College football coaches proudly live in bubbles. During preseason camp, they claim to know almost nothing that happens outside the fortified walls or tarped fences of their football complexes.
But there are certain questions so compelling that they resonate around the sport.
• How will Jalen Hurts fare at Oklahoma after transferring from Alabama?
• Who enters 2019 as the nation's top quarterback: Clemson sophomore Trevor Lawrence or Alabama junior Tua Tagovailoa, who replaced Hurts in Tuscaloosa?
• How long will Urban Meyer stay away from coaching, especially as a potential vacancy looms at USC?
We posed these questions and others to FBS head coaches and assistants, granting anonymity so they could speak freely.
Here's a look at what could be coming for some of college football's most prominent people in 2019.
How will Jalen Hurts fare at Oklahoma?
Quarterback transfers dominated the offseason, and none has a higher profile than Hurts, who went 26-2 as Alabama's starter and helped the Tide reach three consecutive national championship games (winning one). A graduate transfer, he joined Oklahoma in January and was named the Sooners' starter earlier this month.
Hurts now will play for the nation's premier offensive coach in Lincoln Riley, and follow back-to-back Heisman Trophy winners and No. 1 overall NFL draft picks in Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. Most coaches surveyed expect Hurts to thrive under Riley.
"I'd be shocked if Hurts is not a very good player at Oklahoma," an SEC coach said. "Arguably, he's with the most quarterback-friendly coach in the country who knows what he's doing. The system will be good for Hurts, and it's proven what Lincoln has done with quarterbacks. He's definitely going to help him become a much more complete quarterback."
The knock on Hurts at Alabama was his limitation as a passer. He rarely made mistakes -- only 12 interceptions in 445 pass attempts -- and completed 63% of his throws, but averaged only 134 pass yards per game for the Tide. In the past two seasons at Oklahoma, Mayfield and Murray combined for 8,393 pass yards, 81 passing touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while completing 71% of their passes.
"There is a standard of offense that he's got to be able to produce, and I don't know from an arm talent standpoint, from an accuracy standpoint, that Jalen Hurts will fit [Riley's] bill," a Power 5 quarterbacks coach said. "It will be interesting."
A Big 12 defensive assistant added: "He provides just enough ability to be able to throw the ball to be a challenge."
A Big 12 coach had a more positive view, noting that Riley's offense and philosophy will enhance Hurts' skills.
"You'll see the gloves come off of him," the coach said. "Hurts looked like he was more concerned at times about making a mistake at Alabama -- he threw very few interceptions there -- than he did of trusting his ability to make the throw and fitting it in there. I think you'll see him be given more freedom at Oklahoma to do a lot of different things."
Several coaches noted that Hurts will face less-talented defenses in the Big 12 than the SEC. While Mayfield and Murray showcased their mobility -- "That's what made them so hard to defend," a Big 12 assistant said. "You barely got out of a pass rush lane" -- Hurts' athleticism could give Riley a new luxury to employ.
Hurts rushed for 1,809 and 21 touchdowns in two seasons as Alabama's starter, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
"I'm not sure Hurts is a stand-in-the-pocket-and-beat-you-kind-of quarterback, which may have been an issue at times at Alabama," a Big Ten coach said, "but the good thing is he's not going to have to be that kind of quarterback at Oklahoma."
An SEC coach added: "[He] was always able to make plays for himself. But can he consistently make plays for everybody else and process things and make quicker decisions than he did at Alabama? A lot of the time, his first instinct was to take off running. If the first guy wasn't open, he was going to take off. Oklahoma's system may help with that."
A Group of 5 coach says he expects Riley to use Hurts' running skills the way he did with Murray, who averaged 7.3 yards per carry with 11 rushing touchdowns for the Sooners in 2018.
"All of the stuff they did with Kyler, now they've got a bigger, stronger guy to do it," the coach said. "I don't see how they won't be dangerous again on offense."
Another plus for Hurts, many coaches noted, is his maturity, which stood out throughout his time at Alabama, especially after being benched for Tagovailoa midway through the national title game two years ago. Coaches don't expect Hurts to be timid about leading a new locker room, or intimidated by any stage he steps on this fall.
"He's a really good leader; the coaches there will use him how he'll need to be used," an SEC offensive assistant said. "But he's got a lot to live up to."
