Fast Times in the SEC

2009-04-13T08:20:00.001-05:00

Friday Night SEC Nuggets

2009-04-03T19:29:00.007-05:00

Good evening everybody,

Here's a couple of news nuggets from around the SEC being reported this afternoon:

1. LSU head coach Les Miles has announced that redshirt freshman defensive back Phelon Jones will be transferring to another school. The school Jones will be transferring to was not mentioned.

2. Linebacker Brandon Fanney returned to participate in Alabama's spring practices today. Don't expect any statements from head coach Nick Saban about his return to the team until tomorrow.

3. The Kentucky Wildcats football team got a surprise visit today as head footbal;l coach Rich Brooks introduced them to new head basketball coach John Calipari (the guy making twice Brooks' salary).

Volunteer Running Back Quits Team

2009-04-03T09:05:00.005-05:00

Running back Lennon Creer, the Tennessee Volunteers' leading returning rusher from last season has quit the team according to head coach Lane Kiffin. ESPN's Chris Low opines that the Vols won't be in all that bad shape as they have considerable depth at the position, having recently landed running backs Bryce Brown and David Oku.

LSU Tigers Complete Second Scrimmage of Spring

2009-04-03T08:25:00.003-05:00

Head coach Les Miles put his team through their second scrimmage of spring practices on Thursday afternoon in Tiger Stadium.

In the Tigers' last scrimmage, the defense had snuffed the offense's ability to score. There was some improvement shown by the offense in yesterday's scrimmage as it was able to score three touchdowns against the defense. However, that may be a "glass half full" view of the unit's performance as Miles admitted that the offense was given a shorter field as it was allowed to start on the 50 yard line.

Actual statistics from the scrimmage were unavailable, but Miles stated that Jarrett Lee threw two touchdown passes (one to Deangelo Peterson for 25 yards and one to Brandon LaFell for 23 yards). Running back Keiland Williams was also said to have scored on an 18-yard run. Miles also said that running backs Richard Murphy and Charles Scott performed well.

Miles summarized his take on the practice saying, "It was pretty evenly matched. The offense made some plays. The defense made some plays. It was a good go. A lot of ones versus ones and twos versus twos."

The Tigers will not practice again until April 13, once the team has returned from spring break. Their spring game will take place on April 18.

Spring Practices Are Over at Vanderbilt

2009-04-03T08:21:00.006-05:00

The Vanderbilt Commodores wrapped up spring practices on Thursday. Here's a quick link to an article by the Tennessean which reports on head coach Bobby Johnson's take on the progress made in spring, among other topics.

Rain Forces Auburn Practice Indoors; Tigers Prepare for Saturday Scrimmage

2009-04-03T07:56:00.006-05:00

Head coach Gene Chizik was able to put his Tigers through about an hour's worth of practice outdoors before rain forced the team into the team's indoor practice facility. The team practiced in shells for the first time.

When offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn was brought on to Chizik's staff, it was promised that Auburn would return to its roots as a run-first offense. It appears that the team is moving in that direction as most of the positive reviews from the coaching staff have been regarding Auburn's running backs.

After Thursday's practice, running backs coach Curtis Luper said that his players were getting a good handle on the offense and that he was pleased with the play of Ben Tate, Eric Smith and Onterio McCalebb. Mario Fannin, who will be looked upon to also be a kick returner and possible slot reciever, has had his participation limited by an ankle injury.

Chizik is looking forward to putting the Tigers through their first scrimmage on Saturday. The scrimmage is expected to include 90-100 plays and involve game-like situations with SEC officials on hand.

Mississippi State Thursday Practice Report

2009-04-03T07:40:00.004-05:00

Head coach Dan Mullen juggled hosting a coaching clinic for 250 coaches and putting his Bulldogs through a workout on Thursday. The Bulldogs practiced in shells and helmets outdoors before being forced indoors by the threat of bad weather.

Mullen seemed to be pleased with his team's effort. After the practice Mullen said, “We were able to get some good work done today. We seem to be picking it up, and the effort was really good.”

The Bulldogs will practice again today. On Saturday, the team will participate in a practice with a number of scrimmage-like sessions.

