By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
BUCKLE YOUR SEATBELT, THE NEXT FEW DAYS WILL BE HECTIC
If you are of the opinion that Billy Napier has done everything but move heaven and earth in the last few weeks, then brace yourself and buckle up. In NASCAR terms, it will be pedal to the metal.
Start with coaching staff. Sean Spencer hasn’t been formally announced yet, but he has at least one foot in the door as the co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach. He spent the last two years with the New York Giants, but from 2011-19 he was with James Franklin at Vanderbilt and Penn State. Each of his last three years at Penn State, the Nittany Lions were top ten nationally in sacks. Spencer’s nickname is “Coach Chaos.”
That leaves the inside linebackers position open and it should be filled this week.
On the transfer portal, Napier plucked corner Jalen Kimber, a former 4-star recruit who has four years of eligibility remaining, from Georgia. He was a 2020 signee (doesn’t count against eligibility) and played in only one game in 2021 due to a shoulder injury so that counts as a redshirt.
Today, offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence (6-5, 335), an All-Sun Belt Conference performer for Napier at Louisiana, will decide his transfer destination between Florida and LSU. Smart money is on Florida, where he visited this weekend and where his name is already listed in the student directory. Another possible transfer this week is wide receiver Javon Baker, who caught seven passes for 101 yards and a TD in 2021. He was a 4-star recruit out of high school whose offer list included Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan and Ole Miss. He has three seasons of eligibility remaining.
Expect more transfers in the days ahead based on what Napier said Friday: “I think you could see us add a number of players over the next 10 days or so, maybe little less than that, eight to 10 days. We’re still in process of working on that part of our team.”
And then there was the commitment from 3-star defensive back Miguel Mitchell out of Oxford, Alabama, formerly committed to Vanderbilt but with offers from Louisiana, LSU, Southern Cal and Wake Forest among others. There were other official visitors over the weekend beside Mitchell. Commitments could be forthcoming.
IT WAS ONLY ONE WIN, BUT IT DOES CHANGE PERSPECTIVE ABOUT UF HOOPS
After an 0-3 start to the SEC portion of the schedule, any kind of win would have been a huge relief for the Gators, but couple Florida’s 71-63 win over South Carolina with a rather chaotic Saturday in the Southeastern Conference and it does change perspective. At least for the moment.
At 1-3, the Gators are only two-games behind fourth place Mississippi State (3-1) in the SEC standings. Fourth place is important because the top four teams in the league get a double-bye in the SEC Tournament. There are still 14 SEC games remaining, but the way it’s looking right now 10-8 in league play will have a real shot at the double-bye. The Gators are just one game out in the win column from Vanderbilt, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee. They’re even in the loss column with Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee.
From a perspective standpoint, the Gators (10-6, 1-3 SEC) are in far better shape than they were heading into the weekend. The big question is can their success against South Carolina carry over into Wednesday night’s game at the O-Dome with Mississippi State (12-4, 3-1 SEC)?
In getting the win over South Carolina (10-6, 1-3 SEC), the Gators got 55 percent shooting (27-49) from the field, the best overall shooting day they’ve had all season. The Gators shot 31.8 percent (7-22) on three-pointers, but that was on eight fewer attempts than they had last Wednesday in the loss to LSU so it represents significant improvement. The Gators also had 17 assists on 27 made baskets, their best passing effort in quite some time. Florida still turned the ball over 15 times, which is too many, and it allowed South Carolina to score 19 points, but the overall defensive effort made it difficult for the Gamecocks to get many good shots. Whereas Florida was efficient with its shooting, the Gamecocks launched 75 shots and made only 26 (34.7 percent).
The Gators got a big lift from freshman Kowacie Reeves, who made only the second start of his career. Reeves hit 4-6 from the field (2-3 on three-pointers), 4-5 from the foul line and contributed three rebounds, an assist, a blocked shot and a steal. His 14 points represent a career high. He made a critical defensive play late in the game and hit four free throws in the final 5:20.
Was this the breakthrough game the former 5-star recruit has been waiting for?
“I mean, I’m lost for words honestly, because a lot of the guys on the team predicted, like, told me something similar to this was gonna happen,” Reeves said. “Like, (Anthony) Duruji and Colin (Castleton), they was telling me, they was comparing their freshmen years and telling me how things was just up and down and bumpy for them at first, but they just encouraged me to just keep pushing on, keep working, paying attention to every little detail and just being engaged on defense. That was going to keep me on floor. So, once I did get those things, it started to come together. I just got to continue to do those things and feed off those guys.”
Castleon had a big game although not in the scoring column. He only got seven shots (made four) due to the way South Carolina was collapsing around him, but his 10 points were accompanied by seven rebounds, two assists and a season-high eight blocked shots. With Castleton protecting the rim, South Carolina only got 20 points in the paint the whole game.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr. matched Reeves in the scoring column (14 points) and had three rebounds, one assist, one steal and a blocked shot.
