Here are some recruiting headlines for your Monday night before National Signing Day.

1. Here is an updated predictions list from Rivals.com.

2. The folks at 247sports.com has a list, too.

3. Florida commit Jabari Gorman is trying to persuade a friend to join him in Gainesville.

4. Florida is hoping to win the battle for quarterback Jacoby Brissett after a late entry into his recruitment.

5. Linebacker Curt Maggitt’s decision could be delayed. He’s considering Florida, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

6. Here’s a look at how Auburn hopes to finish up its 2011 class on Wednesday.

7. LSU already has a strong class but hopes to add another impressive in-state prospect.

8. Mississippi State has a lot to wait on in the final two days of the recruiting process.

9. Here’s a look at defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who’s widely considered to be the nation’s top prospect.

10. Memphis-area coaches are working to improve their town’s recruiting reputation.

Marcus Roberson’s decision to switch his commitment from Texas Tech to Auburn should come as no surprise.

In fact, we wrote the night that he committed to Texas Tech that his recruiting was still very much up in the air.

Roberson’s commitment to Auburn is another significant piece to the Tigers’ class of 2011. Roberson, who attends St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is ranked the No. 2 cornerback and No. 37 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.

Auburn has 23 commitments for 2011. The Tigers have received four commitments in the last week and nine commitments in the month of January. Auburn’s class is now ranked sixth nationally in the Rivals team rankings.

Auburn doesn’t appear to be done with its class. The Tigers are still recruiting several highly-touted prospects, including offensive linemen Cyrus Kouandjio and Antonio Richardson, defensive tackle Gabe Wright and defensive backs Erique Florence and Jermaine Whitehead.

Here’s a recent Q&A with Justin Hokanson of AuburnSports.com looking ahead to National Signing Day.

Vanderbilt fans, you have a complete coaching staff.  Question is — Do you feel good about it?

When Robbie Caldwell was forced out before the final game of last season, the scuttlebutt from Nashville centered around a newly committed VU administration.  It was time for Vandy to take football seriously.  The school would spend money, it would go after a “name” coach.

But when Auburn’s Gus Malzahn turned down an offer that was believed to have been worth at least $2.5 million per year, the Commodores went in another direction.  They hired the up-and-coming offensive coordinator at Maryland, James Franklin.

Franklin announced his offensive staff a few weeks ago.  Today he unveiled his defensive hires.  They are:


Bob Shoop — Defensive coordinator and safeties coach (from William & Mary)

Brent Pry — Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach (from Georgia Southern)

Wesley McGriff — Defensive backs coach (from Miami)

Sean Spencer — Defensive line coach (from Bowling Green)


Add those four to Franklin’s five offensive aides — John Donovan (Maryland), Charles Bankins (Maryland), Chris Beatty (West Virginia), Ricky Rahne (Kansas State) and holdover Herb Hand — and you have a staff with very little experience recruiting in the Deep South.  On the defensive side of the ball you also have three coaches whose backgrounds consist mainly of small college experience.

The new Vandy staff might be the best bunch Commodore fans have ever seen when all is said and done, but for now it’s hard to imagine most VU backers taking anything other than a wait-and-see approach.  This new staff just isn’t filled with the recognizable names they had hoped for. 

Of course, if they win… that won’t matter.




(By the way, is it just me or is the bow-tie wearing Mr. Pringles a perfect advertising tie-in with Vandy or what?  He looks like a successful VU grad.)

Former Florida coach Urban Meyer will be joining ESPN’s college football team as a regular analyst for the network.  He will work weekly regular-season games and provide studio analysis for “College Football Live” and “College GameDay” according to ESPN’s website.

And that’s great news for the Florida football program.

The idea of Meyer staying around campus, having an office, and dropping by practice sounded nice at Will Muschamp’s introductory presser, but no new coach wants the old coach hanging around and looking over his shoulder.  Players upset with Muschamp might try to drop by Meyer’s office for advice or a shoulder to cry on.  Not good.  Now that likely won’t be a problem.

