Lets play Flu-ball

Most of us are thinking this might be a good year for our football Cats. The season for every team in the nation might just depend on who and when players gets the swine flu this fall.

The CDC’s web site states “If you have flu-like symptoms, you should stay home and avoid travel for seven days after you get sick or for at least 24 hours after you stop having symptoms, whichever is longer”.

There could conceivably be enough players sick at one time where even Florida might have a hard time winning a game or games are canceled.

How does a coach minimize contact in football. Do they need to require mandatory testing to try and head off the flu.

How can a coach plan for having 6 or 7 starters off the field on a given Saturday. If your a passing team and have 4 receivers sick do you go to the run. If you have three starting linebackers and 3 defensive linemen out how do you plan for that and what do you change.

What does a conference do when teams have so many players sick they can’t field a competitive team. Do they consider the games a forfeit or extend the season.

There is no telling how the season will play out but at a minimum mild problems will occur and both coaches and the conference need to be prepared.

Wheres Martin Luther when you need him?

Wheres Martin Luther when you need him to help reform the Athletic church?

Some place along the line the NCAA has reached the conclusion that they own college sports instead of administering college sports. Nothing shows it better than what happened to Memphis recently and what didn’t happen to Duke or what hasn’t happened to USC.

Occasionally they get something right like they did when the allowed Matt Pilgrim to play immediately for Oklahoma St. More often they get it wrong like they did with a bunch of players from Hawaii. Due to a error in not registering software schools in the state use to add kids to the clearing houses list by several high schools one or more classes weren’t submitted in a timely manner to the clearing house for a number of boys and girls. When the schools realized this they attempted to register the software and straighten the classes out with the NCAA but by that time the NCAA wouldn’t accept the classes.

So lets see the high schools made a mistake and tried to rectify it to the best of their ability. The clearing house refused to accept that and do what the colleges did by realizing it wasn’t the kids fault and accept the classes. It left a bunch of boys and girls with the choice of either going the JC route, paying for a year of college or sitting out a year of sports.

If the NCAA wasn’t so secretive aka the lawsuit against Fla. St and the NCAA there would be no problem finding other cases where kids suffer because of the NCAA’s general inflexibility.

How do you solve a problem like this. Its simple to sports fans you force the NCAA to reform. The biggest problem isn’t going to be getting the NCAA to reform its going to be getting college presidents to get together and do what was done a few years ago The CFA forced the NCAA’s hand on television rights when they had every major and mid-major school except for the PAC 19 and Big 10 schools ready to form a new organization to replace the NCAA. Now the schools are making money hand over foot so whats the percentage in upsetting the money cart.

The NCAA is very good at trying to convincing the average fan that collegiate athletics is nothing more than an extracurricular service being provided to enhance the lives of nerdish students who barely remember to go to practice. As a result, the NCAA earns more during its post-season than the NFL and the NBA earn in their respective playoffs, including the Super Bowl.

So the next time you hear the NCAA say the student athlete comes first don’t believe it. What comes first is money, then the NCAA’s reputation, then certain schools and coaches and finally you find the student athlete at the bottom of the pile.

How can the Wildcats beat the mighty Gators?

I know that there’s no way this can happen. I know there has been this much agreement as to a number one team in AP history. I know the Gators have returning a fully stocked defense. I know this. Yet, I also know that some teams will play this team close. Likely, ONE team will beat this team. Teams will score touchdowns. Teams will move the ball. Teams WILL deny the Gators the endzone, sometimes. So how does a team like Kentucky do it?

Well, that’s what I’m here for.

The biggest worry we have to take into consideration is gonna be the kicking game. From all indications, the kickoffs have been inconsistent in their depth. Combine that with Florida’s speed and you have the makings for a LONG day full of short series on defense. No coaching ideas I can offer here. You either can get the ball deep enough or high enough to get the stop or you can’t. My suggestion to the coaches would be to consider free kicking the ball. The punters seem to be able to get over 40 on most every kick, and you get the hang time. Chances are you can force a fair catch on the 30 to 35 yard line that would be better than letting them catch it on the run at the 15-20. Just a thought.

