In light of the Boston terror attack, Alabama and Auburn are evaluating their stadium security plans
Alabama freshman RB Derrick Henry broke his tibia and tore ligaments in his ankle, leaving the Tide with three healthy running backs
Florida has hired Will Choate from UTEP as its new special teams coordinator
Tennessee RB Marlin Lane is still absent from practice in Knoxville due to a “sensitive situation”
Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney says his quarterbacks are improving in the passing game
Arkansas F Hunter Mickelson is transferring from the Razorback basketball program
Florida C Patric Young has undergone surgery to remove a bone spur in his right ankle
Get all your SEC news every single day from MrSEC.com

Tony Barbee will lead his Auburn Tigers onto the floor of Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena tonight for what could be the final time.  Barbee’s third AU team finished dead last in the SEC thanks to an overtime loss to Mississippi State on Saturday.  The Tigers are 9-22 on the season and have dropped 15 of their last 16 games (the program’s worst stretch since the 1940s).  At #253 they have the lowest RPI rank of any major-conference team.

Worse, in three seasons on the Plains, Barbee has gone 35-58 overall with a 12-38 mark in SEC play.  That’s the worst three-year SEC stretch in Auburn history.  And Barbee’s most recent team is his worst.

Two Tiger plays has said this week that it’s not the coach’s fault that his players haven’t bought into his plan yet.

Frankie Sullivan:  “What Coach Barbee did at UTEP is the same thing he brought here, and they won at UTEP, so obviously, his methods work.  You’ve just got to buy into it.  (Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski) doesn’t do it.  He doesn’t change his approach for his kids.  When he brings in kids, they come and they buy into it, you’ve got to get guys to come into your program and buy what you’re trying to sell.”

Chris Denson:  “People are just not buying into what Coach Barbee is talking about.  I mean, he’s a great coach and people just aren’t buying into what he’s saying.  But I think that all comes with maturity.  We’ve got a lot of young guys on the team, so we’re looking to build that up next year.”

Asked for a response, Barbee said he’s not seen buy-in as being a problem for his team.  He’s also said he’s “not at all” worried about his job security and that AD Jay Jacobs has talked to him about games only, not the overall state of the program.

For his part, Jacobs sent out an email to Auburn boosters on February 5th asking for “patience” as Barbee tries to build his program.  The very next day, the Tigers knocked off arch-rival Alabama.  They’ve lost nine straight games since.

Read the rest of this entry »

Fresh off a surprising 2-0 start, Hugh Freeze and his Rebels got a bit of bad news from the SEC this morning.  The league has announced that freshman defensive back Trae Elston will be suspended for this weekend’s game against Texas due to an illegal hit he doled out in last week’s Ole Miss/UTEP game.

According to the league’s release:

“This action was the result of a flagrant and dangerous act which occurred at the 3:18 mark in the fourth quarter.  The action is in violation of Rule 9-1-4 of the NCAA Football Rule Book, which reads, ‘No player shall target and initiate contact to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder,’ and Rule 9-1-3 which states, ‘No player shall target and initiate contact against an opponent with the crown (top) of his helmet.’”

To be sure, many Rebel fans won’t like it, but we give the league a thumbs-up on this one.  When it comes to player safety, MrSEC.com is a big proponent of doing anything and everything to protect the athletes on the field.  (And we’ll make the point again later today.)  The video below shows that at least one UM fan was proud of the fact that Elston teed up a defenseless receiver.  More than likely, that same fan would have decried such a vicious hit had a UTEP player endangered a Rebel receiver in the exact same manner.

Take the rah-rah team stuff out of it and no player should be allowed to launch himself in the manner below at a defenseless foe.  And that has as much to do with the safety of the person launching himself as it does the person being targeted.

UPDATE — As expected, I’ve already gotten six emails from angry Ole Miss fans.  All said Elston’s hit was legal.  Two actually said they’re tired of this pro-Mississippi State website.  Gotta love some folks.  Write something that doesn’t jive with their school and the writer must secretly “hate us” or “love our rivals.”  Yeesh.

This was not a legal hit.  Read the rule — already posted above — and look at the stills below.

“No player shall target and initiate contact…

to the head or neck area of a defenseless opponent…

with the helmet, forearm, elbow or shoulder.”

