Hurricanes Weekly

David Hale from ESPN joins Joe Z & DBJ to talk about the ACC and University of Miami 

The inaugural edition of the Mario Cristobal show is here!!!

Joe Z & DBJ talk to the coach about the upcoming 2022 campaign 

Joe Z and DBJ look back at practice and training camp while looking forward to the upcoming season. We also hear from OC Josh Gattis and DC Kevin Steele 

Barry Alvarez concluded his 32nd year at the University of Wisconsin in 2021, including his 18th as Director of Athletics and after serving as head football coach for 16 seasons (1990-2005). Alvarez served as A.D. and football coach from April 1, 2004 to Jan. 2, 2006. Alvarez announced his retirement on April 6, 2021 and concluded his championship career leading the Badgers on June 30, 2021. Learn more about his three decades of excellence.

Wisconsin Athletics has been transformed since Alvarez’s arrival in January of 1990. What was once a department that was in debt and struggling for fan support and to compete in the Big Ten is now a nationally-recognized brand with broad-based success and a legendary following.

At the heart of that revival has been the football program. Prior to 1990, UW had played in a total of six bowl games. In the four seasons before Alvarez took the reins, the Badgers had compiled a 9-36 (.200) record. However, in just his third season in Madison, Alvarez led Wisconsin to the first Rose Bowl victory in school history. Since that season, the football team has played in 26 bowl games (including a Big Ten-best 19 straight) and won six Big Ten titles. Prior to Alvarez’s arrival, the school record for wins in a season was nine, last accomplished in 1901. Since 1993, UW has won at least 10 games 13 times.

One of just 16 football coaches in Big Ten history to win at least 100 games at one school, Alvarez retired from coaching after the 2005 season as Wisconsin’s all-time winningest coach with a record of 119-74-4 (includes two games as acting head coach – 2013 Rose Bowl and 2015 Outback Bowl). He led the Badgers to three Big Ten titles, three Rose Bowl victories and coached one of the school’s two Heisman Trophy winners, running back Ron Dayne (1999). Alvarez was voted into the state of Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2009, the College Football Hall of Fame and UW Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010, and the Orange Bowl Hall of Fame in 2016.

Alvarez was named Director of Athletics following Pat Richter’s retirement and officially took over the position on April 1, 2004. He spent the 2004 and 2005 seasons in the dual roles of Director of Athletics and head football coach. On July 28, 2005, he announced that the upcoming football season would be his final one as head coach and he would transition to serving solely as Director of Athletics at the conclusion of the season.

Wisconsin has enjoyed remarkable success during Alvarez’s tenure at the head of the athletic department, winning a combined 16 team national titles and 74 conference regular-season or tournament crowns. In 2017-18, he earned Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year honors.

In addition to the sustained success of the football program, which has appeared in six New Year’s Six bowl games since 2010, Wisconsin has experienced consistent success across the board in Alvarez’s 18 years as Director of Athletics. The men’s basketball team has played in 15 NCAA tournaments, including back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015, and won five Big Ten titles (three regular season and two tournament crowns). Alvarez has been a part of an unprecedented run of success in football and men’s basketball. Since 1993-94, when Wisconsin won its first Rose Bowl Game, the Badgers have made a combined 49 appearances in bowl games (26) and NCAA men’s basketball tournaments (23), the most in the country (Florida and Texas are tied for second with 46 combined appearances). Prior to 1993-94, Wisconsin had played in six bowl games and two NCAA tournaments.

The women’s hockey team has won six NCAA titles and opened a new home, the state of the art LaBahn Arena, in 2012. The volleyball ...

