A month ago, Texas back-up quarterback John Chiles was a suspect in an "assault-by-conduct" incident in Austin. The Daily Texan, the student newspaper at the University of Texas, reported this information in their blog. According to a recent editorial in The Daily Texan, this set off a firestorm of criticism from at least one official in the UT athletic department.

"Last month, The Daily Texan reported on its blog that the Austin Police Department suspended an assault with injury investigation in which Longhorns backup quarterback John Chiles was a suspect. When the Texan originally reported that APD confirmed Chiles as a suspect, assistant athletics director John Bianco wrote several threatening e-mails to Daily Texan sports editor and journalism senior Ricky Treon, calling him unprofessional and his reporting "untruthful." Bianco warned that other news agencies (and potential employers) "realize how you do business now," which "will hurt you in the long run." He also said that if the Texan's editors didn't pull the post off the blog, "John Chiles would understandably have an issue with the entire paper" which would be "unfortunate for the Texan's long-term working relationship with him."

The editorial goes onto discuss the "rules" of covering big-time college athletics, culminating with the following thoughts:

"The bottom line is that press scrutiny is simply not accepted by sports officials or the public fan base. At UT, reporters are not allowed to call athletes, and both athletes and reporters face being reprimanded for unauthorized interviews, no matter what the story is about. More importantly, university officials are under pressure to protect the image of their sports programs, which are at the forefront of bringing in money, identity and recognition to the school."

Interestingly, this is not the first time this spring that a Big 12 student newspaper has found itself in trouble with an athletic department because of the paper's coverage of the football team. Earlier Nebraska head coach Bo Pelini temporarily banned The Daily Nebraskan for a piece criticizing his handling of an alleged criminal incident. These situations taken together only seem to solidify the point made by the Daily Texan's editorial piece. Ultimately public institutions are accountable to the public, and I'd certainly contend it's the media's job to help ensure this occurs.

via The Wiz

Where there's smoke, there's generally fire. Or in the case, internet rumors appear to have some basis in fact. G.J. Kinne, a backup quarterback at Texas has indeed decided to transfer.

"I chose the best school at what was the end of a very successful, but difficult high school career," Kinne said. "I have definitely become a better quarterback with the help of one of the most knowledgeable offensive coaches in college football, Greg Davis. However, the quarterback position is unique in terms of playing time, and I have to find a program that best fits my skills.

"Quarterbacks transfer in college football. That's life for this position.I've made great memories, great friends and have been blessed with experiences most can only watch. So the answer is, 'No, I have no regrets.'

"I'm looking forward to what the future holds for me. I wish nothing but great things for The University of Texas. I appreciate all that Coach Brown and The University have done for me."

Kinne's decision to leave, could point to the continued development of John Chiles as the next great Texas quarterback. In addition, the Longhorns' continued success in recruiting top-flight quarterbacks out of the high school ranks has made transfers like this more likely to occur. Jevan Snead, another backup, left the program in 2006.

This is not the first transfer for Kinne in his career. In 2006, as a high schooler, Kinne left Canton High School after his dad, the head coach, was shot by an angry parent.

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.

Arguably the biggest off-season move in college football was Mack Brown's hire of Will Muschamp to run the Longhorns defense. Muschamp, whose name was tossed around for several head coaching gigs, is known for his intensity and passion for defensive football. And it appears that he has wasted no time in bringing that famed intensity, or should I say "BOOM!" to Austin.

One concept Muschamp developed is the Hard Hat Award, which is handed out to the player delivering the biggest hit at each spring practice session. The hat has quickly become a coveted piece of apparel.

"It's a big competition," said linebacker Rashad Bobino, Muschamp's initial honoree this spring. "Whoever has the hardest hit gets that hat and ends up moving into a starting role."

Muschamp's major goal for the Longhorns appears to be to mould them in his own image.

"You want your players to take the personality of their coach. That's the way I've always looked at it. I want our players to play excited and have fun playing with intensity ... with controlled aggression."

It should come as no surprise then Muschamp isn't above doling out a well-deserved chest bump or a well-deserved butt-chewing. But whatever the method, Texas players like defensive end Brian Orakpo seem thrilled to have Muschamp on board

"He'll get in your face, but he loves you to death. He's a very emotional coach. He brings that excitement and enthusiasm to the table that we need."

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."

ESPN did a smart thing in scheduling a college football game for last Thanksgiving. I don't really watch the NFL games so it was nice to sit down to USC playing Arizona State late in the evening. I had hoped it would begin something of a tradition for college football in having a marquee game on that night. That faith has been rewarded.

