#tyson helton

[prettyhennytea]

Pretty Henny’s Tea Spill: Alabama vs. Western Kentucky

A Classic Match Up Returns

Get ready for a thrilling college football showdown as the Alabama Crimson Tide take on the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers. This matchup marks the first meeting between these two teams since 2016, and it promises to be a battle of offensive firepower.

A Look Back

Alabama has dominated the Hilltoppers in their previous encounters, but the 2016 game was a memorable one. Despite a 28-point victory, Western Kentucky’s offenses, led by Jeff Brohm, presented a significant challenge for the Tide.

A New Era for Western Kentucky

Since that 2016 game, Western Kentucky has undergone a transformation under coach Tyson Helton. The team has developed one of the most prolific offenses in the country, thanks to the coaching influence of Bobby Petrino and Jeff Brohm.

The Petrino Connection

The Hilltoppers’ offensive scheme is rooted in the principles of the “spread” offense, popularized by coaches like Mike Price, Dennis Erickson, and Chris Ault. Bobby Petrino played a key role in adapting and refining this style, and his influence continues to be felt in college football.

A Modern Approach

While Western Kentucky’s offense is based on the spread principles, coach Tyson Helton has added his own twist. He focuses on a more passing-oriented approach, incorporating elements from successful offenses like those led by Lincoln Riley and Lane Kiffin.

A New Quarterback

The Hilltoppers will have a new signal-caller under center this season in T.J. Finley. The transfer from Texas State brings experience and talent to the position and has the potential to be a game-changer.

The Alabama Challenge

Alabama, a perennial powerhouse in college football, will be a formidable opponent for Western Kentucky. The Tide’s defense, will be a tough test for the Hilltoppers’ high-powered offense.

Prediction

While Western Kentucky has made significant strides in recent  years, Alabama’s dominance in college football makes them the favorite in this matchup. However, the Hilltoppers’ offensive firepower could make this a more competitive game than expected.

[bongaboi]

Western Kentucky: 2019 First Responder Bowl Champions

Western Kentucky freshman kicker Cory Munson ran onto the field, then off and then back on. All of that before kicking a career-long 52-yard field goal with no time left after a rules review moved him five yards closer to the goal posts.

And Munson, who’d sliced a 29-yarder wide right on the final play of the first half, closed the game with the kick that gave the Hilltoppers a 23-20 victory over Western Michigan in the First Responder Bowl on Monday.

“I was just breathing and saying to myself: ‘You got this. Don’t worry about the last kick. You got this one. Just stay calm,’ and I just swung through it,” Munson said. “Next thing I knew, it was up there.”

The Hilltoppers (9-4) drove 36 yards in 27 seconds before Munson kicked his third field goal in four tries. The game appeared headed to overtime when Ty Storey's desperation heave was knocked down by the Broncos. But the Broncos were hit with a five-yard defensive substitution penalty and Munson was awarded an untimed down after a video review determined that Western Michigan had 12 players on the field as it switched between its field-goal unit and regular defense.

“We knew we could make the kick when we saw they had 12 men on the field and might get penalized,” first-year Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton said. “I wanted our true freshman Cory Munson to get a chance to kick it, and he did. It was a great kick.”

Munson had tied the score at 20 on a 31-yarder with 1:36 to play. He also kicked a 26-yarder.

Thiago Kapps’ 20-yard field goal with 4:58 to play gave Western Michigan (7-6) a 20-17 lead.

“When they have their Hail Mary team and then the kickoff team and then the Hail Mary team out there, you have to stand over the ball and give us time to change,” Western Michigan coach Tim Lester said, “and it didn’t happen.”

Kapps’ field goal, his second of the game, capped a 62-yard drive that took 5:35 after Western Kentucky had tied the score on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Storey to Lucky Jackson with 10:40 to go. Jackson had 17 catches for 148 yards and was named the game’s most valuable player.

Western Michigan’s other touchdowns came on a 6-yard pass from Jon Wassink to DaShon Bussell midway through the third quarter and an 88-yard interception return by Kareem Ali in the first half’s closing minutes.

Storey, a graduate transfer from Arkansas, threw a 17-yard pass to Jahcour Pearson in the second quarter for the Hilltoppers’ other touchdown.

THE TAKEAWAY

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers will lose only two defensive starters from a unit that went into the bowl season ranked 21st in FBS scoring defense. With Storey leaving, Steven Duncan figures to return to No. 1 after starting this season’s first three games as a junior before injuring his left foot and missing the rest of the year.

