SEC Recruiting Update July 10

The 2011 Recruiting season is getting as hot as a July afternoon and not cooling off anytime soon.  So far the SEC has gotten 111 verbal commits, Kentucky and Alabama lead the league with 14 prospects each with Vanderbilt bringing up the rear only receiving two verbals. Heres the breakdown of each teams commits and their start ratings according to Rivals.com.

Breakdown: 2  5-star
                   34 4-star
                   57 3-star
                   13 N/R- not rated
                    5- JUCO

Alabama Commits (14):
5-star LB Brent Calloway
4-star S    Hasean Clinton-Dix
4-star LB Shannon Brown
4-star DT D.J. Pettway
4-star DT LaMichael Fanning
4-star WR Danny Woodson
4-star WR Marvin Shin
4-star WR Bradley Sylvie
3-star WR Daryl Collins
3-star TE Malcolm Faciane
3-star CB Jabrial Washington
3-star LB Vinnie Sunseri
3-star OL Issac Lutua
Juco  DT Quinton Dial

Arkansas Commits (11):
4-star OL Brey Cook
3-star QB Brandon Allen
3-star WR Keanie Miner
3-star DE Grady Ollison
3-star OL Mitch Smothers
3-star OL Austin Beck
3-star WR Davyon McKinney
Juco   DB Isiah Wiley
Juco   DT Robert Thomas
N/R   TE Demetrice Dean
N/R   OL Marcus Danenhauer

Auburn Commits (8):
4-star QB Kheil Frazier
4-star OL Reese Dismukes
3-star DE Jabrian Niles
3-star OL Thomas O'Reilly
3-star DB Anthony Swain
3-star DT Angelo Blackson
3-star LB Chris Landrum
Juco ATH Izauea Lanier

Florida Commits (10):
4-star QB Jeff Driskell
4-star DE Jeoffrey Pagan
4-star TE A.C. Leornard
4-star WR Javares McKey
4-star ATH De'Ante Summers
4-star LB Ryan Shazier
3-star OL Tommy Jordan
3-star WR Ja'Juan Story
3-star DB Hunter Joyer
N/R    K  Kyle Christy

Georgia Commits (13):
4-star QB Christian LeMay
4-star DE Sterling Bailey
4-star ATH Nick Marshall
4-star WR Justin Scott-Wesley
4-star DB Corey Moore
3-star OL David Andrews
3-star WR Chris Conley
3-star OL Watts Dantzler
3-star LB Amario Herrera
3-star ATH Chris Sanders
3-star WR Zach Witchett
3-star OL Hunter Long
3-star ATH Devin Bowden

Kentucky Commits (14):
4-star DB Glenn Faulkner
3-star WR Darien Thomas
3-star DT Clint Tucker
3-star WR Antonio Cannon
3-star QB Theltus Cobbs
3-star ATH Jon Davis
3-star DE Christian Coleman
N/R   LB Blake Terry
N/R   QB Max Smith
N/R   TE Terrence Mitchell
N/R   OL Darrien Miller
N/R   ATH Riyaad Jones
N/R   DB Daylen Hall
N/R   TE Josh Forrest

LSU Commits (11):
5-star OL La'El Collins
4-star RB Kenny Hillard
4-star WR Jarvis Landry
4-star DT Anthony Johnson
4-star RB Jeremy Hill
4-star OL Trai Turner
4-star OL Corey White
3-star ATH Terrence McGee
3-star LB Trevon Randle
3-star DE Quentin Thomas
3-star WR Alonzo Lewis

Ole Miss Commits (7):
4-star DB Gerred Holloman
4-star OL Ethan Hutson
4-star DB Andrew Johnson
4-star ATH Cody Prewitt
3-star RB Chelarvel Brown
3-star OL Mitch Hall
3-star LB Serderius Bryant

Mississippi State Commits (7):
4-star LB C.J. Johnson
4-star DB Jermaine Whitehead
3-star ATH Zachery Jackson
3-star ATH DeVante Scott
3-star WR Devin Fosselman
3-star OL Nick Redmond
3-star TE Rufus Warren

South Carolina Commits (7):
3-star WR K.J. Bryant
3-star QB Martay Maddox
3-star LB Edward Muldow
3-star LB Angelo Watley
3-star LB Mason Harris
N/R   DB Jarod Henry
N/R   DE Deon Green

