Only at Stanford.

This week, an anonymous donor to Stanford endowed the offensive-coordinator position, giving it the name of Andrew Luck, the wunderkind quarterback who just went No. 1 in the NFL draft.

So they're calling Pep Hamilton the Andrew Luck Director of Offense.

Stanford does stuff like this. You probably didn't realize it, but their football coach, David Shaw, is actually the Bradford M. Freeman Director of Football. Close your eyes, and rather than a guy in a T-shirt with a whistle around his neck yelling at a wide receiver, you see a pedagogic fellow in a bow tie with pince-nez glasses behind a desk in a library, peering down at a thick manual of football strategy.

Johnny Dawkins isn't really men's basketball coach at Stanford, either. Believe it or not, this was the first paragraph of the school's announcement when he was hired: "Stanford University has named Johnny Dawkins as the Anne and Tony Joseph Director of Men's Basketball as announced by Jaquish and Kenninger Director of Athletics Bob Bowlsby."

You almost feel like you should be wearing an ascot as you read that.

But it turns out Stanford is really on the cutting edge with this. We've learned that other schools in the league are following the Cardinal's lead, with announcements coming soon on the following endowments:

Washington Defensive Coordinator -- The Nick Holt Anybody-Get-The-License-Number-of-that-Panel-Truck-that-Just-Blew-a-Hole-Through-Our-Back-Seven Maestro of Defensive Alignment

WSU Head Football Coach - The Paul Wulff Let's-See-There-Must-Be-Something-Else-I-Haven't-Pinned-on-Bill Doba Chief of Crimson Football

Oregon Head Football Coach - The Chip Kelly Wow-Coaching-is-a-Lot-Easier-When-You-Know-An-Agent-Uh-Guy-Who-Runs-a-Scouting-Service Dean of Duck Football

Cal Head Football Coach - The Jeff Tedford Damn-I-Remember-When-I-Had-a-Reputation-for-Always-Having-a-Quarterback Boss of Bear Football

USC Head Football Coach -- The Pete Carroll What's-So-Wrong-About-Your-Players'-Parents-Upgrading-from-a-Rowhouse-to-a-Manor-Home-with-Marble-Floors Honcho of Troy Football

UCLA Head Football Coach - The Rick Neuheisel Let's-Run-the-Pistol-Let's-Hire-Norm-Chow-Hold-On-I've-Got-a-Quarterback-to-Yell-At Baron of Bruin Football

Arizona State Head Football Coach - The Todd Graham So-What-If-I-Skulked-Out-of-Pitt-in-the-Dead-of-Night-Get-Over-It Supervisor of Sparky Football

Arizona Head Football Coach - The Rich Rodriguez If-You-Thought-I-Worked-'Em-Overtime-at-Michigan-Wait-Til-You-See-Me-Here Czar of 'Zona Football

USA Today has a piece in today's editions detailing how much salary conference commissioners earned in 2010, the last year for which tax filings were available. Among other things, it shows that Pac-12 presidents threw a lot of money at Larry Scott in exchange for his enterprising efforts.

Scott earned some $1.9 million, and in addition, has a loan of approximately the same size, presumably for housing in the spendy Bay Area market.

Anybody take issue with Scott's numbers? Yes, in the abstract, it's a lot of money to pay somebody involved in an endeavor tied to amateur sports. Tom Hansen, Scott's predecessor, made only about a third as much.

But it only parallels the sharp increase in salary of, for instance, football coaches, and in fact, it's less than either the head coach at Washington or WSU makes. I'd argue that Scott's cash is money better spent than that at a lot of schools paying as much or more for a football coach.

Scott negotiated the $3-billion, 12-year TV deal with ESPN and Fox, and also engineered the Pac-12 Networks set to launch soon. A.J. Maestas, president of Navigate Research, told me late last summer, "Four years from today, I would not be surprised if the Pac-12 schools saw $12-15 million distribution (each) from the Pac-12 Networks. The truth is, it could be 30-40 percent higher than that."

Yes, a lot of that loot is being plunged into glitzy football facilities around the league, and in some cases, that's a debatable exercise. But the money generated also helps athletic departments trim subsidies they get from university general funds, aids the quest to satisfy Title IX requirements and improves the lot of non-revenue sports.

