Josh Jenkins Stays Home!!!

Its about time West Virginia got some good news. Highly rated offesnive lineman from Vienna, WV Josh Jenkins has signed his letter of intent to play ball for the Mountaineers.

This thick o-line prospect plays tackle for his high school team but is likely to be offensive guard in college. He lacks the height and quickness to play tackle on the next level. He does have a nice, bulky frame with the ability to add some size. With some added power from a college weight program, Jenkins could develop into a very strong run blocker. He already shows great push up the middle on inside run plays.

He is comfortable in pull-blocking schemes, which again indicates a move to guard. He has a strong burst and great initial contact. It would be nice to see him maintain consistency throughout the entire play; after the burst he can at times lose focus.

All in all, he is a solid overall player. He shows a nice grasp of the overall skills needed to play on the offensive line. If he develops a killer instinct, he could turn into an all-conference type player.

Jenkins is the gem of this WVU class.

Terrelle Pryor Update and more...

I just got off the phone with my contacts in Ann Arbor and he gave me his thoughts on the new hire and Michigan's chances at Terrelle Pryor.

My unnamed source at TheWolverine.com first told me that there is more energy around the Michigan program in one day under Rich Rod than in the past five years combined. This is not shocking.

First things first, Terrelle Pryor has officially added Michigan to his list of schools. And they move right to the top. My contact tells me that the % chance Terrelle Pryor goes to Michigan is at 50%. West Virginia, Tennessee and Texas have all bit the dust in the last few weeks. Florida is on its death bed. That leaves Michigan, Ohio St and Oregon.

So, hypothetically, if Pryor goes to Michigan that raises intersting questions about the current depth chart. Pryor has told Michigan that he does not have to play right away. Redshirting is an option or use him like Florida used Timmy Teabags when he was behind Chris Leak on the depth chart: get some time under center in special circumstances.

So this leaves me with one burning question. What happens to Ryan Mallet? Well, apparently he is a jerk. That is a quote that has been cleaned up for children. Will he transfer? Will he stick it out? What about Ga. Tech transfer/recruit Steve Threet? Only time will tell.

The 50% number would mean that Michigan is leading and I do not believe that...yet. I would guess its closer to...

Michigan 40%
Ohio St 40%
Oregon 20%

We shall see what happens.

Also, huge commitments coming today from Arthur Brown and Chris Harper today from Wichita, KS. I have been saying Brown to USC but rumors are swirling about North Carolina.

Championship Weekend

Its championship weekend. At least in some states. Ohio crowned their title winners last weekend with an upset by Coldwater over Youngstown Cardinal Mooney despite PSU commit Brandon Beachum's 191 yards. The biggest star of the Ohio state title weekend was running back Darius Ashley, a running back headed to Louisville. Ashley set an Ohio record for rushing in a title game rushing for 271 yards and two scores in the 27-0 Class-1 victory. Ashley is DRAMATICALLY underrated.

The nation's top player, Terrelle Pryor, had another game for the ages in his title game this weekend. Jeannette HS beat Dunmore in the Class-AA PIAA title game this weekend 49-21. Jeannette was not really tested at all in their run to the title. Pryor threw for 83 yards, one touchdown, rushed for 209 yards and three scores and to top it all off he caught a 28 yard touchdown pass. Run, pass and catch. This kid just about does it all. (He had a 100-yard INT return for touchdown last week)

With the move David Cutcliffe makes, Tennessee has been eliminated by Pryor. That leaves FLA, PSU, OSU, WVU and Oregon. PSU and FLA seem to trailing the other three. With rumors swirling about Rich Rodriguez heading to Michigan, WVU might be on tenuous ground. The Oregon Ducks are slowly moving up the list.

The nation's top running back lived up to his hype as well. St. Bonnie's Darrell Scott rushed for 150 yards on 17 carries (8.8 ypc) and two scores with only one leg. Scott played the entire CIF State Division III Bowl Championship win over Central Catholic (35-21) with a badly injured ankle.

South Carolina posted a 31-24 victory over North Carolina Saturday in the 71st annual Shrine Bowl. I will be speaking with Tony Morrell of GamecockCentral.com on Monday so look for more Shrine Bowl coverage. Many players raised their stock significantly, linebacker Sterling Lucas for one.

