By Franz Beard
A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning:
THERE ARE 3,000+ DIVISION I AND D1AA PLAYERS IN THE TRANSFER PORTAL
That is according to Sports Illustrated as of last Wednesday. Since there has been no slowdown of players announcing they’re bolting one place and looking for a better place to play, those numbers have probably increased by at least a couple hundred players. We’ll probably see wholesale movement in the portal this week as players will be looking to which coaches get a new gig coming out of the coaches convention in San Antonio.
Two things you need to know. First, this is a buyer’s market and there are far more players in the portal than there are openings since the bulk of the outgoing transfers have already been accounted for and replaced by high school kids who signed back in December. Second, there is talent out there but the schools that are going to benefit most from the portal are the ones who have an entire department devoted to scouting/recruiting transfers.
And now you another reason why Billy Napier announced back on December 5 that he was bringing in an “army” of support staff. The foundation of the Florida program will always be the high school and junior college kids, but anyone who thinks Napier won’t be a regular shopper in the portal has his head buried in the sand. You don’t put the toothpaste back in the tube so the portal is here to stay although we may see some tweaking of the rules in the near future. To deal with the transfers, Napier has an entire department that will be treating this much the way an NFL general manager deals with free agency. If you don’t have a player ready to step in at a certain position, you go find what you need in the portal and you bring him in.
While I expect the Gators will eventually land somewhere between 10-15 transfers I wouldn’t be surprised to see Napier add only 2-3 this week. His first priority will be filling out the coaching staff. He’ll complete the offensive staff with Rob Sale, who it’s already being reported is leaving the New York Giants for Florida where he will be the O-line coach. Karl Scott (Minnesota Vikings) would be a great addition but he could be waiting to see what happens with the Alabama staff (coached for Nick Saban 2018-20). If Scott joins the staff, the Gators will have only one remaining opening (D-line) to fill.
IF YOU THOUGHT AUBURN WAS PHYSICAL, JUST WAIT UNTIL WEDNESDAY
As we wonder whatever happened to those tough guy Gators who spent 40 minutes outpushing and outshoving Florida State and Ohio State back in November, we have to prepare for what’s coming to Gainesville Wednesday night. FSU and the Buckeyes were very physical. So was Oklahoma but the Gators were pushed back every time the Sooners pushed them. The last two games against Alabama and Auburn, the Gators have come up short when it comes to matching physicality and now LSU comes to town, probably the most physical team in the SEC.
In their most recent win, LSU brutalized Tennessee center John Fulkerson so badly that in his postgame remarks, Rick Barnes said that Fulkerson “can’t stand there with a team that we’ve talked about all week that’s going to reach, grab and poke at the ball and let the ball get away from his body.” Fulkerson had three points and five rebounds against LSU.
That’s what the Gators can expect Wednesday and unless they’re willing to rediscover their inner tough guy and match LSU push for push and shove for shove, it might a third straight SEC loss. LSU will have seen the tapes of the Alabama and Auburn games so you can bet the Tigers are going to amp up the physicality with the hope of wearing the Gators down. The Gators are going to have to take the approach that when LSU punches, they’ll punch back twice as hard.
If there is a silver lining to Florida’s 0-2 start in SEC play, it is that Auburn is now the only unbeaten team in the SEC. It is not too late for the Gators to turn things around, but they aren’t going to do it if they aren’t willing to get physical.
SEC BASKETBALL
Tuesday’s games: South Carolina (10-4, 1-1 SEC) at No. 18 Tennessee (10-4, 1-2 SEC); No. 16 Kentucky (12-3, 2-1 SEC) at Vanderbilt (9-5, 1-1 SEC); Ole Miss (9-5, 1-1 SEC) at Texas A&M (13-2, 2-0 SEC); No. 9 Auburn (14-1, 3-0 SEC) at No. 15 Alabama (11-4, 2-1 SEC)
Wednesday’s games: No. 21 LSU (14-1, 2-1 SEC) at FLORIDA (9-5, 0-2 SEC); Georgia (5-10, 0-2 SEC) at Mississippi State (10-4, 1-1 SEC); Missouri (7-7, 1-1 SEC) at Arkansas (10-5, 0-3 SEC)
EXCUSE ME, BUT AM I MISSING SOMETHING?
I’ve spent the last 10 days hearing one talking head after another tell me tonight’s national championship game between Georgia and Alabama will be different because (a) Georgia was embarrassed by Alabama the first time, (b) because Georgia’s "generational" defense just had a bad day at the office and (c) given a month to prepare, Georgia will be ready this time.
Am I missing something?
Yes, Georgia was embarrassed by Alabama. That happens a lot. I remember 2008 when Georgia was ranked No. 1. Nick Saban and Alabama led 31-0 at the half. Alabama has beaten Georgia 41-24 each of the last two years. There were close encounters Georgia had in 2012, 2017 and 2018 but they are embarrassments also because Georgia could have won all three games. Georgia fans say the Bulldogs choked. Nick is 7-0 against Georgia. SEVEN AND OH.
Now, back to December 4. Alabama showed up and played to the level it’s capable of playing but Nick was talking about how the Tide could have and should have done better next day after beating Georgia 41-24. This is the youngest and least experienced team Saban has had in a long time, yet the last two games the Tide has devoured whatever got in its way. When Alabama is devouring opponents, you shouldn’t pick against them.