College basketball's spring - which is just as eventful as the regular season for some teams - is virtually over. We know now who's departed for the NBA, who's transferring out (not to belabor you, Arizona State), and pretty much, what each roster should look like in the fall.

No recourse here, then, but to forecast the league for 2012-13 (gulp). It should be a year of renewed national interest in programs like UCLA and Arizona, and some regained respect for the Pac-12 after its confounding season of 2011-12.

1. UCLA. Ben Howland, meet John Calipari. Just when they were absorbing bullets from all angles, including a controversial Sports Illustrated story in late February, the Bruins went out and completed what some outlets are calling the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.

All they got is dynamic 6-6 scorer Shabazz Muhammad of Las Vegas; playmaking 6-8 forward Kyle Anderson of Jersey City; stud shooter Jordan Adams of Oak Hill Academy; and 6-9, 280-pound Tony Parker of Lithonia, Ga.

Now the question is, can Howland, a la Calipari, mold this group into the tour de force the recruiting ratings suggest? Will Howland make them spend the first three weeks of drills diving on loose balls before they're allowed to take a jump shot? Color me a bit skeptical about how all this is going to work, but . . . how will the newbies take to Howland? Where does Larry Drew II, the North Carolina transfer, fit in? Is there enough playing time for the Wear twins, Parker and Josh Smith? (And will Smith spend more time in the gym than at In-and-Out Burger this summer?)

If nothing else, the talent haul is so formidable, it's hard to rate the Bruins anywhere but No. 1.

2. Arizona. I gave much thought to putting the Wildcats on top but succumbed to the avalanche of press clippings that accompany the UCLA recruits. Not that Arizona did badly in recruiting, either; its class is consensus-ranked No. 2 or 3, and in particular, 'Zona should get help inside, where it needs it, from seven-foot Kaleb Tarczewski and 6-9 Grant Jerrett.

One of the most interesting off-season acquisitions is that of Mark Lyons, the guard who comes west from Xavier, so UA coach Sean Miller is familiar with him. Lyons has a rap as a bit of a chemistry-killer, but if anybody ought to know what he's getting, it's Miller. (Then again, Miller wasn't exactly spot-on when he signed Sidiki Johnson and Josiah Turner, who split Tucson early.)

Solomon Hill and Angelo Chol are back up front, and so are Nick Johnson and Jordin Mayes in the backcourt. If Kevin Parrom can rebound from his personal and physical misfortunes of last season, 'Zona will be a load.

Continuing a move to upgrade the officiating program in the Pac-12, commissioner Larry Scott Wednesday announced the appointment of Ed Rush, ex-NBA director of officiating, to coordinate the Pac-12 hoops officiating program. He replaces Bill McCabe, whose departure was announced several weeks ago.

Herewith, the link to the Pac-12 announcement:

Rush has actually been with the league since 2007 as the key guy in training of prospective officials. When McCabe's departure was announced, John Adams, NCAA coordinator of men's basketball officiating, told me that between McCabe and Rush, there had been a positive move in developing a deeper pool of competent officials in the Pac-12.

Said Adams then: " I just finished my fourth year (as national coordinator). My recollection is that in 2008-09, the best officials in the Pac-10 were as good as any in the country; I just didn't think they had the depth. They've really worked hard to develop the next generation of officials."

It's another seemingly dynamic move in a long series of them by Scott, who has been in the saddle less than three years in the Pac-12/10. And it's not as though he didn't already have a considerable amount on his plate, what with league expansion, TV contracts and the formation of the new Pac-12 TV Networks set to launch in August.

About a year ago, Scott moved to improve Pac-12 football officiating, naming Tony Corrente coordinator, with a consulting role to Mike Pereira, the familiar TV voice who has spot-analyzed officials' calls on NFL games.

Washington State had hoped to make a splash with its hire of Mike Leach as football coach last fall, and the Cougars no doubt would tell you today:

So far, so good.

Wednesday, ESPN announced that it has moved up WSU's 2012 season opener at Brigham Young from Saturday, Sept. 1 to Thursday night, Aug. 30 at 7:15 (PDT). There are a couple of compelling story lines there, the biggest that Leach is making his return to college football after a two-year hiatus.

