NCAA Endzone

Jerry Glanville is ready to run another football team. This time, the former NFL coach is taking over at Portland State — vowing to turn the Vikings into the “hardest hitting football team on the West Coast.”

Glanville, former coach of the NFL’s Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons, has been defensive coordinator at Hawaii for the past two seasons under June Jones.

He replaces Tim Walsh, who resigned Feb. 16 after 14 years with the Division I-AA Vikings to take over as offensive coordinator for Army.

“I hope our football team does not just represent the university. I want this to be the city’s football team,” Glanville said.

The terms of Glanville’s contract — including its length — have not yet been determined.

Glanville, 65, developed the so-called “Gritz Blitz” defense and was head coach of the Houston Oilers from 1986-89 and the Atlanta Falcons from 1990-93. He was known as much for his personality as his coaching.

Outspoken and often dressed in black, he playfully left game tickets for Elvis Presley to pay homage to the late singer.

After head coaching stints at Georgia Tech and Western Kentucky, Glanville embarked on a pro career as a special teams coach and defensive assistant with the Detroit Lions.

He became defensive backs coach for the Falcons in 1977 and later served as defensive coordinator. In 1984, he joined the Oilers as defensive coordinator and two seasons later became head coach.

He returned to the Falcons as head coach in 1990. He was replaced in 1993 by Jones.

He put his caching career aside for the next 11 years and worked in television, with such shows as “NFL Today” and a five-year run on Fox.

Glanville joined Jones’ staff at Hawaii in 2005. Glanville said Jones, who starred at quarterback for Portland State in the mid-1970s, was the one who persuaded him to take the job.

Glanville is expected to name former Portland State head coach Mouse Davis, whose run-n-shoot offense Jones still uses, as his offensive coordinator.

Walsh went 90-68 at Portland State, including 7-4 last season. He led the Vikings to three straight playoff appearances at the Division II level before they moved up to Division I-AA and the Big Sky Conference in 1996.

“I think we’re already a good football team,” Glanville said. “We’re going to go to work and we’re going to build on all the good things the previous coaching staff was able to do”

Portland State, Jerry Glanville

UCLA
Starts: April 5.
Spring game: April 27.
Last season’s record: 7-6.
Ben Olson and Patrick Cowan, hero of the Bruins’ upset victory over rival USC, again will fight for the quarterback job. Olson got the nod last fall, then was hurt early in the season and Cowan moved up and remained there even when Olson returned from the injury. Coach Karl Dorrell got another year on his contract and revamped his offensive staff, hiring offensive coordinator Jay Norvell away from Nebraska and offensive line coach Bob Connelly.

Wake Forest
Starts: March 20.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 11-3.
The campus is still buzzing about the Demon Deacons’ ACC title and Orange Bowl berth, but coach Jim Grobe’s job this spring is to refocus his team and set the foundation for defending that title. The much-anticipated quarterback competition between ACC rookie of the year Riley Skinner and last season’s original starter, Ben Mauk, won’t materialize because Mauk is transferring. Wake Forest also must replace LB Jon Abbate, the team’s inspirational leader last season who left early to enter the NFL draft.

Washington
Starts: April 9.
Spring game: April 28.
Last season’s record: 5-7.
Tyrone Willingham faces plenty of issues heading into his third season, but the quarterback competition between senior Carl Bonnell and highly touted freshman Jake Locker will draw the most attention. Bonnell started the final five games last season, and beat Washington State in the Apple Cup, but was beat up and had surgery on his non-throwing shoulder after the season. That will limit him during spring ball, giving Locker the opportunity to perhaps go into fall camp as the favorite to start when the Huskies begin their brutal 2007 schedule on Aug. 31 at Syracuse.

Washington State
Starts: March 22.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 6-6.
Last year’s starting QB, Alex Brink, returns for his senior season, but will be pushed by junior Gary Rogers, who scored three touchdowns in three relief appearances. Coach Bill Doba will have to rebuild a defensive secondary without defensive coordinator Robb Akey, now head coach across the border at Idaho. Junior college transfers Terry Mixon and Devin Giles were brought in to shore up the CB spot.

West Virginia
Starts: March 5.
Spring game: April 7.
Last season’s record: 11-2.
West Virginia is set on offense with the return of QB Patrick White and RB Steve Slaton, who will miss the spring to recover from right wrist surgery. But the defense needs help, especially in the secondary. The Mountaineers were 109th in the nation against the pass (243 yards per game). The Mountaineers lost two of the three starting linebackers, along with safety Eric Wicks. Their biggest loss might have been offensive line coach Rick Trickett, who left for Florida State. Greg Frey comes from South Florida to replace him.

