Bobby Johnson traded some good-natured barbs with Lane Kiffin at a speaking engagement yesterday.

Vandy’s coach believes he has some players “who are similar” to former all-purpose star DJ Moore.

Johnson will be dropping in on the Chicago Bears’ training camp today to show support for the five former Commodores on the Bears’ roster.

John Adams of The Knoxville News Sentinel doesn’t believe Tennessee’s defense can be as good in 2009 as it was in 2008.

Here’s a preview of the Volunteers’ receiving corps.

Here’s a profile of receivers coach Frank Wilson… who’s having to deal with a wave of injuries.

Lane Kiffin tossed no insults at a fan luncheon in Nashville yesterday.

Kiffin says of star safety Eric Berry: “You feel like he’s a five-year NFL vet or something because he’s so professional by the way he goes about his business on and off the field.”

Seth Emerson of The State lays out five questions facing the Vols in 2009.

On the basketball front, Bruce Pearl says shoe companies have “become a part of the equation” when it comes to basketball recruiting. 

But that’s been the case for decades.  Pick up a copy of the brilliant 1991 book “Raw Recruits” if you want to learn more about how shoe kings like Sonny Vaccaro have brokered players for years.

In a cost-cutting measure, there’s a chance some Georgia coaches could be forced to take furloughs.  If football coaches have to take furloughs, just when will they take them?

For Georgia fans, traveling with the Dawgs is an expensive proposition.  Just to gain the right to buy tickets from Georgia’s allotment at Neyland Stadium this year, a fan has to have donated at least $21,950 to UGA’s Athletic Association over the course of their lifetime.  Well, at least it’s cumulative.

Will Georgia win a national title under Mark Richt?  The AJC’s Tony Barnhart says it’s a faulty question because coaches should not be judged by their national championship trophies.

This notes column reveals (among many things) that after recently re-watching tape of Carolina’s spring game, Steve Spurrier called quarterback Stephen Garcia and told him: “You know what, you actually looked pretty good in the spring game.”

When the SEC announced its new deal with ESPN last year, one of the first things we wrote here at MrSEC was that fans should prepare themselves for the network to start playing a big role in who and when SEC teams play.  As Ron Morris of The State reports, that’s already happening.  And he doesn’t believe it’s a good thing for fans.

Spurrier’s take on ESPN’s power?  “That’s just sort of the way college football is nowadays.  They sort of tell us when to play.”

Carolina has a new running scheme for 2009… and new offensive line coach Eric Wolford knows it’s success or failure will hinge on his guys.

It would have been easy for an All-American like Tennessee’s Eric Berry to defy the leadership of a new coaching staff going into what is likely his last season with the Volunteers.
(more)

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In a column written just over a year ago and on another blog (hard to believe I’ve been at ATVS for only just over a year), I said that the interior of the offensive line was the second most important part of an offense, behind only the quarterback.  I still believe that.  Here is what I said:

2. Interior Offensive Line: This is where I part ways with a lot of other commentators. I think the key position-to-position matchup on any football field is the battle between the center/guard combination and the defensive tackles on the other side of the ball. Whoever can win the battle on the interior of the line goes a long way towards having success, both in running the ball and in throwing. If your interior offensive linemen can handle the defensive tackles 1-on-1, you will almost certainly have a lot of success on your offense. If you interior offensive line needs double-teams to keep the tackles out of the backfield, that frees up the rest of the defense to maneuver with several unblocked players. It’s also great to have guards who can get to the second or third level and block linebackers or safeties, but I’ll settle for linemen who can handle the tackles. I think interior offensive line is often overlooked, or it is believed you can just plug players into the position interchangeably. They certainly aren’t paid nearly as well in the NFL at these positions as are the tackles, but I think you absolutely need these guys to have success in order for your offense to have success.

If you remember how big of a part of our defense a healthy Glenn Dorsey was, I think you would agree with me.  A defensive tackle who can beat your interior linemen will disrupt everything you try to do.  You can run away from a defensive end.  You can avoid throwing at a certain cornerback.  You can’t escape a defensive tackle.  The play starts right on top of him.  The SEC has some good ones, like Terrance Cody (Bama), Geno Atkins (Georgia), Jeff Owens (Georgia), Malcolm Sheppard (Arkansas), and others who will be playing in the NFL.

This is why the guards and the center are so important.  They don’t get the attention that the tackles get, but these guys make up more than 1/4 of your offensive personnel on the field at any given time, yet the casual fan almost completely overlooks them and considers them virtually interchangeable.

LSU has some issues at this position.

LSU has a veteran offensive line returning, with a 4th year starter, a 3rd year starter, and a 2nd year starter all here.  The problem is that we will be replacing Herman Johnson and Brett Helms at left guard and center respectively.  Those are two of the three interior line positions.  We return Lyle Hitt, who has been a bit under the radar even though he is a 3-year starter.  He was not placed on any of the All-SEC teams, and I excluded him (with reservation) from the list of top 10 players on the team.

Hitt is a guy who has been a starter since his sophomore year.  He’s just done it very quietly.  He has been a steady, but unspectacular presence on the right side of the offensive line.  