So, let’s start where we likely will, no matter what. Defense. Opening thought. Team is full of energy. Snapping at the leash. You’ve got better DBs than they have receivers. Start the day with a blitz. Doesn’t have to be a sell out. And, I certainly wouldn’t advertise it. But send one side and Micah. Objective: Get into the backfield early. Even if they hand the ball to a back, get in there early. If they don’t; if Tim keeps the ball for a play action, then hallelujah. Hit HIM! Throw or no throw. Get the hit, and set the tone. Chop the throwing arm if you can get there early. Remember. You’re not trying to win the game in one play. You’re trying to make this guy thinking about himself, not the play, late in the game.

Obviously, Florida has a lot of weapons. And, they have their best play maker handling the ball. But, Tim Tebow is human. He can be caught up in a number of things. 1st: You have to attack HIM for the game. Not waste time with assignment here or there, or this or that. Yes, you need to honor the assignments you have, but when all esle fails go hit Tim Tebow. Have somebody, as often as you can, not spying on him, but running toward him. And I don’t mean the DT and DE who are pushing every play. I mean a LB. A safety. A corner. MLB. MLB again. Safety. You’re gonna have to mix coverages and you’re gonna have to play up and back with your spacing, but this will be effective. You run your DBs up to play press or to blitz, then you back them up and leave the safety in. The snap of the ball he lunges then falls back into a zone about 8 yards off the ball to the slot side. Instead, your MLB some hard on a blitz to the opposite side of the DT the safety lunged to and the press is on. Tim is good enough to beat you. Yes. He’s good enough to make tough throws. But, NOW, at least, YOU are deciding how long he has to do it, and what routes he’ll have time to see develop before he gets rid of it.

Offensively (which I’ll get to ) I’d all but guarantee screens will be a waste of time. Screens just aren’t that effective outside of high school. Florida’s defense is gonna be too experienced. I think UK will call a screen. Probably a couple, and I’ll go on record telling those coaches ahead of time that they will be terrible plays and that the Gators will smell everyone of them out and be all over them. Cut and paste it. The screen is great if you catch a blitz, or if the other team is slow. But Florida’s DT’s will smell it out and be in the middle of it.
About the only way I’d call a screen is if I was running double screens and had a QB who could fake to the heavy screen a throw to the weak one. And even THEN that’s not a good call.

Trick plays are for tricks. I don’t mind the occasionally punt fake, or field goal fake, but most everything else is just too chancy. If we’re in third and short (3yds or less) Florida will be bringing heat. And they will have some of the, if not THE, fastest linebackers we’ll see. They will be in the backfield and trickery will likely mean a fumble or sack.

Florida will be a game where the judicious use of the tight end will be key. Like I’ve described MANY times, there is little defense for having the TE come off the ball, go 5-7 yds, turn and sit. All the QB has to do is burn a shot right to the side opposite the defender and then they guy just has to catch it and fall.

The Wildcat package will be neat, but I’m not sure how much. Against a deep and experienced front seven, some times you just need to be able to reduce the variables, put helmet on helmet and just get three yards between the tackles. It’s not flashy, and it won’t make we the fans go oooohhh. But, gets the ball moving, keeps the defense honest, and gives the defense some rest. Can’t do it every play, but we also can’t consistently scheme up wildcat option draw passes. And, yes, we do have the lineman and full back to get yardage up the middle. The one thing UK CANNOT DO (are you listening Randy) is run hope plays. We need to run consistent plays. If you are in 2nd and 7 and you can either run it up the gut for three yards, try a screen (and we all know how badly those can go), or runa post pattern, TAKE THE THREE YARD RUN. Get it to fourth and four. Extend the defenses time on the field and give yourself options. Now you only ned four yards, but you can go as deep as you want. You can expect a blitz, and run a slant, a draw, or a screen (still, I think, not a good call against florida’s speed) You can hit the TE short. And, depending on field positions, if you’re say… inside their 45, you call a hope play and leave yourself the option of faking the punt because you ONLY need four yards, not 7.

