 www.thekossakcompanies.com |
|
|
LINDY’S PRESEASON MAGAZINE IS OUT: (EARLIEST EDITION EVER PICKED UP ON MAY 10) TOP 25 AND MORE
LINDY’S SEC PICKS
LINDY’S BSC MATCHUPS
LINDY’S HEISMAN CANDIDATES
LINDY’S FIRST TEAM ALL-AMERICAN
DEFENSE
SEC NOTES ALABAMA: Linebacker Rolando McClain is okay after sustaining minor injuries from a motorcycle accident where he slid under another vehicle. His injury highlighted the fact that coach Nick Saban can ill afford any lack of depth at the linebacker position especially with Prince Hall indefinitely suspended. Some combination of freshmen such as Don’ta Hightower, Courtney Upshaw or Jerrell Harris will see early playing time. Redshirt freshman receiver A. J. Walker was arrested for public intoxication. He was arrested at 2:15 AM last Friday morning. The Atlanta Sports Council is still negotiating for the 2010 Duke vs. Alabama game to be played in Georgia Dome. One possible problem is Duke athletic director Joe Alleva recently taking the LSU job, but Blue Devil football coach David Cutcliffe is an Alabama grad. Terrance Cody (6-5, 400), a defensive tackle signee from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, is scheduled to arrive in June. Cody does shoulder shrugs with 300 pounds. He wears size 18 shoes and XXXXXL football pants. Cody played at Riverdale High in Ft. Meyers. His high school coach told the story of him falling on current West Virginia running back Noel Devine in a high school game and Devine going to sidelines to throw up. MGCCC coach Steve Campbell, who was an assistant at Mississippi State, said Cody was the best player in his league last year and can play in the SEC. Tide signee Jermaine Preyear (5-11, 205), a three-star running back from Mobile, Ala., got some good news on his grades this week. He is expected now to qualify. Preyear has to go through the NCAA Clearinghouse. OLE MISS: Rebel defensive tackle Jerrell Powe is still trying to become eligible. The NCAA allowed him to take classes and receive financial aid at Ole Miss, but he was not allowed to play football. Grades will be posted in the next few weeks. Powe has tried to become eligible for three straight summers. Defensive tackle Chris Strong is leaving the team. His mother said he was struggling with his grades. Strong played sparingly last season. KENTUCKY: Freshman receiver signee Aaron Boyd (6-3, 210), the younger brother of former Wildcat quarterback Shane Boyd, is expected to contribute immediately for a thin position. FLORIDA: Reserve defensive back Jamar Hornsby has been kicked off the team for his second brush with the law in 13 months. The latest has been felony charges of credit card theft and fraudulent use. Sixteen players have been involved in off-the-field incidents since Urban Meyer took over in 2005. Jon Halapio (6-3, 302), an offensive lineman from St. Petersburg (Fla.) Catholic, has committed to the Gators. Indiana, Southern Miss and FIU have offered him. The Gators have an important offseason in front of them according to a Gainesville Sun article. It’s vital for this team to work out together and build chemistry. They must also stay out of trouble. Receiver Percy Harvin (in a boot, but working out three days per week) and several other key players such as offensive tackle Phil Trautwein, quarterback John Brantley, guards James Wilson, Jim Tartt and Maurice Hurt, linebacker Ryan Stamper and defensive tackle Javier Estopinan need to be return healthy this summer. Brantley’s hand continues to heal, linebacker Brandon Beal’s shoulder is improving and linebacker A. J. Jones’ wrist is getting better. Tailback Chris Rainey has bulked up close to 180 pounds. Running back coach Kenny Carter said Rainey could be 195 pounds in the next few months. Defensive lineman Matt Patchan was shot in the shoulder last Friday night in Brandon, Fla. Patchan was with friends around 10 p.m. when an unidentified black male walked up and shot into a crowd where he was standing. Defensive tackle Torrey Davis needs to pass two summer classes. Meyer believes Davis will do so. Defensive tackle Omar Hunter, Linebacker T. J. Pridemore and offensive lineman Sam Robey enrolled in Summer A. The new football facility is set to open in July. GEORGIA: UGASports.com publisher Steve Patterson said this year’s Georgia team is the most complete team in terms of depth and experience in at least a decade. He added that confidence is high after beating Florida, pummeling Auburn for two straight years and defeating Tennessee the past five of eight seasons. Michael Gilliard (6-3, 205), a four-star linebacker from Valdosta, Ga., has committed to the Bulldogs over Florida and Georgia Tech. Redshirt freshman safety John Knox has bulked up to 215 pounds after arriving at Georgia weighing 195. Coach Mark Richt is about to begin a tour of military bases across the