Some thoughts and observations from the weekend ...
Thigpen to Chiefs
In case you missed it, the Minnesota Vikings tried to sneak former CCU quarterback Tyler Thigpen through waivers on Sunday, electing to keep Brooks Bollinger over Thigpen as their No. 3 quarterback.
The Kansas City Chiefs jumped on Thigpen, adding him to their 53-man roster and placing him behind Damon Huard and Brodie Croyle. Vikings coach Brad Childress told the Minneapolis Star-Tribune Sunday morning that he would ``be sick'' if the Vikings lost Thigpen.
Well he's gone. If he develops into a starting quarterback, the Vikings might indeed be sick with unproven Tavaris Jackson and journeymen Kelly Holcomb and Bollinger on the roster.
Tyler has the physical tools: he can move and, according to his agent, he threw a 76-yard pass in a pre-draft workout in front of scouts. The question is how quickly can he learn a new offense and a new game speed.
Appalachian State
Some were saying that the Appalachian State win against Michigan in the Big House was the greatest upset in college football history. That might be going too far. Remember, Appalachian State knows how to win and how to handle adversity and pressure in winning back-to-back FCS titles. Second, quarterback Armanti Edwards can flat out play and that spread offense makes him especially deadly (He is really, really quick). Going into the game, teams that have played Appalachian State during its 15-game winning streak would likely call the Mountaineers a top-100 team regardless of classification, now their stock has skyrocketed. Would they really finish last in the ACC, Big East, SEC or Big Ten? Is Indiana or Mississippi State really a better team?
Last season, computer rankings guru Kenneth Massey ranked Appalachian State as the No. 44 team in the country in his final rankings, regardless of classification.
Like foreign teams beating USA Basketball in recent years, Appy St., despite its relative lack of blue chip recruits, is simply a solid team. I think they could compete in the FBS with this team. Could they be bowl eligible? I don't know if I want to extend myself that far, but it would be interesting.
Getting back to Coastal
The quarterback question may be even more muddled now than before the opener.
Ren McKinnon moved the team better than Will Richardson in the first half, but after McKinnon left with a hip injury, Richardson picked up his play. Richardson finished strong, but his final numbers were luke warm: 19-of-33 for 187 yards. His 5.6 yards per attempt is below where you want your quarterback to be.
Freshman Sean Fortson had a few snaps and fumbled. He was put in a tough position to succeed: a tight game on the road in his first college action.
Jamie Childers, the likely No. 1 talent at the position, still has his redshirt.
It's a tough call, and CCU coach David Bennett said he will start Richardson on Saturday and play Fortson some.
I think the Chants went into the season needing to win two of these three games – Delaware State, James Madison and Furman – to have a chance at the playoffs. If they can't pull that off, it could be the right time to break in a young quarterback
.
Hot reads
*The Chants converted 1-of-16 third down chances Saturday - hard to win that way.
*CCU coach David Bennett said kickoff coverage has to improve, especially with the spot moved back to the 30.
*If Coastal can bat down one of the two jump balls to Shaheer McBride, it could have easily been a Coastal win. Not bad considering the Chants were breaking in 11 new starters on the road against what may very well be a top 25 team.
* The Ren McKinnon injury, a fractured hip socket, doesn't sound good. Too bad. McKinnon had a good camp and moved the team in game situations. Bennett said Sunday it's now ``coach McKinnon'' saying the senior, even he can't play, can help the young qbs.
Helmet stickers
*Jerome Simpson. The Chants senior star put his body in harms way a handful of times including one vicious block on a DSU safety. Simpson had two drops but finished with 68 yards and a touchdown. He also played on special teams.
*The defensive line. I thought the front four played really well against an offensive line that averaged 322 pounds per player. They also had a couple strips that were recovered to keep Coastal in the game.
*Ben Erdman. The freshman punter looked shaky at times in the preseason, but his first college punt under pressure was a 45 yard high arching kick. He also twice placed DSU inside its 10-yard line.
On the road
I flew into Washington, D.C. on Friday afternoon and rented a car to travel over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and into Delaware. I arrived around 5 p.m. on Friday, and the advice of the folks at Hertz was to not even attempt to hit the D.C. beltway till about 8 p.m., due to their ridiculous traffic. So instead of diving right into the 495 gridlock, I took a slight detour to Fairfax, Va. (home to George Mason). Really nice town, has a Chapel Hill-type feel.
Speaking of George Mason, the school's run in the men's NCAA tournament is great publicity for a small conference school like George Mason. If they hadn't advanced to the Final Four several years back maybe I don't bother to check out the place, I wouldn't have known it was there. Imagine if Cliff Ellis gets the Chants in say the Sweet 16, I think a few more million people watching on CBS would know Coastal Carolina is near Myrtle Beach. Talk about great free advertising, it has to be akin to a handful of full page ads in the New York Times.
Recent Comments