Author Archives: Ray

South Carolina Reporting 22 Infractions of NCAA Rules

South Carolina has took the liberty to self report 22 infractions. They are all mainly minor infractions with one being as simple as ‘ impermissible iced decorations’. A couple of them were a  little more severe. One was were a recruit took a picture with a current NFL player that played for the Gamecocks. The other is were a recruit took a picture wearing a unnamed Gamecock’s jersey and posted it on twitter. There  is also a few were coaches were sending impermissible text messages to recruits.

These kinds of infractions are very common in the college football recruiting world and has got the NCAA rethinking if they need to change some of them. In  today’s modern world, it’s very easy to commit these simple infractions. I’m sure the old ball coach (Steve Spurrier)  is already trying to come with some crazy saying to get us all to laugh at this. It is unreported what the NCAA will do about this if not anything at all.

  The Gamecocks began football practice on Friday night. They open the season Aug. 28 at home against Texas A&M. 

Alabama Quarterback Battle Brewing

With AJ McCarron and his now wife Katherine Webb now living in Cincinnati, Alabama fans were left to wonder just who their next QB would be in the Saban era. While some have jumped to the conclusion that graduate transfer Jacob Coker (transferred from FSU) will be handed the starting job, Nick Saban has said otherwise. Saban gave non-committal answers to the press about his quarterbacks, even going as far as to say he hadn’t seen them throw the ball very much yet. While that’s hard to believe from a control freak like Saban, it is very believable that the quarterback race is wide open as the new SEC season approaches.

Along with Coker, two other names can be thrown into the ring in this boiling QB battle. Senior Blake Sims who has been a backup for the tide the past two seasons, and redshirt freshman Cooper Bateman (solid name).

While Bateman is considered to be a longshot to win the job, both Sims and Coker have a legitimate shot to be the face of the Alabama offense this year as they try to climb to the top of the mountain again. In fact the two have been battling so tightly and the race is so close that Saban even said he has considered running some sort of a two quarterback system at the start of the year.

Here is what Saban had to say about that possibility:

“It’s not something that I would hope would happen. Is it something that I can totally rule out? Not really because I think the skill set of Blake Sims can create problems for a defense. If we wanted to utilize him to do that in some kind of way, I guess you could say that we could possibly have a two-quarterback system.”

While I don’t believe that will actually happen (if you have two quarterbacks, you have zero), it speaks volumes to just how neck and neck these two are coming down the stretch into August.

Blake Sims seemed to be headed towards becoming the lead man as last year ended and AJ departed to the NFL, but Coker coming in shook up the plans. At 6’5 Coker is the prototypical QB and could fill the shoes of Mccarron quite nicely if given the shot, and would give Alabama a similar look and style on offense as we have seen the past few regimes under center. Sims on the other hand presents an entirely different set of skills under center and can wreak havoc on a defense from inside or outside of the pocket with the ball in his hands. With the speed of SEC defenders, Sims’ play making ability and use of his legs when plays break down can become increasingly valuable and as the game evolves, the mobile QB becomes increasingly more effective as well. Don’t forget, Saban badly wanted Jameis Winston, a guy who has a huge arm but also posses the ability to make something out of nothing and throws on the run at a high level.

Both Coker and Sims have proven they can handle the reins of the Tide offense and will have an excellent safety valve to lean on in the backfield with junior running back TJ Yeldon lining up beside them. Along with Yeldon, Kenyan Drake will also be featured in the ever star studded running game that we have become used to seeing from a Nick Saban led team. As the season inches closer and closer, so does the quarterback race, and with reviews raving for both players, Saban will have one of the most difficult decisions he has ever made on his hands when choosing his new leader as he aims to further cement his legacy with another championship year.

The Tide will open their season against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Georgia dome on August 30th.

 

Nick Marshall Won’t Start Opener for Auburn Following Marijuana Citation

It looks like Jameis Winston isn’t the only high profile QB who will be scrutinized for off season transgressions this year. His counterpart in last year’s National Championship, Auburn’s Nick Marshall will sit out the Tigers’ opener against rival Arkansas. While Marshall won’t be the starter, coach Gus Malzahn did say at the SEC media day that Marshall will in fact play in the game.

Marshall has already paid the fine for the marijuana possession citation he received in the off season and given the fact that Auburn opens the season against a Conference rival, it should come as no shock that he is going to play. Let’s face it, if Auburn were playing a cupcake opponent in week one then Malzahn would more than likely hold Marshall out for the entire game, but Gus isn’t dumb enough to risk his season because a player got caught with something as harmless as marijuana.

