Georgia offensive line commit John Theus plans to take an official visit to Notre Dame on Oct. 22.

Theus remains committed to the Bulldogs, but he’s also keeping his options open in case there are changes he doesn’t like at Georgia. Theus, who attends Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Fla., said he’s kept UGA’s coaches aware of his plans.

“They understand that I am committed and I have been honest with them about my commitment,” Theus told Scout.com. “They know I am going to Georgia as long as Coach (Mark Richt) is there.”

Theus is an important prospect for Georgia’s 2012 class. Scout considers him a five-star prospect and the No. 3 offensive tackle in the nation.

Conference expansion — except maybe in the ACC — is largely fueled by football and football-driving television contracts.  But that doesn’t mean basketball coaches don’t have opinions, too.

ESPN.com’s Andy Katz caught up with a pair of SEC hoops coaches to get their take on the SEC’s current 13-team state.


Kentucky’s John Calipari:  “I don’t think this stuff is done yet.  I’ve said for months that there may be four conferences with 16 or 18 teams each.  But I can tell you that the SEC at 13, 14 or 16 is going to be stable.  We’re fine.  If they’re going to add, I’d like us to go and get Virginia Tech, Maryland and Missouri to go along with Texas A&M.  We’re not going to do anything at the expense of academics.  You’re also going to see basketball step up in the next five years in the SEC.

Texas A&M is a great school academically, has a well-run athletic department and will fit well.  Their fan base is ridiculous, just like all of us.  The SEC is different.  The SEC is about schools with strong fan bases and geography.  We want the markets.  There is no buyout in the SEC because no one wants to leave”


Vanderbilt’s Kevin Stallings:  “I like the simplicity of an even number and I’m not sure it was completely necessary.  I don’t think we’re finished seeing movement and if so, if we end up at 14 or 16, if that’s what the commissioner’s office said we need, then I’m fine with it.  Our league isn’t going anywhere.  We’re as stable as any league in college athletics and we have visionaries who run our league.  If they think we’re better suited to be 14 or 16, then I’m OK with that.”

 MrSEC.com asked several media members from across the SEC for their take on the following question: If you had to pick an SEC champion now, would you pick Alabama, LSU, or The Field?

Alabama Gets LSU This Time

 Larry Glover

It’s late September but we’re already thinking of early November, November 5^th to be precise.  That’s the day that Alabama hosts LSU to see which team gets to be the favorite in the BCS championship game.

I think Bama survives the Tigers in their regular season meeting but will they defeat LSU the second time around?  Confused?  Don’t be because if the Tide wins on their home field in a close game they may have Les Miles and company waiting for them in the National Title Game.  To make matters worse, The Crimson Tide would have to beat LSU again, this time in New Orleans.

Rematches are not popular.  Critics of this position will point to Ohio State and Michigan not getting a rematch a few years back but that was the Big Ten and this is the SEC.  The rules are different when you win the National Title five years in a row.

A rematch is only possible if Alabama wins.  The Tide won’t deserve a second shot at the Tigers if they can’t win on their home field.  I don’t think that a narrow defeat wouldn’t drop the Tigers far in the BCS poll.  Still, LSU would need some help but not much.

First things first, LSU would have to run the table.

Secondly, Oklahoma would have to lose somewhere.  They’ve got Texas in two weeks and two remaining road games against ranked teams so it’s not hard to imagine the Sooners dropping a game.

Stanford is unbeaten and most of their tough games remaining are at home, including Oregon on November 12^th.  Their most dangerous game may be a visit to Los Angeles to play USC on October 29^th.  If the Cardinal get by the Trojans, it will be a surprise if they’re not unbeaten at the end of the season and that scenario would eliminate any chance for LSU.

Also, the Tigers would need Oklahoma State and the Big Ten champion to fall somewhere along the way.  I know what you’re thinking…what about Boise State?  Sorry but there is no way that the Broncos stay in front of a one loss LSU in the BCS poll if that one loss is a close one at Alabama.  No way.

The showdown in Tuscaloosa will be a good one but a rematch would be better and it could happen.

***Facebook Poll Question: Who’s your pick to win the SEC?  Vote here.***

Larry Glover hosts Larry Glover Live weeknights from 6-8pm on 590, WVLK in Lexington and on statewide television on the Wazoo Sports Network.  The show is available for download on his website www.larrygloverlive.com.

