Missouri quarterback James Franklin came into the 2012 football season with high expectations.  In 2011, the dual-threat signal-caller posted 21 touchdown passes (against 11 interceptions) and 15 rushing TDs.  He was expected to be the top new QB in the SEC last year.

But things started badly with Franklin needing offseason surgery on his throwing shoulder.  Coach Gary Pinkle did Franklin no favors when he stated publicly that his quarterback had eschewed a painkiller shot before a September date with Arizona State.  Franklin threw just 10 touchdown passes and rushed for none during his injury-plagued campaign.  In addition, “Johnny Football” happened at Texas A&M, making Franklin’s SEC debut appear even worse.

Unfortunately for Franklin, he now quarterbacks in the age of Twitter and Facebook.  Fans are no longer limited to sharing their frustrations via boo birds.  Now they can reach right out and smack their school’s players around via the internet.  In Franklin’s case, some have.

According to The Columbia Tribune, last month Mizzou’s quarterback tweeted some words of encouragement to Tiger hoopster Phil Pressey.  A few MU fans — can they really be called fans? — had tweeted insults in the direction of the point guard.  Franklin responded with this: “So much for One-Mizzou: if a family member messes up you should positively support them, not make them feel awful! Keep your head up Phil”

At that point, fans began showering Franklin with insults, too.  He tried to respond with humor:

Fan:  “You’re right.  Keep strong and be positive.  And maybe you’ll be 3rd string next season”

Franklin:  “3rd string?  Thanks!  I was only giving myself a chance at 4th”

Fan:  “from one failure to another lol”

Franklin:  “yes, we are huge failures!  At least we get a free education right?  I forgot that not everyone fails, my bad”

Fan:  “you gotta be kidding me!!  Pressey is in the same category as you.  Suckass when the games on the line.  #georgia”

Franklin:  “haha no, no one is in as bad of a category as me”

Fan:  “coming from the king of clutch himself… At least he doesn’t always seem to be hurt when the games get tough”

Franklin:  “I’ve always wanted to be a king yeah, but I just love faking injuries to get out of tough games”

Fan:  “have fun sitting on the bench next year.”

Franklin:  “thanks, I will try!  But I may get hurt…benches are rough”

Three-star quarterback Joshua Dobbs of Alpharetta, Georgia has officially flipped from Arizona State to Tennessee.  While a three-star commit isn’t likely to wow Vol fans, Dobbs appears to fit the spread system of new coach Butch Jones.

Also, considering the mess Jones inherited on the recruiting trail, flipping anyone should be viewed as a positive for UT.

Running back David Williams from Philadelphia will announce his decision on Jan. 4 during the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in Los Angeles.

Williams is considering South Carolina, Arizona State, Miami and Penn State.

South Carolina has continued to lead for the services of Williams thanks in large part to the recruiting of head coach Steve Spurrier and quarterbacks coach G.A. Mangus.

“When I went down there I was impressed with the facilities and the area down there,” Williams told ESPN RecruitingNation. “Also, I got a great relationship with Coach Mangus and also talk to Coach Spurrier every two weeks.”

Williams told ESPN he will only visit South Carolina (Jan. 18) if he chooses the Gamecocks.

Texas A&M is making a strong push for Tennessee safety commitment Kameron Miles.

The Mesquite, Texas, standout recently received a scholarship offer from Texas A&M. The new interest from the Aggies has Miles rethinking his recruitment.

“I have a lot of interest in them,” he told Gigem247.com. “I like how they’re playing right now. I’ve been watching a lot of their games and they’re competing. I’m very interested in them right now.”

Miles is trying to decide when he’ll take an official visit to Texas A&M. He said co-defensive coordinator Marcel Yates is hoping Miles will visit sometime this month.

“He wants me to come down there for a game but I told him I’ll most likely come down after the season is over for a regular official visit,” Miles said. “I’ve never been to Kyle Field for a game so that’s something I’m trying to do.”

Miles is also waiting to learn what will happen with Tennessee’s coaching staff. The status of head coach Derek Dooley is in question with three games remaining in the Vols’ season.

“If something goes down with the coaching staff then I’ll have to open up my recruitment and explore all my options,” Miles said. “It all depends on who stays and who leaves if something goes down over there.”

Miles, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 13 safety by 247Sports, has already taken official visits to Tennessee and Arizona State.

Missouri has played two SEC football games to date and lost both by 21 points.  One game was closer than it looked, the other not so much.

But before kicking dirt on the Tigers’ 2012 campaign, it should be noted that those losses came to two undefeated teams currently ranked in the Top 10.  In their only other game against an FBS opponent, they beat Arizona State with their backup quarterback behind center.

