Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

In the spirit of Coaches on Campus, which will pick up next week, I wanted to link to something on the World Wide Web.

Rivals' Top 10 Coaches

Some notable omissions:

--Greg Schiano: May not have the body of work, yet.

--Steve Spurrier: Probably because he hasn't gotten South Carolina over the hump, yet.

--Nick Saban: Probably because not many outside of Tuscaloosa like him.

--Barry Alvarez: Oh yeah, not coaching.

--Mike Bellotti: You try recruiting kids to the state of Oregon. I guess having Nike behind you helps. But he's amassed a 106-52 record since 1995. Not bad, but not Top 10.

By Adam Abramson

Quick, name three coaches who are the most excited in the country about the 2008 football season.

Did you say Bob Stoops, Urban Meyer, Jim Tressel?

No? You said Mark Richt, didn't you?

Well, those are the obvious choices. They'll likely be fronting Top 5 programs comes August. But there's one name out there I bet didn't cross your mind.

Rick Neuheisel.

UCLA believes it has found its man and that man couldn't be happier to be home. The former Arizona all-state prep baseball, basketball and football star, Bruins quarterback, Rose Bowl champion, UCLA assistant and USC law school alum is back in Los Angeles and feels he's fallen into his dream job.

Neuheisel stepped in after former college teammate Karl Dorrell was let go. In an eerie role reversal, Dorrell the receiver threw Neuheisel the quarterback a perfect ball by leaving behind a talented roster.

"We’ve got some really good players. I’m hopeful, as we say in the coaching world, some difference makers will emerge. The guys that can elicit victory where it might not have been otherwise," Neuheisel said. "Recruiting is the lifeblood of any program. It’s critical we go out and get the guys that can compete with the very best on our schedule."

The former Washington and Colorado coach is no stranger to competing with the best. His 2000 Washington team will always be able to call itself Pac-10 and Rose Bowl Champions, something Neuheisel -- who earned those honors as a player, as well -- aims to do again.

This time around, he's armed with knowledge gained after two years with the Baltimore Ravens. As quarterbacks coach, he worked with Steve McNair to lead Baltimore to a 13-3 mark. The next season he served as offensive coordinator, a role he found rewarding.

"I think there’s a lot. The thing you have to be careful about is how much," Neuheisel said of what he could bring to the college game. "The difference between college and pro football is that in college you don’t need to have as much. Coaches can be like car mechanics, where they keep tinkering away and tinkering away to the point where they get away from what makes a good football team. But I came away with a lot of schemes, some of which I’ll implement."

Despite being armed with new knowledge and a solid talent base, Neuheisel has had some early speed bumps and faces hurdles out of the gate.

First, UCLA’s offense has been anything but stellar in recent memory.

"We kind of studied the numbers ..." Neuheisel said. "I have full confidence [offensive coordinator, hired by Neuheisel] Norm Chow is capable of putting together an efficient and effective offense ... You know, it wasn’t too long ago that the UCLA defense was statistically terrible. When [defensive coordinator, still on staff] DeWayne Walker stepped in, it was turned around."

But Neuheisel knows it's not an overnight process: "One thing I have learned is patience. If we’re not a finished product right away, we’ll get there. We can’t get so caught up right now, that we lose sight of where we want to be."

And those speed bumps? At the end of spring, he lost his two experienced quarterbacks -- Ben Olsen and Patrick Cowan -- to injury, in the same practice. Cowan is out for the 2008 season with a knee, but Neuheisel said he expects Olsen to return after a successful foot surgery and rehab. If not, he’s not worried.

"It’s very heartbreaking we lost Patrick Cowan for the season. But you know it’s a very old story in college football that someone steps up, someone usually unexpected. Of the remaining quarterbacks in the program, someone has to rise to the occasion," Neuheisel said. "Whether it’s Kevin Craft, Chris Forcier, Osaar Rasshan or even a freshman. They have to see this as an opportunity. They have to see they have the magic that the quarterback needs to have. When UCLA really got rolling in recent memory is when Cade McNown came in as a freshman quarterback and took over. Who knows who the next Cade McNown is. Eventually someone’s gotta step up."

The names on the depth chart can also look to their mentor. Neuheisel was a walk-on who worked his way to becoming a Rose Bowl MVP. But the coach won't use his story to inspire anyone.

"They all want to play, which is a good place to start …" Neuheisel said. "The question is: Whose name is on the back of the jersey? The good news is the front will say UCLA."

It's statements like that which truly highlight Neuheisel's excitement to be back in Southern California. But what excites him most?

"It’s wearing blue and gold again. It’s been a while to wear the colors that feel most natural. It’ll be special when we step into the Rose Bowl for our first game, but only for a few moments before I realize it’s Tennessee on the other sideline."

I'm finalizing a time now to speak with former walk-on, Rose Bowl champion, Pac-10 champion, lawyer, former Colorado and Washingotn coach, former Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator and current UCLA head coach Rick Neuheisel.

