The Watch List for the 2008 Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been released by the Football Writers Association of America. The Nagurski Trophy is presented annually to the best defensive player in college football and is sponsored by the Charlotte Touchdown Club.

According to the press release:

"The Charlotte Touchdown Club will hold the 2008 banquet on Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Westin Hotel in Charlotte. For the eighth straight season, the FWAA will also pick a Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week beginning with games on Aug. 30 and running through the middle of November. And a Bronko Nagurski Legends Award winner will also be selected from the FWAA's 1967 All-America team.

The Bronko Nagurski Trophy has been presented since 1993 and is awarded in memory of the legendary Nagurski, a former All-America lineman at Minnesota in 1927-29 and a star for professional football's Chicago Bears in the 1930s."

This year's watch list includes eight players from Big 12 schools, led by Oklahoma, which places three Sooners on the list. The Big 12 players on the Nagurski Watch List are:

George Hypolite, Colorado

Joe Mortensen, Kansas

Ian Campbell, Kansas State (pictured at right)

William Moore, Missouri

Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri

Auston English, Oklahoma

DeMarcus Granger, Oklahoma

Nic Harris, Oklahoma

Since its inception in 1993, three Big 12 players have won the Nagurski Trophy. Oklahoma defensive back Roy Williams took home the award in 2001. The Big 12 then had back-to-back winners in 2003 and 2004 in Oklahoma's Derrick Strait and Derrick Johnson from Texas.

Keith Nichol is a highly touted quarterback at Oklahoma. The Michigan native was all but set to enroll at Michigan State last year before throwing a curveball and choosing Oklahoma.

That didn't work out so well.

Third-string quarterback Keith Nichol plans to transfer from Oklahoma after just one season."We had a good conversation with Keith and certainly understand his desire to seek an opportunity in another program," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said in a statement Friday.

Nichol actually enrolled a semester early, and stood a decent chance of becoming the team's starter. The competition included a redshirt junior slotted to be a backup and a little-known redshirt freshman.

Slam-dunk, right? Errrrr. That redshirt freshman won the job and put together one of the best passing seasons in NCAA history for a freshman. Helloooo, Sam Bradford.

Goodbye Keith Nichol.

How does that go? "The best-laid plans are fraught with peril". Yeah.

Yes, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but this is getting ridiculous. First, Colorado announced its intentions to utilize a no-huddle offense in 2008. Now we get more information about Oklahoma and their desire for a speedier offensive approach. These two teams join Missouri, Texas Tech and Kansas as other Big 12 teams running some version of a no-huddle approach.

The shift to a quicker offensive tempo is based in large part on the success that this sort of attack has had in recent years.

The top eight college football offenses in 2008 ran versions of a no-huddle. Four of those -- Missouri, Houston, Texas Tech and Tulsa -- ran more than 1,000 plays (OU ran 975). Tulsa (1,126) and Missouri (1,112) led the nation in total plays.

This means we can probably expect more in the way of outrageous scoring come Big 12 play. 76-39? 65-51? 59-43? But other than concession vendors who can complain about more plays and more scores per contest?

Back in Oklahoma, the Sooners have been slowly implementing the no-huddle this spring. In the team's most recent scrimmage the up-tempo attack led to "volatile" results.

Keith Nichol and Mossis Madu produced back-to-back gainers of 20 and 12 yards, then Nichol threw an interception to Jonathan Nelson.

Without a scholarship and without notoriety, hundreds of walk-ons are doing their best to carve out a spot on Division IA rosters. Spring practices, which take place without graduating seniors, and before the bulk of incoming freshman arrive, promise plenty of reps. If local media outlets are to be believed it seems a host of walk-ons are serving notice this spring in the Big 12.

At Oklahoma, tight end Trent Ratterree is living out his boyhood dream as he tries to earn the #3 spot on the TE depth chart.

"I'd been an OU fan all my life," Ratterree said. "I dreamed of it my whole life."

