Gator Clause

What we learned after Week One

GAINESVILLE -- What did we learn after the first weekend of college football? What modicum of information retained? What nugget of truth acquired?

Well, turns out the media hotel for the 2010 BCS National Championship is the Newport Beach Marriott in Orange County, Cali. So, that's a slightly interesting development for any reporters covering Florida, Ole Miss, Alabama, Texas, Oklahoma State, USC and Cal. Those are you top contenders after Week One.

Slightly related to that opinion: the Georgia Bulldogs and Louisiana State Tigers didn't exactly look like top 5 teams during the first week of the season. Can anyone look at Florida's schedule and point to an opponent that has the ability to beat the Gators? Maybe LSU will improve. Maybe Georgia will figure things out in the next month. Or, maybe not. After Week One those teams did not resemble national title contenders.

Here are you top news stories throughout the SEC East after the first week of the season...

Georgia starter out for the season

Florida has safety in numbers

Tennessee freshman Bryce Brown's debut

South Carolina offense too conservative

Vandy frosh add flash to 'Dores offense

Receivers emerge for Kentucky

-jo-

Vandy's coach voted for Tim Tebow

HOOVER, Ala. -- Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson is off the hook. Johnson said on Wednesday at SEC Media Days that he voted for Tim Tebow as the All-SEC first-team quarterback.

"I don't know if you can find the culprit who didn't vote for him but is wasn't me," Johnson said.

Florida hosts Vanderbilt on Nov.7. The Gators defeated Vanderbilt 42-14 last season.

When asked to scout the Gators, Johnson deadpanned, "They got a good chance to be pretty good."

 -jo-

Did Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino vote for Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow?

HOOVER, Ala. -- Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino was first up on Wednesday at SEC Media Days.

My first question of SEC Media Days: "Bobby, did you vote for Tim Tebow as your All-SEC first-team quarterback?"

PETRINO: "I'm not crazy. I probably did, yeah."

Tebow and the Gators defeated Arkansas 38-7 last season in Fayetteville, Ark. Florida hosts Arkansas on Oct. 17 (homecoming.)

"There's no question in my mind that Tim Tebow will be successful in the NFL," Petrino said.

PETRINO ON FORMER FALCONS QB MIKE VICK

"I understand Mike just got out and I wish him well," Petrino said.

Petrino coached Vick in the NFL.

-jo-

Tennessee Volunteers move past Florida Gators in Rivals recruiting rankings

GAINESVILLE -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is a better recruiter than Florida coach Urban Meyer, according to the national college football recruiting rankings of Rivals.com.

According to the website, Tennessee's 2009 recruiting class is ranked No.10 in the country. Florida is ranked No.11. CLICK ME to see for yourself. Keep in mind that Florida only signed 16 players this year. Tennessee has 21 newcomers.

This might mean nothing. This might mean a lot. We'll let you decide. Either way you digest this information, there's no denying the fact that boy wonder up in Tennessee, Lane Kiffin, has done a pretty good job of selling Volunteers football. That something former coach Phil Fulmer had trouble doing in the waning years of his career.

Is Kiffin actually a better recruiter than Meyer? It's too early to tell. But Kiffin did get the best of Meyer in the recruitment of receiver Nu'Keese Richardson. (And Kiffin also beat out Randy Shannon for running back Bryce Brown).

-jo-

MSU Bulldogs join bubble talk

TAMPA -- Mississippi State defeated South Carolina 82-68 on Friday in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference. Depending on how you look at it, this could be either good news or bad news for Florida.

THE GOOD-NEWS SCENARIO: South Carolina's loss on Friday allowed the Gators to move ahead of the Gamecocks in the eyes of the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Florida's RPI is 46 today, according to RealTimeRPI.com. South Carolina's is 49.

THE BAD-NEWS SCENARIO: Now Mississippi State AND South Carolina are ahead of Florida in the eyes of the committee. State's RPI is 78 but the Bulldogs did defeat Florida in head-to-head competition. Personally, I think State needs to win it all to make the NCAA Tournament.

Nothing is certain at this point and everything is influx with so many conference tournament games taking place simultaneously across the country, but if it comes down to the selection committee choosing between Mississippi State, South Carolina, Florida and Auburn, well, I wouldn't want to be on the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

-jo-

GILLISPIE MUST GO

TAMPA -- Hey, Kentucky, do Southeastern Conference basketball a favor and fire Billy Gillispie right now. Not tomorrow. Not after Selection Sunday. Not after the NIT. Fire Gillispie today, Friday, 13 March 2009.

Friday the 13th should be the last day for the Gillispie Era. Give him the machete Crystal Lake style. Or, maybe, if you want to be poetic, fire the guy on March 15 Julius Caesar style. Either way, Gillispie needs to go. The Big Blue mystique is gone, folks, and without it the SEC just isn't the same.

It's the curse of Tubby. You know it is. The way Kentucky treated Coach Smith, the Wildcats almost deserve this Gillispie guy for a few more years. But while the Wildcats waste away, so does the SEC. For the love of bourbon and horses, buy Gillispie off with some of the reserve stuff and then send him to the glue factory. Then hire Anthony Grant and let the healing process begin. It's time to detox, Kentucky.

-jo-

Is Alabama this year's Georgia?

TAMPA -- Alabama defeated Vanderbilt 82-75 on Thursday in the first round of the SEC Tournament at the St. Pete Times Forum. Palm Beach County native Alonzo Gee led the Tide with 25 points. Bama plays Tennessee at 7:30  on Friday night in the quarterfinals.

The Crimson Tide (18-13) played considerably better than their record on Thursday. Could they be this year's Georgia? Remember Georgia last season? The Bulldogs entered the SEC Tournament with a sub-.500 conference record but won four games in four days to win the SEC Tournament. Could Alabama, which went 7-9 in conference play this season, do the same thing this season?

[PICTURED, Anyone remember this tornado?]

Alabama is certainly athletic enough to hang around for four days in Tampa. Gee is a possible draft pick, 6-1 guard Senario Hillman can jump through the roof,  6-5 guard Mikhail Torrance (of Eight Mile, Ala.), who had 20 points on Thursday, is long, 6-9 freshman JaMychal Green is coming into his own at the perfect time.

Interim coach Philip Pearson, who took over for the Mark Gottfried during the middle of the conference schedule, has now won five of his last six games. Alabama, despite its poor conference record this season, was one of only two SEC teams to defeat both LSU and Tennessee this year. The other team to do it was Auburn. 

-jo- 

Kentucky wins; Gillispie still has a job

Balanced scoring helps the Kentucky Wildcats survive the first round of the SEC Tournament.

TAMPA -- Kentucky handled its business on Thursday, defeating Ole Miss 71-58 in the SEC Tournament's first game of the day. Guess that means Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie still has a job tomorrow. Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy might be gone, however, considering this happened earlier in the season.

The fourth-seeded Kentucky Wildcats (20-12) play one-seed LSU at 1 p.m. on Friday in a quarterfinal game. With minutes left in Kentucky's game against Ole Miss on Thursday, the Wildcats' fans began chanting, "L-S-U! L-S-U!" LSU defeated the Wildcats 73-70 during the regular season. 

Kiffin is a disgrace to sleazy recruiting

GAINESVILLE -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is in the news again. This time he told a recruit that if he signed with South Carolina over Tennessee then he'd be pumping gas for the rest of his life, or something stupid and Kiffinish like that.

We could go on and on about how wonderfully desperate Tennessee must have been to hire a guy like Kiffin, but we'll avoid all that nonsense and focus on the facts. And, once again, Kiffin got his facts wrong. They still siphon gasoline in South Carolina.

[PICTURED, A newbie.]

That was a stupid joke, right? Banal, vapid, sophomoric, all the rest and so on. The point is, the only thing we can do at this point is laugh. This is recruiting in the SEC, folks. This is what your hard-earned booster donations are supporting. It's nothing new. Kiffin just hasn't learned how to play the game the right way.

Was Nick Calathes robbed of SEC award?

LSU's Marcus Thornton was named SEC Player of the Year over UF's Nick Calathes and UK's Jodie Meeks.

GAINESVILLE -- The Southeastern Conference announced its all-conference teams, coach of the year (Trent Johnson, LSU) and player of the year (Marcus Thornton, LSU) today.

UF guard Nick Calathes made first-team all-conference and freshman guard Erving Walker made the SEC all-conference freshman team. Let's review the numbers of the All-SEC first team.

Orson Charles calls out Florida

The prep tight end from Tampa Plant blasted a former UF assistant coach on Sunday for a poor recruiting performance.

GAINESVILLE -- UGA prospect Orson Charles is apparently not a big fan of former Florida tight ends coach John Hevesy.

Charles, a tight end from Tampa Plant, recently chose Georgia over USC and Tennessee. Florida also recruited Charles but didn't make the player's short list. Why? On Sunday night, Charles said it was all Hevesy's fault. Hevesy, now an assistant coach at Mississippi State, was the point man on the Charles deal. He recruited Charles for over a year.

[PICTURED, This guy never liked the Gators.]

"John Hevesy, when he came, that was just horrible. That turned things around," Charles told Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. "He just wasn't a good recruiter. He wasn't really recruiting me, just calling me once a month."

Wow! Talk about classy. So you didn't like the guy. So Hevesy didn't stroke your ego enough, or whatever. So he barked at you when you broke the national championship trophy. You still don't call the guy out in public like that. Poor form.

Brass knuckles are Jamar Hornsby's weapon of choice, allegedly; Ole Miss still gathering facts

Former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby allegedly attacked a man with brass knuckles in a McDonald's drive through.

GAINESVILLE -- So you're sitting at a Starkville, Miss., McDonald's drive through at 2:15 a.m. just minding your own and waiting for your Happy Meal. Then, out of nowhere, some clown rear-ends your car. At this point, you have four logical options:

Option A: Exchange insurance information if there's any damage. Collect your Happy Meal and be on your way.

Option B: Ignore the bump all together. Collect your Happy Meal and be on your way.

Option C: Call the cops to report the damage and eat your Happy Meal while the fuzz sorts out the mess.

Option D: Grab your brass knuckles and assault the clown. 

Jamar Hornsby arrested in Starkville

While you weren't at work ...

GAINESVILLE -- While you were chilling on South Beach or dancing at Hard Rock or day tripping to Key Largo or just binge drinking Miller High Life at your flat because that's the fiscally responsible way to get down these days, it was actually a busy weekend for Gators news. Stuff happened. Let's review.

[PICTURED, A troubled soul.]

How about we start with some really good news -- the best news of the weekend, in fact. Pretty cool, huh? As one person commented, that should cancel out the whole Jamar Hornsby incident, right? Well, speaking of Jamar Hornsby, guess what happened in Mississippi earlier this week. Nothing says second chance like a felony charge for aggravated assault. I mean, seriously, Houston Nutt, what did you expect? This is the same guy that stole the credit card of his teammate's girlfriend after the girlfriend died tragically in a motorcycle accident with another football player. What an embarrassment to humanity.

TIM TEBOW: 'Come watch us beat Georgia again'

GAINESVILLE -- When it comes to the Georgia-Florida rivalry these days, it's never too early to start talking a little smack. Not even for UF quarterback Tim Tebow.

Tebow was up in the Panhandle this weekend accepting yet another postseason award. This time it was the Wuerffel Award, presented by the good folks of Fort Walton Beach. After accepting his award, Tebow helped raise money for local charities by auctioning off a package of four tickets to the UF-UGA game in Jacksonville. Tebow got $5,500 for the tickets, sealing the deal with this zinger: "Four tickets to come watch us beat Georgia again."

SPRING FOOTBALL 5 QUESTIONS
We know spring football doesn't start for about three more weeks, but it's never too early to toss a few ideas around. Who replaces Percy Harvin? Who plays right tackle? Who plays left tackle? The Herald asked five questions regarding the Gators as spring football nears in Monday's paper. CLICK ME! 

-jo-

SEC forever blowing bubbles

GAINESVILLE -- It's bubble time for college basketball. Call me Mr. Bubble of the SEC. As the song goes, "I'm forever blowing bubbles. Pretty bubbles in the air."

So many bubble games for teams to blow this weekend around the SEC. Let's take a look around the bubble factory.

VANDERBILT (16-9, 5-6) AT FLORIDA (20-6, 7-4), 3 p.m. Sat
The Commodores appear bound for the NIT at this point but they did just defeat Kentucky and have important bubble games remaining against UF, South Carolina and LSU (away). Vandy is 1-4 in road conference games this season with its lone away victory coming against Auburn. Some people say Florida plays basketball like this famous person lived his life. I strongly disagree! The Gators are trying the best they can, according to their coach, and they're only "bad" loss was to Georgia, according to me. People also say UF can't win an important conference game on the road. I strongly disagree! UF knocked off Auburn and Vandy. As you're about to find out, that win at Auburn is looking sweeter every day.

