LSU seeks edge rushers during Arden Key's absence

Although LSU expects defensive end Arden Key to return to the active roster before the 2017 season begins -- probably this summer -- his indefinite absence will create uncertainty for the Tigers this spring.

Without Key, who set a school record with 12 sacks last season, or 2016 seniors Tashawn Bower and Lewis Neal, who can defensive coordinator Dave Aranda count on to supply a steady pass rush off the edge?

This is most likely a temporary concern. Key will rank among the nation's top pass-rushers once he returns, whenever that may be. The school announced last week that its star junior will spend time away from the team to tend to personal matters, with head coach Ed Orgeron adding that he looks forward "to welcoming him back home to the Tiger family at the appropriate time."

In the meantime, Orgeron and Aranda can offer extra practice reps to the contenders at a spot that has no proven performers behind Key. Here are some of the players who should get a long look this spring:

Andre Anthony: The 2016 ESPN 300 honoree is one of LSU's more intriguing contenders because we have yet to see what he can do. The NCAA ruled Anthony ineligible last season in a dispute over his academic transcript from New Orleans' Miller-McCoy Academy, which shut down in 2015. Anthony was on campus all of last season and was finally cleared to participate by bowl practice last December.

Sci Martin: The resemblance between Key's game and Martin's was a big reason why Martin was such a big get when he officially joined LSU's 2016 recruiting class more than a month after national signing day. Listed at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, Martin is not quite as rangy as Key (6-6, 238), but he's close. Martin got a taste of SEC competition last season, participating in five games and making two tackles. He should be in line for a lot more action this fall.

Ray Thornton: Thornton redshirted last season after signing with LSU as the No. 61 overall prospect on the 2016 ESPN 300. He turned heads with his performances in practice late last year, though, and could compete for a starting role this season. Listed at 6-3 and a chiseled 222 pounds, Thornton already looks like someone who can contribute in a hybrid end-outside linebacker role in Aranda's defense. This spring we'll see whether he can continue his progress from late last fall.

Isaiah Washington: Don't sleep on Washington, whose first two seasons at LSU were impacted by injuries. He missed the beginning of the 2015 season after breaking his hand during preseason camp but later appeared in six games, notching three tackles plus a forced fumble against Ole Miss. A preseason knee injury knocked him out of the 2016 season, but he should be good to go this spring.

More help is on the way, too.

Signee K'Lavon Chaisson will not be on campus for spring practice, but he could make an instant impact in this department once he arrives in the summer. Orgeron mentioned several times on national signing day that Chaisson was the top pass-rusher in the 2017 class, and the No. 34 overall prospect on the ESPN 300 seems able to do many of the things that make Key so dangerous.

Once the Tigers are able to team up Key and Chaisson on the edge, their pass rush might give opposing quarterbacks nightmares. But LSU is not to that point yet, and this spring will offer their position mates an opportunity to carve out roles for themselves too.

What to know about new Alabama offensive coordinator Brian Daboll

Nick Saban took his time finding his new offensive coordinator at Alabama.

Brian Daboll will be Saban's third coordinator in three months.

On Monday -- nearly two weeks after Steve Sarkisian surprised everyone by becoming the offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons -- Saban announced that Daboll, the former New England Patriots assistant, will be Bama's OC.

Daboll, 41, has an interesting resume, replete with five Super Bowl wins.

To get you better acquainted with the Canadian-born former defensive back, here are four factors to consider:

1. He's a graduate of the Saban-Belichick coaching tree

Of the many interesting things Lane Kiffin said on his way out the door as Alabama's OC, his comments about how he might not have been the best fit personality-wise with Saban were interesting. It was an admission that, yes, Kiffin and Saban butted heads from time to time. And watching them from afar, it was easy to see that in their three years together, they never quite figured out how to deal with one another.

But that learning curve shouldn't be such an issue with Daboll. The fact is that he and Saban are cut from the same cloth.

Daboll got his start in coaching as a graduate assistant in 1998 at Michigan State, where Saban was the head coach, and credits him as an important career influence. Daboll spent the 1998 and 1999 seasons in East Lansing before Saban left to become the head coach at LSU. But in the process of moving on, Saban helped get Daboll a job with Patriots coach Bill Belichick, one of Saban's closest friends in coaching.

Belichick and Saban had worked together with the Cleveland Browns, and Belichick hired Daboll as a defensive assistant coach in 2000 and later promoted him to wide receivers coach in 2002. He spent a total of 11 seasons in two stints in New England before accepting the job at Alabama.