He came to Norman at 215 pounds and was thrown into Jerry Schmidt's boot camp.

"It's tough physically," Ratterree said. "Nothing can get you ready for Schmidtty."

But Ratterree got through it and was rewarded; he suited up for home games last season.

"I never felt, like you see in 'Rudy,' where they were pushing him around," Ratterree said. "They never made me feel like a low-down walkon. You're treated really good here."

"Rudy" was also mentioned at Missouri, where 5-foot-7, Titus Wonsey is trying to find a home in a crowded Tiger backfield. His efforts have not gone unnoticed by head coach Gary Pinkel (pictured at right).

We've already checked in on the quarterbacks, so why not delve into what's new with the running backs of the Big 12.

We'll start at Texas, where the biggest question mark of the spring is who will replace Jamaal Charles? Charles led the Big 12 in rushing in 2007 on the strength of a fantastic second half of the season. Three backs will fight it out over the starting running back gig in 2008.

Sophomore Vondrell McGee will get first shot at the starting job after serving as Charles' understudy a year ago. When Charles was having consistency problems at midseason in 2007, McGee actually got more playing time, specifically on short-yardage and goal-line plays. He gained 297 yards overall and scored eight touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman Fozzy Whittaker and McGee share the same, low-to-the-ground build. Both resemble miniature linebackers.

Whereas McGee prefers the I-formation, Whittaker is more comfortable running out of the shotgun. That's how he made his yardage at Pearland High School, where he finished with the sixth-best rushing total in Class 5A history.

The third member of the committee is Chris Ogbonnaya, a well-known offensive commodity. The Longhorns often turned to Ogbonnaya on third-down situations last fall because he was as adept at running pass routes as he was at picking up the blitz. He caught 21 passes a year ago. To prepare for this season, the fifth-year senior dropped 12 pounds to improve his speed. He's now at 215.

We'll look elsewhere in the Big 12 after the jump.

Spring practice has always been a time of offensive and defensive scheme installation, fundamentals and player evaluations. But this year's spring practice also has Big 12 coaches channeling their inner Olivia Newton John. That's right, it seems everyone in the conference is getting physical.

At Texas, it has been new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp who has the Longhorns playing tougher.

"We've had the most physical practices we've ever had," [head coache Mack] Brown said. "We were more physical last spring, but this spring we've just continued. Obviously, Will's come in with some new defensive thoughts and we're working on those."

The players seem to be catching on:

"Every day, we're hitting, no matter where we are," cornerback Deon Beasley said. "Inside the bubble, outside, we're hitting. I think it's good for us to get some contact and for us to show that we're not only a fast team, but we're a physical one as well."

Nebraska's new head coach Bo Pelini also wanted the Huskers focusing on physical football.

Pelini labeled last year's defensive performance "irrelevant" and said he hasn't watched any of the tape from last year. He'll spend some time trying figure out what talent he has, and "tweaking" the scheme to the players. It will also be more physical.

"We're not gonna be out there playing tag, I promise you that," Pelini said.

With spring practices getting underway across the Big 12, why not check in with one of the high profile positions, the quarterback?

At Iowa State second year head coach Gene Chizik has a two-man race for the starting QB job as Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates will battle it out.

"For me, it's just learning every day," said Arnaud, who is competing with Phillip Bates for the starting job. "You can make your share of plays, but if you're turning the ball over, it doesn't really matter."

Bates played wide receiver a year ago, but is a full-time quarterback for the time-being.

At Nebraska Joe Ganz begins the spring as the clear-cut number one QB after starting the final three games of the 2007 season. This is a new spot for Ganz who had spent three years in the program as a backup.

"It's weird," Ganz said. "It's going to be different."

"Now that I've gotten to where I want to, I'm just going to have to work that much harder to not let anybody take it from me," Ganz said. "I've worked too hard to let somebody come up and take the job from me, so I really don't need any more motivation than that."