AUBURN (17-9, 6-5) AT LSU (22-4, 10-1), 8 p.m. Sat
Winners of their last four games (Tennessee, Arkansas, Mississippi State and Georgia), the Auburn Tigers are the hottest team in the league. Auburn still doesn't have a ticket to the SEC's NCAA Tournament bubble party, but Tigers could earn one very quickly with a win at LSU. LSU is a bubble eater, though.

TENNESSEE (16-9, 7-4) AT KENTUCKY (18-8, 7-4), 1 p.m. Sat
People tell me that Tennessee is on the bubble. I disagree. While some SEC teams were playing non-conference games against opponents like Florida A&M, Tennessee was actually playing (and defeating) real basketball teams. Tennessee is in. No Bubbles. Kentucky, on the other hand, needs a few more wins to bolster their resume. The Wildcats can't lose another game at home.

ARKANSAS (13-11, 1-10) AT SOUTH CAROLINA (18-6, 7-4), 7 p.m. Sat
South Carolina can't afford a home loss this late in the season either. Especially to a team that has lost 10 of its last 11 games. Arkansas might be terrible when it comes to conference play, but the Hogs did (somehow) defeat Texas and Oklahoma this season.

MISSISSIPPI STATE (17-9, 7-4) AT ALABAMA (13-12, 3-8), 3 p.m. Sat
If State loses this game, then its days on the bubble are done.

-jo-

Irony is a funny thing, Tennessee football reports recruiting violations

GAINESVILLE -- In a rather interesting twist of irony, this happened today up in Knoxville. CLICK ME! Talk about a rookie mistake. If Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin has an appetite tonight, he's probably eating Volunteer-orange and idiot-white shoes.

SI.com recruiting writer Andy Staples chimes in on National Signing Day and the bizarre Thursday that followed. CLICK ME!

LSU's defense allowed plenty of points last season and lose everyone on its defensive line except this guy. CLICK ME!

Up in Columbia, S.C., coach Steve Spurrier is starting from scratch on offense with four new assistants. CLICK ME!

And if ya don't know, now ya know. CLICK ME! Lady Gators are No.9 and rising. More on women later this week in a Miami Herald near you.

Mark Bradley of the AJC -- one of my favorites -- compares psychos. CLICK ME!

It has been an exceptional week for the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. CLICK ME!

Editor's note: The editorial board of Gator Clause, Inc., reserves the right to update this blog throughout the night and into morning. Check back for updates!

-jo-

Kiffin calls Pahokee coach and apologizes

GAINESVILLE -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin called Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson on Saturday and apologized for the statement's made about the Palm Beach County high school during a Tennessee booster function on Thursday. Pahokee is still awaiting a public apology by Kiffin.

"He said he wasn't making excuses and that what he said was wrong," Thompson said. "He apologized and said he would make a public apology to the town and the school and also call the principal as well. I said thank you and that we appreciate that and the town and schools needs for you to make a public apology."

Thompson said that Pahokee's formal letter of complaint will still be sent to the Southeastern Conference and the University of Tennessee.

"I'm so glad he called so we can get past this," Thompson said. "I'm glad I didn't have to call. I told him I was glad he was doing what is right and being a man about it."

-jo-

Pahokee to send formal complaint to Tennessee

GAINESVILLE -- In an effort to prove it knows how to use a fax machine, the city of Pahokee is preparing to send a formal complaint to the University of Tennessee regarding the recent comments made by Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin. Here's a copy of that letter. CLICK ME!! 

Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson said the letter will be faxed, mailed and emailed to just about every important person in Knoxville. Thompson called Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton on Friday but hasn't heard back. Thompson also called SEC commissioner Mike Slive.

"You can't do this to somebody," Thompson said. "It's not right."

Thompson is obviously a very patient man but here's what's going to happen if he doesn't hear from Kiffin either today or tomorrow. Just a guess, but Kiffin and his assistants probably won't be welcomed in Pahokee anymore. And I'm assuming the other schools in the area -- Belle Glade Glades Day and Belle Glade Glades Central -- have been paying attention to this whole saga. Thompson and Pahokee want an apology and also want Kiffin to set the record straight. Either Kiffin writes a letter or visits Pahokee or else.

Kiffin's rivals are taking advantage of his recruiting mistakes. Florida coach Urban Meyer called Thompson on Saturday morning just to touch base.

"He wanted to know if Florida did anything wrong in recruiting Nu'Keese," Thompson said. "He also wanted to make sure Florida and Pahokee maintained a professional and ethical relationship."

See, Meyer knows something that Kiffin hasn't figured out yet. In the SEC, recruiting is all about building relationships. Back in the Pac-10, all Kiffin had to do was tell people he coached for USC. Kiffin is either too young to realize this or too arrogant to think it matters. He'll learn.

-jo-

Which team in the SEC had the best recruiting class?

GAINESVILLE -- Was meaning to breakdown the SEC's 12 recruiting classes on Thursday but I was busy writing about Tennessee's Boy Wonder. Hey, the guy knows how to stick his foot in his mouth almost as good as he knows how to recruit, apparently. Only time will tell, of course. Anyone other than me looking foward to the Janoris Jenkins vs. Nu'Keese Richardson match-up next season? More importantly, anyone other than me totally digging the Academy Award weekend on AMC?

Before we breakdown every team in the league, let's review the three major recruiting rankings: Rivals, Scouts and ESPN.

DON'T FORGET to vote in the poll at the bottom of this post! This post took awhile.

Team          Class Size     Rivals Scouts ESPN
Alabama            27              1        2         2
Arkansas           31              15      23       20
Auburn               28             19       19       25
Florida               16              10      13        5
Georgia              18              9        10       6
Kentucky            29             42       32      n/a
LSU                   24              2        4         1
Mississippi         37             18       12       22
Miss. State         27             23       22       23
South Carolina    29             12       9         12
Tennessee         20              17      20        15
Vanderbilt           17             73      67        n/a

Ole Miss signed a real winner on Wednesday

Jamar Hornsby is a Rebel. Hotty Toddy! Gosh almighty! Who the hell is he? This guy ...

 

Summitt should teach Kiffin a few lessons

GAINESVILLE -- I've read plenty this morning about Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin's buffoonery on Wednesday but no where is anyone writing what might be the worst part about all of this.

On the day Tennessee women's basketball coach Pat Summitt got win No.1,000, Tennessee's football coach intruded into Summitt's spotlight and embarrassed her university.

Summitt might be the best coach in the country --college or pro -- regardless of sport. She has won more games than any other men's or women's college basketball coach in the history of the sport. Hell, she could probably coach football better than most of the guys in the SEC.

All that winning and has anyone ever heard Summitt brag about anything other than being surrounded by great people? She should probably do Kiffin a favor by sitting down with the guy and going over a few things. In my brain, here's how that conversation would probably go:

KIFFIN: [WALKS INTO SUMMITT'S OFFICE.]

KIFFIN: "Congratulations, coach, on your 1,000th wi..."

SUMMITT: "Sit down and shut up, son."

KIFFIN: [CLOSES MOUTH; SITS DOWN]

SUMMITT: "Shoot, you got some mouth on that pretty little face don't you, son."

KIFFIN: [OPENS MOUTH]

SUMMITT: "Save it. We all make mistakes...especially our idiot athletics director...Heck, but I wouldn't sweat it. No one here in Tennessee cares about Florida anyway. But, listen, you've got to be a little smarter if you want to have a long and successful career here at Tennessee. Now, your daddy probably taught you something about public speaking but you just forgot, right?"

KIFFIN: [BEGINS TO OPEN MOUTH.]

SUMMITT: "No, don't answer that question, Lane. It was rhetorical. I was being sarcastic."

KIFFIN: [BEGINS TO RAISE HIS HAND]

SUMMITT: "Put your hand down, Lane. Frankly, I don't want to hear anything else you have to say. Now, grab a pen and a piece of paper and write this stuff down. Follow these rules and you'll be fine from here on out.

"No.1: When speaking into a microphone, never mention yourself or your rivals by name.

"No.2: Let Ed Orgeron be the point man when it's time to talk about recruiting.

"No.3: Never...Wait, on second thought, don't ever let Ed speak to the media. Come to think of it, don't ever let him speak to anyone other than recruits.

"OK, No.3, and this is an important one, son: Never try and upstage me, kiddo. This is Pat Summitt's town. You got that?"

KIFFIN: [NODS HEAD.]

"No. 4: You're not in California anymore. Pete Carroll might joke around and have fun at USC but you're not Pete Carroll and people in the South don't have a sense of humor when it comes to college football.

"No. 5: Always give everyone else the credit.

"No. 6: Get a nose job. Something is wrong with your face. I'm pretty sure it's your nose.

KIFFIN: [GRABS HIS NOSE.]

"No.7: Fly to Florida and apologize face to face with the people at Pahokee High School. Lord knows there' s not enough talent in this state to field a competitive football team. In case you didn't know, you're probably going to need a few recruits from Florida if you want to win an SEC championship.

"No. 8: If you see me on campus or at the Christmas party or at the SEC meetings or downtown eating dinner, don't talk to me. I'm being serious now, Lane. Just smile and wave and keep on walking."

-END-

In case anyone wanted to see Lane Kiffin make a fool of himself, here's the video of his ill-fated shot at Urban Meyer. CLICK ME!

Columnist Mike Bianchi of the Orlando Sentinel ripped into Kiffin this morning. CLICK ME!

Here's how Florida lost Marsalis Teague to Tennessee, according to Kiffin. CLICK ME!

Lane Kiffin wants Marsalis Teague to play receiver. Monte Kiffin wants him at cornerback. CLICK ME! could play receiver for Vols. 

If that wasn't painful enough to read for Gators fans, then this one will be like shoving bamboo shoots under your toenails. CLICK ME!

Was Kiffin's blunder reported by the Knoxville News-Sentinel as a success? CLICK ME! Reading through the comments of Tennessee's fans is pretty funny.

-jo-

Pahokee coach confused, saddened by Kiffin's comments

GAINESVILLE -- Florida wasn't the only school Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin took a shot at on Thursday. The Vols' coach also called into question the people at Pahokee Middle/High School.

While addressing a crowd of about 1,000 people at the Knoxville Convention Center, Kiffin said that receiving a faxed National Letter of Intent from Pahokee receiver Nu'Keese Richrdson on Wednesday was made difficult by the staff at Pahokee. Kiffin inferred that Pahokee High wanted to somehow prevent Richardson from signing with UT.

"You can't understand how hard this is to get done," Kiffin said. "[UT assistant coach] Eddie [Gran] had this set up at 7 o'clock in the morning. [Richardson's aunts] got the papers signed by the kid. They didn't go do it at the school because they knew somebody at the school was going to screw it up. The fax machine wouldn't work, or they would have changed the signatures, all the things that go on in Pahokee now. The aunts took it over to a junior high, found a fax machine that worked and faxed them over to us at 7 o'clock, and I kept it in a drawer till their 1 o'clock press conference."

Pahokee coach Blaze Thompson said on Thursday he was "confused" by Kiffin's comments. For starters, there isn't a junior high in Pahokee. Pahokee High School and Pahokee Middle are the same school. Thompson said that Kiffin must have been talking about Pahokee Elementary, where Richardson's aunt works.

Thompson said that he has been friends with the Richardson family for 20 years and also said, "I wouldn't think they would say something like that about me."

Thompson was troubled by Kiffin's apparent fear that Pahokee had the intentions to somehow sabotage Richardson's attempt to fax his National Letter of Intent to Tennessee.

 

"I'm just confused," Thompson said. "I don't know where he would get we screw up faxes or change signatures. No player here has ever been coerced by me or anyone else at the school to go to one school or the other. Pahokee is certainly not a Florida school. [UF cornerback] Janoris [Jenkins] was our first to go there in a long time. We would have been proud for [Richardson] to go to Florida but we're just

as proud he went to Tennessee, although with these statements, I'm confused why [Kiffin] would bash a school he would get a commitment from."

 

Thompson said he looks forward to speaking with Kiffin and "hearing what this is all about."

 

"We have to deal with Tennessee and we're going to maintain a professional relationship with them," Thompson said. "They've got a great kid and a great player. We've never had anyone at Tennessee and we're excited about it. This is really sad that Coach Kiffin would make these kinds of statements.

 

"You put your heart into working with kids and any time your professionalism or your character is questioned it takes you back and makes you concerned."