A big weapon offensively for us, will be the big weapon we’ve all known about from Florida. You set up in a shotgun formation with either Hartline (who runs fairly well) Cobb, or Newton and spread the field. On the snap the QB just runs a BQ draw and tries to get three or four yards without fumbling. This can be a cheap, easy, play, and the formation is such a problem. run it with Cobb and you’ve got a real passer, who’s a better runner, with a speed back. Call this play out of no huddles and it drives defenses crazy.

My next bit of advice is for Steve Brown.

Umm.. blitz. Hit Tim Tebow early in the game. hit him late in the game. Hit him when it’s a draw play. hit him when it’s a trap. Okay,.. okay. Clearly we can’t hit the guy with no reason, but you get my point. I strongly encourage you, Steve, to look at some of the blitzes that Joe Lee Dunn used to come up with as Miss. St. Safeties, covers, every LB, one LB, Middle and weak LB, Zone blitz. LBs and no ends. You are going to have to call a game that PREVENTS Florida from being able to assume anything.

As a defensive coach, You cannot play a veteran team by doing what they’ve seen time and time again. You have to create mismatches. you have to limit Tebow’s time to make reads. You have to shorten their passing game by making Tebow protect himself from hits.

Here’s another HUGE tip from the guru. During pass rush situations, You need to train your defensive lineman to rush for two seconds. TWO SECONDS. In TWO SECONDS if your defensive lineman doesn’t have the advantage against the offense, if they aren’t in a seam heading for the QB, or if they are running straight into a double team, they need to back up, get their hands up and jump into passes. It’s a waste of energy for a d-lineman continue to struggle for another second and a half to two seconds just to have the play go by them, anyway. I know many coaches teach this. I KNOW it. But, I still see teams that are getting out there and not doing it.

No More White For Rick

The sporting news is full of the Pitino-Sypher encounter. Encounter meaning he nailed her in a frigging restaurant probably next to the meat grinder in the kitchen. Heres a few of the things being said.

http://blogs.ajc.com/mark-bradley-blog/2009/08/12/the-pitino-affair-sex-in-a-restaurant-a-job-in-jeopardy/
Think of it this way: The enthusiasm for and scrutiny of basketball in Kentucky can be likened to the fervor for football in Alabama. And wasn’t Mike Price dumped as head coach by the Crimson Tide before coaching a game after reports surfaced that he’d had sex with a stripper in Pensacola, Fla.?

Price denies to this day such an encounter took place. (He settled a lawsuit with Sports Illustrated, which had reported the alleged assignation, out of court.) Pitino has admitted to having sex with Sypher and giving her $3,000. (Though his lawyer claims the money was for her to buy health insurance, not to have an abortion.)

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/whats-next-for-rick-pitino/
There aren’t a lot of historical touchstones here, especially for college. The Patriots never considered firing Bill Belichick when his name popped up in as the “other man” in a bitter New Jersey divorce case.

http://www.aseaofblue.com/2009/8/12/986230/where-have-you-gone-joe-dimaggio
Instead of looking for heroes on television or in arenas, we should be looking for heroes in our everyday lives. Because our everyday lives are filled with people we love, and who love us. Our everyday lives are filled with people who love us in spite of our quirks and short-comings; who love us even when we are unlovable. The father who plays catch with his son, the mother who teaches her daughter the art of cooking, the grandfather who takes his grandchildren fishing, the grandmother who reads tales of dogs and cats to her grandkids. These are the true heroes. Not some ballplayer who can hit better than most, or a coach who wins more often than not.

http://www.examiner.com/x-2108-Love-and-Marriage-Examiner~y2009m8d12-Joanne-Pitino-the-sad-case-of-adultery-and-abortion
We are hearing words of sympathy for Coach Pitino, his wife, Joanne, and his family. And we should. But our hearts must ache for Joanne Pitino who joins the ranks of wives and mothers tarnished by adultery.