Georgia’s “generational” defense was very good, but somebody remind me which homewrecker offensive juggernaut they actually shut down. Yes, they’re very good, but folks, they aren’t Alabama 2009 or 2011. When Alabama hung 41 big ones on Georgia back on December 4, Bryce Young sliced and diced that defense for 421 passing yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked ZERO times. The kid has presence in the pocket like few we have seen. He just instinctively knows how to move around, avoid the rush and find someone open in the secondary, which has everything to do with why he threw for 4,503 yards (9.2 per attempt) and 46 touchdowns with only five interceptions. There is a reason why he won the Heisman Trophy.
Now for the month to get ready argument that a lot of people are throwing out there. Do these people ever stop to consider the fact that maybe, just maybe Nick Saban has used the last month to get ready for Georgia Part Deux as well? And, while Georgia didn’t exactly go off script against Michigan with something brand new that would keep Saban and the Alabama coaching staff working 22-hour days, Nick did go ground and pound against Cincinnati. Brian Robinson, 100 percent healthy for the first time in awhile, ran for 204 yards Alabama hammered away for 301 yard for a nifty little reminder to Kirby that if he chooses to drop seven or eight into coverage, Nick will grind out the first downs. I have no doubt Kirby Smart will try something new on Alabama and maybe it will work for awhile, but nobody in the college game has a staff more capable of making adjustments on the fly than Alabama.
So, did I miss something somewhere? I watched the SEC Championship Game. I watched Alabama dominate Georgia in the trenches. This alleged one of the best defenses of all time finally met up with a decent offense and fell apart at the seams. So now I’ve spent a month listening to the talking heads make one excuse after another, even going so far as to blame Stetson Bennett IV for the December loss, calling Kirby Smart an idiot for playing him instead of JT Daniels. Uh, excuse me, but Stetson Bennett put 24 points up on Alabama and wouldn’t you think that’s more than enough for a “generational” defense to bring home a win?
Finally, there is this teensy matter of who’s coaching Alabama. It’s the same guy who is 175-18 since 2008. None of those 18 losses is to Georgia. It’s the same guy whose only loss in an SEC Championship Game was way back in 2008 to Tim Tebow and a Florida team coached by Urban Meyer that won the national championship. It’s the same guy who is 9-0 in SEC Championship Games since that 2008 loss to the Gators. It’s the same guy who is 6-2 in national championship games, the only two losses to Clemson (2015, 2018).
There may come a day when Alabama’s dynasty under Nick Saban flatlines. There may even come a time when he loses a big one to Kirby Smart but I don’t think it’s this year. The talking heads say Georgia wins and Vegas has the Bulldogs favored by three. Nothing like a little bit of rat poison for Nick Saban. I just don’t see Georgia beating him tonight.
SEC FOOTBALL
Arkansas: Linebacker Bumper Pool, who was in on 125 tackles in 2021, announced he will return for the 2022 season … Defensive lineman Jalen Williams is transferring to Southern Miss.
Auburn: Former 4-star defensive back Ahmari Harvey is transferring to Georgia Tech.
Kentucky: Mike Stoops, former head coach at Arizona and defensive coordinator at Oklahoma, is expected to join his brother, HBC Mark, on the Kentucky staff. Mike Stoops is expected to coach linebackers, replacing Joe Sumrall, who left to take the HBC job at Troy ... Outside linebacker Jordan Wright, who has 106 tackles in his career, is returning for 2022.
LSU: Wide receiver Trey Palmer is headed to Nebraska where he will play for Mickey Joseph, who was his position coach at LSU.
Missouri: Mizzou will have two D-line coaches next season. HBC Eli Drinkwitz hired Kevin Peoples from the Indiana staff and he plans to keep Al Davis.
Ole Miss: Former starting QB John Rhys Plumlee, who spent the last two seasons toiling at wide receiver, is transferring to UCF, where he will play quarterback … Linebacker Chance Campbell, who led the Rebels with 106 tackles in 2021 after transferring in from Maryland, is off to the NFL … D-lineman Quentin Bivens is transferring to Southern Miss. He had 35 tackles and two sacks in four years at Ole Miss.
South Carolina: Right tackle Dylan Wonnum, who has played in 32 games in his career, is returning for the 2022 season … Defensive lineman Terrell Dawkins has transferred in from North Carolina State … Former Gamecock O-lineman Vincent Murphy announced he is transferring to Western Kentucky.
Tennessee: Wyoming wide receiver Isaiah Neyor is transferring in. He had 44 catches for 878 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2021 ... Defensive lineman Tyler Baron has withdrawn his name from the transfer portal. Baron has 30 tackles and four sacks in two seasons.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: On Full Ride last week, Rick Neuheisel stated that based on conversations he’s had with Dan Mullen, the former Florida coach wants nothing to do with college football again. Judging by the way things went sideways here at UF, I could understand that. He flirted with the NFL last year and though there was no serious offer, it was enough that the University of Florida started doing some just in case lists, of which, it turns out was fortuitous. There will be several offensive coordinator jobs opening in the NFL this week and Mullen probably will be a serious candidate for some of them. He won’t have to recruit and his main focus will be calling plays. He can do that. Quite well, actually.
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