In the FCS Huddle: QB openings not for the feint of heart
NCAA Football Betting Lines
02/06/2012 -
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You don't have to be Tim Tebow to be the
most scrutinized quarterback around.
The light in the microscope usually shines brightest on any team's signal-
caller.
Considering big expectations follow the sport's marquee position, it only
intensifies for the quarterback who is replacing a highly accomplished senior.
Such situations will be prevalent this coming season across the Football
Championship Subdivision.
There are some big shoes to fill nationally.
Whoever steps in for Bo Levi Mitchell at Eastern Washington faces one of the
more daunting tasks. Mitchell, of course, was the Most Outstanding Player in
the Eagles' 2010 FCS championship game win and captured the 2011 Walter Payton
Award (sponsored by Fathead.com) as the nation's outstanding player.
His successor, who is trying to replace Mitchell's 7,505 passing yards and 70
touchdown passes of the last two seasons, could be either junior Anthony Vitto
or redshirt freshman Vernon Adams.
Vitto has more experience in offensive coordinator Aaron Best's system and
holds the top spot going into spring practice in late March, but Adams is more
mobile - he passed for 5,234 yards and rushed for another 1,263 yards in his
final two high school seasons - and was the scout team's offensive player of
the year this past season.
The situation could change if Kyle Padron, who unseated Mitchell as SMU's
starting quarterback in 2009, comes to EWU. The big Texan (6-foot-4, 233
pounds) is seeking to transfer from SMU and is expected to visit with the
Eagles' program.
Lehigh's Chris Lum tied for second behind Mitchell in the Payton Award voting
and his replacement is much more set with senior Mike Colvin. He has good size
- 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds - with excellent arm strength. He already has played
in 22 career games, often as a change of pace run/pass-option quarterback.
Colvin has rushed for seven touchdowns in his career, although he struggled in
his only career start, replacing an injured Lum in a game at New Hampshire two
years ago.
Northern Iowa's Jared Lanpher played well against Youngstown State last season
- throwing for 238 yards and two touchdowns - when he started in place of an
injured Tirrell Rennie. The redshirt sophomore saw action in four other games
and could have the inside track to replacing Rennie this coming season,
although redshirt freshman Sawyer Kollmorgan has also impressed coaches since
he arrived on campus.
At Chattanooga, quarterback B.J. Coleman hopes to be NFL-bound, but he missed
a lot of time as a senior because of a shoulder injury. It opened the door for
Terrell Robinson to replace him and win Southern Conference Freshman of the
Week honors three times last season. He's a run-first quarterback, having
rushed for 417 yards and thrown for only 336 yards.
Robinson will have competition from redshirt freshman Jacob Huesman, son of
Mocs head coach Russ Huesman. His playing style is similar to Robinson's.
New Liberty head coach Turner Gill has to replace do-everything quarterback
Mike Brown. The most experienced of the Flames' returnees is redshirt senior
Tyler Brennan, who has appeared in 22 career games - often in mop-up time -
but was injured during the second half of last season. He's more of a drop-
back passer than the dual-threat Brown.
Redshirt junior Brian Hudson is also a pocket passer and has the strongest arm
among the signal-callers. Still another of Brown's possible successors,
redshirt sophomore Gabe Henderson, follows the Brown script in that he was a
wide receiver in 2010 - catching 10 passes - before transitioning to a
quarterback last year, when he was a redshirt.
Josh Woodrum, coming off his redshirt freshman season, has the high school
accolades, though not the experience of his Liberty teammates.
Jackson State signed one the FCS' top incoming freshmen last week in Lamontiez
Ivy out of East St. Louis. He will get a shot at replacing Casey Therriault,
although 6-5 redshirt senior Dedric McDonald has been the backup for two years
and redshirt sophomore Tevin Chapman is a good runner who is also experienced
in the system.
Jacksonville has to replace Josh McGregor, who ended his career 23rd on the
all-time FCS list with 11,230 passing yards and sixth in touchdown passes with
111. Trevius Folston and Kade Bell are returning, but a signee or two will
join them at the Pioneer Football League power.
