UC’s Anderson will transfer

Lost amidst all the NASCAR and A.J. Allmendinger blogs was the news that UC backup quarterback Chazz Anderson (whose legal name is Timothy Chazz Anderson) has decided to leave the Bearcats and transfer to another school.

In a report by Bill Koch of the Cincinnati Enquirer, head coach Butch Jones has stated that Anderson, a 2007 graduate of Pickerington Central High School just outside Columbus, will receive his UC undergraduate degree and head to Ohio Dominican to play and study to be a minister.

“Chazz wants to go in the seminary,” Jones told Koch. “That’s why Ohio Dominican is very attractive to him because they have a seminary program. He wants to go into the ministry.”

While I have yet to see any credible reports with any quotes from Anderson, I would believe this is 100 percent true. (In the article, Jones was “about 90 percent sure”)

A lot of people asked me over the past few weeks what I thought of Chazz Anderson’s departure. Let me tell you just how great Chazz is.

In four years of working with the Bearcat football program, I’ve come to know Chazz Anderson, and he is one hell of a young man. And while I certainly wish he would stay and continue his playing career as a Bearcat, I understand that he wants to play quarterback, and there’s just no room at UC for him on the quarterback depth chart.

In October of 2008, Anderson stepped into the starting quarterback role after Tony Pike broke his arm against Akron. He started against Marshall and Rutgers, leading UC to two important wins on the road to the school’s first-ever BCS bowl berth and Big East title.

Anderson makes a pass against Marshall in 2008 (File photo)

But it wasn’t just me that was fired up about the way Chazz handled himself and played against Marshall and Rutgers. My good friend and occasional blog contributor Jake Meyer was interested in Chazz’s play as well.

So on Tuesday, Oct. 16 of ’08, I wrote, “Jake was rather impressed with Anderson in the two games he watched him play. Maybe Jake will get to see Chazz tear up Pitt in a few years and say, ‘I told you so.’”

That won’t happen, but it didn’t stop Jake from commenting a few weeks ago about Anderson’s departure. “I was really impressed a few years ago when I watched those games,” Jake told me.

So was I.

Don’t get me wrong, I really wish there was a way for Bearcat fans to continue to see Chazz Anderson on the field next season. On top of being a pretty good athlete and decent football player, he’s one of the nicest guys off of the field.

I’m certainly going to miss the interactions I’ve had with Chazz over the past four years, but I will probably always use him as a shining example of the way a player should act—both on and off the field.
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The most obvious story that this has created is ‘Who is the new No. 2 quarterback?’ Right now, it’s a wide open race between Brendon Kay, Jordan Luallen and Munchie Legaux. And I’m sure we’ll know before the Bearcats take the field against Austin Peay on Saturday, Sept. 3.

Have a great Tuesday.

Notre Dame employs video game system to help quarterbacks

Chances are if you’re a fan of college football and you’re around my age you’ve spent more than a few hours playing EA Sports’ NCAA Football on your PlayStation or XBox. I’m certainly guilty of that “crime,” if you will.

Turns out, not only are nerds like me using the video game to have fun and live out the dreams of chasing a Heisman trophy and National Title, but so are the actual athletes themselves.

*If you’ve read this story before, well, it’s because I’ve written it before. If you go to http://web.coachbutchjones.com/Dev/ and click on the “Inside Football” tab and the EA Sports menu, you’ll be able to see how UC’s quarterbacks have been using the system since Brian Kelly was the head man at UC.

Mark Schlabach of ESPN sat down and watched Kelly and his quarterbacks during a spring practice. Not only does Notre Dame employ the EA Sports Play Action Simulator, developed by EA and XOS Digital, the company that supplies film editing equipment to teams like Notre Dame and Cincinnati, but they also use new “helmet cams” mounted on the quarterback’s helmet so Kelly can break down exactly what each of his signal callers sees on each play.

Yeah, it’s like Madden 64, only, probably a whole heck of a lot better.

I am very familiar with the EA Sports Play Action Simulator, something that we used during the 2009 season where UC ran the table and went 12-0, clinching a second consecutive Big East title and a berth in the Sugar Bowl.

“It’s a good tool to have the night before a game,” Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees told Schlabach. “It’s a good thing to use as a refresher.”

Opponents’ defensive schemes can be programmed into the simulator and, in this case, the Notre Dame offense is installed in the game as well. Before each play, quarterbacks are quizzed on what their pre-snap reads are.

For example, Schlabach noted this instance, which took place in the Notre Dame hotel the night before their Sun Bowl victory over Miami (FL).

