Phil Steele puts out.

Yeah, Phil Steele is a little obsessive.

“Ask my wife, I’m not great at a lot of things,” Steele said, “but I can tell you the jersey number of the third-string tackle from Tulane. I can talk football.”

He’s a little wired.

He’s the nut in this niche market who wakes up each morning at 5:55, arrives at the office by 7:02, maybe 7:03, downs nine 12-ounce cans of Mountain Dew before noon [ed. – Ye gods! Emphasis added.] and makes it his business to know all 119 Division I-A teams – from Ohio State to Louisiana-Lafayette, from the Heisman Trophy candidates to the walk-ons.

He’s a little fixated.

“No one ever said that it’s fine literature,” Steele said. “I write with a purpose.”

Did I mention he’s a little obsessed?

… But he puts his life in those predictions. And if Utah State doesn’t finish eighth, one spot behind Idaho, in the Western Athletic Conference this year, Steele will be ticked.

“There’s no meaningless game,” Steele said. “I want to win them all.”

But here’s the real shocker:

The Steele operation almost wasn’t real, and it didn’t begin as a Steele operation. The former Phil Seman changed his name to Steele because he thought it sounded better for the magazine.

Depending upon how “Seman” is pronounced, he may have had a point. Then again, he may have deprived the blogging world of any number of double entendres, especially in his discussion of South Carolina football and Arkansas starting quarterbacks.

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Randomly random randomness

Just a few things I’ve come across surfing the internets this morning:

• The new kickoff rule:  Tastes great.  Less filling.
• Kentucky prediction. With eight home games (including four right off the bat), the schedule isn’t the biggest problem, contrary to the author’s premise.  Although it’s interesting that he thinks Georgia will be the toughest game for UK to get a win in this season.
• The Gainesville Times has an article up that goes through some of the grind of recruiting from the perspective of player, high school and college coaches that’s worth a read.
• And this guy may not be the best at predictions (Arkansas fifth in the West this year?  With McFadden and that schedule?  No way.), but he does nail things neatly with this quote:  “Isn’t it fitting that Auburn and Alabama have hired coaches who share the characteristics of their fan bases? Saban’s all egotistical and a pain to deal with, just like the UA fans. Tuberville’s got his inferiority complex working overtime and is constantly looking for a situation in which his team has been slighted, just like AU fans.”