1.  Alabama tailback Trent Richardson is one of Florida’s top concerns this week.

2.  John Brantley’s numbers are comparable to his September, 2010 numbers… but the Gator offense is better as a whole.

3.  The attrition continues at Georgia, this time in the Dawgs’ secondary.

4.  Todd Grantham’s defense is #5 in the nation when it comes to stopping third-down conversions.

5.  Through four games, Isaiah Crowell is one pace with Herschel Walker’s start.  (Now that’s called jumping the gun.)

6.  Joker Phillips says he and UK have “a dragon to slay” Saturday in Baton Rouge.

7.  Defensive tackle Mark Crawford will be in the lineup for the Cats after serving a four-game suspension.

8.  Steve Spurrier says Auburn “is a completely different team” this year.

9.  Carolina’s secondary depth could finally get a boost with the return of Brison Williams.

10.  Tennessee’s Rajion Neal is getting comfortable at the receiver spot.

11.  Juco transfer Izauea Lanier will start at corner for the Vols this weekend.

For all the Tennessee fans who’d like to get their hands on Lane Kiffin, there’s one guy who’d love to be at the front of the line — Derek Dooley.  The alleged scofflaw tactics of Kiffin and his staff have once again left UT’s current coach answering questions about potential violations he himself had no hand in:


“You never want anything to come out on your program that somebody might perceive as negative.  But you know what, I can’t change what happened.  All we can deal with is make sure everybody understands taht this wasn’t under our watch, and it wasn’t involving a coach on our staff and it doesn’t involve a player that’s been in our program.”


Dooley also stated that he hopes the NCAA “is going to stay consistent with what they’ve done, which is, ‘Let’s target the people that make these mistakes, not the programs.’”

Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart appeared on Louisville radio today and addressed two rumors that are currently circulating — UK to the ACC and Louisville to the SEC.


On the possibility of UK moving to the ACC: “No.  I would say no we’re not a better fit in the ACC.  We’ve got a great dynamic league… And I don’t want Kentucky to ever think about doing anything but be in the Southeastern Conference.”


On the possibility of vetoing a potential Louisville move to the SEC: “That is Mike Slive’s call, not mine.  I’m not gonna get ahead of him in this entire process.  It’s his call.  I’m not gonna say one way or the other (that UK wouldn’t veto Louisville), I’m gonna do what’s best for our league and if Mike Slive says he thinks this is best for our league I’ll look at it and say, ‘This is what I think this means for Kentucky.’  But that is not something he has crossed that bridge with us yet.”


So UK to the ACC?  No way.  A UK veto of Louisville?  Maybe.

Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher will be staked out in front of his television on Saturday night, watching two old colleagues battle one another in Gainesville.

Fisher served as Nick Saban’s quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at LSU.  During four of his six seasons in Baton Rouge, Fisher worked with fellow assistant Will Muschamp.  That gives him some special insight into this weekend’s clash between unbeaten Alabama and unbeaten Florida.

“I think you have two coaches who know how the other thinks,” Fisher told a Birmingham quarterback club yesterday.  “Experience helps.  And so does having the best players.  Will has enough experience.  We’ll see.”

“Alabama is playing so well, right now, defensively.  Florida’s got a lot of good players.  It’s going to be a heck of a ballgame.”

The line on Saturday’s game opened with Bama as a five-point favorite.  The line now has the Tide by four.

Count Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino among those happy with the SEC’s addition of Texas A&M:


“It’s good for us.  It’s good for our recruiting.  There’s been a number of guys in the last three or four years that we didn’t get to come here and they grew up watching Big 12 football and maybe chose a different school because they were used to it so much.  All of the publicity, exposure, everything we get now with A&M coming in in the state of Texas, I think helps us a lot.”


The Razorbacks have 20 players from the Lone Star State on this year’s roster.  Four of their 18 commitments for the class of 2012 also hail from Texas.

With their team struggling late against Louisiana Tech and its 17-year-old quarterback, Mississippi State directed more than a few boos at the Bulldogs’ sideline.  Dan Mullen heard ‘em, too:


“I was pretty frustrated at times during the game, too.  So they probably were using more polite words than we were.  We’re working, trying to get better as a football team and as a program.  It’s good that our fans have high expectations.  They want to win football games, too.  And we did.”


Actually, Mullen has raised expectations high enough now that just winning is no longer good enough.  MSU fans want wins, sure, but they also want to win easily against non-BCS foes who they view as inferior.

Mullen had no problem creating a “we can do it” attitude at State.  But he may eventually have a problem dealing with the attitude he created.

1.  Alabama linebacker CJ Mosley is questionable for Saturday’s game with Florida.

2.  What if Trent Richardson had signed with the Gators?

3.  Speaking of Richardson, the website SportsByBrooks.com is making accusations about his car and his home.

4.  Auburn’s defense has been bad all season, but now it’s offense may be starting to stumble.

5.  AU will be wihtout receiver Trovon Reed this weekend.

6.  That struggling Tiger defense will have to stop Marcus Lattimore on Saturday.

7.  Bobby Petrino says Arkansas is still looking for its offensive identity.

8.  LSU conceded yardage to West Virginia… but they didn’t give up many points.

9.  Tiger players are embracing their new #1 ranking.

10.  Following an overtime win over Louisiana Tech, there’s a greater sense of urgency in Starkville.

11.  MSU might be looking at more changes along its offensive line.

12.  Despite a woeful offense, Ole Miss is sticking with Zach Stoudt at quarterback.

13.  Freshman linebacker Serderius Bryant says he wasn’t intimidated by the size or speed of Georgia’s players.