We should applaud Malzahn for having a good level of awareness here and not overreacting as some coaches would and putting his year in jeopardy because of something that is completely legal in multiple states. While the NFL freaks out and suspends Josh Gordon for an entire year of his prime, Gus has shown great perspective in punishing his star quarterback.

Malzahn refuses to give a concrete answer on when exactly he will put Marshall in the game and with him being so non-committal it will likely boil down to how the game goes for the Tigers while Marshall sits. Even though Arkansas didn’t win an SEC game last year, Gus is well aware this isn’t a season opener against Troy and that every SEC game counts on this schedule and no opponent should be taken likely. I would expect Marshall to enter the game by halftime, if not even sooner. I wouldn’t be shocked if he only sat out the first quarter for such a minor offense.

Along with Nick Marshall, Gus Malzahn also announced that cornerback Jonothan Mincy will be given the same punishment for a marijuana charge that he was hit with during the month of June. Just as with Marshall, Malzahn gave no exact answer to how long Mincy will be forced to sit out, and will likely again come down to how Auburn fares against Arkansas this fall.

The Tigers will face the Razorbacks in the season opener on Saturday August 30th, with kickoff scheduled for 3pm.

LSU Looking To Make Some Noise in 2014

I took a moment to look at LSU’s schedule today and came up with this conclusion. The AD scheduled this team for sucess. LSU has 14 returning starters and a  new starting quarterback in Anthony Jennings. They return 5 offensive starters and 7 defensive starters. It will be a tough first game Aug 30th against Wisconsin. If they can make it past the Badgers, then I can actually see LSU going undefeated into the Auburn game on Oct 4th. The starters are very solid and as long as they can stay away from injuries, I believe this team can win 9 or 10 games pretty easily. Remember that they still have returning RB’s Terrance Magee and Kenny Hilliard in the back field. They also have returning WR Quantavious Leslie, WR Travin Dural, and WR Avery Paterson who is looking to have a breakout season. The tiger’s should have a very solid defense with returning starters  like DE Jermauria Rasco and LB Kwon Alexander being the leaders. I think at season’s end, LSU will give their fans a lot to cheer for.

Malcolm Mitchell suffers yet another setback injury.

It appears that Georgia star wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell,  will likely miss fall camp due to another knee injury. He apparently  hurt it earlier this week and had it scooped Thursday. He first hurt his knee last year when he was celebrating with Todd Gurley on Gurley’s first towndown during the the Clemson game. Since then, Malcolm missed the rest of last season. Then he got hurt again in spring drill. This last set back means he will miss valuble time getting practice in before Georgia’s first game against Clemson. Malcolm when healthy,  can be a game changing difference maker with his speed and ball handling skills.  Let’s hope for Georgia’s sake that he can make a full recovery.

John Calipari is going to stay at Kentucky

Everyone at Kentucky can rest easy now. John Calipari is staying. It seemed at one point that Calipari was going to take the Cleveland Cavaliers job worth 56 million. After weighing his options, He finally took a historic extension offer worth 52 million over the next 7 years to stay at Kentucky. John’s coaching career is 552-172(.762). He is a great recruiter and has coached Kentucky to 3 final 4 ncaa tournaments, and won the ncaa tournament championship in 2012.

College Football Preseason Rankings Are Coming Out

Once again we have come to that time of year when college football teams are reporting to preseason camp. Another year when really every team in the country is starting with a clean slate (0-0).  Yet the preseason rankings are starting to come out and trying to tell us who’s the best 25 teams in the nation before one snap  is ever played. I honestly don’t trust preseason rankings. They are just based off of what those teams did the year before. With everything that happens to a team over the course of an off season, You can not really justify a ranking based off the previous season. Take for instant the Florida Gators. Based off of a 4-8 record last year, they should not be that great this year. Keep in mind the Florida gators were littered with injuries last year. That was basically the same team that went 11-2 and 7-1 in the SEC in 2012. The Georgia Bulldogs are another example of a team that was littered with injuries. Yet they still managed to go 8-5 last year. That same team was 12-2  in 2012 and was one play away from going to a national championship. Injuries to a team is like driving a car that needs a tune-up. It just slows the team down and they are doomed for the rest of the season.  So I say give it about 3 games into the season before we start ranking these teams. Stay tuned to SecBeat.Com and I will start ranking these teams based off of this years team starting week 3.