Mullen is also attempting to generate more fan interest in the Bulldogs' spring game. The game will be part of a larger "Super Bulldog Weekend," with events on campus during the course of the weekend. Some extra bells and whistles are being added to the spring game itself, such as hosting student games during halftime and allowing one winner to assist in coaching one of the teams - including drafting the team's players and providing a pregame speech. The winner of the coaching competition will be determined by an online auction.

As the SEC's Collective Wallet Fattens So Do Its Coaches' Salaries

2009-04-02T10:04:00.014-05:00

The Atlanta Journal Constitution's Tony Barnhart today provides some good commentary about the spending habits of the SEC and its possible repercussions. The league is about to hit some serious paydirt as it has recently entered into 15 year contracts with ESPN and CBS which will generate a whopping three billion dollars. I encourage you to go over to his blog and read it.

Some interesting factoids pulled from his posting:

–In January of 2007, Alabama hired Nick Saban as its head football coach for $32 million over eight years.

–After winning the BCS national championship in January of 2008, LSU football coach Les Miles has his contract redrawn to guarantee that he will be the highest paid football coach in the SEC. In 2008 Saban made $3.75 million. Miles contract called for him to make exactly $1,000 more. And that will remain the case during the life of Miles’ five-year contract.

–In 2009 Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton pulled out his checkbook to give new head coach Lane Kiffin the all-star staff that he wanted. That staff, beginning with the over $1 million for defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, will collectively earn an unprecedented $3.325 million this season.

–Alabama just announced raises for its football staff that will pay them a total of $2.685 million this season. That doesn’t count Saban’s compensation, which will be bumped up to $3.9 million this season.

–Kentucky just made John Calipari the highest paid coach in college basketball history with an eight-year deal for nearly $4 million per season. Potential bonuses and perks actually push that figure towards $5 million. That’s more than twice what the head football coach (Rich Brooks) at Kentucky makes.

As far as to the repercussions of having so much money at the SEC member institutions' disposal, Barnhart gets around to questioning whether it is really such a good thing. First, coaches will be on an incredibily short leash. If a coach does not perfom, he's gone and then the university will be saddled with the separation expenses (he points out that Auburn and Tennessee will be paying Tommy Tuberville and Phil Fulmer a combined $11 million to NOT coach). Secondly, with higher salaries come higher expectations.

Personally, I have no problem with the money being made by the league or the amount being dished out to retain the best coaches possible. These guys are paid according to what the high-dollar college football market will bear. While I'm not as in tune with the basketball situation at Kentucky, there's a price to attain and maintain success on the hardwood too.

And make no mistake of thinking that the universities are losing money on the deal. The football programs at Alabama, Florida, LSU, Tennessee are producing a major stream of revenue for their respective schools. They provide money for other sports programs. See Forbes' September 1, 2008 article "The Most Powerful Coach in Sports" (providing that Alabama's football program generated a profit of $32 million and financed 77% of the athletic department's budget in the previous year). School president Robert Witt also credited football as the reason for so much support to the university's $500 million capital campaign.

The economy is bleak and this may be a hard pill to swallow for many academics as universities are cutting jobs. In fact, the University of Alabama just last week announced that it would be cutting approximately 1000 jobs from its system over the next 18 months. But the fact remains that football is giving and not taking anything away from universities' coffers.

The expectations placed on coaches is a different beast. In SEC football coach performance appraisals, the crowning achievements are generally considered winning your division (East or West), getting into the SEC Championship Game, a BCS bowl, and then the national title game. Along the way you have to recruit lights out against other coaches who are the best in the business.

That is a big task.

But the real problematic twist to it is that there are 12 teams in the league, 6in each division. Only 2 of the 12 are going to win a division title, of course only 1 will be crowned league champion (and as of late that team becomes a shoo in for the national titile game), and maybe 2 get into a BCS game. Chances are that many coaches will never have a long enough opportunity to achieve any of those goals because patience is not a virtue in this league.

All in all, this is no departure from SEC normalcy. Everyone just needs to put on their big boy britches and enjoy the best damn football in the land!

