Campus Watch

Tressel taking job at Akron

Former Ohio State football coach Jim Tressel is moving back to the college game after a stint with the Indianapolis Colts by accepting an administrative position with Akron of the Mid-American Conference. His duties were expected to be spelled out at a news conference this morning. Tressel has a graduate degree from Akron and was part of the search committee that recently hired Terry Bowden as head coach of the Zips. Akron seems determined to rejuvenate a program's that's grown stagnant despite the presence of one of the best football facilities in the conference.

-- Bob DiCesare

Tepper to Head UB Defense

UB head football coach Jeff Quinn will continue his practice of hiring assistants with previous head coaching experience by bringing in Lou Tepper as defensive coordinator, The News has learned. Tepper has been the head coach at Illinois, Edinboro and most recently Indiana University of Pennsylvania. He also is a former defensive coordinator at LSU under Gerry DiNardo.

Tepper, 66, was a two-time conference coach of the year at Edinboro and was head coach at Illinois for five seasons beginning in 1992. He takes over the UB defensive coordinator position vacated when William Inge left the program to become assistant defensive line coach with the Buffalo Bills.

-- Bob DiCesare

 

UB QB Recruit

UB QB recruit Collin Michael (Lexington, Ohio) was the No. 2 choice at Indiana and became available to UB when Gunner Kiel committed to the Hoosiers. When Kiel decommitted (he verbaled to LSU, then Notre Dame) Indiana came back for Michael but he maintained his verbal to the Bulls and signed Wednesday.

-- Bob DiCesare

UB Football Signings Part II

For what it's worth, Scout.com has UB's recruiting class ranked ninth in the MAC. But the site recognizes the Bulls as having just 13 recruits instead of the actual 19.

The site's MAC ranking as of early this afternoon (national ranking included):

Toledo (60)
Temple (68)
Central Michigan (76)
Miami (78)
Eastern Michigan (80)
Bowling Green (83)
Ball State (84)
Kent State (90)
UB (97)
Western Michigan (98)
Northern Illinois (104)
Ohio (113)
Akron (116)
UMass (124)

UMass joins the MAC this year as a football-only member. The Minutemen will play in the East with Bowling Green going to the West . . . Scout.com lists Michael as UB's top get and gives him a three-star rating. Madlock and Riche also received three-star ratings. ... RB Devin Campbell qualified for the nationals in indoor track . . . Collura is the third Dematha player to head to UB, following former Bull Kendric Hawkins and current Bull Kendall Patterson . . . Grossman is ranked the nation's 33rd best kicking prospect by ESPN. He also kicked 32 field goals in high school career . . . Bulls recruited a player at every position. Fifteen of the 19 are from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio or Michigan. Bulls had gone heavier in Florida and Texas in recent past.

-- Bob DiCesare

UB Football Signees

UB's 19-player initial recruiting class announced today, the first day of the National Signing period:

OFFENSE

RB Devin Campbell (6-0 220), Youngstown, Ohio.
OL Dan Collura, (6-6, 260) Elkridge, Md.
OL Jaden Cotton (6-5, 300) Depew, NY
QB Jordan Johnson (6-1, 185) Amherst, NY (Sweet Home).
WR Marcus McGill (6-2, 215) Rochester, NY.
QB Collin Michael (6-5, 220) Lexington, Ohio
OL Robert Riche (6-6, 270) Canton, Mich.
WR Malcolm Robinson (6-1, 185) Canton, Ohio
TE Mason Schreck (6-5, 225) Medina, Ohio

DEFENSE
DB Okezie Alozie (6-0, 200) Bethlehem, Pa.
DL Beau Bachtelle (6-5, 260) Tuolumne, Calif.
DB Brandon Berry (6-0, 205) Detroit.
LB Waylon Fink (6-5, 225) Greensburg, Pa.
P Tyler Grassman (6-1, 185) Columbus, Ohio
NT Corey Madlock (6-4, 260), Buffalo, NY (Cleveland Hill)
NT Albert McCoy (6-4, 265), St. Petersburg, Fla.
DL Max Perisse (6-4, 250), Downingtown, Pa.
DB William Rembert (6-1, 175), Detroit
DB C.J. Stancil (5-11, 185), Chesterfield, Va.

