Brady Hoke Named Michigan Football Coach

ANN ARBOR – University of Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon announced today (Tuesday, Jan. 11) the hiring of Brady Hoke as the 19th coach in the 131-year history of Michigan football. Hoke arrives in Ann Arbor after spending the past eight seasons as a head coach at Ball State (2003-08) and San Diego State (2009-10).<br <br “We are pleased to announce the hiring of Brady,” said Brandon. “He is a terrific coach and will be a great ambassador and leader for our football program. We look forward to having him build a championship program on the field and in the classroom.” <br <br Hoke spent eight seasons in Ann Arbor before embarking on his head coaching career. He mentored the Wolverines defensive line all eight seasons, a group that helped Michigan rank annually among the nation’s best in rushing and total defense.

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Illinois junior RB LeShoure applies for NFL draft

Mikel LeShoure spent 2010 making a name for himself, breaking Illinois’ single-season rushing record with 330 yards of it coming on one unreal November day. The junior Illini running back figures it’s time to move on and hopefully start cashing a paycheck for his work. He applied for the NFL draft Tuesday, deciding to skip his senior season.

LSU’s Star of Tomorrow: Tyrann Mathieu

DALLAS, TEXAS–The opening kickoff of the 75th Cotton Bowl Classic played Friday night in Cowboys Stadium began like a horse race. Texas A&M’s Coryell Judie galloped down the sidelines as he returned the opening kick 69 yards, second longest in Cotton Bowl history. However, it wasn’t the return of the Judie that impressed; it was the speed of LSU’s number 14, Tyrann Mathieu, the freshman defensive back who earned 2010 Freshman All-SEC honors. It was a case of déjà vu; watching Mathieu chase down Judie took me back to Darrell Green chasing down Tony Dorsett on Monday night football back in 1983. “I knew I was going to catch him,” said Mathieu, who seemed kind of embarrassed being compared to Green. When asked where that the chase-down measured on a

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LSU’s Star of Tomorrow: Tyrann Mathieu

DALLAS, TEXAS–The opening kickoff of the 75th Cotton Bowl Classic played Friday night in Cowboys Stadium began like a horse race. Texas A&M’s Coryell Judie galloped down the sidelines as he returned the opening kick 69 yards, second longest in Cotton Bowl history. However, it wasn’t the return of the Judie that impressed; it was the speed of LSU’s number 14, Tyrann Mathieu, the freshman defensive back who earned 2010 Freshman All-SEC honors. It was a case of déjà vu; watching Mathieu chase down Judie took me back to Darrell Green chasing down Tony Dorsett on Monday night football back in 1983. “I knew I was going to catch him,” said Mathieu, who seemed kind of embarrassed being compared to Green. When asked where that the chase-down measured on a

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Around the NFL: Wild Card Week

It was a wild Wild Card playoff weekend: three road teams emerged with wins and the home team that won did so in shocking style.

Game one began as expected. Seattle kicked off out of bounds and before they settled into the game it was 10-0 in favor of the defending champs. However, the home team would respond—and the Saints didn’t think they would. Matt Hasselbeck threw the first of his four TD passes to John Carlson to cut the lead to 10-7. That brought the crowd into the game…but not the Seattle defense. Drew Brees led the Saints on a 10-play drive to restore the 10-point margin and it certainly looked like Seattle’s D was living down to their billing. However, Hasselbeck—who sat out the must-win game against the Rams just

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