I would call your attention to the 2007 season when Hitt was joined on the right side by Carnell Stewart.  Carnell certainly had some difficulties at right tackle, but when it was 3rd and short (or 4th and short) and we needed a first down, we would famously call Jacob Hester‘s number, but we would almost invariably call Hitt’s and Stewart’s as well, as we would call on Hester to run to the right side.  Hitt and Stewart formed a dominant run-blocking pair on the right side, and Hitt is still there.

I am confident that Lyle Hitt will be a fine player at right guard, but what of the other positions?  T-Bob Hebert was a member of the heralded 2007 recruiting class, and was a pretty big recruit out of Georgia where he had settled with his famous father after Bobby Hebert’s NFL career ended.  He redshirted as a freshman, when LSU had Helms and Ryan Miller on the 2-deep at center.  Last year, he began the season as a backup center and played a lot of special teams and was a fullback at times in short yardage, but then he injured his knee covering a punt.  He tore a ligament and was out for the season.

With Brett Helms moving on at the end of a fine career at LSU, T-Bob Hebert joined the battle to take over his starting spot in the Spring, despite still being much less than 100%, and not being able to take full contact in Spring Practice.  Despite this, Hebert has apparently beaten out redshirt freshman P.J. Lonergan for the center position.  Hebert is now listed at 301# and reportedly is stronger than he was before he injured his knee.  That position battle is still ongoing, but expect Hebert to be the starter on September 5.

The new starter at left guard is Josh Dworaczyk.  This is another member of the Class of 2007, which was one of the most celebrated recruiting classes in LSU history.  That class is certainly growing into a big part of the core of this team, as 3 of the 5 starters on the offensive line will be from the 2007 class.  Dworaczyk was a backup at this position last year, and when Herman Johnson went out with a minor injury against Bama, he plugged in for a series and acquitted himself admirably.  He also played special teams, and a little at tight end.  He took over the “blocking tight end” role that Joseph Barksdale had played the previous year, a position that allowed LSU to get a 6th offensive lineman on the field to block and got a young offensive lineman a little experience.  He was, therefore, basically our first lineman off the bench last year.

In order for a team to excel, players can’t just “hold their own.”  Some of your units have to be able to beat the units opposite them on the field.  Lyle Hitt will have to emerge from his anonymity and be a force on the inside.  Hebert and Dworaczyk won’t have the luxury of playing like rookies for long, as we get Georgia less than 1 month into the season, and they have two future NFLers (and veterans at that) on the interior of their defensive line.  Hitt/Hebert/Dworaczyk vs. Atkins/Owens may be the key matchup of that particular game.

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We’re 37 days away from Kentucky’s Sept. 5 football opener against Miami of Ohio at Paul Brown Stadium.

Today we look at the Tennessee-Florida schedule factor.

The Cats have not beaten Tennessee in football since 1984. They haven’t beaten Florida since 1986. And UK plays each SEC East opponent every season.

It just so happens that the schedule breaks in a way that Florida and Tennessee both play at Kentucky in odd-numbered years, while the Cats visit both schools in even-numbered years.

Because of that, in odd-numbered years, such as this year, UK has two home games against teams it has not beaten in quite some time. In even-numbered years, those home opponents are replaced with teams the Cats might have a better chance of beating.

True? Sort of. Let’s look at the past dozen years, or starting when Hal Mumme took over the program in 1997. Years when Tennessee and Florida have come to Commonwealth, UK’s overall record is 28-42 (.400 winning percentage), with a 13-35 mark in the SEC. Years when those two games are on the road, Kentucky’s overall record is 33-39 (.458 winning percentage), with a 14-34 mark in the league.

That’s an average of not quite one less win per season in the years that Florida and Tennessee come to town.

Here’s the chart:

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Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Chip Cosby of the Herald-Leader reports that UK loses four-star safety recruit to Michigan State.
• WKYT reports that basketball walk-ons Dwight Perry, Adam Delph and Matt Scherbenski will not be back next season.
• Kentucky Sports Network talks to UK basketball target Adreian Payne.
• Tom Leach reports on Rich Brooks’ talk to the Lexington Rotary Club.
• Larry Vaught of the Danville Advocate-Messenger reports that Cris Collinsworth’s son has an interest in UK.
• A Sea of Blue has learned to stop worrying and love the hate.
• Inner Circle keeps counting down its list of UK immortals.
• Bluegrass State Basketball reports that ex-Wildcat Allen Edwards has been hired as an assistant at Towson State.
• Wildcat Blue Blog looks at UK football’s recent recruiting losses.
• Straitpinkie has some concern about the UK football recruiting class.

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SEC links for Friday:

• Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger reports that Mississippi State has replaced its long-time (and distinctive) public address announcer.
• Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun writes that there are deflating issues for the Florida Gators.
• Joseph Person of The State reports that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier is encouraged by quarterback Stephen Garcia.
• Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean reports that Lane Kiffin and Bobby Johnson are toning down the UT-Vandy rivalry.
• John Adams of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes not to look for Tennessee to just get by on defense.
• Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the NCAA has granted immediate eligibility to Arkansas running back Broderick Green.
• Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register writes that Alabama linebacker Rolando McClain is talking it up.
• Randy Rosetta of The Advocate writes that Tiger Tour shines spotlight on LSU coaches.