In a rather strange amalgamation of players, coaches, administrators, venues, or any other related things in college football, CBS Sports counts down the the 100 most influential "stuff" of the 2011 college football season. A bunch of QBs that the Eagles will face this season dot the list, with BC's Luke Kuechly coming in at #29.
CBSSports.com College Football 100: 90-81 (CBSSports.com)
89. LOGAN THOMAS, quarterback, Virginia Tech. Since joining the ACC in 2004, the Hokies have won four conference championships and four Coastal Division titles. The league's expansion might have expected to highlight Florida State and Miami, but it has been the Hokies who have most often represented the conference on the national stage. But for the last four years of that run, the Hokies were had ACC Player of the Year Tyrod Taylor. Now Taylor is gone, and it's Thomas who's set to take his place.
CBSSports.com College Football 100: 80-71 (CBSSports.com)
74. JEFF GODFREY, quarterback, UCF. How do these stats sound for a starting freshman quarterback? 168-294, 2,071 passing yards, 12 TDs, 122.9 passing efficiency, 17 rushing yards, and 5 rushing TDs. Pretty solid production overall for a freshman, no? Probably one of the best freshman seasons in UCF history, right? Yes, it was one of the best: that was Daunte Culpepper's freshman year at UCF. Godfrey's, meanwhile, was better across the board.
CBSSports.com College Football 100: 60-51 (CBSSports.com)
55. E.J. MANUEL, quarterback, Florida State. The revival in Tallahassee has been one of the most prominent offseason stories in the ACC. Jimbo Fisher's first season at the helm brought an Atlantic Division title, a Chick-Fil-A Bowl win over SEC runner-up South Carolina, and their first 10-win season since 2003. Already pegged as the favorite in the ACC, and possibly a national title contender, the expectations are back at Florida State. And much of the weight of those expectations falls on the shoulders of quarterback E.J. Manuel.
CBSSports.com College Football 100: 30-21 (CBSSports.com)
29. LUKE KUECHLY, linebacker, Boston College. The ACC has produced several dominating defenders in the last couple of years, but few have demanded the attention from day one like Kuechly. Tapped to replace Mark Herzlich in the BC linebacking unit in 2009, Kuechly stepped in and set an NCAA freshman record with 158 tackles on the season. When the two were on the field together in 2010, Kuechly led the nation with 183 tackles and was named a unanimous All-American by pretty much anyone with a publication.
Spreading Rumors (Recruiting Update) (Spartan Avenue)
Since our last post here’s what you may have missed: Michigan State picked up a verbal from quarterback Tyler O’Conner (!) and 4 star offensive lineman Frank Taylor commited to Boston College. Boo! Stupid Boston College…
Friday mailblog (ESPN ACC Blog)
Jeremy in Jacksonville, Fla., writes: Why don't people talk about Montel Harris that much. Is it that he not that good of a back or that he go to Boston College. And why don't yall keep updated on the status of his knee. To me comming into this season he is a better back than the other because he prove more than other. Yea he may not be as fast as other but he has started more than them.
HD: He deserves more credit, but part of it is the fact that he's racking up the yards for a team that's not playing in the spotlight, and aside from his consistent production, BC's offense was one of the worst in the country last season (109th with 18 points per game). As for the status of his knee, he was only held out of the spring game for precautionary reasons, so he's expected to be back and healthy for the season.
Sam: Bulls have options in upcoming draft (CSN Chicago)
However, two other sleepers who the Bulls could look into, Boston College's Reggie Jackson and Hofstra's Charles Jenkins, are expected to be available. Both players are combo guards and capable scorers with good size for the point, three-point range and the potential ability to play alongside Derrick Rose or back him up in stretches.
UFC 131 Results Recap: Kenny Florian vs. Diego Nunes (Bloody Elbow)
It'll be very interesting to see what the UFC does with Florian here. Kenny says he's staying at 145 and Dana said it was "more than likely" he'd face Jose Aldo for the featherweight title next, but what about Chad Mendes? If Hatsu Hioki does indeed sign with the UFC, I couldn't think of a better first opponent than Florian. If not, the winner of the Tyson Griffin vs. Manny Gamburyan fight would be really good too.
Fun Stat Nerd Tidbit: Notre Dame (Football Study Hall)
From a pure results perspective, it is difficult to dislike what Brian Kelly has done in his career. (He won 118 games and two Division II national titles in 13 seasons at Grand Valley State just as a warm-up. But he seems to get more out of a program's personnel than others, and Charlie Weis left him with a pretty nice set of personnel in South Bend.
ACCross The Web, June 11 (ACC Sports Journal)
The Only Rankings That Matter. I love this stuff. It’s not quite as good as NFL players getting torqued about their Madden rankings, but I am all about college fans who break down their EA Sports NCAA Football ratings and air grievances. Just make sure you re-visit them at the end of the year and see if ol’ EA knew a little more than you thought. Great question: What happens to Russell Wilson?