Posts Tagged ‘bryan harsin’

Arkansas State may have plucked its newest head coach from Texas but for a school that wants to become the "Boise of the South", Bryan Harsin is still very much cut from the Broncos' blue and orange cloth. 

"He talked about his experience at Boise State, the building process," said Arkansas State system president Dr. Charles Welch. "He played for three head coaches as a player. It was like he was describing Arkansas State. This is somebody who gets it and this is somebody who knows how to get it done."

"Having spent the amount of time that I did at Boise, I understand how to get there," Harsin said. "My beliefs, my philosophy comes from Boise State. What I learned there is going to be the model we're going to use here to continue to build and continue to grow Arkansas State."

Arkansas State is getting a coach who has prepared his entire life to be a head coach, and is itching to hit the ground running. "This is an opportunity I prepared myself for for a long time. I didn't know it would feel this good," said Harsin. "My only regret is that I can't be out there with those players as they prepare for the bowl game."

Harsin's high school coach, Steve Vogel, added this about the newest Red Wolves head coach, "He said (in high school) his goal was to be a head college football coach by the time he was 40 — and he beat that."

Arkansas State will pay Harsin a sum of $3.5 million over five years, with a buyout of $1.75 million if he departs after one year. After losing Hugh Freeze and Gus Malzahn in consecutive years, Arkansas State wants to avoid finding another head coach in December 2013. 

"You can look at my track record at Boise State," Harsin explained. "There were opportunities. I am all about the process. I am all about the opportunity to build and continue success rather than (leave after one year)."

Harsin can't coach Arkansas State in the upcoming GoDaddy.com Bowl, so he will turn his focus toward recruiting players and a new staff.

"I'm looking for high character, high output, low ego guys," Harsin added. "As far as the timetable, we'll get into those very quickly. We'll start to put together what we feel is our best people for these players."

Harsin praised Chris Petersen and Mack Brown multiple times, saying, "I've got a lot of notes sitting at my home right now from those coaches."

On the field, Harsin will be tasked with sustaining momentum for a program that has won the last two Sun Belt Conference titles. 

"I'm an offensive guy, and I know what a good defense can do," said Harsin. "A defense that's around the ball, that's opportunstic and can stop the run.

"On offense, we're going to have fun. I've already asked how many wide receivers can throw, every hand went up."

Harsin plans to transport the Boise Way to Jonesboro, the discipline, the all-in menality, the multiplicity on offense, the trick plays and everything short of the blue turf. 

"Our long-term goal is to win bowl games and win championships and do it with class and academic integrity." 

We learned late last night that Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin has been tabbed as the next head coach at Arkansas State.

Harsin steps into a job that has become a destination for coaches looking for destination jobs. Hugh Freeze left after one season for Ole Miss. Gus Malzahn replaced him, and left a year later for Auburn. Harsin now steps in for Malzahn and, while there's no telling exactly how long it will take for Harsin to reach his predecessor's success, all the pieces are in place for Arkansas State to continue its run atop the Sun Belt.

The 2009 FootballScoop Offensive Coordinator of the Year, Harsin helped morph Kellen Moore from an undersized, lightly-recruited quarterback into the winningest player in FBS history. At Texas, he helped David Ash leap from outside the top 100 in passing efficiency ratings in 2011 to inside the top 20 this fall. As a true freshman, Ash tossed just four touchdowns against eight interceptions; this year, those numbers flipped as he threw 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. 

While his speciality is quarterbacks, Harsin calls a balanced offense. His last two offenses at Boise State averaged 266 passing yards and 194 rushing yards (in 2009) and 319 passing yards and 200 rushing yards (in 2010). At Texas, he ramped up a running game that averaged 150 yards per game in the year before his arrival  to 210 yards per game in 2011 and 176 yards per game in 2012.

Harsin is also renowned for his affinity for trick plays. There were the Hook and Ladder and Statue of Liberty to beat Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Then there was the pass out of the Wishbone against Iowa State this season. Harsin regularly called for his wide receivers to throw the ball at Texas. In 25 games as Texas' play caller, Longhorns wideouts threw 10 passes that resulted in four touchdowns and an interception. 

