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Thursday’s Thoughts of Football in The SEC
Published: June 30, 2009
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There’s a lot of Sunday coach’s shows I don’t watch, but of all the ones I do, it seems old Yeller Feller is tossing his cash toward that school. Now it may be savvy marketing and I’m sure he’s hitting a large male audience, but he’s about the biggest Auburn booster this side of Bobby Lowder.
So I wonder if it sticks in his craw when he must know most of his sponsorship dollars are going straight in Nick Saban’s pockets as well as the other coaches. These shows are big cash generators for the coaches you know.
Heck, he even films a lot of commercials with them, or did, until his cowboy fantasy took over.
We know his sponsorship gets him the ‘private’ numbers of the coaches because his late night call to Houston Nutt gave Tuberville the last laugh in his firing. If you don’t know that whole story, go to Intrigue, Conspiracy and a Great Story May Have Gotten Gene Chizik a Job
But I wonder if he gets ‘other’ perks? Surely a seat or two… In a nice skybox? Inside information? No wait that was Franchione’s sponsors.
I can’t think of another company that sponsors so many coaches shows, there has to be a reason I’m missing. It’s not like they’re expanding Bryant Denny Stadium with Osmose Pressure Treated Wood.
And where would my Thursday Thoughts be without a dig a Lane Kiffin. This week he received a commitment from a 13 year old. Yes that’s right, a 13 year old.
Something’s kind of wrong with taking a commitment from a kid who doesn’t even need to wear a cup yet.
And to think I was making jokes about Saban taking commitments for the 2011 class.
Speaking of commits, with each team now limited in the number of commits they can sign, each has to be done with a little more care. It also makes getting them in the fold faster more important.
With that in mind, here’s the breakdown of 2010 commits in the books, even if it is only written in pencil.
Team Commits Points
Alabama – 18 2765
Florida – 15 2312
LSU – 15 2049
Georgia – 12 1977
Tennessee – 11 1221
South Carolina – 12 960
Auburn – 8 854
Vanderbilt – 11 512
Arkansas – 6 367
Miss State – 5 223
Mississippi – 2 88
Kentucky – 1 72
Now let’s examine what’s going on and just put it all in perspective with a few statements sure to cause a few thoughts to spin through your head.
Bobby Petrino at Arkansas is supposed to be a Nick Saban type genius and he’s got half the recruits so far Bobby Johnson at Vandy.
You wonder why I never talk about Kentucky? One commit so far? Maybe his dad was a former player or something, they’re so boring I haven’t checked.
Where’s all the excitement over Houston Nutt’s big turnaround at Ole Miss? It sure don’t seem everyone’s lining up to jump on that wagon does it?
Gene Chizik is running about as far behind Nick Saban as Tuberville did, so it’s sort of hard to see a lot of results coming from the Tiger Prowl and the other gimmicks so far, but hey, it’s early, he still time to be embarrassed even more.
For all the bluster and loud talk and despite signing one of the nations top recruits, the rest must really be a lot no talent commits for Tennessee to still be mired in the middle behind Florida and Georgia yet again.
My guess is that’s where they’ll finish the season in wins also.
It seems like that ‘All World’ recruiting coaching lineup still has a lot to live up to before they come close to cashing those checks their big mouths were writing, but hey, it’s still early and things could get better or worse for them.
That’s all for this Thursday. Until next week…..
Thursday Thoughts on SEC Football
Published: June 18, 2009
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What a difference a week makes to Alabama.
Last Thursday, Bama fans were waiting for the shoe to fall, and it wasn’t as bad as some feared when the NCAA’s decision was finally announced.
Now, the Crimson Tide is ready to fight to overturn much of the penalties handed down.
Most insiders feel confident Alabama will prevail, but pardon us fans while we sit nervous for a few more months.
It seems Dan Mullen is going to have to storm a television station with a gun to get any headlines this offseason.
Even people around Starkville are still saying, “Dan who?”
I’m not sure if it’s good to fly this far under the radar, so it will be interesting to see how this works out for him.
Speaking of the radar, apparently the muzzle that Tennessee Athletic Director ordered has arrived, because you haven’t heard anything from Lane Kiffin lately.
For all of you that bet it would be a month or more until Kiffin said something else stupid, congratulations!
Speaking of Tennessee, I read an article that said former coach Phil Fulmer had turned down opportunities to work in the pros and was still waiting for a college team that is “ready to contend” to come calling.
Uh, Phil, if they were ready to contend, why would they dump the coach they have and hire you? After watching you phone in that last year, no big-name team will ever come calling.
Do you even realize how silly your statement is?
You knew Mark Richt started cringing when sportswriters started talking about Urban Meyer’s 24 players being arrested.
Richt knew it was just a matter of time until someone started mentioning that he had 30 arrested over that same time frame.
But of Meyer’s 24 players arrested, only six were ones he spent a year recruiting and bringing in. That’s just two a year over a three-year period.
Richt’s been at Georgia for eight years. You do the math.
And since we’re talking arrests, Tennessee may have had 21 arrested during that same time, but chalk all those up to Fulmer.
I’ve been accused of kicking Kiffin. Actually, I just report it when he kicks himself.
But I have to give Kiffin credit for doing something right. He’s taken the most recent “most arrested” team, and turned them into choir boys.
This is one area that even the staunchest critics of Kiffin should give him some “Attaboys.”
Steve Spurrier seems to be getting together a nice little recruiting class.
Yes, I know it’s early, and the class is only ranked the 22nd-best in the country at this point. But he did get Connor Shaw, a very decent three-star quarterback, away from Georgia Tech to come to South Carolina.
So my question is: Why is South Carolina also signing a one-star quarterback?
Really Steve? A one-star QB? Aren’t you saving a few of the 28 scholarships for something a little better?
Every time I think Spurrier is taking a step forward at South Carolina, things like this pop up and make me question him all over again.
I hope maybe Spurrier saw the ability that he could be a three-star cornerback or something other than a less-than-good quarterback.
Even Vanderbilt got three-star player Nash Nance, and they only have four commits right now.
Speaking of recruiting, there’s two things Les Miles can do well. One is escape a straight jacket, and the other is recruit.
The Tigers rank No. 10 right now and have nothing lower than a three-star commit out of their 10 recruits so far.
This year, recruiting could come down to a three-way race between Alabama, LSU and Florida.
Oh well, that’s it for tonight. Thanks for taking the time to let me share my Thursday Thoughts about the SEC with you.
Until next week.
