sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Late National Letter of Intent Day!
One of the most exciting moments for a student-athlete is receiving a verbal scholarship offer. Years of hard work have led to this moment. However, nothing is official until you sign the National Letter of Intent (NLI.) Not every school uses the NLI—about 650 NCAA DI and DII schools—and it’s not mandatory to sign. The National Letter of Intent is not affiliated directly with the NCAA; it was created by the Collegiate Commissioners Association to protect both the college and student from either party backing out.
SU News
Axe: Did Dino Babers save the SU football offseason? (PS; Axe)
Take a breath, Dino Babers. You’ve earned it.
Babers has spent the last few weeks putting out fires around his Syracuse University football program.
First, there was the Zach Arnett hire-oh-just-kidding-I’m-leaving-for-Mississippi State debacle.
Reports indicate, and Syracuse is expected to confirm at or before a noon signing day presser on Wednesday, that Tony White has accepted the position as defensive coordinator for Babers.
White comes to Syracuse from Arizona State, where he was promoted to defensive coordinator in December after coaching the defensive backs the past two seasons under head coach Herm Edwards.
Arnett was a promising pick as defensive coordinator, but White was reportedly Babers’ first choice for the gig. In a radio interview with the Burns and Gambo show in Phoenix, White said the opportunity to move back to New York to be closer to his mother in Queens factored into his decision to leave Arizona State.
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Syracuse hires Tony White as defensive coordinator (247sports.com; McAllister)
Syracuse reportedly has its defensive coordinator, and it is the man that was their top target during the original search. The Orange have brought in Tony White from Arizona State. White was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Sun Devils just over six weeks ago. He was the original top target of Syracuse head coach Dino Babers back in December, sources tell SunDevilSource, the Arizona State site on the 247Sports network.
More form SunDevilSource:
"According to multiple sources, Syracuse coach Dino Babers initially targeted White in December before hiring then-San Diego State coordinator Zach Arnett to fill the position. When Arnett left just weeks later to become the defensive coordinator for Mike Leach at Mississippi State, Babers returned to White with a significant boost in his salary offer and White accepted."
When Syracuse hired Arnett, who subsequently left for Mississippi State, the big attraction was the 3-3-5 defense that has been so successful at San Diego State. White brings that same scheme to Syracuse, making them a potential matchup nightmare on both sides of the ball for opposing teams.
Stay up to date with the Orange and their recruiting efforts by taking five seconds to sign up for our FREE newsletter now!
White coached the defensive backs at Arizona State for two season before being promoted to defensive coordinator. He helped the Sun Devils defense improve from 99th or worse in scoring defense up to 39th. White was named as the Mountain West Recruiter of the Year by At their request, this network is being blocked from this site. twice, and a top five non power five recruiter in the country during his time at San Diego State prior to coaching at Arizona State. White was an assistant under Rocky Long at both San Diego State and New Mexico, giving him extensive experience running the 3-3-5 defense.
COMMENTS
White's mom reportedly lives in New York (Queens), so this move gives him an opportunity to be closer to her. White has extensive experience as a defensive backs coach and linebackers coach. He coached linebackers at New Mexico, including, ironically, coaching Zach Arnett. White also played linebacker and was a three year starter at UCLA. White finished his playing career in 2000, and was a graduate assistant with the Bruins in 2007 when Dino Babers was on staff.
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Syracuse hires former Arizona State coach Tony White as defensive coordinator (DO; Crane)
Syracuse has hired Arizona State’s defensive coordinator Tony White for the same position, according to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel. The move comes less than two weeks after recently-hired Zach Arnett vacated SU’s defensive coordinator position by leaving for Mississippi State.
Sources: Syracuse is hiring ASU DC Tony White as the defensive coordinator. He brings Syracuse the unique 3-3-5 defense from his time at San Diego State, which Dino Babers has targeted for his program.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 5, 2020
White — who was just promoted to ASU defensive coordinator in Dec. 2019 after two seasons as the Sun Devils’ cornerbacks coach and defensive passing game coordinator — deploys the same 3-3-5 scheme that Arnett would’ve brought to the Orange. It’s a switch from the 4-3 scheme that Syracuse head coach Dino Babers has run in his five years at Syracuse.
