Friday morning buffet

Cold day, warm buffet.

• Here’s a look at what Trent Thompson might bring to the table.  (By the way, can we stop with the “Ray Drew was a bust” crap?)
• Bill Connelly drops his big ass spread sheet of 2014 receiving stats on us.  And, no, you won’t find any of Georgia’s guys lurking near the top of the list.
• Regardless of where you think the truth may lie between Jameis Winston and the woman who claims he raped her, the idea of students gathering on FSU’s campus to celebrate Winston by calling her names ought to be a head shaker.
• The Big Ten supports an early signing period, but with a caveat from a number of its head coaches that it should be accompanied by the implementation of early official visits.
• Another tax front to open with collegiate athletic departments? (h/t Hogbody)
• Turnover at South Carolina:  “… at least 36 percent of the Gamecocks scholarship roster will be first-year players. Including players who redshirted last season, 39 of the 85 players on the team will have never played a snap for South Carolina.”
• The spread spreads – from high school.
• “It’s a big deal to be the first to offer.”

‘Cocks clearing space

South Carolina, what in the wide, wide world of sports is going on?

Linebacker Marcquis Roberts will not be back with the South Carolina football team and is expected to transfer, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Roberts is the 10th scholarship player to leave the Gamecocks since the end of the 2014 season.

One of those is Mike Davis, who’s going pro, so that’s no big deal, but some of those others, like Roberts, who started six games last season, played.

Is there that much dead wood in Columbia the OBC needs to toss?  Or is there something else happening?

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UPDATE:  Roster management.

Most are being encouraged RT @ballinstatus_19: @JoshatTheState why are so many transferring

— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) February 18, 2015

I guess that’s part of what the NCAA means when you commit to a school, not the coach.

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UPDATE #2:  Still goin’.

DL Blake McClain becomes 10th USC player to transfer this offseason, source confirms. Two more and I think they win a prize.

— Josh Kendall (@JoshatTheState) February 18, 2015

Tuesday morning buffet

Jump right in, folks.

• South Carolina is now seventh in the country in staff compensation.
• Meet Mark Hocke.
• Wes Rucker says he trusts the hire of Mike DeBord, who hasn’t coached football in three seasons, as UT’s new offensive coordinator, because John Jancek proves Butch Jones knows what he’s doing with his hires.  Really.
• Mark Schlabach’s early Top 25 has Georgia sitting at number eight.
• Do you ever try to figure out what all those advanced stats mean?  Bill Connelly’s glossary is here to help.
• Bob Stoops is getting back to Mike Leach ball on offense.
• ESPN’s SEC signing day roundtable has nary a mention of Georgia.
• Is Vernon Adams this year’s version of Jacob Coker?  We’ll see how much media love he gets this offseason.
• It sounds like pace of play won’t be a big issue for the rules committee this season.
• Oklahoma State wants to ask Charlie Strong who orders the Code Red.

Cutting edge

Leave it to Steve Spurrier to innovate:  with the hiring of his second (!) defensive coordinator, he’s now the only coach in the country with two defensive assistant coaches making $700,000 or more.

Thursday morning buffet

If the end of signing day has left you empty, it’s time to fill up.

• Nebraska, you’re strange.
• If you want to know how Mike Bobo’s first signing day went, here you go.
• The Sports and Grits guys will be in mourning:  TCU’s Dick Bumpas announces he’s retiring.
• The saddest, strangest story from signing day occurred at FSU.
• Holy mother of crap, this kid’s huge.
• I’m gonna go out on a limb here and suggest that describing a kid being reinstated after punching a female student hard enough to fracture her face as “He’s been like a caged tiger, I can tell you that…” may not be the best choice of words.
• Ah, Los Angeles.
• Regrets about Johnny Football – Kevin Sumlin has a few.
• Here’s why South Carolina recruits metro Atlanta:  “That’s evidenced by how actively USC recruits the area, which boasts as many high schools as in all of South Carolina.”
• If you want to get a feel for how programs across the nation did yesterday in 140 characters or less, Dave Bartoo can tell you.

“If I need to add a guy or two to the staff, I’ll do it.”

So, Steve Spurrier did.

Thursday morning buffet

Here you go.

• Bill Connelly looks at the ebb and flow of each team in 2014.
• Emerging meme alert:  “Outside of Starkville, SEC quarterbacks have a ton to prove during the 2015 season.”
• The head of NCAA enforcement says academic misconduct is on the rise in college athletics.  Or maybe it’s just a case of people paying more attention to the problem.
• Perhaps it needs to be said more, but Jeremy Pruitt did a helluva job defending Auburn.
• The Vanderbilt rape case and the “culture excuse”.
• Sometimes recruits forget the interview process “goes both ways.”
• With the departure of two more receivers, South Carolina will have no more than two wide receivers who caught a pass in 2014 on the 2015 roster.  I guess Spurdog’s got some coaching up to do.
• By comparison, here’s a look at the current state of Georgia’s receiving corps (plus some signed as receivers who’ve moved).