College football roundup: Nunes named Stanford's starting quarterback
Junior Josh Nunes won Stanford's quarterback competition, which comes with the no-win situation of replacing two-time Heisman finalist Andrew Luck.
Coach David Shaw named Nunes the starter over Brett Nottingham on Tuesday, but he's already asked Nunes not to try to be Luck.
"It's not possible," Shaw said.
Nunes has appeared in only four career games and did not play in a game in 2011. Nottingham, a sophomore, has a stronger arm but Nunes displayed the best grasp of the system, which will feature a healthy dose of running back Stepfan Taylor.
Taylor will be the focus of the offense and has the all-around ability to stay on the field no matter the down and distance. He had a bit of a coming-out party in the Fiesta Bowl, with 177 rushing yards and two touchdowns, and rushed for 1,330 yards and 5.5 yards per carry in 2011.
--- An Indiana judge granted former Notre Dame assistant coach and ex-NFL player Corwin Brown a four-year suspended prison sentence thanks to pleas from his wife, Melissa, the victim in a seven-hour hostage situation in August 2011.
Brown reached a plea agreement in June. He had faced three felony charges in connection with a seven-hour hostage standoff last in Granger, Ind., but his wife told St. Joseph County Judge Jane Woodward Miller that taking Brown out of ongoing counseling and away from his family would be harmful.
Brown, 42, agreed to plead guilty but mentally ill to domestic battery and felony confinement, which each drew two-year jail terms. The sentence was suspended and Brown ordered to continues counseling.
---David Ash is expected to be the starting quarterback when Texas opens the 2012 season against Wyoming on Sept. 1, but he won't be the only quarterback the Longhorns use in the game.
Case McCoy, who has been in competition for the starting job with Ash since spring practices, will also see plenty of playing time in the game.
--Iowa running back Barkley Hill and defensive back Ruben Lile suffered season-ending injuries and are expected to use redshirt freshman seasons in 2012.
Hill, a true freshman from Cedar Falls, suffered a torn ACL while trotting into the end zone on an 8-yard touchdown run in Saturday's scrimmage. Lile also has a knee injury, but the exact nature of his is unknown.
--Iowa State named senior Steele Jantz starting quarterback over sophomore Jared Barnett.
Jantz was the Cyclones' starter to begin the 2011 season but he was replaced by Barnett after the seventh game of the season. Barnett led Iowa State to victories over No. 2-ranked Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Kansas to get the Cyclones to the Pinstripe Bowl.
Barnett was replaced by Jantz in the bowl game against Rutgers.
-- Illinois sophomore linebacker Henry Dickinson is expected to miss the 2012 season with a fractured leg suffered in a team scrimmage last week.
Dickinson played in 11 games last season, recording eight total tackles while being used primarily on special teams.
--Five-star running back recruit Taquan Mizzell announced he was committing to the University of Virginia from his high school in Virginia Beach on Tuesday.
Mizzell, who goes by the nickname "Smoke," is 5-foot-10, 180 pounds and had offers from almost two dozen schools, he said. He was ranked the No. 8 overall running back prospect by Maxpreps and a top 10 running back by Scout.com.