South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier saw the SEC’s newest bunch of Tigers up close on Saturday during his team’s 31-10 victory at Williams-Brice Stadium.  He’s not quite ready to bury Mizzou just yet:

“I think time will tell.  I don’t want to make any predictions, and they’ve got a tough game this week.  Are they underdogs going down to Central Florida.  UCF is a good team down there, but I think we’ve all got to play the season out.  Some teams get better as the season goes along, and some teams get worse.”

For the record, the game opened as a “pick ‘em” but the line now has UCF as a three-point favorite on its home field.

As for Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, he says the Tigers “are disappointed we didn’t play any better” against Carolina and Georgia.  But like Spurrier, he says things aren’t over yet.  “There is a lot of season left, and the SEC is obviously a great league, and we’re excited being in it and want to do a better job.”

On Saturday, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel put his foot in his mouth.  By revealing that starting quarterback James Franklin had refused a painkilling shot in his bum shoulder, the coach laid the groundwork for plenty of people to take potshots at his QB.

Saturday’s comment from the coach came after Corbin Berkstresser had led the Tigers to a 24-20 win over Arizona State.  He was speaking of Franklin and explaining why he didn’t play:

“It was too painful for him and he didn’t want to play.”

That one sentence — even more than the painkiller bit — caused a stir in the Show-Me State.  Some said Mizzou’s QB must not be tough enough.  Others — and I’m one of them — said Pinkel stepped in it by making that kind of remark in the first place.

Apparently the coach now realizes how his comment was interpreted so he tried to walk it back yesterday:

“Anybody that questions James Franklin’s toughnesss, they have to have been in a coma that last two years.  He’s one of the toughest athletes I’ve ever been around.”

Better late than never.

Pinkel’s comments would not have been necessary if the SEC or NCAA decided to start putting out NFL-like injury reports on a weekly basis.  If that had been the case, the media would’ve known before Friday afternoon that Franklin was questionable or even doubtful due to a shoulder injury.  Any questions could have been answered by Pinkel with a simple, “his shoulder wasn’t up to it.”

Instead, the coach opened up more than most about his player’s injury and he paid the price for it.  Sadly, so did Franklin’s reputation with some fringe Tiger fanatics.  But the signal-caller told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch that he didn’t have a problem with his coach.  “I know he didn’t meant anything by it,” Franklin said.  Asked what the pain was like, he said: “like a 10-inch size bumble bee stabbing in there.”

A big bee with a knife?  Sounds pretty painful to me.

Franklin’s father spoke out yesterday and revealed that his family doesn’t believe in painkillers and that that’s how Mizzou’s starting quarterback was raised.  Turns out, Franklin ixnayed a shot to the knee last season, too.

While some have bickered over the desire and toughness of Franklin, the bigger issue that’s going unmentioned is the danger in giving college-age kids painkillers in the first place.  Yes, we know it happens all the time.  Yes, we know it’s gone on for years.  No, we don’t believe it’s a good thing.

Painkillers — shots or pills — can be very addictive and habit-forming in adults.  But with a person in his teens or early twenties, there’s even less history to use as a guide for who should and who shouldn’t be given painkillers.  Some players never have a problem them.  Unfortunately, some do.

We believe it’s time for the NCAA — with its desire to protect student-athletes — to start cracking down on the “take two of these” culture of college football.  That doesn’t mean painkillers should be outlawed altogether, but the meds shouldn’t be handed out like candy, either.  Talk to ex-jocks or their parents and you’ll quickly find out that often times that’s exactly how they’re doled out.

So perhaps some of those billions of dollars that schools will make from a new FBS football playoff can be spent creating a system that better monitors what players are given for pain, how much they’re given, and when they’re given it.

Until then, any fan questioning the toughness of a college athlete should probably zip it.  It’s the player’s body, not yours… not mine.  It’s his.  And Franklin took care of his body as is his right.

Good for him.  And good for Pinkel in finally coming out and trying to stop a debate that he inadvertently started.

We’ll say good for the NCAA if we see them take any steps at all towards studying or further regulating the use of painkillers on college campuses.

Update: Franklin spells out his thinking via Instagram.

South Carolina 49  – UAB 6

1. Gamecocks get the win but Connor Shaw aggravates shoulder injury. Shaw – “…hopefully I’ll be back next week.”

2. Steve Spurrier gets the 200th win of his career - the South Carolina runs his record to 46-0 against non-BCS automatic qualifier conferences.

South Carolina video highlights

Missouri 24 – Arizona State 20

3. Up 24-7, Tigers hang on for the victory.

4. Introduced as the starting quarterback, James Frankin doesn’t play for Mizzou.  Gary Pinkel: “It’s between him and the medical staff. They make those decisions. I don’t make those decisions.”

