized this past weekend … Orange County Register

Big XII

Iowa State
2004 freshman standout WR Todd Blythe tore the ACL in his left knee during workouts last week and will be out of action until two-a-days, at the very least; Blythe will have surgery later this month … Des Moines Register

Kansas
Head coach Mark Mangino has hired Tim Beck to be the new WR’s coach, and John Reagan to be the new O-line coach … Lawrence Journal-World

Texas A&M
Senior starting WR Jason Carter was arrested this past weekend on charges of disorderly conduct; Carter, who was a partial qualifier in 2001, would be eligible to play one more season if he can graduate by the end of this summer … Dallas Morning News

Big Ten

Michigan/Michigan State
Stadium expansion plans are in the works at both institutions; Luxury boxes will be part of the mix for both schools … The Detroit News

Penn State
The University raises ticket prices for its 2005 single-game and season-ticket packages … Centre Daily Times

Independents

Notre Dame
New head coach Charlie Weis lays down the ground rules for the student body during an early morning 40-minute pep talk on Monday … Chicago Tribune

Pac-10

Southern California
Head coach Pete Carroll has hired New York Giants assistant Pat Ruel to be the Trojans’ O-line coach; Ruel has 31 years coaching experience between the NFL and the collegiate level … L.A. Daily News

Stanford
Tom Hayes has been hired to be the team’s D-coordinator and secondary coach; Hayes has coached at UCLA, Oklahoma, and Kansas, in addition to spending five years with the Washington Redskins … Seattle Times

Sun Belt

North Texas
Senior RB Patrick Cobbs was back on the practice field Monday, as the Mean Green kicked-off spring practices; Cobbs led the nation in rushing in 2003 but missed most of 2004 with a knee injury … Denton Record Chronicle

[Durango53]

Auburn signs Tuberville to an extension
Head coach Tommy Tuberville has signed a new seven-year deal, which will pay him $2 million this season and an additional $200,000 each year thereafter; The deal also has buyout clauses which begin at $7 million for the first two years and $3 million during the final year of the contract … Associated Press

ACC

Miami
The Hurricanes announce spring practice dates and spring game; Practice will kick-off on March 8 and the spring game will be on April 9; Due to renovations/maintenance to the Orange Bowl, the spring game will be held at Lockhart Stadium in Fort Lauderdale … Miami Herald

North Carolina
Head coach John Bunting has added two assistants to his staff; Dave Brock will be the new WR’s coach and Tommy Thigpen will coach the LB’s; Brock was the O-coordinator at Temple for the past three seasons, whereas Thigpen was at Illinois; Bunting also shuffled positions among his current staff … The News & Observer

Big XII

Oklahoma
Sooner PK Trey DiCarlo, who was a finalist for the Lou Groza Award in 2003, has decided to hang up his football cleats; DiCarlo lost his starting job last season, but indicated that wasn’t the reason for his decision … Daily Oklahoman

Texas Tech
A contract extension could be head coach Mike Leach’s future … Lubbock Avalanche-Journal … Senior DE Sione Havili has decided to leave the program and return home to play for Weber State (Utah) for his final season of eligibility; Havili played sparingly on defense for the Red Raiders, and will most likely play on the other side of the ball at DI-AA Weber State … Lubbock Avalanche-Journal

Big East

USF
The Bulls’ star 2005 recruit Carlton Hill (CFN’s No. 34 QB) has been suspended indefinitely from his high school; Hill, 19, was allegedly having consensual sex with a 16year-old female student in one of the rooms at the high school; He has not been charged, but will remain suspended until the school can complete its investigation … Tampa Tribune

Big Ten

Michigan
Wolverines’ D-line coach Bill Sheridan has accepted a position with the New York Giants, where he will serve as the team’s LB’s coach … Detroit Free Press

Mountain West

Air Force
Pete Hurt has been hired as the Falcons’ new O-line coach; Hurt has been the head coach and athletic director at a Mississippi high school for the past three seasons, but prior to that, he was the head coach at DI-AA Samford for nearly eight seasons … Denver Post

Pac-10

Southern California
Star TB Reggie Bush will have arthroscopic surgery today on his shoulder; The procedure is expected to sideline him for three-to-four weeks, which may cause Bush to miss the start of spring practices … L.A. Daily News

UCLA
Bruins’ D-line coach and recruiting coordinator Don Johnson has accepted a D-line coaching position with the NFL’s Chicago Bears; Head coach Karl Dorrell will attempt to fill the void before spring practice kicks-off next Tuesday … Orange County Register

SEC

Alabama
Standout QB Brodie Croyle, who had his 2004 season ended by an ACL injury to his right knee, will be able to participate in spring practices, but his actions will be limited; Several other members of the team will be taking it easy when practices begin next Tuesday … Associated Press


LSU
The Tigers have added its 11th home game against DI-AA Appalachian State, at home, on Nov. 5 … The Times Picayune

Misc.

-- The ACC and Mountain West will experiment with the use of instant replay during the 2005 season; The use of replay will be structured similar to the Big Ten’s trial run from last season … Miami Herald … San Diego Union-Tribune

[Durango53]

Tennessee center hurt
Projected starting center Richie Gandy (senior) suffered a torn ACL in his left knee last week during an intramural hoops game, and his 2005 season is now in doubt; Gandy will have surgery in the next few days and head coach Phillip Fulmer is hoping to have him for at least part of the upcoming season … The Tennessean

ACC

Clemson
WR’s Michael Collins and Gerald McCloud will not be with the Tigers next season; Collins (senior) had to quit due to injury, whereas McCloud (junior) is transferring in hopes of finding more playing time … The State

Maryland
WR’s coach James Franklin has left the Terps to take a similar position with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers … Washington Times

N.C. State
Steve Dunlap has been hired as the Pack’s new D-coordinator; Dunlap had spent the previous four seasons on Paul Pasqualoni’s staff at Syracuse … Raleigh News & Observer

Big XII

Nebraska
Junior DT Brandon Teamer has left the football team due to personal seasons; He will, however, remain in school to pursue his degree … Lincoln Journal-Star

Oklahoma
Georgia DE’s coach Jon Fabris has accepted a similar position on the Sooners’ staff … Athens Banner-Herald

Big Ten

Minnesota
Head coach Glen Mason has promoted secondary coach David Lockwood to D-coordinator; Lockwood was the interim D-coordinator during the Gophers’ Music City Bowl victory over Alabama last December … Minneapolis Star Tribune

Ohio State
Co-defensive coordinator and DB’s coach Mel Tucker has accepted a position with the NFL’s Cleveland Browns; Tucker will join new head coach Romeo Crennel and will serve as the Browns’ DB’s coach … Cleveland Browns Official Web Site

Pac-10

UCLA
Head coach Karl Dorrell has named Thurmond Moore as the Bruins’ new D-line coach; Moore was the secondary coach at Tulsa last season, and was the D-coordinator at the University of Buffalo from 2001-2003 … L.A. Times

SEC

Kentucky
Senior LB Dustin Williams, who was expected to start at MLB next season, has decided to leave the team; Williams college career has been hampered by injuries, but he indicated that his reason for leaving was due to a strained relationship with an unnamed coach on the Wildcats’ staff … Lexington Herald-Leader … The Courier-Journal