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BCS MEETINGS: BCS commissioners met Monday through Wednesday in Miami. As predicted, they were not favorable to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive’s proposal for a four-team seeded playoff that would begin in 2010. In order to make changes starting in 2010, the commissioners had to make changes by September of this year. FOX officials want to keep the BCS games. Also on the agenda was the discussion of the “double-hosting” issue where one city hosts two games. Dallas Cowboy owner Jerry Jones also wants to host a BCS game in the new Texas Stadium. Atlanta Journal Constitution writer Tony Barnhart believed this week will lay the groundwork for big changes coming in four years after Texas Stadium is completed, the Citrus Bowl in Orlando is renovated and the Rose Bowl TV contract with ABC that runs through 2014 will be renewed. Only four times (1998, 1999, 2002, and 2005) has the title game been played without controversy.
The Pac-10 and Big-10 have constantly rebuffed a “plus-one” model fearing it would turn into a NFL style playoff. Barnhart said in private conversation with commissioners that a “final four” type situation would be agreeably if it didn’t stretch into eight or 16 teams. He also said in Thursday’s column that the commissioners of the major six conferences go against the wishes of the fans because they know the fans will still attend games and watch on TV. He also said school presidents continue to not favor a playoff. He made the point that ESPN/ABC want to get back into the BCS picture and regret giving it to FOX. Not all the bowl execs are happy with the process. Many of them feel the Rose Bowl has too much power. Also he said Slive’s four-team playoff is not dead, but much depends on how the BCS goes the next four years before the next negotiating time comes. There is still the age-old argument that a playoff would diminish the regular season. TWO MORE BOWLS: In another ballroom in the same hotel as the BCS meetings, the NCAA gave permission to add two more bowl games—the St. Petersburg bowl and the Congressional Bowl. This increases the number of bowl games to 34 which means 68- of- 119 teams could be bowl eligible. Last season, 71 teams were bowl eligible. SEC BOWL TIE NO. 9: The SEC now has bowl tie-in No. 9 with the addition of the Poppa John’s Bowl in Birmingham. DRAFT STUFF: The ACC led all conferences with seven picks in the first round. The SEC and Pac-10 were second with six picks each. Last year, the SEC had 11 picks in the first round and the ACC had six. For the third straight draft, the ACC had consecutive picks in the first five selections. Virginia’s Chris Long was selected second and BC’s Matt Ryan was the third pick. Long’s selection meant the ACC had the first defensive players chosen for the third straight year. The last two were N. C. State’s Mario Williams and Clemson’s Gaines Adams. SEC players were chosen in four of the top ten picks (Darren McFadden of Arkansas, Glenn Dorsey of LSU, Derrick Harvey of Florida and Jerod Mayo of Tennessee) for the fourth time in conference history (2008, 2005, 1963 and 1951) and the second time in the past four drafts. Four SEC players have been chosen in top 12 picks four other times (2007, 2000 and 1989 and 1965) The SEC has six of the first 22 picks in this year’s draft. The SEC had the most players drafted with 35. The Pac 10 had 34, ACC (33), Big 12 (29), Big Ten (28) and the Big East (19). Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Alabama didn’t have a player drafted. The Chicago Bears had 12 draft picks and selected six SEC players. FIRST ROUND RECRUITING RANKINGS: Of the 31 players selected in the first round, five (McFadden, Harvey, Keith Rivers, Jonathan Stewart, and Kenny Phillips) were five-star prospects coming out of high school. Ten were four-star prospects, seven three-star prospects and seven were two-star prospects. Two were unranked coming out of high school. TOP 100 PLAYERS IN THE DRAFT: Florida (13), California (12) and Texas (11) were the top three states with the most players taken. The ACC and SEC had 16 players each selected. The Pac-10 had 14. USC had seven players selected, LSU, Michigan, and Virginia Tech had 4 players each taken. Arkansas, Auburn, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas had three each. ODDS FOR NATIONAL TITLE: Betvegas.com has USC as a 3-1 favorite to win the national title. Florida and Georgia are 6-1. LSU is 12-1. RECRUTING EVALUATION: The spring recruiting evaluation has begun. Coaches are allowed four weeks of evaluation that runs from April 15 through May 31. Morgan Newton (6-5, 215), a quarterback from Carmel, Ind., expects visits from South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Penn State, Clemson, Nebraska, Mississippi State and Cincinnati. Corico Hawkins (6-0, 225), a linebacker from Milledgeville, Ga., has narrowed his list down to Auburn, Florida and Clemson. Cory Addison (6-1, 190), a defensive back from Jacksonville, Fla., has more than a dozen offers including Miami, South Carolina and Kentucky. TENNESSEE: Eight starters return on offense including four on the line. Jonathan Crompton has earned the quarterback slot. Tailback Arian Foster needs 684 yards to become the leading rusher in Vol history. Tennessee is four deep at running back. The Vols might have the best safety duo in the SEC with Demetrice Morley and Eric Berry. Ellix