 

-jo-

SEC reprimands UT coach Lane Kiffin

GAINESVILLE -- The Southeastern Conference wasted little time in dealing with Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin and his public comments about UF coach Urban Meyer. League officials issued a public reprimand on Thursday afternoon, stating that Kiffin violated the SEC's code of ethics.

"Coach Kiffin has violated the Southeastern Conference Code of Ethics," SEC commissioner Mike Slive said. "SEC Bylaw 10.5.1 states that coaches and administrators shall refrain from directed public criticism of other member institutions, their staff or players.

"The phone call to which Coach Kiffin referred to in his public comments is not a violation of SEC or NCAA rules. We expect our coaches to have an understanding and knowledge of conference and NCAA rules."

-jo-

Lane the Pain making his presence known around SEC

GAINESVILLE -- Hide the youngins, SEC football coaches, new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is coming to steal your children. If it doesn't happen in 2009, you can bet on it happening in 2010.

Contrary to what you might read in the Mobile Press-Register CLICK ME!, Kiffin is showing early signs that he has the smarts and salesmanship to succeed in at least one discipline required to win in the SEC: recruiting. First, Kiffin stole assistant coaches. Next up, the recruits.

Alabama coach Nick Saban is taking notice. After losing one of his top recruiters, assistant Lance Thompson, Saban recently told his current crop of recruits not to take official recruiting visits to Knoxville. CLICK ME! Seems like a good idea after news today that Pahokee receiver Nu'Keese Richardson had a fabulous time this weekend on a recruiting trip to the University of Tennessee. According to a Rivals.com report, Richardson is rethinking his oral commitment to Florida.

"I don't know it's going to be really difficult now because Tennessee certainly showed me somethings I didn't see at Florida and that impressed me tremendously," Richardson said. "I don't want to rush and making a decision yet so I'm going to let things settle down in my head, talk it over with the family and come to a conclusion about which school I will sign with just before signing day."

According to a few people up in Tennessee, Nu'Keese actually didn't want to take the trip but did so on the order of his parents. Smart parents. Recruits should have every opportunity to make an educated decision on their collegiate destination. Anyone who thinks otherwise is either a coach or a fan.

Richardson isn't the only UF recruit Tennessee's new coaching staff is hoping to sign on Wednesday. Paris (Tenn.) Henry County cornerback Marsalis Teague is also considering the Vols. Teague committed to UF last month but now appears to be waffling on that decision. His high school coach has told a few people in Knoxville that his star player is headed to UT.

For those keeping score, that's two UF commitments that Kiffin and his all-star cast of recruiters have been able to influence in a very short amount of time. Kiffin didn't finalize his coaching staff until AFTER the national championship. That's quick work. Given a full year, Kiffin and his staff should have Tennessee on the road to recovery in the world of recruiting.

In addition to hiring Thompson away from Alabama, Kiffin stole South Carolina recruiting coordinator David Reaves from the Gamecocks. Reaves, Kiffin's brother-in-law, is the son of UF legend John Reaves. Kiffin also pilfered running backs coach Frank Wilson from Mississippi State. Wilson is a well-known recruiter in Louisiana.

That leads us to former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, who coached with Kiffin at USC. Orgeron might not have been much of a head coach at Ole Miss but he is one heck of a recruiter. Tennessee also picked up former Auburn assistant Eddie Gran. Gran is an excellent recruiter as well. In his time with the Tigers, he signed more kids out of South Florida than perhaps any team not named Miami.

Kiffin's staff of talented recruiters appears to be salvaging the Vols' 2009 recruiting class and, more importantly, laying the necessary groundwork for the future. Beware.

-jo-

Dainty Florida will roll the rough and rugged Tide

GAINESVILLE -- Big game this weekend up in the ATL. Stubhub expects No.2 Florida (11-1) vs. No.1 Alabama (12-0) to rank in its top 10 list for ridiculously inflated ticket prices. And that's not top 10 for a college football game. That's top 10 regardless of sport. Only Super Bowl and World Series tickets have gone for more. Club seats in the Georgia Dome are pushing $1,300.

Gator Clause isn't leaving Gainesville until Friday night, so I'll have plenty of time to bloggy blog until then. Something a bit odd I just realized. While interning for The Birmingham News, I covered Alabama quarterback John Parker Wilson when his Hoover Bucs won a high school state championship. As a preps writer for The Herald, I covered Tebow's state championship in 2005. Pretty cool, huh?

Both Wilson's and Tebow's state championship wins were blowouts by the fourth quarter. The only difference in the two state championship games -- and this has something to do with my officially licensed prediction of the game -- Tebow played nose guard in the fourth quarter for Ponte Vedra Beach Nease. So, that whole idea about UA's rough and rugged style of play being too much for UF's dainty little spread-option offense ... it's nonsense. UF 38, UA 18

Saturday's game will be much more than a contest between Tebow and Wilson, of course. There will be plenty of talented players on the Georgia Dome's artificial turf and we're here to highlight a few important match-ups because, well, like y'all, I'm pretty excited about watching this game...

11) UA cornerback Javier Arenas vs. UF receiver Percy Harvin: Assuming Harvin plays more than a decoy role (I doubt it), this could be one of the best one-on-one match-ups on Saturday. Harvin will play receiver if he does anything. Arenas is looking forward to the challenge. When asked about Harvin this week, Arenas said he expects Harvin will play.

10) UA receiver Julio Jones vs. UF cornerbacks Janoris Jenkins and Joe Haden: Jones and Jenkins know a little about each other going in. They squared off in a high school all-star game over the summer. Jenkins has three interceptions and leads the team with 10 pass break-ups. Haden is one of the nation's brightest up-and-comers. He's second on the team with 69 tackles and eight pass break-ups. He also has two interceptions. Jones leads UA with 46 receptions for 723 yards and four touchdowns. He's the Crimson Tide's only downfield threat. UA tight end Nick Walker is second on the team in receptions (26 for 262 yards, two TDs).

9) UF quarterback Tim Tebow vs. UA linebacker Rolando McClain: In this corner, the Mac Attack (team-high 82 tackles, 11 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, three sacks), standing six feet and four inches and weighing in at 249 pounds. Wearing a crimson hat and menacing scowl, Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain. And in this corner, The Chosen One (tougher to take down than the Berlin Wall, 12 rushing touchdowns, third-down conversation machine, 43 career rushing touchdowns), standing six feet and three inches and weighing in at 240 pounds, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner and heavyweight CHAMPION OF THE WORLD, Tim Tebow.

8) UF offensive coordinator Dan Mullen vs. UA defensive genius Nick Saban: Florida's offense leads the Southeastern Conference in scoring. The Gators are averaging 46.3 points per game. (That's a big number.) Alabama's defense leads the league in points allowed. The Crimson Tide is allowing 11.5 points per game. (That's a small number.) Florida's offense leads the SEC in total yards (449.4 yards per game). Alabama's defense leads the league in total yards allowed (248.5 yards per game). Something's gotta give, right?

7) UA tackle Andre Smith vs. UF end Carlos Dunlap: NFL scouts (and me) will be watching this match-up. Many consider Smith the best offensive lineman in the nation. Dunlap leads the Gators with nine sacks and is peaking at the perfect time. Sounds a lot like a young Derrick Harvey.

6) UF center Maurkice Pouncey vs. UA nose guard Terrence Cody: Cody is the guy that allows UA linebacker Rolando McClain to fill the gaps and make the tackles. UF leads the SEC in rushing yards per game (237.1 yards per game) and Cody will do his best to limit UF on first down. Cody (6-5, 365 pounds) will be highly motivated for this game. He's from Fort Myers. Pouncey is one of the best young offensive linemen in the country (along with his brother, of course). Maurkice and guard Mike Pouncey will also be highly motivated for this game. The Pounceys' stepfather, Robert Webster, who was severely injured (lost a leg) at work in Lakeland last week, is expected to make the trip to Atlanta for the game.

5) UA tight end Nick Walker vs. UF strong safety Ahmad Black: Here's a match-up that will draw my attention. Nick Saban loves to get his tight ends involved and UA will be looking to isolate Walker (6-5, 248-pound senior) in one-on-one coverage against Black, UF's undersized (5-9, 185 pounds) strong safety. Walker is Alabama's second-leading receiver (26 receptions for 262 yards). Black (What a story this kid has turned out to be, right.) leads UF in interceptions with six. Another thing: Getting Black out of the run-box will be one of the top priorities for UA quarterback John Parker Wilson. In the words of Black, "Pick party!"

4) UF linebacker Brandon Spikes vs. UA running backs Glen Coffee, Mark Ingram and Roy Upchurch: UF linebacker Brandon Spikes leads the Gators in tackles (80) and is a finalist for the Nagurski Award. UA's trio of power running backs are all downhill runners. Coffee is averaging 6.2 yards per carry (102.9 yards per game). Ingram and Upchurh are just as tough to take down. Expect some big collisions, folks.

3) UA's sure hands vs. UF's defensive thievery: UF has forced 21 turnovers during its current eight-game winning streak and converted 16 of those turnovers into touchdowns. Alabama has lost nine fumbles this season and quarterback John Parker Wilson has only thrown five interceptions. Alabama cannot afford to turn the ball over.

2) UF nose tackle Lawrence Marsh vs. UA center Antoine Caldwell: The importance of this match-up cannot be overstated. Marsh, recovering from a sprained medial-collateral ligament, has been UF's most reliable interior defensive lineman. Caldwell is a finalist for the Remington Award, given to the nation's best center, and helps pave the way for Alabama's between-the-tackles running game. UA is second in the SEC in rushing yards per game (201.5 yards). Florida is third in the league in rush defense (102.8 yards per game).

1) UF quarterback Tim Tebow vs. UA nose guard Terrence Cody: UF leads the SEC in third-down conversions (48.9 percent). UA leads the league in third-down conversion defense (25 percent). Another interesting statistical comparison: UA leads the SEC in fourth-down conversion (8 of 9, 88.9 percent). UF's defense leads the league in denying teams on fourth down (8 of 21, 38.1 percent).

1A) UA strong-side linebacker Cory Reamer vs. UF scatbacks Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey: What!? All this hard work in the middle of the night and this is your No.1 match-up of the biggest game in SEC history? I can hear you now, "Goodman, you're an idiot." Well, hear me out first before you leave a snarky comment. UA is allowing an SEC-best 73.6 rushing yards per game, but the Crimson Tide hasn't faced a running game quite like Florida's. That's where Reamer comes in. This guy is fast. Reamer (6-4, 218 pounds, another Hoover High guy) was actually a defensive back in high school. UF leads the SEC in rushing (237.1 yards per game) on account of the team's speedy backfield. With Percy Harvin likely injured, the bulk of UF's rushing responsibilities will fall to Jeffery Demps and Chris Rainey, who, gulp, limped off the practice field on Thursday after reaggrevating his groin pull. Demps and Rainey like to get outside. Reamer will be waiting.

-jo-

Mark Richt, motivational genius, tells his secrets ... we fill in the blanks

GAINESVILLE -- Like Urban Meyer, Georgia coach Mark Richt isn't answering questions about last season's end-zone celebration. Richt had his weekly post-game teleconference on Sunday and he told one reporter: "In terms of the celebration question, no matter how you phrase it, you can just refer to the SEC Media Days. I think that's really old news and I'm not going to comment on it."

While Richt wouldn't speak about the end-zone celebration he did offer Gator Clause an exceptional answer on the importance of motivation as it relates to winning football games. Obviously, the end-zone celebration was a brilliant motivational strategy.

"I think it's very important to have a great plan -- maybe not even a great plan but a good, sound plan and good fundamentals," Richt said. "And then when you add some energy to your execution then you've got a chance to play at a higher level. So I think emotion does matter. I think if you can find a way to bottle it and start the game with it and sustain it through the entire ball game then you've got it made but no one has figured that out yet.

"If you add some enthusiasm to a plan, then normally you get better results."

As in, Georgia 42, Florida 30.

-jo-

Florida responds to take-out-Tebow rhetoric

GAINESVILLE -- UF quarterback Tim Tebow's official response to LSU's Ricky Jean-Francois: Bring it.

We're paraphrasing, of course. Timmy didn't say "bring it," but in so many words Tebow let it be known he isn't scared of a little trash talk from LSU's underclassman defensive end. Jean-Francois said last week that LSU wanted to take out Tebow.

"I don't think it's ever really a good thing to talk trash because all it does is fire your opponent up. At least that's how it is for me," Tebow said. "Whatever you can use as motivation."

On Tuesday, LSU's sports information office issued this clarification to Ricky's trash talk. Apparently, Ricky sat down and wrote this (In other words, LSU's sports information office wrote this.):

"We never go into any football game trying to hurt a player from the other team. My comments in regard to Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were misinterpreted and were intended to reflect the style of football that we play at LSU. We have great respect for Tim as a player and a competitor. By taking him of the game, I meant as a defense we are going to try to make him ineffective. I'm sorry my initial comments were interpreted another way."

