Afternoon Kickoff 6/22 (Footblog)

The career of Kellen Lewis took another turn Saturday, as ESPN's Joe Schad reported that the former Indiana quarterback is headed to D-II Valdosta State for his final season.

It's been an up an down ride for Lewis, who was probably the man most responsible for the Hoosiers making their first bowl in 14 years when they lost to Oklahoma State in the 2007 Insight Bowl. That season, as a sophomore, the athletic Lewis received second team All-Big Ten honors after throwing for 3,043 yards and 28 touchdowns and rushing for 736 yards and nine touchdowns.

Indiana fans had high hopes for another bowl bid last season, but after missing all of spring practice in 2008 because of a violation of team rules and battling through injuries, he passed for just 1,131 yards, six touchdowns and eight interceptions and was moved permanently to wide receiver this spring.

It turns out the move wasn't permanent, as Lewis instead got kicked off the team in April for more violations of team rules.

The News-Sentinel says this about his attitude following the 2007 season:

But Lewis' attitude didn't match his performance. He was suspended for four months in spring 2008. He admitted to "partying" too much and not meeting his overall responsibilities.

With that, the talented Lewis heads south to Valdosta, Ga. Lewis told Schad he was told about Valdosta State by a former teammate initially. Or maybe he originally heard about it by watching ESPN's thrilling "TitleTown USA" competition on SportsCenter, which the city of Valdosta won (Valdosta State is a strong D-II program, winning two national titles -- but the strongest program of the city is the high school football team). I suppose if heard about it that way, I wouldn't admit it either. I apologize for even bringing up that ridiculous gimmick that qualified as summer programming.

Before ESPN came along, the city of Valdosta referred to itself as "Winnersville." Seriously.

Anyway, Lewis joins a Valdosta State squad that won the D-II national title in 2007 and finished the 2008 season ranked No. 12. He expects to come in and win the starting job, which clearly he has the talent to accomplish.

More from the ESPN story:

"It's like riding a bike," Lewis said. "I think it will be easier to go back to playing quarterback than it was to learn wide receiver. In the NFL I hope to be a 'Wildcat' quarterback like Pat White."

That last part there is what sticks out to me. The Wildcat offense, popularized by Arkansas at the college level with Darren McFadden and now in the NFL with the Dolphins and Ronnie Brown (soon to be former West Virginia quarterback Pat White) has become the hot topic of the offseason in the NFL. Just about every team wants to run it after the Dolphins surprised the Patriots with it early last season and won 38-13. Of course, in the second meeting, Bill Belichick was prepared, the Wildcat was ineffective and the Patriots won 48-28.

Call me skeptical that the Wildcat is here to stay in the NFL. I tend to think NFL coaches and defenses will adjust and the fad will fade away in a year or two.

So Kellen, you might want to at least have a backup plan. Although Pat White is a decent comparison, he has yet to even take a professional snap as a "Wildcat quarterback."

And while it may be easier to go back to quarterback at his new home in Winnersville than learn to play wide receiver, he'll probably have to learn the receiver position anyway if he hopes to make an impact in the NFL.

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Quick hits:
-As soon as Iowa has players get reinstated, another one goes out and gets suspended for a game. The culprit is starting right tackle Kyle Calloway, who was arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated, a.k.a. driving a moped drunk.

-Bill Snyder returns to coach at Kansas State, where the school may have some legal trouble on its hands after a "scathing audit."

The audit, released by the Kansas Board of Regents on Friday, describes thousands of dollars paid to companies owned by current and former university employees. They include head football coach Bill Snyder; former athletic director Tim Weiser; and Bob Krause, a former vice president for institutional advancement and former athletic director.

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Link/Video of the Day:
Remember Austin Scott? Yeah, he was pretty good in high school.

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