COLLEGE WEEKLY NOTEBOOK BY BRENT BEAIRD
SEC 2011 Schedule Difficulty
|
Rank |
School |
Points |
Games Away From Home |
Why So Tough, So Easy? |
|
1 |
LSU |
166 |
6 |
Oregon and WVU away from home + SEC schedule |
|
2 |
Ole Miss |
163 |
5 |
BYU, Fresno St. solid non-conf games |
|
3 |
Arkansas |
158 |
5 |
SC, UT, MSU, at LSU to close season |
|
4 |
S. Carolina |
152 |
5 |
3-game stretch at MSU, at UT, at Ark |
|
5t |
Auburn |
151 |
5 |
4-game stretch of at SC, at Ark, UF, at LSU |
|
5t |
Florida |
151 |
5 |
4-game stretch of Ala, at LSU, at Aub, UGA (Jax) |
|
7 |
Miss. State |
146 |
6 |
Memphis, La. Tech, UAB, UT-Martin non-conf games |
|
8 |
Georgia |
144 |
6 |
Boise St., SC to open the season |
|
9 |
Vanderbilt |
142 |
5 |
Finish at UT, at W. Forest |
|
10 |
Alabama |
139 |
5 |
Kent St., N. Texas, Ga. Southern bad non-conf games; Penn State |
|
11 |
Tennessee |
138 |
4 |
7 of first 9 games at home |
|
12 |
Kentucky |
122 |
5 |
W. Ky, C. Mich, L’ville, Jax. St. bad non-conf games |
Mrsec.com
SEC juniors to the NFL: Randall Cobb, WR, Kentucky Marcell Dareus, DT, Alabama AJ Green, WR, Georgia Tori Gurley, WR, South Carolina Will Hill, FS, Florida Justin Houston, LB, Georgia Mark Ingram, RB, Alabama Julio Jones, WR, Alabama Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas Cam Newton QB and Nick Fairley DT, Auburn Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU and Stevan Ridley, RB, LSU, Jerrell Powe DT Ole Miss.
ALABAMA: Curt Cignetti, who has been the University of Alabama's wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator since 2007, will be introduced as the new head coach at Indiana University (Pennsylvania) on Friday morning. Cignetti, who recently interviewed and was a finalist for the head coaching opening at Kent State, is the third Alabama assistant coach to leave since the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1. Defensive line coach Bo Davis went to Texas and was replaced by Clemson's Chris Rumph, while Jeff Stoutland was hired from Miami as offensive line coach to replace to Joe Pendry, who retired.
TIDE ATTEDANCE MARK: The University of Alabama football team had the fourth-best home attendance in the nation during the 2010 season, topped only by Big Ten programs by bigger stadiums, according to figures released by the National Collegiate Athletic Association on Thursday.
With the completion of the south end zone expansion, adding the final upper deck at Bryant-Denny Stadium, the Crimson Tide moved up from eighth in 2009 (92,012), and led the Southeastern Conference with an average of 101,821 fans per game. Only Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State attracted more.
The SEC, which has led the nation in football attendance since 1997, had nine of the top 25 teams for average attendance, all but No. 35 Ole Miss (55,898), No. 37 Mississippi State (54,999), and No. 72 Vanderbilt (33,269). Of the 12 programs, 11 had their stadiums at 92 percent capacity or better, with four at 100 percent or better.
Alabama drew 712,747 fans over seven games, using its other Saturday to complete a home-and-home at Duke. Overall, the only schools to play eight home games this past season were Ohio State, Auburn and Hawaii.
School (Average attendance)
1. Michigan (111,825) 2. Ohio State (105,278) 3. Penn State (104,234)
4. Alabama (101,821) 5. Texas (100,654) 6. Tennessee (99,781)7. Georgia (92,746)
8. LSU (92,718) 9. Florida (90,511) 10. Auburn (86,087)
CYRUS UPDATE: The recruiting process is coming to a close for five-star offensive tackle prospect Cyrus Kouandjio, and the nation's top-ranked offensive tackle couldn't be happier. "I am planning on announcing Signing Day. I don't have any plans right now how I am going to do it other than it will be at the school. Right now, it is Alabama, Auburn, Iowa and New Mexico. I am still considering them all." Kouandjio was an Under Armour All-American and was a strong performer in both practice and the game in Florida. (bol.com)
ARKANSAS: Razorback officials unveiled the drawings for a new, $35 million football operations center, which is set to begin construction sometime this year. The 80,000-square-foot facility will house new coaches offices, locker rooms, team meeting rooms, training rooms, equipment rooms, lounges, a study area and football museum. The total time of construction is projected to be 18 months. (hawgsports.com)
HOGS/TIGERS TV SET: After a two-year layoff, the battle for the Golden Boot will return to its rightful place — the Friday after Thanksgiving — this fall. That’s great news on the recruiting front for LSU and Arkansas. Especially Arkansas. From 1995 through 2008 the Razorbacks and Tigers played on the Friday afternoon after Turkey Day. CBS tabbed the Iron Bowl for that slot the past two seasons. But this year’s Hogs-Tigers game is already on the books for a 2:30pm ET kickoff… back on Friday. (mrsec.com)
AUBURN: Christian Westerman, Rivals’ No. 3 offensive tackle and the No. 27 player in the country, will make an announcement about his future at noon today at his high school in Hamilton, Ariz. He is expected to choose between Texas and Auburn.