Western Michigan: The Broncos will lose five starters each on offense and defense, including their three-year starter at quarterback (Wassink) and the Mid-American Conference players of the year on offense (RB LeVante Bellamy) and defense (LB Treshaun Hayward).

PASSED ON FIELD GOAL

Western Michigan could have attempted a go-ahead field goal of about 47 yards with 31 seconds left but instead went for it on fourth-and-3 at the Western Kentucky 30. Wassink’s pass into the end zone intended for Giovanni Ricci was broken up by Ta’Corian Darden.

Lester said he passed on a field goal try because the kick would have been into the wind. Kapps’ long this season was 45 yards.

VIVA HILLTOPPER

Lucky Jackson shares the name of Elvis Presley’s lead character in “Viva Las Vegas.” The senior now also owns the school record for catches in a game, became the fourth Western Kentucky player to have 1,000 receiving yards in a season and moved into second place in career catches with 209, behind Taywan Taylor’s 253.

UP NEXT

Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers, who will open at home against Chattanooga on Sept. 5, will again play two Power Five programs (Louisville again and Indiana) next season. They play both defending Conference USA division winners on the road: Florida Atlantic and UAB.

Western Michigan: Next season the Broncos will return to Notre Dame, where they most recently played in 2010. Western Michigan will also welcome a Power Five team to Kalamazoo, Syracuse, a week after visiting South Bend.

[pakcricwiz]

Meet the first-year FBS coaches: How they'll fare in 2019 and beyond

There are 21 new coaches in the FBS, ranging from Mack Brown to Tyson Helton. Sporting News takes a closer look at how they'll fare in 2019 and beyond.

from Sporting News RSS http://bit.ly/2Hsc9N4 from Blogger http://bit.ly/2FKMOMO

[podcastpalace]

The Coaches Episode (8/22) by CBS Sports Podcasts .... An entire episode dedicated to the sidelines. Barton Simmons and Chip Patterson are joined by The Athletic's Bruce Feldman for a deep dive into the coaching landscape. Discussion topics include James Franklin at Penn State (5:00), the ceiling for Joe Moorhead and Mississippi State (12:30), why Tennessee OC Tyson Helton was one of the most intriguing coordinator hires last season (18:00) and the top Group of Five coaches in line for a Power Five job (26:00). Plus, how coaches have reacted to recent scandals (28:00), college football's top position coaches (33:00) and the jobs to watch that might be open by the end of 2018 (38:00). Subscribe: https://ift.tt/2u93s2r

[athlonsports]

After an impressive debut, WKU coach Tyson Helton is hoping his veteran-laden team can build on what they were able to accomplish last season. Plenty of experience returns on either side of the ball and the Hilltoppers have a defense that should keep them in every game but how far this team goes will likely come down to what they get out of the most important position on the field.

  Related: Athlon Sports' College Football Top 25 for 2020

Read the full story on Athlon Sports

[bongaboi]

Western Kentucky: 2021 Boca Raton Bowl Champions

BOCA RATON, Fla. -- — Bailey Zappe capped his record-setting season in style, and Western Kentucky capped a difficult week with a bowl win.

Zappe broke a pair of single-season FBS records by passing for 422 yards and six touchdowns, and Western Kentucky handed Appalachian State its first-ever bowl loss by beating the Mountaineers 59-38 in the Boca Raton Bowl on Saturday.

Zappe finished the season with 5,967 yards and 62 touchdowns for the Hilltoppers (9-5). He topped the previous FBS marks of 5,833 yards set by Texas Tech's B.J. Symons in 2003 and 60 touchdowns set by LSU's Joe Burrow in the Tigers' run to the national championship in the 2019 season.

"In my opinion Bailey Zappe is the best quarterback in college football, and now he gets to say he is one of the best," Western Kentucky coach Tyson Helton said. "He'll go down in history as being one of the best, and holds two records. It's just special to be a part of that."

Jerreth Sterns caught 13 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns for Western Kentucky, finishing his season with 150 catches for 1,902 yards. Mitchell Tinsley had two TD catches for the Hilltoppers and Noah Whittington needed only seven carries to rush for 150 yards, 86 of those on a third-quarter scoring run.

It has been an emotional time for Western Kentucky, which played with those affected by the unspeakable damage caused by what state officials have called the most destructive tornado event in Kentucky's history. Tornadoes across the region last weekend — including in Bowling Green, where Western Kentucky's campus sits — have been blamed for 78 deaths in Kentucky alone.