SEC Basketball
Saturday’s scores: FLORIDA (10-6, 1-3 SEC) 71, South Carolina (10-6, 1-3 SEC) 63; No. 4 Auburn (16-1, 5-0 SEC) 80, Ole Miss (9-7, 1-3 SEC) 71; Arkansas (12-5, 2-3 SEC) 65, No. 12 LSU (15-2, 3-2 SEC) 58; No. 18 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) 107, No. 22 Tennessee (11-5, 2-3 SEC) 79; Mississippi State (12-4, 3-1 SEC) 78, No. 24 Alabama (11-6, 2-3 SEC) 76; Texas A&M (15-2, 4-0 SEC) 67, Missouri (7-9, 1-3 SEC) 64; Vanderbilt (10-6, 2-2 SEC) 73, Georgia (5-12, 0-4 SEC) 66
Tuesday’s games: South Carolina (10-6, 1-3 SEC) at Arkansas (12-5, 2-3 SEC); No. 22 Tennessee (11-5, 2-3 SEC) at Vanderbilt (10-6, 2-2 SEC); Missouri (7-9, 1-3 SEC) at Ole Miss (9-7, 1-3 SEC)
Wednesday’s games: Mississippi State (12-4, 3-1 SEC) at FLORIDA (10-6, 1-3 SEC); No. 18 Kentucky (14-3, 4-1 SEC) at Texas A&M (15-2, 4-0 SEC); No. 12 LSU (15-2, 3-2 SEC) at No. 24 Alabama (11-6, 2-3 SEC); Georgia (5-12, 0-4 SEC) at No. 4 Auburn (16-1, 5-0 SEC)
KELLY RAE HAS THE UF WOMEN ON A ROLL
Considering the chaos surrounding the Florida women’s basketball program these last few months, what Kelly Rae Finley has done with the Gators (13-5, 3-2 SEC) might be worthy of having the interim removed. Sunday, the Gators rallied from nine points down in the fourth quarter for a hard fought 85-77 win over Alabama (10-7, 1-5 SEC).
This was Florida’s third straight SEC win and the 13th win is one more than the Gators had all of last season under former coach Cam Newbauer. The Gators own two SEC wins over ranked opponents. And, this is happening without best player Lavender Briggs, out the last four games and the rest of the season with a shin fracture.
The Gators face their toughest stretch of the season in the next two weeks with games against (at) Kentucky, LSU, South Carolina, Tennessee and (at) Georgia, all ranked in the top 20. If the Gators can find a way to win one or two of those games, it could make Kelly Rae a viable option for the future or at least worth considering for the permanent position.
SEC FOOTBALL
Alabama: Coming back in 2022 are All-SEC linebacker Henry To’o To’o, All-SEC defensive back Jordan Battle, right guard Emil Ekiyor Jr., defensive tackles D.J. Dale and Byron Young and defensive back Demarcco Hellams, … Declaring for the NFL Draft are wide receivers Jameson Williams, John Metchie III and Slade Bolden and defensive back Jalyn Armour-Davis … Transferring out are wide receiver Javon Baker … Transferring to Texas is tight end Jauleel Billingsley. Billingsley caught 17 passes for 253 yards and three TDs in 2021 … Quarterback Paul Tyson, grandson of Bear Bryant, is transferring to Arizona State. Linebacker King Mwikuti is transferring to Arkansas State.
Arkansas: Backup quarterback Malik Hornsby has removed his name from the transfer portal ... Former Alabama linebacker Drew Sanders is transferring to Arkansas.
Auburn: Corner DJ James, who had 46 tackles and two interceptions in 2021, is transferring in from Oregon … Linebacker Chandler Wooten has declared for the NFL. He had 94 tackles and an interception in 2021 … J.C. Sherritt, who has spent the last two seasons as the defensive coordinator at D1AA Cal Poly, has joined the staff as a defensive analyst … Caylin Newton, formerly a quarterback at Howard who was a wide receiver at Auburn in 2021, is transferring out.
Georgia: Wide receiver George Pickens, who caught 90 passes for 1,347 yards and 14 touchdowns in his career, has declared for the NFL Draft. Also leaving are running back Zamir White, safety Lewis Cine, linebacker Nakobe Dean, corner Derion Kendrick, defensive lineman Travon Walker and offensive tackle Jamaree Salyer… Returning is defensive back Christopher Smith, who had seven tackles and an interception in the national championship game. Also returning in the secondary is STAR/nickel Tykee Smith, who suffered a torn ACL and played in only two games … In addition to corner Jalen Kimber transferring to Florida, defensive back Lovasea Carroll is in the portal. Carroll was a 4-star running back recruit when he came to Georgia. He only played in four games in 2021, so he is a redshirt freshman with four seasons of eligbility remaining.
Kentucky: Defensive back Tyrell Ajian, who had 46 tackles and an interception in 2021, is returning for 2022.
LSU: LSU is expected to hire Cortez Hankton, who coached Georgia’s wide receivers … Linebacker West Weeks, who had 31 tackles and a sack as a true freshman at Virginia in 2021, is transferring to LSU as is wide receiver Kyren Lacy, who had 50 catches for 684 yards and 10 touchdowns in two seasons playing for Billy Napier at Louisiana … Bowling Green offensive coordinator Terry Malone is joining the LSU staff as an offensive analyst.
Mississippi State: Wide receiver Justin Robinson, who caught two passes for 18 yards in 2021, is transferring from Georgia to Mississippi State.
Missouri: Former Texas State offensive coordinator Jacob Peeler is joining the Mizzou staff to coach wide receivers.
Ole Miss: As expected, Henry Parrish is following running backs coach Kevin Smith to Miami. Parrish ran for 551 yards and three touchdowns in 2021 at Ole Miss ... Defensive back Jalen Jordan is transferring to South Alabama where he will join former Ole Miss wide receiver Jadon Jackson.
Tennessee: The Vols will play Syracuse in the 2025 Chik-fil-A Kickoff game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta … Former starting O-lineman K’Rohn Calbert is transferring to D1AA Eastern Kentucky.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: I don’t normally give much credit to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, who I think was dropped on his head by his mother too many times when he was an infant, but he did get one thing right in a weekend rant stating his opposition to College Football Playoff expansion: There is indeed a problem with the NCAA that has to be fixed. Now that the Boy Scouts and the brain dead at the NCAA have allowed sports to become pay for play, it’s time for the Division I football schools to secede and form their own organization with their own set of rules before Mark Emmert and his minions can figure out a way to screw things up permanently.
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