The story of adultery is becoming all too common — an indiscreet move on the part of their husbands’ leaves the families vulnerable. In the world of politics it was Elizabeth Edwards and more recently Jenny Sanford. Love and marriage gone awry.

http://www.east-coast-bias.com/2009/08/extortion-is-easier-than-being-groupie.html
This is getting ridiculous. What ever happened to the good old days when a groupie would carry Shawn Kemp’s Travis Henry’s the father’s child to term and THEN extort child support from him? Rape is a serious crime and I try not to base any judgments based on pieces of news reports, but between Pitino and Roethlisberger, this is getting ridiculous.

http://www2.kusports.com/weblogs/hawk-umentary/2009/aug/12/gimme-shelter/
In case no one noticed. Rick Pitino is Slick, not Bill Clinton smooth, but incredibly slippery nonetheless.

Married man + High Stress Job + Temptation = No moral Backbone.

The comments that are being posted on blogs put all this mainstream reporting to shame. Some of them deserve a Nobel Prize for creative writing.

“Kentucky’s a part of the country where this is a BIG deal to many people”
Easy, chief, the dude coaches in Louisville, not Pulaski County.
I do suppose this means that Pitino can’t wear white anymore.

Papal agenda, Wednesday, April 12, 2009:
1. Excommunicate Richard Pitino (multiple infractions of conduct clause)
2. Place Karen Sypher on 15-year penance list (whore)
3. Clarify papal decree on restaurant floor sex
4. Tune in to the Dan Patrick Show

Can anyone say “….and providing the commentary for tonight’s matchup here on TNT between the Warriors and the Heat, Coach Rick Pitino!”

So, Marvin Stone transfered before this? Man, the evil this man did during the 2003 era is off the charts…who knows what else this man has done?!

I know that Fr. Bradley pays for hotel rooms for players…I wonder what else is hidden under Rick’s rocks???

Rupp Arena should take the seats behind the other goal and call it the “Erection Zone” and have Karen Sypher present in that area during the UK/Loserville game.

An ode to Pitiner

When he was coach at Kentucky
He was king of the world
His adultery much more secretive
With much hotter girls
His teams were set for Glory
As coach rebuilt the team
Destined to be on top forever
At least that’s how it seemed
Then he left for Boston
He had something else to prove
Once he got to beantown
Pitino lost his grove
The girls were not quite as hot
His teams just could not play
He traded in Ashley Judd
For his ho of the day
So as the controversy thickens
And Vinnie is still on the floor
Will U of L be strong
Or will Pitino get the door
Once a king of the bluegrass
Know known as Richard Pitiner
The bluegrass waits for an answer
From the man who plays too much with his Weiner.

Regarding Pitino, he once again didn’t cover the one inbounding the ball…so to speak.

Two lessons to be learned in Rick Pitino situation: Wrap it up and Take it to go.

Quick — the restaurant table ricky had sex is now up for auction on ebay —— Word is out that the U of L alumni association is pooling their funds in an attempt to purchase the table and have it mounted under the speakers at freedom hall.

Sypher or a stripper I got to think about this for a while. I thought about this for a while and said self can I have both. Self answered nope so I take the stripper. Coaching in El Paso can’t be that bad can it.

More UK thoughts,… from yours truly

1st: Randy Sanders will be calling the plays, NOT Joker. Can’t be overstated. This will make a huge difference.

2nd: The more I think about it, the more I find myself overlooking the UK UL game. My mind has it penciled in as a win. Most of the fans I talk to are also just as dismissive. Well, let me show some respect and offer the thought that, if UK isn’t ready to play against UL, they have a chance of starting 0-3. So, with that thought in mind, let me focus my energy (and somehow transfer that to the team) on UL, and concentrate on whipping our in state rival to start the season. Let’s don’t give Kragthorpe his signature win to prove he belongs. Let’s hit em mouth from the jump, and practice winning against them. GO CATS!!!

3rd: I have stated many times that UK HAS to beat Alabama to get off to the 2-1 start. But,… there’s that part of my mind that says…. Florida may be ripe for the picking. I know it’s crazy. I know it’s hypocrisy. I know the media tells us that, on paper, no way UK can beat…. not Florida, but Tim Tebow. I just get that feeling. Maybe it’s the optimist. Maybe it’s the critic. This Florida team should be good. But, let’s not kid ourselves, or let the what-can-you-sell-for-me-now media kid us either. Florida is beatable. And, I can’t think of a more hostile, hungry crowd, PARTICULARLY after beating an LSU that won the title with a two loss season, than these fans at commonwealth. I think it will be emotional. I think this team will play harder than any team we’ve seen in over twenty years.

