Throw momma from the train.

So, this popped up in my Twitter feed today…

I spoke w/ an NCAA official this week who was “95% certain” transfers will soon be allowed to play immediately in basketball & football. Could be a one-time freebie, plus grad transfer option. So in theory, a student-athlete could play for three different schools w/o sitting out.

— Matt Schick (@ESPN_Schick) January 17, 2018

That is essentially free agency.  That is also a long way from either the status quo, or even what’s been discussed as a potential change to the status quo.  Yet this is coming from an anonymous NCAA official who sounds confident it’s likely to happen.  What on earth is going on?

Well, it’s the NCAA, so you know the first thing I’m thinking of as motivation.  Evidently Brian Cook had the same flash as I.

The grad transfer rule already sucks out loud for lower-level schools. Creating open season on every all-conference football and basketball player turns the MAC into a collection of JUCOs, essentially. It’s far worse for competitive balance than paying kids would be, because you get to swoop in on anyone you missed and yoink them. You’re also inviting kids to leave whatever degree program they’re in for sports, damaging your hoary claims to academic integrity.

But it would eliminate a set of arguments against amateurism, so full speed ahead. Because keeping the money is all they care about.

I know I’m a cynical guy.  (Brian Cook may be the only college football blogger I can think of who’s even more cynical than I am.)  Yet, somehow, the NCAA consistently manages to surpass the worst I can attribute to it.  That’s some talent.

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In for a penny…

Sure, why not?

The Florida Legislature is considering a bill that would create a new specialty license plate in Florida calling UCF “national champions.”

— Tim Reynolds (@ByTimReynolds) January 17, 2018

If there are a bunch of UCF fans willing to spend on this — they don’t call ’em “vanity plates” for nothing, you know — why shouldn’t the state step up and separate them from their money?  Somebody’s gonna.

‘This makes a lot of sense.’

Jesus, I don’t know what depresses me the most about this article, that there’s consideration to move Finebaum’s show to Atlanta, that “the city leaders want it”, or that Finebaum would have plenty of other options if things with ESPN don’t work out.

In any event, I think I’m heading towards another just shoot me moment.

Is it Isaiah Wilson time?

One of the most highly ranked signees in Georgia’s lauded 2017 class never saw the field.  In this day and age, that was unusual.

Wilson was the No. 16 overall prospect nationally in 2017 by the 247Sports Composite. Fourteen of the top 15 players saw action as true freshman, with only Stanford quarterback Davis Mills redshirting.

His position coach had a reason for that.  He wasn’t ready.

Wilson, from Poly Prep in Brooklyn, N.Y., had a hard time in the August heat in preseason practices after arriving last summer. Wilson “wilted a little bit,” coach Kirby Smart said at the time.

“He wasn’t ready to play,” Pittman said. “Pretty simple. He wasn’t there yet and by the time we felt like he was heading in that direction it was late in the season so we decided to keep him there, but we’re pleased with all the guys we signed last year.”

No shame in that, and the big thing there, anyway, is that Pittman now thinks he’s good to go.  This may be one factor for the change of heart:  “Wilson was about 354 pounds when he signed and was listed at 345 pounds by Georgia on the roster but said he was down to 327 by the end of the season.”

A kid about whom several of his teammates noted early on moved well has dropped almost thirty pounds under supervision?  Yeah, I’d kinda like to see how Wilson looks now…

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UPDATE:  Here’s Netori Johnson’s redshirt story.  Conditioning for high school offensive linemen is a big story, which makes Andrew Thomas’ success last season that much more impressive.

Good hands

It was the first thing I noticed about Terry Godwin when he hit the field.

Wise decision to target these sure-handed draft-eligible WRs. pic.twitter.com/BJVFPqR4cS

— PFF Draft (@PFF_College) January 17, 2018

Doesn’t appear to have changed…

Today, in you can’t make this stuff up if you tried

I’m starting to think Junior’s just trolling the hell out of everybody now.

Never one to shy away from unconventional moves, FAU coach Lane Kiffin chose 24-year-old Charlie Weis Jr. to be his new offensive coordinator, OwlAccess.com has learned.

The hiring will make Weis the youngest current coordinator at the FBS level, and likely the youngest coordinator in modern college football history.

Two chips off the old block.  I guess I’ll have to quit referring to the Laner as Junior.  Too confusing.

BREAKING: Georgia Tech will be in the CFP conversation.