The 6-foot-5, 288-pound Westerman committed to Texas in April but opened things up after the Longhorns replaced most of their coaching staff, including line coach Mac McWhorter. Westerman visited Auburn on Dec. 17 and reportedly developed a rapport with Grimes, who interviewed with Texas after the Tigers’ BCS championship victory but opted to stay put. Westerman was considering trips to USC and Oregon but canceled both. He is scheduled to visit Texas this weekend, although today’s announcement could change those plans. (ledger-enquirer)
Auburn offensive line coach Jeff Grimes, who recently interviewed for a similar position at the University of Texas, will remain at Auburn, head coach Gene Chizik has announced.
ADAMS GONE: Junior Darvin Adams, who caught 52 passes for 963 yards and seven touchdowns in 2010, has elected to forgo his senior season and enter the NFL draft, the University confirmed. Adams is the third underclassmen from Auburn to declare for the draft joining Cameron Newton and Nick Fairley (auburnsports.com).
FLORIDA: Weekend visitors
|
Name |
Pos. |
Stars |
RR |
Ht/Wt |
Visit Date |
Schools |
|
Johnathan Jenkins |
DT |
|
5.9 |
6-4/340 |
January 28 |
list |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Tevin Westbrook |
DE |
|
5.6 |
6-5/260 |
January 28 |
list |
|
Jacob Fisher |
OL |
|
5.7 |
6-7/270 |
January 21 |
list |
|
Marcus Roberson |
DB |
|
6.0 |
6-1/170 |
January 21 |
Texas Tech |
|
James Vaughters |
LB |
|
5.9 |
6-2/233 |
January 21 |
Stanford |
BLAKELY HURT: Mike Blakely enrolled early at Florida so he could get a jumpstart on his collegiate career by participating in spring practice. Unfortunately, an injury wrench has been tossed into those plans. According to the Gainesville Sun, and citing a source close to the football program, the running back will miss spring practice due to a shoulder injury. Surgery is scheduled to be performed on the shoulder Wednesday.
HOUNSHELL DECOMMITS: According to his Facebook page, offensive line prospect Chase Hounshell has decommitted and committed to Notre Dame. Over the weekend, Hounshell said he remained committed to play for Florida after meeting with Coach Will Muschamp and other members of the coaching staff this afternoon.
STAFF COMPLETE: Gatorbait.net has confirmed that Bryant Young will be hired as Florida's defensive line coach, filling out new head coach Will Muschamp's staff for his first season in Gainesville. Young left Notre Dame after Weis was fired as head coach and joined San Jose State as the defensive line coach. He joins Dan Quinn (defensive coordinator), Travaris Robinson (defensive backs) and D.J. Durkin (linebackers) on Muschamp's defensive staff. (gatorbait.net)
GEORGIA: Weekend visitors
|
Name |
Pos. |
Stars |
RR |
Ht/Wt |
Visit Date |
Schools |
|
David Andrews |
OL |
|
5.7 |
6-2/275 |
January 21 |
Georgia |
|
Isaiah Crowell |
RB |
|
6.1 |
5-11/210 |
January 21 |
list |
|
Watts Dantzler |
OL |
|
5.7 |
6-7/315 |
January 21 |
Georgia |
|
Quintavious Harrow |
DB |
|
- |
6-0/190 |
January 21 |
list |
|
Johnathan Jenkins |
DT |
|
5.9 |
6-4/340 |
January 21 |
list |
|
Sanford Seay |
WR |
|
5.6 |
6-2/198 |
January 21 |
Georgia |
|
Kent Turene |
LB |
|
5.7 |
6-3/230 |
January 21 |
USC |
MITCHELL COMMITS: Valdosta High proved to be very, very good for the Georgia Bulldogs, who not quite two hours after securing a verbal commitment from tight end Jay Rome Thursday afternoon added the name of Malcolm Mitchell to the list during a ceremony at a local restaurant.
