Mark's 2013 College Football Top 25 Preseason Poll

Now that you got a look at the 2013 College Football Preseason Coaches Poll, here is my version of the Top 25 Preseason picks along with a few teams that just missed the cut.  Also, I will be showing you some of the new helmets that these teams will be wearing this year.

Mark's 2013 College Football Top 25 Preseason Poll

1.  Alabama

2. Stanford

3. Oregon

4. Georgia

5. Ohio State

6. Clemson

7. Texas A&M

8. South Carolina

9. Louisville

10. Florida

11.  Florida State

12. Notre Dame

13. LSU

14. Michigan

15. Oklahoma State

16. Oklahoma

17. Texas

18. Nebraska

19. UCLA

20. Texas Christian

21. Boise State

22. Wisconsin

23. Northwestern

24. Oregon State

25. Miami

Top 5 Missed the Cut
1. Michigan State

2. Fresno State

3. Baylor

4. Virginia Texh

5. Arizona State

2013 College Football USA Today's Coaches Poll Preseason

Today, is a very special day, not just because it is Friday, but because today is the day that I will roll out my 2013 College Football Preseason Top 25 list.  For comparison sake I will first up up the USA Today Coaches Poll Preseason.  Then the next blog entry will be my version of the top 25 with quite a few differences.

USA Today Coaches Poll

1.  Alabama


2. Ohio State


3. Oregon



4. Stanford


5. Georgia


6. Texas A&M


7. South Carolina


8. Clemson


9. Louisville


10.  Florida


11. Notre Dame


12. Florida State

13. LSU

14. Oklahoma State

15. Texas

16. Oklahoma

17. Michigan

18. Nebraska

19. Boise State

20. TCU

21. UCLA

22. Northwestern

23. Wisconsin

24. USC

25. Oregon State

2013 Top College football Players Tajh Boyd

 

Tajh Boyd- Tajh is a 6 foot 1, 225 pound senior quarterback from Clemson University.  Tajh is the undisputed leader of his football team and has the stats to prove it.  Last year he had one of the best years statistically that any quarterback from Clemson has every had.  That is impressive considering the fact that Clemson has had great quarterbacks such as Charlie Whitehurst and Kyle Parker play for them.  Boyd threw for 3,896 yards with 36 touchdowns to 13 interceptions.  Along with his gaudy states throwing the football he is also just as dangerous running as well, he racked up another 514 yards and 10 touchdowns on the ground.

As a senior quarterback Tajh has come a long way, however he has just as much to prove this year as well.  One of the key pieces in Deandre Hopkins is now in the NFL.  I see a lot of really impressive things in Boyd's game that leads me to believe that he will be a very good quarterback at the next level.  The first good area of Boyd's game that I like to see is how he goes through his progression and does not just stare down one receive.  That is something that is going to help Tajh out at the next level because for a lot of quarterbacks that takes quite a few years to learn, Boyd has already learned it.  The other area that I like in Boyd's game is his undeniable leadership skills.  In the biggest games Boyd is able to take his game to another level and lead Clemson to victory more times then not.

I see a quarterback that is going to have a very fine career at the next level.  However, as it is for any good quarterback there are always areas in which improvement can be made.  For Boyd there are many times in which he does not move his feet to his target, instead he relies solely on his arm strength.  This is something that he can get away with at the college level, but at the professional level it will be a completely different story.  The comparison that I see when I look at Boyd is Donovan Mcnabb.  Both of them have/had the ability to beat you with there arms and legs.

Tajh Boyd Arrives at Clemson

Larry Allen to Hall of Fame/Hall of Classy Individuals

I am so proud to say that I graduated from Sonoma State University after watched probably one of the greatest human being to ever walk the campus of Sonoma State get enshrined into the NFL Hall of Fame.  Larry Allen was a professional in every sense of the word.  He was a gentlemen on and off the football field, and always made everyone feel as though they were loved and appreciated.   However, you did not want to face Larry Allen when he was lined up straight across from you.  When you talk to players that played against Larry Allen, they tell you that he was one of the most feared players in all of the NFL when he was playing.  He was one of the strongest players to ever play the game.