“Before taking a snap on a play called “North Squeeze 63 Dolphin,” Rees was asked to identify Miami's pass coverage. His options were: Cover 4, Tampa 2 or 2 Man. After correctly identifying the coverage, Rees had to throw to the correct receiver,” Schlabach noted.

One of the most fun parts about the simulator was the fact that it was in our hands to set up. The UC video staff became very proficient at setting up the games and making sure they worked before guys like Tony Pike, Zach Collaros and Chazz Anderson came into the quarterback meeting room to try it out.

It was fun. Just ask the guys I work with.

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Spring football is winding down in Cincinnati, and the Fifth annual Bearcat Bowl will take place on Saturday. It should be a fun night, so come on out to Nippert Stadium and watch the 2011 Bearcats in action.

Jones names Collaros starting QB

Last night Butch Jones named Zach Collaros the starting quarterback for the 2010 season, a move that surprised no one, especially those that watched the UC Bearcats play on Saturday evening in Bearcat Bowl IV—the team’s spring game.

Butch Jones named Zach Collaros as the Bearcats starting quarterback Monday (Cincinnati Enquirer file)

I got a chance to write a short story last night for FOX19’s sports website. Hopefully this isn’t the last time I get to produce some web content for Channel 19, where I began as a sports intern a little over one month ago. Here’s the story (you can view it and a short sound bite from Jones at: http://www.fox19.com/Global/story.asp?S=12379563)
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Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones named Zach Collaros as his starting quarterback on Monday. Collaros, who led the Bearcats to a 4-0 record while subbing for the injured Tony Pike last season, had a strong spring according to Jones.

“I thought (Zach) and Chazz Anderson did a great job all spring, but about the last week and a half of spring football you could really see Zach taking off, understanding the offense,” Jones said. “We talk about functional intelligence and he could now play comfortably and it looked like he was really in control. He could complete all the passes, he understood the offense, he had great command getting the ball to his second and third reads in his progression. You could see his play elevate over the past couple of weeks.”

On Saturday, in the team's spring game, Collaros gave fans a taste of what to expect. The Steubenville native completed 18 of his 20 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Chazz Anderson completed 5 of 10 passes in rainy conditions for 61 yards and one touchdown. Fans got their first chance to see Jones's new style of coaching and offensive philosophy. Jones even ventured into the stands to let fans call plays, but reminded fans that the Bearcats will try to remain an offensive juggernaut.

“There's some differences and a few nuances but a lot of it is the same as well,” Jones said of his offensive style. “An uptempo offense, no-huddle, and we may be a little more balanced but the best coaches play to the strengths of their football team and we have to do a great job of getting the ball in the hands of our playmakers.”

Wide receivers D.J. Woods and Vidal Hazelton both had over eighty yards receiving on the evening, and Woods hauled in a touchdown pass at the end of the first half of play from Collaros. “I feel very comfortable and confident that we have some very good playmakers out on the perimeter and in the backfield as well,” Jones added.

The UC Bearcats will begin the season on Saturday, September 4 in Fresno, Calif., with a rematch against the Fresno State Bulldogs. Last season UC defeated Fresno State 28-20 at Nippert Stadium.
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Just a few more thoughts that I didn’t get to add to my story on FOX19.com…

I think this offense will be more balanced as Jones hinted at, but those who attended the spring game might question it. Collaros and Chazz Anderson threw for nearly 300 yards in the watered down version of the UC offense. Jones wasn’t willing to show off all his tricks in this game, but I’m definitely excited to see what tricks and fun schemes Butch Jones and offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian will cook up for the 2010 season.

Collaros will lead the first team offense into fall camp (Cincinnati Enquirer photo)

One thing that will happen a lot in this offense is seeing the tools Jones mentioned on the perimeter with the ball. Darrin Williams got a lot of carries in the spring game, D.J. Woods saw a few screen passes come his way, and with weapons like USC transfer Vidal Hazelton and new recruit Kenbrell Thompkins on the edge, Collaros and the offense will be in good shape.

I didn’t even mention Isaiah Pead and Armon Binns, both of whom contributed mightily to the offense last year and will contribute again this year as well. Binns and Pead sat out the spring game because of injuries, although Jones told the TV crew of Tom Gelehrter (aka Tommy G) and Jim Kelly Jr. that if the spring game was a league game in season, Binns would have played.

Binns (top) and Pead (below) didn't play on Saturday night, but will contribute to the UC offense during the season (Cincinnati Enquirer file photos)

Stay tuned throughout the offseason for Bearcats news and notes, I’m sure I’ll provide all that I can, especially in the weeks leading up to the season opener in September. Also, anything that I write for FOX19.com I’ll try to link up on here and through my Twitter page (@adamniemeyer). Have a great day, thanks for reading!

