Next up in the rotation

I occasionally posted factoids about Deandre Baker’s last season showing that he was consistently among the best at his position, statistically speaking.

Well, guess what?

Speaking of Alabama, they also have Shyheim Carter, who allowed a mere 0.52 yards per cover snap a season ago. pic.twitter.com/Uwc3LS0eUU

— PFF College (@PFF_College) May 1, 2019

Looks like there may be a new sheriff in town.

Your 5.1.19 Playpen

I realize Game of Thrones is sucking the oxygen out of the tent these days (unrelated Pro Tip:  watch “The Long Night” episode on a LG OLED TV in a dark room and you won’t have a problem with the way it was shot with a lack of lighting), but I’ve been way more excited about this upcoming HBO product:

Bullets are about to fly across Deadwood’s muddy thoroughfare. But first, poetry.

It’s a crisp November morning at Melody Ranch, the venerable Santa Clarita studio that’s been home to everything from squeaky-clean Gene Autry Westerns to Django Unchained and Westworld. The picaresque main street has been dressed to recapture the look it had for three years in the mid-2000s, when it was home to one of the greatest TV dramas ever made: HBO’s Deadwood, a gorgeously profane meditation on the American experiment and the painful business of bringing law to a lawless place — the Western frontier of the 1870s. The series was canceled under jarring circumstances that even the principals can’t agree upon a dozen years later, and talk of a sequel movie (two movies, initially) lingered for so long without amounting to anything that Deadwood seemed destined to be remembered as television’s great unfinished masterpiece. Instead, the network has reconstituted the Deadwood community for a surprise coda: a movie set a decade after the events of the series, which will debut on May 31st.

I can’t wait.

By the way, read the entire piece if you’re a Deadwood fan, or even if you’re not.  There’s even a Jason Isbell bonus.

Speaking of Isbell, this is pretty cool.  (Make sure to read the entire chain of Brown’s tweets.)

https://twitter.com/WEarlBrown/status/1121798205933441024

And this is freakin’ awesome.

In case you can’t tell, I’m pretty pumped.  And you?

“Adam Smith would be proud.”

Preach, brother, preach.

South Carolina, same as it ever was

Pete Fiutak’s South Carolina preview is fine, as far as it goes.  It serves to reinforce my impression of the team this year:  middling on offense, competent to good on defense (a less talented bunch than what Boom deployed at Florida, in other words), facing a brutal schedule.

It’s a team that’ll go as far as turnover margin takes it.  A typical Muschamp season, in other words.

“Georgia Tech leads Georgia in recruiting. Will it last?”

Nothing lasts.  Except the AJ-C’s trolling of Georgia fans, that is.

The future’s not bright enough to need shades yet.

I’m trying to figure out which is my favorite line from this Chattanooga Times Free Press post-spring take on Tennessee, as it’s a tough call between “It’s not about whether the newcomers can help immediately. It’s about how many are going to be asked to”, “That seemingly takes the unit [offensive line] from bad to just not-so-good” and “Chaney’s infectious nature and experience developing offenses around talent — or a lack thereof — will make the Vols a better offensive team in 2019”.

Notably, the phrase “work in progress” is never used.  I wonder why.

The Big 12, for one, welcomes our new gambling overlords.

Welp, this shoe actually dropped a little sooner than I expected.

Big 12 coaches are discussing the implementation of a standardized conference-wide injury report, but they would prefer some type of national uniformity.

The Big 12 is among six FBS conferences holding spring meetings at the same resort hotel in Arizona this week. The American Football Coaches Association also met this week.

Introducing NFL-style injury reports to college football has become more likely in the past year as legal wagering on sporting events has become more prevalent.

And we thought college football wasn’t trying to be fan friendly.

If Dan Mullen didn’t exist, Kirby Smart would have to invent him.

Shot.

Just in case anyone was unaware, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Florida head coach Dan Mullen are not the best of friends. That puts an added layer to one of college football’s best rivalries. And looks as if Mullen threw some more kerosene on the fire Monday when he was discussing transfers.

While talking to reporters, Mullen appears to take a shot at Georgia, more specifically how everything unfolded regarding quarterback Justin Fields, who one of the most high profile players to enter the new college football transfer portal following the 2018 regular season.

“I’d think we did a poor job recruiting if guys were coming in and then immediately walking out the door because it was something different than what they thought it would be and we lied to them during recruiting, or we sold them on a dream that wasn’t true,” Mullen said, according to Thomas Goldkamp of Swamp247.

Chaser.

Florida freshman QB Jalon Jones has entered the NCAA transfer portal, per source.

Was a four-star recruit and an early enrollee. Ran for 63 yards and a touchdown during Florida's spring game.

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) April 30, 2019

I can’t even begin to imagine the fun Kirbs is gonna have with this on the recruiting trail.