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College Football Capsules: Texas approves coach Brown's four-year extension
AUSTIN (AP) — University of Texas regents agreed Thursday to extend football coach Mack Brown's contract by four years to 2020, a move school officials hope will assure long-term stability for a program eager to get back in the chase for national championships.
Brown, who is paid $5.2 million a year, won't get any more money out of the new deal, but he will continue getting annual raises of $100,000 per his current contract. The deal includes a $3.5 million buyout that drops every year he stays with Texas.
The regents, who met via telephone conference, deliberated in private for about 40 minutes before unanimously approving the changes.
After the regents voted, Texas President Williams Powers Jr. and athletic director DeLoss Dodds said school officials want Brown to coach the Longhorns for as long as he wants to. High school recruits can sign scholarship letters-of-intent on Feb. 1.
Rumors had cropped up after last season that Brown might retire or be forced out. Powers on Thursday dismissed such speculation as completely unfounded.
"He represents the university in exactly the way that we want it to be represented. For 14 years, he's had tremendous success on the field and equally important, more important, he's represented the university with class, with integrity," Powers said.
"It is important to us to have Mack Brown as our football coach for as long into the future as we can. This contract is an expression of that," Powers said.
In a statement later Thursday, Brown said: "I'm so fortunate to have great bosses like DeLoss Dodds and Bill Powers and a Board of Regents who all have been so supportive of Sally and me for 14 years. We're grateful for their continued support of our football program and are looking forward to many more wonderful years at Texas."
The 60-year-old Brown is 141-39 with the Longhorns, who won the 2005 national championship and Big 12 championships in 2005 and 2009. His only losing season was in 2010 and Texas rebounded to an 8-5 finish last season with a win over California in the Holiday Bowl.
Dodds said Texas is also planning to give raises to Brown's staff, but declined to provide details before they are approved.
Baylor studying on-campus football stadium idea
WACO (AP) — Baylor University officials have five stadium builders working on proposals for a new football stadium being considered for the Baylor campus in Waco.
Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw tells the Waco Tribune-Herald (http://bit.ly/y3Vyge) that the Kansas City, Mo.-based Populous architectural firm has the five working to come up with more precise cost proposals for the stadium.
The stadium being considered for a 90-acre Brazos River front site on campus would replace 62-year-old Floyd Casey Stadium. The 50,000-seat stadium is two miles southwest of the Baylor campus.
Baylor officials have warned that the project depends on the results of a feasibility study and whether Baylor can privately raise about $250,000.
Coaching
Schiano's late departure leaves Rutgers in a bind
Greg Schiano came to Rutgers when the football program was in a state of disarray — then left it in a bind.
Less than a week before Rutgers was expected to lock up a highly touted recruiting class, Schiano accepted an offer to become coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday.
There is, however, no doubt that Schiano leaves Rutgers football in better shape than he found it when he was hired to coach the Scarlet Knights in 2000. The New Jersey native had six winning seasons in the last seven years and guided the Knights to a 5-1 record in bowl games. Rutgers had been to one bowl in its history before Schiano arrived.
The Scarlet Knights are coming off a 9-4 season and have most of their key players back next year to make a run at a Big East title.
"This program is not a rebuild," athletic director Tim Pernetti said at a news conference on campus in Piscataway, N.J. "This program is priced to move in every way."
Pernetti, a former Rutgers football player who was coached by Schiano in high school, said he was not blindsided by his friend's decision. He'd known of Tampa Bay's interest in Schiano for about a week, but it picked up earlier this week. Pernetti said he was in constant communication with Schiano throughout the process.
Schiano met Thursday with the team, including paralyzed former player Eric LeGrand, and said goodbye.
"He's got to do what's best for his family," said LeGrand, who injured his spinal cord while making a tackle during a game in 2010. "Who could argue with him?"
Still, it's an awkward time to be looking for a coach.
Wednesday is national signing day, the first day high school recruits can sign a national letter of intent with a school. Rutgers was in position to sign a recruiting class rated by analysts as its best under Schiano.
Pernetti said he will reach out to recruits to assure them Rutgers is still the place to be.
"The message is this is the same program it was two days ago," he said.
He added that he could not guarantee hiring a permanent coach by signing day, but did say it is "doable."
"Any AD worth what they're paying him has a list (of coaching candidates) in his pocket," he said.
Assistant head coach and offensive line coach Kyle Flood was promoted to interim coach, though offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti would seem to be the most likely candidate if Pernetti hires from within.
Speculation about possible candidates from outside almost immediately started with Florida International coach Mario Cristobal, who, like Schiano, is a former University of Miami assistant.
For now it's up to Pernetti, Flood and the assistants left behind to hold together the recruiting class.
"It's just a bad situation because of the timing," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Mike Farrell said.
According to Rivals.com, Rutgers had 17 non-binding verbal commitments before Schiano's departure and at least two more blue-chip prospects from New Jersey — defensive lineman Darius Hamilton from Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey and receiver Devin Fuller of Old Tappan High School — were strongly considering going to Rutgers.
