Since arriving in Eugene, Chip Kelly has been a master at putting a quarterback on the field and turning him into a success.From Dennis Dixon, to Jeremiah Masoli, to Darron Thomas and plenty of quarterbacks in between, Kelly has been a master at developing this position.As an offensive coordinator and head coach, Kelly has mentored Dennis Dixon, Cody Kempt, Justin Roper, Jeremiah Masoli, Chris Harper, Nate Costa, Darron Thomas and now Marcus Mariota and Bryan ...

2012 could be a big season for Virginia Tech.The Hokies return nine starters on the defensive side of the ball and junior quarterback Logan Thomas. Bud Foster's defensive unit finished 10th overall in total defense in 2011 and have impressive depth throughout the front seven. James Gayle and Kyle Fuller, both juniors, lead what could be one of the best defensive teams in the nation.Although things may seem to bode well for the Hokies as they ...

The main thing you need to know about the Tennessee Volunteers' depth at offensive line is that it exists and it is talented.The Vols can gain a huge advantage over their opponents this fall if they can find a way to leverage this asset.From the lone senior, Dallas Thomas, to the slew of redshirt and true freshmen, all you'll find is a highly recruited player out of high school who has either wowed in practice, ...

Nebraska fans, in general, hate recruiting.When Tom Osborne was in charge, Nebraska’s recruiting classes were never highly ranked, largely because Nebraska's offensive system was so unique. Then, when Bill Callahan arrived, he told Nebraska fans that his recruiting prowess would return NU to the glory days. Well, we all know how that panned out. So, in response to Callahan, many Nebraska fans have discounted the need for strong recruiting classes as a whole. It didn't ...

Alabama has always had a lot of talent under Nick Saban, but the 2012 team just might be the best he has ever had. Of that talent, there are a few special players that we, as Alabama fans, just cannot wait another minute to see in action. It will be a joy and wonder to behold what the team does in 2012, but these 12 specific players have us eagerly awaiting fall. Here are those 12 players ...

South Carolina is ready for the return of Marcus Lattimore. The Gamecocks' star running back had his 2011 season cut short due to knee injury during the Mississippi State game. South Carolina was able to overcome the loss of Lattimore and finished with a school-record 11 wins for the 2011 season. A big reason for the Gamecocks' success was the play of the backups behind Marcus Lattimore.The main players to step up behind Lattimore were freshman Brandon ...

Every Tuesday, The Big Ten Blog will rank the top player at each position for each team in the Big Ten. Today, we're hitting, well, the big hitters: the strong safeties. 12. Derrick Wells, MinnesotaMinnesota's secondary is an absolute mess. It was shredded to the tune of 107th in the nation in pass efficiency defense, and that's before the four top safeties graduated. Wells is moving over from cornerback, and the fact that he was even ...

Many football experts would say that if a team doesn't have good offensive and defensive lines, they will have a hard time winning ball games.The Georgia Bulldogs had a solid offensive line last year and won 10 games because of it. But at the same time, the offensive line had its moments where it could not put it all together, resulting in losses to LSU, Boise State and South Carolina.This year, the offensive line will ...

The hottest debate surrounding the Notre Dame football program through the course of the offseason has been who the Irish's starting quarterback will be when the team takes to the pitch at Aviva Stadium on Sept. 1.I'm here to settle the debate once and for all. I'll be dissecting the quarterback depth chart from the bottom up.Let's get started.Begin Slideshow

At the halfway mark of verbally filling USC's allotment of 18 scholarships—including three early enrollments—for 2013, the Trojans are crafting what appears to be a historic recruiting class.Sporting an abundance of nationally-ranked top ten players at their respective positions, Lane Kiffin and his crew have already assembled a group of players that 98 percent of college programs would give their right arms for.What about the players themselves?Yes, they are highly rated. But, what will they ...