Tag: secondary

Florida suspends key players

Florida has suspended quarterback Treon Harris and cornerback Jalen Tabor for the Tennessee game. Gators head coach Jim McElwain refused to go into details of the suspension. However, ESPN’s Brett McMurphy said that they came about because Harris had failed a drug test and Tabor had refused to take a drug test, resulting in an automatic suspension. Harris had been battling QB Will Grier for the starting job in The Swamp. He’s passed for 269 yards and 2 TDs in two games for Florida, and run for 55 yards. Grier played well in the 14-9 at Kentucky on Saturday night, and would probably have started the game against Tennessee. Tabor will be a monster loss for Florida in the secondary. Florida

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Kentucky 2015 Preview: Better Second Half This Time?

For Kentucky, it was a tale of two seasons in one in 2014. The first half, the Wildcats went 5-1, with the only loss coming in triple overtime to Florida. In the second half of the season, the Big Blue Nation got the blues, losing six straight and failing to get in a bowl game. Some people thought “What a great season going 5-7 and just missing out on a bowl game! 5-7 used to be unimaginable!” and some people – who suddenly are expecting some more of the Kentucky Wildcats – thought “Well, that was a bit of a let-down.” THE OFF-SEASON Mark Stoops hired Shannon Dawson, West Virginia’s former OC and QB coach, to be their offensive co-ordinator

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2014 SEC Preview: Is now the time to take Mississippi State seriously?

Everyone seems to be pretty confident in Starkville right now. It must happen when your team expands its stadium, wins their bowl game by 37 (losing me money in the process) and beats Ole Miss in The Egg Bowl. Anyway, Dan Mullen’s chest was very puffed when he walked into SEC Media Days. We’re glad he didn’t come in wearing a visor. Only Steve Spurrier looks cool in one of those. LAST SEASON Is the fact that people are referring to Mississippi State as some sort of SEC dark horse because the Bulldogs beat their biggest rival? Or because they finish the season on a three-game winning streak? Or only lost to Alabama by 13, and Auburn by 4? Or

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Clowney leads SEC Defensive NFL Combine invitees

Jadeveon Clowney leads the list of SEC defensive linesmen going to the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, starting February 19th. Here’s the list of defensive players: Defensive linemen Ego Ferguson (LSU), Dominique Easley (Florida), Kony Ealy (Mizzou), Ed Stinson (Alabama) and Dee Ford are the five SEC names that jump out at you. Jadeveon Clowney (DE), South Carolina Kony Ealy (DE), Missouri Dominique Easley (DT), Florida Ego Ferguson (DT), LSU Dee Ford (DE), Auburn Anthony Johnson (DT), LSU DaQuan Jones (DT), Penn State Daniel McCullers (DT), Tennessee Jeoffrey Pagan (DE), Alabama Kelcy Quarles (DT), South Carolina Chris Smith (DE), Arkansas Ed Stinson (DE), Alabama Robert Thomas (DT), Arkansas Linebackers For the linebackers, CJ Mosley (Alabama) and Ronald Powell (Florida) both stand

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Saban fires secondary coach

Nick Saban has fired secondary coach Greg Brown after a season which saw Alabama struggle in the backfield. Alabama, who gave up 180.3 yards per game, struggled in their final games against Auburn and Oklahoma. In the Auburn game they gave up a game-winning touchdown at the end of the game, and against Oklahoma, they were consistently troubled by Sooners QB Trevor Knight. The responsibility for coaching the defensive backs has fallen to current defensive co-ordinator Kirby Smart, who also gave up his linebacking coach position to Kevin Steele, who comes from the director of personnel position.

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Can Auburn win the SEC another National Championship?

BCS NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: FLORIDA STATE VS AUBURN  WHY FLORIDA STATE WILL WIN  We’ve got good buddy of ours in FSU fan Geoff Bowles who is very sure about his side winning The Big Game on Monday night. He’ll tell anyone who’s listening that Florida will hammer Auburn, winning by 2-3 touchdowns. It’s not because he doesn’t respect Auburn’s high-octane offence (you know, the one that caused perfectly good defences in Alabama and Missouri problems in back-to-back games), but Auburn’s defence, which he thinks is absolutely horrible. And he’d be right. Auburn gives up 24 points per game, which is 38th in the nation. And while they’ve made some key stops in their games in the last month of the

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NCAA reinstates Alabama DB star after two-week suspension

The NCAA has reinstated Alabama safety HaHa Clinton-Dix after he was suspended for two games by Alabama coach Nick Saban for a violation. Clinton-Dix was suspended for, according to the CBS News Report: “Alabama originally suspended Clinton-Dix after it discovered he received an impermissible benefit. Clinton-Dix had borrowed between $100 and $300 from assistant strength coach Corey Harris, who has since been placed on administrative leave.” He’ll be available to play Arkansas on Saturday. If Alabama needs him. BOTTOM LINE: The news from the NCAA shores up Alabama’s defense in time for the Arkansas game….and more importantly the LSU game coming up soon. Great news for Roll Tide Nation.

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HaHa Clinton-Dix suspension: What we know

Right, for those of you not in SEC world, Alabama junior starting safety HaHa Clinton-Dix was suspended indefinitely from the Crimson Tide yesterday, for a violation of team rules. Alabama said that it has also suspended an assistant strength coach Corey Harris, who was connected with the Clinton-Dix suspension. So here’s what we know: 1) Clinton-Dix has been suspended indefinitely. We don’t know if that means he’s out for just Alabama’s game against Georgia State, or out for the rest of the season. Somewhere, Nick Saban’s thanking God that the Texas A&M road game wasn’t later in the season. 2) According to the Tuscaloosa News, Harris provided money to Clinton-Dix. But: “UA’s internal investigation has found no indication that Clinton-Dix

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Defensive back returns for Kentucky

Safety Dakotah Tyler has returned to the Kentucky football team, the school said in a press release. Tyler, who can also play on special teams, didn’t play on the 2011-2 side because of ‘personal reasons’, the release said, and no further reason was given. In his 2010 season, the school noted, Tyler had 13 tackles, one pass break-up, one tackle for loss and one forced fumble, and he had one start. BOTTOM LINE: The news is great for Kentucky, who need all the help they can get if they are to emerge from the SEC East basement. Tyler’s return is great for the school, who have additional talent in seniors Martavius Neloms and Mikie Benton, and sophomores Ashely Lowery and Glenn Faulkner all coming back.

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