This year they've brought the Texas rivals together to play on the Holiday and as a bonus, it restores some tradition.

The Texas-Texas A&M football rivalry will move back to its traditional Thanksgiving slot for the next two years.

The longtime Thanksgiving event was moved to the day after in 1996. The switch back accommodates a Thanksgiving night ESPN broadcast, Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds said Monday.

Texas and Texas A&M have played on Thanksgiving 60 times in a rivalry that dates to 1894.

Nice. After a string of six consecutive victories, Texas has dropped the last two to the rival Aggies (12-7 and 38-30). This year's meeting will be played in Austin.

Smart politics 101: ingratiate yourself with the fans of popular sports teams

Democratic presidential candidate and erstwhile hoops junkie Senator Barack Obama took some campaign time to hang with the Texas Longhorn football team today. Austin is friendly territory for any Democratic presidential candidate, so this was an easy call. Good luck finding as warm of a reception in College Station, Senator Obama.

Given the senator's eagerness to flash the hook 'em sign, his campaign just might find itself doing a little damage control among the Aggie vote. (Oh, who are we kidding. The Aggies are all Republicans, aren't they governor?)

Looks like he and the players had a good time, even sneaking in a requisite pose with the Heisman Trophy. Now's a good time to mention that although Texas coach Mack Brown is "agnostic" when it comes to politics, Bevo Beat did uncover a $500 donation from Brown's wife to the Obama campaign last march. No word yet on whether Brown was proud of his wife's political contributions for the first time in his life.

...I think. Does "snitching" imply veracity? I need a ruling from someone who watches more hip hop videos than I do.

St Bonaventure High School has a "recruiting coordinator" -- kind of odd for a high school to have, but whatever -- named Roger Sonsini. Or, rather, had. Sonsini had the ill fortune to say this in the aftermath of Darrell Scott's surprising decision to pick Colorado:

"Colorado came in on Friday and said and did something and offered something that Darrell and his mom couldn't pass up."

If this seems like a good way to lose your job, you win a prize:

Roger Sonsini, also an assistant coach at Ventura (Calif.) St. Bonaventure High School, said he was terminated Friday but refused further comment.

Awww, you got fired. Now is the time to comment, comment like you're a guest on Jerry Springer. Comment like you're Maurice Clarett. Maybe the Scott family's retention of a lawyer who "who specializes in First Amendment law, defamation and civil litigation" has contributed to Sonsini's sudden reticence.

Note this is "disappointing," not "worst." We're not looking for the class with the absolute least potential to win D-I games but the schools that really should have done better than they did. So breathe easy, Buffalo. A further note: rankings here are all Rivals'; sometimes Scout disagrees vehemently but that's rare.

Without further adieu:

5. Texas. Perhaps a harsh assessment for Rivals' #14 class, but as the dominant power in the nation's most football-mad state Texas should never, ever have a class outside of the top ten, even when it's kind of small. Texas whiffed on the top three players in-state, all of whom ended up at hated Oklahoma. Striking out on national #1 RB Darrell Scott was the icing on a mildly crap sundae for the Longhorns.

It's not that Texas' class is bad, per se. It's actually pretty good. (You can tell by the #14 above. That's math.) But there's no school in the country with a better built-in advantage when it comes to high school talent, and there's no way Texas should strike out on four of the top five players instate.

Mack Brown will spring his revenge soon, no doubt: rumor is that the next next Vince Young, class of 2009 QB Russell Shepard, is soon to don burnt orange.

4. Michigan State. If there was ever going to be a year when Michigan State re-asserted itself as a threat to Michigan instate or to Wisconsin, Minnesota, and increasingly irritating Cincinnati around the Midwest, this would be it. Michigan suffered a humiliating series of losses and much of the state was operating under the foregone conclusion that Lloyd Carr would be retiring at year's end. When Michigan made a hire, Rich Rodriguez swept out all but one Carr assistant. Mark Dantonio's long association with Jim Tressel was supposed to give him the edge when it came to Ohio recruits.

The result? Detroit wide receiver Fred Smith and no other four-star players. Michigan State struck out on instaters Nick Perry (USC) and Mark Ingram (Alabama) late; Ingram's decision to flee is especially grating since his father was one of Michigan State's best wide receivers. Ohio linebacker Taylor Hill took an official visit to MSU and liked it so much he committed to Michigan on the way home. Hell, linebacker Yourhighness Morgan took a look at MSU and said "thanks, but I'm going to play for Florida."

Florida Atlantic.

MSU ranks 7th in the Big Ten, and this was both their new-coach-bump year and a year in which Michigan changed coaches. Michigan's little brother continues to bow down.