Mitchell becomes Georgia's 21st verbal commitment. Like Rome, the 6-foot-1, 187-pounder chose Georgia over Alabama. Mitchell is the nation's top-ranked cornerback and ranked 30th overall nationally according to Rivals.com.
ROME COMMITS: For Valdosta High tight end Jay Rome, it was all about relationships. With that, the four-star performer and son of a South Georgia football legend made it official, announcing on ESPNU Thursday afternoon that he was going to sign with Georgia. Rome (6-foot-5, 255), the state's fourth-ranked player and fourth-ranked tight end nationally is Georgia's 20th verbal commitment. He will sign with the Bulldogs on Feb. 2, National Signing Day. The country's 56th best prospect according to Rivals.com chose the Bulldogs over Alabama, Clemson, Tennessee and a host of other powerhouse schools
HARROW COMMITS: Carver's Quintavious Harrow said he couldn't wait until his official visit to Athens this weekend. The 6-foot, 190-pounder who is being recruited as a safety and special teams performer, becomes Georgia's 19th verbal commitment and will sign with the Bulldogs on Feb. 2, National Signing Day.
SEARELS TO TEXAS: Stacy Searels, the former offensive line coach at Georgia and LSU, and an All-America offensive lineman as a player at Auburn, has been named offensive line coach at Texas, head coach Mack Brown announced Thursday. Searels joins the Longhorns after coaching the offensive line at Georgia for four seasons beginning in 2007. He added the duties of running game coordinator in 2009. During his time in Athens, the Bulldogs have ranked in the Top 25 in the nation in fewest sacks allowed three times, including ranking sixth and leading the SEC in 2009 with just 12.
HOUSTON TO NFL: Just a few hours ahead of the midnight deadline for draft-eligible underclassmen to declare their intentions, Justin Houston has decided at which level he will play in 2011. Unfortunately for the Georgia coaching staff and their fans, the expected happened. The All-SEC linebacker announced just a short while ago that he has decided to forego his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the April draft. Houston is the second UGA underclassman to declare for the draft; last weekend, wide receiver A.J. Green did the expected and jumped into the NFL draft pool early. In 2010, Houston led the SEC in sacks during the regular season with 10. The 6-3, 258-pounder was also a finalist for the Butkus and Nagurski awards. His 20 career sacks ranks seventh in school history. (cft.com and tigerbait.com)
LSU: Les Miles was offered more money to become Michigan's football coach last week, turned it down twice and got a new contract at LSU, but he will make the same salary he has made since 2008 and will be cheaper to fire than under the old deal. Miles was offered more than $4 million to coach Michigan, but he is staying at LSU for $3.75 million a year plus more incentive money and a new extension through the 2017 season — three years more than the old contract.
"He was offered more than 4 million to become the Michigan coach," LSU Board of Supervisors member Stanley Jacobs said Friday. "When he said no, they came back and offered him more. And he said no again." Jacobs, a former president of the Tiger Athletic Foundation fundraising arm of the athletic department and of the LSU athletic council, has been close to comings and goings of LSU football coaches for more than a decade.
Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon, however, has maintained the job was never offered to Miles, a former Michigan player and assistant coach under legendary coach Bo Schembechler, or to Jim Harbaugh, another former Michigan player who recently left Stanford to coach the San Francisco 49ers after interviewing with Brandon before Miles did. (shreveporttimes.com)
STAFF INFORMATION: Steve Kragthorpe, who spent seven years as the head coach at Tulsa and Louisville, has been named offensive coordinator at LSU, head coach Les Miles announced on Thursday.
SCHEDULED IN 2011: The Tigers will have two SEC games on non-traditional playing dates - the Arkansas game on Friday, Nov. 25 and the Mississippi State game on Thursday, Sept. 15 in Starkville. LSU will have just five Saturday games in Tiger Stadium - Northwestern State (Sept. 10), Kentucky (Oct. 1), Florida (Oct. 8), Auburn (Oct. 22) and Western Kentucky (Nov. 12). Only the Northwestern State and Western Kentucky games are assured of being night games.
LSU coach Les Miles announced earlier this week that spring practice will begin Friday, Mar. 14. Drills will end with the spring game Saturday, Apr. 9. In recent seasons, Miles has conducted the spring game on an earlier date - Mar. 27 in 2010 and Apr. 5 in 2008. (tigerbait.com)
SOUTH CAROLINA: Spurrier re-shuffled some of the responsibilities of his coaching staff on Friday, aiming to deal with two of South Carolina's biggest problems in 2010. Pass defense, which gouged the Gamecocks again and again, and special teams, which usually held serve but hardly ever gave USC an advantage, needed to be addressed.
