Author Archives: Ray

Freshman Star Emerges In Florida’s DB

By: John Whitelow

In just four games, Florida’s corner back Vernon Hargreaves III has managed to produce seven tackles, four pass break ups and three interceptions for 39 return yards. Hargreaves is tied for No. 2 nationally in interceptions and is tied for No. 1 in the SEC.

Hargreaves was originally listed as a back up corner at the stat of the season up until they faced Kentucky this past weekend, he earned his first career start. In that game alone he racked up two tackles, an interception and a pass break up.

Yesterday Hargreaves earned the SEC Freshman player of the week award. Hargreaves intercepted a pass in the end zone from Kentucky’s Maxwell Smith and also leads the gators in interceptions. Hargreaves currently holds the most interceptions by an SEC freshman and the third-most nationally among freshmen.

Hargreaves is definitely a big impact on the SEC’s best pass defense. The group of guys around him will only push Hargreaves to get better and already seems to have good chemistry and trust with each other. Hargreaves has yet to face the tougher teams of the SEC but will only improve through the season. This rookie for Florida is the real deal and by the end of the season, he will be known as one of the best corners in the nation.

Connor Shaw may start Saturday vs Kentucky

According to South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, quarterback Connor Shaw might start against the Kentucky Wildcats this Saturday.

Shaw injured his shoulder last week against UCF, and was expected to miss up to three weeks. Shaw practiced with the team on Monday and threw the ball about 60 yards Spurrier said. If he continues to show that he is healthy, you may see Shaw starting this week. The No. 13 (3-1) Gamecocks host Kentucky (1-3) at Williams-Brice Stadium.

Spurrier had no idea that Shaw would show this much progress this early.

“Our trainer had him out two to three weeks,” Spurrier said. “You’ll have to ask our trainers how he made such a miraculous recovery.”

Shaw left the game early and was taken to the locker room, but later returned with his right shoulder in a sling with ice. It looked as if he was another fallen soldier in the SEC and his season was ending early.

For those who remember, Shaw injured his same throwing shoulder in 2012 against Vanderbilt in their season opener. Shaw returned late in the game and led the Gamecocks to the winning drive in their 17-13 win.

Spurrier said he will not be making a decision on who will start this week until Shaw practices more and see if he progresses more.

If Shaw does miss Saturday’s game, it will be a big loss for the Gamecocks. Kentucky gave Florida a small test last week and South Carolina will need to be ready.

Shaw is fourth in SEC pass efficiency and has thrown six touchdowns without a single interception.

South Carolina 28 UCF 25: Post game Thoughts

UCFSouthCarolina-wrI got the opportunity to attend the game between the #13 South Carolina Gamecocks and the UCF Knights on Saturday. There was probably a 50-50 split among the fans in the north end zone where my seats were located. I got a chance to talk to a few South Carolina fans during and after the game as there was no shortage of them.

One of the things I like to do after a game is talk to the opposing fans. (I am a UCF grad, so by opposing I mean South Carolina). They were none too happy with how their team performed. Another thing I like to do after the game is check out some of the message boards of different teams. The Tennessee Volunteers fans were also none too pleased about a 31-24 victory over South Alabama.

The thing is, just because both of their opponents have a direction in front of the state in their name, USC fans have nothing to be embarrassed over. UCF has a darn good team. The Knights came into the game 3-0 with blowouts over Akron and FIU and a road win over Penn State. In none of those games had UCF even been behind. If the Knights played in the SEC, they could hang with nearly every team. South Carolina did just fine coming out of Orlando with a win.

South Alabama on the other hand, that’s just embarrassing. The Jaguars are only in the third year of existence and in the second year in the FBS. This team should not be going into any SEC stadium and hanging around the entire game. What has happened to the once mighty Vols? Next week they will host the Georgia Bulldogs.  The Dawgs have already played three top teams this season and are 2-1 in those games. Tennessee is going to seem like a bye week.

Georgia’s win over LSU impresses recruits

Georgia’s impressive win over No. 6 LSU on Saturday couldn’t get any better, especially with the top recruits in attendance.