So, the ole Katmen is gonna lay it out now. If UK comes into that game 2-0, they will beat Florida. Commonwealth will be so loud and packed with fans that I think the energy will be palpable. There it is. I throw out the caveat of the 2-0 and because football is a game of momentum, and energy. An upset loss to Loserville, or a letdown against Alabama will make room for doubt, and deflate fans. BUT… come in 2-0, and UK will headline the early season by beat Florida.

4th: Folks, I love the SEC. Love it. Admire it. Respect it. But this is the facts. The best conference in college football, THIS year, is the big twelve. AND, the top two teams in the big twelve (OKLAHOMA and Texas) are better than the top two in the SEc. Fact. My early money says, barring critical injury, One of those two teams Will win the national title.

5th: I think the media needs to quit storking its… feathers to Nick Saban and get a reality check. Alabama at #5? Tell you what, if Alabama is in the top ten at the end of the year, I’ll get on this board and call myself stupid. They will be solid, maybe touch good. But, they are an 8 win team at best.

Alabama has got a tougher road than many think, and let me put a little bug in some people’s ears. Like it or not, Bobby Petrino can coach. He’s dirty. he stinks. But, he gets talent on the roster and gets it to perform on the field about as good as some of the best that are in the game. My early predictions are Alabama losing to Va Tech and Arkansas.

USA Today Poll

USA Today has released there preseason top 25. The Cats got 9 votes and are ranked 42 in the nation.

What shouldn’t surprise anyone is that there are no Big East teams ranked to start the season. Cincinnati, Pittsburg, W. Va, Rutgers and S. Florida all got votes. Its hard to see anyone besides Cincinnati or W. Virginia making a climb in to the top 25 due to the strength of their non-conference schedules.

The MWC and the WAC have four teams in the top 25 and a fifth Nevada got a few votes. Its easier to see some of them staying in the top 25 since they have teams that stand a fair chance of winning games against the BCS teams on their non-conference schedules.

USA Today Poll

1. Florida (53) 0-0 1,466

2. Texas (4) 0-0 1,386
3. Oklahoma (1) 0-0 1,358
4. USC (1) 0-0 1,321
5. Alabama 0-0 1,134
6. Ohio State 0-0 1,126
7. Virginia Tech 0-0 1,020
8. Penn State 0-0 988
9. LSU 0-0 917
10. Mississippi 0-0 889
11. Oklahoma State 0-0 861
12. California 0-0 711
13. Georgia 0-0 707
14. Oregon 0-0 694
15. Georgia Tech 0-0 559
16. Boise State 0-0 542
17. TCU 0-0 461
18. Utah 0-0 404
19. Florida State 0-0 371
20. North Carolina 0-0 293
21. Iowa 0-0 257
22. Nebraska 0-0 236
23. Notre Dame 0-0 194
24. Brigham Young 0-0 178
25. Oregon State 0-0 165

Others Receiving Votes: Kansas 138, Michigan State 136, Texas Tech 114, Cincinnati 90, Pittsburgh 64, West Virginia 55, Rutgers 51, Miami (FL) 46, Missouri 44, Illinois 38, Clemson 30, South Carolina 18, UCLA 14, Auburn 12, South Florida 11, Nevada 11, Kentucky 9, North Carolina State 7, Wisconsin 6, Arkansas 6, Northwestern 5, Southern Miss 4, Wake Forest 4, Arizona 3, Boston College 3, CENTRL MICHIGAN 3, East Carolina 3, Colorado 2, Maryland 2, Navy 2, Tennessee 2, TROY 1, Minnesota 1, Michigan 1, Houston 1.

Tebow is the talk of the SEC media days

Well a couple of things have kept Tim Tebow in front of the media. Which coach didn’t vote him preseason all-SEC and is he still a virgin?
No doubt these are pressing questions that deserve to be answered so BigBlueRules will attempt to answer them.