5. Bryan Burwell: “There are a lot of questions to be asked and answered about why the 6-foot-2, 228-pound junior from Corinth, Texas, did not play against Arizona State.”

6. “The coach essentially called his quarterback a conscientious objector on national television before the game.”

Missouri video highlights

Mississippi State 30 – Troy 24

7. Bulldogs give up 572 yards to Troy.  Dan Mullen: “We’re very fortunate to play as poorly as we did and come out of it with a win.”

8. Troy linebacker Kanorris Davis: “The only thing they had over us was size. They had more size. Physical, head up, they weren’t anything special.”

9. Three touchdown catches for Chad Bumphis.

Western Kentucky 32 – Kentucky 31 (OT)

10. Trick play in overtime puts Hilltoppers over the top.

11. Western Kentucky coach Willie Taggert: “The entire game, our guys were saying, ‘Coach, call the play! Coach, call the play!”

12. Joker Phillips: Well, yes, you’ve got to expect trick plays, but again, we were in man to man coverage.  The only guy you can’t account for is the quarterback, and they threw the ball back to him.”

13. John Clay: “There’s nowhere to go but up.”

Kentucky video highlights

Georgia 56 – Florida Atlantic 20

14. A program record total 713 yards for the Bulldogs.

15. Both Georgia freshmen running backs go over 100 yards.

LSU 63 -  Idaho 14

17. 42 unanswered points for the Tigers.  Les Miles: “I think our football team was imperfect. But I think everybody can see we can be a dominant football team.”

18. LSU’s not-so-secret weapon?  The student section.

19. With USC’s loss – expect LSU to be No. 2 behind Alabama.

LSU video highlights

Texas 66 – Ole Miss 31

20. Most points allowed by Ole Miss since 1917.

21. Bright spot?  “The Rebels offense is pretty good.”

Ole Miss video highlights

Saturday SEC Football Finals
Auburn 31  - Louisiana Monroe 28 (OT)
Vanderbilt 58 – Presbyterian 0
Alabama 52 – Arkansas 0
Texas A&M 48 – SMU 3
Florida 37 – Tennessee 20
Mississippi State 30 – Troy 24
Missouri 24 – Arizona State 20
Western Kentucky 32-  Kentucky 31  (OT)
South Carolina 49 – UAB 6
Georgia 56 – Florida Atlantic 20
LSU 63- Idaho 14
Texas 66 – Ole Miss 31

Wide receiver Latevius Rayford from Memphis (Tenn.) Central High School committed to Vanderbilt on Friday morning.

Rayford made the decision after receiving a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt on Monday. He chose the Commodores over offers from Arizona State, Purdue, Memphis and Western Kentucky.

Rayford said Vanderbilt offered him the best opportunity in athletics and academics.

“They’re in the SEC,” Rayford told MrSEC. “That’s the No. 1 conference in football and I really feel like I can play in the conference. And academics has always been my focus. My coaches have always been telling me, ‘You’re a student first. You have to get your business done in the classroom first.’ That’s the opportunity I’m going to have.”

Rayford believes Vanderbilt’s program will have a chance to compete at a high level in the SEC under head coach James Franklin.

“He has an enthusiasm and hype for the game and a love for football,” Rayford said. “He’s determined to turn the program around. I see the progress of the program and I’m running along with it.”

Rayford is Vanderbilt’s eighth commitment for the class of 2013. He said he’s hoping to help bring more prospects to Nashville with him.

“I’m trying to put a message out there that I want all the top prospects to be a part of the family with me,” Rayford said.

Latevius Rayford could have a decision to make.

The wide receiver from Memphis (Tenn.) Central High School received a scholarship offer from Vanderbilt on Monday.

Rayford, whose offer list includes Arizona State, Purdue, Memphis and Western Kentucky, received the offer during a phone conversation with Commodores head coach James Franklin.

“I was very excited because a lot of schools have offered but Vanderbilt has been one of my top choices for a long time because of the academics,” Rayford told MrSEC. “My main focus is on academics.”

And Rayford’s attention is now focused on his latest offer from Vanderbilt. He said he plans to spend Monday night discussing the offer with his parents and Franklin before he decides if he’s ready to commit to the Commodores.

Along with academics – Rayford said he plans to study business in college – Vanderbilt offers a chance to play in the SEC.

“That’s big time right there because that’s the best football conference in the NCAA,” Rayford said. “That’s where the big-time players go to pursue a chance to go to the NFL. The SEC gets your name out there. I just really want to play in the SEC to play against the best competition.”

Rayford would be the first wide receiver to commit to Vanderbilt, which has seven commitments for the class of 2013.