- Sixth year as head coach at Minnesota (10th year overall as head coach)
- Enters 2022 season with a 35-23 record at Minnesota and 65-45 overall
- 2019 Big Ten Coach of the Year, 2019 Dodd Trophy Finalist, 2019 Bear Bryant Award Finalist and 2019 AFCA National Coach of the Year Finalist
- 2x AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year (2016, '19), George Munger Award Finalist (2016, '19), Eddie Robinson Award Finalist (2016, '19) and MAC Coach of the Year (2014, '16)
- Six bowl game appearances as head coach
- Coached 20 NFL Draft Picks, including 12 at Minnesota
- At Minnesota, has coached three All-Americans, eight Academic All-Americans, 58 All-Big Ten honorees (six First-Teamers) and 268 Academic All-Big Ten performers

P.J. Fleck was named head football coach at Minnesota on January 6, 2017. Fleck, 41, is the 30th head coach in the program’s history. He has a career record of 65-45 and is 35-23 at Minnesota.

In five years, Fleck has established himself as one of the most successful coaches ever to lead the Minnesota program. Fleck is already sixth in program history in overall wins (35) and Big Ten wins (21), and eighth in games coached (58). Fleck’s .603 win percentage is third best among the 11 Minnesota coaches with at least 45 games under their helm behind only Henry L. Williams (.786, 1900-21) and Bernie Bierman (.716, 1932-41, ‘45-50). 

Fleck and Williams are the only two Gopher coaches to record nine or more wins in a season twice, as Minnesota posted 11 wins in 2019 and nine in 2021 under Fleck (Williams posted at least nine wins in six straight seasons from 1900-1905). 

The 11 wins in 2019 were the most for a Minnesota team since 1904 when that year's team went 13-0 under Williams. Fleck is 3-0 in bowl games and those three wins are tied with Glen Mason (3-4 bowl record during his time coaching the Gophers from 1997-2006) for the most in school history. 

Fleck guided the Gophers to a 6-3 Big Ten record in 2021 and a 7-2 mark in 2019, making him the first Minnesota coach since Murray Warmath (1960, 1961 and 1967; six wins each) to win at least six conference games more than once.

At Minnesota, Fleck has coached three All-Americans (Antoine Winfield Jr., Rashod Bateman and Mohamed Ibrahim), eight Academic All-Americans (Blaise Andries three times, Sam Renner twice, Jack Gibbens, Payton Jordahl and Gary Moore) and 268 Academic All-Big Ten performers. He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2019, paced Minnesota to two top-10 wins (Penn State and Auburn) in the same season since 1956 and led Minnesota to its first New Year's Day bowl win (2020 Outback Bowl against Auburn) since 1962. He has also led Minnesota to a 3-0 record in bowl games and has had 12 players selected in the NFL Draft while at Minnesota. 

In 2021, Fleck also became a Wall Street Journal best-selling author when his Row The Boat book, which was co-authored with Jon Gordon, peaked at No. 2 on the list in June. 

On the field in 2021, Fleck led Minnesota to a 9-4 record and a second place finish in the Big Ten West division with a 6-3 mark. The Gophers beat Wisconsin for the first time at home since 2003 to reclaim Paul Bunyan's Axe and picked up a postseason win against West Virginia in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl. 

Minnesota's dominant defense and offensive depth were the stories of the season, as the Gophers won their final three games of the year for the first time since 1973. 

The Gophers ended the season with the nation's No. 3 total defense (278.8 yards per game) and the nation's No. 6 scoring defense (17.3 points per game). Minnesota also ended the year ranked fourth in first downs defense (202), eighth in rushing defense (97.5) and eighth in passing yards allowed (181.2). Minnesota held eight opponents to 14 points or less and recorded its first shutout (30-0 road win at Colorado) since 2006 (62-0 against Temple) and its first road shutout of a Power 5 o ...

Greg Schiano, who has guided Rutgers football to a program-record five bowl championships, is in his third season back as the head football coach “On the Banks.” The Wyckoff, New Jersey, native is in his second stint with the Scarlet Knights after taking the program to new heights from 2001-11.

