So much for Missouri AD Mike Alden’s assertion last week that the SEC would release its 2012 football schedule this week.  Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long and South Carolina athletic director Eric Hyman have both come out this week to say that the schedule still isn’t quite complete, though it’s close and it should be released soon.

So if you were hoping to get a pre-Christmas glimpse of next year’s docket, tough break. 

Maybe by New Year’s…

LSU fullback JC Copeland has fired a shot toward the Auburn football program that you can bet has fans of the Plainsmen riled up today.  The 280-pound bruiser remembers his Tigers 45-10 win over AU’s Tigers for the hits he didn’t have to dole out:


“The most memorable game I’ve had this year, I’ve got to say, was Auburn, because after the first couple of hits, everybody (on AU’s defense) was just backing up.  They didn’t want to hit at all. … Before I got to them, they just fell down and just laid on the ground.

I actually said, ‘C’mon man, you’re better than that.  C’mon, hit me.  That was like the only game I went home and had no nicks and bruises at all.”


Yikes. 

Makes you wonder if Georgia’s Mark Richt was referring to Auburn’s D when he said pre-SEC title game: “I’ve seen people just start jumping out of the way of this guy, literally.”

One thing you can be sure of is this… you can bet that Gene Chizik will post Copeland’s comments all over Auburn’s football complex in the week running up to next year’s LSU game.

Just a quick thumbs-up to officials at LSU who are helping to promote interest in Shreveport’s AdvoCare Independence Bowl this year.  The game will feature North Carolina taking on the SEC’s newest member, Missouri.  For that reason, LSU has placed ads in Northwest Louisiana — photo at left, click the headline to enlarge — encouraging Louisiana residents to support their new neighbor.

“From the LSU Tigers to the Missouri Tigers, good luck in the 2011 AdvoCare Independence Bowl.

Shreveport, come out and support the newest member of the Southeastern Conference!

Welcome to the SEC.”

Welcome to the SEC, indeed.  Bet Missouri didn’t get much of that type brotherly love from the University of Texas.

Now, it wouldn’t surprise us if Mike Slive and the SEC office encouraged LSU to make the gesture, but either way, it’s a fine one.  From the school and the league.  Kudos.

Everyone will accuse you of cheating and insult the hell out of you at SEC “family functions,” Missouri.  Know that.  But when it comes to dealing with outsiders, you’ll find that the SEC sticks together a whole lot better than other leagues.  Especially the league you’re leaving.

A Rock Hill, South Carolina business might have landed Gamecock stars Jadeveon Clowney and CC Whitlock in hot water with the NCAA.  Club Cascade is using photos of both players to promote its “Christmas X-Mas Eve Explosion.”  That’s a no-no.

The poster — photo at left, click the headline to enlarge — reads as follows:


“#TEAMCASCADE PRESENT

CAROLINA Christmas
X-MAS EVE Explosion
12.24.11

HOSTED BY CAROLINA GAMECOCKS OWN
CEE CEE WHITLOCK
& JADEVEON ‘DOO DOO’ CLOWNEY”


Etc, etc.

Wait.  What?

Jadeveon “Doo Doo” Clowney?  Good luck living that one down, Doo Doo.

As you probably know, it is a secondary violation for an athlete’s name or photo to be used to promote a business.  The State reports that Carolina compliance officials are “looking into” the poster.

Most likely, South Carolina compliance officials will tell “Cee Cee” and “Doo Doo” to avoid the party and they’ll then send a cease and desist letter to Club Cascade in the hopes of keeping Clowney and Whitlock eligible for the Capital One Bowl.

Whitlock is a senior defensive back.  Clowney was the SEC’s Freshman of the Year from his defensive end spot and he also made several freshman All-American teams.