In Stillwater, Zac Robinson also has the starting job locked down. The backup spot, however, is up for grabs. Sophomore Alex Cate and redshirt freshman Brandon Weeden will vie for the job.

"It's huge for those two guys," co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Gunter Brewer said about Friday's scrimmage and the three others that will take place this spring. "They have not had any live action. They found that out today. That's why live snaps are so much better than practice snaps. It's as close as you're going to get to a game against a defense that's throwing a lot of stuff at you."

Here's why athletic directors are frowning today...

It's time to play Guess The Misdemeanor!: As a coach, Greg Schiano has to make decisions. Most of them are easy, like "should I blitz against Syracuse" (yes) and "should I sell an internal organ in order to bribe Ray Rice to stay" (yes again--the left kidney and a lobe of the liver).

When it comes to player discipline, the answers aren't so simple. So when Schiano found out defensive tackle Justin Francis was arrested, he suspended the young man, then informed the media. Nobody likes a secretive coach, after all. But he decided not to provide the specifics of the arrest itself, which we celebrate as an even better decision. Why? Because it allows us the opportunity to engage in reckless speculation! AOL cannot attest to the veracity of any of these rumors, of course--mainly because this author making them up right now--but we're confidently narrowing down the list of possible infractions to the ones listed below.

• Riding a puma through the drive-thru at the local Arby's. Pumas are endangered, pal!
• Running an illegal bronzer smuggling ring. Yes, it's Jersey, so the market's there, but get a permit, for crissakes.
• Parking fifteen stolen cars on the tarmac at Newark International Airport. Pilots do not appreciate "obstacle courses."
• Puma bombing. Again with the pumas!

It's a good day for Oklahoma athletics. After facing several sanctions over the whole Bomargate auto dealership fake job thing, Oklahoma has successfully petitioned the NCAA to return the 8 wins declared "vacated" from the 2005 season.

"This decision is a great thing for those individuals involved with our 2005 team," Sooners coach Bob Stoops said in a statement. "Most of the players on our current roster were not on that team, but I know those victories mean a lot to the players and coaches who were here at that time."

The NCAA upheld all other findings against Oklahoma, but I'm sure the program is happy to have its wins back. Oklahoma could have better monitored the situation at that dealership, but has since severed its ties and the scheme never had any influence on their on-field performance. Good call here.

Previously at FanHouse
NCAA and Oklahoma at an Impasse?
Did a Third Oklahoma Player Violate NCAA Rules?
NCAA Tells Oklahoma Something It Already Knew

Here's hoping your school isn't using whiskey as mouthwash thinking about who it woke up next to this morning

Themes

USC Soars Late, Pulls Shocker

Tallahassee Lincoln kids love to flirt, and they're never lacking for suitors. But when push comes to shove, the vast majority of them break hearts and stick with the hometown Seminoles. So it came as a complete shock to many people when highly regarded cornerback T.J. Bryant cast his lot with Pete Carroll and USC.

USC lost out on Alabama linebacker Jerrell Harris, but did pull in Bryant, Michigan linebacker Nick Perry and Los Angeles linebacker Uona Kavienga throughout the second half of the day to slide into 7th place in the Rivals.com rankings. It's been a great month of recruiting overall as USC recently got a pledge from the nation's top player for 2009 in quarterback Matt Barkley along with several other preliminary top 100 recruits. Damn.

Back To The Future

As expertly stated by EDSBS, the top of the recruiting rankings have a certain 1985 feel. Alabama, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Miami ... thank heaven for moth balls.

Miscellany

Notre Dame has a great deal to prove on the field after last year's disaster and two consecutive BCS flops. However, the Irish were magnificent in holding together their recruiting class and finding some decent guys in the trenches (at least on defense, anyway). The same can be said for UCLA after the departure of coach Karl Dorrell.

Jumpin' Sam McGuffie briefly flirted with California, but he's come home now and will stick with Michigan.