College Football
In The Trenches
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Who are the defensive tackles who’ll make a key impact on the SEC 2020 season? There will be a changing of the guard in the defensive front across the SEC in 2020.
The SEC had a wealth of talent in the trenches this past season, but many of the conference’s top defensive tackles including Auburn tackle Derrick Brown, who was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year, are off to the NFL.
In fact, all the first and second team All SEC defensive tackles are headed to play on Sundays next season. This opens the door for the next group of athletes for fans to get excited about.
Here’s a look at my top five defensive tackles in the SEC for 2020.
- Tedarrell Slaton, Florida: Slaton is a 6 foot 5, 343 pounds, senior for the Gators.
Slaton recorded 29 tackles with 2 sacks and a pass defended in 2019.
He played well to close out the 2019 campaign. Slaton is a big nose tackle that caused a lot of disruption and plugged gaps at the point of attack.
I found him wise to come back for his senior year. Slaton needs to work on his pad level and hand strength.
- Christian Barmore, Alabama: Barmore was named to the SEC All-Freshman team.
Barmore, a redshirt freshman, played in 12 games and started 2.
He emerged as a key backup for the Crimson Tide by recording 2 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, and 26 total tackles.
The 6 foot 5, 310 pounder made an impact in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan with two tackles, a pass breakup and quarterback hurry.
3.Tyler Shelvin, LSU: Shelvin is your prototypical nose tackle. He is one of the best nose guards in college football’s best conference, the SEC.
The 6 foot 3, 346 pounder was the Tigers’ most productive interior defensive lineman in 2019.
He posted 39 tackles and 3 tackles for loss. Shelvin didn’t have any tackles against Oklahoma, but influenced the coaching by getting double teamed on 94% of the snaps he played.
Shelvin’s pass rushing has a long way to go, but he is the best run stopper returning for 2020.
- Tyrone Tuesdell, Auburn: Tuesdell started every game in 2019 alongside All-SEC Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brown.
He racked up 31 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks in 2019.
Tuesdell has been a critical part in the Tiger’s defense success but now serves as a leader on a line that lost two All- Americans.
The 6 foot 2, 310-pound junior has taken his game to a whole new level. It is no surprise to Auburn and SEC fans, now it just a matter of time before everyone else in college football knows Tyrone Tuesdell.
- Jordan Davis, Georgia: Jordan Davis is a massive starting nose guard and is a big
reason why the Dawgs only allowed 100 rushing yards in 4 of their 14 games.
He started eight of 14 of them and finished the season with 18 total stops and 2 sacks. In two games Davis missed with an ankle sprain, Georgia allowed 142 yards rushing to South Carolina and 163 yards to Kentucky.
He demanded a double team on basically every play. Which allowed Monty Rice and Tae Crowder to lead the team in tackles.
Even though his stats may not jump out at you, he is the most impactful player on the Bulldogs starting defense.
The 6 foot 6, 330 pounder will lead what I think will be the best defense in the SEC.
Just outside the top five: Xavier Kelly, Arkansas; Aubrey Solomon, Tennessee; Kobie Whiteside, Missouri; Glen Logan, LSU, Drew Birchmeier, Vanderbilt. Freshman Impact Player: Jordan Burch, South Carolina.
The Chiefs
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State has fallen on hard times recently, but they used to be one of the best football programs in the nation.
The Seminoles have produced several talented players that have had success in the NFL. I’m going to look at the best players in program history.
Chris Weinke (1997-2000): This is a name that may be forgotten, and I don’t know why. Weinke played minor league baseball right after high school so it took him a few years to arrive in Tallahassee. He was 25 when he enrolled at FSU and he did not become a starter until the following year.
As a Sophomore in 1998 he led the Seminoles to a 9-1 record before suffering a season ending neck injury against Virginia.
In 1999 FSU went undefeated and beat Virginia Tech in the national championship game.
As a senior, in 2000, Weinke led the nation in passing yards with 4,167 and 33 touchdowns. He won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award and Johnny Unitas Award. FSU played in their third consecutive national championship game. He finished his career with a 32-3 record.