"I hope today that everyone back home was watching and they felt just positive about everything and they kind of just forgot about the tornadoes for a temporary moment," Sterns said. "I'm glad we got to do that for them today."

Chase Brice passed for 317 yards and four touchdowns for Appalachian State (10-4) before leaving in the fourth quarter with a right leg injury. It was the first loss in seven all-time bowl games for the Mountaineers.

"I'm very proud of our team to win 10 games," Appalachian State coach Shawn Clark said. "That's hard."

It was 24-24 late in the opening half, when Zappe — who completed 33 of 47 passes — put his name in the record book and put the Hilltoppers ahead for good. Appalachian State was outgained only slightly, 637-609, but turned the ball over four times.

"I think it all came down to us having those turnovers," Appalachian State safety Jalen Virgil said.

Zappe broke the yardage mark on a 43-yard pass to Sterns — who finished the season with the fifth-most receiving yards in FBS history — late in the half, then tied the touchdown mark on the same drive when he connected with Sterns for a 10-yard score. That started what became a 35-7 run by the Hilltoppers.

"He's a hell of a football player," Clark said of Zappe. "Had a chance to be around him this week. He's an outstanding young man."

Zappe threw his record-setting touchdown pass on a 2-yard slant to Tinsley on the Hilltoppers' second drive of the third quarter, pushing WKU's lead to three touchdowns.

"It's been the best year of my life," Zappe said.

THE TAKEAWAY

The 97 combined points were a record for the Boca Raton Bowl, topping the 82 that Western Kentucky and Memphis combined for in the Hilltoppers' 51-31 win in 2016. The 59 points by Western Kentucky were also a record, surpassing the previous mark of 52 set by Marshall in 2014 and matched by Florida Atlantic — on its home field — in 2019.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

Appalachian State was receiving votes in the most recent AP Top 25 poll, though whatever slim chance the Mountaineers had of making the season-ending poll next month is now nonexistent.

UP NEXT

Appalachian State: The Mountaineers are scheduled to open their 2022 schedule on Sept. 3 at North Carolina.

Western Kentucky: The 2022 season is set to begin on Aug. 27 at home against Austin Peay.

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[buddyrabrahams]

Report: Steve Sarkisian in consideration for Tennessee OC job

Offensive coordinators have been getting hired left and right in college football, but Tennessee’s position remains vacant. Is that because the Volunteers feel comfortable with their options?

Tennessee reporter Austin Price has said that Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt has spoken with Steve Sarkisian and Matt Canada about the job. John Brice adds that Sarkisian will have plenty of options in both college and the NFL.

Lots of #Vols OC questions. Pruitt has talked with both Steve Sarkisian & Matt Canada, as @AustinPriceless also excellently noted. I’m told #Vols spoke w/ Canada yesterday & have moved on. “Sark is going to have a lot of options” both college/NFL I was told.

— John Brice (@JohnDBrice1) January 3, 2019

Sarkisian and Pruitt were on staff together at Alabama in the 2016 season before Sarkisian left to become the Falcons’ offensive coordinator. Sarkisian previously has served as a head coach at Washington before leaving for USC, a job from which he was fired due to alcoholism.

Tennessee is looking for a new offensive coordinator after Tyson Helton left to take the Western Kentucky head coaching job. Hugh Freeze previously interviewed for the job before becoming Liberty’s head coach.

H/T Rocky Top Talk

from Larry Brown Sports http://bit.ly/2TucWhS

[junker-town]

Everyone’s hiring old guys as CFB coaches, so here are more ideas

If college football really wants to lean back into the Baby Boomer head coaches, I have some suggestions.

Young coaches at both the pro and college levels have showed how big a deal it can be to have vibrant leadership.

But recently, the pendulum has swung in the other direction.

For 2018, Arizona State hired a 63-year-old Herm Edwards, a year after FIU hired a then-65 Butch Davis. Now Kansas hired a 65-year-old Les Miles, and North Carolina reportedly hired a 67-year-old Mack Brown. All of them had previously spent some time out of coaching and working in the media, and Edwards hadn’t coached since 2008 or in college since 1989.

Well, Edwards and Davis just made bowl games anyway. Meanwhile, 67-year-old Nick Saban might have his best team yet. This might just be the return of the old guys in college football.

If the new wave is to get older at head coach, let me pose some suggestions.

