Nice work, if you can get it.

Mark Emmert pulled down close to $1.7 million in the NCAA’s last fiscal year, which was an almost 50% bump over what his predecessor made.  He probably chalks that up to hazardous duty:

The NCAA’s new tax return also provided an indication of the mounting legal pressure it has been facing.

The association reported nearly $9.5 million in legal expenses during a fiscal year that ended Aug. 31, 2012 – more than what it reported for that spending category in its two previous fiscal years, combined. (While compensation data in the federal tax returns of non-profits are for a calendar year, the revenue and expense reporting covers the organization’s fiscal year.)

The NCAA reported nearly $4.1 million in legal expenses for 2010-11 and a little more than $4.1 million for 2009-10.

Hanging out with counsel ain’t no fun, y’all.  And reviewing those bills is a real pain.  Such small print!

Kids, this is why you should cherish that amateur status.  You don’t need those pesky headaches.

Defensive line thoughts

Seth Emerson touches on something that deserves more attention as we try to evaluate the defense’s chances this season:

5. Front seven: Rotate like crazy up front, but not in the back

Defensive line coach Chris Wilson has a lot of unproven but intriguing options, and he’s vowed to use them. In fact, he refuses to categorize guys as nose tackles or end. He also may have more than just three spots available, if Todd Grantham emphasizes playing a 4-2-5. So it’s a sound strategy to go six, seven, eight deep on the line, whatever it takes.

Absolutely!  I think… okay, more accurately, I hope that some of the problems Georgia had defending the run last season were depth-related on the line and that committing to a rotation this season will help offset the departure of so many defensive starters.  I don’t know how much of what we saw last year was related to Abry Jones’ going out for much of the year and how much was due to Garner’s idea of who should play and how much, but it was clear to me that Jenkins and Geathers weren’t suited to be on the field for as many plays as they were deployed in the second half of the season.

I was encouraged by what I saw out of the linemen at this past G-Day.  There’s more talent than I expected and if Wilson can really fashion a decent rotation of players that keeps them fresh throughout a game, the defense may surprise us by turning out to be more stout against the run than anticipated.  It’s definitely one of the big things to watch in the opener.

Not letting up

If you go to Mike Bianchi’s website, you’ll be greeted by this poll:

Daily poll: Which #Gators athlete committed worst crime during #UrbanMeyer era: Vote here: http://t.co/dP2q6rpN8r

— Mike Bianchi (@BianchiWrites) July 10, 2013

How many questions about Corch do you expect to hear at next week’s SEC Media Days?

 

I could get used to this.

Over at MrSEC.com, John Pennington voices a sentiment that would have gotten him laughed at just a few years ago by all but the most Disneyish of Dawgs:

This past May, Gator coach Will Muschamp made some headlines by telling a Florida booster club that Georgia’s current winning streak over UF is “not going to be a long winning streak.”  At MrSEC.com, we filed that one under “What’s a coach supposed to tell his team’s fans?”  That said, Georgia’s two-game win streak over the Gators will indeed be extended by at least one more year when the Dawgs knock off their rivals in Jacksonville this fall.  Mind you, UGA hasn’t won three in a row in this series since 1987, 1988, and 1989.  Like my high school days, that was a long time ago.  But Georgia’s offense should be one of the most potent in the SEC this year.  Until Florida’s offense begins to thrive under Muschamp, I won’t be picking the reptiles to hang with the canines on the scoreboard.

Admittedly, I still find it a little weird to see that voiced so straightforwardly by somebody who’s not a rabid partisan.  Not that I’m complaining or anything…

Wednesday morning buffet

Fill up, peeps.

• And with this news, it’s official:  SEC Media Days has jumped the proverbial shark.
• But if you’re still interested, here are a few questions that might come up there.
• If the O’Bannon plaintiffs are still hunting for a current player to add to the lawsuit, here’s their guy.
• Scarbinsky craps all over the memories of Trooper and Luper.  2010 seems so long ago now, doesn’t it?
• Ole Miss let an ineligible player appear in six games last season, but will suffer no penalty for that.  Fear the NCAA’s “strict liability”!
• Shakin The Southland takes a retrospective look at the last five recruiting classes of several Southeast schools.
• Over at Blatant Homerism, Allen Kinney uses Kliff Kingsbury’s recent comments as a jumping off point for an analysis of red zone defense in last year’s Big 12.
• Groo has some interesting thoughts about Brendan Douglas and what Georgia might have in store at the fullback position.
• MaconDawg does a nice job fleshing out that Chris Brown post about Georgia’s passing concepts, the shallow cross in particular, I linked to the other day.