In the FCS Huddle: Best class? Put up your Dukes

NCAA Football Betting Lines

02/01/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The axiom for college recruiting is for a particular university to keep the top high school players from its state at home in its signing class.

The Virginia-laden roster of James Madison University football speaks a lot toward veteran head coach Mickey Matthews and his assistants annually delivering on this notion.

But when the Dukes reach outside the state, they reach with big intentions.

This year's recruiting success both in and out of Virginia has given JMU arguably the best class in the Football Championship Subdivision. The CAA Football program has secured the highest number of two- and three-star recruits according to the nation's three main recruiting web sites, ESPN, Rivals and Scout.

"We're really doing a nice job," Matthews said in announcing the recruiting class Wednesday.

"We have a great group of salesmen in our assistant football coaches. These guys have been with me for a while, they know what I'm looking for, they know what our schemes are offensively and defensively. So we feel very good about this year's group."

Evaluating recruiting classes is an inexact science because it's all on paper. It could be four, five years before we will get the true answer of who has come up biggest this year.

Still, there's no disputing JMU has enjoyed recruiting success not just against the old CAA guard, but Old Dominion's rising program, which also is having a banner recruiting year.

The Dukes' 14-member class includes Virginia recruits Dylan Stallings, a 6- foot-4, 210-pound defensive end out of Yorktown and Grafton High; Justin Baker, a 6-foot, 255-pound defensive end out of Ashburn and Briar Woods High; and Rhakeem Stallings, a 6-foot, 210-pound outside linebacker out of Chesapeake and Oscar Smith High.

Matthews and his staff, whose team went 8-5 and reached the second round of the FCS playoffs this past season, rolled into Maryland to get 6-6, 245-pound quarterback Ian Fisher from Brunswick High and yet another defensive end, 6-4, 240-pound Silas Ademola from Bladensburg High.

The Dukes even went into CAA rival Delaware's hometown and grabbed 6-1, 185- pound quarterback Taylor Reynolds from Newark High.

In addition, Maryland transfers Titus Till, a 6-2, 200-pound safety, and Jeremiah Wilson, a 5-10, 185-pound cornerback - both redshirt sophomores - are enrolled already and will be a part of spring practices.

Oh, yes, they're celebrating in Harrisonburg.

James Madison 2012 Recruiting Class

Player (Pos) HT WT Hometown (High School) ------------ -- -- ----------------------

Silas Ademola DL 6-4 240 Bladensburg, MD (Bladensburg)

Justin Baker DL 6-0 255 Ashburn, VA (Briar Woods)

John Barillo LB 6-1 215 Ventnor, NJ (St. Augustine Prep)

Michael Birdsong QB 6-4 220 Matoaca, VA (Matoaca)

Xavier Crocker CB 5-10 175 Mechanicsville, VA (Hanover)

Ian Fisher QB 6-6 245 Brunswick, MD (Brunswick)

Mitchell Kirsch OL 6-5 265 Kensington, MD (St. John's College)

Taylor Reynolds QB 6-1 185 Newark, DE (Newark)

Dylan Stallings TE/DL 6-4 210 Yorktown, VA (Grafton)

Rhakeem Stallings LB 6-0 210 Chesapeake, VA (Oscar Smith)

Gage Steele LB 6-0 210 Front Royal, VA (Warren)

*Titus Till S 6-2 200 Upper Marlboro, MD (Wise/Maryland)

Kwe'shon Williams ATH 5-10 160 Norfolk, VA (Norview)

Jeremiah Wilson* DB 5-10 185 Winchester, VA (Handley/Maryland)

* - denotes transfer

OTHER TOP CLASSES

At Portland State, head coach Nigel Burton's recruiting class doesn't feature only key players from Oregon, it has some of the best within the city.

Portland's larger size helps increase the talent pool, but Burton clearly has been the man with a plan since arriving at the Big Sky school after the 2009 season. After a competitive first season with some tight losses in 2010, he led the Vikings to their first winning record since 2006 with a 7-4 mark this past season.

Portland State has done an excellent job of marketing itself within the city and the payoff includes this year's recruiting haul led by 6-1, 230-pound linebacker Daniel Halverson from Grant High. He's come aboard with high school teammate Jamarr Graves, a 6-3, 190-pound wide receiver.

Another Portland standout, 5-11, 205-pound wide receiver/defensive back Nicholas Rothstein from Jesuit High also is part of the class.

The Vikings' announced class didn't include, as expected, stud defensive tackle Tyrone Holmes from Eagle Point, Ore., but they should get an impact from seven transfers, including five from junior colleges.

Appalachian State has put together an outstanding class as it tries to reload following an 8-4 campaign that saw the end of a six-year run as Southern Conference champion. Since then, there has been a big turnover on head coach Jerry Moore's staff.

