NCAA Endzone

Southern California kicker Mario Danelo was drunk when he plunged over a cliff to his death, but the cause of his death was “undetermined,” according to a coroner’s report released Monday.

A toxicological report accompanying Danelo’s autopsy report found he had a 0.23 blood-alcohol level, nearly three times the legal limit for driving in California. No drugs were detected in his body, the report said.

The autopsy report said the cause of death was multiple traumatic injuries, but “because of the unanswered questions, we are stating the manner of death as undetermined,” Deputy Medical Examiner Jeffrey Gutstadt of the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office wrote in the report.

Danelo, 21, was found Jan. 6 more than 100 feet down a rocky cliff in San Pedro. Police said from the outset that foul play was ruled out and his death was either an accident or a suicide.

Following Danelo’s death, several Southern California players said they were convinced the kicker did not take his own life.

A USC spokesman declined to comment about the coroner’s report. Danelo’s brother, Joey Danelo, was not immediately available for comment.

The report also couldn’t ascertain what Danelo’s state-of-mind was before his death but he “would have had to scale a wall to get to the strip of land before the steep drop-off of approximately 150 feet while under the influence of alcohol.”

Danelo made 15 of 16 field goals this season and led the Trojans in scoring with 89 points. He made two field goals in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day to help USC beat Michigan 32-18.

He missed two field goals in his two-year career at USC, going 26-for-28, and he was 127-of-134 on extra points. He set NCAA single-season records with 83 extra points and 86 attempts in the 2005 season.

Danelo, the son of former NFL kicker Joe Danelo, was a walk-on at USC in 2003 and received a scholarship two years later.

USC, Mario Danelo, Kicker

Wisconsin running back P.J. Hill has had shoulder surgery and will not participate in spring football drills in March and April, the school announced recently.

Tight end Andy Crooks is scheduled to have shoulder surgery on Friday and also is expected to miss spring drills.

“Both P.J. and Andy are having surgery to correct injuries they sustained during the 2007 season,” Badgers coach Bret Bielema said in a statement. “They will miss spring ball, but will participate on a limited basis in summer conditioning and are expected to be 100 percent by the time fall camp opens.”

Hill, who had surgery Wednesday, was the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and led the conference with 1,569 yards rushing but appeared to wear down as the season progressed.

Crooks started every game for the Badgers in 2006, catching 19 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns.

Wisconsin begins spring practice March 13.

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Former starting Wake Forest quarterback Ben Mauk said he is transferring for academic reasons.

Mauk will remain enrolled at Wake Forest until his graduation this spring. In the fall he will enroll at a school that offers a master’s degree in advanced education administration. Wake Forest does not offer that degree.

Mauk began last season as the Demon Deacons’ starter, but suffered a season-ending injury in the third quarter of the opener against Syracuse. He dove to recover a fumble but dislocated his right shoulder and broke his right arm on what coach Jim Grobe said was the most courageous play he’d ever seen by a quarterback.

Mauk spent the rest of the season rehabilitating and mentoring redshirt freshman Riley Skinner. Skinner became the Atlantic Coast Conference’s rookie of the year, leading the Demon Deacons to their first league championship in 36 years, an 11-3 record, a berth in the Orange Bowl and a final No. 18 ranking.

Mauk started 10 of the 18 games he played for Wake Forest from 2004-06, completing 54 percent of his passes for 1,522 yards and four touchdowns. His first pass as a freshman was an 85-yard touchdown that tied the school record for longest scoring pass.

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Once again, Clemson offensive coordinator Rob Spence has chosen to remain with the Tigers.

Spence interviewed last week with the Oakland Raiders for a position on the staff of new coach Lane Kiffin. But Spence told Clemson coach Tommy Bowden that he withdrew his name from consideration for the NFL job and wanted to stay at Clemson.

Earlier this offseason, Spence’s name came up for openings at Alabama with its new coach Nick Saban, and then at Minnesota with its first-year coach, Tim Brewster.

Spence is entering his third season at Clemson.

The Tigers offense led the Atlantic Coast Conference at more than 410 yards a game this past season. Clemson was also tops in rushing and scoring.

Wisconsin, Clemson, Wake Forest

Newly named Army football coach Stan Brock, who was recommended for the job by the retiring Bobby Ross, has decided not to retain Ross’ son Kevin on staff.

“I decided it was important for the program to go in a different direction,” Brock said in a statement released Thursday. “I continue to work toward building the best staff possible to lead our cadet-athletes and hope to be in position to announce the makeup of the entire staff shortly.”

Kevin Ross said he was shocked at the decision and that his father also was upset. The decision was made last Saturday — the day Brock accepted the job.

“My dad was under the assumption that I would be staying,” Kevin Ross told the Times Herald-Record of Middletown.

Bobby Ross announced his retirement Monday and recommended Brock as his successor. Brock served as Army’s offensive line coach under Ross for three years and played for him with the San Diego Chargers from 1993-95.

Bobby Ross, who did not attend the news conference announcing his retirement, was not available for comment about his son. He gave his son his first offensive coordinator job shortly after he accepted the Army head coach position in December 2003.

Kevin Ross, 41, had previously served as running backs coach at the University of Virginia under Al Groh.

A 1988 Navy graduate, Kevin Ross did a good job during his first season, but fans began riding him last year for his play-calling.

With an inexperienced running back, Wesley McMahand, and inexperienced quarterbacks in junior David Pevoto and freshman Carson Williams, Army’s offense flopped this past fall. The Black Knights ranked 70th in the nation out of 119 teams in rushing offense (127.58 yards per game), 90th in scoring offense (19.33 points per game), 112th in total offense (261 yards) and 113th in passing offense (133.4 yards).

Kevin Ross said he was unsure of his future plans.

Army, Stan Brock, Bobby Ross

As an audiotape spread on the Internet, Alabama coach Nick Saban acknowledged Wednesday using a phrase considered derogatory to Cajuns but said he doesn’t condone such language and merely was repeating something a friend told him.

Saban, a former LSU and Miami Dolphins coach, used an ethnic slur Jan. 3 while telling Florida reporters in Tuscaloosa an anecdote about an LSU fan’s angry reaction to his hiring.

When asked about the LSU fans’ reaction, Saban related a phone call from a friend on the LSU board of trustees, whom he did not name. In what seemed to be an attempt at humor, Saban told of the friend’s encounter with an LSU fan, who speaks in a Cajun dialect.

“He was walking down the street yesterday before the Sugar Bowl,” Saban said on the taped comments. “He calls me. There was a guy working in the ditch, one of those coonass guys that talk funny. I can’t talk like them, but he can. Most people in Louisiana can.”

Continuing to tell the story, Saban then quoted the worker’s vulgar comment about Saban going to Alabama.

Saban, in a statement Wednesday, said the word “can be taken as derogatory by some people.”

Alabama spokeswoman Deborah Lane said the university had no comment beyond Saban’s statement.

Alabama, Nick Saban