Get ready.  The SEC’s all-boys club might just have to put in a ladies room.

LSU soccer star Mo Isom is going to try to land a placekicking role in Baton Rouge this spring.  She began a walk-on tryout yesterday.  If she makes the Tiger team, she’ll be the first female kicker at an FBS school since Katie Hnida nailed two extra points for New Mexico back in 2003.  Hnida also had an extra point blocked by UCLA in the Las Vegas Bowl that season.

Les Miles claims he would have no problem using Isom in a game if she’s the best person for the job:


“No I would have no reservations playing her.  If she gave us an opportunity and an advantage, and I mean add an advantage, then certainly we would consider that.  The good thing about it is she’s an athlete.  She’s been through team before.  She understands the commitment.  I would have much less reservation with her than I would any number of other people that frankly didn’t know what they were getting into.  But the real interesting thing is it has to be an advantage obtained.”


In other words, Isom has some work to do.  She’s got to be better than the guys kicking against her, not just as good.

Let’s face it, whether people want to say it, admit it, or hear it, adding a woman to a football team is tricky business.  Ask ex-Colorado coach Gary Barnett.  He’ll remember Hnida, the female kicker mentioned above.

She initially walked on at Colorado before transferring to New Mexico.  In 2004 she told Sports Illustrated that she had been sexually molested and verbally abused by some of her teammates at Colorado.  She claimed to have been raped by one of them.  Barnett claimed there wasn’t “a shred of evidence” to back up her allegations.  He also made the mistake of saying, “She was awful… Katie was not only a girl, she was terrible.”

Hnida is now a public speaker and author.  Barnett — thanks in part to his comments about a woman who might have been a rape victim — was nuked from the coaching profession in 2005 when a recruiting scandal also popped up at CU.

Adding a female to the team adds an unknown variable into a male-dominated, testosterone-fueled lockerroom.  We’re not saying Isom doesn’t deserve a shot.  But we do agree with what Miles appears to be saying: To go through the trouble of adding a woman and to take on the risk of problems, Isom had better be able to kick the pigskin better than the any male walk-ons. 

As for the former LSU goalkeeper, she says this is not for show.

“People’s first presumption about this is that it’s a media stunt or some attempt for attention and glory,” Isom said.  “That could be any farther from the truth.  I feel it was a goal God placed in my heart.  It’s just something I want to do.”

Miles said yesterday’s conditions made it “a bad day for anybody to kick because the wind was just so strong.”  Isom said she landed “some great kickoffs between the 5-yard-line and the goal line.”  Miles admitted, “obviously she’s got ball skills… she’s been around it.”

According to The Shreveport Times, last August Isom connected on a 51-yard field goal attempt while working out with LSU’s kickers.

She was also named LSU’s homecoming queen last fall.

Last September she took part in a skills competition with the Honey Badger himself, Tyrann Mathieu:




And she also once scored a goal from 90 yards out during an LSU soccer match:




Finally, she’s posted a thanks on Facebook to all of those supporting her.  “There is so much power in prayer, please know that I truly appreciate every single one of you!”

She closes with a quote from Phillipians.

Athlete.  Christian.  Good-looking.  Somebody get Tim Tebow Isom’s number.

Running back Wes Brown from Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md., plans to reveal his list of six school soon.

“South Carolina made the list,” he told GoUpState.com. “I think I could announce (the list Tuesday) or the next day but I haven’t gone public with it yet.”

Brown said he will likely take an unofficial visit to South Carolina in November when the Gamecocks host Florida. He’s also considering an official visit to Columbia.

“I want to take all five (official) visits and South Carolina has a really good chance of getting one,” Brown said. “I like the offense they run. It fits my skill sets really well and they have really good academics.”

Brown, who’s ranked the nation’s 19th-best running back by Rivals, has already taken unofficial visits to Miami, Maryland, Virginia Tech and New Mexico.

Facing one of the best running back tandems in the country, Arkansas will be without an All-SEC D-lineman when it travels to Tuscaloosa tomorrow.

Razorback senior defensive end Jake Bequette won’t play against Alabama due to a hamstring injury.  Bobby Petrino made the announcement yesterday following his team’s practice.  Bequette injured his hamstring two weeks ago during the Hogs’ game with New Mexico and has not played since. 