The game -- already scheduled before he took the WSU job, of course -- also matches him with his alma mater. It's the place where, although he didn't play college football, he became fascinated by BYU's famous passing game.

Earlier, Washington State's third game of the season, at Nevada-Las Vegas, was moved up a day from a Saturday, Sept. 15 date to the 14th at 6 p.m., also to accommodate ESPN.

The moves are of no immediate financial benefit to WSU, because under the new revenue-sharing agreement engineered by Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott, that money is divvied equally among all Pac-12 schools. The start of the 2012-13 school year marks the beginning of the lucrative league contracts with ESPN and Fox, earmarked to bring the league some $3 billion over 12 years. (The ESPN contract calls for four Thursday and Friday night games apiece annually, so the Cougars have just filled two of those eight league slots for 2012.)

It's a sign that indeed, schools will need to be flexible under the new contracts, which are going to spill over onto some days we haven't traditionally been used to seeing, such as limited basketball on Wednesday nights.

More than that, it's something of a coup for the Cougars, who haven't had a lot to cheer about in recent football seasons. The exposure, at times when much of the nation can be watching, could be valuable, and it clearly has a lot to do with the installation of Leach.

The BYU and UNLV games could also be a showcase for quarterback Jeff Tuel, not a widely known name outside the West Coast.

One of the functions USA Today performs best is detailed looks at various financial aspects of college athletics, such as its annual surveys of coaching salaries. Today is an example of that, as the newspaper looks at the expenses and revenues of each public institution across the country, highlighting Texas as the bellwether school in both departments (it becomes a lot more apparent, if it wasn't already, why Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott was courting the Longhorns so actively two years ago).

Here's the link to the database.

There are a couple of themes: The obvious one is simply the philosophical question of whether, at a time of fiscal austerity for a lot of school budgets nationwide, the finances of athletic departments are out of control. But beyond that, there's an issue related closely to the realignment mania that has swept the country the past two years. The size of the budgets of the big spenders compared to some of the lesser schools -- but ones the big boys compete against -- further crystallizes the debate of whether we're bound for a college athletic world in which the moneyed schools break off and form superconferences.

In that vein, Rob Spear, the athletic director at Idaho, told KJR Radio last week that he could foresee, rather than the FBS and FCS levels currently, another division, which ostensibly would be the lesser schools of the current FBS.

In other words, in that world, you'd have Florida and Alabama still at the top level, but Louisiana-Monroe and Troy (and a bunch of better-known schools) would be at a lower level than the current FBS (the old Division 1-A).

What I found striking about the numbers associated with Washington and Washington State was, their revenues for the 2010-11 year (latest available) are not what you might think. Washington, at $70,231,336, is a mere 30th nationally -- just behind Indiana and just ahead of Kansas State. The Huskies are far behind schools like Louisville ($87-plus million) and Arkansas ($91M-plus).

WSU is 59th at $39,983,482, just behind New Mexico, and trailing schools like Cincinnati, Iowa State and San Diego State.

It's worth throwing in a caveat here sometimes voiced by UW athletic director Scott Woodward and others. These figures can be fluid and occasionally deceiving, influenced by one-time donations -- or, I suppose, affected by capital projects. A donor could potentially limit his regular contribution and provide a major one-time gift to a stadium renovation, for instance.

At both schools, it's fair to say that bad times in football have affected income, although in Washington's case, it's three years removed from the lost-at-sea end of the Tyrone Willingham regime. WSU has a fresher view of the lean times, trying to dig out from the financial stress of Paul Wulff's 9-40 years.

In the last moments of Pac-10 football media day back in 2008, I buttonholed Stanford football coach Jim Harbaugh as he was heading out of the lobby of the host hotel near the Los Angeles airport.

Harbaugh was only a year into his gig as Stanford head coach, and he had earned the job on the basis of what he had done at FCS (Division 1-AA) San Diego. So I thought it worthwhile to hear what sort of challenges he might foresee for another guy making the same jump, Paul Wulff, who was moving from Eastern Washington to Washington State.

"Oh yeah, the thin resume," Harbaugh said, parroting the criticism he had heard when he came from USD.

Then he took the path of least resistance when I steered him toward a discussion of Wulff.