Peter Warrick (1995-99): He’s one of the best wide receivers in program history.
Warrick was First-team All-ACC three times and a consensus All-American twice.
Statistically his junior year was the best. He had 1,232 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He had another rushing TD.
He was suspended two games his senior year, but he still had 934 yards, 8 receiving touchdowns and 3 rushing touchdowns. In the national championship game, he had over 160 receiving yards and 3 TD’s.
Warrick Dunn (1993-96): He was First-team All-ACC three times and a Second-team All-American in 1996.
He rushed for over 1,000 yards in three consecutive seasons. He rushed for 1,026 in 1994, 1,242 in 1995 and 1,180 in 1996. He holds the receiving TD record with 31.
Dalvin Cook (2014-16): I knew he was a good player, but I was surprised to find out he’s the leading rusher in school history. He ran for 4,464 yards in his three seasons.
He also has the best rushing season in program history with 1,765 yards in 2016. He was a two time First-team All-American. Cook is also the rushing touchdown leader with 46.
Charlie Ward (1989-93): He started his final two years and he drastically improved.
As a junior he passed for 2,647 yards, 22 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. As a senior he had 3,032 yards, 27 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
In 1993 he won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award and Davey O’Brien Award. He led Florida State to their first national championship. They beat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl, 18-16.
Terrell Buckley (1989-91): He’s the school interception leader with 21. He has the most picks in a season with 12 in 1991.
He won the Jim Thorpe Award and Jack Tatum Trophy in 1991.
Deion Sanders (1985-89): Prime Time is tied with Lee Corso for third in interceptions with 14. He also played baseball and ran track.
He was a two-time unanimous All-American and won the Jim Thorpe Award (1988). He also had his jersey retired.
Peter Boulware (1994-96): He’s second in career sacks with 34. He had 19 sacks in 1996.
He was a consensus All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year in 96.
Jameis Winston: He was 26-1 as a starter.
He won the Heisman Trophy as a redshirt freshman and led the team to an undefeated season and national championship.
In his career he completed 66% of his passes for 7,964 yards and 65 touchdowns.
Tip It Off
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, after months of watching old games, listening to pundits regurgitate the same storylines, and reading enough Top Ten articles that even David Letterman would roll his eyes, the return of sports is now on the periphery…in a limited capacity…at the end of the summer…for only a select number of teams.
The first domino to fall was hockey, which came up with a creative approach to the remainder of their season, consisting of qualifying rounds and round robin seeding games, to determine the 16 playoff teams.
With an expected start date sometime in late July, I imagine Gary Bettman must have been optimistic- if you’re starving for fan attention being the only game in town has its’ advantages.
It’s like being stranded on a deserted island for six months before realizing there’s someone of the opposite sex on the island with you. That person may not be your ideal mate, but after a certain amount of time, you’re not going to be picky.
Then, of course, the NBA announced their plans to finish their season with qualifying games among a select group of teams to narrow the field down to their playoff participants.
One of the aspects included in each league’s proposal I can easily get behind is they are only including teams that were in playoff contention at the time their respective leagues shut down. If we’re truly trying to be safe, there’s no reason to put players at risk by making them play meaningless games.
The main difference between the hockey and basketball plans is hockey is scheduling their games in at least two different hub cities, while the NBA will hold all their games at Disney World, requiring everyone to stay in a designated area throughout their time there.
The current NBA schedule has them resuming games in late July also, and running through October.
Besides the encouraging signs the sports world may be starting to open back up, the timeline of when everything takes place means September and October have the potential to be two of the most exciting months in recent memory.
Even if college football and the NFL delay their starts by a few weeks, there’s a very realistic possibility you could have multiple weekends consisting of NHL and NBA playoff games, to go along with football.
As much as people are tired of being stuck at home now, with all those options to choose from, I bet many of those same people would be staying indoors, deciding they needed to “self-quarantine”.
As much as I think most of us are looking forward to watching again, we may want to temper our expectations. We’re still weeks away before the first game will be played, and as positive Covid cases continue to rapidly increase in almost half the states across the country (many college programs are now announcing outbreaks among their players), it may be delayed even more.