Nick Saban Actually Somewhat Pleased with First Scrimmage

2009-04-02T08:49:00.005-05:00

This had to be some sort of twisted April Fool's prank as Nick Saban was pleasantly upbeat when he addressed the media following the Alabama Crimson Tide's first scrimmage of spring practices. Saban said:

"I'm really sort of not disappointed at all. It actually went a lot better than I anticipated. We're a lot further along than I thought we'd be. But we have a lot of work to do for the rest of the spring, individually and collectively."

What's going on with "I don't look happy, but I really am" Saban?

There was some injury news. Running back Mark Ingram pulled his hamstring and will be out one or two weeks.

Here are the stats from the scrimmage:

ALABAMA FOOTBALL - SCRIMMAGE #1 (April 1, 2009)
*Stats include 11-on-11, situational drills, red area, goalline, 2-minute

PASSING
Greg McElroy - 22 for 33, 214 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
Thomas Darrah - 10 for 20, 81 yards, 3 INT
Star Jackson - 6 for 16, 25 yards, 1 INT

RUSHING
Terry Grant - 18 rush, 63 yards
Jeramie Griffin - 10 rush, 24 yards, 1 TD
Demetrius Goode - 4 rush, 23 yards
Ivan Matchett - 6 rush, 19 yards

RECEIVING
Marquis Maze - 3 rec., 59 yards
Julio Jones - 5 rec., 56 yards, 1 TD
Mike McCoy - 3 rec., 39 yards, 1 TD
Darius Hanks - 6 rec., 34 yards
Colin Peek - 7 rec., 33 yards, 2 TD
Chris Underwood - 4 rec., 32 yards

FIELD GOALS
Leigh Tiffin - Made: 45, 42, 20; Missed: 54, 45, 32.
Corey Smith - Made: 32, 18.

PUNTS
P.J. Fitzgerald - 4 punts, 168 yards, 42.0-yard average
Heath Thomas - 4 punts, 149 yards, 37.3-yard average

DEFENSIVE LEADERS
Rolando McClain - 10 tackles, 2 INT, 2 sacks
Dont'a Hightower - 7 tackles
Tyrone King - 7 tackles, 2 INT
Robby Green - 6 tackles, 1 INT
Lorenzo Washington - 5 tackles, 2.5 sacks
Javier Arenas - 4 tackles
Terrence Cody - 3 tackles, 1.5 sacks
Justin Woodall - 3 tackles, 1 INT, 1 PBU

SCORING
Touchdowns - 5 (McCoy 21-yard pass from McElroy; Peek 15-yard TD pass from McElroy, Peek 4-yard pass from McElroy; Jones 10-yard pass from McElroy; Griffin 2 run).

Houston Nutt Looking to Shore Up Offensive Line's Play

2009-04-02T08:44:00.003-05:00

Offensive line play continues to be a key area for the Ole Miss football team, as the Rebels held their fourth practice of spring drills Wednesday afternoon on the practice fields.

The weather was sunny and warm for the second straight workout, which lasted over two and half hours in full pads. The forecast also called for change in the air, as linemen shifted positions as Head Coach Houston Nutt searched for the best combination across the offensive front.

"We’re moving some people around to create more competition," Nutt said. "We worry about our depth. As good as we are with depth on the defensive line, it’s the opposite on the offensive line. We have to hope and pray that there are no injuries. We were very fortunate last year."

Among the significant moves was senior Reid Neely lining up at left tackle. The Jackson, Miss., native has made all 18 of his career starts at left guard.

"He has length, good height, long arms, and he’s been around the block," said Nutt. "He’s really shown some versatility. If we played a game tonight, thank goodness we don’t, it would be Reid Neely at left tackle."

Nutt also saw positives in the other candidates competing for snaps on the line.

"With Bradley Sowell, we’ll keep pushing him. He got better today. He came out here fighting through a swollen ankle," Nutt said. "Brandon Green has been a good utility guy, from center to left guard to right guard. A.J. Hawkins is coming. Mark Jean-Louis has probably been the biggest surprise after the first couple days in pads, snapping very well, getting the calls, and he is very, very tough and strong."