Well, you're in luck, Ricky. Tebow knew what you meant.

"I'm a competitor, so I think he wasn't meaning it like a lot of people took it," Tebow said. "You try to use anything as motivation, too, but I don't really think he meant everything he said. But part of it was true, we do have a good training staff."

Florida coach Urban Meyer wasn't as understanding about Jean-Francois' comments.

"There's no place for that. If you hear one of our guys say something, we just take him out the media. You know what I think happens, and I don't know this guy, but I think people just say 'Give me something.' Our players have told me that. That someone says 'Give me something,' and they stick a microphone in a 19-year-old's face and say, 'Give me something to say to this guy.' I don't care, but I wish that stuff wouldn't happen."

Urban, you're in the minority on this one. We love smack talk here.

-jo-

No.1 USC loss signals statement weekend for UF

Twenty-three years since a No.1 lost to an unranked team. That is, until Oregon State 27, No.1 Southern Cal 21 on Thursday night ... Thoughts? I got a couple: How does Penn State vs. Florida sound? What about Missouri vs. Georgia?

GAINESVILLE -- Speaking of unthinkable upsets. Ole Miss nearly upset Florida in 2007. This happened for two reasons.

1. Tim Tebow
2. Seth Adams

Tebow, of course, is the Florida quarterback who rushed for two scores and 166 yards on 27 carries last year against the Rebels. He prevented the upset and is back for Round 2.

Anyone remember Seth Adams? Didn't think so. Seth Adams, not back for Round 2, was the Ole Miss quarterback in 2007. He wasn't anything special, but he was nearly good enough to beat Florida last season. Ole Miss racked up nearly 400 yards of offense against the Gators. Let's you know how bad UF's defense was last season.

Round 2 of this wonderful SEC East vs. SEC West Raycom special features a new Ole Miss quarterback. His name is Jevan Snead and he must be good. He was once committed to Florida.

Snead is apparently better than Adams. I'm not convinced -- never really a fan of players who de-commit from one school (Florida) and then later transfer from another (Texas). Ole Miss seems like the college football haven for quarterbacks who think they're better than they really are. (See Brent Schaeffer of Deerfield Beach). Come to think of it, it all makes perfect since. Ole Miss always thinks it's better than it actually is.

ANYWAY, everyone keeps telling me that Snead is a great quarterback. At first, I believed them. I'm not convinced anymore. Snead has thrown seven interceptions in his last three games. He's an inexperienced quarterback and now he's playing at The Swamp against a Florida team that is plus-nine in turnover ratio. This is the fourth game this season Florida has faced an inexperienced quarterback.

THE DETAILS
Ole Miss (2-2) at No.4 Florida (3-0)
When: 12:30 p.m.
TV: Raycom
Series history: Ole Miss leads 11-10-1

INJURY REPORT
OLE MISS
DL Greg Hardy (foot, out)
FLORIDA
DE Jermaine Cunningham (knee, questionable)
LB Ryan Stamper (ankle, questionable)
QB Cam Newton (ankle, questionable)
OL Maurice Hurt (neck, questionable)
DT Torrey Davis (disciplinary, out)
DT John Brown (hand, out)
TE Cornelius Ingram (knee, out)
SS Dorian Munroe (knee, out)

STATEMENT GAME
Any Gators watching TV late last night? The No.1 team in the nation lost. OK, but on a Thursday night? I thought Thursday nights were reserved for bingo. ANYWAY, the significance of Southern Cal's epic collapse Part II (Stanford in 2007 was Part I) should not be lost on any team in the AP Top 10. With the No.1 ranking up for grabs, this weekend is all about making a statement to national voters. Let's take a look at the match-ups this weekend for teams in the AP Top 5.

No.1 USC (Believe it or not, USC could still be in the national title picture at the end of the season. USC losing was good news for any one loss team. Auburn?)
No.2 Oklahoma vs. No.24 TCU: Game against ranked opponent comes at great time for Oklahoma to make a case for being No.1.
No.3 Georgia vs. No.8 Alabama: A big win in Athens could vault Georgia into the No.1 spot. AP voters are apparently in love with Bama.
No.4 Florida vs. Ole Miss: Voters not sold on Gators yet. Florida fans apparently no sold on Gators yet. I think I'm the only person in the country that thinks Florida is the best of the best.
No.5 LSU vs. Mississippi State: A letdown game? Not a chance.

It is conceivable that Florida could be the No.1 team in the country on Sunday. TCU is a quality football team and many believe Alabama is going to upset Georgia (for the record, I am not one of those people).

RANDOM THOUGHT
Does ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit have a man-crush on Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford?

RANDOM THOUGHT NO.2
I'm sure Jevan Snead is upset he has to miss tonight's presidential debate. Ole Miss is hosting a presidential debate tonight (Friday) between U.S. Senators and Presidential candidates John McCain (Ariz., R) and Barack Obama (Ill., D).

OLE MISS BETTER THAN TENNESSEE?
According to UF defensive line coach Dan McCarney, it's a no brainer. He says Ole Miss' offense is much better than Tennessee's. Florida beat Tennessee 30-6.

"I thought Tennessee had a heck of an offensive line -- I think Mississippi is better," McCarney said. "[Tennessee] had a good solid quarterback. I think this one is better. Running backs, they're using four of them. I like them all."

SPEAKING OF FOUR RUNNING BACKS...
Four is exactly the number of running backs that Florida has at its disposal. (Five if you include receiver Percy Harvin.) Emmanuel Moody was the featured back against Tennessee? Who gets the call against Ole Miss? How would you break down the carries? Here's what I would shoot for if I'm Florida OC Dan Mullen...

UF BACKFIELD BREAKDOWN (projected number of carries)
RB Emmanuel Moody: 12
WR Percy Harvin: 10
RB Chris Rainey: 8
QB Tim Tebow: 8
Others (Jeff Demps/Louis Murphy/Aaron Hernandez) 5
RB Kestahn Moore: 0

REAL TALK
Florida coach Urban Meyer made a point to complain and complain and complain about the NCAA's new clock rules this week. (Cheating the players, he says...please.) Some reporters took the bait and wrote about the new clock rules like they're killing college football. Here's a thought: Just shut up and play football. If college football is going to sell its soul to the television networks, then the TV networks are going to be able to dictate how the game is played. (ESPN is going to be dictating a whole heck of a lot more in the future, so get used to it.) If Meyer wants more plays, then his offense needs to be more efficient and better prepared to run more plays. Quicker substitutions, better play calling (Mullen should always be two plays ahead of his offense) and a no-huddle offense should allow for more chances for Florida to run up the score on people. (And isn't that what it's all about?)

BIG TEST FOR JOE HADEN
Ole Miss' best player is receiver Mike Wallace. He toasted Florida's secondary last season and just last week Wallace returned a 98-yard kickoff for a touchdown. Meyer says that Joe Haden is turning into an All-SEC cornerback. We shall see.

5 KEYS TO VICTORY FOR UF
5. Pressure the quarterback. Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead is apparently still adjusting to the speed of the SEC. He tossed four interceptions against Vanderbilt last week. If UF defensive end Carlos Dunlap has a big day, then that will go a long way towards Florida beating Ole Miss. (We're assuming UF defensive ends Jermaine Cunningham and/or Justin Trattou will line up opposite Ole Miss offensive tackle Michael Oher.)

4. Contain Ole Miss receiver Mike Wallace. Wallace is averaging 136.3 all-purpose yards in his last three starts.

3. Keep an eye on the battle between UF guards and Ole Miss defensive tackles Peria Jerry and Ted Laurent. If these players get in the backfield consistently, it could be a long day for the Florida offense. Both Jerry and Laurent have 4.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Strong efforts from UF guards Jim Tartt and Mike Pouncey and center Maurkice Pouncey are critical.

2. Score touchdowns in the red zone. Florida settled for field goals last week against Tennessee. If Florida's offense continues to be limited by the new play clock rules, then the Gators need to score touchdowns. Tebow is money from inside the red zone. I repeat: Let Tebow run the ball inside the red zone.

1. Get one big play from either special teams or the defense.

THE CORNERBACK SITUATION
Is Wondy Pierre-Louis or Janoris Jenkins starting at cornerback? My guess is both players will see significant amounts of playing time. Expect a lot of 3-3-5 from Florida with Janoris and Wondy at cornerback and Joe Haden at the nickel. If Florida doesn't trust Wondy to perform, expect more playing time for Markihe Anderson if the Gators stick with the 3-3-5. Anderson will play the nickel and Haden will move back to the edge. (This is what I would do.)

BIG PREDICTION
UF is a 22-point favorite. Sounds about right to me. Ole Miss' close losses to Wake Forest and Vanderbilt were devastating for an emotionally vulnerable program. If Florida goes up early, then expect a blowout. UF 42, Ole Miss 17

-jo-

NOTEBOOK: I'll be the first to say it, Florida should be No.1 in the country

GAINESVILLE -- Florida is No.4 in the latest AP poll. This is an absolute joke. Florida should be No.1. Here's why.

Statistics don't lie. As Florida coach Urban Meyer would say, stats are "real."

Everyone reading this blog will agree that the SEC is the best league in the country, right? No argument there. OK, with that in mind, know that Florida is leading the SEC in scoring offense (37.3 points per game), scoring defense (6.3 points per game), total defense (213 yards per game), kickoff returns (27.6 yards per game), punt return average (24.6 yards per game), third-down conversions (53.8 percent) and Florida is tied for first with Vanderbilt in field goal accuracy (4-of-4).

After knowing that, I challange anyone out there to argue that another team -- USC, Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Alabama, whoever -- is better than Florida at this point in the season. Even if you tried, here's my ace in the pocket, the clinching fact for my argument, the biggest stat of all: Florida is the only team in the country that hasn't allowed a turnover. Florida is plus-nine in turnover margin.

(FYI: Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead has tossed six interceptions in his last two games.)

SURPRISING DEFENSE
The early season dominance of the Gators' offense and special team comes as no surprise to Meyer but the coach did admit that he is pleasantly surprised by the Gators' defensive play. If you're counting at home, Florida started SEVEN (1-2-3-4-5-6-7; CB Joe Haden, FS Major Wright, SS Ahmad Black, SSL A.J. Jones, DE Carlos Dunlap, DT Lawrence Marsh and DT Terron Sanders) SOPHOMORES on defense against Tennessee.

Meyer tempered his excitement by telling reporters that "I don't think we've been challenged yet" by an experienced quarterback. "That's what I'm anxious to see," Meyer said.

MEYER HATES NEW CLOCK RULE
Florida coach Urban Meyer has a message for the NCAA: Get rid of the new clock rule. His offensive players aren't getting enough touches.

Meyer made a point on Monday to explain why he hates the new clock rule. According to Meyer, Florida's offense only had 46 "competitive" plays. Florida had 54 total offensive players but Meyer contends that nine of those were throw-away plays while Florida was trying to run out the clock.

Florida scored on five of its six offensive possessions but was out gained by Tennessee's offense by 18 yards. Don't look to much into this fact, folks. Florida smoke Tennessee and Meyer is upset about the clock rule because last year the score would have been 60-6 instead of 30-6.

MEYER HAS ZINGER FOR MIAMI'S SHANNON
The stats sheet reads that Florida's offense only scored three of the four times it was in the red zone on Saturday. Meyer says it should be 4-of-4. On the Gators' final drive, Florida took a knee instead of kicking a field goal. Meyer received criticism against Miami for kicking a late-game field goal.

"People get upset around here with field goals, so we were 4-of-4," Meyer said.

JAMES NAMED SEC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
UF return specialist Brandon James was named special teams player of the week on Monday by the conference's sports information staff. James accounted for 144 yards on kick returns, including a 78-yard punt return for a score. James also had a 52-yard kickoff return on the opening kickoff, which led to a quick Florida score.

Here's a link to the rest of the SEC players of the week. CLICK ME!

MAJOR'S MISSED TACKLE
Major Wright had a great game against Tennessee. He was second on the team with eight tackles and graded out at "champion" status (94 percent), according to UF coach Urban Meyer. Still, I had to ask him about that one missed tackle, the one which allowed UT running back Arian Foster an apparent big gain. (The play was called back because of a UT penalty and Wright's mistake went unnoticed.)

"I was trying to make the perfect tackle," Wright said. "[Foster] got me."

Don't sweat it, Major. Gator Clause still thinks you're the best safety in the SEC. Just had to ask.

