Animated video a hit with BYU fans

Fired Illinois coach finds home at UNC

Thanks to an Idaho man who creates Lego animations as a hobby, BYU fans can relive the glory and Nebraska fans the misery of the “Hail Mary’ that capped the Cougars’ victory over the Cornhuskers last year.

Same with the Michigan State and Michigan fans who saw the Wolverines’ botched punt decide that game.

The plays are captured in stunning detail with those classic plastic toy building pieces, and the videos have generated a buzz among fans.

Jared Jacobs, a 38-year-old marketing specialist in Boise, said Wednesday he re-created each play on the kitchen table in the apartment he shares with his wife and three children.

It took 30 hours to make the Lego video of BYU’s Mitch Mathews catching Tanner Mangum’s 42-yard pass with no time left to beat Nebraska 33-28 in Lincoln. Jacobs said the play was a memorable start to the 2015 season, and he was encouraged to make the animation by a friend who works at BYU.

Jacobs said he spent considerably more time re-creating the scene of Michigan punter Blake O’Neill bobbling a low snap, fumbling the ball away, and Jalen Watts-Jackson running it back to give Michigan State a 27-23 win. Jacobs said the Big Ten Network asked him to make that one. BTN had discovered Jacobs from his Lego video of Tiger Woods’ miraculous chip-in on the 16th hole of the 2005 Masters that went viral in May.

A licensing issue with Legos prevented BTN from using the Michigan State video. Jacobs put it out on his personal social media accounts, and his phone lit up with notifications from fans. Jacobs said he’ll re-create Big Ten signature plays for BTN’s Saturday pregame shows starting Sept. 24, using licensed Oyo Sports pieces rather than Legos.

NORTH CAROLINA: Former Illinois coach Tim Beckman, fired last year amid allegations of player mistreatment, is working as a volunteer assistant with the defense for the No. 22 Tar Heels.

Speaking after Wednesday evening’s practice, UNC coach Larry Fedora described the decision as helping a friend while also gaining Beckman’s expertise as a former head coach and defensive coordinator. Fedora and Beckman were assistants together at Oklahoma State in 2007.

“Let me make something clear so everybody understands: I’m the one that sets the expectations on our culture and how our studentathletes are treated,” Fedora said. “I’m at the top, I set it for everybody.

“So Tim’s here doing what the NCAA allows him to do as a volunteer assistant: studying film, scouting, all those kind of things. And so I’m glad we’re able to give him this opportunity until he’s able to find employment.”

In an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday, team spokesman Kevin Best said Beckman can interact with players but cannot instruct them as a coach. NOTRE DAME: Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly says his first reaction to six players being arrested over the weekend was disappointment.

Kelly says he reacted like any father would, saying after feeling disappointment he then felt embarrassment. He says then he was “mad as hell.”

Five players were charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession after being stopped for allegedly speeding in Fulton County, about 40 miles south of South Bend. Three face an additional misdemeanor charge of possession of an unlicensed handgun

In a separate incident, cornerback Devin Butler was accused of tackling a police officer and punching him during an altercation outside a bar near campus. Butler had been suspended indefinitely from the team. Kelly kicked starting safety Max Refield off the team.

Kelly said Wednesday the other four players are practicing with the team.

VIRGINIA: Transfer Kurt Benkert has won the battle to be Virginia’s starting QB.

First-year head coach Bronco Mendenhall, a former defensive coordinator at the University of New Mexico and ex-BYU coach, made the announcement Wednesday.

“I’ve really been impressed with how he’s moved the team. When I look at a quarterback, what I look first and foremost for is do they move the team into the end zone because points determine outcome,” Mendenhall said. “Kurt has been the one that I think has consistently and can continue to be consistent in terms of moving our team forward regardless of the type and caliber of opponent that we play.”