One of Georgia’s top 2014 recruits were present in the stands, offensive tackle David Sharpe (Jacksonville, Fla./Providence School). Sharpe, a ESPN 300 15th-ranked prospect overall, went home very impressed after the 44-41 win over the Tigers.

“The Georgia visit was great,” Sharpe said via text. “It was a great game, great atmosphere and a great win.”

At the beginning of the season, the Florida Gators were in favor to land Sharpe but Georgia got in the way.

ESPN Junior 300 Chuma Edoga (Powder Springs, Ga./McEachern High) was suppose to be in attendance but said via twitter that his mom made him stay home to finish school work. Edoga tweeted; “This is gonna be game of the year #LSUvsUGA.”

Five-star defensive tackle and Georgia commitment Lamont Gaillard (Fayette ville, N.C./Pine Forest High) described his experience on Sunday.

“CRAZZZYYY!!! I couldn’t even hear myself talk,” The No. 12-ranked prospect in the ESPN 300 said. “Georgia did what they had to do to get the win, and I’m glad I was there in person to see that.”

Georgia offensive line commit and No. 110 overall in the ESPN 300 Isaiah Wynn left a response on his Twitter that shows no doubt he is all Georgia. “Next officials after this weekend: UGA, Georgia, and University of Georgia. Lol”

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ESPN Junior 300 running back Eric Swinney (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) showed up at the game and was quite impressed.

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ESPN Junior 300 wide receiver Tavin Richardson (Duncan, S.C./Byrnes High) took a trip to the game and was super stoked.

“It was a once in a lifetime feeling!” Richardson said via text Saturday night. “Because it was a big conference game for the two SEC teams, everybody was into the game…and it was a real college experience game.”

[Quotes by ESPN’s Gerry Hamilton.]

Bama tops SEC recruiting chart

The Crimson Tide have 13 commits ranked in the top ESPN 300 and is back on top of the recruiting rankings.

Alabama has No. 2-ranked quarterback David Cornwell, No. 2 Bo Scarbrough, No. 1 OLB Christian Miller, No. 1 offensive guard Ross Pierschbacher, and the most recent No. 6 wide receiver Cameron Sims. Alabama has pieced together a talented offensive line class that features ESPN 300 players Pierschbacher, Viane Talamaivao and J.C. Hassenauer. The list doesn’t include Scarbrough, who just switched from a school in Alabama to IMG Academy in Florida.

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Gamecocks to Take on Unbeaten Knights

The South Carolina Gamecocks are on upset alert this week as they travel to Orlando to take on the undefeated UCF Knights. Many are probably wondering why the Gamecocks would go to play UCF on the road. When they scheduled the game, they probably had no idea they would be this tough. The #13 Gamecocks are playing in Orlando for a return game in 2015. If they did not agree to a game in Orlando, they would have had to pay UCF about $1,000,000.00.

UCF comes into the contest off an upset win on the road over the Penn State Nittany Lions. A win over the Gamecocks would elevate the program into a serious BCS contender. They would still have a tough road game coming up at Louisville in two weeks with a possible BCS berth riding on it.

The Gamecocks are still in the running for a national championship. Even with a road loss at the Georgia Bulldogs, if the Gamecocks win out they can find themselves playing for the national championship.

Tomorrow’s game will be the biggest in UCF history in front of a sell out crowd at Bright House Networks Stadium and a network TV audience, the first time UCF has appeared on network television.

SEC Week 5 predictions

Well football fans, its Friday and just a matter of hours away until we kick off with week 5. But at least this week will be a little more exciting than week 4. LSU-Georgia and Alabama-Ole Miss should give the weekend some hype, but the Texas A&M-Arkansas’ rivalry should have everybody on their toes.

#12 South Carolina at UCF

– Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks better bring their A game tomorrow or UCF will take care of business. The Knights won’t lose without a fight. They are a much talented team than last year when Missouri beat them. I still have the Gamecocks though. South Carolina 28, UCF 17.

#6 LSU at #9 Georgia

– This is definitely one of the biggest games of the year and its going to be exciting to watch. My only concern with Georgia is can their defense show up and play good enough to stop LSU’s talented offense? I think LSU tames the Dogs today but not by much. LSU 28, Georgia 21.