Submit your questions while you can. And, yes, I will ask about the misfortune of the Bruins' QBs in spring ball.

By Adam Abramson

In addition to making me look bad this season, Dennis Franchione flipped College Station upside down and left Texas A&M’s football program in a state of emergency.

The former coach recruited a ton of talent to play on Kyle Field and this Web space predicted the Aggies to win the Big 12 with their stable of offensive weapons.

Instead, they flopped to a 7-6 record, showing little toughness and often forgetting football includes playing defense.

In addition to ticking everyone off with mediocre football, Franchione raked the program over the bad press coals with stunts like the “booster newsletter” that earned him, I mean his Web site, over $37,000.

A&M decided to clean its hands of Franchione and bring in Mike Sherman from the Houston Texans. While Sherman is a stranger to running a college football program, he’s no foreigner to the A&M football program. That said, leading the Aggies won’t be that foreign a task to Sherman, who served as both general manager and head coach in Green Bay.

Purely from a personality standpoint, Sherman is the perfect hire. The Aggies have to restore their great tradition of pure football and winning and Sherman is the right man to front this movement. He’s all business and has a great appreciation for what Texas A&M football was. After all, he’s been there.

“It’s kind of like going full circle,” Sherman said. “This is my third time, so there’s a lot of familiarity, but a lot of new things, as well.”

That makes sense, considering he hasn’t coached in College Station, or on the college ranks, since 1996. After over a decade in the pros, Sherman is having to adjust to the changes that come with the college game.

“The numbers that you deal with when you get your whole squad together is 130 players and in the National Football League you had 53 with about eight practice squad players,” Sherman said. “And then the issues you deal with are so different, obviously. The academic part of things, the maturity aspects, trying to get guys to be more accountable – most of the guys in the National Football League have achieved success in those areas as far as accountability and doing your job the right way. The kids here are just learning, so you’re teaching them those things.”

Sherman served as the GM and head coach in Green Bay -- experience should weather that change rather well. Sherman acknowledged the similarities between the roles of GM and head coach at A&M, citing everything from recruiting to administrative duties.

“The transition is always a difficult time. When you take something over like I did, and like other people have done, the sooner people jump in the boat, the sooner the trust factor comes your way as a leader of the football team and the sooner you can make progress.”

Progress is what Sherman is hoping to achieve right away. A&M went 32-28 under Franchione in five seasons – far below the program’s standards. Taking over at such a fragile time, Sherman knew he had to earn the trust of his new players immediately.

“What I did was I say to the players, ‘Hey, you don’t know me very well, we don’t have a relationship, but I’m going to ask you to trust me from the get-go. Give me a leap of faith and trust that I’m going to make good decisions and lead us in the right direction. If you do that, then we’ll get to where we need to be faster. And through that time, hopefully we’ll develop a relationship that will validate everything. And if I disappoint you and you can’t trust me, so be it. But hopefully that will not be the case. Understand that I have this football team and your best interests at heart and let us move forward.’ ”

Talked to Mike Sherman this afternoon.

I'm going to spend the rest of the day writing up something on the interview. Please stay tuned.

Tomorrow morning I'll be talking to Mike Sherman over at Texas A&M.

If you'll remember, A&M is a the team I predicted to storm through the Big 12 last year with Dennis Franchoine as coach. Well, that didn't happen.

Maybe I'm bitter and I am calling to see if Sherman will right this ship.

Who knows. Either way, I'm sure it'll be a good interview and we'll learn a lot about the direction Sherman wants to take the Aggies. I can guess that direction is upward, as quickly as possible.

Have anything you'd like me to ask? You have until 11 a.m. tomorrow to let me know.

On strength and conditioning coach Mike Barwis leaving WVU:

Mike Barwis did a tremendous job. We just hired Mike Joseph. Tremendous young man. He was here first, went to Notre Dame [and now is back]. This guy has just gelled greatly with these young people. The style is a little different, but young people are resilient. They were resilient in that bowl game. They put aside their personal feelings -- you had to.

Mike Barwis, who we miss, my friend, [is] gone. I hate that, but it opens a new chapter. That's how we've looked at this whole thing. We have a great man in Mike Joseph. This summer is crucial. It is their time to bond. You pray. You do the best you can.

On his high-profile staff:

I never go in the defensive room, first and foremost. I've been an offensive guy my whole life. I was on the defensive staff under Fisher DeBerry for four years at Air Force. Let me say this: Army never crossed the goal line under Bill Stewart. I'm proud of that. But I never go in that defensive room.

…

[Defensive coordinator] Jeff Casteel is the best kept secret in the country.

[Note: Stewart told me a story about a journalist hyping Casteel and how he's doing everything he can to keep Casteel's prowess on defensive coaching a secret.]

…

Offensively, we've got Doc Holliday. The best recruiter in the country. Put it down, William Stewart.

