Legacy

This is pretty cool.

The Citadel head football coach Brent Thompson has announced the format to the 2020 Spring Game that will include player coaches and several of the rules from the XFL…

The game itself will feature four 12-minute quarters, utilizing many rules from the XFL. The most noticeable differences will be on special teams. The Bulldogs will use the XFL kickoff rule where the kicker will kick from the 35-yard line with the coverage team lining up at the return side 35-yard line. The return team lines up at the 30-yard line and neither team can moved until the ball is caught by the returner.

There will also be no kicking of extra points. After a touchdown, the teams will have the option of running a play from the 2, 5, or 10-yard line, worth 1, 2, or 3 points. If the defense is able to force a turnover and return it to the end zone, the resulting score is equal to the number of points the offense was attempting to score on its PAT.

The XFL may wind up being the very odd duck that sees some of its rule innovations survive its own demise.

(h/t)

Advertisement

“We honor the terms of the contract.”

Boy, this has to chap McGarity’s ass.

James Coley’s annual salary as Texas A&M’s tight ends coach is $450,000 annually, but he’ll still be paid at least $1 million by Georgia for the final two years of a three-year contract he signed when he was promoted to offensive coordinator in January of 2019.

Athletic director Greg McGarity said the school will pay an offset for the time left on Coley’s contract that ran for two more seasons. Coley was demoted in January before making a move to the Aggies.

Not that he has the cojones to actually say, “Kirby, this had better work”, but still, I’d hate to be the face in the mirror when he gripes about the reserve account balance… privately.

“They can’t wait until 2022 to make a decision on Larry.’’

This ought to be fun.

Campus official across the Pac-12 have begun discussing the future of commissioner Larry Scott and believe a decision on his contract could come by the end of this year, if not sooner, according to conference sources.

Scott’s deal expires in two years, but the window is somewhat condensed, sources said, by the timing of the Pac-12’s media rights agreements.

Although the deals with ESPN and Fox run into the spring of 2024, formal negotiations likely would commence 18-21 months earlier, in the fall of 2022 — or just after Scott’s current contract expires.

And the Pac-12’s strategy, according to sources with experience in media deals, would have to be mapped out well in advance of the fall of 2022.

With that convergence of events, a contract extension would position Scott to lead the media rights negotiations that one source called “the most critical thing in the history of the conference.”

Anyone think that’s gonna end well?

“Siri, what is something that probably won’t end well?”

The rules committee wants to crack down on players faking injuries.

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) February 28, 2020

TFW you’re confident you’ve got the right stuff

Sounds like it’s all coming together.

Sources: The NCAA has put off a plan to distribute initial NIL concepts to membership in next couple of weeks in advance of April meeting. Concern was media would would discover and report. Imagine that. Democracy in action.

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) February 28, 2020

Stacey Osburn has no comment.

“We need to rep ‘em.”

Uh, this doesn’t sound optimal ($$).

The Gamecocks only have three scholarship running backs on the roster this spring: Lloyd and sophomores Kevin Harris and Deshaun Fenwick. All three are underclassmen with fewer than 50 career carries.

Combine that with Bobo’s intention to have his quarterback operate more from under center as well as SC having a new running backs coach and I’m thinking blitz pickups have the potential to be a real challenge for the ‘Cocks offense this season.

“It was not malicious.”

Jeez, this is some clarification.

USC athletic director Mike Bohn attempted to clarify Thursday his assertion that “everything is on the table” in terms of the Trojans’ future conference affiliation…

When asked by USCFootball.com’s Ryan Abraham this week if he would consider football going independent or joining another conference, Bohn said, “I think right now, Larry would agree with this, everything is on the table.”

Larry Scott is the Pac-12 commissioner.

“The answer is no,” Bohn said when contacted by CBS Sports on Thursday. “Why would we do that? We’ve got 21 sports here. You know the drill. There would be no way for us to do that.

“Now, that being said, if the unexpected happened and NBC said, ‘Hey we want to partner you guys with Notre Dame’ … then that’s different.'”

I think he just asked for a date, NBC.

Just another day in the “it just means more” conference

Shots fired in Columbia, Missouri.

Eliah Drinkwitz is just getting started…

And his recruiting philosophy.

“I don’t think you have to do it the way the rest of the SEC does it,” Drinkwitz added. “Ole Miss is going to try to do it the way they’ve always done it, right? You don’t have to do that at Mizzou.”

Man, the Laner’s barely had time to unpack!  Looks like we might be headed to an even spicier SEC Media Days than we already anticipated.

Is Jamie Newman simply Jake Fromm with better legs?

Wait a minute.

What’s new: Jamie Newman is new, really new. Not only is he a different guy behind center, but he’s a very different player. There are some similarities between Jake Fromm and Newman as passers. Both can throw the ball to the middle of the field effectively but they thrive when throwing the ball to the outside. Newman is at his best downfield when he’s throwing the ball to the outside and that was Fromm’s strength, too. Both also prefer big receiving targets on the outside, but who doesn’t?

That’s pretty much where it ends. While Fromm was very much a pocket passer, Newman is a guy who can keep teams honest with his feet. He’s not the kind of guy who is going to air it out all over the yard and force teams to keep two safeties back. In fact, his legs will force teams to keep an extra man in the box to try and account for him. That won’t be new for the Bulldogs because they’ve seen loaded boxes for four years now due to the talent at tailback. Newman gives UGA a powerful runner who can really hurt defenses with the designed runs and scrambles.  [Emphasis added.]

I thought all the pundits who are high on Newman have stressed that he’s got a big arm and likes to throw it downfield.  Now we’re being told his skill set is going to encourage more of the same scheming we’ve seen from opposing defensive coordinators that’s driven us crazy for the past three years?  Hunh?

I’m not being snarky here.  I’m genuinely confused.  What’s the story?

********************************************************************

UPDATE:  For what it’s worth, Newman is now third in the odds to win the Heisman Trophy, according to William Hill Sportsbook.

A lesson for Greg McGarity

A source with direct knowledge of the situation tells me this morning that former AD Malcolm Turner told Vanderbilt that it would take $800 million to get all its athletic facilities up to SEC standards.

— Chris Lee (@chrislee70) February 27, 2020

You never have to worry about how spending on athletic facilities will affect the health of your reserve fund if you never spend money on athletic facilities.