College Football Hot Seat Edition & Meet RB Brandon Wilds

As the Gamecocks enjoy a much-needed Bye Week, I thought it was the perfect time to peer into Spurspective’s crystal ball and see which college football coaches need to polish up the resume by season’s end. It’s an annual rite of passage as college football eclipses the midway point – team’s performances do not meet expectations, then the fan bases crank up the heat on the million dollar men that run the football departments at universities across this country. I have my top ten list of rock solid candidates, who absolutely will be shown the door at the completion of the college football regular season. FYI…if you are a fan of west coast teams you might not want to review my list. Let me know if you agree or disagree with my list.

Hot Seat Nominees:

1. Houston Nutt/Ole Miss: Houston We Have a Problem! In his fourth season in Oxford, MS, the former Arkansas Razorbacks coach has accomplished a feat that not even his predecessor, Ed Orgeron, could achieve, and Orgeron went 0-8 in his last season in Oxford. The Rebels have lost nine straight SEC contests dating back to October 2, 2010, when the Rebels defeated Kentucky 42-35. Up next is Arkansas at home this Saturday. Nutt’s seat is extremely hot!

2. Mike Locksley/New Mexico: Now, granted, Locksley has already been fired, but, trust me, this coach was atop the list prior to the sun setting on his stay in the Land of Enchantment. Locksley compiled a pitiful, 2-26 overall record, 8% winning percentage while at the helm in Albuquerque for a little more than two years.

3. Rick Neuheisel/UCLA: When the prodigal son returned to Westwood, the golden boy/offensive guru was supposed to turn around the fortunes of L.A.'s other program not named Southern Cal. In the last 2 ½ years, the Bruins have gone 7-13 in conference play, which includes a 1-4 record versus cross-town rival USC-W.

4. Mike Stoops/Arizona: Arizona has already fired Mike Stoops, but the program was slipping dating back to the middle of the 2010 season. The Wildcats are off to a 1-5 start this season and have lost ten straight games to FBS opponents dating back to October 30, 2010, when the Wildcats beat UCLA. In the midst of the ten-game losing streak, the average point differential has been more than two touchdowns…OUCH! In 7 ½ seasons in Tucson, Stoops compiled a 41-50 overall record and 27-38 Pac 10/12 record.

5. Tom O’Brien/N.C. State: Do you think O’Brien might be rethinking his ultimatum to Russell Wilson about giving up baseball and concentrating solely on football? The Wolfpack has regressed during the post-Wilson era with redshirt sophomore Sean Glennon under center. O’Brien has had only one winning season in Raleigh and prospects this year are bleak, as NC State still must play Virginia, FSU, UNC, Clemson and Maryland.

6. Paul Wulff/Washington State: Wulff is coaching in his fourth season in Pullman, WA and treading some serious water if he does not turn around the Cougars quickly in 2011. In his previous three seasons, the Cougars have amassed a putrid win total of five games (5-32 record), which includes a 2-25 mark in the Pac-10. That is an astonishing 14% overall winning percentage! Now the Cougars are 3-3 so far in 2011, but time is not on the side of WSU, and there will be no more crying wulff if the Cougars collapse in the second half of their schedule.

7. Bob Toledo/Tulane: It’s awfully easy to stay under the radar in The Big Easy but after four-plus years and compiling a (15-40 overall record; 2-5 in 2011) 38% winning percentage, even the revelers in New Orleans decided it was time to make a change. Oh the days of Bowden & Rich Rod rockin’ the Dome in New Orleans seem like a century ago (1998, 11-0 season)!

8. Jeff Tedford/California: Do you sense a Pac-12 theme with coaches on the hot seat this year? Tedford is coaching in his ninth season in Berkeley this year and so far the Golden Bears are average (Overall: 3-3, Conf: 1-3). In the last 1 ½ years, California is 4-9 (3-6 in 2010) in Pac-10 (12) conference play. In the three losses this year to Washington, Oregon and Southern Cal, the Golden Bears have lost by an average of 19 points. Since 2007, the Golden Bears have not finished higher than 4th in the Pac-10 after finishing tied for 1st in 2006.

9. Frank Spaziani/Boston College: In 2 ½ seasons as the head man in Chestnut Hill, Frank Spaziani is ruffling some feathers in Bean Town. The former defensive coordinator at Boston College is just one game above .500 (17-16) and one game under .500 (9-10) in ACC conference play. The Eagles enjoyed their best season under Spaziani in year one when Boston College finished 8-5 and finished in second place in the Atlantic Division.