Tua vs. Trevor
It's the kind of choice any coach would love to have. Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa and Clemson's Trevor Lawrence won the past two national championships as true freshmen quarterbacks. Both are potential No. 1 overall picks in the NFL draft when they're eligible (2020 for Tagovailoa, 2021 for Lawrence). They are projected as the top two Heisman Trophy candidates on the nation's top two teams.
So, who's better?
"Talk about splitting hairs," an SEC coach said.
But that same coach said he would take Lawrence.
"It seems like he handled everything with such grace and humility instead of some of these guys you see come in as freshmen and are cocky a-holes," the coach said. "You have to be cocky and really good to lead like that and win like that, but you also have to be able to earn your teammates' respect, and Trevor was able to walk that line. To make the throws he did as a true freshman, that's remarkable."
A Big Ten coach had a similar take, and would also take Lawrence.
"You can't go wrong with either, but I would go with Trevor," he said. "One of the reasons why is that you watch Tua, and he throws into coverage. A lot of times, it works out. Tua is fearless, and that's good. But Trevor seems more calculated and more calculated with the risks he takes, and he's so accurate and so strong. Trevor is the real deal, and you're going to see that in the NFL."
A Power 5 defensive coordinator said that while he has great respect for Tagovailoa, Lawrence is the type of young quarterback who comes around only once every 20 years or so.
"He's way better," the coach said. "He's 6-4½, can stand tall in the pocket, make any throw in the world. Tua's an extremely talented player, but towards the end last year, you saw him start to struggle a little bit. This is like Peyton Manning-esque, with the arm strength even better. It's like, know the game, great presence. This kid's uniquely special."
Another Power 5 defensive coordinator said recency bias could factor into how many assess Lawrence.
"He's pretty special," the coach said. "Now when you win a national championship, everybody remembers all the good things you do. When you don't win one, they remember all the bad things you do. He's played some games he probably didn't play so well, but nobody remembered it because he won the national championship, and the last game was so good."
Listed generously at 6-1, Tagovailoa has an uncanny ability to see the field and spread the ball around, which is why one FBS head coach who spent time in multiple Power 5 leagues said he would go with the Alabama star.
"They both come with two different sets of abilities," the coach said. "You look at Trevor, and he's got more height and a really strong arm. He really doesn't have to scramble much because he's tall enough where he can throw it over his linemen. With Tua, he has to get outside the pocket more but can still find that window when he's in the pocket. If I had to take one, I'd take Tua because of his ability to make the throw no matter where he is."
An ACC head coach said Lawrence and Tagovailoa were a lot more alike than they were different, particularly in the way they approach the game.
"Seriously, how could you go wrong with either one?" the coach said. "They're both great competitors, great natural leaders and both driven to be great. I honestly don't see a lot of difference in them, other than one throws left-handed and one throws right-handed, and Trevor is obviously bigger."
Will Urban Meyer return to coaching, possibly as soon as 2020?
Last year at this time, Urban Meyer was serving a suspension as Ohio State's coach for mishandling domestic assault allegations against assistant Zach Smith. A turbulent start to the season ended with a Big Ten championship, and Meyer announcing his retirement from coaching. He struggled for much of the season with severe headaches stemming from a cyst on his brain.
Meyer remains at Ohio State as an athletics administrator, and will serve as an analyst for Fox and Big Ten Network this season.
Earlier this month, Meyer reiterated to ESPN that he thinks he's "done coaching," and added that he just doesn't have the desire any longer to put himself through the rigors of the profession.
"There are a lot of things I miss about it -- being with the players, meeting with the staff," Meyer said. "But I'm in a good place right now. I really am."
He also conceded that the element of coaching that wore on him is one that every coach faces.
"What I hate about it is losing. It's like my whole body would shut down," Meyer said.
"There are a lot of things I miss about it -- being with the players, meeting with the staff. But I'm in a good place right now. I really am." Urban Meyer
Meyer rarely lost, though, and remains one of only two FBS head coaches (Nick Saban is the other) to win two national championships at two different schools. So even though Meyer might think he's done, that doesn't mean he won't have one opportunity after another to return to coaching.
But will he? Most of his coaching counterparts think the lure of returning to the sideline will be too strong to overcome.
