Auburn needed to land a commitment from someone like Tre Williams.

The nation’s No. 2 outside linebacker according to Rivals announced his commitment to the Tigers on Wednesday. He chose Auburn over Alabama, Florida and Ole Miss.

Auburn has been looking for a player like Williams to help breathe some life into the Tigers’ 2014 class. He’s the first high-profile pledge in the class, which currently has five commitments.

He also gives Auburn a nice win in Mobile, Ala., a city that is critical in recruiting for both Auburn and rival Alabama. Credit for landing Williams goes to Auburn co-offensive coordinator Dameyune Craig, a Mobile native who played quarterback at Auburn from 1994-97.

“My family knows Coach Craig well, I’ve known since day one I’d be playing for him,” Williams told Rivals. “He tells me everything, he tells it how it is from bad to good. The good outweighed the bad and he’s real. Ever since I told my family I was going to commit, they are thrilled with Auburn.”

And Auburn’s coaches will be thrilled to sell Williams’ commitment to other recruits.

The SEC has reached a level of competition in recruiting we’ve never seen before. Eleven of the top 26 classes in the country for 2014 are in the SEC. Auburn is ranked No. 22, which is good for eighth best in the conference.

The Tigers will need to land more players like Williams if it wants to stay competitive in the SEC. There’s reason for Auburn fans to hope that will happen.

Auburn landed several highly-touted prospects late in the 2013 recruiting class, including defensive tackles Montravius Adams and Ben Bradley and defensive end Elijah Daniel.

But Auburn will have to focus on keeping the commitment of Williams, who will continue to hear from other schools, including Alabama.

Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News recently compared Williams to a highly-touted 2012 prospect from Mobile, running back T.J. Yeldon.

Yeldon, who was ranked the nation’s No. 2 running back by Rivals, committed to Auburn early in the recruiting process. As Mr. Scarbinsky writes, there was plenty of excitement in Auburn when the Tigers landed Yeldon’s commitment.

“Williams might be the biggest name from the Mobile area to commit to Auburn since Yeldon. How did that turn out?

Yeldon was every bit as good as advertised, running for 1,108 yards as a true freshman. The trouble for Auburn was, he did it for Alabama after switching his commitment late in the fall of 2011 and then starting classes there in January of 2012.”

Auburn will work to make sure Williams doesn’t make the same switch. And he will surely hear from people telling him Alabama is a better choice than Auburn, especially if Alabama has another successful season in 2013.

Linebacker Reuben Foster and defensive end Dee Liner heard the same thing during last year’s recruiting season. They both switched their commitments from Auburn and signed with Alabama.

This doesn’t mean Williams will do the same. Craig’s presence will help, and the fact Williams has two friends – offensive lineman Joshua Casher and linebacker Deshaun Davis – already committed to Auburn should be an advantage for the Tigers.

Auburn will do everything it has to do to make sure Williams stays committed and signs with the Tigers. He’s that important.

Wiggins Watch continues

The nation’s top basketball prospect is still undecided.

Read the rest of this entry »

Florida added 30 players from 7 different states on Wednesday and Thursday.  A breakdown of the Gators’ “target zone” is below:

Florida = 18 recruits

Georgia = 6

Mississippi = 2

Michigan = 1

Pennsylvania = 1

Tennessee = 1

Virginia = 1

In-State Signees = 60.0%

Out-Of-State Signees = 40.0%

Observation:

The Gators had a consensus top five signing class and it ranked #1 in the SEC according to our system.  If there’s a nit to be picked — and that’s all it would be with a class this good — it’s that UF landed only two of the top 10 prospects in the Sunshine State.  In addition to in-state rival Florida State, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State (with ol’ pal Urban Meyer) all came into Florida and lured top local talent away.  But again, that’s pure nitpicking.  Nothing more than something to keep an eye on moving forward.

Steve Spurrier won a Heisman Trophy as a player at Florida.  He then returned to his alma mater and made the Gator program one of the top five jobs in America.

But when Urban Meyer hoisted his second BCS crystal football in 2008, there were some who said the Gators newest coach had surpassed the older coach.