The 6-7 Folston backed up McGregor as a freshman last season, while Bell, the
son of Jacksonville head coach Kerwin Bell, redshirted in his first season.
Plenty of other FCS programs are looking for a new starting quarterback after
losing a key senior. Included are New Hampshire (Kevin Decker), Central
Arkansas (Nathan Dick), Norfolk State (Chris Walley), Georgia Southern (Jaybo
Shaw), Richmond (Aaron Corp) and Wofford (Mitch Allen).
Also, there's Holy Cross (Ryan Taggart), Samford (Dustin Taliaferro), Furman
(Chris Forcier), Indiana State (Ronnie Fouch), Maine (Warren Smith), Portland
State (Connor Kavanaugh), Southeast Missouri State (Matt Scheible), South
Dakota (Dante Warren), Brown (Kyle Newhall-Caballero), Yale (Patrick Witt) and
Butler (Andrew Huck).
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In the FCS Huddle: QB openings not for the faint of heart >>
Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - You don't have to be Tim Tebow to be the
most scrutinized quarterback around.
The light in the microscope usually shines brightest on any team's signal-
caller.
Considering big expectations follow the s
Warriors waive Barron >>
Oakland, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Golden State Warriors have waived center
Earl Barron and recalled forward Chris Wright from the Dakota Wizards of the
NBA Development League.
Barron averaged 2.0 points in just two games for the
Cards ink Cora to minor league deal >>
St. Louis, MO (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The St. Louis Cardinals have signed infielder
Alex Cora to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training.
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also pl
Chiefs name Daboll offensive coordinator >>
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American Idol odds : Blake Lewis the Early Standout
An important American Idol betting lines recap from February 20 Guys episode. The 12 men came out flat overall with Blake Lewis appearing to have the early edge after the first hour and a half.
Rudy - was quite good singing "Free Ride" to start off. Randy was not impressed though. Paula thought he started off fantastic. "Never had anyone stop off so lively" said Paula but Simon (who does not like Rudy) does not feel he has a distinct voice and was not impressed either.
Brandon was a little pitchy according to Randy and Paula agreed. Simon said he was a good singer but the song was "too safe" and he needs to make an impact. He was listed at +1200 odds or $1200 paid out on a $100 bet should he win the competition.
Big favorite Sundance came in with a flat version of "Knights in White Satin" and the judges let him have it, including Paula. Randy claimed the song was out of pitch throughout.
Korean American - and a Jenny Woo favorite - Paul Kim was up next. Another pitchy flat one but Randy said he still liked his potential. Kim at +3000 odds was said to have sung a "third rate version of that (George Michael) song" according to Simon Cowell. He sang "Careless Whisper".
22 year old Chris Richardson was up next. He was listed with +1100 odds coming in. He got the best response from the judges though Simon did not believe the vocal was that great.
Nick was boring and pitchy. Simon didn't think he was that bad though and predicted he would be back next week. Nick Pedro was a big +3000 dog coming into this competition.
Beat boxer Blake Lewis was listed with early +1000 odds or $1000 payout on a $100 bet if he were to become the next American Idol winner odds . These of course were the early odds. He was considered original for picking an "odd song". He did not beat box and the judges felt it was the best vocal of the night.
Sanjaya came in as the second biggest favorite after Chris Sligh but his performance Tuesday night was not very good.
Chris Sleigh was the early favorite at +450 odds. Great voice and a great sense of humor. He's a real standout. Randy felt it was on point but maybe ahead of the chorus a little bit. Simon Cowell said he felt like he was in some "sort of weird student gig".
Jared Cotter followed. He was listed with +2000 odds early on to win the competition. The judges felt he needs to take more risks but looked good.
22-year old AJ Talbado, who has tried out for American Idol five times, was up next. "Kind of a theme park performance" said Simon. Though the judges felt he performed okay. Simon did feel AJ might be better than he originally thought.
Phil - this season's military favorite - came into this competition with +1200 odds to win the competition. He was the last to perform. He was certainly strong enough to get through this stage of the competition and perhaps the best one after a shaky start.
Tomorrow night, the ladies perform and I sure hope they do a better job than the boys. Check out all the American Idol betting odds here.
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