"It's gotta be a place where he knows he can go in and win big and win right way, a place like USC, but I also don't know that Urban would want to go out West, especially with his family so close by in Ohio," one FBS head coach said. "It's going to have to be a setup that he's comfortable with. But when it's Urban Meyer and somebody's who won as much as he has, schools are going to be willing to let him set it up the way he wants to. I know his health issues were real and something he was genuinely concerned about, but I have a hard time seeing him walk away for good. It may not be 2020, but I'd be very surprised if he's not back by 2021."
A Power 5 coach "guaranteed" that Meyer would be back on the sideline, saying, "No doubt in my mind. He'll probably end up at USC." The Smith scandal is part of Meyer's legacy at Ohio State and could be a concern for a school like USC, which has endured several recent controversies. But a Power 5 athletic director this week said it wouldn't stop schools from hiring Meyer, adding that the coach "absolutely" will be back. Another FBS coach said he would be "shocked" if Meyer didn't coach again at some point.
"It's kind of just the same story repeating itself," the coach said. "He will probably take a little time and wait on the right job, which is smart. He's still young, but he's very competitive. He's too good at what he does to stay away for good."
A Big Ten coach agreed: "There's always a coach in you. When you're a coach, especially when he did it at the level he did with the success he had, I don't know if that ever goes away. I don't think the chance of you ever coming back ever goes away. Whether you say you're done, or whether you know you're done, there's still always that chance or that opportunity."
The question is when. Several coaches said Meyer would return only if he feels confident the cyst wouldn't impact him as much as it did in 2018, when he spent many games in visible pain on the Ohio State sideline.
"I think he's back in 2020, but that's sort of been the narrative with him. He gets out and then gets back in," a coach said. "All us coaches are sort of wired the same way. Coaching football gets ingrained in you, and it's hard to stay away."
Who would coaches want to coach their sons?
We asked a group of FBS head coaches whom they would send their sons to play for if it wasn't them.
Here are some of their responses:
• "I've got several, but [Duke's] David Cutcliffe and [Stanford's] David Shaw would be right up there, and not because of who they are as coaches, but who they are as people. They're genuine. They're authentic and truly love the players. There are others, but those are two I would sign off and send my kids to in a heartbeat."
• "It's hard to name just one. I have so much respect for Chris Petersen and what he does at Washington and the class he handles himself with on a day-to-day basis. The family that Dabo Swinney has built at Clemson is tremendous, and especially if you've got a kid who's a quarterback, look at what Lincoln Riley has done at Oklahoma. I love the way [Boston College's] Steve Addazio is a hard-charger and makes guys accountable and makes them grow up."
• "I'd have to strongly consider Dabo Swinney because he seems to have a good perspective on things and a good balance. He's done it at the highest level, but kids still enjoy themselves and still have a great experience there, and he's teaching the right principles and disciplines that you need to be successful for the rest of your life. You want to win at the highest level, but you also want to enjoy your college experience. Dabo allows you to do both."
• "It would be [Iowa's] Kirk [Ferentz] and it would be [Michigan State's] Mark [Dantonio]. Kirk has done just an amazing job. There's a consistency there. You see his players' love for him, and there's just been great program development there. And I would say the same thing about Mark. Coach D has done a great job at State. The longevity that both of those guys have had shows in the way their players absolutely love playing for those two guys."
• "I would send my son to Dabo for a lot of reasons. His kids get their degrees. It's a family environment there, and he has his players isolated there in a way that they're not all over the place. They're all right there together, and he brings everything to them, whether it's the putt-putt course, all the amenities they have there at the football complex, and the kids want to be there and are around each other all the time, and they grow and have respect for each other, kids from all different backgrounds."
• "Two guys I don't know very well, but I really respect what they do, I've always been a big fan of David Shaw at Stanford. And Coach [Chris] Petersen at Washington, too. Did a great job at Boise, and he looks like he's doing a great job up there."
• "My choice would be Barry Odom at Missouri because I know no matter how good or how bad things got that he was going to teach them the right character traits and mold them into the kind of men it takes to make a difference in this world."
• "Having so many people in this profession that I respect, I couldn't narrow it down to just one. But there's a reason guys like Gary Patterson at TCU and Kirk Ferentz at Iowa have done it as long as they have at the same place, and then when you look at how well they develop football players and how their players just continue to get better every year, those two guys would be hard to beat."
• "Mark Dantonio. I just respect him. He's a guy that does it the right way and is a high-character guy. I love his emphasis on defense. He's the kind of man you want your son to be around."