Well that was easy the old balls coach answered the first question for us. It wasn’t me he said it was the guy I had answer my coaches ballot for me. I have to admit Steve Spurrier is still more entertaining than his new challenger Lane Kiffin.

In an attempt to answer the second question BigBlueRules is looking for volunteers to visit Florida and help us discover the answer. Volunteers have to possess several qualities. They have to be good looking, don’t mind spending time at the swamp and not be afraid to break one of the Kentucky fans ten commandments. Thou shall not sleep with a gator.

Which brings up another interesting thought what are the other nine commandments.

SEC Recruiting Expenses

Here are the figures for the last three years on recruiting expenses for football, baseball and basketball in the SEC. The final number following football spending indicates the recruiting ranking according to Rivals.com for that year.

One thing that stands out is that Kentucky was ranked 1st, 3rd and 2nd in spending for baseball. I wonder what would have happened if we had ranked like that in football spending. A second is that Tennessee is spending a lot of money to be as bad as they have become. Finally the name Alabama must still be strong for them to be as good as they are with as little as they spend on recruiting.

FOOTBALL

2005-06

Tennessee: $1,071,264 (23)
Florida: $643,406 (2)
Auburn: $621,115 (10)
LSU: $577,393 (7)
Georgia: $534,004 (4)
Arkansas: $490,771 (26)
Ole Miss: $436,948 (16)
Miss. State: $300,100 (44)
Kentucky: $291,370 (36)
S. Carolina: $248,585 (24)
Alabama: $237,774 (11)
Vanderbilt: N/A (60)

2006-07

Tennessee: $1,311,894 (3)
Auburn: $756,880 (7)
Florida: $649,375 (1)
LSU: $634,896 (4)
Arkansas: $513,784 (31)
Georgia: $506,462 (9)
Ole Miss: $389,224 (27)
Kentucky: $319,289 (54)
Miss. State: $286,430 (39)
S. Carolina: $283,505 (6)
Alabama: $258,846 (10)
Vanderbilt: N/A (67)

2007-08

Tennessee: $1,081,250 (35)
LSU: $776,029 (11)
Auburn: $737,380 (20)
Georgia: $523,056 (7)
Florida: $506,673 (3)
Arkansas: $494,181 (36)
Ole Miss: $405,654 (29)
Alabama: $360,327 (1)
Kentucky: $312,056 (57)
S. Carolina: $289,639 (22)
Miss. State: $272,872 (44)
Vanderbilt: N/A (90)

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Tennessee: $1,154,802
Auburn: $705,125
LSU: $662,772
Florida: $599,818
Georgia: $521,174
Arkansas: $499,578
Ole Miss: $410,608
Kentucky: $307,571
Miss. State: $286,467
Alabama: $285,649
S. Carolina: $273,909
Vanderbilt: N/A

MEN’S BASKETBALL

2005-06

Auburn: $311,113
Arkansas: $220,669
Florida: $206,346
Georgia: $196,482
Kentucky: $169,498
Tennessee: $144,240
S. Carolina: $122,819
Alabama: $110,591
Ole Miss: $84,968
LSU: $83,599
Miss. State: $83,374
Vanderbilt: N/A

2006-07

Auburn: $306,000
Arkansas: $286,007
Florida: $283,078
Georgia: $196,437
Kentucky: $165,123
LSU: $152,015
Alabama: $126,649
Tennessee: $125,528
S. Carolina: $98,340
Ole Miss: $93,759
Miss. State: $85,064
Vanderbilt: N/A

2007-08

Florida: $354,208
Arkansas: $304,275
Auburn: $293,000
Kentucky: $211,253
Georgia: $155,152
Alabama: $138,332
LSU: $127,021
Tennessee: $124,244
S. Carolina: $117,713
Ole Miss: $104,829
Miss. State: $100,058
Vanderbilt: N/A

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Auburn: $303,371
Florida: $281,210
Arkansas: $270,317
Georgia: $182,690
Kentucky: $181,958
Tennessee: $131,337
Alabama: $125,190
LSU: $120,878
S. Carolina: $112,957
Ole Miss: $94,518
Miss. State: $89,498
Vanderbilt: N/A

