College Confidential

TCU-LSU kickoff set for 8 p.m. Aug. 31

TCU's football game against LSU in the Aug. 31 Cowboys Classic is set for 8 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN, TCU announced Tuesday.    

TCU men's tennis hoping to set attendance mark Friday vs. SMU

TCU men’s tennis is hoping to break an attendance record against SMU at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
To encourage attendance, TCU coach David Roditi has devised up to $2,000 in prizes. The First 500 fans who arrive before 6 p.m. are eligible. Fans can arrive as early as 5 p.m., but not later than 6 p.m.
-- Stefan Stevenson

Spring football drills open Thursday at Texas; fellow Big 12 members TCU, Baylor begin March 1

Texas will open its spring football drills Thursday in Austin, just 15 days after adding its latest crop of recruits on National Signing Day. And the remainder of Big 12 schools will not be far behind the Longhorns in returning to the field for workouts.

Baylor and TCU begin spring football drills on March 1, with Oklahoma (March 6), Oklahoma State (March 11) and Texas Tech (March 24) opening later in the month. Texas will close its spring drills on Saturday, March 30 with its Orange-White Game in Austin (6:30 p.m., Longhorn Network).

Below is a look at the spring football schedules for league teams:  

 
Big 12 spring football dates
Baylor: March 1 start, spring game April 6
Iowa State: March 26 start, spring game April 20
Kansas: March 5 start, spring game April 13
Kansas State: April 3 start, spring game April 27
Oklahoma: March 6 start, spring game April 13
Oklahoma State: March 11 start, spring game April 20
TCU: March 1 start, spring game TBA
Texas: Thursday start, spring game March 30
Texas Tech: March 24 start, spring game April 20
West Virginia: March 10 start, spring game April 20

NOTE: Dates are subject to change.

_ Jimmy Burch 

Texas to focus on up-tempo offense when spring FB drills open Thursday #Longhorns

Texas football coach Mack Brown seeks to speed up the Longhorns’ pace of play during spring drills, which begin Thursday in Austin.

But only the team’s tempo is expected to change, not its focus on a physical ground game that is expected to incorporate more carries from quarterback David Ash to complement the efforts of running backs Johnathan Gray, Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron.

The Longhorns, who will be the first Big 12 team to open spring drills, will cap their spring session with an Orange-White game on March 30 in Austin (6:30 p.m., Longhorn Network).

“We want to run a similar offense, but do it from no huddle and try to keep the same personnel on the field,” said Brown, whose team is coming off a 9-4 season. “We changed so much personnel over the last couple of years that we felt like it gave defenses a chance to match with us in packages. So we’re trying to get a group on the field and keep them on the field and run a lot of different plays and formations from the same personnel so the defense cannot rest.”

Ideally, Brown said the Longhorns would like to snap the ball every 15 to 18 seconds, which was not possible the past two seasons under former offensive play-caller Bryan Harsin, now the head football coach at Arkansas State. Harsin used multiple personnel packages tailored to the strengths of individual players, a practice Brown will alter under offensive coordinator Major Applewhite, who made his debut as the team’s play-caller during Texas’ 31-27 victory over Oregon State in the Alamo Bowl.

In terms of tempo, Brown said the Longhorns seek to emulate what Oregon has done in recent seasons while playing in four consecutive BCS bowl games under former coach Chip Kelly.

“We’re not going to be the option-type team like Oregon, but we’re going to run their tempo,” Brown said. “You still want to be physical. But we’re going to do it without huddling and try to do it with the same personnel.”

Ash, a junior and third-year starter, returns to lead a team that will be one of the more experienced squads in the Big 12 after two consecutive seasons in which Texas has played a large number of freshmen. But Brown stressed there will be in-house competition at all positions.

“All of our jobs are always open,” Brown said. “Very honestly, we’re going to play the best players.”