Elston could have seriously injured another player with that hit.  That doesn’t make him a bad guy, just means he made a bad play.

If there’s a fanbase in the country that should realize that athletes’ safety must come first, it’s that of Ole Miss.  Unbelievably, it seems a few folks in Oxford need to be reminded that the bronze bust players rub before taking the field at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium is that of former Rebel Chucky Mullins, paralyzed during a game in 1989.

Or maybe Mullins has become nothing more than a lucky charm for current Rebel players and fans.  I’m disgusted that in a situation like this — where a player is suspended for clearly violating a league rule — so many people will defend him and curse the decision simply because the color jersey he was wearing.

And the ol’ “Well, they didn’t suspend this guy” argument that’s now popping up in our comment boxes doesn’t hold water, either.  The league needs to be consistent in its rulings, no doubt.  I agree completely.

But if I get a ticket for driving 90 miles per hour, it’d be hard for me to use the “but that guy was also driving 90″ defense.  A) Because I was indeed driving 90 miles per hour and B) because the police officer would have clocked me, not him.  Fair?  Maybe not when compared to other driver.  But when held to the actual legal standard, absolutely fair.

Saturday SEC Schedule
Auburn at Mississippi State
East Carolina at South Carolina
Florida at Texas A&M
Western Kentucky at Alabama
Georgia State at Tennessee
UTEP at Ole Miss
Washington at LSU
Louisiana-Monroe at Arkansas (Little Rock)
Kent State at Kentucky
Georgia at Missouri
Vanderbilt at Northwestern

Hear all SEC coaches discuss Week 2.

1. James Franklin – Vanderbilt vs. Northwestern

2. Derek Dooley – Tennessee vs. Georgia State

3. Steve Spurrier -South Carolina vs. East Carolina

4. Dan Mullen – Mississippi State vs. Auburn

5. Hugh Freeze – Ole Miss vs. UTEP

6. Les Miles – LSU vs Washington

7. Joker Phillips – Kentucky vs. Kent State

8. Mark Richt – Georgia vs. Mizzou

9. Will Muschamp – Florida vs. Texas A&M

10. Gene Chizik – Auburn vs. Mississippi State

11. John L. Smith – Arkansas vs. Louisiana Monroe

12. Nick Saban – Alabama vs. Western Kentucky

13. Kevin Sumlin – Texas A&M vs. Florida

14. Gary Pinkel – Mizzou vs. Georgia

After initially defending his track record after a season-ending NIT loss, Rick Stansbury decided to “retire” two days later.  In the two weeks since his announcement, Mississippi State’s coaching search has been pretty quiet aside from the mention of Murray State’s Steve Prohm as the Dogs’ “top priority.”  But Prohm re-upped with the Racers yesterday.  And a late night post from Wisconsin claiming Milwaukee’s Rob Jeter would be taking over in Starkville turned out to be poppycock.

Now, in addition to Stansbury, there’s going to be a lot more turnover in Starkville.

Much-maligned big man Renardo Sidney announced last night that he will turn pro.  “I appreciate Mississippi State giving me an opportunity to play, but I feel it’s time for me to move on. … I’m entering the draft to follow my dream of playing in the NBA and to help my family.”

Here’s hoping Sidney grows up, turns his attitude around, and has a successful career (though it’s more likely to start in the Ukraine than in the NBA).  Still, this appears to be addition by subtraction when it comes to team chemistry.

Freshman guard DeVille Smith will also be hitting the road.  Yesterday it was learned that he will be transferring, possibly to nearby Jackson State.  Dee Bost just graduated and one point guard signee has already asked for his release from State (though it’s not been granted yet).  In terms of the point guard position, Smith’s loss is purely subtraction by subtraction.

Meanwhile, MSU’s double-double man from last season — former UTEP transfer Arnett Moultrie — is still mulling his own NBA future.  Expected to make a final announcement yesterday, the player said instead that he’ll decide “right after” he meets with AD Scott Stricklin on Wednesday.

As South Carolina celebrates the hire of Frank Martin from Kansas State on the other end of the conference, Mississippi State looks to be a tad wobbly at the moment.  That’s not to say Stricklin can’t land a top-notch coach to calm the situation.  But a top-notch coach is exactly what he must find at this point.