I think the one thing that I admire the most about Larry Allen is the gentle creature that he is off the field.  He is one of the players that really gets it, and understands the fact that you are not just representing yourself when you put on the jersey, you are representing your family, your city, your fans, and everyone within the organization that you play for.  That is something that means that much more in today's generation with all the different NFL players getting arrested.  Larry Allen was a player that during his career he was never arrested and was never under fire with regards to his actions.  For any kind of athlete in today's generation, people should be concerned with what you do on the field and what you do to help others off the field.

Larry Allen embodies what it means to be humble, yet confident in his abilities as a football player as well as a valuable member of society.  That is why it makes me extremely proud to say that I graduated from Sonoma State University, the same university that produced Larry Allen.

"Change" - Oregon Football 2013

Here is the video for Oregon's new football helmets that they will be wearing next year.  I am not sure what to make of these new helmets.... When is enough- enough when it comes to spending money for these helmets that these players wear for one or two games?  I just believe that the money could be put to better uses, such as helping out other sports that need help to save there sports programs.  It just seems like they are spending too much money for these players to look good when it is about the quality of play on the field not the jerseys.  Let me know what you think of the jersey's I would love to hear your opinion.

Bulldog Spotlight: Derek Carr

2013 Top College Football Players: Derek Carr

Derek Carr-  Derek Carr is one of the best quarterbacks in College football, especially when if comes to Non- BCS conferences.  Derek is the brother to New York Giants backup quarterback David Carr, who also played for Fresno State.  Derek is very similar to his brother in a lot of ways including having a very powerful arm  He also has a very quick release and can put the ball right on his receivers hands for them to make a play for him.  He also does not make a lot of mistakes, meaning he does not turn the ball over.  If he does not have anywhere to go with the ball he either throws the ball away or uses his feet to make a play.  You will not see him take many sacks or force balls into places.  With that being said he is a gunslinger, but he knows the right time to force balls into tight windows, but unlike over quarterbacks he has the arm strength to fit balls in tight windows.  Carr's numbers last year were very impressive, he threw for 4,104 yards and tossed 37 touchdown passes to only 7 interceptions.  Derek I believe will be a very good quarterback at the next level because he has the ability to make all the throws necessary in the NFL where the game is a lot faster.  The one thing that I could see that he could improve on is not staring down his receivers.  Other then that he will have a great season for a loaded Fresno State football team and could possibly be in the running for the Heisman trophy.

The Supreme Taylor Martinez Highlights

Top College Football Players 2013: Taylor Martinez

Taylor Martinez-  The Nebraska Cornhuskers have not had a quarterback with Martinez's running ability since Eric Crouch.  That is really saying something because Eric Crouch won the Heisman Trophy.  The one thing that Martinez can do better then Crouch is he is a much better pocket passer.  However, he is far from being a finished product.  One weakness that I see is Martinez game, is just like Chuckie Keeton, at times he will leave the pocket too quickly when he just needs to wait just a little longer for his receivers to get open.  He has gotten better at this each and every season that he has been at Nebraska, which is very evident when you put on the game tape.  The strengths of Martinez's game is, his very quick release, along with his ability to escape the rush and make plays happen with his feet.  Taylor threw for 2,871 yards with 23 touchdowns to only 12 picks.  Along with that he also rushed for 1,019 yards and added 10 more touchdowns. When I see Taylor's progress that he has made over the last couple of years I see a guy who has a chance to win a lot of games this year for Nebraska.  He also has the ability to possibly be a quarterback in the NFL if he learns how to better read defenses and make smart decisions with the football.

