sutomcat
No recent Cali or Iggy awards; Mr Irrelevant
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Welcome to Library Shelfie Day!
You know what a selfie is, but have you heard of a shelfie? Held on the fourth Wednesday of January since 2014, Library Shelfie Day was created by the New York Public Library. On the day, book lovers share selfies of themselves in front of library shelves and in front of shelves of their personal book collections. These photos are known as shelfies and are shared on social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter using the hashtag #LibraryShelfie. Workers at public libraries put out shelfie posts through their library's social media accounts as well.
SU News
Alijah Clark Discusses Syracuse Commitment (SI; McAllister)
Syracuse football picked up a big transfer portal commitment on Tuesday when former Rutgers defensive back Alijah Clark pledged Orange. Clark spent one year at Rutgers after signing with the Scarlet Knights as part of the 2021 recruiting class. Despite being expected to start next season, Clark wanted to look for a new opportunity.
"I just wanted to go somewhere it was going to be fun to play football at," Clark said. "After having a discussion with the (Syracuse) coaches, I just felt like that's an environment I feel as though I'm going to thrive in."
After entering the portal, Clark announced offers from Louisville and West Virginia. He also took visits to Temple and Missouri. After speaking with the Syracuse coaches, however, he knew where he wanted to continue his college career.
"It was probably a couple days after I entered the portal," Clark said. "They pretty much said coming here is not a guarantee. Nothing is handed to you. Everything, you've got to work for. They said if you want to come here and compete to play, that's what I'm doing. I'm going there to compete to play and start and just make a better future for myself."
Clark's high school teammate is already at Syracuse in Freshman All-American Duce Chestnut. Clark says Chestnut wants him to experience life at SU himself.
"He actually didn't tell me anything," Clark said. "He wanted me to experience it myself. He said it's a cool experience it myself. It's a cool experience to figure out so he didn't want to spoil it for me."
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FAU football: Former offensive coordinator Michael Johnson leaves for Syracuse )palmbeachpost.com; Weinberger)
Former Florida Atlantic offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Michael Johnson has been hired as the wide receivers coach at Syracuse in a move first reported by ESPN's Pete Thamel.
Johnson was the Owls' offensive coordinator last season, replacing Clint Trickett and calling plays for the FAU offense. He'd been intended to serve as co-OC with Drew Mehringer in 2021, but Mehringer left in the offseason to serve as passing game coordinator/quarterbacks coach at New Mexico.
The Owls’ offense ranked sixth in Conference USA for total offense last season. The unit averaged 151.8 rushing yards per game and 248.7 passing yards per game.
An FAU university spokesperson told The Palm Beach Post last week that Johnson was going to be moved to tight ends coach for the Owls for the upcoming season. He would be replacing Jon Bills as position coach.
Michael Johnson and family
Why New WR Coach Michael Johnson Is a Key Addition for SU – Orange Fizz – Daily Syracuse Recruiting News & Team Coverage (orangefizz.net)
Tuesday morning CFB Insider Pete Thamel tweeted Syracuse had added FAU’s Michael Johnson to its coaching staff. Even though some may overlook the importance of a positional coach, Orange fans should pay attention to this. Johnson has experience as a hungry recruiter at bigger programs, and as an offensive coordinator in the NFL. This is a key add for Dino Babers.
Johnson had joined FAU a year ago to coach his son, and reunite with Willie Taggart. But SU has poached a guy with bigger resume items than C-USA. He was a QB at Akron in the late-’80s and played professionally in the World League and the CFL. His coaching career has taken him through some big jobs, especially with the 49ers.
In 2010 he rose to OC under Mike Singletary, but before that he was the QB Coach for Doug Flutie in his renaissance in San Diego, and Michael Vick’s best years in Atlanta. Vick made the Pro Bowl in 2 of the 3 seasons Johnson coached him.
He helped mentor Alex Smith in his time with the 49ers, and then headed to the college ranks. He was the OC at UCLA. He helped reel in the #5 class in the nation at Oregon in December ’18. That year he also guided the wideouts to one of the best seasons in program history. He moved to Mississippi State to coach the wideouts after that.
