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He isn't the son of an NFL quarterback, and he isn't the scrappy kid turned cult hero. No, Texas junior quarterback Chance Mock is neither Chris Simms, whom he backed up a year ago, nor Major Applewhite, now a Longhorn graduate assistant, and likely the only G.A. in the country with endorsement deals.
|  | | RB Cedric Benson should take some pressure off Texas QB Chance Mock. |
Mock is just a son of Texas from the Houston suburbs with a classic name who must take over an offense with a 1,200-yard rusher (Cedric Benson) and an All-American wide receiver (Roy Williams).
"He's had 50 percent of the snaps for a year," coach Mack Brown said. "He just has not gotten experience in a game. We didn't beat people badly enough to get him in early in a game."
Mock has shown a trait rarely seen in college football these days: patience. "He's in the position like those Florida State quarterbacks used to be," said Brown, who, while at North Carolina, faced Seminole quarterbacks like Casey Weldon, Charlie Ward and Thad Busby. "They'd sit for two years, play a little, then start for two years."
"That was the plan," Mock said, "and it's unfolding exactly like they told me. I felt like I needed time to learn the quarterback position. There's nothing they can throw at me that I haven't expected or already seen. I've got three years of pictures."
Many Texas fans see Mock as the guy keeping the position warm for Vincent Young, the nation's top recruit in 2002 who redshirted last season. Young is learning, but he's two years behind Mock.
"We thought Chance had the self-confidence" to sit, Brown said. "I'm not going to say it was easy for him. But he never questioned it. That helped him so much with the team."
Mock is 6-foot-2, 215, runs a 4.55 40-yard dash and has a 39-inch vertical leap. Those are not typical quarterback numbers. He has all the skills in the world. He also has four games before he must face Kansas State and Oklahoma on consecutive weekends. With the talent in his huddle, Mock has the luxury of not having to win games. He just has to keep from losing them, at least until he gets up to game speed.
Spring notes
The priority at Notre Dame this spring is replacing the 119 career starts that it lost along the offensive line. Trust me -- it's a priority. According to analyst Lou Somogyi of Blue & Gold Illustrated, the Irish converted 6-of-16 third-and-2s last season, and, in the last six games, 4-of-10 third-and-1s. The starters last year wore down, judging by the lack of minutes among the returnees (right guard Sean Milligan is the only returnee with more than 100 minutes of playing time). Inexperience on the O-line is the E-ticket to mediocrity.
Vanderbilt sophomore defensive end Jovan Haye so dominated spring practice that at one point, he won the gold jersey, given to the top performing player, in three consecutive practices. Coach Bobby Johnson named Haye and his classmate, quarterback Jay Cutler, captains for next season, when the Commodores have only seven seniors.
Miami tailback Willis McGahee stepped up last spring when Frank Gore blew out a knee. A year later, with McGahee rehabbing on his way to the NFL, Gore has returned and looked much sharper than the coaches anticipated. Gore rushed for 30 yards in seven carries in the 'Canes first scrimmage. Senior Jarrett Payton, dogged by injuries throughout his career, is nursing a strained Achilles tendon.
A year ago, North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant left the team. After struggling throughout the team's 3-9 season, Durant rededicated himself over the winter. "I'm just trying to build my body to stay injury-free," Durant said. "I've also studied more film than ever. I want to learn the defenses instead of relying on instinct."
Mississippi State sophomore tailback Nick Turner is thriving in the offense that new coordinator Morris Watts is installing. However, at 5-11, 175 pounds, Turner isn't an every-down back, especially with an offensive line that must be built from scratch
Kansas State signed a pair of 5-9 cornerbacks, Corey Reddick and Cedrick Williams, from Garden City Community College in February. Both players enrolled at Kansas State in January, and coach Bill Snyder expects one or both of them to replace All-American Terrance Newman. Bob Larson, their coach at Garden City, doesn't think that receivers like 6-2 Rashaun Woods of Oklahoma State and 6-4 Roy Williams of Texas will be able to post up his guys. "They are extremely quick and fast," said Bob Larson, their head coach at Garden City. "A blind man might not have sight but his hearing and smell are accentuated. They're not very big. They make up for that in quickness and agility.
There is a competition to replace linebacker E.J. Henderson at Maryland but the coaches expect Wesley Jefferson, the prep All-American who signed with the Terrapins in February, will challenge for the starting role when he arrives in August.
Both Alabama and Ohio State begin the season with five consecutive home games, which may be too much of a good thing.
Iowa All-Big Ten strong safety Bob Sanders isn't getting much on-field work this spring because the Hawkeye coaches don't want him delivering his customary bone-rattling blows to any of his teammates.
Ivan Maisel is a senior writer at ESPN.com. He can be reached at ivan.maisel@espn3.com.
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