Hometown kid Pike will lead Bearcats into camp as starting QB

In Brian Kelly’s first two seasons at the helm in Cincinnati he had to worry about who would start at quarterback in his first game. In his third season he’s got his guy coming into preseason camp, and it’s one of college football’s best stories, Tony Pike.

Pike, a 6-foot-5 gunslinger from Reading High School, was told during last season’s fall camp by Kelly that he needed to take football more seriously, or finish school and leave in order to free up a scholarship for the Bearcat program.

He stepped in during the Oklahoma game after starter Dustin Grutza went down with an ankle injury. Two games later Pike rolled to his right against Akron and went down awkwardly on his throwing arm. He was diagnosed with a broken arm, but made it back four weeks later—much faster than first thought.

Brian Kelly uses a system he’s coined as, “Next Man In,” for all positions on the field. When Grutza went down, Pike stepped in, and when Pike was out two redshirt freshman—Chazz Anderson and Zach Collaros—stepped up to the plate. It was much publicized that UC used five quarterbacks last season, the only Division 1 school to do so.

However, is Kelly ready to put Collaros or Anderson—who will both battle for the #2 job during the next two weeks—in just in case we have a repeat of 2008 on our hands? Well, ESPN.com Big East blogger Brian Bennett answered a question a few weeks back about the back-up situation at UC.

“Hopefully, Pike will stay healthy. But it's hard for any quarterback to make it through a whole season without some sort of injury…” he wrote. “Pike isn't the biggest guy in the world either. I'd say Zach Collaros would get the first crack if something were to happen. He had a strong spring for the Bearcats.”

Anderson subbed for Pike by winning two games in a row, a Friday night game at Marshall and the homecoming game, the Big East opener against Rutgers. Collaros came in to close out the Akron game and subbed for Pike late in the USF game after Pike’s arm began to hurt. Anderson played the second half of the lone Big East loss for UC last year at UConn.

I poured over some statistics yesterday evening to see what kind of experience that both Anderson and Collaros got last year. If Pike were to go down the two guys behind him—Collaros and Anderson, the only QB’s on this year’s roster to see any career action beside Pike—have limited experience.

Let’s be honest, Anderson’s role last year was to manage the two games he started and not make any mistakes. Kelly was admittedly less aggressive with his playcalling too. But, it still worked.

Between the two of them they saw almost 190 game snaps. Anderson took nearly 170 of the close to 190 snaps. Brian Kelly is known for what he referred to as his, “Coast to Coast” offense in his first season at UC. He likes to spread it out and run a majority of his plays from the shotgun—as is the trend in most of major college football today. With Collaros and Anderson it was no different. Almost three quarters of the snaps that either took were from the shotgun.

Of those shotgun plays nearly 70% were passes. Kelly’s offense was tailored to the two youngsters, both of whom were a part of his first recruiting class. When Collaros or Anderson lined up under the center and took direct snaps nearly every time they turned and handed the ball off. There were only two snaps that were taken under center—both by Anderson, both in the Marshall game. Both of those passes from under center were touchdowns.

Maybe if UC needs to go to option number two or three and that option is Anderson, he needs to line up under center and pass the ball. After all, he is perfect in that situation, but I jokingly digress.

Pike took nearly half the snaps last season for the UC Bearcats, but if he goes down this season Kelly will need to rely on his two backups. He made his “Next Man In” theory work to near perfection last season, and I have no doubt that he could make it work this season if need be.

Of course the optimal situation is to have Pike stay healthy and use what he learned as a starter last season to make another run at yet another Big East title and BCS bowl berth. The first steps start today when the Bearcats kick off fall camp.
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Today starts one of the busiest periods of the year for myself and the rest of the video staff. I’ll attempt to check in throughout camp and give you a look back at last season. I will not, however, give you much insight into what is happening at camp with players, which is why I’d like to focus on last season.

Some of the things I’d like to talk about (a tentative list)
-Which one of the four running backs at UC will be a good fit for the UC offense?
-At Big East media days Brian Kelly mentioned he’s wanting to run more four wide receiver sets, so what does that mean for the tight ends on the roster?
-The defensive line returns many players who saw significant action in last season’s historic title run. How did they do last season, and what does it mean for this season?
-Will standout sophomore DJ Woods become a standout kick or punt returner?
-How did now sophomore Dominique Battle do last season at cornerback and will that translate to success in year two?

Hopefully there are enough statistics and stories to keep you interested in college football for the upcoming few months. It’s going to be busy, but it should be a fun time too.