Spurrier switched his assistants' responsibilities in those two areas. Shane Beamer takes over sole control of special teams while Jeep Hunter crosses over to defense. He'll coach the Gamecocks' safeties while Lorenzo Ward coaches cornerbacks, with Ward and Ellis Johnson overseeing the entire defense. (gamecockcentral.com)
OLE MISS: With Gunter Brewer joining the Ole Miss football staff as Houston Nutt’s receivers coach/pass game coordinator/associate head coach, Kyle Veazey of the Jackson Clarion-Ledger reached out to Billy Brewer for a reaction. Brewer coached the Rebels from 1983 to 1993 before being ousted during an NCAA investigation into his program. In 1999 he sued the University of Mississippi for breach of contract and eventually won $221,355 from the school. “My deal with Ole Miss is good,” the elder Brewer said. “It got better with Houston. He welcomed me. It was a great relationship. He made you feel warm, he made you feel welcome. Just like anybody.”
ACC NOTES
ACC player (9) to the NFL: Clemson: Da’Quan Bowers, DE; Jamie Harper, RB Georgia Tech: Nick Claytor, OT Maryland: Torrey Smith, WR/KR; Kenny Tate, S Miami: Brandon Harris, CB Virginia: Zane Parr, DE Virginia Tech: Darren Evans, RB; Ryan Williams, RB
FLORIDA STATE: Weekend visitors: James Wilder, Jr., Karlos Williams, Tim Jernigan, Aundrey Walker, Tony Steward, Elkino Watson, Keelin Smith (Unofficial,) Lamarcus Brutus, (Unofficial)
Giorgio Newberry
Top ten targets: QB Jacoby Brissett - West Palm Beach (FL) Dwyer (6-5/225 4.5) DE Anthony Chickillo - Alonso (FL) Tampa (6-3/226) DE Jadeveon Clowney - South Point (SC) Roc k Hill (6-6/247) OLB Arrington Jenkins - Coral Park (FL) Miami (6-2/215) DT Tim Jernigan - Columbia (FL) Lake City (6-2/275) OL Josue Matias - Union City (NJ) Union City (6-5/290 TE Nick O'Leary - West Palm Beach (FL) Dwyer (6-4/235) DE Jermauria Rasco - Shreveport (LA) Evangel Christian (6-3/250) LB Tony Steward - St. Augustine (FL) Pedro Menendez (6-2/225) DT Elkino Watson - Booker T. Washington (FL) Miami (6-2/275)
(Tony Steward visited Clemson this past weekend) "I enjoyed it," Steward said. "It was the first time I ever saw snow. It was beautiful and I liked it. It was great. I got to bring my mom along and she liked it too. We had breakfast, talked with (wide receivers) coach (Jeff) Scott, took a tour, hung out with the players and I got to know a lot of the recruits. I saw Tony McNeal and Jeoffrey Pagan. That dude is a trip." The nation's No. 1 linebacker details what stood out to him.
Who leads? "It's still tied at the top," Steward said. "It's 50/50 with Clemson and the Seminoles."
FIRST COAST COMMITS VISIT: Over the weekend, First Coast (Jacksonville, Fla.) High School was well represented in Tallahassee as two future Seminoles took their official visits. From all indications, the talented duo of RB Eric Beverly and DL Derrick Mitchell left Florida State with an even better impression of the football program and campus. (warchant.com)
N. C. STATE: When you’re as talented as North Carolina State quarterback Russell Wilson, there’s no need to limit your options. Wilson, a two-sport athlete in baseball and football for the Wolfpack, decided not to enter the NFL Draft yesterday and is leaving open the chance to return as the starting quarterback for NC State next season, a source close to Wilson told ESPN’s Joe Schad.
Wilson still plans to attend the spring training for the Colorado Rockies, who drafted him this past year. Wilson could either sign a baseball-only contract with the Rockies, or likely leave some money on the table and stick around college for another year, a la Clemson’s Kyle Parker.
MIAMI: Citing a source close to the coach, the Palm Beach Post is reporting that Golden has spoken to ex-UM offensive line coach Art Kehoe Thursday about a return to the university. A private plane provided by a booster flew Golden to Kehoe’s home in Taylor, Mississippi (no relation), where the new head coach met with the long-time assistant for several hours.