All of those guys are in their golden years, and at least had either NFL experience or ties to the region or the program in some way. They were also all on the shelf. So let’s try to find some similar fits.

Texas Tech: It’s unclear whether the Red Raiders want to stay in an air raid direction, but if they do, they could do much worse than former interim head coach Ruffin McNeill, who’d actually coach some defense as well. He just turned 60.

Tennessee: The Vols reportedly have an offensive coordinator opening (Tyson Helton to Western Kentucky). Maybe the Vols should just look in house for this one. Former offensive coordinator and longtime head coach Phil Fulmer is back as athletic director. Perhaps he’d want to be even more actively involved again?

Louisville: Two words: Howard. Schnellenberger.

Ol’ Schnelly’s a spry 84.

UMass: The Minutemen showed an openness to bring back a head coach from their FCS days when Mark Whipple took over the program in 2014. Now that he’s gone, look to Michigan for his successor. The 63-year-old Don Brown’s replaced Whipple at UMass before. And then they can just hire Whipple a third time later on, once he’s 65 or so.

Texas State: The Bobcats went the former Texas A&M head coach route when Dennis Franchione helped the program in its initial run. Should they want to go down that road again:

[shouting from recliner] Honey, where’d you put our typewriter? [whispers to self] I’ve got a resume to update. pic.twitter.com/AS80KB3VQ7

— George Jones (@Georgejones04) November 26, 2018

You might remember the 74-year-old Jackie Sherrill as Mississippi State’s head coach in the 1990s, but before that, he had a six-year stint in College Station. In-state experience! Go gig ‘em, Bobcats.

Georgia Tech: After 61-year-old Paul Johnson decided to step down, the program’s at an inflection point. While this guy is only 56, at least he’d bring the offensive philosophies of a much older man man:

Chargers’ OC Ken Whisenhunt is interviewing this weekend for the Georgia Tech HC job, per league sources. Whisenhunt attended Georgia Tech, which would like to hire someone with NFL experience connected to the school, per source.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 29, 2018

Ohio State: Certainly not open now, but Urban Meyer’s health and mishandling of the Zach Smith situation have many people questioning whether his tenure in Columbus will end soon. A 65-year-old Jim Tressel is right down the road as president of Youngstown State. The Buckeyes already plucked him from Youngstown once before.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Tattoo-gate got him fired in Columbus, but upon further reflection, perhaps hiding information that players were making money on the side was the progressive thing to do.

Kansas State: 79-year-old Bill Snyder’s still the coach for now. Just keep that rolling.

Charlotte: North Carolina just showed you can bring back a sexagenarian. The 49ers should top them with an octogenarian.

Think of a guy who knows both South and North Carolina intimately (vital for recruiting). Think of a guy who's had success there too. Think of a guy who has the highest win percentage at NC State since World War I.

Think of 81-year-old Lou Holtz. He doesn’t have a real captive audience these days anyway.

Bowling Green: An Ohio Man with NFL experience would lend familiarity and credibility. A 77-year-old Jerry Glanville can’t stay in the CFL forever.

Maryland: Just run it back with 71-year-old Ralph Friedgen, still the last coach to take the program to a major bowl game (Orange in 2001, Peach in 2002). His last season in Maryland wasn’t even bad. Terps fans would take 9-4 in a heartbeat now.

Colorado: The Buffs need a guy who understands the terrain out west and what it’s like to coach in this time zone. Consider a guy who’s had experience at a program like Boise State. I know just the 61-year-old for that.

Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images

[pakcricwiz]

Meet the first-year FBS coaches: How they'll fare in 2019 and beyond

There are 21 new coaches in the FBS, ranging from Mack Brown to Tyson Helton. Sporting News takes a closer look at how they'll fare in 2019 and beyond.

from Sporting News RSS https://ift.tt/2Gwu6Ke from Blogger https://ift.tt/2ErNVPT

[athlonsports]

The 2019 college football season featured 27 new coaches at FBS programs, and with the year completed, it's time to grade and rank the hires. Ohio State's Ryan Day and Louisville's Scott Satterfield were considered two of the top hires last offseason and didn't disappoint in their first year at the helm. Day guided the Buckeyes to the CFB Playoff, while Satterfield led the Cardinals to a six-game improvement in the win column. WKU's Tyson Helton, North Carolina's Mack Brown and Kansas State's Chris Klieman also deserve high marks for their first season.