"A lot of people wanted that [Washington State] job, and he got it," Harbaugh said deftly. "That tells me he's ready for it."

Well, as the coaching carousel spins, we now have Harbaugh and Wulff in different jobs -- working with each other. The San Francisco 49ers will announce later this week that Harbaugh, the head coach, is adding Wulff as a "senior offensive assistant."

Yesterday, we took you on a winding excursion covering the value of having a veteran quarterback in the Pac-12. The preamble to today's Pac-12 South picks will be a lot shorter, as in . . . Matt Barkley.

Barkley gives the Trojans a leg up not only in the division, and in the conference, but against just about anybody in the country.

Herewith, then, my early read on the Pac-12 South:

1. Southern California. It's not only Barkley, but his remarkable corps of receivers who could make the Trojans' passing game unstoppable. Are we about to have two All-American receivers (Robert Woods and Marqise Lee) on the same squad? Depth, though, could become an issue as USC deals with the 75-scholarship limit arising from NCAA sanctions.

2. Utah. Having tossed bouquets the Trojans' way, I have to say I'm sorely tempted to pick the Utes to steal the division. Yes, Utah. The Utes have had a year in the league to size it up. They've got 16 starters back, and they're much better-equipped at quarterback than they were in 2011. They play excellent defense (NT Star Lotolelei changes the game), and they've got a 1,500-yard runner in John White. Finally, they have a September date with USC -- in Salt Lake City.

3. Arizona. There appears to be a big dropoff from the top two in the division to the lower four, which are marked by new coaches and new quarterbacks. 'Zona fits the description of a new coach (Rich Rodriguez), but QB Matt Scott can't be classified as a complete newbie, since he filled in ably in 2010 for injured Nick Foles. And he ought to be a good fit for Rodriguez' spread system.

4. UCLA. Of the four Pac-12 programs with new coaches, none figures to have more of an attitude adjustment than the Bruins with Jim Mora Jr. (although it sounds like Todd Graham is undergoing something similar at ASU). I think he'll make strides the first year, but it can't be done overnight, especially with UCLA's forever-evolving quarterback situation. Remember, this is an outfit that allowed 45 points or more five times last year.

5. Arizona State. Graham comes to the program with one distinct advantage (I guess). His hire was booed in so many circles, any early progress he can show will be lauded beyond reason. Problem is, he starts with one of the greenest quarterbacks in the conference, no matter whether it's Mike Bercovici, Taylor Kelly or Michael Eubank. Bercovici and Kelly have combined to throw seven passes at ASU, Eubank none. Expect Eubank to win the job at some point this year -- and a lot of growing pains with it.

6. Colorado. From a talent perspective, you could almost call this the first year under Jon Embree. The Buffs have only 10 starters back, and they're counting heavily on February's signing class to begin to make advances on a league that was, well, mostly out of the Buffs' league in 2011. Among other issues, they're also starting fresh at quarterback.

After a detailed look at the Pac-12 football camps (by the wonder of the Internet, not the 737), it's only proper that I do the imprudent thing and take a stab at picking the two division races (with the proviso that I can turn them upside down after fall camps).

That led me to some research that I found interesting. Oregon and Stanford are going to be the popular 1-2 choices in the Pac-12 North, but as you know, neither has a returning starter at quarterback. That's a red flag for graybeards like me, who got indoctrinated on the notion that you don't go very far in this league without a proven one.

I approached it with that assumption. But it turns out, that's a trend that's changed.

I went back through the past 20 years of Pac-12/10 champions. And what I found is, in recent years, there's a whole lot more prevalence of newbies succeeding at the quarterback spot - winning championships - than there used to be.

Matter of fact, in four of the past six seasons, the winner of the league had a new starter at the quarterback spot. That's a fairly stunning development, and a disclaimer to a time-honored tradition.

Compare that to a seven-season stretch from 1996 to 2002, when it took a veteran quarterback to lead his team to the league championship.

This is the last in a series reviewing spring football camps in the Pac-12. Today, UCLA.

Starters returning - 14 (7 each way), plus P Jeff Locke.