Middle East from May 20-26. Richt, Auburn’s Tommy Tuberville, Miami’s Randy Shannon, Notre Dame’s Charlie Weis and Yale’s Jack Siedlecki will be on the tour. Armed Forces Entertainment is the sponsor. AUBURN: Eric Smith, a running back signee from Seffner (Fla.) Armwood, has lost 20 pounds after playing at 240 in high school. He wants to be 215 when the season begins. VANDERBILT: Season ticket sales for football are up 18%. Over 10,000 season tickets have been sold compared to more than 8,000 last year. The increase is being attributed to the gradual improvement of the football team and the success of the baseball, basketball and other programs. SOUTH CAROLINA: Steve Spurrier in his recent booster tours said he believes the team is closer to performing better on the field and having more players selected in the NFL draft. He said how this year’s team does will depend a lot on the 2007 signing class that has 26- of- 29 players still in school. Spurrier said four true freshmen—quarterback Aramis Hillary, defensive end Devin Taylor, receiver Charles Whitlock, and offensive lineman T. J. Johnson—could make an impact this season. TENNESSEE: Receiver Kenny O’Neal is leaving the team. O’Neal, who played in 12 games last year, transferred from San Francisco Community College. He was also associated with FSU early in his career. Starting offensive lineman Anthony Parker had his right knee scoped successfully on Tuesday. LSU: Former quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has accepted a scholarship offer from Jacksonville State, coached by Jack Crowe. Coaches at Alabama A & M, Alabama State, Jackson State and Valdosta State have been reported to have been interested. Perrilloux has been in contact with former UTEP and FSU player Fred Rouse and former Clemson running back “Ray Ray” McElrathbey to see if they are interested in transferring to Jacksonville State. Two reserve LSU offensive linemen are leaving the program. Max Holmes is transferring to Stephen F. Austin and Matt Allen is leaning toward Texas A & M. ACC FOOTBALL ACC MEETINGS: The topic of playing nine conference games was discussed this week at the annual meetings. It was shot down by the coaches. One of the problems in an additional conference game is that every other year, schools would play five road games and four home games. Still, in two years the ACC TV contract comes due and television officials have told the league that they want a better schedule of games which means the conference might be reviewing the additional league game again. Tampa has the ACC title game in 2010 and 2011. Tampa and ACC officials have agreed to cut prices for the game in order to make the game a near sellout. Former coach Terry Bowden made the point in a Yahoo.com article: “Isn’t it funny how protecting the integrity of the regular season is so dadgum important, when it comes to a playoff, but it doesn’t mean squat when it comes to the teams we play?” Bowden was arguing the point that there are too many bad non-conference games. Another topic for this week was the evaluation of ACC expansion (three years as a 12 team league). The results are mixed with the ACC posting a 1-9 record in BCS games (Last BCS bowl win was FSU over Virginia Tech in 1999). FSU is 31-20 since the latest ACC expansion. Miami is 30-19 in the past four seasons. Virginia Tech is 42-11 since joining the conference. The ACC was 2-6 in bowl games last year. However, both Virginia Tech and Boston College finished in the final AP top 10 poll and the league had seven first-round draft picks, the most of any conference. The Florida Times Union reported this week that the national bowl directors have received a letter from the NCAA notifying them that the organization won’t be responsible if there aren’t enough bowl eligible teams. The letter came days after the NCAA certified the St. Pete Bowl and the Congressional Bowl pushing the number of bowls to 34. Last season, 71 teams were bowl eligible. Rick Catlett, the Gator Bowl Association President, said, “Why are they licensing bowl games at all if they’re not going to have teams available? It’s nuts. They have decided to do something without taking a step back and looking at the picture.” This means the time is coming that a bowl might petition the NCAA to select a team with a 5-7 record. The ACC’s relationship with the Humanitarian Bowl is over after this season. The ACC’s No. 8 team will likely land in the GMAC Bowl in Mobile or the Congressional Bowl in Washington, DC in 2009. The ESPN numbers for the ACC were good last season. The Boston College win over Virginia Tech on Oct. 25 was the highest ever rated Thursday night game on ESPN. The Labor Day night game between FSU and Clemson was the highest rated game of the year on ESPN. FLORIDA STATE: Tight end Charlie Graham is back on track