Regardless of what you read into that, even the most skeptical critic would have a difficult time arguing an increase of positive test results would cause any league to speed up their return date.
If both leagues are able to resume their seasons in July it will have been a long four months in sports purgatory. And even though we won’t have technically been deserted on a desert island during that time, we’ll welcome the first puck drop, or opening tip, as if we had been.
The Future IS Now
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic remain in place in relation to NCAA sports, college football teams are managing to remain as active as ever.
Players are working out on their own at their respective houses and online video meetings are allowing the various meetings for teams, players and position groups that normally fill the schedule preceding fall camp.
However, there is one aspect of the summer months that has had to change drastically. From the end of spring practice up through the long days of June and July, most college football coaches are racking up the mileage as they attend camps and start to make contacts with recruits they hope to sign at the end of the season.
Several members of the Georgia Southern coaching staff joined a Zoom meeting on where much of the discussion with media members was centered on how the team is continuing to recruit despite no visits allowed and few opportunities for athletes to showcase their skills.
“I’ve tried to embrace this as an opportunity,” Georgia Southern associate head coach and running backs coach Chris Foster said. “I think I’m a little more tech savvy than some others and things were leaning towards more technology even before (the virus). The teams who are going to succeed are the ones who are going to adapt.”
Coaches may not be able to see prospective recruits go up against live competitions, but the advancement of cheap video technology and the explosion of social media over the last decade allow many hopeful high-schoolers to provide colleges with expansive highlight reels.
That sort of accessibility allows coaches to evaluate film in their meetings and make informed decisions on who to pursue and what to focus on in their game.
There is also a silver lining for the coaches as meeting with a dozen recruits over the course of a few days is now as easy as setting up a streaming meeting instead of putting hundreds of miles on a vehicle and waking up in a different hotel every day.
Still, there are new issues as meetings have had to work around school and work schedules for athletes and their parents.
“Depending on when you can schedule a meeting, there have been some 14 and 15 hour days,” GS defensive coordinator Scot Sloan said. “We’re still doing all of our homework. We’re meeting with these kids and the high school coaches have been great about keeping us in touch and getting us in contact with teachers, counselors and anyone else who we might want to talk to about a guy.”
The recruiting game has certainly been turned on its’ head. If anything, it could become a net benefit for smaller schools like Georgia Southern.
No matter how good Georgia Southern coaches are at evaluating prep players or selling them on the Eagles, they don’t have the ability of larger schools with much larger budgets to employ dozens of people to scour every corner of the country.
And most schools certainly don’t have the luxury of putting a coach on a private jet straight into a player’s backyard on a moment’s notice in order to gain an edge in the recruiting battle.
The playing field has leveled in that regard, meaning that originality and innovation off of the base model of Twitter highlights and Zoom meetings is now something that can make a school stand out to a prized recruit.
It’s a whole new ballgame in the high-stakes world of football recruiting. Now it remains to be seen how the new methods of selling teams and schools will pan out.
The Beef
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The SEC is known as a Line of Scrimmage League and the strength up front won’t decrease much in 2020.
These players have demonstrated what it takes to effectively run-block, pass protect, and fight like hell in the trenches.
There’s nothing as satisfying as watching mammoth individuals opening holes, or being that stone wall that cannot be penetrated, or my personal favorite, pancaking a defender as big as they are.
Here are my top five offensive linemen in the SEC for 2020.
- Landon Dickerson, Center/Guard, Alabama: Dickerson was a graduate transfer from Florida State, who had a breakout season in 2019 with the Crimson Tide.
He started all 13 games, four at guard and nine at center. His versatility allows him to play every position on the offensive line effectively. The six-foot-six, 318 pounder will help set the tone for the boys up front this fall.
- Darin Kinnard, Tackle, Kentucky: Kinnard is an old school masher at right tackle for the Wildcats.
The six-foot-seven, 340 pounder will join senior teammates Drake Jackson, Landon Young and Luke Fortner as four of the top ten returning lineman in the SEC.
Kinnard’s running blocking is on an elite level; he must improve his pass protection and hand placement. Kentucky has one of the top offensive lines in the SEC in 2020.