Refresher on 2011 - A make-or-break year ultimately broke the regime of Rick Neuheisel, the ex-Washington coach, after four seasons in Westwood. The Bruins were all over the place - playing in the Pac-12 title game and a bowl (the Kraft Fight Hunger against Illinois) but finishing 6-8; getting consecutive, key wins over Cal and Arizona State in mid-season, but suffering too many ghoulish defeats to sustain Neuheisel's reign. If the low point wasn't a 48-12 loss at Arizona (which had dropped 10 straight FBS games) after a mid-game brawl eventually resulted in suspensions to six Bruins, it was a 50-0 defeat to rival USC that defined the distance between the two programs. Among other things, the incessant quarterback problems under Neuheisel continued, as Bruins completed only 55.8 percent. On defense, UCLA had only 14 sacks and allowed 191 yards rushing per game. Johnathan Franklin, returning in '12, was a bright spot, rushing for 976 yards and a 5.9 average.

Coaching changes - With Neuheisel's exit, the Bruins turned in several directions before settling on former Seahawks coach Jim Mora Jr., whose staff has a heavy Northwest accent. Ex-Husky QB great Marques Tuiasosopo is tight ends coach, and Demetrice Martin was hired away from Washington to coach CBs. Ex-Seahawks-and-UW aide Eric Yarber is coaching wideouts, and former WSU RB and assistant Steve Broussard tutors running backs. Offensive coordinator is Noel Mazzone, who last coached on Dennis Erickson's staff at Arizona State.

Major spring concerns - Bringing clarity to the competitive quarterback picture . . . Sorting through WR candidates, with Shaquelle Evans' 19 catches representing the leading returnee . . . getting a once-highly-regarded defensive line to perform to expectations . . . adjusting to Mora's firmer hand.

Developments - Mora set a hard-charging tone early for the Bruins, telling the LA Daily News, "One of our goals is to get them comfortable being uncomfortable." . . . Mora announced last week that the QB starter would be named on Aug. 16, after a couple of weeks of fall camp and some scrimmages. Brett Hundley, redshirted as a freshman in Neuheisel's final year, made up serious ground and positioned himself to possibly take the reins in August. The other two in the picture are oft-injured Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, whose participation with the Bruin baseball team was something of a bone of contention in the past. Brehaut participated fully in football, leaving the diamond for the duration . . . Bruins have gone to a spread offense under Mazzone, and like a lot of teams in the Pac-12, a 3-4 defense capable of multiple looks . . . LT Xavier Su'a-Filo, returned from a Mormon mission, lifted the O-line play . . . S Dalton Hilliard moved to RB and impressed, then spent time back at safety late in the session because that spot was thin . . . Mora raved about S Tevin McDonald, son of ex-NFL standout Tim McDonald and brother of USC All-American Tim Jr. . . . RS freshman RB Stephen Manfro (5-11, 195) looked good and could press for playing time . . . S Dietrich Riley, who started five games last year, had neck surgery midway through drills and figures to miss the '12 season . . . WR Darius Bell, a former quarterback who shed more than 20 pounds, looked good at his new position . . . LB Isaiah Bowens took a helmet to the knee and suffered a torn ACL . . . WR Ricky Marvray had back surgery to correct a disc problem but is expected ready for fall camp . . . soph NT Brandon Willis (6-3, 275) impressed after an odyssey that saw him enroll at North Carolina early in 2010, transfer to UCLA, re-enroll at UNC and then return to the Bruins, all of it related to a grandmother in the South battling kidney problems . . . in January, Mora announced DB Randall Carroll, DE Wesley Flowers and TE Raymond Nelson were no longer on the team for "violating team rules," but Flowers was reinstated for the start of spring drills . . . Neuheisel's son Jerry is a reserve QB . . . LB/DE Damien Holmes' progress was evident to coaches . . . veteran CBs Aaron Hester and Sheldon Price responded well to new assistant Martin's bump-and-run tactics . . . punting is in great hands, as Locke's 44.58 career average is No. 2 in school history . . . it was a physical session, as, by mid-week before the final scrimmage, the LA Times reported 24 players injured from the time workouts started.

Spring game -- Against a defense missing most of the key linebackers Saturday, Brehaut completed 12 of 16 for 249 yards and four scores, Prince was eight of 11 for 101 yards and a TD, and Hundley was 12 of 20 for 185 yards, a TD and an 18-yard rushing score.