Schiano has directed the Scarlet Knights to seven bowl appearances, coached 90 RU players who signed NFL contracts and guided the program to the top APR score in the nation so far during his time leading Rutgers football. That hallmark of standout academic performance proved to be the difference maker in sending Rutgers to its 11th bowl berth at the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The 2006 National Coach of the Year owns three nine-win campaigns and coached 18 Rutgers All-America selections. His 76 overall wins entering 2022 are second-most in school history, behind Frank Burns (78).
 RETURN TO RUTGERSThe Scarlet Knights continued to make progress in 2021 with the first 3-0 start since 2012, improving to 43-20 in non-conference games under Schiano. In Big Ten action, RU won two road games, a come-from-behind victory at Illinois that saw a late fourth-down stop and a five-touchdown triumph over Indiana, the program’s largest margin of victory in a Big Ten game.

The defense finished second in the conference in third-down conversions against, while the offense saw both WR Bo Melton (Seahawks) and RB Isiah Pacheco (Chiefs) selected in the NFL Draft. Led by All-American Adam Korsak, the punt unit set the NCAA record for net punt average (45.25). Rutgers went 5-0 when committing no turnovers, with seven from the 2021 roster earning invitations to postseason all-star games.

With just nine days’ notice, Schiano led the Scarlet Knights to the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on New Year’s Eve, battling top-20 Wake Forest in front of a national television audience of over three million on ESPN. Johnny Langan garnered Rutgers’ MVP for the game after contributing in numerous ways, as the Scarlet Knights gained valuable experience and exposure participating in the nation’s sixth-oldest bowl game.

On the recruiting front, Schiano and his staff have continued to build the roster starting with the top players in New Jersey, as well as in the State of Rutgers and the Big Ten footprint. Rutgers signed the top recruit from New Jersey, New York and Kentucky in the 2022 class in December. Twelve different states were represented overall with the class being ranked the highest for the Scarlet Knights in the Big Ten era according to ESPN and 247Sports. In addition, the program has successfully used the transfer portal to identify talent and cultural fits to immediately impact the program.

The 2020 season presented unforeseen challenges dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. Playing a Big Ten-only schedule, the Scarlet Knights were one of just two teams in the conference to play all nine of its scheduled games. RU, despite missing spring and summer camp, matched the program high with three Big Ten victories, all away from Piscataway to equal the number of league road wins the previous six seasons combined.

With a commitment to player and cultural development, the Scarlet Knights had 14 players recognized in the All-Big Ten voting, the most for the program since joining the conference. That included four on the top-three teams, with WR Aron Cruickshank, the Big Ten Rodgers-Dwight Return Specialist of the Year and honorable mention All-America pick by Phil Steele, and LB Olakunle Fatukasi both earning first-team honors.

Rutgers posted a program-best 26.7 points per game in a Big Ten season, with eight games of at least 20 points after reaching the mark only five times in the prior four years. The 13.4 more points per game than 2019 marked the fourth-best improvement nationally following the regular season, while the scoring differential in Big Ten play was the best for ...

BIO

Former record-setting University of Colorado quarterback Joel Klatt is FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst, sitting alongside play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson and reporter Jenny Taft. In 2020, he served as the network’s lead XFL analyst, working with play-by-play announcer Curt Menefee. Klatt also provides analysis leading up to and during the NFL Draft.

Considered one of the most productive players to have ever played the quarterback position at Colorado, Klatt joined the program as a preferred walk-on in 2002 and set 44 school records as the Buffaloes’ starter from 2003-05. He became only the third player in school history to throw for more than 2,500 yards in his first season as a starter at Colorado, racking up 2,614 yards and 21 touchdowns. Klatt finished his Colorado career as the school’s all-time leader in passing yards (7,375), touchdowns (44), competition percentage (60.8) and completions (666). His 44 school records were the second-most by a Colorado student-athlete in any sport behind Byron “Whizzer” White, who set 51 as a halfback from 1934-37.

Klatt is the rare analyst who can lay claim to having been a professional in two major sports. His college football career was initially delayed after he made a post-high school journey into professional baseball. Selected by the San Diego Padres in the 11th round of the 2000 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, Klatt played two seasons in the club’s minor league system before retiring from the sport to pursue a career on the gridiron at CU. Following his graduation from Colorado, he was invited to the Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints rookie mini-camps in 2006, and was signed as a free agent by the Saints.

