SEC Media Days begin Wednesday morning in Hoover, Alabama at the Wynfrey Hotel and that means two-a-days are about 10 days away. Here are a few thoughts to keep you occupied until I start blogging from Hoover when the first coach takes the podium Wednesday morning.
1. THE POUNCEY SITUATION: The NCAA and the University of Florida are cooperating in an investigation to determine if allegations that Maurkice Pouncey took a reported $100,000 from an "agent-runner" sometime between the SEC Championship Game and the Sugar Bowl. If Pouncey took the money, he would have been ineligible to play in the Sugar Bowl and it could force UF to vacate the win over Cincinnati. Considering the investigation has been ongoing since early June and UF self-reported the allegations as a possibility, there is no need to worry that the Florida football program is in any deep trouble. I'm quite confident that UF will investigate this thoroughly and my hope is that Maurkice didn't take the money. I've known Maurkice since his junior year at Lakeland High School and he's always been a straight up kid. I just can't see him jumping the gun on agent money by a couple of weeks and jeopardizing his own reputation and that of UF.
2. THE POUNCEY SITUATION, PART II: With ongoing investigations into agent involvement at both North Carolina and South Carolina, isn't it time for the NCAA to take some action to give back some of the control they have taken away from coaches over the past few years. The NCAA and institutions hold their coaches accountable for the off-the-field actions of their players yet they continue to make it more and more difficult for the coaches to be involved in the lives of their players. They've taken away athletic dorms and training tables, limited coach-player contact and they make it increasingly more difficult for coaches to get a good measure of a kid's character in the recruiting process by more and more insanely petty rules. If the NCAA wants to get a grip on the situation, then it's time to re-visit some of these very stupid rules and let the coaches take charge once again.
3. AN INTERIM AD AT GEORGIA: I was really saddened when I saw Damon Evans step down as the athletic director at the University of Georgia. Damon was really one of the good guys in the business. He got to know writers by name and always made it a point to ask if there was anything he could do to make the stay in Athens more comfortable. I really thought he was on his way to a long, prosperous career as the athletic director when he was arrested for DUI and had a woman (not his wife) in the car with him. It just goes to show that it takes a lifetime to build a good reputation and only one stupid decision to ruin everything that it took years to create.
4. AND AN INTERIM COACH AT VANDY: I was quite shocked when Bobby Johnson stepped down as the head coach at Vanderbilt last week. He said he couldn't make the commitment to coach in the manner in which he's accustomed, but I do think that beating his head against a concrete wall finally got to him and that's what it's like to coach football at Vanderbilt. I don't know if anyone could do a better job than Bobby Johnson did. It's an impossible situation particularly with an administration that doesn't have a serious commitment to football.
5. THE PRESSURE IS ON ... : Alabama and Nick Saban. Alabama is the national champion and the expectation is that the Crimson Tide will repeat in 2010. Of course, Florida was expected to repeat last year and lost to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. The weight of expectations finally got the best of the Gators in Atlanta. This year, the 800-pound gorilla is squarely on Alabama's shoulders. Nick Saban has been there and done that with national championships. He won his first one at LSU in 2003. The next season, with a team that was more talented and expected to repeat, Saban went 9-3. Now, I don't expect Alabama to lose three games this year, but I do believe that the pressure is going to take a heavy toll at some point in the season.
6. THE COACHING HOT SEAT: It doesn't get any hotter than Baton Rouge where Les Miles has lost nine games in the two seasons since he won the 2007 national championship. In talking to some insiders at LSU, I'm told that Miles could be in big trouble even if he goes 10-2 this season if the two losses are to Florida and Alabama. I can't see LSU winning either of those two games and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the Tigers go 8-4 in the regular season. I can't see them winning big with Jordan Jefferson at quarterback.
7. THE COACHING HOT SEAT, PART II: I think Mark Richt is a fine football coach, but tell that to the folks at Georgia. If the Poodles finish below Florida and South Carolina this year, Richt will have a whole lot of explaining to do to the Georgia faithful. I don't think anyone in the SEC East can touch Florida and if South Carolina gets any kind of decent play at quarterback the Gamecocks could easily go 9-3 or 10-2. Watch the second game of the season. If South Carolina beats Georgia, then there is every good chance the Poodles will struggle to finish 8-4.
8. THESE GUYS COULD ALSO FLOP: Everybody seems to think Arkansas could actually challenge Alabama to win the SEC West but we'll find out quickly what the Razorbacks are all about. They've got Georgia and Alabama on the SEC schedule right out of the chute and if they tank those two games, it's going to be very hard to win more than 7-8 games. A 7-5 or 8-4 regular season would be a major disappointment in Fayetteville.
9. THESE GUYS COULD SURPRISE: I think both Ole Miss is going to be dangerous. Last year, everyone expected the Rebels to contend with Alabama for the top spot in the West but as we've learned in following Houston Nutt-coached teams over the years, there is every chance for a flop when the expectations are high and every reason to fear when expectations are lowered and the talent seems just a notch above average. Nutt seems to always do his best coaching jobs when he has a bunch of over-achievers and somehow seems to have problems coaching a team to its potential when he's got the horses to do some damage. Ole Miss doesn't have great talent this year. I think they're going to sneak up on some folks.
10. SOME BASKETBALL RECRUITING TIDBITS: Why is Billy Donovan smiling? That's because Bradley Beal (6-4, 190, St. Louis, MO Chaminade) has earned the right to be considered one of the top two or three players in the country. Beal is working Adonis Thomas (6-6, 211, Memphis, TN Melrose) and Johnny O'Bryant (6-10, 248, Cleveland, MS) really hard, too. Brad seems to think those two end up in Gainesville ... The Gators are already looking good for 2012 with Tony Parker (6-10, 260, Lithonia, GA Miller Grove) and Rob Carter (6-7, 255, Thomasville, GA Central) ... Kedren Johnson (6-4, 215, Lewisburg, TN Marshall County) is going to take an unofficial to Florida next week. Even though he's more of a combo guard, he's so skilled in every phase of the game that he's definitely getting a good solid look by the Florida staff ... If the Gators can't get the big man they want this year, they could redshirt one of the freshman bigs (Cody Larson or Will Yeguette) and save the scholarship for next year when they could very definitely land two outstanding bigs ... Georgia got a huge commitment Sunday night from Kentavious Caldwell (6-6, 190, Greenville, GA). He's one of the best long range shooters in the country and definitely a top 20 talent ... Everybody was turned off by Kentucky commit Marquis Teague (6-2, 175, Indianapolis, IN Pike) at Nike Peach Jam. In the semi-finals, Teague was throwing one bad pass after another and then berating teammates. With four minutes left in the game against Team Takeover, Teague was lifted after he air-mailed a pass about 10 feet over the head of a teammate and then tore into the poor guy for not being 12 feet tall with Michael Jordan hops. That's what it would have taken to catch that pass. If this is the best point guard in the country, then we're all in trouble.
I'll be blogging live from Hoover on Wednesday. Also look for a big announcement from the new 24/7 sports network coming very soon.
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