Farrell said most of Rutgers' top committed players had told him that they were contacted by other programs not long after news broke about Schiano. Many of the recruits were lining up last-minute official visits to other schools, he said.
The fact that a coach could jump from Rutgers to the NFL is a testament to the turnaround Schiano orchestrated. Pernetti even said that Schiano took over the "worst program" in the country.
The three previous coaches went 67-114-5 from 1984-2000, graduation rates were low and the facilities were hardly at the Division I-A level.
Rutgers won three games in Schiano's first two seasons and 12 in his first four. The Scarlet Knights went 7-5 in 2005, setting the stage for a startling breakthrough. Rutgers finished 11-2 in 2006, ranked 12th in the nation.
Miami in 2006 and Michigan in 2007 tried to hire Schiano away, but he turned down those offers and moved into a newly built house — that the university paid for — about a mile from the football stadium.
"I've had several opportunities over the years and none of them felt right," Schiano told The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J., as he left Rutgers' football facility Thursday night. "This time, this one felt right."
The Scarlet Knights haven't gotten back to that '06 level, but they also haven't returned to the dark days. Rutgers slipped to 4-8 in 2010, then bounced back to go 9-4 this past season with a victory against Iowa State in the Pinstripe Bowl.
The remarkable rebuild did come with a price, though — and not just the $2.35 million annual salary Schiano's latest deal was to pay him through 2016.
Rutgers expanded and renovated its stadium at a cost of $102 million. The school had hoped to raise the money through private donors, but fell short. Rutgers scaled back plans for the expansion and issued bonds and borrowed money to complete the project.
That combined with the fact that the school had to cut six varsity sports in 2006 — including men's tennis and crew — led many in the state to question whether the school had overcommitted to football.
But there were also plenty of fans thrilled with the results on the field, and it looked as if Schiano was setting up the Scarlet Knights to contend for Big East's titles for the next several seasons.
"This thing that has been built is bigger than any one individual," Pernetti said.
-- Ralph D. Russo
Rutgers makes assistant Flood interim coach
Rutgers offensive line coach Kyle Flood will be the program's interim head coach until a permanent replacement for Greg Schiano is found.
Schiano accepted an offer to coach the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. He leaves after 11 seasons at Rutgers and a 68-67 record.
Rutgers athletic director Tim Pernetti says a new coach will be hired "as soon as possible" but did not guarantee that a hire would be made before signing day Wednesday.
Flood, who is also the assistant head coach, has been at Rutgers for seven seasons.
ODU's AD, coach reprimanded and fined by NCAA
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Old Dominion's athletic director and head football coach have been fined $1,000 each and reprimanded by the NCAA after they failed to attend a mandatory administrative meeting on the eve of an FCS playoff game.
The NCAA says athletic director Wood Selig and coach Bobby Wilder were told in advance that their attendance at the meeting on Friday night, Dec. 2, was mandatory.
Selig says in a statement released by the school that the team stayed an hour away from the location of the meeting, and that while several ODU staff members attended, the meeting presented "logistical and pre game preparation challenges for both Coach Wilder and myself."
Selig says the school will continue working to have the policy amended by the NCAA to avoid similar issues in the future.
Major College News & Notes
Ex-Florida DB trying to impress at Senior Bowl
MOBILE, Ala. (AP) — Janoris Jenkins missed the steady supply of athletic shoes and the big crowds during his one-season stop at Division II North Alabama, but he didn't miss the chance to forge an NFL career.
Jenkins was still invited to the weeklong job fair known as the Senior Bowl, where he'll compete for the South team on Saturday.
It's a chance to work on the future, but first he's fielding questions about his past that probably won't go away before the draft in April about a year after Florida coach Will Muschamp dismissed him from the team following Jenkins' second drug arrest in three months and third of his college career.
"It humbled me down a lot, seeing that I had went from Florida, a Nike school getting three or four pairs of cleats a year, to going to a Division II football school where I'm getting just one pair of cleats," Jenkins said. "It really humbled me as a kid. The environment was totally different as far as 95,000-plus in the Swamp to 3,500 at North Alabama. It was a big difference."
Some draft analysts still project Jenkins as a potential first-round pick in the April draft. Underclassmen Dre Kirkpatrick of Alabama and Morris Claiborne of LSU might be hotter prospects but they're not eligible for the Senior Bowl.
Now, Jenkins is hoping to follow in the footsteps of former Florida State receiver Preston Parker. Parker, also from south Florida, played his final season at North Alabama after getting dismissed from the Seminoles following his third arrest and is now in his second season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
"He made some mistakes similar to what I made and he overcame everything and now he's successful at the next level," Jenkins said. "That's my past, I learned from it and it taught me to be a better man."
He faces fewer questions about his playing abilities. Jenkins started 36 games for the Gators over three years and collected eight interceptions, earning first-team All-Southeastern Conference honors as a junior.