Wisconsin
Starts: March 13.
Spring game: April 21.
Last season’s record: 12-1
John Stocco is gone, and the Badgers are looking for a starting quarterback. Tyler Donovan performed well when Stocco was injured at the end of last season, but the Badgers also have Allan Evridge, a transfer from Kansas State who becomes eligible this year. Wisconsin also must find a replacement for left tackle Joe Thomas, who is expected to be a top pick in the NFL draft. The Badgers will be without running back P.J. Hill and tight end Andy Crooks in the spring after both had shoulder surgery in February. Both are expected to be healthy by fall.

spring football, NCAA, West Virginia

Pittsburgh
Starts: March 17.
Spring Game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 6-6.
Pitt must replace its top offensive and defensive players in QB Tyler Palko and LB H.B. Blades from a disappointing team that started 6-1, but lost its final five, leaving coach Dave Wannstedt 11-12 in two seasons at Pitt. Backup QB Bill Stull played only a few insignificant downs and must fend off incoming freshman QB prospect Pat Bostick. Pitt’s must intriguing player - incoming freshman RB LeSean McCoy - won’t be in spring ball. He could start immediately if he’s over a major ankle injury from two years ago, when he was well on his way to breaking Pennsylvania’s high school rushing record.

Southern California
Starts: March 20.
Spring game: April 7.
Last season’s record: 11-2.
USC returns 20 starters, and coach Pete Carroll landed one of the country’s best recruiting classes, placing the Trojans in line to be ranked No. 1 entering next season. The one unsettled area is wide receiver, with Dwayne Jarrett and Steve Smith gone. WR Patrick Turner is in line to be the next No. 1 option. A No. 1 running back didn’t emerge among last year’s crew of blue-chip freshmen. RBs Emmanuel Moody and C.J. Gable go into the spring as the leading candidates, but this year’s recruits (Joe McKnight and Marc Tyler) will provide even more competition when they arrive August.

South Carolina
Starts: March 20.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 8-5.
Steve Spurrier couldn’t feel better about the Gamecocks direction after they finished with three straight wins for the first time in 33 years. South Carolina lost star WR Sidney Rice to the NFL after his sophomore season. WR Kenny McKinley becomes the go-to guy. QB Blake Mitchell had a resurgence late in the season and goes into spring practice as a solid No. 1. Most of the defense that excelled down the stretch is back, led by all-SEC linebacker Jasper Brinkley, who considered jumping to the NFL.

South Florida
Starts: March 20.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 9-4.
With 17 starters returning, the Bulls don’t have many holes to fill. The absence of a consistent running game hurt last season, and QB Matt Grothe finished as team’s leading rusher. RB Mike Ford, who enrolled in January, might be the solution. He was one of the nation’s top players coming out of high school. He signed with Alabama in 2005, but didn’t qualify academically, and signed with USF this winter after Crimson Tide fired former coach Mike Shula.

Stanford
Starts: April 4.
Spring game: April 28.
Last season’s record: 1-11
New coach Jim Harbaugh has a hefty rebuilding task after taking over from Walt Harris following Stanford’s worst season in more than four decades. Harbaugh was able to persuade top receivers Evan Moore and Mark Bradford to return for another season, which will be a big help to a struggling offense. QB T.C. Ostrander, who got ample playing time the past two seasons because of injuries to Trent Edwards, will be asked to learn a new system as he goes into the spring as the starter.

Syracuse
Starts: March 21.
Spring game: April 21.
Last season’s record: 4-8.
Head coach Greg Robinson has to groom a new starting QB to replace Perry Patterson. Sophomore Andrew Robinson is the heir apparent. Greg Robinson, a former NFL defensive coordinator, also must focus on the Orange defense, which lost all its starting LBs and CBs.

Tennessee
Starts: Feb. 22.
Spring game: March 31.
Last season’s record: 9-4.
The Volunteers’ young receivers will be vying for the top three spots in the rotation after losing two seniors (Jayson Swain and Bret Smith) and junior star Robert Meachem. Tennessee also will look for help along the offensive and defensive fronts with the loss of second-team All-American offensive tackle Arron Sears and two defensive line starters. And for the first time in a while, the kicking drills will take on added meaning now that coach Phillip Fulmer has to find a replacement for four-year starter James Wilhoit.

Texas
Starts: Feb. 24
Spring game: March 31.
Last season’s record: 10-3.
The Longhorns must rebuild a defense that was among the nation’s best against the run and among the worst against the pass last season. Even with Thorpe Award winner Aaron Ross, the Longhorns gave up big plays in bunches. They lose Ross and six other starters on defense and coach Mack Brown hired his third co-coordinator in four seasons, Larry Mac Duff, to replace Gene Chizik. Backup quarterback is also a concern as Texas was painfully inexperienced there when Colt McCoy was injured.

Texas A&M
Starts: March 19.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 9-4.
The Aggies’ promising 2006 season ended in a resounding 45-10 loss to California in the Holiday Bowl, an indication that A&M still has rebuilding to do. But eight starters return on both sides of the ball, including QB Stephen McGee and RBs Jorvorskie Lane and Michael Goodson. McGee mostly got by last season with short, safe passes and option runs. The spring should be an ideal time for the Aggies to expand the offense and develop more deep targets. Defensively, the Aggies adjusted well to first-year defensive coordinator Gary Darnell’s 4-2-5 alignment. Virtually every key defensive player is back this spring.

Texas Tech
Starts: March 21.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 8-5.
Texas Tech will have a returning starter at QB - Graham Harrell - for the first time since 2001. But the Red Raiders need to fill some holes in the offensive line. Tech nabbed some hefty recruits - three weigh more than 300 pounds each - who could start for new offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, the former Louisiana Tech head coach.

spring football, NCAA, USC