Tennessee Commits (7):
3-star OL Allan Posey
3-star DB Brian Randolph
3-star RB Tom Smith
3-star DT Allan Carson
3-star LB Christian Harris
3-star QB Justin Worley
Juco   TE Andrew Power

Vanderbilt Commits (2):
3-star OL James Lewis
N/R   QB Damien Flemming

Truly One of the Greats

The University of South Alabama received some sad news Tuesday afternoon in that head baseball coach Steve Kittrell is retiring at the end of the 2011 baseball season. Kittrell has given over 30 years of service to the Jaguar baseball program. He has over 1000 wins and since 1984 South Alabama has made 18 regionals which is top 20 in the nation and is more than Alabama or Auburn. He has coached the likes of Jon Lieber, Juan Pierre, Luis Gonzalez, Adam Lind among many other talented players who have gone on to play at the professional level. Coach Kittrell will surely be missed by many Jaguar fans who have come to watch him coach his favorite school.Kittrell has this to say at his press conference about his time at USA:
"It was a dream come true just to get this job.  Coach [Eddie] Stanky built this program from scratch, and I was fortunate to play for him on his first team," he said.  "To be able to come back and coach after him has been quite a thrill, quite a responsibility and an honor.  The relationships you build with the players - and not just the ones who start and make it to the big leagues, but also those who have gone on to become lawyers, doctors, engineers and business people - have been rewarding." * courtesy of usajaguars.com

NBA Finals Wrap-up

There is two things we have learned from this year's finals: 1. Kobe Bryant is the best player in the league with everyone else three steps below him, yes that includes Lebron James. 2. Boston Celtics need to start getting young and quick cause the big three a barely a shell of them old selves.

The NBA put on a great finals series and us viewers got to watch the only 17th NBA Finals to ever go the full seven games. The NBA needed this since all the other series were snoozers and over usually finished with after the fourth game. Im not a Lakers fan nor Boston fan so to me it did not matter who won but yet i was still intrigued in the mystic of the "rivalry" of Celtics Lakers. Which is still a one sided rivalry with the Celtics winning pretty handily.

There is one problem I have and that was Pau Gasol for the Lakers. This guy did more whining then I have ever seen a grown man ever do in my life. I dont know if thats how they do it in Europe but this is America and we dont complain, whine, or beg for every call or every call that goes against us. I dont know if yall saw how many times he would pull his pacifier out each game but I counted fifteen times in th first half alone and I just wish that the referee's would just give him a Technical so he would shut his mouth up. He has a decent game because he is a seven footer, not to mention that if it was not for Kobe he would have never sniffed the NBA Finals in his career. I have heard that Tyler Hansbrough whined a lot his senior year at North Carolina and that could be true but he is still in college and has not fully grown yet physically nor mentally, still not an excuse though. Anyway back to the Spainard, I think the NBA should install a ghost Technical or something a long those lines that the ref can give the player a Technical for whining but it only counts as a personal foul for that player. Do yall feel the same way I do? or yall might not even care.

Outlook for the offseason: This is the biggest free agent market the NBA has seen in some time. Lebron, D-wade, and Bosh are just a couple of players that are on the market. But dont really expect there to be too much movement cause as much money as this players want they can only get it if they go to different teams.

South Alabama 2010 Schedule with times

The University of South Alabama has released its time for their upcoming games for the 2010 season. All home games are at 4 pm except for the last game which is on a Thursday night at 6pm. All three road games are at different times; Edward Waters 3pm, Lamar 6pm, and UC Davis 4pm. South Alabama is coming off its first season where they went undefeated.

Date Opponent Location Time (CT) Results Media   Sat, Sep 04  Pikeville (Ky.) Mobile   4 pm   Sat, Sep 18  Nicholls State Mobile   4 pm   Sat, Sep 25  vs. Edward Waters (Fla.) at Dothan, Ala.   3 pm   Sat, Oct 02  Kentucky Wesleyan Mobile   4 pm   Sat, Oct 09  Missouri S&T (Parents' Weekend) Mobile   4 pm   Sat, Oct 16  at Lamar at Beaumont, Texas   6 pm   Sat, Oct 23  at UC Davis at Davis, Calif.   4 pm   Sat, Oct 30  Georgia State Mobile   4 pm   Sat, Nov 06  Henderson (Ark.) State (Homecoming) Mobile   4 pm   Thu, Nov 11  Arkansas-Monticello Mobile   6 pm

* Conference Games *courtesy of usajaguars.com

Houston and Tulsa to the MWC or Big 12?