Chuckie Keeton Sophomore Highlights, Utah State Football 2012

Top College Football Players 2013: Chuckie Keeton

Chuckie Keeton is a 6 foot 2, 200 pound Junior Quarterback from Utah State.  Keeton had a great year for an up and coming Utah State football team.  Last year Chuckie completed 67 percent of his passes for 3,373 yards and tossed 27 touchdowns to only 9 interceptions.  Chuckie also ran for 619 yards and  8 touchdowns.  The strengths for Keeton is his ability to extend plays with his legs and find his receivers down the field.  He has one of the strongest arms in all of college football and he will only continue to mature and get better.  The weakness for Keeton is sometimes he flushes out of the pocket too quickly instead of moving on to his 2nd and 3rd  receivers.  However that is something that he will continue to develop, especially if he wants to be an NFL quarterback someday.  The player that I would compare Keeton to in the NFL is Colin Kaepernick, mainly because of the build and both of their ability to extend plays with their legs.  I strongly believe that Keeton will have another great year for Utah State and he could possibly lead Utah State to a BCS Bowl game.  In terms of being an NFL quarterback he needs to continue to develop his ability to read defenses.

Venric Mark: 2012 Doak Walker Award Semi-Finalist

Top College Football Players 2013: Venric Mark

Venric Mark-  Mark is a 5 foot 8, 175 LB. Junior running back for Northwestern.  Last year he ran for 1,366 yards on 226 carries and scored 12 touchdowns.  Along with what he did running the football he also caught 20 passes for 104 yards and another touchdown.  Venric is a smaller running back that has a lot of quickness and ability to make defenders miss in the open field.  With that being said he also has the ability to run North and South and be able to get tough yards.  He has similar build and toughness to two NFL running backs.  The first running back that I would compare Mark to is Knowshon Moreno, and the other back that I would compare him to is Montee Ball.  Both of these two guys are smaller running backs that rely more on quickness in the open field to get yards.  However, they both have the ability to get the tough yards when they need them.  If there is one weakness to Mark's game, it is being able to catch more passes out of the back field.  In order for him to succeed in the NFL he has to be able to show NFL talent evaluators that he is a complete back.  I think that he is well on his way to being one of the best running backs in Northwestern history and possibly a chance to be a high draft choice when he comes out.

Davante Adams Freshman Highlights

Top College Football Players 2013: Davante Adams

Davante Adams-  The 6 foot 2 wide receiver from Palo Alto California had one of the best seasons that any freshman receiver has ever had.  He ended up finishing the year with 102 receptions for 1,312 yards and scored 14 touchdowns.  Even in today's game of run and shoot offenses Adams numbers were still very impressive.  Adams is a very fluid and effortless runner and uses his very good hands to always catch the football out in front of his body.  Catching the ball out in front of his body allows him to be able to see the whole field and use his ability to make defenders miss tackles.  Adams is not the fastest receiver in the world but makes up for that by running very precise routes and separating himself from his defenders.  He also has the ability to be physical with defenders because of his size.  He still has a lot of room to continue to grow and mature into a truly special receiver.  Adams reminds me a lot of a receiver in the NFL named Brandon Marshall.  I use this comparison because of all the similarities that they have to each others games.  I strongly believe that Adams has the opportunity to be a very successful receiver for a number of years, he just has to continue to work hard.

Anthony Barr 2012 Highlights

Top College Football Players 2013: Anthony Barr

Anthony Barr

Anthony Barr is probably one of the most exciting linebackers that UCLA football has ever had in the history of there great program.  When you think right off the top of your head about UCLA you immediately think about the great offense that they have.  You really do not think too much about defense with UCLA.  However over the last couple of years UCLA's defense has been one of the most improved defenses in all of college football.  The key to the rise of the UCLA defense has been having very quick and versatile linebackers who can do just about everything, from stopping the run to defending the pass.  Barr has a lot of quickness and flat out has the extreme ability to get to the quarterback at will.  But that is not all that he can do, Barr also has the ability to drop back into coverage and make plays in the passing game as well.  Because of Barr's ability to be very versatile it allows him to be able to stay on the field for long stretches of time, which only benefits the defense even more.  Although it is really hard for a defensive player to ever win the Heisman trophy, if Barr continues to grow into the all around linebacker that he is capable of, he could very well find himself fighting for the Heisman Trophy.