BASEBALL

2005-06

Kentucky: $80,449
Arkansas: $69,140
Auburn: $65,883
Florida: $62,210
Alabama: $53,703
Tennessee: $50,308
Ole Miss: $43,921
S. Carolina: $42,164
Georgia: $40,868
LSU: $28,150
Miss. State: $23,325
Vanderbilt: N/A

2006-07

Arkansas: $91,756
LSU: $80,348
Kentucky: $72,458
Auburn: $68,500
Alabama: $57,325
Florida: $47,514
Tennessee: $47,440
Georgia: $45,829
Ole Miss: $42,460
S. Carolina: $31,804
Miss. State: $18,342
Vanderbilt: N/A

2007-08

Arkansas: $87,115
Kentucky: $71,849
LSU: $70,493
Auburn: $68,500
S. Carolina: $53,196
Tennessee: $50,282
Georgia: $47,962
Florida: $47,612
Ole Miss: $46,868
Alabama: $38,609
Miss. State: $26,518
Vanderbilt: N/A

3-YEAR AVERAGE

Arkansas: $82,670
Kentucky: $74,918
Auburn: $67,627
LSU: $59,663
Florida: $52,445
Alabama: $49,879
Tennessee: $49,343
Georgia: $44,886
Ole Miss: $44,416
S. Carolina: $42,388
Miss. State: $22,728
Vanderbilt: N/A

Is it time to worry yet

Looking at the 2010 recruits signed so far you have to wonder if its time to worry yet. There is a lot of time before we need to worry but from looking at the SEC schools so far we should at least think about worrying. Its been said that we are recruiting players who are ranked higher than we normally do and they tend to sign later so there is no need to worry yet. Here is what scout.com is showing about the SEC teams recruiting so far.

Alabama: 16 HS players. 7 ranked top 150, 7 ranked in the 70′s and 2 ranked 40′s. They also have 2 JC commitments.

Arkansas: 8 HS players. 1 ranked top 150, 4 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Auburn: 8 HS players. 2 ranked top 150, 5 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s.

Florida: 14 HS players. 9 ranked top 150. 1 ranked in the 80′s, 2 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s.

Georgia: 13 HS players. 7 ranked top 150, 4 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Kentucky: 1 ranked in the 70′s and 1 ranked in the 40′s.

LSU: 14 HS players. 7 ranked top 150 and 7 ranked in the 70′s. They have 1 JC commitment.

Mississippi: 2 HS players. 1 top 150 and 1 in the 40′s.

Mississippi St: 5 HS players. 2 top 150 players and 3 ranked in the 70′s. They also have 1 JC player.

South Carolina: 12 HS players. 4 ranked in the top 150, 5 ranked in the 70′s and 3 ranked in the 40′s. They also have 1 JC commitment.

Tennessee: 9 HS players. 3 ranked in the top 150 and 2 in the 40′s. They also have 3 JC commitments.

Vanderbilt: 13 HS commitments. 1 top 150 commitment. 11 ranked in the 70′s and 1 in the 40′s.

Scouts.com shows 84 players still considering the Cats including 4 top 150 players who are being recruited by teams we should be able to out recruit. Given the odds we should sign some good players but still we need to start worrying a little.

Cats in preseason top 25

The Cats are ranked 25th by Vegas Insider in their Preseason Top 25. SEC teams Florida #1, Ole Miss #6, Alabama #8, LSU #10 and Georgia #18 are also ranked.

25-KENTUCKY…Rich Brooks has been looking for a playmaker in Lexington and might have found one in versatile soph Randall Cobb, who sparked the Wildcat “O” on occasion at QB last fall, but appears ready to make a bigger impact in ’09 at WR or perhaps in direct-snap situations. Cobb’s presence might also make it a bit easier for mechanical QB Mike Hartline to become involved in more big plays this fall. But it’s on defense where the Wildcats ought to excel, with several honors candidates still in the fold (including potential NFL draftees LB Micah Johnson & CB Trevard Lindley) despite star DE Jeremy Jarmon being declared ineligible in spring. A forgiving non-conference slate makes a fourth straight bowl trip very likely.

http://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/story.cfm/story/871681

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