Before White arrived at Arizona State, its defense ranked 99th or lower for three-straight seasons in scoring defense. During those years, White commanded San Diego State’s secondary that ranked 11th and 15th in the country for total defense and passing yards allowed per game in 2017, respectively. In 2019 — White’s second year in Tempe — the Sun Devils’ improved to 39th and only allowed 23.1 points per game.
At Syracuse, White will inherit a secondary that returns defensive backs Andre Cisco, Trill Williams and primary backup safety Eric Coley. The Orange are coming off a 5-7 season where both conference and nonconference opponents carved up SU’s defense, leading to the firing of former defensive coordinator Brian Ward after the Nov. 2 Boston College loss. Arnett was initially hired on Jan. 11 to replace Steve Stanard’s interim role, but then left despite signing an offer sheet, according to Syracuse.com’s Nate Mink.
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ASU Football: Pierce, Lewis named CO-Defensive Coordinators, DC Tony White leaves for Syracuse (houseofsparky.com; Vernon)
It bit of shocking news on Tuesday, the Arizona State Sun Devils will be switching defensive coordinators again. As reported by Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports, recently named defensive coordinator Tony White will leave for Syracuse in the same position.
White was promoted in December from defensive backs coach to the position after former Danny Gonzales left to be the head coach at New Mexico. At that same time, linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce was named associate head coach.
Pierce along with advisor Marvin Lewis were announced to be the new co-defensive coordinators for Arizona State. It’s been known that Pierce has had a bit of a tougher time adapting to the 3-3-5 system, and with Lewis having a background away from that scheme, there’s a good assumption the Sun Devils will use less of it moving forward.
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Herm Edwards Reportedly Loses Top Assistant To ACC Program (thespun.com; McCarty)
Herm Edwards and the Arizona State Sun Devils are reportedly losing a top assistant coach. According to a report from college football insider Pete Thamel, Arizona State defensive coordinator Tony White is leaving for the same position with the Syracuse Orange.
It’s an interesting move for White, who landed the defensive coordinator position following the 2019 season.
The Sun Devils lost former DC Danny Gonzales earlier this offseason. He took over as the new head coach at New Mexico. White stepped in, but won’t coach a game as the DC of the Sun Devils.
Here’s the report from Thamel.
“Syracuse is hiring ASU DC Tony White as the defensive coordinator. He brings Syracuse the unique 3-3-5 defense from his time at San Diego State, which Dino Babers has targeted for his program,” Thamel reported.
Sources: Syracuse is hiring ASU DC Tony White as the defensive coordinator. He brings Syracuse the unique 3-3-5 defense from his time at San Diego State, which Dino Babers has targeted for his program.
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 5, 2020
With White off to the ACC, a familiar name will reportedly step in as the new co-defensive coordinator.
According to a report from Doug Haller of the Athletic, former NFL head coach Marvin Lewis will be the co-defensive coordinator. He and former New York Giants linebacker Antonio Pierce will split duties.
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National Signing Day II: What to Expect From Syracuse – Orange Fizz – Free Syracuse Recruiting News (orangefizz.net; Leonard)
National Signing Day two is upon us Wednesday. Three Syracuse commits are expected to sign and one target is set to make his decision. Here’s what you need to know about the big day for the Orange. Let’s start with the three set to sign.
QB: Dillon Markiewicz (McKinney North, McKinney, TX)
Size: 6-4.5, 215
Ranking: 1967th, 3-star, 82.5 overall (via 247sports.com)
Other Offers: Boise State, Stephen F. Austin
Dallas area QB lacks ratings and an impressive offer sheet, but presents plenty of upside based on his size and arm strength. Late bloomer who put up record numbers in one of high school footballs hotbed areas of the country as part of an air-raid style offense in his only year as starter. Committed to Syracuse right after visiting on Jan. 22nd. New OC/QB coach Sterlin Gilbert is a big reason why he chose SU, according to Mike McAlister of 247sports.com. Has solid mobility for his size as well. Baylor expressed interest late. Syracuse the only reported P5 offer.
