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My first impression ... For players like Navarre, early labels tough to shedPosted: Monday August 11, 2003 11:55 AMUpdated: Monday August 11, 2003 12:53 PM
A submission last week by Adam in Fort Wayne, Ind., got me thinking about something: underappreciated players in college football. Adam writes: Why does everyone blame John Navarre for all of Michigan’s struggles? Will someone please give this guy the credit he deserves? It’s a good point. The way Michigan fans grumble about him, you’d think Navarre was a 18-touchdown, 19-interception kind of guy. Try 2,905 yards, 21 touchdowns and seven interceptions last year. But I have a theory that in college football, where a player’s life span is often little more than 20 games, initial impressions are tough to overcome. Navarre got stuck early on with the “second choice” label after Drew Henson left for baseball, and the lasting image of him for some people is that awful Ohio State game two years ago. It happens all the time with quarterbacks. Brian Griese had much the same rap before leading the Wolverines to the national championship his senior year. Nate Hybl, Oklahoma’s quarterback the past two seasons, was never truly appreciated until his final game, a Rose Bowl MVP performance. I remember when Wisconsin fans wanted nothing to do with Mike Samuel, the guy who eventually led them to the Rose Bowl in ‘98. (I swear it’s a coincidence all these guys played in the Rose Bowl.) And Carson Palmer was a source of constant criticism, including by this columnist, until the second half of his Heisman season. Ultimately, Navarre will be judged on whether he wins “the big game,” something he’s had few chances to do his first three years. He might also get his completion percentage up from last year’s 55.3 mark, but that means getting some help from his receivers. I seem to recall Braylon Edwards dropping a lot of balls last year, particularly against Iowa. And for that, Edwards gets to wear the famed No. 1 jersey while Navarre gets to wear the so-called “question mark” label. Funny how that works.
What's up with not writing about Maryland ever? Two years ago the Terps were on a very short list of awful teams that hadn't been in a bowl game in over 10 years. Enter Ralph Friedgen -- an ACC championship, Orange Bowl appearance and slaughtering of Tennessee in the Peach Bowl. Yet they never get any pub in your column!
With maybe the best secondary in the nation and the return of a healthy Bruce Perry, do you think Maryland can challenge for not only the ACC title but a national title?
Normally I roll my eyes at the “we never get any pub” solicitations. Trust me, people, it’s not like I sit at my desk going, “Hmmm … whom should I dole out national publicity to this week, and at what completely innocent team’s expense?” But in the case of the Terps, it occurs to me there may be some legitimate neglect on my part. I’ve admittedly jumped all over the N.C. State bandwagon (if the Wolfpack don’t end up winning the ACC, I may have to ask Philip Rivers to personally fry the egg on my face), and have spent time discussing the obvious story lines at Florida State (What’s wrong, Bobby?) and Virginia (everyone on the planet’s “team on the rise”).
When it comes to Maryland, there’s no question that in just two short years Ralph Friedgen has cemented his status as one of the game’s top football minds. Their offense, simplistic by Friedgen standards the first two years, could explode this season now that Scott McBrien has a year under his belt, and there’s a ton of talent on defense with guys like Domonique Foxworth, Madieu Williams and D’Qwell Jackson. My biggest question is about losing E.J. Henderson, the core of that team the past two years. A player of that caliber doesn’t come around too often and the Terps are going to miss not only his talent but his leadership. Whether guys like Jackson can truly fill his void will mean the difference between whether Maryland is playing for the Sugar Bowl or the Gator Bowl come November.
I would like to add Arkansas to your "underrated" list. The Hogs return 18 starters from a 9-5 team that won the SEC West. Shawn Andrews anchors a veteran offensive line, Matt Jones is back at QB, and a stable of RBs and WRs returns. Also, almost the entire starting defense returns from last year.
