New College Hires

I will evaluate some of the new hires in College Football over the next few weeks, as the season progresses. Here is a list of who has me impressed:

Steve Kragthorpe-Louisville. I called him a rising star last season on LNWDW, and he is going higher now. He may be at the perfect job in Louisville, and with the chance to win a national title-something he could not do at Tulsa.

Randy Shannon-Miami (Fl). He has brought back discipline, or introduced it to them. No names on the back of the jersey's and brings a fresh approach. It seems he and his staff have recruited quite well, and should be in the ACC hunt this season. Hopefully he can bring a breath of fresh air to the program

Butch Davis-North Carolina. He rebuilt Miami, but doing it in Chapel Hill will be tough. However, he is tenacious, and should get the Heels back to where Mack Brown had them. This is going to take a few years, though so be patient.

Now onto ones I have questions about:

Nick Saban-Alabama. While successful at LSU, he struggled at Michigan St, where he had the Big 10 powers Michigan and Ohio St to recruit against. He has Auburn, in state, Georgia in close proximity (Georgia is where some great Bama players have coem from) Tennessee, as well as LSU and Florida. Also a ?-longevity. He has been at no stop longer than 5 years and his outright lie about not wanting the Bama job may hurt him in recruiting. But how an you turn down 4 mill a year? He is on a tight leash, no doubt. But he might be able to pull off what he did at LSU, just sooner.

Mike Dantonio-Michigan St. He was the DC at Ohio St, and did a mediocre job at mediocre Cincinnati. Is he the right man for East Lansing? Maybe not. No coach has done wll since George Perles, and the Spartans have seen Wisconsin and Northweastern go to the Rose Bowl while they have not. If he can bring the discipline i have read about him bringing to the team show up on the field. Maybe.

Todd Graham-Tulsa. Hired by Rice, he brought the Owls to their first Bowl game in over 40 years, then jumped back to Tulsa where he was the DC for a few years. Like Saban, he will be questioned by recruits about his length of stay at Tulsa, and rightfully so. There are about 100 players at Rice that feel the same way.