Staying at Hawaii would have been the easy choice for June Jones. It was the challenge of rebuilding a tattered football program that led him to take the coaching job at Southern Methodist, which stumbled to a 1-11 record this season.
"Where you are now excites me because the only way is up, and I am good at going up," Jones said Monday.
School officials hope Jones can bring some of Hawaii's run-and-shoot magic, which produced 43 points per game, an undefeated regular season and a BCS bowl berth this year.
Etc. • Central Florida running back Kevin Smith, after previously announcing he would return for his senior season, is entering the NFL draft. Smith had 2,567 yards rushing and 29 TDs this season.
• Cornerback Aqib Talib and left tackle Anthony Collins, the first position players to make All-America at Kansas since 1973, will pass up their senior season and enter the NFL draft.
• Texas tight end Jermichael Finley said he'll leave school early to enter the NFL draft. Finley caught 45 passes for 573 yards and two touchdowns as a third-year sophomore last season.
• Virginia Tech cornerback Brandon Flowers will forgo his senior year to enter the NFL draft. Flowers was a second-team AP All-America his sophomore and junior years.
• Joe Austin, offensive coordinator at Dubuque the past three years, was named football coach at Hanover (Ind.) College. Austin previously was an assistant at Augsburg and at his alma mater, Concordia (St. Paul).