QB: Jacobian Morgan (Canton, Canton, MS)
Size: 6-4, 200— Jacobian Morgan ‘20 (@jacobian_morgan) November 22, 2019
Ranking: 2276th, 3-star, 81.5 (via 247sports.com)
Other Offers: Jackson State, Austin Peay
Morgan, like Markiewicz, is an upside prospect based on his height and frame of 6’4, 200. He also lacked an impressive offer sheet with no P5 offers. Committed on Jan 26th. Dino said he wanted to be more stealthy about who they were going after at the quarterback position. Virtually no one, according to reports out there, was going after Morgan at P5 level. But, his highlight tape and size, like Markiewicz, suggests he has potential.
S: Chase Atkinson (Blythewood, Blythewood, SC)
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Syracuse football is attempting to lure a versatile 3-star DB on NSD (itlh; Esden Jr)
Syracuse football hopes to add a 3-star versatile defensive back on National Signing Day. Here are all the details and what it could mean for 2020.
Ahead of National Signing Day, the Syracuse football team is trying to put the final touches on its 2020 recruiting class.
One name to monitor is Jahad Carter.
The 3-star defensive back has the ability to play either corner or safety at the collegiate level. That versatility would be a welcomed addition to the Orange, especially considering the array of injuries the team endured during the 2019 season.
Last weekend he received an official offer from the Orange and is strongly considering them ahead of NSD. Although Syracuse isn’t the only team in pursuit, they join a list of teams that features Marshall, Texas Tech, Florida Atlantic, and his hometown Virginia Tech Hokies that have also presented him offers.
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Success builds confidence for Louisville football's offseason (si.com; Draut)
Louisville football has some confidence created by success this offseason.
The program is an entirely different state after Scott Satterfield’s first season as the team’s head coach. Louisville won its first bowl game since 2015 with a victory over Mississippi State in the Music City Bowl, finished second in the ACC Atlantic Division and ended the year with eight wins.
Louisville had its first road win over ranked team since 2011 with a victory over Wake Forest in October along with beating Virginia, the Coastal Division winner, later in the month. Satterfield thought the Cardinals showed they belonged in the ACC by finishing with five wins and hitting several milestones.
“All those things gave us a little bit of confidence, and then you take that into the offseason, now we’re working for a purpose,” Satterfield said. “These guys are working to compete for this championship, that’s what we are striving to do. We have a long ways to go, we are nowhere near that yet, but we know that we can see it.”
This offseason won’t start as slowly because the Cardinals aren’t starting from scratch. Satterfield said the team will still scale back some to focus on fundamentals, but expects Louisville to enhance things later on.
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ACC College Football Recruiting: Team Rankings, Top Players, Biggest Strengths, What's Missing (CFN; Fiutak)
Every ACC Team’s Star Recruit
Boston College
OT Kevin Pyne, 6-7, 275 – A big body tackle who decided early on to go to BC, and was locked in through the coaching change to be the anchor for the Jeff Hafley era.
Key Schools In The Running: Florida State, Virginia Tech
Clemson
QB DJ Uiagalelei, 6-5, 235 – DT Bryan Bresee and RB Demarkcus Bowman are right there, but Uiagalelei is the Next Big Thing quarterback. It’s not crazy to suggest that Clemson got another Trevor Lawrence, but bigger.
Key Schools In The Running: Oregon, Georgia, USC
Duke
WR Jontavis Robertson, 5-11, 190 – The speedster can be used as a runner as well as a receiver, with a shifty style and the upside to be return man. He’ll be a fun offensive playmaker used in a variety of ways.
Key Schools In The Running: Tennessee, Indiana
Florida State
CB Demorie Tate, 6-1, 189 – Really, really fast. He’s an elite speedster with tremendous quickness and the size to be the next great FSU defensive back. He was locked in at FSU early on, and he’s the cornerstone new piece for the new coaching staff.
Key Schools In The Running: Auburn, Alabama, Georgia
Georgia Tech
CB Miles Brooks, 6-2, 185 – A nice get in the program’s turnaround, he’s a big, physical leader who has a nose for the ball. There might be some thought to turning him into a safety, but he’s a lockdown corner.