Arkansas State has reportedly scheduled a 2 p.m. ET press conference to announce the hire. We will update with more details as they become available. 

In the coming weeks and months a new crop of assistant coaches should have the opportunity to become first-time head coaches. A group of successful assistant coaches that could graduate to head coaching positions in the not-too-distant future includes Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart (36), Alabama offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier (41), Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell (39), Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman (37), Ohio State defensive line coach Mike Vrabel (37), Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris (43), Oregon offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich (39), Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin (35), Texas A&M offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury (33) and Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown (31). Jason Gesser (33), the interim head coach at Idaho, is also in close proximity to a full-time head coaching job.

The problem with those names, according to some, is that they're too young. As in "not old enough to run for president" young in some cases. 

But the question we have at FootballScoop is, is age really a valid concern?

Over the weekend we took a look at the youngest FBS head coaches, and our results indicate that the 40-and-under crowd is winning in a big way.

Overall, that group is 67-42 (.615) this season. If you consider that Fuente and McGee are in their first seasons in situations where Vince Lombardi would struggle to win, the record improves to a stellar 64-27 (.703). 

Expand the criteria to coaches in their early-40's and the youth movement looks even stronger.

As a whole, this group is 49-21 (.700). Coupled with the group above and young head coaches enjoy a composite 116-63 (.648) record. 

In college football, winning begins with recruiting better players than your opponent. With that in mind, imagine you are a 16-year-old recruit. Who are you more likely to relate to, a 35-year-old coach or a 65-year-old coach?

The success of young head coaches are having so early in their careers has to be making athletic directors across the country asking themselves if youth is really a bad thing. 

Plenty mof great performances were turned in throughout the country yesterday, but these coaches' work stood above the rest to win our Coaches of the Week. 

Head Coach of the Week - Mark Richt, Georgia: Considering the way his team entered Saturday's game, and the way Georgia's 17-9 win over Florida was played (nine turnovers, 24 penalties), Mark Richt must feel like Andy Dufresne after he crawled through Shawshank's sewer system and came out clean on the other side. Georgia entered Saturday on a three-game stretch in which, sandwiched around a 28-point loss to South Carolina, the Bulldogs had beaten Tennessee and Kentucky (combined SEC wins: zero) by a total of 12 points. None of that mattered, however, as Richt's team managed to win a game in which it threw three first half interceptions, committed 14 penalties, missed a field goal and nullified a successful onside kick with an offsides flag. The Bulldogs won by forcing six turnovers of their own, erasing Florida's power running game (two yards per carry on 41 attempts) and bookending the scoring with opportunitstic touchdown drives.

Georgia now stands in a position where wins over Ole Miss and Auburn (combined SEC wins: two) will send the Bulldogs to Atlanta in early December for the second year in a row. 

Offensive Staff of the Week - Kent State: The Golden Flashes not only got their first win over an AP Top 25 opponent in school history on Saturday, they did it going away by smashing Rutgers, 35-23. Rutgers came into Saturday surrendering just 11.3 points per game, a mark which Darrell Hazell's team bested by the 13:21 mark of the second quarter. Offensive coordinator Brian Rock and offensive line coach Chris Bache's game plan was simple - just do what you do. For the fourth time this season the Golden Flashes topped 200 rushing yards, carrying 50 times for 224 yards and achieving 14 first downs by rush. Mixed with seven turnovers forced by the Kent State defense, Hazell's team was able to occupy the ball for more than 37 minutes on Saturday. 

"We came on the road against a very tough opponent," Hazell said. "We knew they were going to be tough, and they did a great job prior to playing us. I thought our kids prepared like crazy this week." The win gives Kent State its first six-game winning streak in 72 years and moves Hazell's squad one step closer to its first bowl appearance since 1972. 