Between housework and business meetings, today is going to be an abbreviated one here at MrSEC.com.  As a “sorry ’bout that,” here are a few more headlines than usual:


1.  This writer would like to see a committee used to pick the teams for the BCS Championship Game.

2.  The Florida basketball team hosts Arizona and one of Billy Donovan’s best buds tonight.

3.  No joke: A woman who named her son Spurrier Urban wants to change his middle name now that Urban Meyer has signed on with Ohio State.

4.  As folks in Georgia sour on flighty tailback Isaiah Crowell, the next next Herschel Walker is ready to come onboard.

5.  UGA and Georgia Tech will take their rivalry to the hardwood tonight.

6.  This coach-turned-analyst believes Kentucky’s Terrence Jones needs to give more consistent effort.

7.  Sasquatch?  The Loch Ness Monster?  Well, no, but how ’bout some video of Rick Pitino and John Calipari actually shaking hands and speaking?

8.  South Carolina might miss former running backs/tight ends coach Jay Graham on the recruiting trail.

9.  For Tennessee, landing Graham is big step in the right direction

10.  There’s a chance Vanderbilt center Festus Ezeli will be back in action against Davidson tonight.

11.  On the football front, Vandy’s opponent in the Liberty Bowl — Cincinnati – might have its starting quarterback healed up and ready to go come kickoff.

12.  There are a whole lot of players transferring away from Maryland right now… might any of them land with ex-Maryland assistant James Franklin?

13.  Anthony Grant will face his alma mater when Alabama visits Dayton tonight.

14.  At Arkansas, Garrick McGee, John L. Smith and Willy Robinson are leaving while Paul Petrino returns.

15.  This writer says the Hogs will need to replace the positive energy provided by McGee and Smith.

16.  Heisman candidate Tyrann Mathieu has won the admiration of former LSU Heisman-winner Billy Cannon.

17.  Arnett Moultrie — a transfer from UTEP – is averaging 16.7 points and 11.1 rebounds per game (that last number is tops in the SEC) at Mississippi State.

18.  Ole Miss’ Hugh Freeze is busy assembling his coaching staff (and he’s bringing another Kiffin into the SEC to boot).

19.  The new Rebel coach wants his offense moving at an uptempo speed.

20.  The SEC’s football coaches have announced their all-conference team.

It’s been a long, hard, bad season in Auburn, Alabama.  And we’re talking basketball here, of course.

The Tigers are just 9-18 overall and 2-11 in the SEC.  They’ve dealt with injuries and depth issues.  Last night they fought hard only to lose to their rival Alabama on a last-second tip-in.  Tony Barbee’s team needs something to look forward to… and now they have it.

Next year Auburn will take part in the Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii.  Clemson, Hawaii, Kansas State, Long Beach State, Southern Illinois, UTEP and Xavier will fill out the field in the December 22-25 tourney.

“This is part of the process in building a national program at Auburn, and it will be a wonderful experience for our players both on and off the court,” Barbee said.

Mississippi State took part in the tournament this past December.  Barbee might want to make sure his guys don’t get into a fistfight in between games.

If you read this site with any regularity, you know that we’re big believers in getting while the getting’s good.  In Jeff Grimes case that time is now.

According to multiple reports, Auburn’s offensive line coach is in Austin today interviewing with Texas’ Mack Brown about the O-line vacancy on the Longhorns’ staff.

Grimes is a Texas native who played his college ball at UTEP.  He also was a coach at Boise State back in 2000 while new Texas offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin was a player there. 

Auburn is coming off a BCS championship and will need to replace four starters on next year’s offensive line.  His stock is as high as stock can get.  If there’s a better time to cash in one’s chips and move up the ladder, I don’t know when that time would be.

(And before anyone from AU squawks, with Texas’ money, facilities and recruiting base, UT is an “up the ladder” move from just about anywhere.)

Quarterback Zack Stoudt from Iowa Western Community College has committed to Ole Miss.

Stoudt, who played two years at Louisville before transferring to Western, chose Ole Miss over offers from Akron, Louisiana Tech, Wyoming, UTEP and Toledo, according to ESPN.com.

Stoudt is the 24th commitment for Ole Miss’ 2011 class and second quarterback to give his pledge to the Rebels. Ole Miss also has a commitment from quarterback Maikhail Miller from Itawamba Agricultural High School in Fulton, Miss.