George Diaz of The Orlando Sentinel says a bit more time has proven that that was just not the case:


“Even now, as head coach at South Carolina, Spurrier channels the profile of the Perfect Gator: A blend of cockiness and charisma.  A man who embraces all the darts and arrows.  A man who loves to pile on, just because.  What’s not to love?

This is why Spurrier — years after leaving — will forever be king of Florida football, while Urban Meyer is a bit like the emperor with no clothes.

Sure the two national titles are fancy ornaments on his resume, but Meyer’s legacy will forever be tarnished by the rest of his “accomplishments.”  In simpler terms, he was nothing more than a hired mercenary who did his job, got sloppy, bored and disinterested, and helped dismantle a program he helped rebuild into a national power.”


Too strong?  Not in my view.  Spurrier tapped into the recruiting base of the Sunshine State like no other coach in Gator history.  His personality — as well as his play-calling — gained the UF program national recognition.

All that has come since — whether it was won by Meyer or will be won by Muschamp — can be traced back to the moment Spurrier took a good Florida program often bathed in scandal and made it a great football program with a clean record.

While Meyer won, he didn’t leave things in as good of order as he found it.  Tim Tebow — as we’ve written many times — was a once in a generation type of player who happened to pass through on his watch.  And scandals and arrests and drama and turmoil returned to Gainesville on Meyer’s watch as well.

Meyer has one more national title than Spurrier, but without Spurrier first laying the foundation, it’s doubtful Meyer would have accomplished nearly as much as he did in the roughneck SEC.

Florida will have a highly-ranked signing class when the smoke clears.  You can be sure of that.  So there’s no need to weep and wail in the Sunshine State today.  But the Gators could have had The Best Class In America with a strong finish today.  To date, that’s not happened.

First, the Gators lost out on Valdosta linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons who chose Georgia.  In-state cornerback Tracy Howard followed by selecting Miami.  Then old nemesis Lane Kiffin snuck into the Sunshine State and made off with two of the state’s top players, both of whom were considering the Gators — receiver Nelson Agholor and defensive tackle Leonard Williams.

Florida did convince defensive end Dante Fowler to flip-flop from Tallahassee to Gainesville and — as noted above — UF will still wind up with a primo class.  But, oh, it could have been so much more.

Choosing between Florida, Florida State and Miami, top Sunshine State cornerback prospect Tracy Howard has selected…

Miami.

Howard is the #1 corner in the county according to ESPNU rankings.  Florida is 0-for-2 so far in last minute decisions from top star prospects on signing day.

When you go 6-6 at Florida, you’re probably not going to be on many Man of the Year lists.  Now polling data — yep, just like the polling numbers run for politicians — suggests Sunshine State residents are indeed down on first-year football coach Will Muschamp.

Duh.

A group called Public Policy Polling asked Floridians for their take on Muschamp.  The results:


* 24% of Florida fans approve of the job Muschamp is doing

* 28% disapprove

* 48% gave no opinion


So why is this news?  Only because a group has now decided to do public polling on football coaches.  You can bet other groups will follow suit soon enough.

And for the record — keep this little nugget in mind — Muschamp was in his first year playing with someone else’s roster.  Yeesh.  Can we give a guy two years before we start to judge him?

This weekend’s Florida-Tennessee game in The Swamp figures to be the first of several showdowns between friends and former co-workers Will Muschamp and Derek Dooley.

The two ex-Nick Saban aides who worked together at LSU and then with the Miami Dolphins have both said they don’t talk as much now as they used to.  Obviously.  And when it comes to Saturday’s contest, both men seem to be coming from the same place…

Dooley:  “He is going to want to whip me pretty good, and I’m going ot want to whip him pretty good.  That’s how it goes.”

Muschamp:  “You’d rather not (play against a friend).  The bottom line on Saturday is that he’s going to do the best job he can for his team and I am for mine.

Today, Saban was asked about the Dooley/Muschamp matchup during the SEC’s weekly teleconference:

“Both guys are really, really, really good coaches, good teachers, good motivators, understand people well and certainly have a real good knowledge of football.  And they’re well-organized guys.  They’re systematic in their approach.