academically after spending time in a junior college. He will have two years of eligibility left. Graham caught 11 passes last year. Jamar Fortson (6-3, 220), an athlete/receiver from Columbus, Ga., is hoping to play in his freshmen season. He is not sure where he will line up. There is no question that Moses McCray (6-2, 275), a four-star defensive tackle signee from Tampa (Fla.) Hillsborough, will play immediately. McCray has lost around 10 pounds and has increased his bench press to around 400 pounds. He has above a 3.0 grade point average and hopes to major in pharmacy or mechanical engineering. Receiver/tailback Preston Parker could know Monday if his felony gun possession charge could be reduced to a misdemeanor. Assistant State Attorney Alan Johnson told the Palm Beach Post that it is his office’s practice to give first time offenders in non-violent crimes a break. Lonnie Pryor (6-1, 195) a four-star running back from Okeechobee, Fla., said FSU and LSU are his two leaders. He is also interested in Georgia, Auburn and Clemson. Willie Haulstead (6-3, 200), a four-star receiver from Titusville High, committed to the Noles. Georgia, Miami, LSU and South Carolina among others have offered him. FOOTBALL FORUM: A Football Forum was held in Dallas Thursday and Friday of this week. The program is organized by the Football Writers Association of America. One of the interesting tidbits of the forum comes from an article by Ron Higgins in the Memphis Commercial Appeal that 70% of coaches in a recent survey done by the American Football Coaches Association would like to have an early signing period in football similar to basketball. College basketball has an early signing period in October and a final one in April. Grant Teaff, the executive director of the AFCA, said most schools have an average of 13.2 commitments by mid-December. Conference commissioners who administer the letter-of-intent program would have to favor the change. Teaff also said if the change was added to the date in December when junior college players sign then the NCAA would not have to approve the early signing period. CLEMSON: What does Clemson do to replace pass rusher Philip Merling? Possibilities are Ricky Sapp, who had six sacks last year; freshman Da’Quan Bowers, who had an excellent spring and junior defensive end Kevin Alexander, who is from Union County High in Lake Butler. Freshman quarterback Kyle Parker should be at his senior prom Saturday night instead he is hitting .303 with 11 home runs and 43 RBI for the Tigers. He has 22 RBI is the past 12 games. He also practiced with the football team in the spring. MIAMI: C. J. Holton, a safety signee from Wakulla, Fla., said he is very close to qualifying. Holton said he is up to 212 pounds after gaining 12 pounds since earlier in the season. Jordan Futch (6-3, 202), an outside linebacker signee from Hollywood (Fla.) Chaminade, graduated early from high school and has been working as a plumber before he reports to camp. Futch has already received his admissions letter and has gone through the NCAA Clearinghouse. Cory White (6-4, 225), a tight end from Fleming Island (Fla.) High in Clay County, has committed to the Canes. He will camp at Miami in June. White played two years at Orange Park High before transferring. He is planning on attending the Florida and Georgia Tech football camps this summer. MINNESOTA: Tray Herndon, a receiver who graduated from The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., has been granted his release. Last season, Herndon caught 22 passes for 235 yards. BIG EAST EXPANSION: There are rumblings that Memphis, currently in C-USA, is in expansion discussions with the Big East. Memphis was left in C-USA when the Big East took Louisville and Cincinnati in 2003. Tiger officials have denied any contact. East Carolina is begging to get into the Big East. The Big East has 16 basketball schools and eight football schools. There really is no room unless a school left. If there is interest in a football school then it might be Central Florida which was in the running when South Florida was selected several years ago. SEC HOOPS KENTUCKY: Coach Billy Gillispie told the media in a Saturday presser that he expects Derrick Jasper to transfer due to homesickness and other reasons. Jasper sparked the Wildcats when he played last year, but he struggled after microfracture knee surgery. LSU: Butch Pierre, the Tiger interim coach last season after John Brady was fired, has accepted a job as an assistant with Oklahoma State coach Travis Ford.
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.
|
 |
|
All content at this site is subject
to © Copyright Sam Kouvaris All Rights Reserved. |
|
Designed and Created by Charlie Logan A ® Ruffsounds Production |
|
Website Hosting and e Commerce Solutions
by KTEK International Inc. |