Tag: SEC West

New Recruiting News: Kentucky grabs Florida commit

While other teams have been loading up on their commitment arsenals for the 2013 season, it’s been fair to say that Joker Phillips and his team at Kentucky have been rather slower than most. Having said that, the commitment of three-star defensive end Alvonte Bell to Lexington – Phillips’ second commit of the season- could start some sort of storm. Phillips beat Florida State, Louisville, Clemson, West Virginia, Notre Dame and both Mississippi schools to the commitment of the 6 ft 6, 240-lb player.   THE BOTTOM LINE: Could this be the new Colin Ukwu? Cats fans hope so! If Bell stays – and with all the ‘big names’ scouring around Bell’s signature, it’s not a done deal – then

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Former Tennessee Vols star in court

Former Tennessee Volunteers star running back Jamal Lewis was in bankruptcy court in Atlanta on Tuesday, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported. Lewis, who had 2,677 yards and 17 yards receiving in three successful years for the Volunteers from 1997-9 – which included a National Championship in 1998, moved to the Baltimore Ravens (and later the Cleveland Browns) where he had a career where he mounted up 10,607 yards rushing and 58 touchdowns. Lewis was thumped by debts after a string of bad investments, the Baltimore Sun reports in an excellent article, including a house, a transport company and an amusement park – all of which was were crushed by the recession of 2008 that saw many builders, small banks and

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Yet Another bowl game? SEC adds new bowl to list

The SEC has added a new bowl to its list – and this time it’s not a deal with the Pac-10 or Big Ten…or even Big XII. Anyway, the SEC – according to a tweet from CBS writer Brett McMurphy – has signed a deal that will see the SEC add the Independence Bowl to its growing list of bowls – with the much-maligned ACC as its partner. The deal – the SEC’s 10th bowl in all – will be for 2012 and 2013, and will see the SEC’s No. 10 play the ACC’s No.7 team. The great news for SEC fans is that the Bowl’s in Shreveport, Louisiana, meaning that it’ll be close enough for most SEC schools to

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Auburn picks up new commitment

Just because the Spring Meetings have finished, doesn’t mean recruitment ends. Auburn University has picked up the commitment of cornerback Jahmere Irvin-Sills from Maryland. He’s been ranked three-star by Rivals, and had a bunch of interest all along the Eastern seaboard. The recruitment was somewhat of a blow to West Virginia, who had been  interested in Irvin-Sills for a while. Offering Irvin-Sills – on top of Auburn – were (in no particular order) – Ole Miss, West Virginia, NC State, Boston College, Connecticut, Hawaii, Houston, Maryland, Rutgers, Southern Miss and Temple. Penn State was also said to be interested, but no offer was forthcoming. Safety coach Tommy Thigpen did the recruiting.  

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Florida President reveals scheduling decision

Les Miles is not going to get what he wants out of the SEC scheduling gods, conference President (and Florida Chancellor) Dr Bernie Machen has revealed in a press conference. Future SEC schedules would adopt a 6-1-1 schedule, that would see six divisional rivals, one rotating rival, and one permanent rival. The reason? Machen and his fellow Chancellors thought it was important to keep 100-year, cross-conference rivalries such as Alabama vs Tennessee and Georgia vs Auburn as well as the 41-year old rivalry of Florida and LSU. “I’m Florida. We think that cross-division rivalries are really important and we particularly cherish the LSU rivalry. I think it’s been really great for both of our schools. We would be in a

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Florida President reveals SEC play-off plan

The SEC will be pushing a four-team play-off plan to determine future National Champions, Florida’s Chancellor told a press conference at this year’s SEC Spring Meetings. Dr Bernie Machen of Florida – talking down the road from UF’s campus in Gainseville in Destin – said at a press conference: “We want a four-team play-off”. He added: “I would be amazed if it wasn’t a four-team play-off with semifinals in the bowl system and a final championship game bid out separately.” Machen added that the SEC would be pushing for the four best teams in college football to play each other – regardless of whether they’d won the conference championship or not. Last year that means even if Georgia HAD caught

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Contributor article: SEC coaches vote in a player stipend, now should the NCAA?

Alex Ferguson, writer of the college football blog “The View From North America” wrote a lovely piece about the NCAA and whether it should pay players. He’ll be contributing SEC-related articles to the SEC Football Blog from time to time because as he says: “My blog needs some airing elsewhere”. We’ll let you know if the arrangement doesn’t work out. Anyway, here’s his first article….(taken from the View From North America’s site) –  While all the chat at the SEC’s Spring Meetings in Destin, Fl. may have been about scheduling, play-offs, and the amazing haircuts of Mssrs. Miles and Saban, the biggest news was one that was rather buried. We heard that every SEC coach had voted in a $300-per-game stipend for players.

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Slive: “We’re pretty much there” on scheduling

Despite the griping of the coaches, the SEC is close to getting some finality regarding a scheduling deal, Commissioner Mike Slive has told the SEC’s website. “I anticipate that by Friday afternoon, we will have a format,” he said. Coaches have been vigorous in their ideas of what they want varying to non-division games to count for nothing (Steve Spurrier and Les Miles), to no permanent non-division rival (Miles, who’s anxious on avoiding Florida year in, year out, despite the rivalry going on for 41 years), to a 6-1-1 deal. “There are pros and cons for every format,” Slive said. “I was impressed with the thoughtfulness that the football coaches brought to the meeting today.”  “It’s not easy,” Slive said.

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Schedule grumblings dominate SEC Spring Meetings talk

It’s as though everyone’s either on a schedule, or grumbling about them these days. And the SEC coaches are no different at the Spring Meetings in Destin, FL. A few points: There some seriousness in discussions of nine-game SEC schedule, with Nick Saban advocating it, according to Clay Travis.. “Clay Travis (@ClayTravisBGID: Biggest news on SEC football coaches meeting was seriousness of 9 game schedule. Told Saban advocated for 9.” Steve Spurrier wants divisions decided not by overall SEC record, but divisional record, and boy is he banging his drum about it. He’s still a little peeved that South Carolina didn’t get into its second straight SEC title game, even though it beat Georgia (in one of the games of the season, we

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Project Dough: The new name for the SEC Network

The SEC has a TV network, and they aren’t going to be afraid to use it. Just think Big Ten TV, except far, far bigger. It’s going to own the South, and then cross the Mason-Dixie Line and keep going, until even the Canadians say: “Screw the CFL, we’ll just watch SEC TV”. At the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, they don’t have a name for the Cash Cow, so they’ve named it “Project X”, with Ole Miss Athletic Director Ross Bjork telling Matt Hayes at SB Nation: “I think it’ll be every bit as big as the Big Ten”. And to start, they should be showing SEC games against Big Ten opponents, since the Big Eleven hasn’t exactly been

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