Defensively, Nutt praised the progress of junior tackle Jerrell Powe and noted that his weight from last year to this year "is not close." The former Parade All-American from Wayne County saw action in 12 of the 13 games in 2008.

“Jerrell Powe continues to excite us," said Nutt. "He’s lost a lot more weight. He’s a lot quicker. He’s a lot harder to block in these scrimmages. He’s penetrating and doing what we need him to do. He has a lot more confidence.

"(Last year) he just wasn’t ready after being away from the game. Now, after a year in the offseason weight room with Coach (Don) Decker, the weight loss and more knowledge of what we want done, it makes it a lot easier."

Ole Miss continues spring drills Friday at 3:50 p.m. CT, while Saturday's workout is set for 10 a.m. Spring practices are open to the public.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics

Georgia Bulldog Quick Links

2009-04-02T08:38:00.003-05:00

Quarterback Joe Cox is in control of the Bulldog offense.

Head coach Mark Richt is still looking for a running back with the "wow" factor.

Auburn Practice Notes

2009-04-02T08:29:00.004-05:00

Head coach Gene Chizik and staff put the team through a limited scrimmage on Wednesday. After the Tigers' practice Chizik reported that running backs Ben Tate and Onterio McCalebb both busted some good runs. He also said that there was no separation among the quarterbacks vying for the starting position. Otherwise, Chizik summarized the practice as saying the energy was good but as far as execution there was a little good and bad on both sides of the line of scrimmage.

Wide receiver coach Trooper Taylor also said he was especially pleased with the effort of Tim Hawthorne.

The Tigers will have a full scale scrimmage on Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The scrimmage is closed to the public.

Arkansas Defense Smothers Offense in Scrimmage; Running Back Injured

2009-04-02T08:19:00.004-05:00

The Arkansas coaching staff put their team through a grueling 111 play scrimmage on Wednesday. The offense struggled mightily. The running game could get no yardage, the quarterback play was off target and receivers dropped balls.

Ryan Mallett put up some dismal numbers, completing 17 of 30 passes (not so bad a percentage) but with two interceptions. Mallett and the first team offense were unable to score touchdowns on three opportunities and were forced to settle with field goals. Mallett said, "That defense was flying around today. Our offense has got to get better as a whole group. We came out pretty sluggish. We can't do that and we know that. We've got to get better as a unit."

On the injury front, it was announced that freshman running back (January enrollee) Knile Davis broke his ankle and will certainly miss the remainder of the Razorbacks' spring practices.

Urban Meyer Not Thrilled with Gator Wide Receivers or the I Formation

2009-04-02T07:58:00.004-05:00

Urban Meyer has been pretty much pleased with his defense to date, but he was poor mouthing the performance of his team's wide receivers after Wednesday's practice. Wednesday marked the Gators' fifth spring practice and the weather was as soggy as Meyer's mood.

The Gators certainly have some major holes to fill in the wide receiver slots with Percy Harvin now gone ... Louis Murphy and Cornelius Ingram too. And Meyer has so far been unimpressed with their potential replacements, saying, "You take those guys out and now you still throw the ball and say, 'Let's go play.' And guys are covered."

Meyer's sogginess continues when speaking about his running backs. Meyer says the team is still looking for an "everyday" back and the team just does not look to have one right now.

The Gator running backs have been excited about the Gators' tinkering with the I formation in spring practices, although Meyer has already said he does not believe the team has the personnel to successfully run it. Running back Emmanuel Moody says ''[running in the I formation] definitely excites me because it's just another way to get the ball to the running back."

Why the Gators would want to try and bring in the I formation is beyond me. That is unless Meyer is wanting to give NFL scouts a look at Tebow's ability to play under center.

Rich Brooks Pleased with Kentucky's First Practice

2009-04-02T07:47:00.005-05:00

Kentucky head coach Rich Brooks says he was pleased with his team's first practice on Wednesday. The weather was beautiful and the guy's face is on a bourbon bottle. The round ball team has a new coach too. Can life get any better?