Derek was just a young guy who had just coached for a year or two at SMU (when Saban hired him at LSU).  I was looking for kind of  ayoung guy to be the special teams/recruiting coordinator/tight end coach.  He was just very impressive as a person and never really disappointed.  Very organized.

Will, I met at a bowl game.  We were playing in Atlanta the first year I was at LSU.  I just talked to him a few minutes and said, ‘You know, that’s a guy I’d be interested in hiring someday.’  The next year we had an opening and hired him and he did as good a job as any assistant coach we’ve ever had.

They coached together for five or six or seven years.  We’ve always had good relationships with the coaches on our staff.  People get along well together.  Derek got along well with everybody on the staff and certainly with Will.  They both had Georgia ties.  Will played there and Derek didn’t play there, but he grew up there.  His dad was the coach there for a long time.  They had a good relationship.”

Both coaches are trying to rebuild their current programs, though Dooley’s job is considerably tougher than Muschamp’s.  For all the talk of these two teams needing to prove themselves on Saturday — and they do — Florida’s “struggles” consisted of one 8-5 season.  Tennessee has had four seasons of six or more losses in the last six years.

If Dooley can get the best of Muschamp on Saturday, it could signal the beginning of a more competitive UF-UT rivalry.  After all, the Gators have won six straight against the Vols.  But if Muschamp is able to win on Saturday, it might not bode well for Tennessee.  Based in the Sunshine State, Muschamp is going to have a year-in, year-out recruiting advantage against his old buddy.

That’s why Saturday’s game is more than just a friend versus friend battle.  And it’s more than a “prove it” game for two programs trying to win over pollsters.  Saturday’s game in The Swamp could be a trendsetter and a sign of things to come.

For the past few weeks, a rumor has circulated around the Sunshine State and across the internet — Florida’s leading rusher from a year ago was giving up football for track.

But Jeff Demps said yesterday on UF’s website that that rumor wasn’t true:


“I concentrated on track this past spring and summer and I’m now ready to concentrate on football.  I’m looking forward to getting back together with my football teammates and having a great senior season.”


The diminutive speedster rushed for a team-high 551 yards in 2011.  He has averaged 7.1 yards per carry during his three-year career, though that figure is a bit skewed by the spread-option system that featured him.

It will be interesting to see how offensive coordinator Charlie Weis can take advantage of his skills this fall.  Demps is not the prototypical SEC back.  But Weis is not the prototypical SEC playcaller, either.

Florida strong safety Matt Elam was arrested in Gainesville yesterday for possession of alcohol by a minor.  The 19-year-old was the Sunshine State’s top recruit last last season.

Police say they saw Elam early Sunday morning with a cup filled with a dark liquid.  When he saw the officers, Elam allegedly threw the cup down.  Police say the cup contained Hennessy cognac and Coca-Cola.

Elam was also charged with possession of alcohol last year when he was holding a can of Four Loko — an alcoholic energy drink — while standing in a parking lot.

The school says that Will Muschamp “is aware of the incident and will deal with it internally.”

The sophomore played in all 13 games for the Gators last year, mainly on special teams.

(And before anyone emails to say, “He wasn’t arrested… he was just told to appear in court,” please allow us to say, “Semantics.”)

1.  Steve Shaw — the SEC’s new coordinator of officials — spoke with The Birmingham News about the challenges of his new job.

2.  Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach will be pimping his controversial new book at SEC Media Days.

3.  Bobby Petrino isn’t lowering his expectations because of Arkansas’ inexperienced offensive line.

4.  Former Auburn Heisman-winner Pat Sullivan will bring his Samford team to The Plains this year.

5.  A Florida luncheon that’s been held for 40 years is being cancelled because Will Muschamp wants to focus on football.

6.  Muschamp has brought some Texas-style recruiting to the Sunshine State (meaning: more early commitments).

7.  The Gainesville Sun says Alabama’s Trent Richardson is the SEC’s best player…

8.  And this fall’s Alabama-LSU game will be the league’s top matchup.