South Alabama at Tennessee

– South Alabama beat WKU this year, who Tennessee killed. The Vols can’t expect to get a win handed to them but they shouldn’t have any problem. Tennessee 35, South Alabama 17.

#21 Ole Miss at #1 Alabama

– Everybody has Alabama on their upset alert, but Alabama is still the king of college football this year. They have some fixes in some areas but Saban and the Crimson Tide are too strong for this Ole Miss ball club. It will be a good first half game but look for Alabama to pull away in the second half. Alabama 42, Ole Miss 21.

#20 Florida  at Kentucky

– Its going to be interesting to see how Tyler Murphy plays tomorrow in his first start. With the loss of Driskel and Easley things are going to be shaken up a bit, but the Gators still have a strong reliable defense and they should pull this one out. The score is going to be close and Kentucky will put up a fight. Florida 28, Kentucky 14.

Arkansas State at Missouri

– Missouri has be real surprised the way they have been playing so far this year. I like them for tomorrows game. Missouri 38, Arkansas State 17.

UAB at Vanderbilt

– Vanderbilt has struggled every game so far but UAB still can’t size up to Vandy. Vanderbilt can use this game to fix their on going issues.

#10 Texas A&M at Arkansas

– I’m feeling quite confident in Johnny Manziel and the Aggies this week. They put a good beaten on SMU last week and I think they will handle their business by at least 2 touchdowns. Texas A&M 38, Arkansas 20.

 

Should Gator fans be concerned about injuries?

A lot of people are concerned that Florida’s season is completely tarnished. Well don’t think so fast, because its not.

With quarterback Jeff Driskel and DT Dominique Easley out for the remainder of the season, yeah its a big blow but its no reason to hang your head. I honestly don’t see too much of a change from this. I think its going to be more interesting to see how their offense develops with Tyler Murphy taking the snaps.

With the absence of Driskel, offensive coordinator Brent Pease will have to shake things up a bit and that could be a good thing. Maybe a change is what the Gators need.

Both Driskel and Murphy are dual-threat quarterbacks but Florida seemed like they were digging a bigger hole with Driskel and that conservative ball-control offense.

Murphy can make more things happen on the ground, which should allow Pease to run a Urban Meyer pro-style offense.

Florida has always been known by having a monster defense, so with the loss of Easley I don’t think there will be any drastic. Their defense is young and talented and they should be exciting to watch.

Two SEC teams rank in top loudest stadiums

Ncaa.com previously ranked the top five loudest stadiums in the country, and two of the five ranked are SEC teams.

The top five loudest stadiums for 2013:

5. Virginia Tech (Lane Stadium)
4. Wisconsin (Camp Randall Stadium)
3. Texas A&M (Kyle Field)
2. Oregon (Autzen Stadium)
1. LSU (Tiger Stadium)

[Kyle Field]

“It’s one of the coolest and loudest events in college football. A pregame yell practice. Yep, you heard right. Fans gather at Kyle Field the night before a game and practice their gameday yells and chants. These 83,000 fans take their role very seriously. Don’t mess with Texas, A&M that is.”

[Tiger Stadium]

“Some call it Death Valley. We call it Deaf Valley. LSU, the most frightening place for a team to play, especially if you are unfortunate enough to be scheduled for a night game.”

Floyd Mayweather places bet on Aggies

Famous boxer Floyd Mayweather has some major confidence in Johnny Manziel and the Aggies. ”Johnny Football never has an off day” Mayweather told Howard Stern earlier today.

Mayweather told Stern that he will be placing a $300,000 bet on Texas A&M over the Arkansas Razorbacks. Last weekend, Mayweather placed a $220,000 bet on Manziel and the Aggies to cover a 17.5 spread for the first half against SMU. A&M did so and Mayweather cashed in a quick $200,000. Mayweather sent out a picture of the ticket on his Twitter of the winnings.

Even if Mayweather loses his $300,000 bet this week, he can afford it. Its about equivalent to a five dollar bill to him.

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