Defensive Staff of the Week - Notre Dame: This isn't the first time Bob Diaco and co. have won the Defensive Staff of the Week in FootballScoop's short history of weekly coaching awards, and if the Fighting Irish continue to play like they did Saturday night it certainly won't be the last. Once again Notre Dame forced an opponent into its worst offensive outing of the season by way of sure tackling, stifling red zone defense and timely turnovers. All three ingredients were prevalent in Notre Dame's 30-13 win over Oklahoma. The Irish secondary surrendered the short stuff to the Oklahoma passing game but never let anything get behind them and limited yards after the catch. "We were going to give up yards to keep the points down," Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said. "We could not let the points get out of reach for us. This was the first time we showed we could … put some points on the board. But we could not have won this football game if the points got up in the numbers that were probably out of reach for our offense."

As a result, Oklahoma threw for 356 yards but needed 51 attempts to get there. Notre Dame shut down the OU running game, holding the Sooners to 15 yards on 24 carries, in limiting them to season lows in points, rushing yards and total yards. Notre Dame forced field goals in two of Oklahoma's three red zone trips and, protecting a 20-13 lead late in the fourth quarter, produced a timely interception when linebacker Manti Te'o snagged a deflected ball at the Oklahoma 45-yard line. Six plays later Notre Dame put the game out of reach with a 46-yard field goal. 

Special Teams Staff of the Week - North Carolina: It's unclear why N.C. State punted to Giovani Bernard, the nation's leading punt returner, with the game tied 35-35 in the waning seconds before overtime. What is clear is that overtime never happened because Bernard took the punt 74 yards for a score to give North Carolina a 43-35 win. The return was much more than just Bernard - watch below how good his blocking is as he runs behind a wall down the right sideline. But before Bernard ever had a chance to win the game, Tar Heels kicker Casey Barth had to hit a 34-yard field goal with 1:24 left to play to knot the score at 35-35 in the first place. North Carolina punter Thomas Hibbard also had an excellent day with nine punts for a net average of 41.1 yards with a long of 60 and three kicks pinned inside the 20-yard line. 

Call of the Week - Mack Brown and Bryan Harsin, Texas: Texas was a quarter away from being the first Big 12 team to lose to Kansas since 2010, and the first current Big 12 team to fall to the Jayhawks since Iowa State in 2009, when Brown inserted backup quarterback Case McCoy to spark the Longhorns to a 21-17 win. McCoy didn't do much in his first drive as Texas ran all nine plays of its 84-yard drive to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:41 to go. After Kansas used a seven-minute drive to reclaim the lead at 17-14, McCoy came alive. He hit five passes in a row, including an 18-yard gain on fourth-and-six and a 39-yard connection to get Texas to the KU three-yard line, before Harsin dialed up a play-action lob where McCoy found tight end D.J. Grant alone in the corner of the end zone on third-and-goal with 12 seconds to play to seal the win. 

Another full slate of college football games has come and gone. Here is what stood out to us today from games across the country. 

Notre Dame 30, Oklahoma 13. Brian Kelly's team believed in who it is, stuck to what it does well and never wavered from the gameplan to achieve the biggest win in the third year coach's tenure. Bob Diaco's defense kept the Oklahoma passing game in front of them (52 passes for 364 yards, long of 35 yards) and shut down the Sooners' multi-faceted running attack (24 carries for 15 yards). The Fighting Irish offensive line owned the line of scrimmage, producing 215 yards and three scores on 39 carries and an effective 188 passing yards on 27 throws. After Oklahoma tied the game at 13-13, Kelly's team reeled off the game's final 17 points over the last 5:05 to stake their claim as a true national title contender in 2012. 

Alabama 38, Mississippi State 7. Just another destruction of a ranked opponent. As we head into November, Nick Saban's team has never scored less than 33 points and has yet to allow more than 14 points. Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart's defense limited Mississippi State to 47 rushing yards and forced the Bulldogs into three turnovers. LSU awaits. 