Read the full story on Athlon Sports

[buddyrabrahams]

Kendal Briles could interview for Tennessee OC job

Kendal Briles is a hot name in the college coaching world and could interview for the Tennessee offensive coordinator job.

Briles, the son of disgraced former Baylor coach Art Briles, is expected to be among the candidates to interview for the Vols’ offensive coordinator job, according to 247 Sports. Former Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze and Alabama quarterbacks coach Dan Enos are also candidates for the position, which became vacant when Tyson Helton left for Western Kentucky.

Briles, 36, played football at Texas and Houston before going into coaching. He then coached on his father’s staff at Baylor from 2008-2016 before exiting amid the scandal at the school.

Briles was hired by Lane Kiffin at FAU and served as their offensive coordinator in 2017 and moved to Houston to be Major Applewhite’s OC this season. He received a three-year deal worth $2.1 million from Houston this week after helping the Cougars become the No. 4 scoring offense in the country.

Kiffin apparently endorsed Briles for the job.

We’ll see what happens re: Kendal Briles and Tennessee but multiple folks have told me that Lane Kiffin has strongly endorsed the Houston OC to Vols head coach Jeremy Pruitt.

— Jesse Simonton (@JesseReSimonton) December 6, 2018

from Larry Brown Sports https://ift.tt/2zJRONe

[auburnfamilynews]

Can the Vols play defense this year?

     War Eagle, everybody! It’s time now for the another Auburn game preview! On October 13th, Auburn will host the Tennessee Volunteers. It has been a decade since Auburn last hosted Tennessee in an offensively challenged 14–12 scrum in the dying days of the Tommy Tuberville era. Fortune hasn’t been kind to the Vols in days since. Tennessee has run through a number of head coaches and hasn’t won a title of any sort since 2007.

     Tennessee is rebuilding once again this year under former Alabama defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. Pruitt was frank about his new team’s performance this spring, grading the effort a “D.” He also lamented that some guys just “flat out quit.” The real challenge for Tennessee, as I see it, is rebuilding some toughness at the line of scrimmage. Last year’s Vol lines were awful on both sides of the ball. It led to a 4–8 finish on the year, 0–8 in the SEC.

     This year, Tennessee opens in Charlotte with West Virginia, which should be a challenge. Tennessee then gets a couple of home tune-up games against East Tennessee State, and UTEP. The schedule gets brutal after that. The Vols host Florida, then travel to Georgia and Auburn. Auburn will have played Washington in Atlanta and hosted Alabama State, LSU, Arkansas and Southern Miss before traveling to Mississippi State.

     On the offensive side of the ball, head coach Pruitt brings in veteran offensive guru Tyson Helton, who was the passing game coordinator at Southern Cal. last season. He will bring in a more balanced offensive style at Tennessee, which previously rarely ran any plays other than from the shotgun. We’ll wait and see on the results. Teams often transition from conventional to spread offenses with success. I really haven’t seen ANY team go from the spread to a pro-style attack and have much success in the first year.

     The main weapon Tennessee returns on offense is junior receiver Marquez Calloway, who had five touchdown catches in 2017. Sophomore quarterback Jarrett Guarantano returns after a shaky freshman campaign, but he’ll face a challenge from transfer quarterback Kelley Chryst, who transferred from Stanford where he started most of the last couple of seasons. The main issue I see is that Chryst managed only a 54 percent completion rate in Stanford’s offense. Tennessee was poor up front last year on the O-line, and they lose their best rusher to graduation. They were still mixing and matching up front this spring.

     Frankly, Coach Pruitt inherits a mess of a defense. It was just plain bad up front last year, giving up 5.4 yards per carry on the ground. The Vols only picked off 5 passes all year and got seriously pushed around by the likes of Kentucky and Vanderbilt. The pieces are in place to bolster line production this season, but there’s not enough there to make a run at a division title.

     On special teams, Tennessee will have to find a punter, but part-time starting kicker Brent Cimaglia returns. Tennessee was pretty average on returns and coverage. Cimaglia hit 4 touchbacks on 10 kickoffs last season.

Unit matchups after the jump!