ASU added one of this year's top FCS running back recruits in 6-foot, 190- pound running back Tysean Holloway out of Asheville, N.C. He's enrolled already.

The Mountaineers also stayed in-state for 5-11, 175-pound cornerback Aaron Krah out of Durham and Hillside High.

Moore and Co., though, did some of their best recruiting in Georgia - sorry, Georgia Southern fans - with a haul that includes cornerback Dante Blackmon (5-11, 185) from Covington Eastside; defensive tackle Darian Small (6-2, 285) from Hampton Dutchtown; wide receiver Malachi Jones (6-1, 180) from Lawrenceville Central Gwinnett; and tight end Barrett Burns (6-4, 220) from Woodstock Etowah.

Villanova always does some of the best recruiting in the FCS, and despite suffering through their first losing season since 2005 - a 2-9 record - veteran coach Andy Talley should have another top group of newcomers.

The Wildcats had yet to announce their class by mid-afternoon Wednesday, but the talent is expected to be particularly widespread, including two key linebackers from Pennsylvania, Langhorne's Corey Majors (6-1, 230), who is spending a prep year at Worcester (Mass.) Academy, and West Chester Henderson's Ted White (6-2, 221), as well as wide receiver Mike Burke (6-3, 205) from Columbia (Pa.) Columbia Junior/Senior.

The Wildcats' recruiting reached into New Jersey for cornerback Mark Clements, a 5-10, 170-pounder out of Mays Landing and Oakcrest High. They also went north to Connecticut for Danbury linebacker Austin Calitro (6-2, 220) and south to Maryland for Clarksville River Hill running back Aaron Wells (5-9, 178) and to Florida for Orange Park Fleming Island linebacker Cameron McCurry (5-11, 215).

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Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards

Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.

Bet on NFL Football

Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.

Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.

Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.

Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.

All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.

A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.

For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.

2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award

Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1

Ron Brace (NE) 25/1

Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1

Darius Butler (NE) 40/1

Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1

Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1

Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1

Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1

Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1

Larry English (SD) 15/1

Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1

Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1

Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1

Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1

James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1

Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1

Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1

Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1

Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1

Roy Miller (TB) 20/1

Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1

Fili Moala (IND) 30/1

Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1

Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1

B J Raji (GB) 7/1

Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1

Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1

David Verkune (CLE) 20/1

Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1

Field (Any Other Player) 6/1

NFL football gambling

To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.

Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Super Bowl XLIII, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Super Bowl XLIII is now set, the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet each other on February 1st in Tampa's Raymond James Stadium to battle it out for the coveted Lombardi Trophy. The game kicks off at 6:00pm ET on NBC with announcers Al Michaels and John Madden covering the on-field action. Super Bowl XLIII betting odds at online bookmaker MySportsbook.com have the Steelers listed as an early -6.5 against the spread favorite.Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds

Pittsburgh earned their passage to the big game by beating their division rival, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14 in yesterday's AFC Championship Game. The Steelers jumped on Baltimore early, building a 13-0 first half lead, and never let up on their way to a fairly easy win. Although the Ravens did close to within two points in the fourth quarter, it never appeared as if they had enough offense to pull off the upset.

The Steelers dominating defense held Baltimore to a total of 198 yards while allowing them to convert just three third downs in 13 attempts. Pittsburgh also forced quarterback Joe Flacco into three interceptions, one of which safety Troy Polamalu returned fourty yards for a touchdown.

The Cardinals, by far the playoff team with the longest odds to reach Super Bowl XLIII, did so yesterday with a 32-25 upset of the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship. Arizona charged out of the gates and built a 24-6 halftime lead that had the Eagles venerable defense reeling. Quarterback Kurt Warner and wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald did most of the damage, connecting on three first half touchdowns.

Arizona, however, could not sustain their momentum and the Eagles took a 25-24 with 10:45 left to play in the fourth. The Cardinals, with the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance hanging in the balance, mounted a fourteen play, 72 yard touchdown drive that consumed 7:52 off the clock. Warner hit running back Tim Hightower on a short screen for the go-ahead, game clinching score that will forever live in Cardinal infamy.

MySportsbook.com's Super Bowl XLIII Betting Odds:

Pittsburgh Steelers -6.5 (-110), Over 46.5 (-110), -260 (Money line)

Arizona Cardinals +6.5 (-110), Under 46.5 (-110), +220 (Money line)

Matt Foust won both of his conference championship plays yesterday and he is ready to serve up plenty of Super Bowl action. Each individual play costs $15.00, however, MySportsbook.com recommends purchasing Matt's NFL Playoff Package which includes all of Matt's Super Bowl props and picks from just $45.00.

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