Eighty-three year old head coach Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions could have a great year this coming season if they fix a few problems on their team. The biggest mystery heading into the fall will be who of PSU’s three underclassmen will be the signal caller for their opener against Youngstown State. The coaching staff have made it known that after disappointing performance by all three QBs will be pushed hard this summer until one of them wins the position. Running the ball should come a lot easier for the Nittany Lions with 1,000-yard-rusher Evan Royster returning for his senior year. On defense, Penn State will have to replace their two leading tacklers Josh Hull and Navaro Bowman, both be plying their trade on Sundays in the NFL next season. Their schedule looks favorable this season, with only Iowa and Ohio State being there only away games that they could be considered underdogs in. Joe Pa would love another  Big Ten title after just losing out to OSU last year.

Since the season ended, college football has been riddled by numerous allegations of wrong doing. Just this week it was made public that the NCAA is looking into reports that West Virgina broke rules while Rich Rodriguez was running the program. Rodriguez is already under investigation for breaking rules about practice length while coaching for Michigan over the last two years. Former USC star Reggie Bush will be appearing in court on April 23rd to hear his disposition into the allegations that he and his family accepted a couple hundred thousand dollars in gifts from Llyod Lake. Lake is trying to recoup $291,000 from Bush in the civil suit. The case could mean further punishments on the Trojans. Maybe Pete Carroll knew what he was doing when he got out of Dodge.

Head coach Dave Wannstedt’s University Pittsburgh Panthers were only a point away from playing in a BCS Bowl game losing to Cincinnati in the final game of the regular season. Pitt defeated North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl 19-17 to finish with a 10-3 record on the year. The school rewarded Wannstedt this past week with a two-year extension on a contract that will keep him tied to Pitt until 2014. The former Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins coach is looking to have another great season with the return of freshmen sensation running back Dion Lewis, wide out Jonathan Baldwin, and defensive end Jabaal Sheard. The Panthers expect Cincinnati and West Virgina to give them tough competition in the Big East, but Wannstedt’s team could be the favorites this year in the Big East.

After an argument outside a Florida International University campus building, FIU running back Kendall Berry was stabbed to death by and unknown person. The 22-year-old college athlete was called a “negotiator, not a fighter” by his mother and it has not surfaced yet if the Miami-Dade County police department has a lead suspect. Many of the students at FIU are in mourning and a memorial service is scheduled to honor Berry’s life. Berry scored six touchdowns this season for Florida International and was a Junior heading into this season. Against North Texas this season Berry scored two touchdowns and rushed for 82 yards on fourteen attempts. This past season saw University of Connecticut cornerback Jasper Howard die from a stabbing  in October.

Across the country college football programs are gearing up for spring ball and the 2010-11 season. Here’s a few players to keep an eye out for in the coming season.

 Dion Lewis -Pittsburgh -Sophomore - Running Back

Dion Lewis finished last year with the third most rushing yards in the NCAA as a freshmen for head coach Dave Wannsted’s Pittsburgh Panthers. Their were only three games all year where the Albany, NY native didn’t break the 100-yard mark. Lewis was named the National Freshmen of the Year by CBS and the Sporting News. Look out for Lewis to be in the Heisman race this season.

 Case Keenum - Houston - Senior - Quarterback

No one’s numbers last season in college football were anywhere close to the stats Case Keenum put up for the University of Houston. The senior helped the Cougars go 10-4 last season, but still has a lot to prove after a dismal performance in the Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force. Keenum probably could have been a high draft pick this season, but another year in college certainly won’t hurt his development.

 Von Miller - Texas A&M - Senior - Defensive End 

Mike Sherman and the Texas A&M Aggies will be glad to have Von Miller back in College Station for next season. Miller was projected as second to third round draft pick for the upcoming NFL Draft, but decided to return to school for his senior year and get his degree. Miller had the most sacks in the nation with 17 and can play either as a defensive end or linebacker. The Aggies defense this year should be pretty scary with Miller back.

