Women’s soccer has renewed spirit
BIRMINGHAM — Southeastern Conference coaches apparently don’t think Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel is the league’s best quarterback.
The coaches rated the Texas A& M quarterback as the preseason second-team selection on the teams released by the league on Thursday. Georgia’s Aaron Murray was the first-team choice while Alabama’s AJ McCarron received third-team honors.
Manziel became the first freshman to win the Heisman last season, but allegations that he received payment for autographs could threaten his eligibility.
Manziel’s lawyer has said he believes the quarterback will play in Texas A&M’s season opener against Rice on Aug. 31 even if an NCAA investigation isn’t finished, but that decision could ultimately be the Aggies’.
The cloud over his eligibility might have had something to do with Manziel’s downgrade. He was the first-team pick by league media before those allegations surfaced.
All three quarterbacks put up big stats, but Manziel had an unprecedented season in the SEC, even one-upping 2010 Heisman winner Cam Newton of Auburn. He led the league with 1,410 rushing yards and 21 touchdowns and also passed for 3,706 yards and 26 scores.
Manziel is the first player in NCAA history to surpass 5,000 total yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.
Murray also has put up impressive numbers.
He is the first quarterback in SEC history to have 3,000 passing yards in three straight seasons, throwing for a school-record 3,893 yards and 36 touchdowns last season while being intercepted 10 times.
Murray already holds the school career marks for touchdown passes with 95 and touchdowns responsible for (104). Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray was selected preseason first-team AllSEC. Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, was named second team and Alabama’s AJ McCarron third team.
McCarron led the nation in passing efficiency with 30 touchdown passes and just three interceptions.
Alabama led the way with five first-team picks and 16 selections overall.
LSU and Georgia both had eight make one of the teams, while Florida and Tennessee had seven each.
Murray and McCarron might have better supporting casts among the skill positions, at least according to the coaches picks.
Georgia tailback Todd Gurley and tight end Arthur Lynch are both first-teamers. So are Crimson Tide tailback T.J. Yeldon and wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Jake Matthews, who protects Manziel’s blind side at left tackle, also made the first team.
Defensively, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was a first-team pick. Alabama linebacker C.J. Mosley and safety HaHa Clinton-Dix were also among those selected.
DEVELOPMENTS
Oklahoma State undecided on starting QB: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy still hasn’t chosen a starting quarterback for the 13thranked Cowboys’ season opener on Aug. 31 against Mississippi State.
Instead, he has announced that both senior Clint Chelf and sophomore J.W. Walsh will each see action at the neutral-site game in Houston.
Gundy, who has repeatedly declined to specify which one will be the primary signal-caller, now notes that both Chelf and Walsh deserve shots to seize the job. Both played significant roles last season, helping the 8-5 Cowboys produce the nation’s third-ranked offense, including the sixth-best passing attack.
Chelf started the final five games and was chosen Most Valuable Player of the Heart of Dallas Bowl, while Walsh was voted the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year by the conference’s coaches.
Briefly: Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops says redshirt freshman Trevor Knight will start at quarterback in the No. 16 Sooners’ opener at home against Louisiana-Monroe on Aug. 31. Knight, junior Blake Bell and sophomore Kendall Thompson entered preseason practice as contenders for the job to replace four-year starter Landry Jones. ... Former UCLA quarterback T.J. Millweard is transferring to Kansas. Millweard was the No. 23 pro-style quarterback in the 2012 recruiting class, according to Rivals.com.
Brooks Monaghan begins his 14th season as the University of Memphis women’s soccer coach Friday night at 7 at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex.
There are days when it feels as if he has just begun. But there are other days — or seasons — when it feels as if he has been around long enough to earn the few gray hairs he has.
After five straight years of earning spots in the NCAA tournament, his Tigers slipped out of the postseason with a 108-1 record in 2012. He’s encouraged that the group he has assembled this year will help send the U of M back into the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers open with three matches at the Rose Complex, starting with Friday night’s test against Samford. Memphis, 265-3 at home since 2010, plays host to Southeastern Conference foes Missouri (Sunday) and Vanderbilt (Aug. 30) next.
Monaghan, a former Tiger men’s team goalkeeper, returns nine starters, including senior forward Christabel Oduro, who is 12 goals shy of setting the school record. She enters her final year with 32 goals, one behind Jodi Fisher (1995-98) and 11 behind school leader Kylie Hayes (2005-08).
Monaghan said for the Tigers to return to national prominence Oduro will have to contribute more than her goal scoring.
“We challenged her to step up in a leadership role,” Monaghan said. “And she has done a tremendous job with that. We are expecting big things from her. If we are going to be successful, she has to be successful.”
Oduro will be joined by a host of veterans, including junior Kylie Davis, and several impressive newcomers, among them Jamaican midfielder/forward Nugene Nugent, a junior college transfer, and Canadian freshmen Maryse Bard-Martel, a goalkeeper, and Valerie Sanderson, a forward.
Monaghan said he’s been “extremely pleased with this preseason” because the players entered camp with “a fantastic mentality and the desire to do the little things right.”
“I think the returning players have something to prove with not being successful last year as the program has been in years past,” Monaghan said. “But they’re just ready to play. They are ready to play.”
SHERROD LEADS MEN’S SOCCER
While the women’s soccer team opens play Friday, the men concluded their two-game exhibition schedule Thursday night at No. 14 Tulsa. The men open the regular season next Friday at the Ryan Rossi Memorial Tournament in Northridge, Calif., against Cal-State Fullerton.
Like the women, the men are led by a talented senior forward. Mark Sherrod, a Knoxville native, enters his final year after winning back-to-back Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year honors. Sherrod has scored 31 goals the past two years and ranks fifth in program history with 35 goals.
FANFEST SCHEDULE SET
The football program will conduct its annual FanFest Aug. 31 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium, but with a twist.
The day will include a dryrun of sorts for fans and players.
Fans will be allowed to tailgate starting at 11 a.m. on Tiger Lane, which also will have live music, face-painting stations and inflatable playground equipment. Season tickets also will be sold.
Beginning at noon, the stadium will open and fans will be invited to watch the team go through a mock GameDay walk-through session. The walk-through is scheduled to last about 90 minutes.
After the walk-through, fans will be invited to join players and coaches on the field for photos and autographs.
The Tigers open the regular season Sept. 7 at home against Duke.