10. Neil Callaway/UAB: Yes I know it’s University of Alabama-Birmingham, but when coaches make six-figure salaries, the microscope is always on them, and that includes bottom feeder schools in Conference USA. Callaway has amassed a 15-43 overall record (35% winning percentage) and an 11-24 Conference record (46% winning percentage) in 4 ½ seasons at UAB, which includes a 0-6 start this season.

Meet Brandon Wilds – USC Running Back

Before the 2011 season began, it was an afterthought that Brandon Wilds would be redshirted with all of the talent that USC had amassed at the tailback position. Well surprise, surprise, halfway through his freshman season, the Blythewood, SC native finds himself as the focal point during the post-injury Marcus Lattimore era.
Wilds ended his prep career with 500 carries for 2,700 yards with 29 rushing scores in 33 games at Blythewood (S.C.) High School. Before enrolling at USC, Wilds participated in the annual North/South Football All-Star in South Carolina. Wilds was a two-star prospect, per www.247sports.com, and narrowed his collegiate choices down to South Carolina, Illinois and Arkansas before selecting USC in August of 2010.

All Gamecock fans know Wilds is not going to replicate Lattimore’s football achievements, but check out this article from The State newspaper in 2010 and, IMHO, you will have a fonder admiration for the young man that will be toting the rock when the Gamecocks hit the field in Knoxville, TN on Halloween weekend.

Big junior year has USC, others after top RB
Akilah Imani Nelson, TheState.com - 8/15/2010

Getting recruited by BCS schools is not Brandon Wilds’ No. 1 priority this season.
“I pretty much just focus on the football and let everything else take care of itself,” Wilds said.
But he is the Class of 2011’s No. 1 player in the Midlands.
After one season at tailback for Blythewood, Wilds has offers from South Carolina, East Carolina, Illinois, and Maryland after his 252-carry, 1,551-yard performance in 2009. Wilds is visiting Illinois this weekend and has said he plans to announce his decision on Thursday, the day before the Bengals’ first game of the season, so he will be free to focus on his team.
Although he has tried not to become preoccupied with the process, Wilds has spent a lot of time studying his choices.
“He’s very goal-driven and he does more research than any kid I’ve seen,” Blythewood coach Geremy Saitz said. “He knows what he’s looking for. He’s got a good head on his shoulders and he understands the importance of his decision.”
Wilds’ parents, Robert and Regina, are confident their youngest son’s reserved and studious nature will help him make the right decision.
“I just told him to pay attention to what people say,” said Robert, who played college football at TEAM HERE. “People will talk fast, but not everybody is going to be saying what he wants to hear.”
Robert Wilds said he handed his son a football when he was 2 years old. When he noticed the boy sleeping with football, he figured Brandon was bound to be a football player.
Despite the dreams he had for his son, Robert Wilds did not fathom the success his son has attained.
Though Brandon was developing into a star running back in eighth grade, Richland 2 district rules prevented him from competing with the Bengals as a freshman. He spent that year on the scout team instead, helping Blythewood prepare for a season that culminated in a state title.
“He couldn’t compete with us, but he came to every practice. He was very much a part of that team, and he’s been willing to do whatever we need of him since then,” Saitz said.
Wilds’ mother was proud of her son’s humility and grace during that time.
“After that freshman year he felt like he had something to prove,” Regina Wilds said.
But proving himself had to wait another season.
“I really wanted to play tailback, but the team already had an established back, so I played fullback and just tried to be the best at that,” Wilds said. He averaged 4.5 yards on 73 carries that season behind C.J. Edwards.
Today, Wilds stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 218 pounds — a physique Robert Wilds claims as coming from his side of the family. He has a nearly three-foot vertical leap and runs the 40-yard dash in 4.5 seconds.
“He’s so big you just think he’s a power back,” Saitz said. “You don’t realize how fast he is until you watch the film.”
That season at fullback gave him an understanding of blocking schemes, Wilds said, and his solid frame is perfectly suited to rushing through contact.
When he finally got to play running back, Wilds cut loose. With 17 touchdowns, Wilds was the Bengals’ scoring leader.
“I didn’t imagine my son would be this good and be ranked so highly,” Robert Wilds said. “I had to tell him, I think he’s a better player than I was.”
It was a hard admission to make, but also a source of pride.
And for Brandon Wilds, his father’s confidence and admiration are as good as a five-star rating.