Klatt’s first opportunity in broadcasting came when he filled in as an analyst on Friday night high school football games in the Denver area in the fall of 2006 for FOX Sports Rocky Mountain. Shortly thereafter, he became a studio host for FOX Sports Southwest’s Saturday college football coverage from 2007-08 and parlayed his aptitude in that setting into a package of college games as a color analyst for FOX Sports Net in 2009. Back in Denver, Klatt called upon his baseball experience to serve as host for Colorado Rockies pre- and postgame shows on Root Sports Rocky Mountain. He also hosted a series of sports radio shows in the Denver area from 2007-12, including a popular program on the FM station 104.3 The Fan from 2011-12.

He left the Denver area in 2013 when he joined FS1 for its August launch. Klatt spent his first two seasons with FS1 and the FOX broadcast network as a full-time studio analyst for the network’s college football coverage, host of FOX NFL KICKOFF, and part-time game analyst, primarily working Thursday night contests on FS1 as well as the 2014 Pac-12 Championship Game on FOX. Prior to the 2015 season, Klatt was elevated to FOX Sports’ lead college football game analyst, teaming with play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson.

Showing impressive versatility, he also contributed to FOX Sports’ coverage of the U.S. Open Championship from 2015-19.

Born in Denver, Klatt is married to Sara, and they have three sons.  Klatt attended Pomona High School in Arvada, Colo., lettering all four years in baseball, basketball and football.  He earned a B.A. in economics from Colorado and later served as the president of “Buffs For Life,” a non-associated alumni association that raised money for former CU athletes with a financial need. Residing in Newport Beach, Calif., Klatt enjoys playing golf and spending time with his family.

A man of vision who has a proven record of championship success, head coach Nick Saban has returned the University of Alabama to the top of the college football landscape with his commitment to building the total program. After the victory over Clemson in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Saban joined Paul "Bear" Bryant as the only two coaches to win five national titles in the modern era.

Beginning his 11th season in Tuscaloosa, Saban's uncompromising dedication to excellence in every phase of the program has resulted four national championships over the last seven years. A seven-time National Coach of the Year, Saban has achieved resounding success as a head coach and has earned a reputation as an outstanding tactician, leader, organizer and motivator. Those qualities have sparked impressive turnarounds at every stop of his career. Saban's consistent approach and disciplined leadership are the reasons his teams are known for exhibiting grit, determination and resilience, often overcoming adversity to achieve victory.

Saban's 2016 squad completed an undefeated regular season for the first time since 2009 and secured the program's 26th SEC Championship – the third straight for the program – and the fourth in the last five years. The Tide defeated Washington in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (24-7), before dropping a stunning 34-31 game to Clemson in the CFP National Championship Game in Tampa, Fla. Alabama finished with a 14-1 record after defeating nine ranked teams and 11 teams that qualified for bowl games during the 2016 season. Alabama finished the year No. 2 in the national polls.

Saban, who was named the SEC Coach of the Year and Munger Award National Coach of the Year (presented by the Maxwell Football Club), had five players earn first team All-America honors – Jonathan Allen, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Reuben Foster, Marlon Humphrey and Cam Robinson. Allen also captured the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award, both of which go to the national defensive player of the year, and the Hendricks Award as the nation's top defensive end, while Foster won the Butkus Award that is given to the nation's best linebacker, and Robinson captured the Outland Trophy. The senior class posted a NCAA-record 51-6 record from 2013-16 and a 64-7 over the last six years which is also the best in NCAA annals.  

Saban has compiled a 205-61-1 (.770) record as a college head coach and has gone 112-13 (.896) in the past nine seasons in Tuscaloosa, which includes a 64-8 (.889) mark in regular season conference play. In 2016, the Tide reached the 10-win milestone for the ninth consecutive season and won 11 or more games for the sixth straight year, which extended the conference record. Saban is 12-2 all time in conference or national championship games. Alabama has been ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll for at least one week for nine straight years, which broke the all-time record of seven established by Miami (1986-92). Alabama extended its streak of consecutive weeks in the AP Top 25 to 145 weeks, the longest in school history.