Key Schools In The Running: Oklahoma, Florida, Georgia
Louisville
LB Kameron Wilson, 6-2, 210 – He might be built like a safety, but he can fly. Once he gets a little time in the weight room, he’ll show off his great range while being groomed into a pass rusher.
Key Schools In The Running: Oklahoma, Maryland, Virginia Tech
Miami
S Keshawn Washington, 6-1, 175 – He’s not big, but he’s got range and he has the thump. In a big, great group of defensive backs, he’s the standout star who should be one of the new leaders.
Key Schools In The Running: Florida State, Georgia Tech, Auburn
North Carolina
WR Josh Downs, 5-11, 170 – The star of a fantastic class of receivers, he’s a game-breaking playmaker with next-level athleticism. A phenomenal high school track star who can jump out of the stadium, he might make an instant impact.
Key Schools In The Running: Georgia Tech, Penn State, NC State
NC State
WR Porter Rooks, 6-1, 190 – A devastating playmaker who knows how to hit the home run, he has the size, the deep speed, and the nose for the end zone to quickly turn into the team’s No. 1 target.
Key Schools In The Running: Florida State, Tennessee, Michigan
Pitt
DE Dayon Hayes, 6-3, 250 – The local guy stuck around. Yet another great pass rusher to add to the fantastic mix of guys who know how to get into the backfield, he’s a devastating playmaker in the backfield coming off an unstoppable senior year.
Key Schools In The Running: Syracuse, West Virginia, Virginia Tech
Syracuse
WR Damien Alford, 6-5, 210 – Let’s get this passing game going again. The Canadian is a very big matchup nightmare the the athleticism the make himself even bigger with his leaping ability.
Key Schools In The Running: Kentucky, Florida State, Miami
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Clemson dominating the ACC on field and recruiting trail (theclemsoninsider.com; Oliver)
for gbo
Clemson continues to dominate the ACC not only on the football field, but the recruiting trail as well.
Entering today’s National Signing Day, the Tigers owned the second-highest ranked 2020 recruiting class in the country according to Rivals and the No. 3 class according to the 247Sports Composite.
Going into National Signing Day, no other ACC team had a 2020 class ranked in the top 16 of the 247Sports Composite rankings. Miami was No. 17 entering the day, followed by North Carolina at No. 18 and Florida State at No. 20.
At the start of NSD, only four of the other 10 teams in the conference occupied a spot in the top 50 of the 247Sports Composite rankings: Georgia Tech (No. 26), NC State (No. 39), Louisville (No. 40) and Pittsburgh (No. 46).
Breaking down the ACC’s 2020 recruiting classes further, Clemson was the only team in the league entering NSD with a five-star prospect on board – the Tigers have five of them, while the rest of the ACC has zero.
Clemson also has 12 four-star prospects in its 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite, three more than any other team in the conference had heading into NSD.
The Tigers’ average star rating according to Rivals is 3.91, third best in the country behind Georgia (4.04) and Alabama (3.96). Miami had the ACC’s second highest average star rating entering NSD at 3.57 (12th highest nationally).
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WATCH: Clemson AD talks ACC network, Ostarine 'outlier' and gold medal success (tigernet.com; video; Staff)
for gbo
Clemson athletic director Dan Radakovich hit on a number of subjects in a press conference during Clemson football's media day on Tuesday.
Among the subjects addressed was if the program would make any changes in its policies after the suspensions of three football players during the College Football Playoff (and into the next season for tight end Braden Galloway) for testing positive for trace elements of Ostarine.
"I think that we've always looked at a very robust and fundamentally-sound drug testing program," Radakovich said. "How we get our supplements into our student-athletes' hands - but this was such an outlier. We always look to solidify policies and procedures in this realm or others - and we continue to do that.
"I couldn't say that there's one point that we've taken from this."
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Coaching News - 2/5/20 (RX; HM)
Coaching News - 2/5/20
Syracuse gets serious about defense after losing their man to Mississippi State...
