Tag: Stanford

Vanderbilt replaces Tata with Utah State assistant

Vanderbilt has snagged Utah State’s defensive line coach Frank Maile, the Salt Lake Tribune has reported. The Tribune noted: “In the last two years alone, five of his linemen earned all conference honors: Al Lapuaho, Connor Williams, Jordan Nielsen, A.J. Patiali’i and B.J. Larsen.” The paper noted that Maile was well-known for his in-state recruiting, and especially his recruiting of Polynesian recruits. That could be some asset for new coach Derek Mason’s team if Maile continues that vein of form. Maile replaces Vavae Tata, who arrested for DUI earlier this month.    

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Vanderbilt suspends assistant coach

Vanderbilt has suspended defensive line coach Vavae Tata indefinitely after he was arrested for DUI, the Tennessean is reporting. According to the report, Tata was charged for being off his tatas on Saturday night, blowing a .18 on his breathalyzer test, more than twice legal blood-alcohol limit of .08%, according to an affidavit released by Davidson County. Which was quite good going, if you think about it. It’s not Tata’s first brush with the law: He was arrested for DUI in 1997 and convicted in 2000. Vandy, which underwent a new coaching regime with former Stanford defensive co-ordinator Derek Mason after James Franklin went to Penn State, had a relatively successful signing day. And Vanderbilt’s also no stranger to brushes with

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After the Franklin carnage, Vanderbilt rebounds on Signing Day

Former Vanderbilt head coach James Franklin left at the wrong time. His departure in January to Penn State led to a number of de-commitments, and worries that Vanderbilt would not be able to fill their numbers. Defensive co-ordinator Derek Mason, from Stanford (which is better than Vandy in terms of academics, but would still be twinned with them in terms of academics-before-athletics institutions), came to town. And although he had a slow start, the speed that Vandy recruited in the last few days before National Signing Day would have made Nick Saban or Les Miles happy….and they picked up a monster DE recruit from under Stanford’s nose in Nifae Lealao. He also added 4-star DB Emmanuel Smith, who had offers from Ole

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Alabama-LSU re-takes focus of college football: Week 11 SEC Predictions

So, it was a pretty crazy Thursday after all. Baylor was restricted for a quarter-or-so then broke out the whooping stick on Oklahoma. Then, unbeaten Oregon rolled into Stanford….and lost 26-20 in a game that they trailed 26-0 and were owned in. Anyway, Saturday night’s alright for fighting…..or Alabama to play LSU. The game last year was incredible, but not a lot of people are anticipating the 2013 version from Tuscalossa to be that good. Anyway, here’s your Week 11 Predictions. LSU AT ALABAMA Because of the size of Thursday’s games, the LSU-Alabama has been slightly overshadowed this week. There’s also the fact that LSU’s losses to Georgia and Ole Miss means that they currently stand 13th in the rankings

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Why The SEC Should be Watching Oregon/Stanford/Baylor/Oklahoma on Thursday Night

To steal an Elton John song, Thursday’s night’s alright for fightin’. Because this Thursday night, I’m going for forgo my ‘But it’s not SEC football’ and concentrate on not one but TWO ranked battles going on elsewhere in the country between the fast cats of Baylor and Oklahoma and THAT GAME between Oregon and Stanford. And you know what? There’s a few reasons why SEC fans should watch: 1) The winner of either game could be Alabama’s National Championship opponent. We forecast ‘Bama to make the SEC title game, win that, and go to the National Championship Game. Everyone’s talking about Florida State, Oregon or perhaps Baylor battling it out with the Crimson Tide in Pasadena. Well, both Baylor and

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The Top 10 Challengers To SEC Supremacy

Whether we like it or not, there are going to be challengers to the SEC’s bid for an eighth national championship. Some might be imagined. Others might be truthful. Laugh at us all you want, but here’s our Top 10 teams — brought to you by our blogger Alex Ferguson (@viewfromamerica, he’d like to mention) — who could challenge the SEC for a National Championship. We’ve promised not to laugh at him. 1)  Ohio State Why:  Last season Ohio State went 12-0 and don’t really look like quietening the charge – especially with the return of excellent quarterback Braxton Miller, a deep running back set, and Urban Meyer’s record of winning. You might not like him (especially not Florida fans!)

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