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Howie ’70, G’71 and Louise Phanstiel
$5 Million Gift to John A. Lally Athletics Complex Honors the Winning and Giving Spirit of Floyd Little (syr.edu; Korey)
As a member of the Syracuse University band, Howard “Howie” Phanstiel ’70, G’71, had an up-close view of the greatness of No. 44 Floyd Little ’67, H’16. From his seat on the sidelines, instrument in hand, Phanstiel vividly remembers the speed and determination Little displayed in carrying the football for the Orange. They were contemporaries as students who became friends later in life, bonded by their passion for their alma mater.
Now, Phanstiel and his wife, Louise Phanstiel, are paying tribute to the Syracuse University legend, pledging a $5 million gift to the Forever Orange campaign that will enhance the student-athlete experience in alignment with the vision of the $150 million fundraising initiative recently announced by the Department of Athletics. In recognition of the Phanstiels’ generosity, an atrium entryway commonly referred to as the Little Atrium will be named in honor of Little.
The couple’s latest gift continues an extraordinary legacy of philanthropy from the Phanstiels. Howie, a Life Trustee, and Louise, a Voting Trustee, continue to serve the University and its students in countless ways, including a decade of scholarship support to more than 80 Phanstiel Scholars through a program designed to encourage students to balance community service with their academic pursuits.
Phanstiel says that Little embodied service to community and dedication to others throughout his lifetime. Little passed away on Jan. 1, 2021, at the age of 78 after nearly a year of battling cancer. “He was a fierce competitor on the field,” says Phanstiel of Little, the three-time all-American who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010. “Off the field, Floyd was gentle, kind and a very engaged and giving person. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to help Syracuse University. Floyd and his wife, DeBorah, bled Orange, giving back in every way they could.”
Phanstiel says that he and Louise began thinking about making a gift in Little’s honor long before they knew he was ill with pancreatic cancer. They often worked together on capital campaigns and initiatives that would strengthen the football program. “Floyd always demonstrated the work ethic and the commitment required to achieve goals. He was a great teammate, understanding the importance of everyone on the team. He was truly inspiring.”
Syracuse University Athletics Director John Wildhack says the gift from the Phanstiels is similarly inspiring. “Just as Floyd Little left a legacy, so are the Phanstiels. Floyd Little impacted so many people, not just by his passion for football, but through his mentorship of students and the guidance he imparted to our staff. He was always willing to share his time and his wisdom. By giving such a generous gift to the Lally Athletics Complex in Floyd Little’s name, the Phanstiels are keeping his spirit alive and reminding us of the best of Orange values and virtues.”
Wildhack added that the Phanstiels’ philanthropic support of the academic and athletic aspirations of student-athletes is aligned with the transformative vision behind the Lally Athletics Complex. The $150 million to be raised from private philanthropy will help transform the Manley Field House into the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, a state-of-the-art academic and athletics village. In the spring of 2022, the multi-million, multi-year project will get started with the construction of a new front entrance to the center for student-athlete life.
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ACC Football: 10 Toughest Players to Replace in 2022 (athlonsports.com; Kinne)
For the first time in the College Football Playoff era, no ACC team was selected to participate in the final four. The conference certainly had talent, but many of the league's best players were young. This bodes well for 2022 as stars like Sean Tucker of Syracuse, Sam Hartman at Wake Forest, and a large chunk of Clemson's nasty defense will return.
Still, the conference will have to replace several key contributors including a Heisman Trophy finalist. This is a list of 10 major contributors (alphabetical order) who have decided to move on from their respective ACC schools.