“It’s unfortunate,” Petrino told The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.  “He made huge improvement throughout the whole week but he didn’t quite get ready to practice.  I’m encouraged, though, with home much improvement he made… It’s really hard for him.  He hasn’t missed games is a guy that works out year-round, and is in great physical shape.  But the hamstring needs to heal before he can get back out there.”

Sophomore Chris Smith will start in Bequette’s stead, as he did last week against Troy.

“I thought he did a good job,” Petrino said.  “He got a nice sack and played real hard.  His athleticism really showed up and his ability to change directions and run down the line.  He didn’t always make the play but didn’t allow a cutback or a place for the running back to run.”

He’ll need to be on top of his game against the Crimson Tide.  Bama is the only team in the country with two backs who each average 100 yards per game (Trent Richardson at 105 and Eddie Lacy at 101).

Southern Illinois at Ole Miss

Houston Nutt isn’t taking any chances against the Salukis – a FCS opponent: ”All you have to do is watch the film to know that they are a scary bunch.”

Will quarterback Zack Stoudt hold on to his job?

Alabama-Birmingham at Florida

Expect the Blazers to test the Florida secondary.

UAB is one only two FBS teams that have yet to a play a game.

The Blazers may be the perfect team to get the Gators ready for the SEC.

New Mexico at Arkansas (game in Little Rock)

The Arkansas ground game needs work before the SEC opener at Alabama.

Will the Razorbacks win by seven touchdowns or eight?

Connecticut at Vanderbilt

Vandy hasn’t had back-to-back victories since 2008.

They’ll face a Connecticut team with three “starting” quarterbacks.

Northwestern State at LSU

Some off-field questions for the Tigers as they prepare for their home opener tonight.

QB Zach Mettenberger could see his first action tonight.

1.  Safety Brent Brewer is back on the Tennessee football team after domestic abuse charges against him were reduced to “offensive touching.”  (Never heard of that one before.)

2.  UT opens spring practice today.

3.  UT AD Mike Hamilton’s two main hires both ran afoul of the NCAA and this writer says he should follow both coaches out the door.

4.  This writer says Pearl’s wounds were self-inflicted.

5.  James Franklin is bringing a new attitude to Vanderbilt.

6.  Alabama’s 74-67 win over New Mexico in the NIT last night improved its home record to 18-0 on the season.  (Now that’s how you keep the hometown fans happy.)

7.  The Crimson Tide will host Miami on Wednesday night with the winner moving on to Madison Square Garden for the tourney’s semifinals.

8.  Mark Barron participated in Bama’s first day of spring drills yesterday despite a misdemeanor arrest on Sunday.

9.  Auburn is having to replace eight starters on offense… and eight more on defense.  Ouch.

10.  All that turnover includes the receiver and tight end positions.

1.  Here are five questions facing Auburn as it opens spring practice.

2.  Two of the four Auburn players arrested for armed robbery made bond (at $511,000) this past weekend.

3.  Spring practice is the first chance for Alabama’s new assistants to shine.

4.  And spring drills began today in Tuscaloosa.

5.  Tonight Anthony Grant and crew host a New Mexico club that beat BYU twice.

More to come…

1.  Here are five questions facing Auburn as it opens spring practice.

2.  Two of the four Auburn players arrested for armed robbery made bond (at $511,000) this past weekend.

3.  Spring practice is the first chance for Alabama’s new assistants to shine.

4.  And spring drills began today in Tuscaloosa.

5.  Tonight Anthony Grant and crew host a New Mexico club that beat BYU twice.

1.  Alabama whooped up on Coastal Carolina 68-44 in the NIT last night… setting up a home game with New Mexico in the next round.

2.  Anthony Grant’s players listened when he told them to “turn the page” from their NCAA disappointment.

3.  The four Auburn football players booted from the team last week have admitted to police that they were involved in last week’s armed robbery.

4.  Spring practice has begun at Arkansas…

5.  And all eyes are on the quarterback race.

6.  Nolan Richardon opened up this week about John Pelphrey and Mike Anderson.

7.  This fella — whose radio show I’ll be doing later today — believes Anderson should be Arkansas’ first and only phone call.