- Deonte Brown, Guard, Alabama: Brown is an absolute beast at every bit six-foot four, 340 pounds.
He grew up in the Auburn game against Derrick Brown as a true testament to his strength.
Deonte Brown is a smooth athlete who gets to his spots on time. If he is to grow, he must improve his pass protection, especially against quicker pass rushers.
Expect another strong season from Brown as the Crimson Tide looks to regain the SEC West title.
- Trey Smith, Guard, Tennessee: Smith is one the most seasoned offensive linemen in the SEC, with 31 career starts.
He played tackle in his freshman season and earned Freshman All American and second team All SEC honors. Smith moved to Guard last season and earned first team All SEC while battling blood clot issues. I won’t be surprised if he is on the short list for the Outland Trophy in 2020.
- Alex Leatherwood, Tackle, Alabama: If you haven’t noticed, The Crimson Tide will have the best offensive line in the SEC and arguably all of College football in 2020.
Alex Leatherwood will be the heart and soul of the Tide’s offensive line. Bama returns four starters from a line that allowed the fewest number of sacks in the SEC last season.
They were also fourth in the SEC in rushing offense. The six-foot-six, 310-pound Leatherwood allowed only two sacks in the past two seasons.
Leatherwood was also first team All SEC and many experts predict he’ll follow in the footsteps of Jonah Williams, a first round draft pick.
Just outside the Top 5: Cade Mays, Tennessee; Drake Jackson, Kentucky; Trey Hill and Ben Cleveland, Georgia; Austin Deculus, LSU; Steward Reese, Florida; Dylan Wannam, South Carolina.
Chomping For 2020
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Florida Gators are coming off of a very good 2019 season.
They were 11-2, won the Orange Bowl and finished the season ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll. Dan Mullen is entering his third year as the head coach in Gainesville.
It looks like the Gators have finally found their first good quarterback since Tim Tebow. They started the 2019 season with Feleipe Franks under center. He was known for making poor decisions and turning the football over. He got injured in the Kentucky game and Kyle Trask stepped in to come from behind and win the game.
I think he’s a significant upgrade over Franks and playing the entire season will make a big difference.
UF is ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll. They have not won the SEC East since 2016. That doesn’t seem like a long time, but it is for this program that’s used to competing for national championships.
Some of the key departures are defensive end Jon Greenard, corner back C.J. Henderson and running back La’mical Perine. Greenard had 52 tackles, 15.5 for loss and 9.5 sacks in his final season.
Henderson had 11 pass breakups, entered the draft a year early and was the ninth overall pick by Jacksonville.
Perine was the leading rusher in 2019 with 676 yards and 6 touchdowns.
The Gators have some good players returning. Tight end Kyle Pitts is 6’6, 239-pounds and one of the best in the nation. He had 54 catches for 649 yards and five touchdowns.
Wide receiver Trevon Grimes is entering his senior year and he’s going to be the No. 1 receiver. The Ohio State transfer had 33 receptions for 491 yards and 3 TD’s last year.
CB Marco Wilson had three interceptions and 36 tackles in 2019.
The schedule is very manageable.
Eastern Washington: They start the season with the college version of a preseason game against an FCS opponent. They’ll demolish the Eagles.
Kentucky: The Wildcats have lost talented players from last years team. This will be an easy win for Florida.
South Alabama: The Jaguars were 2-10 last year. We don’t expect e team from the Sun Belt to put up much of a fight under normal circumstances and this is a bad team. UF trounces them.
@ Tennessee: The first road game of the season. The Vols started poorly in 2019 but they won their final 6 games to finish 8-5. This is a rivalry game, so I expect it to be close, but I give the edge to the Gators.
South Carolina: Former Florida coach Will Muschamp has been the head coach at South Carolina since 2016. Last season they were 4-8 but they did have a huge upset at Georgia. They won’t be that lucky on this day.
LSU: We all know the Tigers were undefeated and won the national championship in 2019. Heisman Trophy winning QB Joe Burrow is gone and LSU will fall back to earth. Gators get the W.
@ Ole Miss: The Rebels are one of the worst teams in the conference, so this is a cakewalk.