The 2015 team secured the Crimson Tide's fourth national championship in the last seven years. They became the first team to win back-to-back Southeastern Conference Championships in 17 years (Tennessee, 1997-98) and were the only program to earn an invitation to each of the first two College Football Playoffs. Saban led his team to victories in the final 12 games of the season, including wins at No. 8 Georgia, at No. 9 Texas A&M, vs. No. 4 LSU, at No. 17 Mississippi State, against No. 18 Florida in the SEC Championship Game, vs. No. 3 Michigan State in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl and over No. 1 Clemson in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. The senior class won a school-record 50 games (50-6) over their four years with three SEC Championships and two national titles.

The Cri ...

The search for LSU Football’s next championship head coach is over.

Brian Kelly, who has more victories than any active coach in major college football, has been hired as the head football coach at LSU, LSU Director of Athletics Scott Woodward announced on Nov. 30, 2021.

Kelly, who will receive a 10-year, $95 million contract, plus incentives, will be formally introduced as the 34th head coach in LSU Football history at a press conference on Wednesday.

Fans are also invited to welcome Coach Kelly and his family when their flight arrives at the BTR Jet Center at approximately 2:30 p.m. CT Tuesday.

The most accomplished hire in program history, Kelly joins LSU – which has won national championships under each of its last three head coaches – with more than 280 career victories in his collegiate head coaching career, the most among active FBS coaches. He is one of only five active FBS coaches who have guided their programs to multiple undefeated regular seasons since 2009, and he has led his teams to the College Football Playoffs in two of the last three seasons.

“Brian Kelly is the epitome of a winner,” Woodward said. “He has built and sustained success at every program he’s led, from multiple undefeated regular seasons and National Coach of the Year honors to national titles and College Football Playoff berths. His credentials and consistency speak for themselves.

“Most importantly, Coach Kelly’s players and programs exemplify excellence in all aspects of the student-athlete experience – in competition, in the classroom, and throughout the community – and he shares our values and vision for elevating our university and our state. We’re thrilled to welcome him and his family to Baton Rouge, and we are excited to work with him as we add to the championship legacy of LSU Football.”

“I could not be more excited to join a program with the commitment to excellence, rich traditions, and unrivaled pride and passion of LSU Football,” Kelly said. “I am fully committed to recruiting, developing, and graduating elite student-athletes, winning championships, and working together with our administration to make Louisiana proud. Our potential is unlimited, and I cannot wait to call Baton Rouge home.”

In 31 years as a head coach, Kelly has amassed a record of 284-97-2, which ranks him first among all active FBS coaches in career victories, ahead of Alabama’s Nick Saban (272 wins) and North Carolina’s Mack Brown (265 wins). Kelly has only had two teams finish below .500 during his 31-year collegiate career.

For the past 12 years, he has served as the head coach at Notre Dame. He leaves South Bend as the Irish’s all-time winningest coach with 113 victories, moving ahead of legendary Knute Rockne for the top spot in 2021. His 12-year mark at Notre Dame stands at 113-40, which includes a 54-9 mark over the past five seasons.

During his Notre Dame career, Kelly led the Irish to the 2012 BCS national title game as well as College Football Playoff appearances in 2018 and 2020. He was named National Coach of the Year by numerous outlets in 2012 and 2018. He’s the only coach to win the Home Depot Coach of the Year Award more than once, and he’s done it three times (2009, 2012, and 2018).

In 12 seasons at Notre Dame, Kelly’s teams won at least 10 games seven times, including this year, as the Irish are 11-1 and ranked No. 6 in the nation. Notre Dame’s current streak of five straight seasons with double-digit wins includes a 10-3 record in 2017, followed by a 12-1 mark in 2018, 11-2 in 2019 and 10-2 in 2020.