JANORIS COULD START AGAINST OLE MISS
Major had good things to say about UF freshman cornerback Janoris Jenkins and so did Florida coach Urban Meyer. Meyer said that Jenkins could start against Ole Miss and that it will be a game-to-game decision whether Jenkins starts at cornerback or Wondy Pierre-Louis.

Pierre-Louis had a terrible game on Saturday while Jenkins had an interception and a forced a fumble. Meyer said that Pierre-Louis will get every chance to keep his position because Wondy is an "invested player." Meyer said the same thing about former Florida safety Kyle Jackson last season. Everyone remembers what happened there. Wright was starting by LSU.

Will Jenkins be starting by LSU?

TEBOW RECRUITED AS A LINEBACKER?
Florida's coaching staff began recruiting Ole Miss quarterback Jevan Snead when Meyer and OC Dan Mullen were at Utah. When Meyer and Mullen moved to Gainesville, Snead was still at the top of Mullen's recruiting board as one of the best quarterbacks in the country. Snead initially committed to Florida before changing his mind.

According to a book published last year about college football recruiting, Snead said Florida wanted him so badly that the Gators' coaching staff actuall told him that Florida was recruiting Tebow as a linebacker. On Monday, Tebow said Florida never tried to recruit him as a linebacker and Meyer refused to address the claim.

Recruiting is a dirty business ... but it's supposed to be. Get over it, people.

Percy Harvin clarifies his position; Hernandez plays coy; Meyer bites my head off

FIRST, UF-related links in today's sports section of The Miami Herald:
LINK: UF's Harvin fully healthy for SEC opener
LINK: UF's Moody speaks about lack of playing time

GAINESVILLE -- One of the most interesting things from Monday's interview with UF receiver Percy Harvin that didn't make the newspaper was Harvin's clarification of his position. Harvin is listed as a "slash" player on the Gators' official roster (RB/WR), but Harvin told me on Monday that he still considers himself a receiver.

Harvin had five carries and one catch against Miami. Thoughts?

ROCKY WHO?
When asked on Monday if he was getting annoyed with Rocky Top, UF tight end Aaron Hernandez said, "Who's Rocky Top?"

Come on, Aaron. We know you don't like giving credit to an opponent for anything but at least act like you know Tennessee has a very famous fight song entitled Rocky Top. As is the custom every year, Florida's football support staff is blaring Tennessee's fight song inside the Gators' football facility all week.

"They play Rocky Top probably 100 million times before we play the game," UF cornerback Joe Haden said. "The whole week that's all that's on and we just listen to that song. When we get there, I'll know the song by heart. I'll probably start singing."

MOODY PERSEVERING?
Can we have a little perspective, people? Several media outlets are covering the story about UF running back Emmanuel Moody not playing against Miami like it's some kind of personal tragedy for Moody.

The guy is going to play. He's too good to be left out of the line-up much longer. The Miami Herald wrote last week that Moody will get his big shot against Tennessee. Florida must out rush Tennessee to win the game. No one expects running back Kestahn Moore to establish a running game. Pretty sure Moody will have to help out on Saturday.

OLE MISS GAME
Good news for sports writers and bad news for fans: UF's home game against Ole Miss in two weeks will begin at 12:30 p.m. and air live on Raycom Sports.

ANXIOUS URBAN
Urban Meyer, always terse with reporters, was particularly brusque on Monday. He reminded beat hacks that he didn't like answering questions from the media, especially the week before playing a big SEC rival.

Here's the answer I received when I pointed out that 10 SEC defenses are allowing 17 points or less through the first three weeks of the season and, related to that fact, I asked Meyer about the importance of attention to detail in this league.

"We got a game to play here. That's why sometimes I'm short with your questions," Meyer said. "Because, really, if you spend any amount of time even thinking about, like, the gentleman's question here (Not me, someone else). Come on. Let's go. Let's go. ... We got enough things to worry about. The key to winning this game is what I told you: Play great defense. You got to be tough. And you got to take care of the football. If there's any focus on anything else other than that, then there is a chance we'll fail. And that's a bad job on me. So, let me answer your question: That's great about all the defenses. I just told you what our focus is going to be. I made it real clear today."

Well, coach, at least you made one thing crystal clear.

-jo-

Top 25 breakdown: Five SEC teams in Top 10

QUESTION: In two more weeks, will the Sunshine State have four teams ranked in the Top 25?

GAINESVILLE -- The Week 3 AP poll features five SEC teams in the top 10. That's a record, according to the public relations people at the SEC headquarters. Florida remains at No.4. (Here's the poll. Gator Clause added comments only where we found it was completely necessary...That means everywhere.)

1. USC (2-0)
QB Mark Sanchez passed for four touchdowns against Ohio State.
2. Oklahoma (3-0)
Is QB Sam Bradford this year's Tebow? Bradford accounted for five touchdowns (four passing) in the Sooners blowout of Washington.
3. Georgia (3-0)
South Carolina had its chances on Saturday against Georgia but the Bulldogs held on. Did anyone see that seven-yard touchdown run by Knowshon? Simply amazing.
4. Florida (2-0) idle
5. Missouri (3-0)
QB Chase Daniel threw for 407 yards and four touchdowns in less than three quarters.
6. LSU (2-0)
Is Trindon Holliday a better kick returner than UF's Brandon James?
7. Texas (2-0)
Game vs. Arkansas postponed due to Hurricane Ike.
8. Wisconsin (3-0)
Bye week for Badgers before gauntlet of Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State. OK, maybe these days that's not much of a gauntlet.
9. Alabama (3-0)
What?
10. Auburn (3-0)
Great defense but Tigers have some serious concerns on the other side of the ball.
11. Texas Tech (3-0)
Receiver Michael Crabtree had eight receptions for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
12. South Florida (3-0)
QB Matt Grothe was spectacular in the second half.
13. Ohio State (2-1)
Without Beanie Wells, average 2.1 yards per carry in loss to Trojans.
14. Brigham Young (3-0)
Shock and Awe. QB Max Hall tossed seven touchdowns in historic 59-0 win against UCLA.
15. East Carolina (3-0)
Can Pirates spoil the party. Greenville Boys must run the table.
16. Penn State (3-0)
Three different QBs combined for five touchdown passes against 'Cuse. Poor 'Cuse.
17. Oregon (3-0)
Team Nike got the most out of their collective swoosh. The Ducks rushed for 307 yards (7.1 yards per carry) in overtime win against Purdue.
18. Wake Forest (2-0)
Big test next week waiting in Tallahassee.
19. Kansas (2-1)
QB Todd Reesing looked great but KU's offense was too inconsistent for a road win against a good team.
20. Utah (3-0)
Utes' defense held Utah State to 116 yards of total offense.
21. West Virginia (1-1)
Could impress voters (or fall out of poll) next week against Colorado.
22. Illinois (2-1)
Did the Illini look past Louisiana-Whoever or is Illinois just overrated?
23. Clemson (2-1)
Forget Spiller and Davis. Just hand the ball off to receiver Jacoby Ford (2 carries, 48 yards).
24. Florida State (2-0)
Hey, hey. Look who's back.
25. Fresno State (1-1)
Like Kansas, a tough loss to a great opponent.

-jo-

BYE WEEK GAMEDAY: Open forum today on Gator Clause; comparing Grothe to Tebow

GAINESVILLE -- Bye weeks are great for college football sports writers. It means we get to sit at home on Saturday, relax and watch football in a calm and stress-free environment all day. No deadlines!

Most Gators beat writers won't be blogging today, but since I'm neurotic about my job I'll be checking the blog throughout the day and leaving random comments and thoughts about the games on television. If you stop by, leave me a comment and let me know what you think about today's college football match-ups.

This a great Saturday for college football but the best game of the weekend might have already happened. No. 19 South Florida 37, No. 13 Kansas 34 on Friday night was a classic game. I drove over to Tampa last night and covered the game. Here's a link to my game story. CLICK ME!

USF quarterback Matt Grothe was brilliant, rushing for a 28-yard touchdown and passing for 338 yards and two touchdowns. Kansas quarterback Todd Reesing was great as well but it was Reesing's late mistake -- an interception by USF safety Nate Allen -- that was the difference in the game. USF converted the interception into a last-second field goal to pull the upset.

Grothe might not be as good a quarterback as Florida's Tim Tebow but the South Florida passer is certainly one of the best players in the Big East. With a pair of dramatic comeback wins in consecutive weeks, Grothe should be on everyone's early season Heisman Trophy list.

HERE'S A LIST OF TODAY'S SEC GAMES
UAB at Tennessee, 12:30 p.m., Raycom
Georgia at South Carolina, 3:30 p.m., CBS
Auburn at Mississippi State, 7 p.m., ESPN2
Middle Tennessee at Kentucky, 7 p.m.
Samford at Ole Miss, 7 p.m.
Rice at Vanderbilt, 7 p.m.
Western Kentucky at Alabama, 7:07 p.m.
North Texas at LSU, 8 p.m.
Arkansas at Texas - Postponed to Sept. 27

Today's upset special: Tulane over East Carolina.

Goody's absolute locks: Florida Atlantic (+18 1/2) vs. Michigan State; Tulane (+12) vs. East Carolina; UCLA (+8) vs. BYU.

-jo-

AROUND THE SEC: Former 'Cane Warren Sapp hating on UF coach Urban Meyer

GAINESVILLE -- Plenty of news around the Southeastern Conference this week. In a related topic, the Miami Hurricanes have officially traded in their Army fatigues for handkerchiefs.

--Tennessee running back Arian Foster doesn't have a fumbling problem, says Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer. Foster has a ball security problem.

--Could embattled South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia play against Georgia this weekend? It seems like a possibility, according to Joe Person of The State.

--Warren Sapp called Florida coach Urban Meyer a "classless dirtbag" on Tuesday during a media conference call for Showtime's Inside the NFL.

--Ole Miss is still sulking after its loss to Wake Forest.

--Arkansas' special teams needs work after the Hogs' 28-27 win against Louisiana-Monroe.

--Injured Alabama O-line star Andre Smith is ready to return.

--Auburn's new offense is still influx. Tigers quarterback Chris Todd, the transfer from Texas Tech, will start on Saturday's game against Mississippi State.

--Kentucky offensive coordinator Joker Phillips says Wildcats quarterback Mike Hartline will start on Saturday against Middle Tennessee State. Kentucky coach Rich Brooks isn't too sure.

--LSU is staying home. With Hurricane Ike drifting south towards Texas, school officials have decided not to move LSU's home game against North Texas on Saturday night.

-jo-

The Day After: Gators-Canes still on the brain

Florida coach Urban Meyer did not have a Sunday teleconference today. A spokesman for the Gators told me receiver Carl Moore's diagnoses on Sunday is still a "hip pointer."

GAINESVILLE -- Here are some random thoughts popping into focus as I watch the NFL today, reflect on last night's game and flip through the pages of my reporter's notebook...

--I used to like Brett Favre.

--Why was Florida tackle Phil Trautwein flagged for that personal-foul penalty? I couldn't figure it out from the press box. Whatever the reason, it ruined the Gators' momentum in the first quarter.

--Trautwein's personal-foul penalty wasn't as costly as the one charged to UM lineman Orlando Franklin at the end of the first half. It led to Jeffrey Demps' blocked punt.

--Florida receiver Louis Murphy apologized after the game for his smack talk earlier in the week. I don't know what to think about this. On one hand, it seems commendable. On the other hand, it's not like Murphy called out someone's mom. Whatever...

--Florida free safety Major Wright only had two tackles.

--Florida strong safety Ahmad Black appeared to hold his own against Miami's athletic skill players.

--Miami's only scoring drive featured a Wondy moment. Does anyone remember this? I had to chuckle a little bit in the press box.

--Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez said after the game that he was benched for the season opener because he didn't practice hard enough the week before Hawaii. Yeah, right...

--Linebackers: How many future first-round picks were on Florida Field last night? Two, I say. Florida middle linebacker Brandon Spikes and UM freshman reserve linebacker Sean Spence.

--The fourth quarter was Tebow time. That's a good sign for the Gators.

--Several reporters who cover Miami keep telling me that Florida will lose at least two games this season. Doesn't say much for Miami, I guess. I thought the Canes were pretty good.

--UM quarterbacks Robert Marve and Jacory Harris are both going to be excellent. Will one transfer?

--Tebow has 130 pass attempts without an interception, a new Florida record. Danny Wuerffel held the previous record at 121 pass attempts.

--Florida has not committed a turnover in each of its last four games.

--Florida had five penalties for 35 yards. Not bad for the Gators. One of those penalties was on redshirt sophomore guard Marcus Gilbert (Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas), who filled in for Jim Tartt. Meyer said he wants to get Tartt back into the line-up as soon as possible.