Now most of us all know that the Pac-10 could not lure six teams away from the Big 12 and had to settle for just Colorado. In the past few days the story that is catching some steam is Utah going to the Pac 10. Utah is expected to join as soon as early as Friday, and believe me Utah will be going to the Pac 10 to leave the Mountain West Conference (MWC), who has just added Boise State to their conference. You catch all that?

 Now, I wonder if the MWC knew that the whole six teams from Big 12 to the Pac 10 was not going to work out and in turn figured out that Utah was going to be the next team that the Pac 10 would ask. I bet they did but now somehow the MWC must find another big team to add to their conference if they want to be a BCS automatic qualifier. If the MWC wants to really help out their conference why don't they just add up to twelve teams like everyone else? As of right now they have nine teams in the MWC and would need three more teams to be eligible to have a conference championship game. The teams that would peek my interest the most would be Houston Cougars (C-USA), Fresno State Bulldogs (WAC), and Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (C-USA). Not only would that give them twelve but also give them three more respectable teams. Houston and Tulsa both have been two of the top four teams in the C-USA year in and year out and you know they would like to be able to attain an automatic BCS bowl berth chance. Fresno State was the darlings of college football from the west coast before Boise State was. Fresno State literally would play anyone anytime and anywhere and they would make sure that the other team would know they came to play whether they won or lost.

As for the Big 12 current situation of only have ten teams looking to add two more so they could have the championship game again. Arkansas as declined an invitation to join them and who could blame the Razorbacks? But teams they might possibly be looking at would be Houston, Tulsa, Louisiana Tech, BYU, among others but whoever they get the team or teams could never replace a Nebraska.
It is going to be interesting to see where teams will land and eventually how long all this is going to take place, in another five years there might not be a Big 12 if the Pac 10 comes calling again wanting a 16 team league again. But all we can do right now is wait and see what the next move is going to be.

The pawn has been moved, waiting for the queen

University of Nebraska is the first school from the Big 12 to declare they are switching conferences as they accepted an invitation on Wednesday to join the Big 10. The Big 12 gave Nebraska and Missouri until Friday to decide whether they were staying or leaving, Missouri is expected to follow suit and go to the Big 10. College football expansion could be considered something like a chess match, only its two against one, Big 12 vs Pac 10 and Big 10. This has been a slowly developing process but Big 12 lost one of their pawns early in Nebraska. The other pawn Missouri is expected to trade sides as well when they get a formal invitation to join the Big 10. The Pac 10 is ready to kill the whole other side with one fell swoop and to capture the queen in the process. Texas is the queen piece and when the longhorns decide to leave then what we know as the Big 12 would be of no more. According to sources on Wednesday that seems very likely with a quote coming from Texas athletics department telling their players and coaches "We tried to save the Big 12." Looks like the queen gave its all but in the end it was not enough and  college football sooner rather than later is going to be going under a major change.

Mountain West has put itself on hold/Texas independence?

The Mountain Wast conference Monday had a chance to acquire Boise State Broncos. Boise State was willing to accept the offer, only problem the MWC was not fully ready to expand. The commissioner of the MWC said "We are not expanding at this time", In other words they are waiting to see what happens with the PAC-10 and BIG 12. If the Big 12 were to loose the eight teams reportly being courted by the other two conferences then the MWC might have a chance to boost their conference with left over Big 12 cause i don't see how a league as good as the Big 12 will survive with Kansas as its major headline in football. Big 12 could not survive IMO but i think the Big 12 and MWC could come together and build a bigger conference as well with the four left-over teams. If the Big 12 was able to keep Nebraska and Missouri somehow then they could pick up teams like Houston, BYU, Utah, and TCU and be find but there would still be a serious drop off in talented teams.

The major player will be Texas but Texas could just say we are going to go Independent and support ourselves. They are about the only other team besides Notre Dame in the nation who could pull this feat off. Texas is about to have their own TV network, and they got most of their money from the BCS games they played the past seasons, so why not if your Texas go Independent cause after the Big 12 there is no way to but down unless you end up with an invitation from the SEC. But if your Texas would you really want to face brutal competition year in and year out after only having one major test every year in the Big 12 in Oklahoma? Independence makes sense for Texas, them and Notre Dame could make a nice rivalry as well in the Independent leagues. College Football is waiting PAC-10 and Big 10 (11) for you to make your moves...make them quick please.