This is as close as the Jackets will get, though.

Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury will be one of the six new College Football Playoff selection committee members, multiple sources told ESPN on Wednesday.

If Georgia’s in the hunt for the playoffs again, the Stingtalk threads about this move ought to be epic.

Going from rebuilding to reloading

I’m not sure we can say Georgia’s reached that stage yet, but if Alabama’s your benchmark in that regard, the gap is certainly narrowing.

Here are a few other head-to-heads to think about between the Bulldogs and the Tide.

• Alabama signed the nation’s top recruiting classes in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The Crimson Tide currently are rated No. 5 for 2018.
• Georgia signed the nation’s No. 6 class in 2015 and 2016. The Bulldogs landed the nation’s No. 3 class in 2017 and currently have the No. 1-ranked class for 2018.
• Alabama has signed 16 prospects with that elite 5-star rating since 2015.
• Georgia has signed 14 of those elite 5-stars since 2015, including a gap-closing six of them for 2018.
• The Crimson Tide’s recruiting history shows that they have signed 58 prospects with a 4-star rating since 2015. In comparison, the Bulldogs total up 52 of those elite players.
• Alabama has signed up just one 5-star prospect for 2018.
• The Tide have signed one player who was rated No. 1 in this class at his position for 2018. That’s junior college cornerback prospect Savion Smith.
• Alabama has landed only one signee among the nation’s top 50 prospects for this cycle. Georgia has signed nine prospects who are rated in the top 50 of the 247Sports composite rankings for 2018.
• The Crimson Tide have signed six players who rate among the nation’s top 5 prospects for their positions in 2018. In comparison, the Bulldogs have signed 12 of those players in their prized 2018 class.

There are still a few weeks to go until the February signing date, so I wouldn’t close the door on Nick Saban today.  But, barring some crazy stuff, it appears that Georgia will finish by signing the first SEC class to top Alabama’s in years.

That’s both exciting and necessary if the Dawgs want to be a consistent presence in the SECCG and the CFP.  But it’s also only one year.  That we’re concerned about how Smart will replace the talent, experience and leadership of the players who just left for the NFL draft should tell you this program isn’t on automatic pilot quite yet.  But the signs are promising.

Flag on the play

Maybe the stupidest officiating call of the postseason was the decision to eject Kentucky running back Benny Snell during the Music City Bowl.  Given the nature of the world we live in, that’s led to the next level of stupidity, threats made against the Pac-12 official who threw out Snell.

Almost as stupid, though, is the finger pointing and shrugging off going on in the wake of all this by the Pac-12 and the SEC.

The harassing calls began to die down until last week, sources said, when a letter from Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart to the Pac-12’s vice president of officials, David Coleman, critical of Coyte and his crew was made public by the Lexington Herald-Leader, which reported it obtained the letter through an open records request.

When contacted by ESPN for comment regarding Barnhart’s letter, the Pac-12 made it clear it felt his decision to reach out directly to Coleman was a break from protocol.

“We’re happy to discuss the matter with the SEC,” the Pac-12 said in a statement. “We’re particularly sensitive about this issue because our officials have received threats and we are concerned about their safety.”

In separate statements to ESPN, Kentucky and the SEC both expressed a similar belief that there is not an outlined protocol for how to elevate these concerns.

“We are not aware of any protocols for this kind of situation,” the Kentucky athletic department said in its statement. “We made contact with the Southeastern Conference office and made them aware of our concerns. We expressed those concerns to the SEC and to the Pac-12 office.”

Added the SEC: “The University of Kentucky expressed its concerns about specific instances related to officiating in the Music City Bowl to both the SEC and the Pac-12 offices. There has been no universal protocol related to communicating concerns about post-season bowl games. The SEC has no further comment on this matter.”

“There has been no universal protocol related to communicating concerns about post-season bowl games.”  Well, whose fault is that, genius?

There is an obvious solution to an obvious problem — nationalize officiating, standardize training and inject some real accountability into job performance.  This isn’t rocket science.  It just takes some effort and resources coupled with a sincere commitment to improve the work on the field.  Um… well, for college football, maybe that is rocket science.

Signs things are looking up

Sure, it’s the nature of college football that there are going to be new holes to fill every season — well, maybe Alabama’s been the exception to that rule — but I’ve got to say that if punting qualifies as one of Georgia’s big three concerns going into 2018, this program’s come a long way in a short time.