College Football

Eastern New Mexico junior cornerback Rodney Mitchell has been selected to the first-team defense of the NCAA Division II Don Hansen 2009 Football Gazette All-America team. Mitchell, from Sarasota, Fla., was one of three Lone Star Conference first-team selections. He tied for seventh in Divison II last season with seven interceptions, good enough to lead the LSC, and also led the league with 23 pass breakups while compiling 72 tackles.  

There's nothing within the contradictions and hypocrisies of NCAA law prohibiting a 13-year-old from orally committing to a college football program before he has picked a high school. David Sills followed the rules. David is a 6-foot-1 middle school quarterback in Delaware, deemed the next football prodigy.  

Less than 36 hours after their first Super Bowl title in franchise history, New Orleans Saints fans are showing no signs of moving from celebration mode. But while Saints fans and University students continue the celebration, the sports world must go on. LSU's campus was a ghost town Monday morning, with a scattering of University students present to turn in homework or papers or to partake in clicker quizzes, as well as express their sports viewing plans foreseeable future.

Those are the two big football teams in the state, so when one does bad, the other can win a championship and pick up everybody in the state   -Brad Lawrence

 

Coverage of two February mainstays, the Super Bowl and college football signing day, is way over the top. Maybe this is one time when you really can blame the media. Everybody take a deep breath.  

Byron Leftwich, Randy Moss, Chad Pennington and John Wade are returning to Marshall University for an April 23 combined Big Green Scholarship Foundation banquet and Marshall Athletic Hall of Fame induction ceremony. All four players were previously voted into the Hall of Fame, but inductions were delayed because of their NFL commitments. The Big Green banquet is at 7 p.m., Friday, April 23, in the Marshall University Student Recreation Center.

We are ecstatic that these four are going into the Hall of Fame together   -Mike Hamrick

 

So much for Hello Kiffin's top ranked recruiting class. All those Trogans who have been daydreaming about Norm Chow should have been more concerned about exactly the kind of recruiting class Kiffin has been putting together across town. Seantrel Henderson, the much hyped "recruit" for the Trojan's top ranked recruiting class is back on the market : As has been suspected since Wednesday -- when Cretin-Derham Hall offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson committed to play at USC but did not sign a letter of intent -- the nation's No. 1 recruit is back on the market.  

The Senate unanimously approved Senate Resolution 81 by Sen. Debbe Leftwich, recognizing and commending the standout safety from the University of Tennessee. "Eric is a tremendous young man of great character whose talents and accomplishments are obvious both on and off the field," said Leftwich, D-Oklahoma City. "He has a great future ahead of him, and we wish him the best as he enters the National Football League draft this year." Berry won in the most one-sided vote in the history of the Jim Thorpe award.

Eric is a tremendous young man of great character whose talents and accomplishments are obvious both on and off the field   -Debbe Leftwich

 

The Notre Dame contingent at NCAA Division II Winona State continued to grow when Dons offensive lineman Vance Ross signed a letter of intent to attend the Minnesota college. Ross put pen to paper on national signing day Feb. 3 and accepted Winona's scholarship offer. He will join ND alums Patrick Lazzara and Kyle English, both redshirt freshman.

It was real family-oriented up there, it felt like home. I was really welcomed (during my visit)   -Vance Ross

 

Miles Simpson wore a collared shirt with an orange T-shirt underneath that he admitted was a decoy. Orange is the color of the University of Illinois, one of the three finalists for the football program that would have the services of the Simon Kenton senior running back. The others were Indiana and Kentucky, and Simpson announced the winner Feb. 3 when he said, "I'm going to be a Wildcat."

I'll miss my boys on the football team   -Miles Simpson

 

The Eric Barron era is officially under way at Florida State. FSU's 14th president, Barron has been representing his alma mater at various functions since he was hired Dec. 8. More than two weeks before he had a signed contract with FSU, Barron went to the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day for the glorious send-off for legendary football coach Bobby Bowden.

I think we’ve passed the point where we can decrease the size of our faculty   -Eric Barron