Indeed.
Good times.
You know, I wasn’t going to mention the Rush Propst tape that popped up this weekend, in which he claims detailed knowledge about how Alabama and Georgia are paying recruits and players — for one thing, to observe that Propst has monumental credibility issues is almost an understatement, and for another, not being able to pronounce Nick Chubb’s name correctly just adds to that — but I can’t let this bit of unintentional comedy slide without saying something.
WHAT? NO WAY! I know this is going to come as a complete shock to all of you, but it looks like Georgia and Alabama are allegedly (this word was inserted at my lawyer’s request) swinging bags of cash to secure the talents of the nation’s top teens.
Do I believe pretty much every word of that without even blinking? Absolutely. Do I think Georgia and Alabama are the only schools doing that? Absolutely not. But I do know that Georgia is especially egregious.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen some out-of-state kid with absolutely no previous connection Georgia trend towards another school for months with the Bulldogs seemingly not even in the conversation only to suddenly commit to Georgia – sometimes even before stepping foot on campus. It could not be more obvious, and anyone who follows recruiting even a little bit could tell you. It ain’t exactly a secret.
Does my beloved alma mater do this, too? I genuinely don’t know. At the very least, they aren’t doing it in broad daylight and daring anybody to say something like Kirby’s been doing in Athens for years. So they’re either clean or much better at hiding it.
“I genuinely don’t know.” Dude. Ohio State hired Urban Meyer with the express purpose of bringing OSU’s recruiting up to SEC standards. What exactly did y’all think that entailed? But, sure, your program is as clean as the driven snow. I’ll try to stop giggling now.
Shot.
On Saturday, Miles’ attorney Peter Ginsberg described Kansas’ decision to put Miles on leave as being based on “media blowback” and categorized it as being “disturbing and unfair.”
“Bending to the winds of media blowback, Kansas has now decided to put Coach Miles on administrative leave,” Ginsberg said in a statement. “Before the release of the reports this week, Kansas had been provided with significant information supporting Taylor Porter’s conclusions. KU also had performed thorough due diligence before hiring Coach Miles. Kansas’ decision to put Les Miles on administrative leave is both disturbing and unfair. To fail to recognize that a person’s career should not be compromised by unsubstantiated allegations hardly is consistent with the example an institution of higher learning should champion.”
Kansas found no red flags with Les Miles during what it claims were extensive background checks prior to his hiring in 2018, school sources told CBS Sports. Those sources defended KU’s vetting of Miles, who is currently on administrative leave after an LSU investigation that found allegations of sexual harassment by two women became public knowledge.
“We did background checks. We did all of those kinds of things,” said a high-ranking school official who did not want to be identified because of the sensitive nature of the proceedings and Kansas’ ongoing investigation. “We talked to people about Les and what he was doing. No one gave any indication of this. No investigations, no reports, no nothing. Zero.”
Kansas athletic director Jeff Long released a statement Friday noting this is the first time the athletic department had “access” to both an LSU in-house report and a third-party investigation detailing allegations against Miles.
Miles would not have been hired if there was any “inkling” of the information contained in the reports, school sources told CBS Sports.
Long and Miles became close when they were together at Michigan from 1988-94. During that time, Miles coached the offensive line under Bo Schembechler, while Long was an associate AD until 1998.
“[Long] did not hire him because he is a friend,” said a Kansas source, which insisted it was Miles’ coaching ability that made him the top candidate for the Jayhawks.
Yeah, sure, whatever. Miles’ coaching ability has, for the time being, put the Kansas program on a 0-13 trajectory. Truly vaunted.
As for those extensive background checks…
About all that’s left is for Long to say he’s never even heard of LSU.
Filed under Big 12 Football, Wit And Wisdom From The Hat
Really, this is close to perfect.
With the federal government about to write $1.9 trillion worth of checks — some of which will even reach the pockets of the poor souls who need them most after nearly a year of financial suffering due to the coronavirus pandemic — perhaps discovering that the University of Tennessee football program is going to pay one Kevin Steele close to $900,000 NOT TO WORK isn’t that big a deal.
So even if I can’t wait to read Steele’s upcoming book “How to Become an (Almost) Millionaire in Seven Short Weeks While Doing Nothing,” I suppose we’re all supposed to just shrug this off as the cost of doing business when you’ve been as bad at business as UT football has the past decade or so.
But really?
$900,000 for seven weeks of NOTHING?
The only thing missing is a crack about that cryptic comment from UT’s head honcho about the SEC providing financial help. But I’m just quibbling.
[Ed. note: The first person who takes this post as an invitation to opine about the bill (you know the bill I’m talking about) will be unceremoniously placed in time out. So don’t do it.]
Filed under Envy and Jealousy
Until the coaches make a decision on who will man the left tackle position on the o-line, they won’t be able to fit the rest of the pieces together there.
Left Tackle: There are a few different ways this thing could go. Jamaree Salyer returns with nine starts at left tackle and he played the position at a high level a year ago. But the staff moved him inside to left guard for the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl with Ben Cleveland (right guard) and Trey Hill (center) out. You get the feeling that the staff would love to slide Salyer down to guard for good, but they won’t hesitate to trot him out there at left tackle if that gets the best five guys on the field.
Warren McClendon started nine games at right tackle and he could slide over and play on the left side if someone emerges on the right side. Guys like Broderick Jones, Amarius Mims, or Xavier Truss could also step up and take on the left tackle job. If anyone other than Salyer plays left tackle, that means Justin Shaffer is likely to move from left guard to right guard, making room for Salyer. As you’ll see in just a second, what happens at left tackle will cause a chain reaction.
Center/Right Guard: There’s going to be competitions at these two positions regardless, but Salyer moving to left guard simplifies things some. As previously stated, Salyer to left guard means Shaffer becomes the favorite at right guard and then center comes down to Warren Ericson vs. Sedrick Van Pran. That should be a huge battle. But if Salyer remains the starting left tackle, Shaffer likely plays left guard and then there’s a very real possibility that Van Pran and Ericson are both on the field. Van Pran could be the center and Ericson could slide in at right guard where he has plenty of experience and one start.
There are other guys to keep an eye on, though. Tate Ratledge is ultra-talented and capable of surging ahead of the pack at left guard. Devin Willock is another candidate. He drew praise from Kirby Smart late last season for his ability to get movement in the run game. Clay Webb is also a factor because he’s so physical and athletic. He just has to stay healthy. Chad Lindberg is also in the mix.
That’s a lot of mixing and matching on Matt Luke’s to-do list.
It seems like I say this almost every spring, but the sooner they settle on a starting five, the better. Timing and communication, not just between the linemen themselves, but also with the quarterback, only improve with time and reps. That’s not necessarily to say that the dust has to settle by G-Day, but you definitely don’t want to be shuffling bodies around a week or two before the Clemson game.
Filed under Georgia Football
Thought I’d try something fun, perhaps through the week — I’m going to post an original song, along with a cover, and let y’all argue about which is the better of the two.
I was inspired by listening to, believe it or not, Alice Cooper’s new release (!), Detroit Stories, which opens with a cover of Lou Reed’s “Rock and Roll”. (Also believe it or not, Cooper’s album ain’t half bad, as he does a good job of rocking on while not taking himself too seriously.)
How it started:
How it’s going:
Yeah, I know I’m cheating a little, since Reed originally recorded the song with The Velvet Underground, but work with me here. The cool thing about the comparison I’m making in this post is that Steve Hunter plays guitar on both the Reed and the Cooper versions.
So, what’s your take?
Filed under Uncategorized
Get The Picture 