“Coach Meyer brings a fresh voice and a contemporary knowledge of the game,” said Norby Williamson, ESPN’s executive VP for production.  “As he showed during BCS coverage, his ability to communicate the strategic aspects of the game and his incredible track record for success will serve college football fans everywhere.”

Wednesday figures to be a wild day around MrSEC Headquarters.  Obviously, we’ll keep you up to date on how all 12 schools’ classes are coming together as the day progresses.  We’ll also give you a good state by state look at the geographic battles being waged between SEC rivals.

On that front, we thought it would be interesting to go back to last signing day and examine where the league’s talent came from.

In 2010, a grand total of 305 players signed with SEC programs.  Those 305 players came from 23 different states.  Here was the breakdown by state last February:


The Class of 2010

A few interesting notes on last year’s class:

* Georgia provided the SEC with more players last year than Florida.  Of course, with Miami, Florida State, South Florida, UCF, FAU and FIU in the Sunshine State, it might not be as easy to raid Florida for players as it used to be.

* Mississippi and Alabama both produced more SEC-caliber talent last year than Louisiana.  The Pelican State should bounce back nicely this year with an improved crop of players.

* More than 60% of SEC signees came from four states: Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.

* SEC schools grabbed more prospects out of Texas (15) than they did Tennessee (12), Arkansas (8) or Kentucky (4).

* California (9) produced more SEC signees than did either Arkansas or Kentucky.

* Kentucky produced fewer signees than Ohio, North Carolina and Oklahoma.  (They produced five apiece as compared to the Commonwealth’s four.)

* Be sure to bang around here on signing day.  Here’s guessing there’ll be a crash or too, but just keep hittin’ that refresh button.  Our servers will be smoking by day’s end.

1.  Their weekend loss in Starkville has knocked Florida back out of the AP Top 25.

2.  Chandler Parsons has been making a difference for the Gators on the glass.

3.  Georgia has officially posted the job of offensive line coach on its website… following Stacy Searels’ departure for Texas.

4.  Mark Richt is getting credit for putting together what could turn out to be his best recruiting class.

5.  Kentucky is back inside the Top 10 today.

6.  Andy Kennedy needs his Mississippi team to shoot better against the Wildcats tomorrow night.

7.  South Carolina recruiting coordinator Shane Beamer — who’s no longer believed to be on Alabama’s short list — opened up about the Gamecocks’ recruiting message yesterday.

8.   Freshman Tobias Harris is playing with a lot of composure.

9.  Tennessee plans to retire Allan Houston’s jersey prior to the Vols home game against Kentucky on March 6th. 

10.  That’s probably why Harris was named the SEC’s Freshman of the Week.

11.  Vanderbilt’s James Franklin will officially announce his defensive assistants this afternoon.

1.  Kudos to Jon Solomon of The Birmingham News for trying to count up all the juco signees in America over the past few years.  His conclusion: Most SEC schools sign an average of two per year.

2.  Alabama assistant Burton Burns has been ranked as one of the nation’s top recruiters.

3.  This site is relentless in its attempts to take down Auburn’s football program.

4.  Arkansas’ win at Vanderbilt on Saturday gave the Hogs a 25 spot bounce in the latest RPI rankings.

5.  UA’s Rotnei Clarke was named the SEC’s Player of the Week.

6.  There’s no official word yet on the discipline Razorback receiver Lance Ray will face after being arrested for having a joint in his dorm room this weekend.

7.  John Calipari says Larry Brown told him that Andy Kennedy “can really coach.”  Tell that to angry Rebel fans who aren’t happy about a 1-5 league mark.