Auburn defensive line vs. Tennessee offensive line: Auburn brings a big, athletic defensive line back this season. Likely starters at tackle are senior Dontavius Russell and junior Derrick Brown. Junior strong-side end Marlon Davidson was a beast on A-Day. The buck side is a rotation between sophomores TD Moultry and Big Kat Bryant. Auburn can play monster sophomore Nick Coe at any position on the line with great results. Auburn has serious depth all across the line as well. Tennessee’s offensive line projects to be very young. Tackles should be sophomores Trey Smith and Devante Brooks. Sophomore guards will be Joey Cave and Ryan Johnson. Center is a huge concern as Tennessee was down to walk-ons in the spring game. Despite all of that, this unit just MASHED the D-line in UT’s spring game. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn linebackers vs. Tennessee backs: The Tigers have a good cross-trained quartet of upper echelon SEC-caliber linebackers. Senior Deshaun Davis leads the bunch, seniors Darrell Williams and Montravious Atkinson are able to play all three positions, and we might see any combination of these players out on the field at a given time. Auburn has lots of depth behind the starters as well. Auburn’s linebackers play with leverage and are sure tacklers. Sophomore Ty Chandler looks to be Tennessee’s primary runner next season after picking up 326 rushing yards last season. The H-back/fullback picture is a mess. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn corners vs. Tennessee receivers: Auburn has a fairly good combination of starting corners in juniors Javaris Davis and Jamel Dean. Junior Jeremiah Dinson could move over from safety, if needed. Sophomore converted wide receiver Noah Igbinoghene turned heads this spring and could be a co-starter on either side. John Broussard Jr. provides quality depth. Junior Marquez Calloway is the main threat on the Vol roster, and we know Auburn will double him. Sophomore Josh Palmer figures to start on the other side, having caught 9 balls last season. The rest of the crew caught exactly one ball from the bench last season. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn safeties vs. Tennessee secondary receivers and quarterback: Auburn’s starting unit features Juniors Jeremiah Dinson and Daniel Thomas at safety. Thomas was an experienced backup last season, and Dinson played nickel back. Dinson can play every position in the secondary well but has missed considerable time with injuries over the past 3 seasons. Sophomore Jordyn Peters is listed as Auburn’s top nickel back as of now. Auburn is very young behind the starters. We don’t know who will win the starting Tennessee quarterback job. Sophomore Jarrett Guanantano looked decent this spring but will be pushed by transfer Stanford quarterback Kelley Chryst. Junior Brandon Johnson was a good receiver out of the slot last year and figures to be again this year. Junior tight end Eli Wolf caught 24 balls last season. Advantage: Even.

Punting: For now, sophomore Aiden Marshall is the starter, backed up by Ian Shannon. Both were inconsistent last year and didn’t do much to impress in Auburn’s A-Day game in bad weather. Australian import Arryn Siposs is expected to come in and win the starting punting job this fall. Last season, Shannon averaged 39.8 yards per punt, and Marshall averaged 39.4. Tennessee is auditioning punters, as well. Tennessee was decent in coverage, allowing 30 returns for a 7.3 yards per return average. Auburn was not good last season, giving up 11.4 yards per return. Auburn is still looking for a replacement return man. Marquez Calloway managed 8.4 yards per punt return last season for Tennessee on 13 returns. Advantage: Even.

Kickoffs: Auburn redshirt freshman Anders Carlson has no experience but given his displayed leg strength on A-Day, I think kicking a lot of touchbacks should be a given next season. Also, there is a new fair-catch rule in effect this season, that puts the ball at the 25. I think we will see a lot of fair catches on anything fielded inside the 5 this season. We are not sure who’ll be kicking off for the Vols this season. Auburn will return kickoffs with sophomore Noah Igbinoghene, who averaged 23.8 yards per return last season despite only fair-to-poor blocking. Sophomore Ty Chandler averaged 24.4 yards per return last season for Tennessee, including one taken to the house. Auburn was awful on kick coverage giving up 27.2 yards per return last season. Fortunately, Carlson can produce a lot of touchbacks. Tennessee gave up 23.0 yards per return, a less than average number. Advantage: Auburn.

Place kicking: Anders Carlson of Auburn has no experience, but he did hit 4 of 4 in bad weather in Auburn’s spring game. I watched him in warmups, too. His only miss in practice was from 53 yards, hitting the upright. Tennessee had a revolving door of kickers last season. Sophomore Brent Cimaglia returns to take over the job, having hit 8 of 13 field goals last season. Advantage: Even.