Georgia: This is a Halloween day rivalry game. The Bulldogs have won the last three meetings. That streak will finally get snapped.
@ Vanderbilt: We know Vandy doesn’t stand a chance.
Mizzou: The Tigers are one of the worst teams in the division. Another lopsided win.
New Mexico State: The Aggies are traveling to Gainesville for a beat down.
@ Florida State: The Seminoles are struggling, and this is the final W of the season.
I expect Florida to finish the regular season undefeated.
QB U
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In the 90’s it seemed like most top ranked quarterbacks wound up at any of the three major programs in Florida.
In the 2000’s USC got the lion’s share of who they wanted, with a few other programs sprinkled in.
This past decade it’s been programs like Ohio State and Clemson that have been able to basically pick and choose who they bring in under center.
As we begin the decade of the 2020’s, it looks like you can add another school to the list; Georgia.
When Kirby Smart was hired, I figured he and his staff would be able to successfully recruit top ranked defensive players and running backs. It’s how things were done at Alabama and if Smart was trying to implement a lot of the same strategies and philosophies from his former employer, it just made sense.
I had no idea he would be able to bring in the level of talent at the quarterback position he has up to this point.
On one hand I can understand the appeal; Georgia has received a lot of positive notoriety since Smart arrived, their facilities are some of the best in the country, and they play in the best conference in college football, so there’s an abundance of national exposure a quarterback can gain by playing there. Plus, I imagine the amount of talent surrounding the quarterback position has to be awfully enticing to a recruit.
On the other hand, it’s a bit perplexing how the program has been able to maintain this level of success on the recruiting trail since Smart’s arrival.
Even though Georgia’s name has become more prominent in national title talks, they still haven’t won one in almost forty years, their quarterbacks don’t have a great history (program or Kirby Smart) of NFL success, and they’re about to be on their third offensive coordinator in as many years; none of which built their reputations on developing quarterbacks.
Smart also seems to approach the quarterback position as if he’s running his own version of The Bachelor: Georgia Edition, bringing in as many players as he can to complete. (With the recent addition of JT Daniels, I believe Georgia is currently looking at having an entire basketball team full of quarterbacks on their 2021 roster.)
Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with that approach whatsoever, but with the mindset of today’s recruit, the whole situation seems ripe to miss out on players because they’d rather be given the starting job as opposed to earning it.
Yet, in spite of circumstances that would give me pause before committing, it has not affected their ability to bring in the recruits they want. Of course, keeping those recruits is an entirely different story.
And look, I know these things are cyclical and not all the quarterbacks on Georgia’s roster were 5-star recruits. Still, that doesn’t change the fact Athens has become a premier destination for quarterbacks, more so than I can ever remember them being, in my lifetime.
If their luck on the qb front continues to stay in line with the rest of their recruiting there are two things I see happening:
1.Georgia will eventually end their national championship drought sooner, rather than later.
2.If Kirby Smart keeps hoarding quarterbacks like they’re Popeye’s gift certificates they are going to need a larger room to hold their quarterback meetings.
Atlanta Buzz?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Geoff Collins enters his second year at Georgia Tech after coming up with the best recruiting class in years for the Jackets.
Change is in the air in Atlanta. Will the buzz return in 2020? Let’s take a look at the Georgia Tech 2020 schedule and my win/loss predictions.
*ACC games
Thursday, Sept. 3 – Clemson* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Will the Jackets be ready for prime time on a Thursday night kickoff to open the season?
The answer is no. Trevor Lawrence and Clemson start another college football playoff run, and drill the Jackets 48-13. GT is 0-1 on the year.
Saturday, Sept. 12 – Gardner-Webb (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Just what the doctor ordered for Tech or you would hope so. GT wins 33-14 and goes to 1-1 on the season.
Saturday, Sept. 19 – UCF (Bobby Dodd Stadium): As I look down the rest of the schedule this looks like one of the best opportunities for a win at home against the Knights.
I feel generous today by picking a GT win over UCF 24-22. Jackets go to 2-1 on the season.