Kehoe had spent most of his adult life associated with Miami, first as a player under Howard Schnellenberger in 1979-80 and then as an assistant for 25 years under four different head coaches. His run ended very unceremoniously and with a heaping side order of acrimony when he was dismissed shortly after the end of the 2005 season. After the dismissal, Kehoe filed a civil lawsuit against the university seeking, among other financial considerations, five months pay he was owed and a bonus for reaching a bowl game. UM ultimately agreed to the demands in the suit, and apparently there are no lingering hard feelings on either side.
Kehoe spent two seasons as line coach on Ed Orgeron‘s Ole Miss coaching staff in 2006-07, then held the same job at Louisiana Tech in 2008. The last two years, the 52-year-old coach was the line coach for Sacramento’s UFL franchise. (cft.com)
EARLY ENROLLES: At least two new Hurricanes will be on Miami's campus starting this week. Commitments Thomas Finnie (three-star CB from Miami Central) and Olsen Pierre (three-star defensive end from Fork Union) both confirmed for CaneSport that they are on track to enroll
Quarterback Stephen Weatherford is also hoping to enroll early at UM if he gets an offer.
GROOMS COMMITS: South Broward High School athlete Kevin Grooms sat down Sunday night and hammered out a decision: He would be a Hurricane. And he figured there was no better time to break the news to the Canes than during an in-home visit scheduled for today with coaches Al Golden and Terry Richardson.
KINARD COMMITS: Hargrave (VA) Military Academy LB Antonio Kinard wasn't recruited by Miami in high school. And he never heard a peep from the Canes until coach Paul Williams went to his prep school two weeks ago to meet with Marcus McDade. Kinard committed to UM coaches at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Kinard was also strongly considering Iowa and Clemson, but Iowa told him it didn't have a scholarship available for him anymore and he felt UM wanted him more than the Tigers.
Weekend visitors
SEC HOOPS
FLORIDA: Florida couldn't hit threes all night, but managed to find a hot streak when it counted. The Tigers held the lead for the majority of the game, but fell to the Gators 45-40 in the final minutes at the Auburn Arena Thursday night. Florida made just 19 percent of its shots from beyond the arc, but consecutive threes from Kenny Boynton and Erving Walker made it a 43-40 game in the Gators' favor with 1:14 remaining. The final ended up being the lowest scoring game of the regular season and the closest SEC contest of the year for Auburn.
It was also the lowest Auburn score since the Tigers defeated Mississippi State in the 1982 SEC tournament. Auburn won 38-36 in overtime.
Tonight's loss was the lowest Auburn score since the shot clock was instituted. The 45 points from Florida was the lowest Gator output since head coach Billy Donovan arrived 15 years ago. As a team, the Tigers went 1-for-8 at the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Ty Armstrong made his first appearance of the season after tearing his left ACL in mid-August. Armstrong scored two points and added three rebounds in his eight minutes of play. Walker led the Gators with 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and a steal. Boynton finished with nine points. (auburnsports.com)
GEORGIA: Georgia coach Mark Fox pondered the question carefully. Did Tennessee's Brian Williams go over the back of Bulldog Chris Barnes before his basket at the buzzer gave Tennessee it's 59-57 win Tuesday night at Stegeman Coliseum?
After scoring 98 points in a win Saturday at Ole Miss, Georgia (13-4, 2-2) found the points much harder to come by against the Vols who held the Bulldogs to just 20-of-47 from the field (42.6) for the game. Tennessee (12-6, 2-2) also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 34-to-28. Leslie and Gerald Robinson Jr. led the Bulldogs with 14 points apiece, followed by Trey Thompkins with 13. Ware Harris and Hopson led Tennessee with 15 points apiece. Williams finished with 10 (ugasports.com.
ALABAMA: Although Alabama came oh-so-close to squandering a 20-point lead, the No. 12 Wildcats couldn't complete the comeback as the Crimson Tide held on for a dramatic, and narrow, 68-66 victory before a full house of 14,859 fans.
The players even celebrated with some of them before leaving the court and brought a smile to the face of Coach Anthony Grant.
"It's probably an understatement to say it's a great win for our team," he said, as Alabama improved to 11-7 overall, 3-1 in the SEC and 10-0 at home. It also nearly ran the full spectrum of emotions as for three-fourths of the game Alabama out-hustled and out-worked Kentucky (14-4, 2-2 SEC), as evidenced by the Tide's 41-34 advantage in rebounds. At one point of the first half it enjoyed a 9-0 run, with contributions being made by more than the usual suspects like Green, who had a game-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. (bol.com)