Nebraska 23, Michigan 9. A tight game through one half turned when Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson injured his right wrist late in the first half. Robinson's backup, redshirt freshman Russell Bellomy, was overwhelmed by the moment as evidenced by his stat line: 3-of-16 for 38 yards and three interceptions. Bo Pelini's team put the game away with just over 10 minutes left on a 12-yard touchdown dash by Ameer Abdullah. Nebraska now stands alone in first place in the Big Ten's Legends Division. 

 Miami (Ohio) 23, Ohio 20. Frank Solich's team fell from the ranks of the unbeaten and fell into a dogfight in the MAC East with a last-second loss to the RedHawks. Down by three at the Miami seven yard-line, Ohio elected to bypass a field goal try to attempt a pass with nine seconds left and no timeouts. Instead, Bobcats quarterback Tyler Tettleton was sacked and Ohio was unable to get off another play. With the loss, Ohio falls from first to fourth place in their division behind 4-0 Kent State, 4-1 Bowling Green (who Ohio faces next week) and 3-1 Miami. 

Ohio State 35, Penn State 23. A game that ulimately had no effect on the Big Ten standings, but don't tell that to anyone at Beaver Stadium. Penn State opened the scoring by recovering a blocked field goal in the end zone but Ohio State ran off 28 of the game's next 31 points to wrest control of the game. Urban Meyer's club won this game at the line of scrimmage, owning a 234-32 rushing advantage. Ohio State is now just three wins away from joining the 1993 Auburn Tigers as teams with perfect seasons under probation. 

Arizona 39, USC 36. One of the trendy upset picks of the day comes through as Arizona survives a Hail Mary to topple USC. Rich Rodriguez's offense shredded USC to the tune of 369 passing yards, 219 rushing yards and 30 first downs. Lane Kiffin's team had a chance to win despite five turnovers and 14 penalties almost singlehandedly behind the effort of sophomore wide receiver Marqise Lee, who set a Pac-12 record with 345 receiving yards and also added 123 yards on kickoff returns (including a 72-yarder). It's not out of the realm of possibility that Rodriguez could win the Pac-12 South in his first season, despite a 2-3 league record at the moment. With the win over the Trojans and games still to play with UCLA and Arizona State, the Wildcats have a chance to play their way into the conference title game.

Georgia 17, Florida 9. Nine turnovers. 24 penalties. 25 incomplete passes in 53 attempts. A missed field goal. A successful onside kick called back by penalty. This game was anything but a thing of beauty. The perfect ending came when Florida tight end Jordan Reed lept from the Georgia five-yard line and fumbled on his way down into the Georgia end zone, ending Florida's last chance to tie. But credit Mark Richt's team, who overcame a sluggish month in which the Bulldogs beat Tennessee and Kentucky (combined SEC wins: zero) by just 12 and lost to South Carolina by 28, for finding a way to win its second straight over Florida and put itself in position to win back-to-back SEC East crowns. Georgia now just need wins over Ole Miss and Auburn (combined SEC wins: two) to make plans for Atlanta in early December. 

Kansas State 55, Texas Tech 24. Once again Bill Snyder's team methodically ground another ranked opponent into submission. The Wildcats trailed 10-3 midway into the second quarter and then scored the next seven times they touched the ball until running out the game's final 2:33. Nothing they do is specatcular, but everything they do is efficient. Quarterback Collin Klein threw for 233 yards and two scores, added 83 yards and two scores on the ground while tailback John Hubert threw in two more rushing jaunts. Kansas State won the turnover battle 3-0 and took an interception 37 yards back for a touchdown. 

Oklahoma State 36, TCU 14. Bill Young's defense isn't forcing turnovers like it did a year ago, but the Oklahoma State coordinator has produced a better unit overall in 2012. In holding TCU to just seven offensive points, none after the first quarter, Oklahoma State forced quarterback Trevone Boykins to throw 40 passes to gain only 185 yards. Meanwhile, Mike Gundy and Todd Monken continue to get production no matter what freshman plays quarterback. Stepping in for injured redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh, true freshman Wes Lunt threw for 324 yards on 18-of-33 attempts. Mike Gundy's team has very quietly played itself into a position where the Cowboys can defend its Big 12 title. With a trip to Manhattan next week, Oklahoma State sits one game behind first-place Kansas State and tied with Oklahoma. Wins over both clubs should give the Pokes another Big 12 crown.

