After I heard the news about Fulmer resigning (yeah, yeah), you know, in the back of my head I wondered if these two were destined for each other.
At least Danny won’t get jerked around on scheduling anymore.
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UPDATE:
While I’m talking about that voice in the back of my head, Leipold is one guy I would not like to see UT hire.
Shot.
Chaser:
In the last two seasons, Georgia tight ends have a total of 47 receptions. Out of almost 1700 plays…
Filed under Georgia Football, Stats Geek!
… Kirbs made an under the radar staffing hire.
Georgia has reportedly added to its support staff with a position coach with SEC ties. On Wednesday, FootballScoop reported that UT-Martin defensive line coach Ryan Osborn will be joining Georgia’s staff in an off-the-field capacity. He also held the title of run game coordinator and co-special teams coordinator. The Skyhawks saw their season delayed until this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Osborn will be leaving as the Skyhawks prepare for a spring football season.
Yeah, so, you ask? What’s the big deal about Osborn? Welp,
Before his time at UT Marin, he spent two seasons as a defensive graduate assistant at Florida, working under Dan Mullen and defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. In that time, the Gators were first in the SEC in interceptions, tackles for loss, sacks, and red zone defense and second in both total defense and scoring defense. His bio notes that his duties in Gainesville included running the opponent’s offensive scout team and being responsible for weekly scouting reports on the opponent’s run game and pass protection. Osborn spent another two seasons under Mullen at Mississippi State as a defensive graduate assistant, helping with linebackers and post-game grades in 2016 and outside linebackers, run game, and pass protections in 2017.
Somebody’s doing his damnedest to cover every possible preparation angle for this year’s Cocktail Party.
Filed under Georgia Football, Strategery And Mechanics
Be careful what you wish for, Mark Emmert.
Nearly one year ago, inside a packed, high-ceilinged congressional meeting room, a month before the COVID-19 pandemic made such events virtual, Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, glared down from his pulpit at the president of the NCAA.
Sitting before a panel of inquisitive senators, in the true kickoff of the debate over athlete compensation on Capitol Hill, Mark Emmert begged for help from an entity that the NCAA had spent a century keeping out of its arena. He encouraged Congress to assist him with the issue of name, image and likeness (NIL), to intervene in the NCAA’s dealings, to save it from a plethora of differing state laws that threatened its amateurism model.
Seated on that high-rise platform and behind a mahogany lectern, Tester, in his rural twang, delivered a striking warning.
“I’m going to be honest with you,” he boomed. “You don’t want us to solve this.”
More than 11 months later, Tester’s threat rings deeply prophetic.
It’s not just a “to the victors go the spoils” threat. Right now, the bigger threat is that there’s a lot of stuff on Congress’ plate right now that’s more important than the NCAA’s future.
But maybe the most important news is that the shift in power is impacting the timeline of federal legislation. The new Biden administration is expected to steer the two chambers toward issues involving COVID-19 and the economy, further delaying any real movement on NIL.
In fact, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) believes college legislation will not move in Congress until after Biden’s first 100 days.
“We have bigger fish to fry,” says Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.). “I think it’s aggressive that we’re going to have a bill sitting on the president’s desk this summer.”
Such a delay could put the NCAA on a collision course with the state of Florida, whose state NIL law takes effect in July. As many as 20 more states could join the fray this spring by passing NIL legislation that kicks in over the summer, creating what some believe will be a chaotic environment where athlete compensation is governed by differing state laws instead of a universal policy.
Oh, I don’t think I’d worry about differing state laws too much. Where Florida goes, you can be damned sure the rest of the SEC will follow, and quickly.
From here, it looks like Emmert and Company are more and more likely to hope for a Hail Mary, in the form of a favorable Supreme Court ruling.
For the first time in more than 30 years, the Supreme Court will hear a case involving the NCAA. The high court will review a court decision in an antitrust lawsuit, NCAA v. Alston, that could dramatically impact the NCAA’s long-standing amateurism model. A Supreme Court decision in the case, which will review whether the NCAA’s eligibility rules regarding athlete compensation violate federal antitrust law, is expected by the end of June.
“If the Supreme Court rules in favor of the NCAA and amateurism, the NCAA can go to federal courts and argue Florida’s law needs to be stopped because it interferes with NCAA amateurism rules and those rules were blessed by the Supreme Court,” Feldman says. “It could bolster the NCAA’s argument that states should not be able to enact their own NIL laws.”
Eh, maybe that works, but given the NCAA’s litigation track record, I wouldn’t be too confident of that.
In the meantime, “… 11 months after Emmert sat in front of senators pleading for a congressional NIL bill and promising his own set of NIL laws, the NCAA sits empty handed, part of its own doing.” When it comes to amateurism, doing as little as possible has been the NCAA’s playbook. We’ll see how much longer that’s a viable approach.
Filed under Political Wankery, See You In Court, The NCAA
Shot.
If the University of Tennessee football team had transfer portal problems before Jeremy Pruitt was fired, it has a mass exodus on its hands now.
Linebacker Henry To’o To’o, running back Eric Gray, linebacker Quavaris Crouch and offensive lineman Jahmir Johnson entered the transfer portal Wednesday night.
Tennessee fired Pruitt for cause Monday, citing an investigation that revealed sweeping recruiting violations within the football program. Chancellor Donde Plowman called the investigation’s findings “stunning” based on the amount of violations and number of people involved.
Inside linebackers coach Brian Niedermeyer, who recruited Crouch, Johnson and To’o To’o, and outside linebackers coach Shelton Felton also were fired for cause.
Barely 48 hours later, the four players — all of whom started for Tennessee in 2020 — entered the portal in a 27-minute span.
Make it a double.
If I were a Vol fan, I’d be getting shitfaced, too.
Filed under Because Nothing Sucks Like A Big Orange
When you’re Nick Saban, all the world’s a reclamation project. Maybe Donald Trump should reach out for an analyst position.
Filed under Nick Saban Rules
Larry Scott is proud of plenty about his 11-year tenure as commissioner of the Pac-12.
Eleven years!
Ummm… how much money are we talking about, Spencer?
Eleven years, and he’s proud. At some point, all you can do is sit back and admire the man’s nerve.
I’m sure there will be plenty of “I would have done the same job for half the money” takes today. Sadly, they’re all correct.
Oh, yeah — you know what the definition of an optimist is? Somebody who thinks that the same people who tolerated Scott’s grift for over a decade are now going to nail the hire of his successor.
Filed under Pac-12 Football
Get The Picture 