Decommitment Party Coming to a Town Near You

Working for Rivals.com, one realizes that a 'verbal commitment' is just that. A spoken agreement between two parties. In the past a 'commitment' meant more. Realistically, roughly 90% of commitments stick and hold true.

Its seems recently that with all the major coaching moves, the word 'decommitted' has come up more and more often....

It all started with Nebraska and Bill Callahan getting axed...
Blaine Gabbert - QB (Ballwin, MO) Nebraska --> Missouri
Jonas Gray - RB (Detroit, MI) Nebraska --> Notre Dame
Trevor Robinson - OL (Elkhorn, NE) Nebraska --> ???
Sean Mohler - LB (Newport Beach, CA) Nebraska --> Colorado
D.J. Woods - WR (Strongville, OH) Nebraska --> West Virginia

This, on the same day that WVU lands another wide receiver named J.D. Woods from Naples, FL. So DJ Woods and JD Woods both wideouts, both commit to same school on the same day? Am I the only one who finds that weird?

Nebraska stopped the bleeding a bit when Bo Pelini hired Barney Cotton...
Ben Cotton - TE (Ames, IA) Louisville --> Nebraska

Then Dennis Franchione got lopped and Oklahoma got lucky...
Markelle Martin - S (Wichita Falls, TX) Texas A&M --> Oklahoma

But then Mike Sherman and the Aggies returned the favor...
Jeff Fuller - WR (McKinney, TX) Oklahoma --> Texas A&M

UCLA, Arkansas, and Georgia Tech have removed their HC's and it cost them...
Kemonte Bateman - WR (Los Angeles, CA) UCLA --> Arizona St
Sean Renfree - QB (Scottsdale, AZ) Georgia Tech --> ???
Jarius Wright - WR (Warren, AR) Arkansas --> ???

Keep an eye on E.J. Woods and Aundre Dean as well as their commitments to UCLA still hang in the balance.

Miami recently lost one of its fine linebacker commits...
Lerentee McCray - LB (Dunnellon, FL) Miami --> ???

This makes the tenuous commitment of Patrick Johnson even that more fragile.

Bret Bielema and Wisconsin have been poaching a bit...
Brandon Kelly - DE (Eden Prairie, MN) Minnesota --> Wisconsin
Anthony Mains - DE (Naples, FL) South Florida --> Wisconsin

A 6-6, 250 lb quarterback was not satisfied with one decommitment, he had to go for two...
D.C. Jefferson - QB (Winterhaven, FL) Rutgers --> LSU --> Rutgers

LSU has lost two QB commits in the last two weeks (Darron Thomas).

Now there is a rumor that Lynn Katoa is uneasy with his commitment to Colorado. Oklahoma looks to be a player.

Just a few more...
London Davis - TE (Cahokia, IL) Missouri --> Illinois
D.J. Marshall - DE (Mesquite, TX) Iowa State --> Kansas
Blair Irvin - DB (Patterson, LA) Auburn --> West Virginia

Terrelle Pryor headed to Oregon?

Good friend Mike Farrell of Rivals.com, is reporting that Terrelle Pryor has added the Oregon Ducks to his list of suitors. Apparently Mike Bellotti and Dennis Dixon paid him a bit of a visit when traveling to New York for an awards ceremony.

I have been saying since day one that his decision will come down to what type of offense he will be running. West Virginia and Florida would fit his desired style the best. However, no matter how good Terrelle Pryor is, he will never be more popular than Timmy Teabags in Gainesville.

Ohio State has proven that it can adapt. But is Tressell to conservative?

Was Michael Robinson's season enough for Penn St to prove that JoePa has not let the game pass him by?

Tennessee. Manning? Claussen? Ainge? That is twelve years of no chance.

With Dennis Dixon's play this season and no quarterback in sight on that campus, Eugene becomes an interesting option for Mr. Pryor. If it is the system he wants, there might be no better option than Oregon and Chip Kelly's offense.

Prior to Dixon's injury, West Virginia and Oregon were the two most explosive and most difficult to stop offenses of the 2007 season. Would love to see him go to Oregon.

Additionally, Pryor eliminated Texas. Shocking. They were never a serious player.

Photo by Pittsburgh Post Gazette