Recently hired college basketball coaches have a very limited amount of time to reach the NCAA tournament before their seats start getting hot, but there are quite a few 2015 offseason hires who could be dancing in the first season with their new programs. Last year, this piece was a big fat bust. Of the 48 teams with a new coach, North Dakota State was the only one to reach the tournament—and we didn't even have ...

The amount of talent on the Ohio State football team is absolutely staggering. The Buckeyes, fresh off of winning the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship, are bolstered by 15 returning starters, most of whom expect to hear their names called during the 2016 NFL draft. But which players have the highest ceiling, and how early will they go when the clock starts ticking? Exploring that question should bring a smile to Urban Meyer's face, because there's a possibility his ...

No matter what he does, Michigan Wolverines football coach Jim Harbaugh is an intense person.Even if it's just a ceremonial first pitch.Harbaugh—in his signature khakis—threw out the first pitch before Tuesday night's game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park. The 51-year-old coach made sure to get some warm-up throws in down in the dugout, and when it came time for the pitch, he was all business.Just look at his face:Harbaugh ...

North Carolina is projected to have an elite team next season, but a few key players will try to stand out from the pack. A year after the media named zero Tar Heels as first- or second-team All-ACC, the squad now has a number of players who can accomplish this feat during the 2015-16 season. The question is which ones are the most likely to put up the statistics necessary to earn these honors. Some situations will ...

Shaka Smart hasn't wasted any time hitting the recruiting trail after signing on as head coach of the Texas Longhorns, and he netted a big prize Tuesday in 2016 point guard prospect Jacob Young. Young, who hails from Houston and attends Yates High School, chose Texas over the Baylor Bears and the Duquesne Dukes, each of which had submitted an offer to the floor general, according to 247Sports.   The first commit in Smart's 2016 class, Young ...

Jim Harbaugh hasn’t met expectations during the first six months of his tenure with the Michigan Wolverines—he’s shattered them. Perhaps “obliterated them” better describes what he’s done since taking over his hobbling alma mater Dec. 30. Supposedly, he wasn’t much into recruiting anymore, yet he’s strung together the No. 8-ranked class in the nation. Make no mistake: He’s into recruiting. So much, in fact, that he had recently walked the streets of downtown Ann Arbor with a ...

After surrendering the most passing yards of the Nick Saban era in 2014, the 2015 Alabama defense will have to tighten up its issues in the secondary to help earn a return trip to the College Football Playoff. On a team loaded with talent, sophomore cornerback Tony Brown may be the key player in improving the secondary and bringing another national title to Tuscaloosa.  Last season, Cyrus Jones was able to lock down one of the starting cornerback ...

Year two for head coach Charlie Strong at Texas will be pivotal. Even that might be an understatement.  On one hand, the Longhorns lose several of the key playmakers who led the team to a bowl game last season. If there's a drop-off, no one would be terribly surprised. On the other hand, this is Texas, and Strong is paid handsomely to get results. Improving from year one to year two in the win column seems ...

Penn State continues to make its push to return to among the nation's elite via the recruiting route, as James Franklin has landed another top-notch defensive prospect for 2016 in Daniel Joseph. 247Sports rates Joseph, from Lake Forest, Illinois, as the No. 263 player in the 2016 recruiting class. It considers the 6'3", 240-pound edge-rusher to be the nation's 14th-best strong-side defensive end and the fifth-best player in Illinois for 2016. Penn State was one of 19 ...

A first pitch at Yankee Stadium, a lecture at a global conference, innovative recruiting tactics and a nonstop stream of local headlines during a period when college coaches are typically public hermits. If this was describing the offseasons of Michigan's Jim Harbaugh or Ohio State's Urban Meyer, chances are you've already heard this story—the one about the Big Ten coach who's extended his stay in the spotlight well past signing day and into the eve of ...