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With marquee names gone, some big shoes to fill around college football
The Replacements might make a nice Hollywood movie about a motley
collection of football players who overcome long odds ... but, in real life,
the replacements are more often just what the name implies -- poor
substitutions who find success hard to come by.
After all, there was a reason why these new guys were understudies and
why the players they are replacing were All-Americans.
But in the college football world where there is big personnel turnover
each year, there are always unknowns stepping into the spotlight, just as
Texas running back Hodges Mitchell did last year while gaining 1,000 yards
in the footsteps of Heisman winner Ricky Williams.
So, here's a Sweet 16 list of hard-to-replace players (and coaches). You
might not know their names yet, but chances are at least a few of them will
become major superstars who will someday be hard to replace.
| Out: Shaun Alexander |
In: A committee |
| Alabama RB: The best thing would be for
senior Shaun Bohanon to take over the No. 1 tailback job, which he did for
two games last season when Alexander was injured. But Bohanon has had some
academic issues to attend to, which gave ample opportunity for Ahmaad
Galloway, Santonio Beard and Brandon Miree to get ready for the
fall. |
| Out: Courtney Brown |
In: Justin Kurpeikis |
| Penn State DE: Kurpeikis started on the
other side from Brown, and will be asked to step into the role of major
havoc-wrecker. With the attention on him full time, can Kurpeikis duplicate
his 1999 performance of 11 sacks? |
| Out: Plaxico Burress |
In: TBD |
| Michigan State WR: Well, it won't be high
school stud Charles Rogers, who had Plaxico-esque height (6-foot-4) and was
going to be Michigan State's long-ball threat ... until he became an academic
casualty this summer. Juniors Herb Haygood and Shawn Foster are likely to be
the starting wideouts, replacing Burress and Gari Scott. |
| Out: Ron Dayne |
In: Michael Bennett |
| Wisconsin RB: The new guy is nothing like
the old guy. Bennett, a junior, is a Big Ten sprint champion who qualified
for the U.S. Olympic trials in the 100 meters. Catching him will be an
interesting change-up for defenders who got used to grabbing the powerful
Dayne and then holding on for dear life. |
| Out: Joe Hamilton |
In: George Godsey |
| Georgia Tech QB: Godsey, a junior, won't
be asked to be as flashy as his predecessor -- not many college quarterbacks
can be -- and he won't try. He won the job in the spring in part because of
his steady play that produced a minimum of errors. If he falters, however,
redshirt freshman Andy Hall might zoom right past him.
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| Out: Thomas Jones |
In: A committee |
| Virginia RB: Even though Jones set the ACC
rushing record last season, Virginia is rarely short on running backs and is
expecting big production from the position against this season. Several
high-school All-Americans are at the ready, including probable No. 1 Antoine
Womack, who did not play last season following some off-field
indiscretions. |
| Out: Tee Martin |
In: Joey Mathews |
| Tennessee QB: Mathews emerged as the
slight leader in what was a four-man race in the spring (since reduced to
three because of the transfer of freshman John Rattay). He has all of seven
passes of experience, but that's seven more than the guys who are chasing
him -- true freshman Casey Clausen and redshirt freshman A.J.
Suggs. |
| Out: Charlie McBride |
In: Craig Bohl |
| Nebraska defensive coordinator: McBride
spent 23 years as a Nebraska assistant, putting together some of the
nation's finest (and most punishing) defenses. His expertise won't be easy
to replace, but the Cornhuskers did manage to replace coach Tom Osborne just
fine a couple of years ago ... so the Nebraska beat just goes on and on and
on. |
| Out: Corey Moore |
In: Nathaniel Adibi |
| Virginia Tech DE: Without having played a
down, Adibi carries the title of the next great Virginia Tech defensive end.
He's a 6-3, 242-pound redshirt freshman who was a highly touted recruit from
Virginia -- and he showed why during the spring, displaying the strength and
quickness of an impact player. |
| Out: Chad Pennington |
In: Byron Leftwich |
| Marshall QB: Leftwich, a junior, threw
only 24 passes the past two seasons as Pennington's understudy, but has an
abundance of athletic skills and that should be enough to keep the Herd
rolling through the MAC. As far as being a smart leader like Pennington,
we'll see. |
| Out: Chris Samuels |
In: Dante Ellington |
| Alabama left tackle: Ellington is a
star-in-waiting, having started every game last year at right tackle as a
true freshman. Coaches think so much of him that they moved him to the left
side in the spring, giving him the most vital position on the line and
saying that, in time, he could be just as good as Samuels, the third overall
pick in the NFL draft. |
| Out: Jerry Sandusky |
In: Tom Bradley |
| Penn State defensive coordinator: Entering his 22nd season on staff, Bradley takes over for long-time Joe Paterno assistant Jerry Sandusky, wishing he had still Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington and Brandon Short and David Macklin. |
| Out: Tim Rattay |
In: Brian Stallworth |
| Louisiana Tech QB: Considering that
Stallworth threw a game-winning touchdown pass against Alabama last season,
he's probably ready to handle the pressure of being the starter -- even if
the man he's replacing is one of the most prolific passers in NCAA history.
A junior, Stallworth gets to rev up this season in preparation for La.
Tech's move to the WAC in 2001.
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| Out: Brian Urlacher |
In: About five guys |
| New Mexico all-purpose: Let's see ... the
Lobos will need a powerful linebacker, a speedy safety, a tall receiver, a
crafty returner and the ultimate leader. Good luck. |
| Out: Troy Walters |
In: DeRonnie Pitts |
| Stanford WR: Pitts had a nice junior
season, combining with Walters and Dave Davis to accumulate 2,831 yards. But
all his buddies are gone -- Walters is in the NFL, Davis was lost to
academics and Tafiti Uso quit -- so Pitts somehow will have to put up big
numbers while being the focus of other team's defensive
backs. |
| Out: Peter Warrick |
In: Javon Walker |
| Florida State WR: The Seminoles have lots
of other receivers who are more than capable -- Marvin Minnis, Robert Morgan
and Anquan Boldin to name a few -- but Walker looks like he has star
potential. The JC transfer is someone FSU has been waiting for ... he
originally signed with Florida State out of high school.
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