Fox Sports analyst Charles Davis said the past is a big factor for Jenkins.
"That's going to play into it in a big way because every team is going to do their homework on him," Davis said. "Athletically, I think he's the best corner here. That part is no issue. It's the rest of it he's going to have to work his way through.
"But we have those every year. If he can clear through a few of those (questions), I think he's really, really good."
Jenkins said opposing teams didn't throw to his man particularly often at North Alabama, where he had two interceptions and a blocked kick. Jenkins also ranked second in Division II with a 21.7-yard punt return average, including three touchdowns of 87-plus yards.
"I thought Janoris was as good as advertised," North Alabama secondary coach Chris Willis said. "We were able to do a lot of things defensively with Janoris that we haven't been able to do in the past. We were able to isolate him with a single receiver and we could take the safeties and shift everybody to the other side.
"We could put him on the best receiver and tell him to lock him down."
Willis also said Jenkins, who arrived in Florence, Ala., in July, showed up for every weight lifting session, was on time for meetings and put in his time in the film room.
"We had no problems from him," he said. "When Janoris got there, he understood, I have to go somewhere and I have to clean my image up. I have to be able not just to perform on the field, I have to be able to show how I am off the field."
Willis said all 32 NFL teams visited North Alabama last season, and a couple of games drew a dozen or so scouts.
Jenkins was charged with marijuana possession in April 2010, his second such arrest since January. He was also charged in May 2009 with affray and resisting arrest without violence, receiving probation and community service.
What is Jenkins now trying to convey to NFL officials?
"That I'm a great kid, that I'm respectful and humble," he said. "That my decisions that I made in the past are behind me. I just made mistakes when I was a kid."
South coach Mike Shanahan of the Washington Redskins said all the NFL prospects get close looks off the field as well as on it before teams invest in them.
As for the on-the-field stuff, Shanahan said: "I think everybody can see he can bump, he can play off, he's very talented, he can run. So he'll be a top guy."
-- John Zenor
Clemson S Hall to miss spring after knee surgery
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) — Clemson safety Rashard Hall will miss spring practice after having surgery on a left knee that bothered him most of this past season.
Hall had 89 tackles last season to lead the Tigers as they won their first Atlantic Coast Conference championship in 20 years. The school said Hall had surgery earlier this week. He is expected back for his senior season.
Hall hurt the knee in Clemson's season opener against Troy. He missed the following week's game against Wofford before returning to play the final 12 games. He made at least eight tackles in each of the Tigers' final five games last season.
Hall has started 31 of his 40 games at Clemson.
Boise State cornerback dismissed from team
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Boise State cornerback Quaylon Ewing-Burton has been dismissed from the team. Athletic Department officials confirmed the decision Thursday and told The Idaho Statesman that the sophomore did not live up to program standards.
Ewing-Burton played in all 13 games for the Broncos last season and had 26 tackles. He started four games late in the season after Jerrell Gavins went down with injury in the Broncos' only loss to TCU.
The Broncos are counting on Gavins and starting cornerback Jamar Taylor to return from injury in time for the 2012 season.
Mississippi's Wallace cited for alcohol possession
OXFORD, Miss. (AP) — New Mississippi quarterback Bo Wallace was cited for underage possession of alcohol last week.
Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze said in a statement that he's aware of the citation and any discipline "will address it internally." Wallace transferred to Ole Miss this semester from East Mississippi Community College, and is expected to compete for the starting job with returners Randall Mackey and Zack Stoudt.
The Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger reported that Wallace was cited at a downtown Oxford bar at 10:15 p.m. on Jan. 19.
Elsewhere
MSU-Northern football signs three transfer players
HAVRE, Mont. (AP) — Montana State-Northern football coach Mark Samson has announced the signing of three transfer football players who will join the Lights for spring drills.
The Havre Daily News reports the new players are left tackle Patrick Kiser of American Canyon, Calif.; offensive lineman Jordan Sharp of Fresno, Calif., and linebacker Kyle Wagar of Richland, Wash.
Kiser is transferring from Solano Junior College, where he was named his team's MVP. Sharp is transferring from Fresno City Junior College and Wagar is transferring after redshirting this season at NCAA Division II Central Washington. Samson says the new recruits are great athletes and will compete for playing time right away.
NDSU lineman invited to NFL combine
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota State University All-America offensive tackle Paul Cornick has been invited to the NFL combine and to the 2012 Players All-Star Classic.
Both feature NFL prospects. The Players All-Star Classic is Feb. 4 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Ark. The combine workouts are Feb. 22-28 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Cornick is a 6-foot-6, 309-pounder from Orono, Minn. He helped block for Bison quarterback Brock Jensen, who threw for 2,534 yards and 14 touchdowns this past season, and helped open holes for running backs D.J. McNorton and Sam Ojuri. They combined for 2,125 rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. NDSU won the Football Championship Subdivision title earlier this month.