2013 College Football Season Countdown

Today marks the day that we are now 79 days away from the official start to the College Football season.  Being that I am a huge fan of college football, I thought that it would now be a good idea to start a list of the top players in college football.  I will begin with a list that I have made of the top players in college football for this coming year.  At the end of my list I will then put in a list to my top 10 list of Heisman candidates.  The list of Heisman candidates will be revealed exactly 10 days before the start of the College Football season.  If you are unaware of the first game of the college season it is on Thursday August 29th, 2013.  On the side of my blog I have a countdown widget for you to see how many days we have left until kickoff.  I hope you enjoy my list of the top players and if you have a different list feel free to send me your list, I love to talk College Football with whoever wants to talk football.

2013 Baltimore Orioles Spring Training Preview

The Baltimore Orioles have been one of the most quiet teams during this years Free Agent period.  That could be something that could really hurt this team because I strongly believe that while this team was very good last year they still had areas in which they could improve the team.  They made some very minor moves including signing Jair Jurrjens, Manny Delcarmen, Joel Pineiro, Mark Hendrickson, Chris Dickerson and others.  There is still time for the Orioles to sign some Free agents (maybe Michael Bourn) but I really believe they should have made some more moves then they have so far.  We shall see how this season turns out for the Orioles and their fans.

MLB Important Dates 2013 Season

Now that the football season is over with, it is now time for the REAL America's Past time to begin.  Baseball season is just around the corner as Spring Training report dates are later this month.  This year however will be a little bit different because of the fact that during teams Spring Training their will also be the World Baseball Classic.  The World Baseball Classic will be broadcast on MLB Network.  Here are some other important dates to remember during this month as you get ready for Baseball Season and March Madness:

February 11th- Voluntary Spring Training report date for pitchers, catchers, and injured players

February 15th- Voluntary date which all non- World Baseball Classic players may be invited to Spring Training

February 20th- Mandatory report date which all non- World Baseball Classic players must report

March 31st- Opening Night- Texas Rangers @ Houston Astros 8pm. ET. ESPN

This should be a very interesting year for a lot of teams.  I strongly believe that the balance of power is starting to even out, and with the Astros making the move to the AL West all the divisions are now even.  Starting today I will give a Spring training preview for each Major League Baseball team, starting with the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.

The Amazing Johnny Football

Manti "The Terminator" Te'o

Collin Klein: College Football's MVP

Braxton Miller Sophomore Highlights (Through 6 Games)

Marqise Lee - Awards Campaign Highlight

Aaron Murray vs South Carolina 2011

Jarvis Jones Highlights

Ka'Deem Carey 2012 Highlights

Fresno State Vs Utah State (2011)

Jordan Lynch for Heisman - Games 1-10 Highlight

My 2012 Heisman Trophy Front Runners

As the College Football season comes to an end after this weekend I wanted to take the time to tell you all about my top 10 Candidates for the Heisman Trophy and why each are deserving of the award.  Some of the candidates that I am listing are not even being mentioned on the National Sports media coverage but this again is who I think should be the Heisman Trophy Frontrunners.  Along with listing the frontrunners I will also post each of the players highlights from youtube.com so you can see why I have chosen these candidates.

From 10 to 1:

10.) Jordan Lynch QB. Northern Illinois-  He is one of the best quarterbacks in the Nation when it come to both running and throwing the football.  He has thrown 23 TD's compared to 4 INT's.  Granted he does play for a small school, but who says that small school guys do not deserve to win the Heisman trophy.

9.)  Derek Carr QB. Fresno State- Derek has led the Fresno State Bulldogs to a share of the Mountain West Conference Title and has done it playing nearly flawlessly all year long.  His numbers are 36 TD's to only 5 INT's.  He is also most likely going to win the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and he still has another year of eligibility left.