As far as the practice, the Wildcats were in shorts and helmets. Brooks said he really won't know much about his team until they put on the pads, but he was pleased with the team's effort and noted that the team's conditioning program looks to have been successful. He also noted that the team had come a long way since he took over the head coaching duties in 2003.

One last note from yesterday is that Brooks announced that cornerback Paul Warford will miss spring practices due to a broken foot, but he is expected to be able to participate in the summer's practices.

LSU Tigers Set For Second Spring Scrimmage

2009-04-02T07:34:00.004-05:00

LSU coach Les Miles will put his team through its second full-scale scrimmage of the spring on Thursday when the Tigers workout at 3:30 p.m. in Tiger Stadium.

Thursday’s scrimmage will again be scripted in nature and will feature game-like situations for both the offense and defense. LSU is also expected to spend time working on special teams during the scrimmage.

Thursday’s workout will also be the 11th of the spring for the Tigers, leaving LSU with just four practices remaining. LSU will take next week off for spring break before returning to campus for the final week of spring practice on April 13.

LSU’s annual spring game is scheduled for 5 p.m. in Tiger Stadium on Saturday, April 18. Tickets for the LSU Spring Football Game are currently on sale for just $5. However, fans can receive a complimentary ticket by bringing in a coupon that can be downloaded here (.pdf). to the LSU Athletic Ticket Office prior to Saturday, April 18.

Fans can also print a ticket online for just the $1 service charge at LSUtix.net by entering the promo code SPRINGGAME09.

Compliments of LSU Athletics Office

Utah Fans Can Cry Me a River and Then Jump In

2009-04-01T13:59:00.007-05:00

As mentioned last week, U.S. Senator Orrin Hatch (Utah) got all into a tizzy about his constituents' state university getting no love from the BCS and left on the outside looking in as Florida and Oklahoma played for the national title. Senator Hatch was seeking our elected officials to take a look into the BCS.

Tony Barnhart penned a column that was spot on as to why the BCS should be left alone. It wasn't just the human voters that shunned Utah, it was the computer polls as well. There was also the fact that one-loss Big 12 and SEC teams were a lot more impressive -- they come from highly competitive leagues with championship games. It's a no-brainer. Lastly, our members of Congress sure as hell have a lot bigger fish flopping around in their laps than to try and tinker with a system, albeit not perfect, that has generally gotten it right. But maybe they need a misdirection play or two right now.

One last point that Barnhart emphatically made is that the BCS was untouchable as far as being able to withstand legal scrutiny under the antitrust laws.

But guess what? Now the Utah Attorney General is expected to file an antitrust suit against the BCS in June.

Hell hath no fury like a Ute scorned.

Alabama Crimson Tide Linkage

2009-04-01T10:50:00.002-05:00

The Crimson Tide will be having their first scrimmage of spring practices today. The Tide staff will be tinkering with some players at new positions.

SEC Football Has to be Among Toughest Coaching Jobs in College Sports

2009-04-01T08:56:00.008-05:00

Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman writes that the head basketball coach at Kentucky is the toughest job in college sports. The rest of his list goes like this:

2. Alabama football
3. Notre Dame football
4. LSU football
5. Oklahoma football
6. North Carolina basketball
7. Ohio State football
8. Michigan football
9. Nebraska football
10. Texas football

He gives honorable mentions to Arkansas, Tennessee and Auburn football.

With all due respect to Mr. Bohls, he's off the mark. The top list of toughest jobs must be chop-full of SEC football coaching positions. This is the most competitive league in all of college sports. In any given year 5 or 6 of our football teams are legitimately competing for their division and league championships. And if the team you are coaching is not, well you'd better be the following year or your head coaching days are numbered.

The SEC is one big coaching pressure cooker. The respective teams' fans don't give much creedance to what a coach has done over the long term, or the coach's "body of work" -- a term heard often when Auburn and Tennessee were letting Tommy Tuberville and Phil Fulmer go. The fans in this league are all driven by the "what have you done for us lately?" state of mind.