1.  Florida’s defensive coaching staff will remain in place next year as Will Muschamp looks for continuity.

2.  The hoops Gators will face rival Florida State tonight.

3.  Some Georgia footballers are still mulling their NFL options.

4.  This writer says Kentucky’s lack of talent is the problem, not the football coaches on staff.

5.  Joker Phillips says he feels good about the Cats’ chances in 2012.

6.  John Calipari’s team will host Loyola (MD) in a matinee today.

7.  South Carolina bombed Southeastern Louisiana 62-43 last night in Columbia.

8.  Connor Shaw’s ability to run zone read plays helped save Carolina’s football season.

9.  Renaldo Woolridge’s surprising 17-point effort against UNC-Asheville could give Tennessee’s opponents something new to consider.

10.  So much for Lafayette having the nation’s sixth best 3-point shooting team… Vanderbilt nailed 15 threes in an 89-58 rout of the Leopards last evening.

11.  James Franklin is giving his Commodores some time off from Liberty Bowl practice.

12.  Several Alabama football players are weighing their NFL options.

13.  Anthony Grant’s basketball team — after losing three of four — pounded Oklahoma State 69-52 in Birmingham last night.

14.  Auburn’s roundball squad will have a busy stay in Hawaii this week.

15.  Gene Chizik says there’s a “good possibility” he won’t hire new coordinators until after the Chick-fil-A Bowl.

16.  Arkansas tailback Knile Davis is getting closer to 100%, but that doesn’t mean he’ll play in the Cotton Bowl. 

17.  The Razorback basketball team will be looking for a pre-Christmas win against Louisiana Tech tonight.

18.  In case you haven’t learned by now — and we at MrSEC.com have — never bet against Les Miles.

19.  With a win over North Texas tonight, LSU can run its win streak to six games.

20.  After Murphy Holloway went down with an ankle injury — x-rays today — Ole Miss fell at MTSU 68-56. 

21.  The loss is a blow to the Rebels’ NCAA Tournament resume… which means it’s likely a blow to Andy Kennedy’s job security as well.

22.  True freshman Rodney Hood will lead Mississippi State against Northwestern State in Jackson tonight.

23.  The NCAA says it looked at precedent before ruling to suspend MSU transfer Kristers Zeidaks for a year-plus.

24.  Rick Stansbury says Renardo Sidney is showing signs that he’s “getting better” in terms of playing shape.

We’ve hit the recruiting dead period.  Jucos have now been added to rosters.  And signing day is six weeks from yesterday.

What better time to take one last 2011 look at how each SEC program — all 14 of them — stack up against one another in terms of commitments and juco signees.

Below you’ll find each school’s ranking when it comes to total talent committed.  We use the Rivals.com rankings and assign one point for each star hand they hand out to prospects.  Even 0-star players get a point in our book because they will eventually receive grades from Rivals, too.

This first table simply measures what’s committed to a program at the moment… so this is about total quantity.  Quality comes later.  Here goes on the quantity front:

Next, let’s look at quality.  Below you’ll find the average point value for each program’s commitments (and juco signees) to date:

And finally, just for kicks, let’s look only at the number of 4- and 5-star commits each school has gotten so far.  Recruiting rankings are far from scientific and we all know of many cases where 5-star players became busts and 2-star players wound up in the NFL.  That said, the more 4- and 5-star commits a school lines up, the better the odds of landing some real playmakers.

Here’s how that shapes up on this December 22nd:

Running back T.J. Yeldon from Daphne (Ala.) created plenty of buzz during the weekend when he switched his commitment from Auburn to Alabama.

Yeldon is one of the nation’s top running backs and one of the top prospects overall in the state of Alabama. What happened to his commitment to Auburn that had stood since June?

Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register helps explain. One reason the move surprised so many people is Yeldon never publicly addressed the fact he was considering making a change.

“T.J. has never enjoyed a lot of attention drawn to him,” Daphne coach Glenn Vickery said. “He’s a very low-key kind of guy.”

But he’s a big-time prospect and he’ll be on campus in Tuscaloosa in January.

