The College Football Playoff National Championship game is well in the rearview mirror at this point but there has been not let up when it comes to the college football news and re-calibrating for next season. Programs across the country are busy building towards next year. A busy offseason continued with the East-West Shrine Game, some notable coaching moves and the son of an NFL legend committing to NC State. Here is a quick recap of the major news and notes from around the college football world this past week.
Randy Moss’ Son Commits
Thaddeus Moss, who is the son of former NFL wide receiver Randy Moss, committed to NC State where he will look to follow in his father’s footsteps and prove that he deserves to play in the NFL. Thaddeus is a four-star prospect at the tight end position and ultimately he turned down some substantial offers from other programs in order to commit to the Wolfpack, who he said he felt most comfortable committing to after they were the first team to make him an offer. Moss is the highest-ranked commit for NC State’s 2016 class and the program’s 21st commitment overall to this point.
West Dominates In Shrine Game
One of the pieces of college football news that most draftniks eyed this past week was the Shrine Game. There wasn’t much drama in the 91st edition of the East-West Shrine Game as the West side was absolutely dominant in a 29-9 win. Oregon quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. threw for 191 yards and three touchdowns while playing less than a half of the annual college football all-star game but his performance was more than enough to help the West side lock up the lopsided victory. Michigan quarterback Jake Rudock started for the East side and was 8-for-14 for 77 yards with an interception and while the game served as one final showcase for a number of college football’s finest players it was no surprise that the majority of fans decided to change the channel well before it was over without much action in the second half of a lopsided affair.
Wisconsin Extends Chryst
In coaching college football news, the Wisconsin Badgers extended the contract of head coach Paul Chryst following his first winning season with the club. He is now signed through to 2021. The decision came after Chryst led Wisconsin to a 10-3 record in 2015 including a win over Southern California in the Holiday Bowl. Chryst has brought stability to the position as remember that Wisconsin as he was the fourth head coach in a three-year span. There were some questions as to whether he’d stick early in the season after Wisconsin was easily handled by Alabama in their regular season opener and then again after a home loss to Iowa on October 3rd. However, when you take a look at the Badgers season overall, it’s safe to say that they’re back. Their only losses were to the aforementioned teams – one who happened to become the National Champion and one who nearly won the Big Ten – as well as a loss to No. 20 Northwestern. Other than that, Chryst led them to 10 wins in 13 games.
His original contract was for five years and the extension will carry over the $100K raise he will receive in every year of the deal on the base climbing from the $2.3 million he made last season.
Monken Leaves For NFL
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers made a splash when they convinced Todd Monken to leave Southern Miss and join their staff as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach this past week. The move reunites Monken with Buccaneers’ head coach Dirk Koetter, who he worked with when the two were in Jacksonville when Koetter served as the Jaguars offensive coordinator and Monken coached the wide receivers. Monken did a tremendous job turning things around at Southern Miss over the last three seasons and he was known as a very creative play-caller when he was at Oklahoma State running their offense too (prior to Southern Miss). It should be a smooth transition as he works with Koetter to maximize the potential of an offense that is absolutely loaded with talent. He’ll have plenty of weapons to work with including Jameis Winston and Mike Evans.