2012 schedule - It appears built for a workable start for the Bruins, who open with Rice, Nebraska, Houston, Oregon State and Colorado before October. UCLA has five Pac-12 home games and catches an apparent break missing both Oregon and Washington.

This is the 11th in a series reviewing spring football camps in the Pac-12. Today, Colorado.

Starters returning - 10 (4 on offense, 6 on defense), plus P Darragh O'Neill and PK Will Oliver.

Refresher on 2011 - In the maiden season of former Buff Jon Embree as head coach, Colorado took its lumps and finished 3-9, struggling in virtually every phase. The Buffs did save the best for last; as a three-touchdown underdog in its final game of the season, Colorado shocked Utah, which not only bounced the Utes out of the first Pac-12 title game, it ended a 23-game road losing streak for CU that had stretched back to 2007. Mostly, though, it was a painful first season in the Pac-12 for Colorado, marked by a seven-game losing streak that stretched from September to early November. During five games of it, the Buffs allowed 235 points, as there was a palpable difference in speed and playmaking between Colorado and its opponents. Among conference categories in which Colorado finished last were scoring offense (19.8), scoring defense (36.5), pass efficiency (123.7 rating) and pass-efficiency defense (156.5). Eligibility ran out on leading rusher Rodney Stewart and QB Tyler Hansen.

Coaching changes -- None.

Developments - Embree noted that the thrust of the spring was more technique-oriented than physical, unlike his first program-setting tone a year ago . . . Buffs suffered a tough blow when they lost their best receiver, junior Paul Richardson, to a torn ACL. Although he missed four games in 2011, he had 555 yards receiving on 39 catches, including a school-record 284 yards against Cal . . . QB Nick Hirschman, expected to battle for the starting job vacated by the graduation of Hansen, sustained a broken bone to a foot a second time and missed drills. That left the reps to Texas transfer Connor Wood and walk-on John Schrock. Hirschman should be ready for fall camp . . . Buffs expect to dip significantly into their February signing class for fall help, having signed nine DBs and nine defensive linemen . . . Nick Kasa, a 6-6, 265-pound senior converted from DL to tight end, showed signs of progress late in the session . . . with Richardson gone, finding quality receivers was a priority. Two who could factor in are RS freshman Nelson Spruce and soph Tyler McCulloch . . . Embree liked the development of junior WLB Derrick Webb . . . OT and RS freshman Stephane Nembot, who committed to both Washington and WSU before picking the Buffs a year ago, missed the first half of drills getting over a knee injury sustained in winter conditioning. He was on the defensive line last fall but has switched to offense . . . S Parker Orms sat out with hamstring problems . . . like several schools in the Pac-12, Buffs dealt with depth issues on the OL . . . junior DE/OLB Chidera Uzo-Diribe (6-3, 250), heretofore known as a pass-rush specialist, drew raves from DC Greg Brown as the Buffs' best defender halfway through the session, having improved against the run . . . LB Doug Rippy sat out rehabbing a torn ACL . . . Kyle Washington, 6-1, 220-pound soph, made a successful move from safety to linebacker . . . linebacker appears to be the strength of the defense, and the line the best part of the offense . . . incoming in the fall is controversial CB Yuri Wright, who signed with Colorado after being kicked out of Don Bosco Prep in New Jersey for sexually explicit and racially charged tweets. Embree said the decision to sign Wright went all the way to CU chancellor Phil DiStefano . . . Embree and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy were part of a welcoming committee for President Obama before a speech in late April at the Coors Events Center.

Spring game - Actually, it was a 42-play scrimmage, with Wood leading the offense to two 75-yard TD drives in three possessions. Wood was seven of 10 for 137 yards and two touchdowns, but the battle for the starting QB job will continue well into fall camp with Hirschman. Junior Josh Ford had eight carries for 141 yards and two long TDs, but the tailback leader entering the fall is 5-7, 185-pound soph Tony Jones.

2012 schedule - Buffs are optimistically talking bowl game, and they have a schedule they can grow into, with Colorado State, Sacramento State and Fresno State to start out of league, and then Washington State (in Pullman) followed by UCLA and Arizona State in Boulder. It gets seriously tougher after that, so the Buffs better bank a lot of wins early. Off the schedule are Cal and Oregon State.