Andrew Booth Jr., CB, Clemson
Booth's freaky athleticism was on display at Clemson for three years. As he gained experience, his play became more consistent and NFL scouts have taken notice. Booth will surely be taken in the first round, and with Mario Goodrich also leaving for the next level, Clemson will have to replace two first-team All-ACC corners.Ty Chandler, RB, North Carolina
The transfer from Tennessee had the unenviable task of taking over for the ultra-productive duo of Michael Carter and Javonte Williams. In putting up 1,092 rushing yards and 14 total touchdowns, Chandler's one season in Chapel Hill was a huge success. British Brooks will be the leading returning rusher for the Heels in 2022, and he had just 295 yards, 63 of which came on one run in the Duke's Mayo Bowl.Mataeo Durant, RB, Duke
New Duke head coach Mike Elko faces a similar situation in his running back room. Durant was the Blue Devils' workhorse and then some, carrying the ball a league-high 255 times for 1,244 yards. A productive player during his years at Duke, Durant became a first-team All-ACC player as a senior.Ikem Ekwonu, OT, NC State
The Wolfpack will return quarterback Devin Leary, but someone has to protect his blind side, and it's doubtful that player will be as reliable as the unanimous All-American. Ekwonu made at least the All-ACC second team in each of his three collegiate seasons and will be one of the top linemen taken in April.Jahmyr Gibbs, RB, Georgia Tech
Gibbs may not heading for the NFL, but he is leaving the ACC. When the Georgia Tech season concluded, Gibbs announced that he was entering the transfer portal and shortly thereafter decided on Alabama. The Tide will be getting a dangerous three-way threat, a player who can run, catch, and return kicks.Sam Howell, QB, North Carolina
Entering the 2021 season, Howell was being talked about as a potential top overall draft pick. While this past season did not go quite as planned and he may even slip out of the first round, the Carolina quarterback still accounted for 35 total touchdowns and nearly 4,000 total yards.
Jermaine Johnson II, DE, Florida State
To think that the Georgia defense was that good and one of the best defensive players in America transferred out after 2020 is pretty crazy. Johnson would not have put up his impressive 2021 stats in Athens, but his play at FSU pushed him into first-round consideration.Kenny Pickett, QB, Pittsburgh
His was one of the great success stories of the 2021 campaign. Pickett had had a nice career at Pittsburgh from 2017 through 2020 and could have been selected somewhere at the bottom of the 2021 draft. But he decided to come back, finished third in the Heisman voting, and could now be the first quarterback chosen in this year.Cody Roscoe, DE, Syracuse
Roscoe played four years of college football and few fans of the game knew who he was. In three years at McNeese State and one at Syracuse, he was productive but hardly spectacular. That all changed this fall as he led the Orange with 8.5 sacks and 12.5 tackles for lost yardage....
2022 College Football Returning Production & Transfer Grades (actionnetwork.com; Wilson)
History was made when Georgia was crowned the national champion after a 41-year journey back to the top. As a consumer in Las Vegas with a considerable amount of investment on the Bulldogs, the spoils lasted well into the evening.
Most consumers tuck college football away and veer into college hoops or the NFL playoffs by mid-January, but my personal concern on an outbound flight from McCarran International was the transfer portal and returning production.
Off a COVID-tormented 2020 season of college athletics, The Action Network released the first-ever version of TARP.
Knowing the number of returning starters was a primary summer handicap a decade ago, producing the more in-depth returning production calculations in the playoff era.
But amateur football is transforming by the day. Players have entered the transfer portal at a furious pace with the evolution of immediate waivers and promises of NIL deals on the other side.
Thanks to an extended bowl menu, National Signing Day, spring games and Week Zero, the portal has made college football a 365-day handicap.
Introducing the Transferring Assets & Returning Production (TARP) System
With the number of moving parts in an unstable environment, offseason roster grading must adopt a Transferring Assets & Returning Production (TARP) system.Transfers will now have their statistics weighted to the balance of their new team’s rush-pass rate. For example: If former Illinois tight end Daniel Barker, who tied for the team lead in touchdown receptions, lands at a program that targets tight ends, his stats will be weighted accordingly.
Here is a look at how weights are assigned at each individual position:
Offensive Grade
- Quarterback Passing Yards = 33%
- Rushing Yards = 7%
- Receiving Yards = 33%
- Offensive Line Snaps = 27%
Defensive Grade
- Tackles = 40%
- Passes Defensed = 33%
- Total Pressure =10%
- Stops = 17%
With accessibility to snap count data, the offensive line is no longer concerned with number of starts or total games played. The offensive line is now a calculation of total returning and portal snaps to generate a quarter of the offensive TARP.