1.  A number of Alabama footballers are weighing their NFL options.

2.  The Tide hoops team will try to regain its shooting touch against Oklahoma State tonight.

3.  Alabama, Auburn and LSU lead the SEC in football staff salaries.

4.  Tiger defensive back Jermaine Whitehead had to grow up fast this season.

5.  Arkansas had to overcome some cold shooting to off EKU last night.

6.  Les Miles is the AP’s Coach of the Year in college football.

7.  LSU expects another physical game with Alabama in the BCS title game.

8.  Mississippi State’s defense is ready for Wake Forest’s undersized offensive line.

9.  Dan Mullen won’t say if Chris Relf or a banged-up Tyler Russell will start at quarterback.

10.  Hugh Freeze says he did his best to keep assistant coach Gunter Brewer at Ole Miss, but he’s going to North Carolina anyway.

11.  But former UM player Grant Heard will join the Rebels’ staff as receivers coach.

12.  It sounds like Florida’s Brian White has a leg up on the vacant offensive coordinator gig.  (Here’s what we wrote on that topic yesterday.)

13.  Grad assistant Jeff Blasko is being promoted to quarterbacks coach at UF.

14.  The loss of strength and conditioning coach Mickey Marotti to Ohio State was a big, big blow to some Gators.

15.  Move over, Micheal Scott.  Georgia’s Mark Richt is the World’s Greatest Boss.

16.  UGA has more questions at the quarterback position than you might think.

17.  Samford’s Princeton-style offense was good practice for Kentucky last night.

18.  UK walk-on Sam Malone will have to have a fourth major knee surgery… a situation John Calipari calls “heartbreaking.”

19.  Ellis Johnson won’t be coaching South Carolina’s defense in the Capital One Bowl after all.  (We’re hearing increasing rumors of a bit of rift between Johnson and Steve Spurrier, by the way.)

20.  Spurrier says he has “several guys in mind” that might replace Johnson and current defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward is one of them.

21.  Kenny Miles will start at tailback for the Cocks rather than Brandon Wilds.

22.  Tennessee beat back the losing-streak virus last night against UNC-Asheville.

23.  The Vols finally toughed out a win.

24.  Vanderbilt’s perimeter defense will be tested by Lafayette’s long-range gunners.

Auburn has received a commitment from offensive lineman Robert Leff from Fairhope (Ala.) High School.

Leff had been committed to Southern Miss but switched his commitment after Auburn offered him a scholarship on Tuesday morning.

“It’s playing in the SEC against the best of the best,” Leff told 247Sports.com. “That’s how you get better is playing against people better than you. If you don’t look for competition, you’re not going to get any better.”

Leff is Auburn’s 16th commitment for the class of 2012 and third offensive lineman to choose the Tigers.

Fresh off their upset victory over Marquette on Monday, LSU is getting some love on a national level.  ESPN’s Andy Katz writes today that “LSU is not a fluke.”

Marquette assistant Tony Benford said of the Tigers: “They are a very good defensive team and they have four quality big guys and if their guards are making shots they can beat a lot of teams.  They are very physical and they do a great job on the offensive glass.”

Indeed, Trent Johnson’s team might have bigger teeth than initially believed (to borrow a line we used yesterday).  But the Tigers also have losses to Coastal Carolina, Northwestern and South Alabama on their resume.  Their five-game winning streak includes — in addition to the win over 10th-ranked Marquette — a one-point win over Houston (RPI #207) and victories over Rutgers (RPI #270), Boise State (RPI #129), and Cal-Irvine (RPI #262). 

Could the Tigers jell and reach NCAA bubble status?  Yes.  Especially playing an old SEC West schedule and not having to tangle with Kentucky, Florida and Vanderbilt twice each.  But we think it’s still a bit early to start printing dance cards.

Credit Johnson, however, with getting his team off the deck after a 3-3 start.  With North Texas, Grambling State and Virginia up next, it’s possible the Tigers could enter SEC play with an 11-3 or 10-4 record.  That would be a major improvement over the past two seasons’ work.