Auburn offensive line vs. Tennessee defensive line: It’s still not settled who’ll start for Auburn on the line, although the starters looked decent on A-Day. Auburn is set at the guard spots with veteran juniors Mike Horton and Marquel Harrell. Left tackle seems solid with junior Prince Tega Wanagho, who reputedly took the next step forward this spring after struggling last season in limited starts. Right tackle was a battle this spring between freshmen Austin Troxell and Calvin Ashley. Both had good moments, but Auburn turned around and signed graduate transfer Jack Driscoll from UMass. Driscoll played last season against SEC foes Tennessee and Mississippi State and allowed just 1 quarterback pressure. Center is another big question mark for Auburn. Junior Kaleb Kim and redshirt freshman NickBrahms were battling for the starting job, but both went out with injuries and may or may not be back for the season opener. Converted H-back/tight end/walk-on Tucker Brown started on A-Day and actually did a good job. By midseason, I’m confident that line coach J. B. Grimes will have a strong offensive line out there. Grimes did a really solid job with the Auburn line in his previous stint from 2013–2015. Grimes has been greatly missed the past couple of seasons! It’s a mash unit up front for Tennessee. Head Coach Jeremy Pruitt likes to run a 3-man front, but it may not be possible with the players Tennessee currently has on the line. I’d expect some combination of seniors Shy Tuttle, Kyle Phillips, Jonathan Kongbo, Alexis Taylor and junior Darrell Taylor to start. The bad news for the Vols are that these guys got seriously whipped by a makeshift starting offensive line in the Vol spring game. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn backs vs. Tennessee linebackers: Auburn features senior H-back Chandler Cox, a 4-year starter, blowing open holes. The real question is who will carry the ball. Junior Kam Martin is blazing fast but has had durability issues in the past. Junior Malik Miller has size, power, and a few carries here and there but hasn’t been used much. Sophomore Devan Barrett has been moved to receiver. Auburn played freshmen JaTarvious Whitlow and Asa Martin a lot on A-Day. Both were suspect in pass blocking, and running sideways or backwards. Whitlow dropped several passes. The best A-Day runner for the second year in a row was junior walk-on C. J. Tolbert, who had 137 yards. Tolbert is on the small side and didn’t have an actual carry in 2017. We do know, after watching the Gus Malzahn offense for 8 years at Auburn, there will be a bell-cow running back identified, tearing SEC defenses up, as long as the offense is balanced. Again, well… it’s a big question in the linebacker corps. Can Tennessee find 4 SEC-worthy guys to put on the field? Current candidates include junior Daniel Bituli, who’s really good, and junior Quart’e Sapp, who’s not bad, either. Who the other pair will be is currently an open question. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn receivers vs. Tennessee corners: At the end of spring, it looked like Auburn’s two starting outside guys were juniors Nate Craig-Myers and Darius Slayton. Both guys can fly, have good height, and great hands. Redshirt freshman Marquis McClain had the catch of the day on A-Day and is someone to watch out for on the outside as well. Likely starters for the Vols are junior Marquill Osborne and sophomore Shawn Shamburger. Advantage: Auburn.

Auburn secondary receivers and quarterback vs. Tennessee safeties: This is a strength-against-strength matchup with lots of experience on both sides. Auburn senior Ryan Davis shattered the team single-season receptions mark last year with 84 catches. Teams that gave Davis a cushion last season got eaten up 5 to 10 yards per quick pass. Teams that tried to press were often burned for touchdowns. Auburn depth at the slot took blows with both Will Hastings and Eli Stove having knee injuries and surgeries last spring. Both did a ton of damage last year. Auburn has moved running back Devan Barrett to the slot for depth. Barrett has good hands and is a good runner, but he’s not the breakaway threat the guys above him are. Auburn’s tight end is senior Jalen Harris. Teams can key on him as a blocker only. I think Auburn has targeted Harris maybe 3 times in his 3 years as a starter. Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham had a slow start and a propensity to take hits last season but heated up by about game 4 and lit up some SEC secondaries. He’s mobile in the pocket and can make every throw. UT has veterans at safety, and returns a lot of tackles. Junior Nigel Warrior and senior Micah Abernathy were the leading tacklers on the Volunteer squad last season. They will get help from junior nickel back Baylen Buchannan. Advantage: Auburn.

     I’m not expecting this game to be much trouble for Auburn. Tennessee will be struggling, and Auburn will be hitting typical mid-season form with a very talented team. Having UT at home will only be a bigger help. Auburn has not lost at home against Tennessee since 1998, and even that struggling Auburn team took the eventual national champions to the wire in a 17–9 loss.

Prediction: Auburn cruises over an outmanned UT team, 47–7.