This is the 10th in a series reviewing spring football camps in the Pac-12. Today, Oregon State.

Starters returning - 15 (7 on offense, 8 on defense), plus PK Trevor Romaine.

Refresher on 2011 - It began disastrously in the season opener, when OSU lost to FCS Sacramento State in overtime, and when it was done, OSU had a 3-9 record, coach Mike Riley's worst in 11 seasons over two tenures at the school. Biggest accomplishment was tormenting the Washington schools; OSU beat Washington State by 23 and Washington by 17. Early in the season, Riley made a perplexing call, replacing incumbent QB Ryan Katz with youngster Sean Mannion, who took it the rest of the way. Beavers turned it over 31 times, including 18 interceptions by Mannion, who otherwise completed 64.5 percent. Beavers rushed for only 87 yards a game and allowed 197. CB Jordan Poyer was a multi-threat as a playmaker in the secondary and kick returner.

Coaching changes - Riley coaxed former NFL DB Rod Perry out of the pros when he lost Keith Heyward to the Washington staff, and there were plaudits for Perry's emphasis on technique. That was the only switch in full-time hires, but OSU also added GAs in ex-Beavers Trent Bray (linebackers) and Mitch Meeuwsen (safeties), freeing up coordinator Mark Banker of positional responsibility.

Developments - There are hints that Riley will now take over play-calling from OC Danny Langsdorf, although it remains to be seen whether that's a major change since Riley has always had a big hand in the offense . . . One who impressed was early-entrant TE Caleb Smith (6-6, 260) of Kentridge High, another in a line of OSU state-of-Washington products at that position that includes Joe Halahuni and Connor Hamlett . . . offensive line included a total of only eight bodies in spring. Much-awaited is local uber-recruit Isaac Seumalo, who could play any line position. Stan Hasiak, a transfer from UCLA and junior college, arrives in the fall . . . Soph Michael Beaton had a good showing up front and could push for time . . . RS frosh RB Storm Woods (5-11, 202), a Texas product, showed well, especially as a pass-catcher. Last year's frosh rusher, Malcolm Agnew, isn't the best at pass-protection and also battles hamstring problems . . . DT is one obvious need for Beavers, with Castro Masaniai (now up to 351 pounds) expected to be a force there, once he finishes rehabbing a broken leg. He's flanked by promising young ends Dylan Wynn and Tacoman Scott Crichton, who had 14.5 tackles for loss in 2011, with six sacks. DT Andrew Seumalo, Isaac's older brother, competed well . . . DB Brandon Hardin, whose absence was felt severely last year after a serious shoulder injury took him out for the season, was nevertheless drafted in the third round by the Bears . . . D.J. Welch (6-2, 220) took over an opening at the SLB spot . . . erstwhile nickel back Ryan Murphy appears to have excellent ball skills and looks ticketed to fill only vacancy in secondary at safety . . . among those who sat out of drills were two rehabbing from shoulder surgery - leading '11 tackler Anthony Watkins (S) and OG Grant Enger, O'Dea High grad . . . QB Mannion was only solid, not spectacular, while backup Cody Vaz played fairly well. Riley wants improved footwork from Mannion and said after the final scrimmage he feels "We have two starters right now," but hastened to add Mannion is No. 1 . . . 6-5 WR Obum Gwacham looks ready to contribute significantly to a good receiving corps . . . important year for the program, which, after consecutive seasons in which it was one Civil War victory away from the Rose Bowl, has gone 8-16 in the past two.

Spring game - Beavers finished with a controlled scrimmage in which Vaz seemed to have a better day than Mannion, Vaz completing 11 of 21 for 151 yards, two TDs with one interception. Mannion, on the field for fewer snaps, was eight of 15 for 81 yards and an interception. Overall, the defense had the edge on the other side.

2012 schedule - Beavers' season appears predicated on a quick start, despite a visit by Big Ten power Wisconsin Sept. 8. Immediately after that, it's a stretch of UCLA-Arizona-Washington State, all featuring new head coaches. Beavers miss the polar ends of the Southern Division, USC and Colorado.