Wilson needs to replace Jerod Mayo at linebacker. The biggest concern on defense is depth at tackle. A punter, probably Chad Cunningham, must replace the suspended Britton Colquitt. Coach Phil Fulmer, who has 95 SEC wins, is close to passing Steve Spurrier and Auburn’s Ralph “Shug” Jordan (98), Georgia’s Vince Dooley (105) and Johnny Vaught (106). Alabama’s Bear Bryant is first with 159. UCLA quarterback Patrick Cowan will miss the 2008 season after he has knee surgery to repair his ACL. The other quarterback Ben Olson broke a bone in his foot during the same scrimmage. Olson, who will be out for six-to-eight weeks will battle junior college transfer Kevin Craft for the starting job in the fall. Norm Chow is the UCLA offensive coordinator. LSU: Coach Les Miles has kicked quarterback Ryan Perrilloux off the team. Miles is not giving any details of the suspension. Perrilloux has had three suspensions in fewer than 12 months. He is expected to finish the rest of the semester. Both lines of scrimmage could be better than last year. Tyson Jackson and Kirston Pittman are two of the better defensive ends to go along with tackle Ricky -Jean Francois. The offensive line returns three starters--Brett Helms, Ciron Black and Herman Johnson. There are also holes in the secondary. Coach Les Miles had his five-year contract amended to pay him $3.75 million per year, which makes him the highest paid coach in the SEC and third highest nationwide. Chevis Jackson, Jacob Hester, Matt Flynn, Craig Steltz, Keith Zinger, Early Doucet and Dorsey were all drafted. ARKANSAS: A record crowd of 40,200 fans showed up for the spring game. The Red team beat the White team by compiling 601 yards of offense on 78 plays. Quarterback Casey Dick was 33- of- 49 for 401 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Nathan Dick was 2- of- 4 for 50 yards and Alex Mortensen was 2- of- 7 for 29 yards. Tailback Michael Smith ran 13 times for 157 yards. Brandon Barnett ran for 96 yards. Receiver London Crawford had eight catches for 82 yards. Carlton Salters had seven catches for 107 yards. Tight end D. J. Williams had nine catches for 80 yards in the spring game. Cornerback Ramon Broadway had 14 tackles. Four starters must be replaced in the secondary. McFadden is the second highest ranked selection ever for Arkansas. Dan Hampton was No. 4 in 1979. KENTUCKY: Tight end Jacob Tamme went to the Colts and Keenan Burton went to the Cardinals. Either Curtis Pulley or Mike Hartline will be the starting quarterback. Eight starters return on defense. Junior Trevard Lindley has potential to be one of the best cornerbacks in the SEC. Some of the receivers must step up. AUBURN: The entire offensive line returns. Despite the injuries to the tailbacks, this is a deep position for the Tigers. Quarterback Kodi Burns should get the first crack at running the offense. Chris Todd, who is battling shoulder problems, will also see action. New defensive coordinator Paul Rhoads must find some depth at defensive tackle. Pat Lee, Quentin Groves, Pat Sims, Jonathan Wilhite and King Dunlap were all drafted. ALABAMA: The Tide offense made progress in the spring under new coordinator Jim McElwain. Quarterback John Parker Wilson seemed to improve. The offensive line also made progress. Linebacker depth is a problem. Tide receiver signee Julio Jones, who is from Foley, Ala., won the long jump (25) in the boys 5A-6A track meet last Friday. The Tide failed to have a player drafted for the first time since 1970. Wallace Gilberry, D J Hall, Simeon Castille, Justin Britt and Matt Caddell were eligible. SOUTH CAROLINA: Tailback Cory Boyd was selected in the seventh round of the draft to keep the Gamecocks from being shutout for the first time since 2001. Blake Mitchell, defensive end Casper Brinkley and safety Brandon Isaac are looking for free agent deals. Steve Spurrier said this week that quarterback Tommy Beecher is a smart kid who could be a two-year starter. Spurrier also said that freshmen quarterbacks Aramis Hillary and Reid McCollum will likely be redshirted this season. South Carolina returns 10 starters on defense with new coordinator Ellis Johnson. There are obvious questions at quarterback because Stephen Garcia doesn’t return until Aug. 15. The offensive line returns four starters. GEORGIA: There are still offensive line questions for the Bulldogs. Three- of- the- five linemen return, but Clint Boling missed spring with an illness. Freshman Blair Walsh could be the kicker. Four Bulldogs were drafted-- Brandon Coutu, Marcus Howard, Thomas Brown and Chester Adams. Austin Long (6-5, 270), an offensive lineman from Briarwood Christian in Memphis, Tenn., committed to Georgia. He is commitment No. 10 for the Dawgs. Long had unofficially visited North Carolina, FSU, Florida and Alabama. OLE MISS: Jevan Snead is the starter at quarterback. Tailback Enrique Davis could add some punch to the running attack with Cordera Eason. The linebackers including Tony Fein could make a quick impact. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Wesley Carroll is set at quarterback. Tailbacks Robert Elliott and Wade Bonner add much needed depth with Anthony Dixon. The Bulldogs need some tight ends. Lineman Michael Brown will be missed after he was dismissed. APR: Academic Performance Ratings are due out next week. Washington State is about to lose six scholarships due to a poor graduation rate that is tied in to its Academic Performance Rate. Last year, FIU lost nine scholarships, San Jose State lost seven and Arizona lost four. The only SEC school to be affected last year was Tennessee that lost .004 of a baseball scholarship. ACC NOTES MARYLAND: The White team beat the Red team, 27-3, in the annual spring game. Quarterback Jordan Steffy was 14- of- 23 for 155 yards and a touchdown. Tailback Da’Rel Scott ran 17 times for 117 yards. New offensive coordinator James Franklin made an impact this spring. Three starters have to be replaced in the secondary. BOSTON COLLEGE: BC has little depth at tailback. They signed four freshmen tailbacks including mid-term enrollee Josh Haden who showed a lot of promise this spring. Brian Toal, who sat out last year with a shoulder injury, is back at linebacker. The offensive line with three sophomores is inexperienced. The defensive line was dealt a blow when end Brady Smith was dismissed for a rape charge. VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies lost their top four receivers from last season. Walk-on Brandon Dillard who had 115 all- purpose yards in the spring game has shown the most potential. CLEMSON: Craig “Poppa” Loston (6-2, 193), a Rivals100 safety from Aldine, Texas, committed to the Tigers. Florida, Georgia, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Penn State, Southern Cal and others have offered him. Defensive lineman Phillip Merling was chosen as the first pick of the second round by the Dolphins. He fell about 10 spots from where he was thought to be picked because of concerns pertaining to his sports hernia. Clemson has playmakers in quarterback Cullen Harper, running backs James Davis and C. J. Spiller and receiver Aaron Kelly. Redshirt freshmen linebackers Brandon Maye and Stanley Hunter are hoping to replace Nick Watkins and Tremaine Billie. Only one starting offensive linemen, center Thomas Austin, returns. MIAMI: Hurricane players tested recently in the 10-yard dash, 40-yard dash, short shuttle and vertical. Receiver Sam Shields ran the fastest 40 (4.28), fastest 10 (1.35) and the fastest short shuttle (4.12). He also had the second best vertical (39 inches) behind the winner Carlos Armour (41.5). Quarterback Robert Marve weighed in at 203 pounds. He ran the 40 in 4.85 and ran a 4.53 short-shuttle time. The selection of Kenny Phillips in the NFL draft ensured that the Canes had a first round selection for 14 straight years. Tavares Gooden and Calais Campbell were also drafted. This was the fewest Canes drafted since 1999. Three Miami Northwestern High signees—offensive lineman Brandon Washington, Kendall Thompson and Ben Jones-- are awaiting their test scores. FLORIDA STATE: William Floyd has been named the new radio analyst replacing P.T. Willis. Floyd said he has done some radio in San Francisco and has been involved in SUN network broadcasts. Freshman lineman Zebrie Sanders (6-6, 273), an offensive lineman from Clayton, Ohio, is hoping to make an early impact. Sanders, who is an Eagle Scout, a black belt in karate and a violinist, will report on June 22. He will room with freshman quarterback E. J. Manuel. FSU AD Randy Spetman said Air Force will remain on the 2011 schedule. Maine has been added to the 2009 schedule, but there is room for one more non-conference team to be added. Letroy Guion, Geno Hayes and Andre Fluellen were all selected in the NFL draft. This was the fewest players selected since the 2002 draft. Hayes and Guion could have benefited from playing their senior years. Ed Stintson (6-4, 227), a four-star defensive end from South (Fla.) Dade, is a soft verbal commitment to FSU. Miami, South Florida, FIU and Auburn have offered him. The state attorney’s office will not prosecute Preston Parker on a two-year old misdemeanor charge. Parker is currently dismissed from the team for the felony (gun possession) and misdemeanor (drug possession) charges. N. C. STATE: No one stepped up at quarterback this spring. One of the main priorities was to reduced turnovers. Seven starters must be replaced on defense. Coach Tom O’Brien said the defense is better without the losses. WAKE FOREST: Coach Jim Grobe must replace four starters on the offensive line. This team has better depth than the previous two teams that won a combined 20 games. D. J. Boldin, the brother of FSU’s Anquan Boldin, could be one of the prospects trying to replace Kenny Moore and Kevin Morton at receiver. GEORGIA TECH: Defensively, the line is deep and athletic, but six freshmen and sophomores may have to play at linebacker and in the secondary. Josh Nesbitt has a chance to be the starting quarterback. Jonathan Dwyer could earn the starting tailback job. Offensive lineman Trey Dunmon is transferring to another school, possibly Georgia Southern. He is the fourth player to transfer since Paul Johnson took over. NOTRE DAME: Head coach Charlie Weiss spoke to a booster club in Memphis last week. He told the group that 11- of- 22 starters were true freshmen. Weis said his offense, which was ranked No. 116 last season, has improved. Sophomore Jimmy Clausen has more zip on his passes after having bone chips removed from his elbow. The offensive line allowed 58 sacks last year. The offense
BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR MYCLAYSUN IN ORANGE PARK, FLA. HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM, SAMSPORTSLINE.COM AND GATOR BAIT MAGAZINE. HE CAN BE HEARD ON SPORTS RADIO 1010 XL.
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