8.  Don’t write off Jordan Jefferson just yet, LSU fans.

9.  LSU’s Pro Day was a motivation for the returning Tiger starter.

10.  The Tiger athletic department isn’t backing down from its legal use of scouting services.  (Question: How many LSU fans who were laughing at Will Lyles’ connection to Auburn recruits from Thibodaux are now defending their own school’s connection to Lyles?)

UPDATE — Big error on our part here.  Rushing to point out how fanbases flip-flop when their schools get in trouble, we tried to draw the connection between Auburn’s ties to a street agent and LSU’s ties to a street agent.  But the street agent at Auburn is Sean Nelson — who we’ve covered on this site numerous times — and it’s Lyles at LSU.  Our point is the same, but the brainfreeze on the name is poor.  Sorry we didn’t catch that in the proofing stage.  Of course, when you write as much as we do in a day, accidents will occasionally happen.  Our bad.)

11.  If his career ends tonight in Berkeley, Chris Warren will leave a pretty big legacy behind at Ole Miss.

12.  The Rebels should be ready for their NIT game with Cal tonight.

13.  This writer pens an obituary for the 2010-11 Mississippi State basketball team.

14.  The family of former MSU footballer Nick Bell — who died from cancer last fall — has set up a memorial fun in his honor.  (Also on the other end of the above link… today is Jack Cristil Day in Mississippi.)

Due to complaints from the media, the University of Tennessee has re-released the NCAA’s 26-page letter of allegations which was sent to the school last week.

There are fewer redactions in the updated version, but according to The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Andrew Gribble, the new version “does not reveal much more than the original.” 

A UT official said of the earlier redactions: “The University has not been trying to conceal information, but rather has been attempting to comply with (the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and to protect student privacy.  Upon re-examination, we have determined that there is another way to redact the Notice of Allegations that both protects student privacy and avoids creating the impression that we are attempting to conceal information.”

Nineteen areas of the document were changed. 

The only real information gleaned from the changes is that former UT quarterbacks coach David Reaves — Lane Kiffin’s brother-in-law — was involved in two separate violations that fell under the “impermissible recruiting activities with prospective student-athletes” banner.

Reaves is believed to be a key figure in Tennessee’s use of hostesses to recruit off campus.  He is now the offensive coordinator at New Mexico.

According to The Tuscaloosa News, five-star offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio is still weighing his options when it comes to his collegiate home.  Auburn (whom he committed to on signing day), Alabama and Iowa are the finalists.  That’s according to the player’s father.

“He’s still confused,” Jean Claude Kouandjio told the paper late yesterday.  “We keep talking with him.  I don’t think he’s ready yet.  He’s the one who wants more time.”

The player told The Washington Post yesterday that New Mexico is back in the race and Iowa is out.

There is currently no timetable for Kouandjio’s decision though his father said, “I’m hoping that it will be as soon as possible.”  Even the much-discussed family vote that was planned for Thursday failed to produce a final decision.  “I told him to go to school, quiet his mind, forget about it… and we will talk about it after school,” the elder Kouandjio said.

Kouandjio’s coach told The Tuscaloosa News that the player did speak with Gene Chizik yesterday.  “They had a conversation and Cyrus said the he just wasn’t ready to make the decision yet.”  The Washington Post has reported that the player also spoke with Nick Saban yesterday.

While Kouandjio struggles with his decision, fans of UA and AU continue to campaign in website comment boxes across the internet. 

“Blood is thicker than water,” say most Bama fans, referring to Kouandjio’s older brother, Arie, who is already on Alabama’s team.  (For the record, the father has said, “The best thing would be to go to his brother.  His brother is already on the field.  We know about the coaches.  We know about Alabama.”)

Many Auburn fans — writing as if Kouandjio is actually reading their remarks — are complaining that the young man isn’t being allowed to make up his own mind.  “Auburn is the place for you.”

What’s silly, of course, is that for all we know New Mexico would actually be the best fit for the young man.  When it comes to recruiting, we look only at on-field football results (through our own lenses) when we decide what’s right for a high schooler.

But the player is not only picking a football team, he’s picking a place to live, a school, a support staff, and a launching pad for his future. 

The only thing more bizarre than Kouandjio’s delay is the “I know what’s best for you” remarks being made by Southern football fans who know not one solitary thing about the player… other than the fact that he’s got five stars beside his name.

(Sidenote — Kouandjio told one website that 2,500 text messages were sent to his phone yesterday.  Ridiculous.)