Talking about targeting, QBs and more

It’s hard to stay focused during Texas week, especially with football games Arkansas should’ve won but didn’t resurfacing through the mush from deep inside my noggin.

That’s my excuse anyway for a segmented version of this weekly column.

OFF TARGET ON TARGETING

Grant Morgan thrilled a lot of Arkansas fans last December when he announced he was coming back for a sixth season to play football for the Razorbacks.

So, what was his reward?

He was ejected in the first quarter of the season-opener on a very questionable targeting call.

Decisions on targeting continue to disrupt the college and pro games, especially when referees take so long to review plays on video. Four players were ejected in the first half alone when Louisville faced Ole Miss, making the game on TV almost unwatchable.

So, what’s the remedy? Some folks, including a few coaches, say college football should adopt a soccer-like system with yellow and red cards issued for different degrees of punishment. But there’s already a simpler solution that’s used in high school football, where most targeting calls warrant a 15-yard penalty with no immediate ejection.

“In football, targeting is a penalty and can be an ejectable offense if it is deemed flagrant,” said Steve Roberts, Associate Executive Director for Football with the Arkansas Activities Association. “If an ejection occurs, the school can appeal for reinstatement. But that process is not immediate and may take up to three days.”

Sounds reasonable to me.

REMEMBER ME?

Sports pages and sportscasts are filled with talk about guys who’ve transferred from other schools and taken over starting positions at their new school. But what about the flip side, the guys who’ve been replaced?

Layne Hatcher couldn’t have been pleased when first-year Arkansas State coach Butch Jones sent out James Blackman, a transfer from Florida State, to take the first snaps at quarterback in the season-opener against Central Arkansas. Blackman had to come off the field after he lost his helmet in the second quarter and Hatcher led the Red Wolves to a 40-21 victory while completing all 12 of his passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns.

Jones can spin it anyway he wants, but Hatcher showed everyone in the stadium that night his coach made the wrong decision on who to start.

It’s easy to get caught up in the credentials of a former 4-star recruit who played at a major program, especially for a new coach who wanted to bring in new people. But Hatcher has credentials, too, as a quarterback who posted a 41-1 record as the starting quarterback at Pulaski Academy and as a wrestler who won four state championships with the Bruins.

Maybe next time.

BIG 12 ROADRUNNERS?

The Big 12 Conference may not be done after inviting Houston, Central Florida, Cincinnati, and Brigham Young membership into the league to offset the loss of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC.

A report surfaced late Friday the Big 12 is also considering Memphis and Boise State to form a league with 14 teams and two divisions. Memphis makes a lot of sense.

But Boise? Not so much, especially considering the school is far closer to the Pacific Ocean than the Big 12 headquarters in Irving, Texas. Instead of Boise State, the league should invited Texas-San Antonio and a football program that is making major strides in only its 10th year of existence.

Beating Illinois on the road was just another step up the rung for the Roadrunners, a Conference-USA team that is projected to win eight or nine games this season. UTSA plays in the 65,000-seat Alamodome in a city of 1.5 million residents.

Besides, what’s more fitting for a Texas-based conference that adding a Texas team from the state’s second-largest city?

Anyone can plan for the near future, but it takes a real visionary to plan well ahead with wisdom and imagination. This is a characteristic decision-makers in the league obviously lack, otherwise they’d seen Oklahoma and Texas bolting for the SEC long before anyone else.