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SEC Spring '18: Tennessee Volunteers

SEC Spring '18: Tennessee Volunteers @FranchiseKF looks at what should be a year of transition for the Vols

  There has been an overhaul of Tennessee football. It seems like ages ago that they were the brunt of every joke for their embarrassing coaching hire process. Overall, I like the hires that they made, but I don’t think they will pay many dividends in 2018. Tyson Helton takes over as offensive coordinator, and that likely sparks the interest of many CFF players. How’s this for the 2015 Western…

[junker-town]

Everyone’s hiring old guys as CFB coaches, so here are more ideas

If college football really wants to lean back into the Baby Boomer head coaches, I have some suggestions.

Young coaches at both the pro and college levels have showed how big a deal it can be to have vibrant leadership.

But recently, the pendulum has swung in the other direction.

For 2018, Arizona State hired a 63-year-old Herm Edwards, a year after FIU hired a then-65 Butch Davis. Now Kansas hired a 65-year-old Les Miles, and North Carolina reportedly hired a 67-year-old Mack Brown. All of them had previously spent some time out of coaching and working in the media, and Edwards hadn’t coached since 2008 or in college since 1989.

Well, Edwards and Davis just made bowl games anyway. Meanwhile, 67-year-old Nick Saban might have his best team yet. This might just be the return of the old guys in college football.

If the new wave is to get older at head coach, let me pose some suggestions.

All of those guys are in their golden years, and at least had either NFL experience or ties to the region or the program in some way. They were also all on the shelf. So let’s try to find some similar fits.

Texas Tech: It’s unclear whether the Red Raiders want to stay in an air raid direction, but if they do, they could do much worse than former interim head coach Ruffin McNeill, who’d actually coach some defense as well. He just turned 60.

Tennessee: The Vols reportedly have an offensive coordinator opening (Tyson Helton to Western Kentucky). Maybe the Vols should just look in house for this one. Former offensive coordinator and longtime head coach Phil Fulmer is back as athletic director. Perhaps he’d want to be even more actively involved again?

Louisville: Two words: Howard. Schnellenberger.

Ol’ Schnelly’s a spry 84.

UMass: The Minutemen showed an openness to bring back a head coach from their FCS days when Mark Whipple took over the program in 2014. Now that he’s gone, look to Michigan for his successor. The 63-year-old Don Brown’s replaced Whipple at UMass before. And then they can just hire Whipple a third time later on, once he’s 65 or so.

Texas State: The Bobcats went the former Texas A&M head coach route when Dennis Franchione helped the program in its initial run. Should they want to go down that road again:

[shouting from recliner] Honey, where’d you put our typewriter? [whispers to self] I’ve got a resume to update. pic.twitter.com/AS80KB3VQ7

— George Jones (@Georgejones04) November 26, 2018

You might remember the 74-year-old Jackie Sherrill as Mississippi State’s head coach in the 1990s, but before that, he had a six-year stint in College Station. In-state experience! Go gig ‘em, Bobcats.

Ohio State: Certainly not open now, but Urban Meyer’s health and mishandling of the Zach Smith situation have many people questioning whether his tenure in Columbus will end soon. A 65-year-old Jim Tressel is right down the road as president of Youngstown State. The Buckeyes already plucked him from Youngstown once before.

Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Tattoo-gate got him fired in Columbus, but upon further reflection, perhaps hiding information that players were making money on the side was the progressive thing to do.

Kansas State: 79-year-old Bill Snyder’s still the coach for now. Just keep that rolling.

Charlotte: North Carolina just showed you can bring back a sexagenarian. The 49ers should top them with an octogenarian.

Think of a guy who knows both South and North Carolina intimately (vital for recruiting). Think of a guy who's had success there too. Think of a guy who has the highest win percentage at NC State since World War I.

Think of 81-year-old Lou Holtz. He doesn’t have a real captive audience these days anyway.

Bowling Green: An Ohio Man with NFL experience would lend familiarity and credibility. A 77-year-old Jerry Glanville can’t stay in the CFL forever.

Maryland: Just run it back with 71-year-old Ralph Friedgen, still the last coach to take the program to a major bowl game (Orange in 2001, Peach in 2002). His last season in Maryland wasn’t even bad. Terps fans would take 9-4 in a heartbeat now.

Colorado: The Buffs need a guy who understands the terrain out west and what it’s like to coach in this time zone. Consider a guy who’s had experience at a program like Boise State. I know just the 61-year-old for that.

Photo by Dave Martin/Getty Images