4-star Florida safety Ronnie Harrison commits to Alabama

Alabama added the 20th commitment of its 2015 class when Tallahassee, Fla., safety Ronnie Harrison gave his verbal commitment on Tuesday afternoon.ronnie harrison

The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Harrison was offered by Alabama earlier this summer and made two trips to Tuscaloosa over the past two months. He chose the Crimson Tide over LSU and North Carolina, the school he had been committed to since before his junior season.

RELATED: Ronnie Harrison’s coach goes in depth on Harrison as a player and person

Harrison, a standout for Florida State University School, announced his commitment at a high school media day in Tallahassee.

In the 247Sports composite, Harrison is rated as the No. 205 prospect and the No. 9 overall safety in the country.

Recovered skill players give Bulldogs many offensive options

ATHENS — Georgia Bulldogs

Georgia managed to set several school records for offense last season despite enduring a perfect storm of injuries among its skill players. Most of the hobbled play-makers are fully recovered if not completely so as the Bulldogs get set to open camp Friday, and that has offensive coordinator excited about the prospects this season.

“All the guys look good,” Bobo said Wednesday. “They’ve got a great mindset, they feel good and they’re all anxious to to get out there and go again, which is good.”

The Bulldogs lost flanker Malcolm Mitchell, their most explosive play-maker at wide receiver, to a season-ending knee injury on the first offensive series of the season last year. A few weeks later, knee injuries ended the seasons of split end Justin Scott-Wesley, tailback Keith Marshall and tight end Jay Rome.

All four have recovered to the point that they will be able to practice at least in a limited capacity when preseason practices begin on Friday. Rome (foot) and Scott-Wesley (knee) are slightly further behind but should be available to play early in the season. Scott-Wesley is suspended for the first game due to a team rules violation.

“They haven’t played in a long time and they’re anxious to show what they can do again,” Bobo said. “We’ve just got to be careful with all of them and have that in mind while we’re out there practicing.”

That’s just part of Bobo’s offensive dilemma this fall. Another aspect is deciding how to attack opposing defenses. He has a lot of options with Todd Gurley & Co. at tailback and 15 players to choose from at wide receiver.

“We’re going to have to see how we unfold as a team offensively and what our best personnel groups are and what our identity becomes for us to move the ball,” Bobo said. “That changes year to year. Everybody sees Georgia as a two-back team, which we do. But last year we were a one-back team 74 percent of the time with three receivers and one tight end and one back. so really it depends on who we feel like is our best personnel and who gives us the best chance to move the ball.

“We’re still going to have that element of two-back runs and two-back power game to establish some physicality when we go in the stadium and to help with our play-action passes.”

SEC Links

Here we go. Football practices are about to start at campuses across the SEC, meaning we’ll have actual football stuff to discuss for the next several months. Let’s take a quick spin around what’s happening in the SEC as camp approaches.

• AL.com gives us five storylines to know heading into preseason camp at both Auburn and Alabama.

• Benardrick McKinney was hardly a major prospect, but he’s making the most of his opportunity at Mississippi State.

• USA Today’s Dan Wolken explores how private gurus such as Ken Mastrole and George Whitfield seem to be growing their influence among college quarterbacks.

• In a weekend speech before the Houston A&M Club, Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin addressed some of the team’s offseason disciplinary issues — as well as the scheduling criticisms lobbed by Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops.

• LSU’s quarterback competition between Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris should be a hot topic once the Tigers open camp in a week.

• Tennessee coach Butch Jones is fine with the prospect of fielding a team of unknowns.

• South Carolina offensive line coach Shawn Elliott knows his group has the experience and skill to rank among the SEC’s top lines, but he’s taking a wait-and-see approach.

• Former Mississippi State quarterback Dylan Favre is aiming to have a big season at Tennessee-Martin this fall.

• Darrion Landry hopes to become the next Kentucky receiver to experience success immediately after joining the Wildcats as a junior college transfer.

• Adding Korliss Marshall to last season’s highly productive tandem of Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams, Arkansas has three strong options at running back.

• Florida players like Jeff Driskel, Clay Burton, Latroy Pittman and Demarcus Robinsonshared their knowledge with campers at the Brantley Quarterback Camp over the weekend.

• Davin Bellamy’s weekend arrest will shuffle the deck for Georgia’s outside linebackersearly in the season.