Syracuse football to hire Tony White as defensive coordinator
White comes to Syracuse from Arizona State, where he was promoted to defensive coordinator in December after coaching the defensive backs the past two seasons under head coach Herm Edwards. White knows the 3-3-5 defense, which Head Coach Dino Babers wants to implement at Syracuse. Bigger than that: the Orange hired a sitting DC from another power conference school. OK, it was a Pac-12 school, but still...
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Luke Fickell leads Michigan State's five best coaching candidates to replace Mark Dantonio
Leading Candidates to replace Dantonio:
- Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
- Pat Narduzzi, Pitt
- Matt Campbell, Iowa State
- Lance Leipold, Buffalo
- Robert Saleh, 49ers defensive coordinator
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More Games in Week Zero? (RX; HM)
More Games in Week Zero?
ESPN's GameDay heading to Dublin for Notre Dame vs. Navy in 2020Notre Dame-Navy is one of the oldest rivalries in college football. Next year's game will be the 94th since 1927. The Midshipmen and Fighting Irish will play Saturday, Aug. 29, at Aviva Stadium. GameDay will start at 11 a.m. ET, three hours before kickoff on ESPN. The game is part of the network's new deal with the American Athletic Conference.
Of course, Navy and Notre Dame needed an NCAA waiver to play in week zero, but there is a joint proposal from the AAC, ACC and Pac 12 to allow ALL future teams that play a regular season game in a foreign country to play their first game in week zero.
Here's the actual proposal:
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They also serve... (RX; HM)
They also serve...
"They also serve who only stand and wait" - John Milton
Meaning: even those with limited abilities have a place in the world.
No, this is not a literature lesson - it's about whether the other members of the ACC have helped Clemson and Florida State succeed in football, or did those two succeed despite the rest?
I know some Tiger and Seminole fans will simply say that their teams have done it on their own and that the other teams haven't contributed anything. Harsh - and not accurate in my opinion. Why not?
On the other hand, sometimes fans of one of the other ACC teams will say that they help the champs by... losing? Let me make one thing clear: in my opinion, the idea that the ACC helps Clemson and/or FSU by losing to them is ridiculous... even if it helps them, that's certainly no selling point!
However, I happen to think the rest of the ACC has contributed in football (not so much in 2019, mind you, but in the past, when it mattered most). How, you ask? In at least 3 ways...
1. By bringing a lot of football tradition (i.e. Syracuse, Pitt, Miami and Georgia Tech won a combined 8 national championships in football from 1959 to 2001), it helped to guarantee that the other "power" conferences would give the ACC a seat at the big boy table. (It's worth noting that prior to the creation of the CFP in 2012-13, Florida State and Clemson had a combined 3 national championships between them; since then, those two have won 3 more titles). In addition, various ACC teams have played in and lost championships. (see https://accfootballrx.blogspot.com/searc...mpionships)
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Other
Mike Shatzel’s Buffalo restaurant empire of good eats, spirits (PS; Eisenberg)
On a Sunday morning in early December, Mike Shatzel, the owner of Cole’s—the long-standing Elmwood Avenue restaurant and bar—fired one of his line cooks. The employee didn’t take it well. He stabbed Shatzel in the hip with a knife, wounding him. As news traveled about the incident, the formidable head of the Shatzel Group of restaurants quickly posted on Facebook: “Thank you everyone for your well wishes. I am already home and recovering well and quickly. Just a reminder, Cole’s gift certificates make great holiday gifts.” He ended the post with a smiley-face emoji.
The restaurants that Shatzel owns or is a partner in are so woven into the fabric of Buffalo and Western New York dining life that you’d be hard pressed to miss hitting at least one during a visit here. From Allentown hamburger joints and above-average pub food, to outer ring Irish bars and a Canalside joint with lake views, the Shatzel presence is strong in this region. (Mike is the third generation of Shatzels to stake their claim in the Buffalo food scene.)
Many of these places consistently show up on regional year-end “Best of” lists for their hamburgers, so we’re just going to state that right here, rather than repeating it in each of the following highlights. Here is an overview.
Allen Burger Venture
175 Allen Street
Buffalo, NY 14201
716-768-0386
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