Saturday, Sept. 26 – at North Carolina* (Chapel Hill, N.C.): Mack Brown is going to get Carolina back on track. The Jackets can be competitive here, but will not know how to win a road game like this yet. Paul Johnson left this program in bad shape.
Carolina beats GT 28-16. Jackets drop to 2-2 on the year.
Saturday, Oct. 3 – at Virginia Tech* (Blacksburg, Va.): October and November look bleak for the Jackets. Teams trying to rebuild, don’t pencil in wins in Blacksburg. VT 35-17. Jackets drop to 2-3.
Saturday, Oct. 17 – Virginia* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): Virginia is one of the better teams in the ACC and GT is not quite there yet. Virginia went the Orange Bowl last season and Tech was starting fights with George Pickens. Virginia 41-21. Jackets fall to 2-4.
Saturday, Oct. 24 – at Pitt* (Pittsburgh, Pa.): Could Tech win this one? Maybe in Atlanta, but not in Pittsburgh. Pitt wins 27-23. Ramblin’ Wreck falls to 2-5.
Saturday, Oct. 31 – at Syracuse* (Syracuse, N.Y.): The Cuse will beat GT at home 27-20. Jackets fall to 2-6 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 7 – Duke* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): The Jackets will have this one circled on the calendar because this will be a winnable game. The Yellow Jackets beat Duke 35-23 to go to 3-6 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 14 – Notre Dame (Mayhem at MBS, Mercedes-Benz Stadium): Nope not happening. Notre Dame wins 34-13. Jackets drop to 3-7 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 21 – Miami (Fla.)* (Bobby Dodd Stadium): I’m not sold on Miami being a good team in 2020.
Yeah, I know they are the U, but they got shut out by Louisiana Tech in a bowl game last season. GT upset Miami in 2019, and this will be the Georgia Tech upset special for 2020. Yellow Jackets beat Miami in Atlanta 31-28 to go to 4-7 on the season.
Saturday, Nov. 28 – at Georgia (Athens, Ga.): Georgia will maul Tech in Athens by the tune of 49-10 and it could be worse.
GT will finish the 2020 season with a record of 4-8.
Best case scenario for the Yellow Jackets would be 7-5 and a bowl game if they can get by North Carolina, Pitt and Syracuse, and worst case scenario could be 1-11 with the only win being over Gardner-Webb.
Another couple of recruiting cycles that focus on the Atlanta metro area will be needed to rebuild this roster.
Will the buzz return in 2020? Not quite yet, but I hear a buzzing sound on the horizon for say 2021 or 2022.
Top Tight Ends
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As I continue my position-by-position analysis toward the best returning players in the SEC, this week we look at the tight ends. They are the unsung heroes when it comes to pass catchers.
Tight ends have some of the most important responsibilities on offense. They have to effectively block and move the chains on key third downs. All the players on this list have displayed these traits, and they are looking to deliver in the clutch in 2020.
- Tre’ McKitty, Georgia: With Eli Wolf and Charlie Woerner departed, it was necessary for Kirby Smart to go out and find an available veteran to work with an otherwise young and inexperienced group of tight ends.
McKitty, a former three-star tight end, has spent the last three seasons at Florida State. McKitty’s stats at Florida State were 50 receptions for 520 yards. Georgia landed the number two high school tight end in 2020 in Darnell Washington.
They will likely be involved in one of the more explosive 1,2 punches at the tight end position in the SEC.
- Jamal Pettigrew, LSU: Jamal Pettigrew is a redshirt senior that missed all the 2018 season with a torn ACL. With limited playing time in 2019, Pettigrew caught only 2 passes for 17 yards.
LSU secured the number one tight end in the 2020 recruiting class. Arik Gilbert, a 6-foot 6 253 pound athlete from Marietta, Georgia.
LSU is in a similar boat as Georgia, as Pettigrew will be the experienced player mentoring the athletic freshman.
- Kenny Yeboah, Ole Miss: Yeboah is a graduate transfer from Temple. The 6 foot 5, 240 pound Yeboah comes to Ole Miss after catching 47 passes for 538 yards and 6 touchdowns during his time at Temple.