Individually, Notre Dame players claimed eight consensus All-America honors playing for Kelly, while the Irish had players win nine national awards during that span. Kelly’s Notre Dame teams have produced 53 NFL Draft picks since 2012, including nine in the first round.

Academically under Kelly, the Irish had eight players earn the prestigious CoSIDA Aca ...

Like the region it calls home, Pitt football under Pat Narduzzi has proven to be rugged, relentless and continuously rising.

Upon his hiring on December 26, 2014, Narduzzi pledged his Panthers would "play with a tough, blue-collar mentality—and how else would you want it in the City of Pittsburgh?"

Promise kept.
 
The eighth-year Chris Bickell '97 Head Football Coach has made an emphatic imprint on Pitt's program. His vision for the Panthers—on and off the field—continues to bear fruit with each passing season.

The 2021 campaign will go down as one of the most celebrated in Pitt’s long football history. The Panthers stormed to 11 victories—their most in 40 years—and claimed their first outright conference title with a 45-21 triumph over Wake Forest in the ACC Championship Game.

Pitt earned a No. 13 ranking in the final polls, its highest finish since 1982. The Panthers placed No. 12 in the final College Football Playoff ratings, their highest ever.

Individually, three Pitt players earned first-team All-America honors from NCAA-recognized selectors: wide receiver Jordan Addison (consensus), quarterback Kenny Pickett and long snapper Cal Adomitis. The Panthers last had three first team All-Americans in a season in 1982.

Addison won the 2021 Biletnikoff Award (nation's outstanding receiver), Pickett won the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (nation's top upperclassman quarterback) and Adomitis earned the Patrick Mannelly Award (nation's top long snapper).

Pickett finished third in the 2021 Heisman Trophy balloting, the highest finish by a Pitt player since wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald was the 2003 runner-up.

Narduzzi also earned personal accolades, receiving the Andy Talley Tri-State Coach of the Year award, annually bestowed by the esteemed Maxwell Football Club to the top college coach in the northeast. Narduzzi was a finalist for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year and Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year national awards.

The 2021 season was a culmination of Narduzzi’s steady yet unmistakable program building. But the crowning achievement of an ACC title was preceded by many other milestone moments and accomplishments. Among them:

• From 2015-21, Narduzzi directed Pitt to 36 victories in ACC play, the conference’s third-highest win total during that span. Only Clemson (52) and Miami (37) won more.
   
• Narduzzi directed the Panthers to two ACC Coastal Division titles (2018 and 2021). Since ACC expansion in 2013, Pitt is the only team with multiple Coastal crowns.
   
• Narduzzi has coached seven first team All-Americans at Pitt, including four who earned consensus status. Over the 2020-21 seasons, Pitt was one of only four programs nationwide to have at least three consensus selections, joining Alabama, Notre Dame and Texas A&M. In addition to Addison in 2021, defensive ends Patrick Jones II and Rashad Weaver were 2020 consensus All-Americans.
   
• Six Pitt products—Jones, Weaver, center Jimmy Morrissey, safety Damar Hamlin, cornerback Jason Pinnock and defensive tackle Jaylen Twyman—were selected in the 2021 NFL Draft, the most of any program in the ACC and tied for eighth nationally. In the 2022 draft, Pickett was a first-round selection of the Pittsburgh Steelers—the first Pitt QB to be drafted in the opening round since Dan Marino in 1983.
   
• Narduzzi’s Panthers have a well-earned reputation as a dangerous opponent for highly ranked foes. In 2019, Pitt scored a 35-34 triumph over UCF, which visited Heinz Field riding a 27-game non-bowl winning streak. The winning touchdown—a gadget-play pass caught by quarterback Kenny Pickett—has been immortalized as the "Pitt Special."
   
• In 2017, Pitt closed the season with a 24-14 victory over No. 2 Miami, which entered the game undefeated and on the cusp of the College Football Playoff.
   
• In 2016, the Panth ...