8.  Ole Miss is calling on fans to wear red for a “red out” against Kentucky tomorrow night.

9.  Mississippi State got a much-needed win over Florida on Saturday but the Dogs still need to get better defensively.

10.  In case you didn’t know, the SEC West stinks in basketball this year.

It’s the middle of basketball season and yet folks in Kentucky actually have a little reason to smile about football today.  Over the weekend, the powers-that-be at UK stepped up to the plate and did what it took to keep receivers coach Tee Martin in Lexington.

Martin had been rumored to be a hot candidate to join Nick Saban’s Alabama staff until Saturday when UK announced that Martin had been promoted to the role of “passing game coordinator.”  He will also receive a contract extension and a raise.

Reports late last week pointed to an interview between Martin and Saban later this week.  Martin has said that he was contacted by other schools but never actually interviewed with anyone.

Granted, we’re talking about giving an assistant coach a raise.  This move isn’t akin to Arkansas committing to a $25-35 million football complex to appease Bobby Petrino.  But it is a smart move by UK’s administration.

“Operation Win” turned into a disappointing 6-7 campaign for first-year coach Joker Phillips.  The Wildcats failed to step up in a year when the SEC East was down.  In addition, they had to watch South Carolina break through in the East.  Then came the umpteenth (or would that now be umptieth?) loss in a row to Tennessee and a miserable showing in something called the BBVA Compass Bowl in chilly Birmingham.

The only positive going for the Cats right now is the popular Martin who is viewed as a fast up-and-comer and an excellent recruiter.  On top of everything that went wrong in 2010, UK couldn’t start 2011 by losing the one guy fans are actually excited about.

“First thing I would like to say is the commitment of Mitch Barnhart and our athletic department has made to this program,” Phillips said Saturday.  “Yes, we have been to five straight bowl games, and that is fine, but we want to start talking about playing for titles.  that is what we are about here at Kentucky.  Our ahtletic department has made a huge commitment also in helping us keep our assistant coaches here.  This is probably one of the biggest recruits to land before (signing day) is Tee Martin.”

Indeed he is.  Especially from a fan morale standpoint.

UK has not revealed the details of Martin’s extension or raise.  As passing game coordinator he will be responsible for passing game schemes and heading up passing drills in practice.

Last week we told you that Cecil Newton has scheduled a media-only workout for his son on February 10.  We also told you that some NFL front office folks are worried about Cecil’s ongoing involvement in the Cam Newton show.

Now some front office NFL types are questioning the idea of holding a media workout altogether… and their choice of words won’t place Mark Emmert, Mike Slive or anyone on The Plains.

One NFL executive told Rob Rang of CBSSports.com the following:

“The Newtons would be best to realize they aren’t in college anymore.  Regardless of how good he looks for (the media), there isn’t going to be a bidding war for him.  We’re not recruiting him.  They could wind up turning more people against them than for them with this (workout).”

I doubt the last part.  Some NFL GM will fall in love with Newton and make him a top 10 pick in all likelihood.  But it’s the first part of the exec’s comment that is the concern.  Yeah, the part about a “bidding war.”

Now maybe this executive was just playing around or speaking hyperbolically.  Or maybe he’s covered college football long enough to know that bidding wars really do go on and that Newton was more than likely at the center of one.

Either way, this comment shows just how much damage Cecil Newton did to college football with his attempted cash-grab.  By holding his hand out, Newton took what everyone assumed to be going on and proved that it really was going on. 

By not penalizing Newton’s son for the actions of the father the SEC and the NCAA allowed Cecil to besmirch their image.  And nobody likes having their image besmirched.

As we’ve noted on several occasions, there’s still no proof that anyone at Auburn gave Cam or Cecil Newton a dime.  But the fact that Newton did ask for cash from Mississippi State — and Mike Slive and Mark Emmert chose to do nothing about it — left college football, the SEC and Auburn to take hits on their reputation.  As evidenced by this NFL exec’s use of the term “bidding war” in discussing college recruiting.

(And yeah, we know.  Cue the smart alecks: “How could their reputations be any worse?”  Buh-dum-dum.)