Below is a look at the spring football dates for all Big 12 schools:

 
Big 12 spring football dates
Baylor: March 1 start, spring game April 6
Iowa State: March 26 start, spring game April 20
Kansas: March 5 start, spring game April 13
Kansas State: April 3 start, spring game April 27
Oklahoma: March 6 start, spring game April 13
Oklahoma State: March 11 start, spring game April 20
TCU: March 1 start, spring game TBA
Texas: Thursday start, spring game March 30
Texas Tech: March 24 start, spring game April 20
West Virginia: March 10 start, spring game April 20

_ Jimmy Burch 

No. 5 Florida installed as slight favorite to win 2013 NCAA Tournament by oddsmaker

Florida, the No. 5 team in this week’s Associated Press poll of men’s college basketball teams, did not earn a single first-place vote from participating panelists. But the Gators (21-3, 11-1 in SEC) have been installed as the favorite to win the 2013 NCAA Tournament, based on odds released today by Bovada Sports Book (www.Bovada.lv).

Florida, which plays tonight at Missouri (18-7, 7-5) received 5/1 odds to win the national title among a very balanced group of favorites. Other teams given the best odds of cutting down the nets in Atlanta, listed with this week’s AP poll ranking, include No. 1 Indiana (11/2), No. 2 Miami (11/2), No. 7 Michigan (15/2), No. 6 Duke (9/1), No. 4 Michigan State (10/1), No. 3 Gonzaga (12/1), No. 10 Louisville (12/1) and No. 9 Kansas (14/1). All other teams received odds of at least 20/1.

Odds given to other Big 12 schools include No. 14 Oklahoma State (50/1), No. 13Kansas State (60/1), Baylor (150/1), Oklahoma (200/1) and Iowa State (200/1).

Below is a breakdown of schools that received individual odds to win the 2013 NCAA Tournament:

Odds to win the 2012-2013 Men's NCAA Basketball Championship    
Florida                             5/1
Indiana                             11/2
Miami FL                              11/2
Michigan                              15/2
Duke                             9/1
Michigan State              10/1
Gonzaga                       12/1
Louisville                              12/1
Kansas                            14/1
Arizona                            20/1
Syracuse                              20/1
Ohio State                    30/1
North Carolina State      40/1
Butler                                40/1
Pittsburgh                            40/1
Cincinnati                             50/1
New Mexico                        50/1
Oklahoma State            50/1
UCLA                            50/1
VCU                             50/1
Wisconsin                            50/1
Georgetown                        60/1
Kansas State                60/1
Marquette                            60/1
Minnesota                            60/1
Creighton                      66/1
UNLV                            66/1
Colorado State              75/1
Missouri                               75/1
North Carolina                    75/1
Notre Dame                  75/1
Oregon                             75/1
Illinois                               100/1
Kentucky                              100/1
Memphis                              100/1
San Diego State            100/1
St. Louis                              100/1
Baylor                           150/1
California                             150/1
Colorado                              150/1
Virginia                            150/1
Wichita State                 150/1
Iowa State                     200/1
Oklahoma                            200/1
Mississippi                          200/1
St. Mary's                     200/1
Villanova                       250/1
Alabama                               300/1
Arkansas                              300/1
Arizona State                500/1
Davidson                      500/1
Iowa                                  500/1
LSU                              500/1
Maryland                              500/1
Stanford                       500/1
Harvard                         1000/1
St. John's                     1000/1
Temple                             1000/1

_ Jimmy Burch

Manziel: more on his online classes and how the system works

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel said his spring semester class schedule -- four online classes, all in sports management -- help make life in a fish bowl more navigable now that he has become a celebrity as the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner.

How does it work?

"I'll get emails. I have a daily schedule," Manziel said during tonight's Davey O'Brien Awards ceremony at the Fort Worth Club. "If I need to, I do a chapter 1 lecture that takes 30 minutes ... on this day for this class. You can have an hour two hours (worth of) stuff per day. They have a syllabus and they break it down so you do everything you need to do to take the test."

Manziel said that, in the past week, he has taken three online tests and turned in a paper. But he is not required to be on campus on a daily basis, where his celebrity status creates a stir among fellow students.

"It’s not that I haven’t been doing anything for three weeks and it’s test, test, test," Manziel said. "They do a good job of helping us orangize everything. That has been the big thing for me is organizing the stuff I have going on for school, and the stuff I have going on for media, and events and stuff
like that. Just to make it easier for me because there is so much stuff I need to do."

Manziel will be returning to campus on a regular basis soon. The Aggies' spring football drills begin March 2.

