It’s day 2 of the Big 12 Media Days. You can find coverage for day 1 and a recap of Texas Tech’s day at those links. Tried to gather as much news as possible, but am obviously running a bit later than normal (had to work late last night).
News, News, News
• Bob Bowlsby actually said this (emphasis mine):
It almost goes without saying that when you combine alcohol and drugs and raging hormones and the experiences of 18-22 years old, it’s probably unrealistic to think that these kinds of things are never going to happen.
To be fair to Bowlsby, not that anyone should, but I would guess that Bowlsby would confirm that this isn’t an all-or-nothing comment, meaning that this isn’t the only times that sexual assaults can occur, but these can be contributing factors. The very next sentence, Bowlsby said that he hopes to eradicate sexual assault.
• FWST’s Carlos Mendez writes that TCU head coach Gary Patterson sees a lot of 2014 in 2016:
“I really like the way this team has approached the summertime,” he said. “And sometimes you get a feel for your team — ‘Oh, here comes two-a-days.’ This group has not been like that.”
Linebacker Travin Howard said this year’s Frogs just know better.
“We’re older now,” he said. “Last year we were a young team, rebuilding on the defensive side. We’re older now, we understand more about TCU football and TCU defense. We understand Coach P, the way he coaches.”
• ESPN’s Jake Trotter writes that Oklahoma State is hoping for a spark from Barry Sanders, the son of the great former Oklahoma State running back:
Already, Sanders has been impressing Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, who was also his dad’s quarterback on that 1988 team.
“He’s mature, dependable, seems to be durable,” said Gundy, who refers to Barry J. Sanders as “Junior.” “He came from a winning program and an offense that obviously runs the football.”
• AAS’s Kirk Bohls writes about the Baylor situation and asks if Big 12 sanctions are possible, but more importantly, will we (I guess this is the collective “we”) ever get any answers:
Garland said Baylor’s legal team has willingly met with the NCAA about any transgressions, and that the information from the Pepper Hamilton report would contain “salacious details” that Baylor does not feel comfortable giving out. No further changes on the football staff are anticipated, Garland said, and moving forward, the school “wants the best Title IX office in all of sports.”
So there is zero expectation that Baylor will reveal the entirety of the Philadelphia law firm report, but Big 12 leaders are still intent upon following up.
“I think some have stronger feelings about it than others, and we will probably hear a little more about that during the meeting tomorrow, but I expect it will be collegial,” Bowlsby said. “I think there will be hard questions. There isn’t any doubt about that, to the extent that they can answer them, they will answer them. But there are a lot of pending processes in place right now and all of that’s not going to go away any time soon. So to say that we have a vision for what the end game is would not be accurate.”
Sadly, no end is in sight.
• USA Today’s Dan Wolken writes that all the Big 12 does is talk about Baylor because that’s all the Big 12 can do:
If the Big 12 ultimately decided this situation, on the heels of the cesspool Dave Bliss created for Baylor basketball in 2003, was too much scandal in too short a time to justify continued membership in the league, it would be understandable. For most people, a Big 12 without the Bears wouldn’t be much different than a Big 12 with them.
But that’s not going to happen. It would be too messy, too litigious, too difficult to pull off politically. And anyway, Baylor’s recruits have already scattered to Texas, Oklahoma, TCU. Its next class is going to be a mess. Baylor’s penalty, at least in the short-term, is going to be a return to irrelevance. The Big 12 already has its pound of flesh.
• The Des Moines Register’s Tommy Birch looks at the Big 12 Media Days from an Iowa State perspective.
• SAEN’s Mike Finger writes about how this Texas Tech team is Patrick Mahomes’s team:
“It’s dangerous when you have a guy who can throw the ball down the field like that,” said Kingsbury, who also starred at New Braunfels High.
And to hear Nelson tell it, defenses won’t be able to take anything for granted, even when Mahomes is on the run. Against many quarterbacks, defenders don’t have to worry about covering both sides of the field when a passer is rolling toward one sideline. But Nelson said Mahomes is strong enough to make keep every target in play at all times.
“He’ll roll out and throw across his body,” Nelson said. “You have no idea where he’s going to throw it.”
• LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot writes that Kingsbury learned from the situation at Baylor and it would make sense that everyone took a good look at their program:
“That’s close to home. Coach Briles had a good amount of success. I’ve known him a long time and you try to coach your players your core values and how to be a good man. But you’re not with them 24 hours a day, so you talk about accountability with your own players and holding each other to that.” Kingsbury said Monday during Day 1 of Big 12 media days at the Omni Hotel in Dallas. “But, yeah, it definitely I think made every coach in America take a step back and say okay what can we do better in that area.”
• LAJ’s Nicholas Talbot writes about the proposed divisions, although this sounds like it won’t pass simply because of the pitfalls, i.e. a second late season match-up, i.e. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State playing each other twice, once in the Bedlam series and then again in the conference championship game, or to make sure and not have an 10-1 team play a 7-4 team or something like that.
• ESPN’s Brett McMurphy breaks the news that the ACC Network will launch by 2019 and the ACC and ESPN have agreed to a 20 year deal and also agreed to the grant of rights through 2035-36 season:
The Atlantic Coast Conference and ESPN have agreed to a 20-year deal and rights extension through the 2035-36 academic year, sources said.
The ACC also extended its conference grant of rights deal nine years through 2035-36, a source said.
The conference’s grant of rights makes it untenable financially for a school to leave, guaranteeing in the 20 years of the deal that a school’s media rights, including revenue, for all home games would remain with the ACC regardless of the school’s affiliation.
The ACC’s new grant of rights also automatically extends Notre Dame’s contract with the conference as a member in all sports but football through 2035-36, a source said. If the Irish forgo football independence in the next 20 years, they are contracted to join the ACC.
Schedule:
• 8:30 a.m. – Walt Anderson, Big 12 Coordinator of Officials
• 9:30 a.m. – Bill Hancock, CFP Executive Director
• 9:45 a.m. – Britton Banowsky, CFP Foundation Executive Director
• 9:50 a.m. – Steve Hatchell, NFF President & CEO
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Time: 10:05 a.m. Attendees: Head Coach Charlie Strong, TE Caleb Bluiett, DT Paul Boyette, Jr., S Dylan Haines, OL Kent Perkins |
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Time: 10:40 a.m. Attendees: Head Coach Dana Holgorsen, QB Skyler Howard, C Tyler Orlosky, DL Noble Nwachukwu, S Dravon Askew-Henry |
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Time: 11:15 a.m. Attendees: Head Coach Jim Grobe, OL Kyle Fuller, DB Ryan Reid, QB Seth Russell |
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Time: 11:50 a.m. Attendees: Head Coach Bill Snyder, DB Dante Barnett, QB Jesse Ertz, OL Dalton Risner, DE Jordan Willis |
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Time: 12:25 p..m. Attendees: Head Coach Bob Stoops, LB Jordan Evans, QB Baker Mayfield, RB Samaje Perine, DB Ahmad Thomas |