There is a similar change on the defensive side of the ball, as sacks and tackles for loss have been traded in for pressure and stops. Total pressure is the summation of sacks, hits and hurries, as defined by PFF. This statistic goes beyond just sacks, a staple in the returning production calculation in years past.
Tackles for loss have also been traded in for stops, defined as tackles that constitute a “failure” for the offense by PFF. College football is in the golden age of offenses through the RPO, making tackles that send opponents into passing downs a crucial component to handicapping a defense.
Each one of the coordinating statistics is compiled to a percentage of portal and returning players. That percentage is weighted by a power rating scale of plus-minus seven points on offense and plus-minus five points on defense.
Here are the coordinating offensive and defensive percentages and how they change a power rating:
The portal consistently keeps TARP in flux, as big-name players such as Travis Dye to USC and Jermaine Burton to Alabama have moved the needle. As of writing, there are several top talents who have not made decisions.
Our Action Analytics team has built an interactive TARP dashboard that will update daily throughout the beginning of the 2022 season.
Here’s a first look at 2022 TARP for each of the 130 FBS programs:
2022 TARP Biggest Risers
Syracuse Orange
There will be no sleeping on the Orange offense heading into 2022, as offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert has been replaced by Robert Anae from the Virginia staff.In the wake of Bronco Mendenhall’s retirement, Syracuse head coach Dino Babers was also quick to scoop Virginia quarterback coach Jason Beck. This is great news for an offense that returns over 75%, led by quarterback Garrett Shrader and running back Sean Tucker.
The loss of defensive lineman Cody Roscoe lowered the returning pressure totals, but an above average return clip in Stops, passes defensed and tackles has the Orange getting the premium power rating boost heading into 2022.
With UConn and Wagner on the nonconference schedule, Syracuse will be a bullish investment when win totals are released.
Troy Trojans
Former Kentucky co-defensive coordinator Jon Sumrall walks into a great situation in a familiar place. The new head coach was once a defensive assistant in the Neal Brown era that beat LSU and won a Sun Belt title in 2017.Sumrall gets the biggest piece of the defense back in Carlton Martial, who had 60 more tackles than any other defender in 2021.
New offensive coordinator Joe Craddock branches out from the Chad Morris coaching tree to implement the “smashmouth spread.”
Gunnar Watson will continue starting duties with Taylor Powell announcing his intention to transfer to Eastern Michigan.
Troy may be a sneaky Week 1 consideration against an Ole Miss team replacing some of the best talent in the SEC.
2022 TARP Biggest Fallers
Iowa State Cyclones
The best offense in the history of the Cyclones program is gone, as quarterback Brock Purdy, running back Breece Hall and tight end Charlie Kolar have departed Ames.Head coach Matt Campbell not only has to replace an offense, but a defense that sheds linebacker Mike Rose and defensive back Greg Eisworth.
Iowa State has drawn just one four-star player through the 2020 and 2021 recruiting classes, as Hunter Dekkers will fill the role at quarterback with just 43 career passing attempts.
Campbell will continue to run multiple tight end sets on offense and heavy 3-3-5 on defense with plenty of new faces in his seventh attempt to beat Iowa on Sept. 10.
Kent State Golden Flashes
Head coach Sean Lewis took over Kent State in 2018 and implemented the “Flash Fast” narrative to the offense.For the first time in his tenure, quarterback Dustin Crum will not be under center to lead the offense. Another gaping hole is more than a half-dozen offensive linemen whose amateur clocks have expired.
Cornerback Elvis Hines was a senior in 2021 and is now focused on the NFL Draft, leaving a large hole in passes defensed and tackles for the Golden Flashes.
While the handicap for Kent State is always on the offense, the trench and quarterback position will be the biggest questions in the handicap of the MAC East.