He shows impressive bursts from the tight end position by averaging 12.3 yards per catch, including his longest of 53 yards.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin’s system fit Yeboah’s skill set. Kiffin’s tight end last season at Florida Atlantic won the Mackey Award for the nation’s top tight end after leading D1 Football with 65 catches.
- Jalen Wydermeyer, Texas A&M: Wydermeyer made a name for himself in the SEC and led the Aggies in touchdown receptions as a true freshman.
He was Freshman All American, SEC All Freshman and second team All SEC after catching 32 passes for 447 yards and 6 touchdowns.
A strong bond developed between Wydermeyer and quarterback Kellen Mond over the course of the 2019 season.
The 6 foot 5, 260 pounder looks to take advantage of size and frame in 2020. Jimbo Fisher has a long track record of utilizing the tight end in the passing game.
- Kyle Pitts, Florida: Pitts is the most athletic and dangerous tight end in the SEC, hands down. He has tremendous size standing 6 foot 6, 240 pounds and he uses his frame to his advantage.
Pitts had at least five or more receptions in four different games in 2019.
After an impressive breakout year in 2019, Pitts is ready to take his talent to the next level.
He recorded 54 receptions for 649 yards and 5 touchdowns and earned first team ALL SEC. With the departure of four starting wide receivers, Pitts should earn more targets from Kyle Trask.
He is too fast for linebackers and too big for safeties in 1-on-1 coverage. Pitts could improve his blocking, but remains an exploitable mismatch in the passing game.
Just outside the top five: Major Tennison, Alabama; Austin Pope, Tennessee; Hudson Henry Arkansas; Break out player John Samuel Shenker, Auburn.
Shake It Up
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
“The Minneapolis Lakers moved to Los Angeles where there are no lakes. The Oilers moved to Tennessee where there is no oil. The Jazz moved to Salt Lake City where they don’t allow music”.
Even though those statements from the movie BASEketball are referencing teams moving to larger cities for profit, it also pertains to college conferences and the schools they’re affiliated with. (Missouri isn’t really in the South or the East.)
If you were to rearrange the conferences so the SEC was based on teams only from this region (NC, SC, Georgia, and Florida) instead of money, how would that look, and would it be more advantageous for all those involved?
Currently, the ACC and SEC are home to eleven teams from the area- UNC, Duke, NC State, Wake Forest, Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, Florida State, Miami- so they would automatically be included.
You could stop there, but due to their recent success in the football field, and the fact I like conferences to have an even number of teams, I’m going to throw Appalachian State in as well.
Now that we have the conference teams set, it’s a matter of how would this new lineup compare to the real ones. And even in the land of make believe, you start and end with football.
If you’re looking at the current overall picture, it would be a downgrade for the three teams presently in the SEC since they would be replacing programs like Alabama, LSU, and Auburn for basically Clemson and a cast of not ready for primetime players.
Of course, if I’m Georgia or Florida I’m not too upset because my path to the playoffs just became that much easier. However, that might not always be the case.
The thing that intrigues me about this lineup, and was essentially the basis for this article, is how potentially dominant this hypothetical conference could be.
I think just about everyone expects Clemson, Georgia, and Florida soon enough, to become some of the best programs in the country. Florida State and Miami may never get back to the level of dominance we saw from them during their heyday, but becoming perennial top 25 teams isn’t out of the realm of reality.
The remainder of the league would be comparable to the rest of the current SEC, if not a tad bit better, in a majority of the comparisons.
I haven’t referenced the ACC teams’ point of view because I’d like to think it’s pretty obvious, they would benefit from this configuration compared to their current one.
Much like this would be an improvement for the ACC teams in football, the same can be said for the SEC teams with basketball.
Although it may not be the most fortuitous move for those teams already playing in arguably the best basketball conference in the country, there would definitely be more exposure for Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina.
I’m sure nothing like this particular alignment will ever come to fruition because as much as the NCAA loves to spout about how much they care for the student athletes, it’s all about the money.
So, instead of making the moves that would actually benefit the students and regions these schools represent, conference alignment will continue to look like it was decided by the creators of South Park and The Naked Gun movies, and the outrageous humor that goes with it.