--The Gators started the second half with two fruitless offensive drives. Tebow appeared to be pretty frustrated after the second drive. He was seen on the sidelines screaming at Meyer to leave the offense on the field for a fourth-and-two from the UF 48. Meyer punted.

-jo-

EMAILS I GET: AJC says Florida Gators are most obnoxious fans in the SEC

GAINESVILLE -- This email comes to us from Alex Burgos. Thanks for the great email, Alex. (Alex's email in blue font. CLICK THE RED FONT BELOW for the link.)

Hey Joe: As a diehard Gator alum and fan who was born and raised in Miami, I read your articles and blog on an almost daily basis. This story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution caught my attention, so I wanted to pass it along.  What a surprise – an Atlanta reporter thinks the Gator Nation has the most obnoxious fans: Ranking Obnoxious SEC Football Fans The Cocktail Party is going to be an absolute war this year.  I can’t wait. Go Gators! Alex Burgos, UF ‘02 FORMER HALLANDALE RECEIVER FRANKIE HAMMOND JR. TOOK A DIFFERENT PATH TO UF Sometimes the system uses the player and sometimes the player uses the system. Learn how Frankie Hammond Jr.'s path to Florida was anything but typical. This is a great read for parents of high school football players who might get discouraged by the phony hype perpetuated by Internet recruiting websites! To read my feature story on Florida freshman receiver Frankie Hammond Jr. CLICK ME! FLORIDA GATORS COACH URBAN MEYER TAKES A BREAK FROM FOOTBALL AND TALKS PHILOSOPHY Florida coach Urban Meyer is a great public speaker. He is also a realist and a smart man. He understands that his football players are professionals in many ways. On Wednesday, he recognized the difficult situation he faces as the University of Florida head football coach. During a civic luncheon at the Gainesville Hilton, Meyer explained to city leaders, UF faculty, university trustees and a few major football boosters that molding football players who are unprepared for college is a tough job. CLICK ME! -jo-

Oddsmakers think Harvin is healthy; Set betting line at 1,500 yards; UF favored to win SEC over UGA; Plus a bookie's insight

A different and off-beat angle on some UF storylines that you guys won't read anywhere else...

GAINESVILLE -- Working hard today for you guys. I was in Orlando early Wednesday morning to cover Sen. Barack Obama's speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars. You can find that story on MiamiHerald.com, if you like. I missed UF's Wednesday practice, obviously, but I still have some interesting notes to pass along.

In between listening to and analyzing Obama's speech, I conducted an interview of sorts with an online gambling house, BoDogLife.com. The boys at BoDogLife.com, an offshore sports book, have set a collection of gambling lines and odds for various college football statistical measures, including the Heisman Trophy and BCS national championship. You can beat on pretty much everything, if that's your sort of thing.

One of the numbers that caught my eye was the website's over/under on UF receiver Percy Harvin's combined rushing and receiving yards. The line is set at 1,500 yards. Last season, Harvin combined for 1,622 yards receiving and rushing. I asked the betting house if they "knew something I didn't" regarding Percy's injury.

"[Harvin] was running full speed in earlier practices this week," said Jimmy Shapiro, a publicist for BoDogLife.com "I think they are just being more cautious than anything at this point. I'm OK with the number."

It should be noted that Harvin must play in the first game of the season for the wager to have action. Read into that however you like.

Still, 1,500 yards seems like an interesting number, considering Harvin had over 1,600 combined receiving and rushing yards last season and missed two games.

ODDS FAVOR UF TO WIN SEC
Another interesting number that sticks out is BoDogLife.com's odds for UF to win an SEC championship. UF has better odds than Georgia. In the BCS odds, Georgia is slightly ahead of Florida. UGA has 5-1 odds to win the BCS title. Florida is 11/2 (5.5/1).

Keep in mind that these numbers only mean that this online sports book thinks people will jump at these odds. Nothing else.

In addition to the sports book's publicist, I also spoke with Richard Gardner, BoDog sports book manager, about the numbers and odds placed on UF quarterback Tim Tebow.

“The Florida Gators should score a lot of points this season, something they have been doing ever since Tim Tebow took over the reigns," Gardner said. "This season, Tebow should put up similar numbers through the air but his Ground numbers should be smaller due to the influx of talent In the Florida backfield. USC transfer Emmanuel Moody and freshmen Chris Rainey should take away some carries that would normally be reserved for Florida’s do-all quarterback.

"Tebow’s passing numbers should improve in terms of yardage, however, don’t expect a big increase in his touchdowns through the air. Expect the Gators to pound the ball in with their new and improved running game and Tebow’s touchdown numbers should decrease slightly from last season as a result."

Gardner, online sports bookie, on the early numbers for BCS champion betting trends. And also a few betting tips:

"This should be a very interesting year in the BCS. With heavyweights Ohio State and USC playing early in the season, the race for the No.1 spot in the BCS will be heated early in the season. We have seen a substantial amount of money come in on Ohio State in the past week and currently have them No.2 behind USC in terms of shortest odds.

"The No.1 ranked team, Georgia, comes in third, but injury concerns and suspensions have made the bettors shy away from them so far. The rest of the top six come in with Missouri, Florida and Oklahoma as all short-odd favorites to take home the BCS championship. A team to watch out for is Texas Tech. They have been bettors' favorites for most of this offseason, and at 30/1 may be the best value on the board.”

-jo-

More UF-related wagers at BoDogLife.com. In blue font, I added last year's numbers:

Odds to win the 2008 BCS National Championship      
Florida                          11/2

2008 Regular Season Wins - Florida
Over                              10 (-130)
Under                            10 (EVEN)

Odds to win the SEC Conference
Florida                           3/2
Georgia                          2/1
Auburn                           3/1
LSU                                4/1
Alabama                         7/1
Tennessee                      9/1
South Carolina                15/1
Mississippi                      35/1
Arkansas                        40/1
Mississippi State            45/1
Kentucky                        50/1
Vanderbilt                      50/1

Odds to win the SEC East Division
Florida                            4/5
Georgia                           5/4
Tennessee                       4/1
South Carolina                  8/1
Kentucky                         20/1
Vanderbilt                       30/1

How many Passing Yards will Tim Tebow (FLA) have in the 2008 Season?
Over/Under        3,550 3,286

How many Passing TD’s will Tim Tebow (FLA) have in the 2008 Season?
Over/Under        32  32

How many Rushing Yards will Tim Tebow (FLA) have in the 2008 Season?
Over/Under        725  895

How many Rushing TD’s will Tim Tebow (FLA) have in the 2008 Season?
Over/Under        18 .5   23

How many Combined Receiving and Rushing Yards will Percy Harvin (FLA) have in the 2008 Regular Season?
Over/Under 1,500   1,622

How many combined Receiving and Rushing TD’s will Percy Harvin (FLA) have in the 2008 Regular Season?
Over/Under        12    10

Odds to win 2009 BCS National Championship
USC                             7/2
Ohio State                   4/1
Georgia                       5/1
Florida                       11/2
Oklahoma                    6/1
Missouri                     14/1
West Virginia             15/1
LSU                            20/1
Texas                         20/1
Clemson                     22/1
Virginia Tech              30/1
Tennessee                  30/1
Wisconsin                   30/1
Auburn                       35/1
Texas Tech                40/1
Florida State              50/1
Illinois                        50/1
Penn State                  50/1
Michigan                     50/1
Alabama                     55/1
Miami                         60/1
Notre Dame                65/1
South Florida              75/1

Odds to win the 2008 Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow (FL)                        7/2
Chris Wells (Ohio St.)                6/1
Chase Daniel (Missouri)             6/1
Knowshon Moreno (UGA)           8/1
Michael Crabtree (TTech)         10/1
Pat White (WVU)                      10/1
Sam Bradford (Okl)                   14/1
DeMarco Murray (Okla)             15/1
Matthew Stafford (UGA)           15/1
Graham Harrell (TTech)           16/1
Percy Harvin (FL)                     20/1

SEC WEST ROUND-UP: Julio Jones' star shining brightly in Bama

SEC West two-a-days round-up, as promised...

GAINESVILLE -- The SEC West round-up begins in Auburn, Ala., where the Tigers brawled earlier this week during practice. No fighting reported from Saturday's closed-doors scrimmage but there were apparently a few highlights nonetheless. Offensive coordinator Tony Franklin's new spread-offense is apparently getting the team's speedy young receivers involved. Coach Tommy Tuberville praised true freshman receiver Philip Pierre-Louis of Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas for his work during two-a-days. 

--Up in Tuscaloosa, Crimson Tide freshman receiver Julio Jones apparently had an impressive scrimmage on Saturday. The practice was closed to the 16,058 beat writers who cover Alabama football, but the most powerful coach in sports watched intently.

--About 90 minutes due west of Tuscaloosa, the Mississippi State Bulldogs scrimmaged on Saturday and worked on red-zone situations. Led by a solid group of linebackers, defense will likely once again be this team's strength.

--Driving north now to Oxford, where the Ole Miss Rebels have a battle brewing for the starting running back position.

--Down on the bayou, LSU coach Les Miles praised his defensive backs. [Thanks for the heads up, guys. Apparently I was the last one to know about Patrick Johnson changing his name to Patrick Peterson.]

--In Arkansas, the Hogs' defense is having trouble stopping the team's unproven offense. That might be a problem.

-jo-

SEC ROUND-UP: Georgia picks new sideline pooch; Check out Kentucky's 'Daily Dicky'

SEC EAST round-up today...SEC West coming tomorrow

GAINESVILLE -- Up in Athens, they apparently found a new sideline dog. CLICK ME! for the story from the Atlanta paper.

As everyone knows, most the staff members here at Gator Clause are huge animal lovers. We shed a tear when UGA VI passed away in June. Here's the highlight of UGA VI's life...CLICK ME! Here's a YouTube.com video. CLICK ME!

Dogs hate the Auburn Tigers with a rabid passion. Even highly trained dogs like police canines try and eat Auburn football players. Remember this?...CLICK ME!

--Georgia is the preseason No.1 in the coaches' poll. The media poll comes out on Saturday. Will Georgia be ranked No.1 in the writers' poll as well? Doubt it. My guess is Ohio State.

--Thought Florida was the only team hurting during two-a-days? Nearly every scholarship defensive end on the Dawgs' roster is currently injured, according to published practice reports. Only one DE, Jarius Wynn, is healthy enough to practice at full speed.

TENNESSEE
The Vols will conduct a full-contact scrimmage on Saturday night inside Neyland Stadium. The scrimmage is closed to the public. (So don't get any wise ideas...[COUGH! COUGH! HELICOPTER!])

--According to the Nashville paper, Vols running back Arian Foster is expected to participate in eight to 11 plays on Saturday. Foster is suffering from a bone bruise on the right knee.

SOUTH CAROLINA
--The Gamecocks will hold their second scrimmage of the fall on Saturday. Unlike the first scrimmage, this one is closed to the public.

From The State: “If it was only Gamecock fans we’d leave it open, but when you open it up you’ve got to let everyone in,” USC coach Steve Spurrier said. “I’m not convinced that somebody from Raleigh, N.C. or somebody from Nashville (won’t say) ‘Let’s see what them boys are up to.’ That happens everywhere. So we might as well be careful. And we would like to run some plays we’d like to use the first or second week.”

--Quarterback Stephen Garcia, the redshirt freshman from Tampa, isn't practicing. He was recently reinstated to the team on a no-tolerance policy. CLICK ME! for more or Garcia.

VANDERBILT
'Dores still don't know who their starting quarterback is...Here's a story on that.

KENTUCKY
Check out The Daily Dicky. The folks in Kentucky are crazy for giving receiver Dicky Lyons Jr. a camera every day during the preseason.

Coverboys: Tim Tebow and Nick Saban

GAINESVILLE -- Tim Tebow is on another magazine cover. This time it's Men's Fitness, September issue. Tebow says he posed for the cover to reach a different audience with his religious message.

Here are my thoughts on that. Good for him. So often this country's best athletes never take a stand about anything. Voicing their opinions would hurt their marketability, right? Tebow is using his fame for something meaningful to him that has nothing to do with money. (Not until he turns pro, at least.) That's commendable.

Speaking of money, Forbes will feature Alabama coach Nick Saban on its cover this Friday. You can read the article here. CLICK ME! Forbes' editors (experts that they are) declare Saban to be the most powerful coach in sports.

Note to Forbes: The most powerful coach in the state of Alabama is dead...And just wait until Saban loses to Auburn again.

-jo-

It's so easy to make fun of the Georgia Bulldogs

GAINESVILLE -- Musician and songwriter Ryan Parker is at it again. This time he's singing about those baaaad Georgia Bulldogs. For more songs from Ryan Parker CLICK ME!