How I am keeping these guys? I went to every coal miner, every mill worker, every construction worker, every laborer, every God-fearing West-by-God-Virginian. I said go out by the outhouses, dig up the coffee cans and give me money. They did. They went into their burlap sacks and coffee cans and I was able to hire the best coaching staff in the country.

On the challenge to replace Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt:

Oh God. We don't have that plan mastered yet. How do you replace 35 [also listed the other seniors]. I don't know how you replace them. I know you can try to substitute. We have a guy named Will Johnson. He's better than that Owen coming out of the backfield. Can he block? No, he's 215. But he's an athlete.

…

We will run a little more option to replace Owen. You have to do some smoke and mirrors. We have 2 great quarterbacks in Patrick White and Jarrett Brown. We'll be OK.

To replace Steve, we've got Noel Devine [and a few young backs]. Devine had 73 carries last season. I told my coaches he'll have that in the first three games. … We've got too much talent.

By Adam Abramson

One of the first things West Virginia head coach Bill Stewart did when I picked up the phone was thank me for taking his call and giving him exposure in the big city of New York. He asked about me and when I told him I’m a Virginian, we quickly found out he has a long-standing relationship with a legendary coach from my high school, Charlie Hovis. I immediately knew it was going to be a great interview.

Stewart is a throwback to the older days of college football. Modern-day coaches and players have become so tight-lipped that sometimes the only thing you’ll hear from a program is clichés. Stewart is anything but. He had plenty to say about Rich Rodriguez’s departure, the Fiesta Bowl experience, what it takes to maintain a wining program and what his major concerns are in Morgantown.

“When Rich decided to got o Michigan, we wished him nothing but the best. I worked for him for seven years. There were some people upset, but I told them we had to get ready to for this game we had to win,” he said of the fallout before January’s Fiesta Bowl.

“I told the guys we have 20 minutes and I’ll see them on the practice field. Most went to shake coach’s hand and went out to practice … We had great practices. Sharp. Crisp. We got out there and started weaving our magic. I didn’t have to say much, I turned it over to the senior class.”

The quick turnaround and intense preparation led to a stunning and dominant 48-28 victory over Oklahoma.

Stewart told a funny story about the practices leading up to the BCS game: “Patrick White said ‘Let’s get it moving!’ He was shooting his eyes to the left, shooting them to the right and everyone was following. Then he cut his eyes to me and I said ‘Damn, I better start running. He’s talking to me!’ Pat says let’s get to work. We went to work. They just did it. You know why? They knew deep down that it was the right thing to do. It’s that simple.”

It really is that simple. You can just tell less is more with Stewart as the boss, and it works. It worked out in the desert against the Sooners.

“I told them we owed it to the people behind this program. This is a lot of pride. We’re gonna do all the right things. They bought into it hook, line and sinker. We were out there for eight days and seven nights and we had just one curfew bust. Not many know that. These guys were on a mission. We put Oklahoma in our crosshairs,” Stewart said.

He then admitted with a chuckle: “I wouldn’t want to play Bobby Stoops and OU again.”

But if things keep going the way they’re headed for West Virginia, they’ll quickly be a fixture among the Oklahomas, Ohio States, Southern Californias and Floridas of the country. Jumping out all over Georgia and Oklahoma on the stages they did are the stepping stones.

But it won’t be easy. Those stones were traversed with Rodriguez at the helm, who was able to breathe a ton of life into the program. The torch is now in Stewart’s hands, and he understands the challenge. The team wrapped up its spring on Thursday with a team meeting and the coach had a simple message.

“I said, ‘Guys, there’s no more 35, 53, 10. No more Ryan Mundys. Who is going to step up and take the bat off their shoulder? Patrick can’t carry this team. You seniors have to be just that – team-leading seniors. You can’t stand in the background.”

He stressed the importance of leading by doing things the right way and not just vocally. The right way being finishing practices hard, working together, showing up for summer workouts and showing up ready to play in the fall.

“Thirty minutes into the meeting, 1600 hours, I said ‘You’re in the right place at the right time with the right people. I believe that with every fiber. We have a great bond and a great chemistry.’ ”

Stewart then told his team they’re the focal point of the second Golden Era of West Virginia athletics. The first was led by names such as Jerry West and Sam Huff, “The only football player I recall seeing on the cover of Time magazine.”

The coming season is crucial if Stewart and his staff want to keep that hope of a second Golden Era alive. Steve Slaton, Owen Schmitt, Marc Magro, Darius Reynaud and Ryan Mundy are among a group of extremely talented players now moved on.

But with the spirit of the whole state at the forefront of the program, the future looks promising. Ask any West Virginia football fan.

“We’re going to keep the same kind of plan we had out in the desert. Keep our guys healthy … Good things will happen.”

Read more of my conversation with Bill Stewart here.

Just got off the phone a 35-minute conversation with West Virginia coach Bill Stewart.

Hands down, best interview I've ever had.

The only problem: I have more to digest than I know what to do with, but he left me with specific instructions:

"Don't make me out to be a genius. I'm just a house painter."

I'll return.