For as bad as the SEC West appears to be on paper, the folks to the left side of the SEC map caused a good deal of pain for the guys on the right side this past weekend.

Auburn got their first SEC win of the season at South Carolina 79-64.  Arkansas got their first road win of the season at Vanderbilt 89-78.  And Mississippi State bounced back from a tough loss Thursday to upset what had been the SEC’s hottest team — Florida — 71-64 on Saturday.

Elsewhere around the league, Kentucky held off Georgia 66-60 in Lexington, Alabama crushed tumbling LSU 70-46 and Tennessee might have started the countdown clock on Andy Kennedy’s SEC stay with a 74-58 win at Ole Miss.

That action leaves the SEC divisional races looking like this:


SEC East

SEC West

In terms of NCAA Tournament hopes, the league still appears to be on a path for five bids.  But four is a possibility if Georgia plays its way out of the field.

Alabama — thanks to its stiff defense — could play itself onto the bubble if it continues to ring up wins.  The same goes for Mississippi State.  The Bulldogs’ win over Florida convinced doctors not to pull the plug on the season just yet, but they’re still eying the cord.  (Sidenote — Did you know either eying or eyeing is correct?  I did not.)

Below are the seven SEC squads who currently have some semblance of hope regarding a Big Dance invitation along with their current resume and what they’ll need to do to insure a bid:


Kentucky (In if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 8
SOS Rank: 15
Vs RPI Top 50: 4-3
Losses Outside Top 50: 1 (at Alabama)
Remaining vs Top 50: 6 (at Florida, Tennessee, at Vanderbilt, Florida, Vanderbilt, at Tennessee)
Gotta: Avoid a complete collapse

Tennessee (In if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 16
SOS Rank: 1
Vs RPI Top 50: 6-2
Losses Outside Top 50: 5 (Oakland, at Charlotte, Southern Cal, College of Charleston, at Arkansas)
Remaining vs Top 50: 5 (at Kentucky, at Florida, Georgia, at Vanderbilt, Kentucky)
Gotta: Take care of business at home

Florida (In if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 19
SOS Rank: 17
Vs RPI Top 50: 5-1
Losses Outside Top 50: 4 (UCF, Jacksonville, South Carolina, at Mississippi State
Remaining vs Top 50: 6 (Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, at Kentucky, at Vanderbilt)
Gotta: Take care of business at home

Vanderbilt (In if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 25
SOS Rank: 26
Vs RPI Top 50: 3-3
Losses Outside Top 50: 2 (at South Carolina, Arkansas)
Remaining vs Top 50: 6 (at Florida, Kentucky, at Georgia, Tennessee, at Kentucky, Florida)
Gotta: Take care of business at home

Georgia (On the bubble if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 45
SOS Rank: 40
Vs RPI Top 50: 2-6
Losses Outside Top 50: 0
Remaining vs Top 50: 4 (Xavier, Vanderbilt, at Tennessee, at Florida)
Gotta: Win three out of four against remaining Top 50 teams and take care of business at home

Alabama (Out if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 113
SOS Rank: 161
Vs RPI Top 50: 1-1
Losses Outside Top 50: 6 (Seton Hall, Ioaw, St. Peter’s, at Providence, Oklahoma State, at Arkansas)
Remaining vs Top 50: 4 (at Tennessee, at Vanderbilt, at Florida, Georgia)
Gotta: Win 3 out of 4 vs the East and at least 4 out of 6 vs the West… then do very well in the SEC Tournament

Mississippi State (Out if the tourney started today)
RPI Rank: 168
SOS Rank: 122
Vs RPI Top 50: 1-3
Losses Outside Top 50: 6 (FAU, ETSU, Virginia Tech, Washington State, at Hawaii, Alabama)
Remaining vs Top 50: 2 (at Kentucky, at Tennessee)
Gotta: Win 8 of their last 10, do well in the SEC Tournament and pray that the committee looks only at the after-Christmas portion of their schedule