Kent State 35, Rutgers 23. For the second straight week a MAC team has downed an undefeated Big East foe. Darrell Hazell's 7-1 squad handed Kyle Flood his first loss at Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights entered the day ranked third nationally in scoring defense and rushing defense, but Kent State dominated the line of scrimmage to the tune of 50 carries for 224 yards and more than triple Rutgers' points-against average. Kent State's rushing success allowed Hazell's team to stay on the field for more than 37 minutes on the afternoon. On the other side of the ball, Kent State forced Rutgers into six interceptions and a sum of seven turnovers. 

North Carolina 43, N.C. State 35. Earlier this week we highlighted how badly Larry Fedora wanted to end North Carolina's losing skid to N.C. State. A furious final 90 seconds gave North Carolina the win and Fedora a 1-0 record against the Wolfpack. N.C. State held a 35-25 lead after three quarters, but the Tar Heels pulled within three early in the fourth quarter. Fedora's team threatened to take the lead until quarterback Bryn Renner was sacked on third-and-goal, forcing the Tar Heels to settle for a field goal and a 35-35 tie with 1:24 to play. After securing a three-and-out on N.C. State's ensuing possession, running back Giovani Bernard took a punt back 73 yards for the game-winner, his third touchdown of the day. The loss is a costly one for Tom O'Brien's team as N.C. State no longer controls its own destiny to  play in the ACC Championship. 

Ole Miss 30, Arkansas 27. A Bryson Rose 31-yard field goal as time expired gave Hugh Freeze's team its second consecutive SEC win. It can not be understanded how important this win is for Freeze's program, which suddenly is just one win from bowl eligibility after putting an end to its 16-game conference losing streak last week. Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the win for Freeze is that his team found a way to win despite being outgained by 109 yards and committing two turnovers. Arkansas isn't the team they were expected to be, but Ole Miss still had enough talent to defeat an SEC foe without owning the stat sheet. 

South Carolina 38, Tennessee 35. A Big 12 game broke out in SEC country. The Vols and Gamecocks teamed up to accumulate 987 yards from scrimmage and 10 total touchdowns. Tennessee mounted a late drive that could have given them the lead, marching from their own 19-yard line to the South Carolina 19, until Jadeveon Clowney forced a Tyler Bray fumble that the Gamecocks recovered with 1:08 remaining. We want to send well wishes to South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, who suffered what Steve Spurrier called a "serious injury" in the second quarter. With the loss Derek Dooley now falls to 4-18 in SEC play. 

Texas 21, Kansas 17. The Texas offense had accomplished nothing since the first drive until backup quarterback Case McCoy led the Longhorns on consecutive scoring drives for the comeback win. To be fair, it was the Texas running game that did the heavy lifting on McCoy's first touchdown drive, as Bryan Harsin got the ball in the hands of speedsters D.J. Monroe and Marquise Goodwin as Texas rushed seven times for 84 yards to tie the game at 14-14 with 9:41 to play. Charlie Weis' team responded with a 14 play, 61 yard drive that ate 7:13 off the clock but notched just three points to leave Texas a window to rally. McCoy connected with Jaxon Shipley on 4th-and-6 for 18 yards to keep Mack Brown's team in the game, and five plays later McCoy hit tight end D.J. Grant for the winning score with just 12 ticks left on the clock. Kansas played with a great game plan, attacking the Texas run defense to the tune of 234 rushing yards while Dave Campo's defense forced Texas quarterback David Ash into his worst game of the season (8-of-16 passing for 63 yards and two interceptions) before Brown pulled Ash for McCoy. Unfortunately for Kansas, this marks yet another close call that left the Jayhawks just short of its first Big 12 win since Nov. 6, 2010.

Mack to team postgame "You didn't respect Kansas as much as you should have but you found a way to win."

— Longhorn Network (@LonghornNetwork) October 27, 2012