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Archive for Football

NFL Time, At Last

Friday, July 23rd, 2010

A huge part of sports is coaching, and because we cover the future of sports here at NextGenSports.net, it’s only fitting that we let you know about the future of coaching. Over the next few weeks, we’ll chronicle the best young coaches in the “Big 6” U.S. sports (NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, NCAA Football, NCAA Basketball).

We discussed Brad Stevens a few weeks ago as the best young coach in college basketball, this week we’ll shift drastically to the biggest and most popular league in America, the NFL. To qualify, coaches must have less than 5 years of head coaching experience and must be under 50 years old. Without further ado, the best young coach in the NFL is…

John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens: 47 Years old

As the NFL’s coaching atmosphere continues to experience an influx of young talent, John Harbaugh (left) is a perfect example of a young coach doing a fine job with his team. Hired as the Ravens’ head coach after being the Eagles’ special teams coordinator and later defensive backs coach, Harbaugh had a fair share of doubt coming his way from Ravens fans, most of them citing a lack of leadership experience. After having Brian Billick lead the team to a Super Bowl victory in 2001 and turning them into a yearly contender, the naysayers wanted a bigger-name coach at the helm, and expected Harbaugh to have a short, uneventful stint with the Ravens. Read More→

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Tommy Tuberville and the Big 12’s Survival

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

I wish there were more coaches like Texas Tech’s Tommy Tuberville. After former head man for the Red Raiders, Mike Leach, was fired by the school’s athletic department, Tuberville was hired to fill the void. Though he may not have an offensive scheme like Leach’s, where 50 plus passes a game were thrown, he sure is as outspoken as him. Earlier this week Tuberville went on a Rivals.com radio show and expressed his frustration with the lack of parity in the Big 12. He said, “I don’t think this conference will last long because there is too much disparity between all the teams. In the SEC for instance, Vanderbilt makes as much money in the television contract as Florida. Everybody is good with it. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody gets the same votes.” Tuberville went on to say how certain schools in the conference were treated above others, and how he really had no idea how the conference would keep its remaining ten teams intact if they continued to act in such a way. Read More→

Who’s Next?…AJ Green

Saturday, July 3rd, 2010

AJ Green
Height/Weight:
6′4″/205 lbs.
Wide Receiver
Hometown:
Summerville, South Carolina
School:
University of Georgia
Year:
Junior

When scouts see Georgia Bulldogs wide receiver AJ Green play a game, they all come away with the same impression: “Randy Moss 2.0.” Those are big words to describe a kid who is only 21, but they are very reasonable. The rising junior, born in South Carolina, has been on the radars of NFL scouts since his times as a skinny prep sophomore at Summerville High. Blessed with the physical stature of a basketball player and raw speed of a track star, Green has been embarrassing defensive backs on every level of competition ever since.

Green was first truly noticed by the nation his freshman campaign. After being one of the most sought after players in the country during his college recruitment process, people expected him to produce at a high level. The one thing no one could foresee would be how soon he would do just that. Green took the conference by storm, winning SEC Freshman of the Year, and landing on 1st team All SEC. His statistics to accompany the accolades were eye popping as well: 56 catches (9 touchdowns) for 963 yards. The youngster set Georgia freshman records in almost every major receiving category, and posted the third highest yard total in school history (in front of guys like Hines Ward and Mohammed Massaquoi…not bad company). At Georgia this past season, despite missing three games due to injury, Green still ended up with 47 catches (6 touchdowns) for 751 yards. Those were scary numbers considering the strength of the SEC and overall ineptitude of Georgia’s offense in the post-Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno era. Read More→

Conferences, the Future

Monday, June 14th, 2010

As I sit down to write this article, I can confidently assert that the future of college sports looks much brighter today than as of yesterday. The six major conferences, consisting of the ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Big 12 and Pac 10 all remain in tact. Yes, certain teams have changed conferences, but the overall landscape is stable, thanks to one school in particular, the University of Texas Longhorns (pictured above).

Let us rewind 24 hours. The Big 12 was in shambles. Nebraska had bolted to the Big 10, enticed by the conference’s own network and the guaranteed $20-25 million the university would receive annually. Fellow North division opponent Colorado had already announced its intentions to join the Pac 10. Money seems to be the driving force behind the Buffaloes decision, yet statistics show that the Big 12 has a greater total revenue than the Pac 10. Yes, the distribution between teams in the Big 12 is unequal, with national powerhouses, such as Texas, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State receiving the majority of the money. Furthermore, these national powerhouses who headline the Big 12 Conference were reviewing moves to Pac 10, as well. The University of Texas A&M was even considering moving to the football crazy SEC. Read More→