Yeah, I’m a little surprised to see the Razorbacks aren’t showing up at all in most preseason top 25s. Of course, that’s pretty much been par for the course since Houston Nutt has been there, despite the fact they almost always contend for the division title, probably because Arkansas is not exactly what you would call a “glamour” team. Plus, the way last season ended -- blowout losses to Georgia in the SEC title game and Minnesota in the Music City Bowl -- didn’t help their perception. Still, I expect Arkansas to once again be a dominant running team, stout on defense. It’d be nice if the Hogs finally develop some sort of passing game. When our SEC preview comes out later this week, I think you’ll see we’re pretty high on the Razorbacks.
Will the "fast break" offense ever return at Florida State? Gone are the four receiver sets, replaced by the two tight end powerback sets. FSU has had big backs in past years (Sean Jackson) and less talented QBs (Thad Busby), yet they still continued to run the "fast break". If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
The reason it disappeared a bit the past couple years was mainly the coaches’ lack of confidence in their quarterback. Now that he’s a battle-tested junior, I’d expect them to loosen the reins considerably on Chris Rix this fall. And despite what some people might think, there are still plenty capable receivers there. But I wouldn’t expect a full return to the “fast break,” simply because the strength of this year’s team is unquestionably its running backs. I know most Seminole fans would rather see them throwing the ball around the field, but trust me -- if you want to win the most games possible, you’re going to want Greg Jones, Leon Washington and Lorenzo Booker to play as large a role as possible.
Stewart, Is this the year that Central Florida finally gets a bowl bid? Can the Golden Knightds upset Marshall and win the MAC? And can Ryan Schneider at least get mentioned in the Heisman race?
I wouldn’t count on it. I know a lot of people -- most blatantly, their coach -- expected UCF to come in and dominate the MAC from the minute they got there, but they’re still a couple years away. For one, I wouldn’t expect a dropoff from Marshall just because the Herd lost Byron Leftwich. Stan Hill has experience, he has two great receivers to throw to in Darius Watts and Josh Davis, and the Herd could have one of their better defenses this year. I also think Miami is poised to make a run this year. Schneider is a great quarterback, but if I had to pick one over the other, I’d go with Ben Roethlisberger, whose numbers may not be quite as staggering but whose arm has NFL people drooling. I’ve gotten a few e-mails from people complaining that I don’t answer enough questions about Pac-10 football. Well, I’d like to state for the record that out of about 500 e-mails this week, not a single one asked a legitimate Pac-10 question. I also got not a single e-mail off last week’s Washington/Washington State column, which means either no one cared enough to read it, or everyone was bored stiff before they could get to the e-mail link at the end, and we all know the latter’s not possible. So make yourselves heard, West Coasters. You’re starting to put credence into that whole “apathetic sports fan” stereotype. As for last week’s query about the worst four years to be a student at certain football schools, the responses basically fell into three categories. There were the really spoiled people, i.e. “Ohio State, 1995-98” or “Michigan the past four years.” Give me a break. I don’t care how many times you came up short of the national title. That isn’t real misery. The second category is what I’d like to call “people who knew what they were getting into.” I don’t doubt it was miserable sitting in the stands at Northwestern or Oregon State in the ‘80s, but come on now, what did you expect when you filled out the application? Finally, there are those that fit the bill perfectly. The most popular nominees: The Gerry Faust (1981-85) and Bob Davie (1997-01) eras at Notre Dame; Texas, 1986-89 (21-24); SMU, 1987-90 (death penalty the first two years, 2-9 the other two); LSU under Curley Hallman, 1991-94 (16-28); Maryland under Mark Duffner, 1991-94 (11-33); Pittsburgh pre-Walt Harris, 1992-95 (11-34); Georgia under Ray Goff, 1993-96 (22-22-1); Illinois during the Lou Tepper/Ron Turner transition, 1995-98 (10-33-1); Oklahoma under John Blake, 1995-98 (17-27-1); Penn State, 1998-2001 (Joe Paterno’s first consecutive losing seasons); and Arizona the past four years (20-26 after going 12-1 in ’98). Stewart Mandel covers college sports for SI.com. To send a question or comment for Stewart's Mailbag, click here.
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