_ Jimmy Burch

 

Texas A&M QB Manziel taking all online classes in spring semester

For those wondering how Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Maniel has been able to take so many road trips during the spring semester, the 2012 Heisman Trophy winner offered an answer tonight.

His spring class schedule consists of four online classes, all in sports management. With that approach, Manziel does not have to be on campus on a daily basis. Manziel shared his schedule during a news confernce at the Fort Worth Club, where he formally accepted the 2012 Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award.

Manziel, 20, said he switched to the all-online approach after his presence caused a stir in an English class when the spring semester began.

“I went one day, and it kind of turned into a little more of a big deal than I thought,” said Manziel, who swapped the English class for another online offering in sports management.

Because of the online classes, Manziel has been able to travel to a variety of events _ from the Super Bowl, to Mardi Gras, to NBA All-Star Weekend _ in recent weeks that have caused some fans to question his off-season priorities. But Manziel said he clears every trip with the A&M compliance office and huddled recently with his parents, coach Kevin Sumlin and athletic director Eric Hyman to “make sure we were on the same terms” about his spring semester plans.

“People just think that I’m going wild with it, when it’s not like that,” said Manziel, who called it “very frustrating” that his priorities have been called into question by outsiders. “You just have to have thick skin and just let it roll off your back and not take it to heart.”

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas A&M QB Manziel indicates possible interest in 2014 NFL Draft

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel, winner of the 2012 Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, is focused on leading the Aggies in pursuit of a national championship this fall.

But he indicated tonight that another stellar season at the college level could hasten his interest in heading to the NFL, where mobile quarterbacks like Manziel (6-foot, 200 pounds) are becoming a hot commodity. As an example, Manziel cited Seattle’s Russell Wilson (5-11, 204), the only rookie quarterback to win a game as a starter in the 2012 NFL playoffs.

“For me, being a shorter guy, a chance at the NFL, at a high draft pick, that’s something that I’ve only ever dreamed about,” said Manziel, who could enter the 2014 NFL Draft because he would be three years removed from high school at that time. “The NFL, … it’s changing. There’s a lot of things that can be done with more mobile guys.”

Asked if leading the Aggies to a 2013 national championship, combined with his 2012 Heisman Trophy, could trigger a move to the NFL after next season, Manziel said he had no timetable in mind but would consider exploring his NFL options after next season.

“Regardless of how long I’m at A&M, … I’m going to enjoy the time that I do have and go out and try to win every game,” Manziel said during a news conference before formally accepting the O'Brien Award. “A lot of things factor in (to an NFL draft decision). When the time comes, I think it will be a hard decision.”

Asked if he was a big Russell Wilson fan, Manziel said: "Now, I am. You look at his stature and some of the things he’s done, it’s impressive ... "

And Manziel can relate.

"You can’t really judge somebody’s heart and how they play on the field. Because for me, I’m going to go out and – it doesn’t matter how big you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re 6-7, 300 pounds, whatever, I still feel like I can take you on, and I’m going to out-fight you," Manziel said. "For me, that was a big thing this year."

_ Jimmy Burch

 

 

 

NCAA committee chairman expects smooth run in Cowboys Stadium debut as tourney site

Although the chairman of the NCAA men’s basketball committee anticipates “more madness than we’re used to in March” in a parity-filled season, he stressed today that officials anticipate a smooth logistical run during Cowboys Stadium’s debut as an NCAA venue when it hosts the South Regional, March 29-31.

The key, said tournament chair Mike Bobinski, rests with the experience of the administrative staff from the Big 12, which will oversee the regional site.

“We feel like Cowboys Stadium will be a tremendous regional host and an equally tremendous Final Four host,” Bobinski said. “The Big 12 has hosted a number of regionals before ... For teams to play in one of the iconic venues in the country is great. We’re excited about being there.”

Bobinski said the setup of Cowboys Stadium at the South Regional will be used “as a dress rehearsal” for the 2014 Final Four, which also is coming to the facility.

_ Jimmy Burch

Texas sets March 30 for spring FB game, with 6:30 p.m. kickoff #Longhorns

Texas has set March 30 as the date for the team’s spring football game, with a 6:30 p.m. kickoff in Austin, school officials announced today. The Longhorns will being spring football practices on Feb. 21.

_ Jimmy Burch