Quick Notes: Bachtelle is the only junior college player on the list. He was a team captain and first team all-conference at Modesto JC . . . Michael was rated No. 41 among the nation's QBs by Scout.com. He joins a QB mix that includes Alex Zordich, Joe Licata and Tony Daniel as the Bulls seek a replacement for the graduated Chazz Anderson. ... Perisse was a Philadelphia Inquirer top 50 prospect in Pennsylvania ... McGill was two-time all-Rochester.

-- Bob DiCesare

Turner Gill and Liberty a match

Asked what a Texan who played at Nebraska would take the head coach job at UB, Turner Gill told me at the time that he prayed on it. A man of deep faith, Gill bounced back from two rocky years at Kansas by taking the head job at Liberty, a faith-based university with a recent history of football success.

It's a perfect fit on Gill, who from my understanding could take another job and still receive the bulk of his $6 million buyout from Kansas. Liberty went 47-20 and 26-5 in the Big South under Danny Rocco, the new coach at Richmond. So Gill's not starting from the depths, as he did at UB. It's a chance for him to reestablish his credentials and, if he does, find new opportunities.

Gill wasn't given enough time to do the job at Kansas -- not even close -- although it was alarming the degree to which the Jayhawks were routinely shallacked. All that said, Gill always struck me as someone best suited to the underlying levels of college football. He can recruit. He builds relationships with his players. He's committed to family. And, truth is, little of that matters in Automatic Qualifierville.

--Bob DiCesare

Former UB coach Gill takes job at Liberty

Former University at Buffalo and Kansas football coach Turner Gill has accepted the head coaching job at Liberty University, according to a number of media outlets. The program plays at the Football Championship Subdivision level (formerly Division I-AA).

Here is the story from the The News & Advance in Lynchburg, Va., where the school is located.

Mack Receives SI honor

UB sophomore linebacker Khalil Mack has been named an honorable mention All-American by Sports Illustrated after leading the Mid-American Conference in tackles for losses and forced fumbles. He ranked among the top 10 nationally in both categories. Mack hails from Fort Pierce, Fla.

In other UB news, sophomore running back Branden Oliver (Miami) was named the team MVP in a vote among teammates. The honor was announced at UB's awards banquet Monday night. Oliver set school records for attempts (306), rushing yards (1,395), all-purpose yards (1,760). He also was honored with the first "Athlete of the Year" award  presented by the UB Sports Performance Department.

Mack and Oliver are close friends and work out together in the offseason.

-- Bob DiCesare

College Hoops/Football Chat

Oliver, Mack named to MAC 1st Team

Record-setting running back Branden "Bo" Oliver and standout linebacker Khalil Mack today were named first-team all-Mid-American Conference. The two sophomores -- and offseason workout partners -- were the only two University at Buffalo players named to the first team. Wide receiver Marcus Rivers was selected to the second team and Terrell Jackson given honorable mention at punt return.

Oliver and Mack were obvious first-team selections. Oliver finished second in the conference with a school-record 1,395 rushing yards and was UB's workhorse, rushing a record 306 times. He also had 1,760 all-purpose yards, breaking the UB mark held by James Starks.

Mack, like Oliver a Florida native, was first in the MAC and fourth in the country with 20.5 tackles for losses. He was 10th in the nation with five forced fumbles.

Rivers comes as a surprise. While he led the Bulls with 60 catches, he barely averaged 10 yards a reception and found the end zone just twice. However, he ranks among the better blocking receivers in the league.

Jackson, last year's first-team punter returner, missed the second half of the season after suffering a head/neck injury against Temple.

Northern Illinois QB Chandler Harnish was voted the Offensive Player of the Year (a no-brainer), Western Michigan DL Drew Nowak the Defensive POY, Ohio PK Matt Weller the Special Teams POY and Bowling Green RB Anthon Samuel the Freshman of the Year. The MAC's top coach was Ron English of Eastern Michigan.

-- Bob DiCesare