2. He left the Patriots in 2007 for a reason

When Sarkisian left Alabama, one of the primary questions about what to do with the vacant OC position was whether to target a candidate who had a wealth of quarterback experience. Jalen Hurts played remarkably well as a true freshman last season, but he struggled throwing the ball down the stretch and could have benefited from a coach with a strong history of developing quarterbacks.

Daboll, for better or worse, is not necessarily that guy. He isn't a former QB, which Sarkisian and Kiffin are. Instead, he was a safety at the University of Rochester and coached the defensive side of the ball until Belichick moved him to receivers coach in 2002.

But it's important to note why he left New England after the 2006 season. It wasn't just to follow fellow Patriots assistant Eric Mangini to the Jets. Daboll wanted to build his resume working with quarterbacks as well.

During his first season with the Jets, he had to navigate starting two quarterbacks when Chad Pennington and Kellen Clemens combined to throw for 15 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. The next year, however, Daboll was able to work with future Hall of Famer Brett Favre.

Although Daboll didn't work hands-on with Tom Brady during his time in New England, having that level of proximity to a quarterback many already consider the best of all time can't hurt in his new role as coordinator and QB coach of the Crimson Tide.

3. He was an offensive coordinator three times

Judging harshly, you could say that Daboll has been a failure as a coordinator in the NFL. In his four seasons as offensive coordinator with the Browns, Dolphins and Chiefs, his teams ranked 29th, 31st, 20th and 32nd in scoring.

But that's not the entire picture, of course.

The NFL is a quarterback-driven league, and you have to look at who he had to work with at the position. In Cleveland, it was Brady Quinn and Derek Anderson one year, and Colt McCoy and Jake Delhomme the next. Daboll had Matt Moore and Chad Henne in Miami, and Matt Cassel and Quinn in Kansas City.

What's more, Daboll wasn't equipped with much skill elsewhere. His most productive receivers were Mohamed Massaquoi, Brandon Marshall and Dwayne Bowe.

4. He knows about running the football

If you're one of the many disgruntled Alabama fans starving for a return to a more consistent running game, we've saved the best for last. If there's one takeaway from Daboll's time in the NFL, it's his willingness to rush the football.

Most recently with the Patriots, in addition to coaching tight ends, he and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia helped coordinate a running game that relied on a number of backs through the years, including LeGarrette Blount, Jonas Gray and Dion Lewis.

But even before that, as an offensive coordinator, Daboll liked to feature running backs. With the Browns, Jerome Harrison and Peyton Hillis had productive years. And with the Dolphins and Chiefs, Reggie Bush and Jamaal Charles each rushed for more than 1,000 yards.

Police charge woman with falsely reporting rape by 2 Sacred Heart football players

A New York woman is facing charges after police say she confessed to lying about being raped by two football players from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut, because of fears a third student would lose romantic interest in her.

Nikki Yovino of South Setauket, New York, has been charged with falsely reporting an incident and tampering with or fabricating physical evidence.

The 18-year-old Yovino said two football players sexually assaulted her in a bathroom in October during an off-campus party.

The men said it was consensual.

Capt. Brian Fitzgerald told WABC-TV that another student informed authorities of explicit text messages among the three. He says one man also recorded some of the incident on his cellphone.

Yovino's lawyer, Mark Sherman, told The Connecticut Post that he hadn't seen the arrest warrant affidavit, and his client stands by her original story.

The Connecticut Post also reported that the students were dismissed from the team, stripped of their scholarships and had withdrawn from the school, but Sacred Heart provided a conflicting report in a statement.

"The federal Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act prevents us from providing information about specific students. However, I can say that some of the early information that was released is inaccurate. Sacred Heart never expelled the two students nor was any student stripped of scholarships because of any allegations," Deb Noack, Sacred Heart University's director of communications, said in the statement.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Position changes, roster numbers for spring practice

Florida has a handful football players changing positions this spring.

UF coach Jim McElwain announced Thursday that defensive back Duke Dawson and offensive lineman Martez Ivey will line up at new spots in 2017.

"He'll be corner full time," McElwain said of Dawson, who started at nickel in 2016. "Obviously his ability to play nickel is only something that is not only going to help us but help him in the future as it did Brian Poole. I think his ability to be able to show all that stuff is going to do nothing more than strengthen our depth, help the Gators get better and help him personally."

"Tez will go out to left (tackle). We need to develop (the tackle position) between him, (Jawaan Taylor) and Fred (Johnson). We need to get Stone (Forsythe) involved as he's been a freshman now. He's ready to roll. … There will be some really good competition as we get rolling there."

