Irish hope Rogers can develop Jackson
Posted: Tuesday March 09, 1999 09:47 AM
In eight seasons of coaching quarterbacks at Syracuse, Kevin Rogers had the pleasure of working with only two starters: Marvin Graves and Donovan McNabb. Now, Notre Dame has hired him to work the same magic on senior Jarious Jackson and his heir apparent, Arnaz Battle.
Rogers took the Notre Dame job even though head coach Bob Davie insisted that he retain the terminology Jackson used under departed offensive coordinator Jim Colletto. Rogers is the third coordinator that Jackson has played for at Notre Dame, and Davie wants this transition to go as smoothly as possible.
The Tide will rise
Two signs that Alabama is emerging from its probation doldrums: One, coach Mike Dubose signed a recruiting class considered to be one of the top five in the nation. Two, the school announced last week that it is moving the blood rivalry games against Tennessee and Auburn from Birmingham to Tuscaloosa beginning this season, three years ahead of schedule. The newly enlarged Bryant-Denny Stadium has 84,000 seats, and has the potential to be as inhospitable a place to visit as Florida Field or Neyland Stadium.
Strength of schedule
Give Arizona coach Dick Tomey credit for studying the BCS formula. The Wildcats welcome back most of the players who went 12-1 last season, including a win over Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. They are a solid favorite to win the Pac-10 and make the school's first trip to the Rose Bowl. But with the league headed for a down season and Arizona having a weak non-conference schedule, Tomey agreed to travel to Penn State to play in one of those preseason bowl games. Now, if he can only find a defensive back to replace Chris McAlister and a wide receiver or two, the only team that can stop Arizona will be ... Arizona.
Stern reprimand
Washington athletic director Barbara Hedges administered a stiff penalty to coach Rick Neuheisel and his staff for the recruiting violations they committed shortly before signing date. In 1993, after the school didn't punish itself sufficiently for violations, the Pac-10 and NCAA came down so hard that the Huskies still haven't recovered. Hedges stripped Neuheisel of about two-thirds of his off-campus evaluation time this spring and fall and cut back on the number of official visits to campus that next year's prospects may make. The challenge for Neuheisel is not to let the penalties deter him from signing a top class.
Sports Illustrated senior writer Ivan Maisel covers the college football beat and appears regularly on CNN/Sports Illustrated.
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