University of Michigan head football coach Rich Rodriguez is in trouble again. The NCAA has published its conclusion stating the Wolverines violated NCAA rules in the first year and a half in Rodriguez’s reign in Ann Arbor. Players were required to practice more than the allotted time for collegiate players to practice during the season and off season. “Rich Rod” hasn’t been a hit on the field either with his Wolverines going 8-16 during his two seasons in the job. Michigan may pull emulate USC by inflicting self-imposed sanctions to lessen the apparently unavoidable NCAA sanctions that will be decided in August. Michigan’s athletic director David Brandon gave Rodriguez a vote of confidence stating that his job is safe in 2010, but if the former West Virgina head coach doesn’t have a good season this year it could be his last at U of M.

The rich keep getting richer in college football as the SEC Conference brought in the large number of the country’s top ranked prospects again this year. ESPN ranked the recruiting classes of reigning National Champions Alabama #3 and 2008 National Champions Florida #1. Auburn (#4), LSU (#8), and Tennessee (#9) round out the top ten of ESPN 2010 recruiting class rankings. Florida got a number of the most highly recruited players in the country with the signing of 4 five-star recruits all of you play on the defensive side of the ball. Don’t expect anyone to have an easy time moving the ball on the Gators in the years to come. Alabama nabbed the #1 ranked quarterback in the country Phillip Sims and two of the most highly ranked defensive ends. With Auburn, Tennessee, and LSU all have strong recruiting seasons the rest of college football has a lot of catching up to do on the SEC in terms of bringing in the nation’s most talented high school players.

The Golden-Domers of South Bend are getting what they paid for when they hired Brian Kelly as Notre Dame’s head football coach: change. You can say what you want about Charlie Weis, but he did bring in big name recruits while Kelly has so far this recruiting season gone after lesser coveted recruits that can play multiple positions. The flash of the big names like Jimmy Clausen and Michael Floyd didn’t help the Fightin’ Irish last year very much as Charlie Weis was fired after a terrible 2009 season.

Kelly over his career has helped turn around two Division I programs in Central Michigan and Cincinnati. The 48-year-old coach won two Division II National Championships with Grand Valley State, a Mac Championship with Central Michigan, and this past season had Cincinnati playing in a BCS bowl game. Brian Kelly might be doing things differently, but he does have a track record for success. Notre Dame will be one of the most scrutinized teams in the NCAA this year as everyone waits to see how Brian Kelly fares in his first year at the Irish’s helm.

After missing the 2009 season because of a battle with rare form of cancer, Ewing’s Sarcoma, Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich suited up for practice Thursday. Herzlich underwent treatments of radiations and cemotherapy in 2009 and announced this past September that he was cancer free. ESPN ran stories on the inspirational 22-year-old who throughout his year battling the disease supported team mates on the Boston College sideline, met with cancer patients, and raised over $200,000 for cancer research.

Herzlich in 2008 was an All-American, ACC Defensive Player of the Year winner, and NFL draft prospect leading the Golden Eagles in tackles and the nation in incterception by a linebacker. Though back to full health it is unclear if Herzlich will be able to return to Boston College’s starting lineup. Nonetheless, when Herzlich runs out on to field Alumni Stadium in all his pads for the first time since his bout with cancer he will be subject to a standing ovation.

A couple years ago, the Tennessee Volunteers reached out to Lovie Smith, the coach of the Chicago Bears, to be their coach. Now the Vols have found their way to have a big Lane Kiffin debacle. Kiffin pledged his fealty to the team and it just wasn’t enough. They weren’t good enough, their scouting just wasn’t quite good enough. Instead, Kiffin suddenly decided to choose the USC job. Meanwhile, a bunch of other possible coaches, including the coach from Duke and other places, have turned down the job in the last few days. For whatever reason, rumors surfaced yesterday that Lovie Smith was being approached. There were reports of a jet and a limo on the way to Chicago to meet him. Just now, howver, I heard that an athletic director from Louisiana might have just decided to take the Tennessee job, so perhaps all these different rumors amount to nothing at all.