-jo-

SEC podcast: Top 10 Countdown from Media Days

First a link to my story in this morning's Miami Herald...CLICK ME!

HOOVER, Ala. -- Here's the podcast outline. Run time is six minutes. Huddle up.

10. The BIG Prediction
9. The Percy Situation
8. Auburn, are you kidding?
7. Calling out the Dumbest Reporter
6. Meyer listens to the Gator Clause podcast?
5. The Race
4. Did you know? SABAN!
3. You know you're in SEC country when...
2. Mark Richt shut your mouth
1. A dramatic reading of Kentucky receiver Dicky Lyons, Jr.'s dream about Matt Stafford (Yeah, it's weird.)
BONUS FEATURES:
1. By The Numbers: STEVE SPURRIER
2. Predicting the Gators' breakout player of the year

CLICK THE PLAY BUTTON!!!

-jo-

Richt apologizes for 'Gator Stomp'

Blogging from my Blackberry today, so this might get ugly...

HOOVER, Ala. -- First, I just wanted to address something really important. Georgia coach Mark Richt is a millionaire, right? So why does he show up to SEC Media Days with a $5 haircut? Seriously, Mark. Do something different with the hair. You look like a 40-something Dennis The Menace.

ANYWAY, Richt just stepped away from the microphone here in Hoover, Ala. It felt like he spent more time addressing last season's end zone celebration against Florida more than anything else.

Richt said he called Meyer the day after the game and apologized. "I told him what I told you," Richt said. "I was a coach desperate for some enthusiasm and I was willing to take a 15-yard penalty."

Meyer, apparently, isn't letting the thing go. In his biography (release date in September) Meyer called Georgia's excessive celebration "a bad deal. And it will forever be in the mind of Urban Meyer and in the mind of our football team."

(You know Meyer is pissed when he speaks in the third person.)

Meyer later said that Florida "will handle it. And it's going to be a big deal."

To be continued...in November.

As apologetic as Richt sounded about the celebration, he did make a point to let reporters know that Florida's dominance of the rivalry is officially over. "If you want to talk about recent history, then just go back to the last few games."

Finally, SEC Media Days is getting interesting!

-jo-

Top Five Newcomers: No.1 Emmanuel Moody

If you're reading this blog for the first time today, then you've already missed our five-part blog series on the football team's top five newcomers. Don't worry. You can catch up. Just click on the names of the previous "Top Five Newcomers" right here:

NO.2 OMAR HUNTER, NO.3 CARL MOORE, NO.4 WILL HILL, NO.5 MATT PATCHAN

GAINESVILLE -- No.1 on our list of top newcomers is USC transfer running back Emmanuel Moody. We here at Gator Clause don't necessarily think Moody is the best addition to the Gators' roster, but we do believe that Moody's potential impact is greater than any newcomer.

Why, exactly? Well, the Gators start and stop with the success and health of Tim Tebow and Moody, if he's productive, might be the guy that keeps Tebow out of the trainer's room this season and on the field. That's right. The more Moody carries the ball the less likely the Gators' superstar quarterback gets injured.

Tebow didn't miss a game last season but that doesn't mean he didn't sustain injury. Tim received shots of a painkiller in his right (none throwing) shoulder for much of the season. He then broke his non-throwing hand against Florida State.

Even more than a better defense, a healthy Tebow is what the Gators need to win a national championship. Moody, the USC transfer who redshirted last season, might be the key. Moody showed glimpses of his potential his freshman season at USC. He had several solid games before being limited by injuries.

A digression here: I'm still scratching my head as to why, exactly, Moody transferred to Florida. He says he left USC to become a featured running back but a featured back is one thing Urban Meyer's and Dan Mullen's offense does not produce. Moody might be the first, who knows? But I doubt it.

Moody probably should have gone to North Carolina if he wanted 20+ carries a game. Why do we mention all of this? We're wondering if Moody will become a distraction if he doesn't get the amount of carries he needs to feel like a major contributor. Moody could have stayed at USC if he wanted a chance to win a national title. He wants to run the ball and the guy isn't afraid to speak his mind, something most UF players do not do.

We'll keep an eye on Moody's morale during preseason practice and two-a-days. If you believe Urban Meyer (which I don't in this case), then the starting running back position isn't even Moody's right now. According to Meyer, Kestahn Moore is still the starter. Meyer swears by Moore. This is strange because if Meyer went back and watched at few game films from last season, then he would be swearing at the fumbles Moore coughed up in close games. Our guess: Meyer is just playing head games with Moody. Meyer got on Moody's case after he fumbled in the end zone during the spring game. It seems like flawed logic that Meyer would berate Moody publicly for one fumble in a spring game but still allow Moore to be on the team after the costly fumbles last season. (A side note to this Moody-Moore situation. The two Texans played against each other in little league football.)

OK, digression over. Back on topic...Moody, more than any newcomer, is the key to the Gators' success in 2008. When Moody first showed up last season, all Meyer would say to him when they ran into each other in the football facility was, "I sure hope you're good." There was a reason for that.

[Check out this SI cover from 2007. That's Moody on the left. Instead of splitting time at USC last year, he decided to transfer to UF and sit out a season. Wonder if Moody will make the 2008 SI college football preview cover as a Gator this time around?]

-jo-

Opinion Polls & Market Research

Tebow 7/2 odds for the 2008 Heisman; Check out the complete list

GAINESVILLE -- Our friends at Bodoglife.com like to email Gator Clause wager-related nonsense in the hopes that I'll post it on the blog. Guess it worked this time. The Internet betting house recently released early lines on the 2008 Heisman Trophy. Florida's Tim Tebow won the award last year and he's the favorite to win it this year at 7-2 odds.

Listed below is Bodoglife.com's complete Heisman Trophy field as of Wednesday morning. A few things that might be of interest to Florida fans:

1. Florida dynamo Percy Harvin is listed at 15-1 odds. Harvin, of course, is the fella Tebow has tabbed to win the 2008 Heisman. I've learned that it's always a good idea to listen to Tim Tebow. In 2007, Tebow was 10-1 odds to win the Heisman. Harvin and Tebow are the only Florida players listed.

Harvin highlights, courtesy of YouTube.

2. Players with in-state ties you can bet on:

Noel Devine (West Virginia, RB, soph.), Devine is listed at 35-1 odds, this North Fort Myers native once lived with Deion Sanders. Deion tried to be a father figure for troubled little Noel (ironical name, I agree) but Noel whadn't have'n that. He split after three days. True story: Devine once challenged Chris Rainey to a foot race in a parking lot in Lakeland, Fla., and lost by two steps. In the words of Chris Rainey, "I'm like, 'Damn. It's good to be Chris Rainey.'"

Matt Grothe (South Florida, QB, jr.) Dubbed the poor man's Tim Tebow (Boy, does old Grothe hate to hear that.), the Bull's quarterback is long shot to win the Heisman, 60-1.

Here's a pretty good bet. Clemson running back C.J. Spiller (pictured) is listed at 60-1 odds to win the Heisman Trophy. The Lake Butler native snubbed Florida for Tommy Bowden's Tigers but almost transferred to Gainesville after his freshman year. (Why a running back would transfer to Florida -- Hello, Manny Moody! -- with Tebow behind center is beyond me.) Luckily for Spiller he stayed at Clemson and is now poised to have an incredible season in 2008.

3. Surprisingly, there aren't any Miami Hurricanes or Florida State Seminoles listed. One would think FSU receiver Preston Parker would have a better chance to win a Heisman than Ohio State linebacker James Laurinaitis (70-1). So many Miami quarterbacks have won Heisman Trophies that Robert Marve should be listed by default.

4. Tennessee defensive back Eric Berry intercepted Tim Tebow last season and returned it for a touchdown. Now Berry is listed at 80-1 odds to win the Heisman. Berry will be playing safety this season for the Vols.

Berry chose Tennessee over Florida, among other schools. The sophomore is considered the best defensive back in the Southeastern Conference this season by some preseason mags.

5. Other than Tebow, Georgia running back Knowshon Moreno (10-1 odds) is probably the best bet to win Heisman. If both teams are undefeated when they meet in Jacksonville, then the head-to-head performances of Moreno and Tebow might be a determining factor for many voters.

IN WAGER-RELATED NEWS: Florida and Georgia are both 6-1 odds to win the national championship. USC (3-1) is the favorite. Miami is 35-1, FSU is 50-1 and USF is 100-1.

<>

Eric Berry (Tenn)	80/1
Todd Boeckman (OhioSt.)	35/1
Sam Bradford (Okl)	16/1
Rudy Carpenter (ASU)	35/1
Jimmy Clausen (ND)	80/1
Michael Crabtree (TTech)	10/1
Chase Daniel (Missouri)	8/1
James Davis (Clem)	50/1
Noel Devine (WVU)	35/1
Armanti Edwards (App. State)	100/1
Arian Foster (Tenn)	50/1
Matt Grothe (USF)	60/1
Max Hall (BYU)	65/1
Cullen Harper (Clem)	25/1
Percy Harvin (FL)	15/1
Graham Harrell (TTech)	15/1
P.J. Hill (Wisc)	22/1
Ian Johnson (Boise St.)	40/1
Jeremiah Johnson (Ore)	100/1
James Laurinaitis (Ohio St.)	70/1
Dan LeFevour (C. Mich)	70/1
Kellen Lewis (Ind)	50/1
Jake Locker (Wash)	50/1
Jeremy Maclin (Missouri)	35/1
LeSean McCoy (Pitt)	20/1
Colt McCoy (Tex)	28/1
Stephen McGee (Tex A&M)	60/1
Joe McKnight (USC)	25/1
Knowshon Moreno (UGA)	10/1
DeMarco Murray (Okla)	15/1
Curtis Painter (Purdue)	60/1
Terrelle Pryor (Ohio St.)	100/1
Todd Reesing (Kan)	25/1
Javon Ringer (Mich St.)	35/1
Zac Robinson (Ok. State)	75/1
Mark Sanchez (USC)	40/1
C.J. Spiller (Clem)	50/1
Matthew Stafford (UGA)	14/1
Tyrod Taylor (V. Tech)	60/1
Tim Tebow (FL)	7/2
Willie Tuitama (Arz)	75/1
Chris Wells (Ohio St.)	5/1
Pat White (WVU)	12/1
Juice Williams (ILL)	40/1
John Parker Wilson (Ala)	40/1
Field  10/1

-jo-

Five games we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC...No.1, Auburn at Miss. State

GAINESVILLE -- The SEC West theme continues with the final installment of Gator Clause's "Five games we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC." Why are we focusing on the West? The answer is simple. The SEC East will be top heavy in the 2008 and the SEC West will be more balanced. That means better chances for surprising upsets. 

The No.1 game we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC happens early.

GAME No.1
Auburn at Mississippi State
When: Sept. 13
Why this game matters: Many writers are predicting Auburn to win the SEC West. Before you jump on board, keep in mind that Auburn begins the season with an inexperienced quarterback who had to learn a new offense in the offseason. Can Kodi Burns run the spread-option? Sure he can. But can he run it effectively in the third week of the season against one of the best defenses in the SEC? Auburn's trip to Mississippi State has all the makings of a major upset. Keep in mind that State beat Auburn and Alabama last season and finished the season with a win against Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl.

Here are the links to the four other games we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC: GAME NO.2, GAME NO.3, GAME NO.4, GAME NO.5

-jo-

Meet Shaka Smart: He's OK with Calathes never dunking

GAINESVILLE -- Gator Clause caught up with Florida assistant basketball coach Shaka Smart on Tuesday. Smart, formerly of Clemson, was hired on Monday and made the rounds on Tuesday, speaking with reporters and radio stations in Gainesville.

Smart replaces Lewis Preston on coach Billy Donovan's staff. Only 31 years old, Smart is considered one of the profession's rising stars. Such a thorough interview might seem a little excessive for an assistant coach, but Gator Clause wanted to give readers a closer look at a young college basketball coach who has the potential to be one of the biggest names in college hoops. Smart is Donovan's third assistant behind Larry Shyatt and Rob Lanier.

GATOR CLAUSE: It has been a quick and steady climb up the ranks for you as a coach. What is your greatest asset?

SMART: I would say my willingness to work extremely hard and to learn.

GC: What was your connection to Florida before being hired by Coach Donovan?

SMART: I had a really good relationship with Rob Lanier and I’ve known Coach Shyatt for a few years. I really didn’t know Coach Donovan very well but through my relationship with Rob I was able to speak with Coach Donovan about the job.

GC: What is the most important thing a Magna cum laude graduate learns while he is in college?