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2022 ACC Football Schedule Set to be Revealed Exclusively on ACC Network, January 31 (theacc.com)
The 2022 ACC football schedule will be unveiled live during a two-hour special The Huddle: 2022 Football Schedule Reveal on Monday, Jan. 31, in primetime at 7 p.m. ET, exclusively on ACC Network.
Jordan Cornette will host the two-hour special and will be joined by Eric Mac Lain, EJ Manuel and Mark Richt on Monday as they reveal each team’s full 2022 schedule along with key matchups and weeks. Coaches from across the conference will join live during the second hour of the show between 8-9 p.m.
Additionally, the ACCN’s coverage of ACC Spring Football will also be announced on Monday.
About ACC Network
Owned and operated by ESPN in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference, ACC Network (ACCN) and its digital platform ACCNX is a 24/7 national network dedicated to ACC sports that launched on August 22, 2019. ACCN televises more than 500 regular-season and tournament games from across the conference’s 27 sponsored sports plus a complement of news and information shows and original programming. Together, ACCN and its digital platform, ACCNX, combine to feature more than 1,500 ACC events each year. ESPN has been televising ACC content since 1979 and has exclusive rights to every conference-controlled game across all sports and championships.
Carriage agreements are in place with the following video providers: Comcast’s Xfinity, Cox, DIRECTV, DIRECTV STREAM, DISH Network, Frontier, fuboTV, Google Fiber, Hulu+ Live TV, Mediacom, Optimum, Sling TV, Spectrum TV, Suddenlink, Verizon Fios, YouTube TV, members of the NCTC, NRTC and Vivicast, among others. All ACCN games will also be available on the ESPN App to authenticated subscribers. Fans interested in learning more about ACCN can visit https://getaccn.com.
CFP: New Chairman, Selection Committee Members (RX; HM)
CFP: New Chairman, Selection Committee Members
NC State AD Corrigan Named Chair of CFP Selection CommitteeGladchuk, Grobe, Manuel and Whiteside Named New Members
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Teams capable of winning a CFB Title (RX; HM)
Teams capable of winning a CFB Title
Which ACC teams are even capable of winning a national championship in football? Josh Pate gives his opinion in "How To Beat The SEC - Which Programs Are Capable?" (Late Kick Cut):It's an excellent video, which I recommend you watch. Josh cuts to the heart of the problem and tells exactly what a school needs to do if it hopes to bring home the national title in football.
Which programs are capable (according to Josh)?
- USC
- FSU
- Miami
- UNC
- Notre Dame
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Penn State
- Oregon
- Oklahoma
- Texas
- Virginia
- Virginia Tech
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Baylor
- TCU
- Georgia Tech
Why ACC Football In 2022 Is Primed To Have A Massive Year
Other
Hochul: Central New York ‘better than a long shot’ to land computer chip plant (PS; $; Weiner)
Gov. Kathy Hochul says she has offered “a very robust incentive package” to lure a semiconductor chip manufacturer to Central New York that could employ up to 5,000 people and help transform the local economy.
The governor said she has personally engaged in negotiations with the undisclosed company that would build a multibillion-dollar chip plant at the 1,250-acre White Pine Commerce Park owned by Onondaga County.
Hochul confirmed the incentive offer Tuesday at an editorial board meeting of syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. She declined to disclose details of the incentive package or the name of the company.
It was the first time the governor disclosed her involvement in a push by local, state and federal officials to bring a major computer chip manufacturer to the White Pine site off Route 31 in the town of Clay.
“Empire State Development has been very, very, very involved in this,” Hochul said of the state’s economic development agency. “And I personally have had meetings, phone calls, and I’m working hands-on as we speak on this issue. We are waiting to find out what the decision is. We are very competitive right now.”
Asked to characterize how close the state has come to landing the chip plant, Hochul said, “It is not a long shot. It’s better than a long shot. And it’s up to the company. We will have a very healthy financial package on the table.”
She said the company has a “global reputation” and any decision to locate in New York state would attract a host of other companies and new jobs to feed its supply chain.
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