In addition to Dawson and Ivey, McElwain said position changes will happen for 3 more players.

"Richerd Desir-Jones is moving from O-line over to D-line," McElwain said. "We're going to bring (walk-on) Tanner Rowell from D-line over to O-line as an inside position, teach him both center and guard. Cam Knight is going to go from tight end over to linebacker for the spring to take a look at that."

The Gators also revealed jersey numbers Thursday for their 5 early enrollees: defensive tackle Kyree Campbell (55), tight end Kemore Gamble (88), linebacker James Houston (41), offensive tackle Kadeem Telfort (76) and athlete Kadarius Toney (17), who will play quarterback this spring.

There are no number changes for the returning players. Jersey numbers 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6 haven't been assigned. No. 1 was not worn by a Florida player in 2016 for the first time since 1984.

Holy Cross High School alum's family saves teen football phenom's dreams of gridiron glory

A 14-year-old football phenom's dreams of gridiron glory were saved Sunday thanks to a Hail Mary of generosity from the family of an alum.

Tyriek Dodd received a $50,000 scholarship that will allow him to continue playing wide receiver for the Holy Cross High School Knights. After his father's death last year, the teen and his family had no way to pay his tuition.

The money came courtesy of the friends and family of Rudy Krizan, who excelled in both sports and academics at Holy Cross, and who died last year of pancreatic cancer at the age of 67.

Tyriek — who is already 6-foot-5 and 195 lbs. — shared his gratitude to Krizan's widow, Patty Reimerdes, and said he intends to make plays for his dad and Krizan.

"I have someone to play for now — my father and her husband — I have someone on my shoulder and I'm going to take that with pride," Dodd said.

"It feels like I know what I'm going to do because before I wasn't sure I was even going to go to school a couple months ago."

On Sunday, before the Knights triumphed 20-14 in overtime against the St. John the Baptist Cougars, Dodd met Reimerdes, 64, for the first time.

"I think this was a God thing — Rudy passes and his father passes," Reimerdes said. "This was meant to be."

Dodd's father, Clement Seymour Dodd Jr., died Feb. 5, 2015, at age 57, from sarcoma after three years of fighting the rare form of cancer.

The loss left the playmaker without his role model.

"He was only male figure I had in the family," said Tyriek, who has three older sisters.

"I'm the only son in the family, so he played a big part in who I am."

Tyriek's mother worried about how she would keep her son in the Catholic school in Queens after her husband died.

"I'm very proud of him. I can't put it into words as a mom, but I am very proud of him," said Natalie Dodd, 50.

"Receiving the scholarship is a blessing itself 'cause Tyriek is a bright, intelligent, loving kid and the scholarship he received let me appreciate more that people really see him how I see him as a mom."

Tyriek uses his father's early death as fuel on the field.

"It was very difficult for him and I feel like Tyriek used that as a push to continue to work hard both academically and in sports," said his sister Alieghcia Dodd, 23.

Knights coach Tim Smith praised Tyriek's big hands, team spirit, hard work in practice and coachability.

"I really think he's going to be an unbelievable football player," Smith said.

"A lot of people are going to be talking about this kid."

Smith recalled that Tyriek never once mentioned that his father had died. He didn't learn of the tragedy until Tyriek's mother confided in the coach about the financial strain the death had put on the family.

"I immediately tried to make efforts to try and help the family," Smith said.

"I think the friends and family of Rudy Krizan couldn't have picked a better kid."

Reimerdes said her husband — known by friends as "Rude the Dude" — would be proud to know a scholarship in his name is helping a teen like Tyriek.

"I felt Rudy when I hugged him," Reimerdes said. "Rudy would be so happy."

"Holy Cross was his family — Rudy was an only child and he felt like all these men were his brothers. The bond like you've never seen a bond at Holy Cross."

She said many of Krizan's friends were eager to contribute to the fund named for the well-read man.

"He would be so happy to know that this young man is playing football on the same fields Rudy played football and sitting in the classrooms Rudy sat in," Reimerdes said.

"We're two families that have become one."

One of those who contributed to the fund was Al Hagan, a former FDNY captain who was also president of the Uniformed Fire Officers Association for many years until he recently retired.

Hagan recalled his reaction when he saw the towering teen who scored the scholarship.

"He's 14?" he exclaimed.

After chatting with Tyriek, Hagan said he couldn't have been more pleased with the choice.

"My friend Rudy was a great guy, and he would really have appreciated the hustle that Tyriek has," he said.