SMART: Probably the biggest thing I learned is that the more you learn the more you realize there is so much more to learn. As a kid out of high school, you feel like you’re on top of the world and you know it all. But all the things you gain as you become an adult teaches you that there’s a lot more out there you need to learn.

GC: For all the youngsters out there who think they’re going to be the next Michael Jordan, how did academics get you to where you are today?

SMART: There’s a parallel between excellent athletics and excellent academics. To be an extremely good basketball player, to be the next Michael Jordan or just to make the NBA you have to work extremely hard, you have to be dedicated to your skills and your body. So, it’s no different than what it takes to be a good student. You have to put the time in to be a good student in the classroom. And there are some people components to it as well. You have to be a good teammate.  

GC: Last book you read?

SMART: Well, I’m one of those guys who is reading about three books at one time. So, I would say the last full book I finished was called The Power of Intention by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer. His basic premise is if you decide what you want in your life and you place everything in line with that goal, then it’s going to work out for you.

GC: Do college basketball student-athletes play too many video games?

SMART: [Laughs] It seems to be the thing to do. I learned a while back in recruiting that it’s not good to fight the guys on that one. If you can’t beat them, join them. I never was really good at video games but when kids come on campus and they want to play some video games with the players then I’m all about it. For some guys, that’s their way to get to know guys in a relaxed environment.

GC: Shaka Smart is a name easily remembered. Is there a story behind that handle?

SMART: It’s an African name. There was a man named Shaka who united a large group of people in southern Africa, so my father decided to name me after him.

GC: Greatest moment on the court as a player?

SMART: I wasn’t the best player in the world but I just loved playing the game. I was one of those guys who would just be on the court forever if you let them. But the biggest thing for me was helping my teammates, so one game in high school I had 20 assists in one game. So, that worked out well for us.

GC: Being an assist man yourself, what’s the best assist you could pass off to Nick Calathes in your first month on the job?

SMART: Nick had an extremely successful freshman year, so the best thing I can say to him and any of the freshmen is that the biggest jump you should make in college is from your freshman to sophomore years because now you have a year under you, you understand the way the SEC works, you understand college basketball at the highest level. So, if you’re willing to do the things you need to do over the summer to better your game and improve your body then you’re putting yourself into position to improve your body.

GC: Can you please teach him how to dunk?

SMART: Last time I checked a dunk is only worth two points.

GC: Greatest moment on the court as a coach?

SMART: We beat Duke last March in the ACC Tournament. Clemson hadn’t been to the ACC championship since 1962 and we beat Duke in the ACC semifinals to get to the championship game and that really validated a lot of things for us and what we were doing at Clemson.

GC: Worst moment on the court as a coach?

SMART: You remember the bad moments, too. One story that is significant to our staff here: While I was at Clemson we played Virginia and Rob Lanier was on staff there. Virginia had two really good guards that year. We were up by 15 points with four minutes left — maybe five — at home and they came back and beat us. That might have been the lowest I felt as a coach because when you’re up that much as a coach you feel like we need to bring this one home.

GC: Ever been ‘T’ed up?

SMART: Never. I know my role as an assistant coach, and it’s not my role to voice my opinions with a ref.

GC: I’m leaning toward going to Miami to be a shooting guard. Sell me on the Gators.

SMART: Billy Donovan. We got the best coach in the country and we have an unbelievable fan base and coach Donovan is going to let you play. He really does a good job of letting people do what they do best on the court. So this is a place you can come and thrive.

GC: I’m leaning toward going to Clemson to be a shooting guard. Sell me on the Gators.

SMART: That would be a tough one because anytime you leave a place you certainly want to leave on good terms and leave with a strong relationship with the people you just left. But Florida is the place to be for the same reasons I just gave you. It doesn’t really matter whom we’re recruiting against. Those things aren’t going to change. I don’t believe in negative recruiting. I firmly believe in showing a kid why the University of Florida is the best fit in the country for that young man.

GC: Do you plan to keep open lines of communication with recruiting contacts you made while at Clemson?

SMART: Of course. You have to do that. You want to take advantage of any contacts you have. There are still contacts I have from when I was a Division II coach. All of sudden an AAU coach has a high-level player. That’s one of the things you do as you go in this business: Just build more and more contacts. Plus, when you go to new jobs you have to branch out and be willing to make connections and build relationship with new people.

GC: Everyone in your profession has a mentor. Who was your mentor off the court?

SMART: Probably Bill Brown, who recruited me to play at Kenyon College and then left after my freshman year. It broke my heart but I forgave him and actually went to work for him right out of college at a school called California University of Pennsylvania. He’s a person who taught me a great deal about life and basketball but mostly importantly about treating people the right way. I still speak to him about every week. 

GC: Coach Donovan has a history of grooming young and talented assistant coaches into young and talented head coaches. You’re a smart guy. Is that part of the reason you wanted to come to Florida?

SMART: There are three reasons I wanted to come to Florida. One, I wanted to be a part of a basketball program that has done tremendous things in the recent past and also has aspirations to do more tremendous things in the future. The second reason is to be around a great group of people. The vibe on this staff and team draws you to it. The third reason I came is the opportunity to learn a great deal while I’m here but also contribute and help this team win as many games as possible and find as much success as we can.

-jo-

PRIMETIME: Miami at Florida set for 8 p.m. (Book your hotels now!)

GAINESVILLE -- It's going to be crazy in Gainesville for the second Saturday of the season. The SEC released its tentative television schedule on Tuesday and Florida hosts Miami at 8 p.m. on Sept. 6. ESPN will carry the rivalry game.

(I hope everyone realizes what this means. If you're driving up for the game and you plan on getting a hotel, then you better go ahead and book your room now. The Swamp is going to be absolutely rocking by the time kickoff rolls around and no one is going to want to drive back down Florida's Turnpike after that.)

FLORIDA SEASON OPENER
Bring your sunscreen to the season opener. Florida begins the season against Hawaii with a 12:30 p.m. kickoff on Aug. 30.

ABC and ESPN and ESPN2 apparently passed on Florida-Hawaii, leaving Raycom with the first-week leftovers. (And I thought Hawaii-Florida was a pretty intriguing game. Shows what I know.)

I understand the reasoning for ABC and ESPN passing over Florida-Hawaii. ABC is airing Alabama-Clemson (8 p.m.) in Atlanta. (No shocker there.) ESPN is hoping Appalachian State can repeat last season magic and upset another national power. This time it would be LSU in Death Valley at 6:45 p.m. App State took down Michigan last season but only one or two people watched the game on live television (Big Ten Network).

But you know Florida gets absolutely no respect from national television execs when ESPN2 opts for Mississippi State vs. Louisiana Tech over Florida-Hawaii. What a joke, right? Florida STILL has a kid named Tim Tebow. Did somebody at ESPN forget that shortly after airing the Heisman Trophy ceremony?

ANYWAY, guess ESPN didn't want to double book Florida two weekends in a row. Here's the rest of the tentative SEC television schedule.

Date                 Time         Network  Game

(Thu.) Aug. 28  7 p.m         ESPNU      Vanderbilt at Miami (Ohio)

(Thu.) Aug. 28  8 p.m.        ESPN        N.C. State at South Carolina

(Sat.) Aug. 30 12:30 p.m. Raycom   Hawaii at Florida

(Sat.) Aug. 30  5 p.m.        ESPN       Appalachian State at LSU

(Sat.) Aug. 30  6:45 p.m.  ESPN2    Miss. State at La. Tech

(Sat.) Aug. 30  8 p.m.        ABC       Alabama vs. Clemson (Atlanta)

(Sun.) Aug. 31  3:30 p.m.  ESPN       Kentucky at Louisville

(Mon.) Sept. 1  8 p.m.        ESPN       Tennessee at UCLA

(Thu.) Sept. 4  8:30 p.m.    ESPN       South Carolina at Vanderbilt

(Sat.) Sept. 6    12:30 p.m. Raycom   Southern Mississippi at Auburn

(Sat.) Sept. 6    3:30 p.m.    ABC        Ole Miss at Wake Forest

(Sat.) Sept. 6  8 p.m.        ESPN     Miami at Florida

(Sat.) Sept. 13  12:30 p.m.  Raycom UAB at Tennessee

(Sat.) Sept. 13  3:30 p.m.     CBS       Georgia at South Carolina

(Sat.) Sept. 13  3:30 p.m.     ABC    Arkansas at Texas

(Sat.) Sept. 13  7 p.m.          ESPN2  Auburn at Mississippi State      

(Sat.) Sept. 20  8:13 p.m.     ABC      Georgia at Arizona State

(Thu.) Oct. 23  7:30 p.m.     ESPN     Auburn at West Virginia

(Fri.) Nov. 28    12:30 p.m.  Raycom Mississippi State at Ole Miss

(Fri.) Nov. 28    2:30 p.m.     CBS      LSU at Arkansas (Little Rock)

(Sat.) Dec. 6      4 p.m.         CBS     SEC Championship Game (Atlanta, Ga.)

All Times Eastern

Tentative and Subject to Change

Additional games to be added as become available

-jo-

Five games we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC...No.2, The Iron Bowl

GAINESVILLE -- For a change, the Iron Bowl might actually mean something this year. Auburn at Alabama is No.2 on our short list of possible upsets we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC.

GAME NO.2
Auburn at Alabama
When: Nov.29
Why this game matters: This is the toughest away game (excluding a non-conference trip to West Virginia) for the Auburn Tigers in 2008. Historically, Jordan Hare Stadium is one of the toughest places to play in the SEC and Auburn gets LSU, Tennessee, Arkansas and Georgia at home. The conference schedule favors Auburn in the even years (undefeated in 2004 and shoulda-coulda-woulda in 2006) but this is the first time Auburn takes on a Saban-coached Alabama team in Tuscaloosa. No one expects Alabama to play for the conference championship this season, but the Crimson Tide sure could spoil Auburn's chances with an upset.

Florida fans would hate this, of course. The Gators would love another shot at Auburn after last season and the SEC championship game would be the perfect venue for such a rematch.

-jo-

Florida hoops adds former Clemson assistant; Shaka Smart has ear of No.1-ranked 2009 prospect

GAINESVILLE -- Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan quickly filled his assistant coaching vacancy over the weekend with the hiring of former Clemson assistant Shaka Smart.

Smart replaces Preston Lewis, who took a job with Penn State last week. Before Clemson, Smart coached at Dayton and then Akron. Smart joins current Florida assistants Larry Shyatt and Rob Lanier in Gainesville.

This is a nice hire for the University of Florida. Smart, 31, joins Donovan's staff with a strong resume despite being a relatively young assistant. Clemson experienced an upswing last season and Smart, we assume, had a hand in that turnaround. He is considered to be one of the nation's best young recruiters and that's key heading into the month of July, when coaches fan out across the nation and scout AAU tournaments for talent.

Smart could pay immediate dividends for Donovan and the Gators if the new assistant could persuade North Carolina prep prospect John Wall to take a closer look at the Gators. Wall (6-4, 184 pounds), who is ranked by Rivals.com as the No.1-ranked prospect of 2009, is uncommitted but lists Clemson and Florida as two of his top three schools (according to Rivals).

If Smart can't steer Wall towards Florida, then maybe the new Florida assistant can make inroads with South Florida shooting sensation Kenny Boynton Jr.

Boynton Jr. (nationally ranked No.10 by Rivals for the class of 2009) played at Plantation American Heritage last season with Florida commitment Eloy Vargas. The two players are friends and compete together during the summer months. Despite the access to Boynton Jr., Florida hasn't been able to persuade the shooter, who began his career at Pompano Beach Blanche Ely, to think about playing for the Gators.

-jo-

Five games we DIDN'T expect to shape the SEC...No.4, Ole Miss at Arkansas

Game No.4 on our countdown of top five games you didn't expect to shape the SEC:

GAINESVILLE -- You thought Alabama-Auburn was a rivalry? Florida-Georgia? The SEC hasn't seen anything like its latest cutthroat rivalry. Ole Miss vs. Arkansas takes on new meaning this season when former Hogs coach Houston Nutt brings his Ole Miss Rebels to Fayetteville.

What once was one of the SEC West's forgotten rivalries gets new life in 2008. The divorce between Nutt and Arkansas was a nasty one and this rivalry will be laced with overtones of hatred, spit and guttural cries of displeasure.

GAME 4
Ole Miss at Arkansas
When: Oct. 25
Why this game matters: Other than it being one of the best SEC games of the regular season? Ole Miss had no business landing Houston Nutt. Gator Clause suspects that half of the reason the coach went to Oxford was to spite his old employer. Now that Ole Miss has their man, watch for the Rebs to improve quickly. The winner of this game could prove to be a major spoiler in the SEC West. Gator Clause isn't sold on LSU, Auburn or Alabama.

-jo-