8.)  Ka'Deem Carey RB. Arizona-  One of the best running backs that not many people know a whole lot about.  He has already rushed for over 1,700 yards and has scored 20 touchdowns.  At any level of football those are extremely impressive numbers.

7.)  Jarvis Jones LB. Georgia-  Jarvis has been one of the best, if not the best linebacker in the country.  Some people would argue the Manti Te'o was a little better but Jarvis was still extremely productive this year.  He has the ability to do it all, rush the passer, drop into coverage, and play the run.  He is one of the reasons why Georgia has been as good as they are this year.

6.)  Aaron Murray QB. Georgia-  Aaron is another guy that no one is talking about as having a shot at winning the Heisman Trophy.  Yet, he has still come out this year and has put up some pretty gaudy numbers: 30 touchdowns to 7 picks and has thrown for over 3,000 yards.  If he wants to be considered at least as a candidate he is going to have to find a way to beat Alabama this weekend for the SEC Championship!

5.)  Marqise Lee WR. Southern California-  Lee is probably the best wide receiver in College football.  This year he has put up insane numbers that make some of the USC receivers that have come before him look like 2nd tier players.  Here are his numbers 112 receptions for 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns.  If he is not invited to New York I would consider it a tragedy.  Another thing to consider is that Lee is only a sophomore so if he does not win the award this year he has a chance to win it during the last two years of his eligibility.

4.)  Braxton Miller QB. Ohio State- Braxton is another quarterback that can do everything and do it well.  He can run, pass, jump, and probably could be a good corner back if asked.  This year he is averaging 18 carries per game and he is not even a running back.  Those are solid numbers for a running back but are great for a quarterback.  He is also just a sophomore so in the years to come his name will continue to be in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.

3.)  Collin Klein QB Kansas State- Collin was a clear frontrunner a couple of weeks ago but he has slipped up a little bit.  He should still get an invitation to attend the Heisman ceremony but he will need some help in order to walk away with the trophy.  It also does not help him that he plays for somewhat of a small school that has broken out this year.  With that being said he has but up some great numbers this season and is no slouch as a Heisman Finalist.

2.) Manti Te'o LB. Notre Dame-  Manti has been the heart and soul of the Notre Dame defense ever since he walked onto campus 4 years ago.  He is the biggest reason why Notre Dame is going to be playing in the National Championship game.  He is an inspirational leader and should leave Notre Dame as one of the best linebackers to ever play for them.  I am sure for him he would rather win a National Championship but he also has a real good shot at the Heisman Trophy as well.

1.)  Johnny Manziel QB. Texas A&M-  Johnny has come out of no where to be considered the top player to walk away with the Heisman trophy.  The most crazy thing about Johnny is that he is playing SEC defenses week in and week out and destroying them as a FRESHMAN.  It is unheard of to flat out embarrass SEC defenses, but then to do it as a freshman is ridiculous.  In my opinion the announcement should go like this:

And the winner of the 2012 Heisman Trophy is Johnny Manziel QB Texas A&M.

Let me know what you guys think of my list and feel free to let me know what your top list of Heisman candidates are.

NBA CIRCLE - Orlando Magic Preview 2012-2013 Season by Shaquille O'Neal

2013 Orlando Magic Season Preview

The Orlando Magic are going to have a very tough hill to climb this year if they want to be a playoff team.  Anything can happen in the NBA and especially the Eastern Conference, so I am not going to rule them out.  Here is the Starting 5 that they will have opening up the season:

  PG. Jameer Nelson

  SG. Aaron Afflalo

  SF. Hedo Turkoglu




PF. Glenn Davis

  C. Gustavo Ayon

Sports Illustrated has the Magic projected to finish dead last in the Eastern Conference.  Going into the season I would say that this is a safe place to have the Magic.  With that being said they are a very young team and young teams sometimes have the ability to shock us and do things that we did not think were possible. I believe that this is a Magic team that could really surprise some people if they play Magic style of basketball and not let other teams dictate the way that they play.

NBA CIRCLE - Oklahoma City Thunder Preview 2012-2013 Season by Steve Kerr