Kentucky's round ball coach? Sure the expectations are high around the arena Rupp built, but this is the SEC. Kentucky normally will not have but a handful of teams to compete against in this league year in-and-out. It's apples and oranges in comparing that pressure to what is faced by the football head coaches in at least 10 of the SEC's member institutions.

Football gigs in other conferences? Okay, I'll concede that there's some pressure for the Golden Domers' coach -- particularly the current one -- and I'm sure there is some in the Big 10 and 12 too. But those guys haven't been winning any national championships lately.

My top ten list would include each football head coach position in the SEC, excepting Kentucky and Vanderbilt.

Arkansas Razorback Coaches Not Happy with Tuesday's Effort

2009-04-01T08:48:00.004-05:00

The Arkansas Razorback coaching staff were relatively happy with their team's performance in last Saturday's scrimmage. However, it seemed that the thrill was gone following Tuesday's practice.

Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said:

"We didn't come out with the same intensity and fire we did last week and we can't have that. There were a couple of spots in practice I thought we did some nice stuff in our deep ball and hit some of that. But play in and play out we didn't have the intensity and toughness we need to have. We need to get it ready to go tomorrow."

The Razorbacks will practice today and Friday before scrimmaging again on Saturday.

Steve Spurrier Growing Tired of O-Line's Loafing

2009-04-01T08:32:00.005-05:00

South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier and offensive line coach Eric Wolford are not happy with their offensive line's performance and the unit got to know about it on Tuesday. The players from the o-line were forced to stay and put in some extra running after practice to make the point that "loafing," Spurrier slang for lack of effort will not be tolerated.

In last Friday's practice 65 offensive plays were ran and Wolford says he counted 25 loafs. The penalty was the extra bit of attention on Tuesday. Wolford said, “I shouldn’t have to coach effort. That was the first time it really showed its head a little bit, and hopefully we learned our lesson from that.”

Tennessee Volunteer Quick Links

2009-04-01T08:19:00.005-05:00

Below is some video from yesterday's practice from GoVolsXtra.com.

Here are a couple other Tennessee-related postings from around the web:

While injured, quarterback Nick Stephens made the most of the opportunity by getting his head around Lane Kiffin's offense.

Head coach Lane Kiffin says that Bryce Brown may become the next Reggie Bush.

Kentucky Wildcats Begin Spring Practices Today

2009-04-01T08:09:00.004-05:00

Head coach Rich Brooks will put his Kentucky Wildcats through their first spring practice today.

The Wildcats are riding somewhat high after achieving three consecutive bowl victories, a first for Kentucky football.

Brooks has a number of returners coming back for the 2009 season -- 7 on offense and 5 on defense. Junior signal caller Mike Hartline will return to direct the offense, but the Wildcats have several positions to fill on the offensive line as the team lost three starters from last year's squad.

The Wildcats will get in 15 spring practices and have their Blue and White game at Commonwealth Stadium on April 25.

Auburn Head Coach Gene Chizik's OCD Cleans Up Auburn Locker Room and Players' Dress

2009-04-01T07:56:00.006-05:00

The first post for April 1. Happy April Fools Day.

The Auburn Tigers were not able to get a practice in on Tuesday due to the rain, but practices will resume today.

It sounds like Auburn head coach Gene Chizik has a cleanliness affliction. Since taking over the head coaching responsibilities, Chizik has implemented a new dress code for Auburn's football players and the locker room is expected to be tidy as all shoes and equipment must be perfectly put away. The new coaching staff has barred players from wearing hats and jewelry in the athletic complex all together, and the same applies when the players are out in public.

There's a reason behind Chizik's demands. “When people see, make them understand right now, ‘That must be an Auburn football player because I can tell with the way he carries himself,’ says Chizik. "That’s important to us. That’s what we talk to them about every day, and we’re going to be unbending on that.”

Florida Gators Quick Link - Who Will Fill the "Percy Position?"

2009-03-31T18:51:00.004-05:00

The Orlando Sentinel looks at the chances of four Gator players to fill the "Percy position" - a running back/wide receiver hybrid position. Players considered are Jeff Demps, Andre Debose, Chris Rainey, and Deonte Thompson.