Power Outage
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Trading Matt Kemp was a good thing, that’s true. Not keeping Matt Adams was fine. He had nowhere to play. Trading Brandon Phillips at the end of the season was the right thing to do as well, or at least it was the nice thing to do. The fallout from that is the loss of a ton of last year’s already meager home run output by the Atlanta Braves.
If you’re keeping score, the Bravos hit 165 dingers in 2017. That was good enough for 28th in the Majors and 28 of those came from Freddie Freeman. No one else had 20.
More pressingly, no one has been added to the roster to replace the 49 that Kemp, Adams and Phillips produced. There is a serious lack of power on the Braves’ roster going into spring training and there’s no indication much will be done to change that.
So, who will protect Freeman from the cleanup spot in the batting order?
Yes, Tyler Flowers and Kurt Suzuki combined to crank out 31 bombs from the catching position and they certainly are an option; but I do question the idea that they’d be able to duplicate that level of success.
That being said, 10 homers each will still likely make them the number two power-producing position on the lineup card, depending on what a certain number one prospect manages to do when he shows up.
The most intriguing option is, of course, Ronald Acuna. All signs point to him starting the season in Triple A Gwinnett but a call up isn’t likely to be too far down the road.
Part of this rationale is seasoning. Acuna spent very little time in Gwinnett last year and part of it is player control: if they wait to bring him up, they’ll have another year before he’s able to hit free agency (the Cubs pulled this same maneuver with Kris Bryant). Both excuses are perfectly valid and either way we’ll be seeing him soon enough. The question is where does he hit when he arrives?
Cleanup is a tough spot to thrust a rookie into right off the bat (no pun intended). It may be a lot to ask of a 20 year to be called upon to protect Freddie Freeman in his first game with the big club.
On the other hand, he may have just the right make up to succeed under that kind of pressure. The problem is you won’t know until he’s there.
Failure can shake a young man’s confidence pretty fast and there will be a lot of eyes pointed at this kid.
Maybe it would be more prudent to see if he can produce from the fifth or sixth spot in the order first. He’ll be hitting cleanup (or second) eventually.
When GM Alex Anthopoulos addressed the Braves’ power deficiency at Fan Fest, he offered up two possible roads: one, in which the Braves roll with what they’ve got, which we’ve explored, or two, when he knowingly pointed out that there are a lot of free agents still available.
That’s true. There are over one hundred unsigned free agents, including some that could add some pop to the Braves’ lineup in 2018. The most obvious place for a free agent to slot in would be third base and there are options there.
One is the very unlikely Mike Moustakas, the other is the slightly more likely Todd Frazier.
Frazier is a third baseman with pop and will be much less expensive with Moustakas.
His batting average is fairly horrendous, reaching a career low last year, which he split between the White Sox and Yankees, but if you’re into OPS+ then his 105 is a little bit above average.
More to the point, the later it gets in the year the more likely it is that he’d look into a one or two-year contract, whereas Moustakas seems to be holding out for a multi-year deal.
It’s not a perfect solution but other than turning newly-minted Hall of Famer Chipper Jones back into a 25-year-old and signing him to a team-friendly contract, there don’t appear to be any.
Flowers and Suzuki. Acuna. Frazier, or another free agent. Whoever it is, the Braves need some pop.
The Star Are Out
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is almost time for the most exciting all-star weekend in professional sports. The top players in the NBA will spend All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles this year.
The NBA all-star break is quickly approaching and there will be a lot of different changes. The traditional all-star weekend consisted of the top players from the Eastern Conference versus the top players in the Western Conference. That format is getting old.
Fans were getting tired of seeing the same thing over and over, so the NBA has decided to throw a monkey wrench into the process. The NBA allowed the fans to vote for two captains to represent the two teams. This year those two captains are Lebron James and Stephen Curry.
These two were tasked with drafting their all-star super team. The talent pool consisted of the players who were voted on by other NBA players and fans. Lebron James’ squad consists of his former teammate Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Demarcus Cousins.
These four were picked by LeBron to be the starters. James, however, will have to make some roster adjustments already because Demarcus Cousins is lost for the season after tearing his achilles tendon against the Rockets.
LeBron’s bench will be loaded. LaMarcus Aldridge, Bradley Beal, Jose Calderon, Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, Paul George, and Russell Westbrook will try to help lead team LeBron to victory.
Team Steph will be star studded as well. Joining the captain will be James Harden, Demar Derozan, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Joel Embiid.
Stephen Curry hopes his bench will help lead his team to victory. His bench will include Al Horford, Damian Lillard, Kyle Lowry, Klay Thompson, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Draymond Green.
After examining the rosters, I would give Team Lebron the slight edge. Lebron has some of the top guards in the NBA on his team. Stephen’s team is loaded with a bunch of go getters. A bunch of hard working NBA players. This all-star game may be one of the ages.
The NBA will also have some familiar events that fans enjoy. The NBA All-Star Celebrity game will also be back this year. Fans will get to see their favorite tv stars, politicians, and musicians compete in a basketball game.
The NBA will also have the Rising Stars Game. This game will consist of the top youngsters in the NBA. There will be a USA team versus a World Team. Players like Lonzo Ball, Ben Simmons, Dennis Smith Jr., and Buddy Hield will be some of the stars that will suit of for the Rising Stars Game.
The Taco Bell Skills Challenge will also take place this year. Some of the best ball handlers in the NBA will take on the difficult obstacle course. The three point contest will also be an event this year. Devon Booker, Kevin Love, Klay Thompson, Bradley Beal, and Wayne Ellington.
The Slam Dunk competition has been down as of late. There has not been the excitement that Nate Robinson, Dwight Howard, and Vince Carter once brought. This year participants hope that they will be able to bring some of that excitement back to the event.
High flyers Dennis Smith Jr, Larry Nance Jr, Victor Oladipo, and Aaron Gordon will be looking to make this an event that fans love again.
The changes to the NBA All-Star weekend could be a huge success this year. The MLB made changes that made their game more exciting for the fans. It gave the players more motivation to participate. The NBA is hoping for the same thing with their All-Star weekend.
Top Dawgs
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Yes, it has almost been a month now since the most heartbreaking loss in UGA football history in the National Title game to Alabama. The pain for die hard UGA fans may never go away, but honestly the Dawgnation did not honestly expect to be in this position in year two of the Kirby Smart era.
Most insiders around Athens are saying the 2017 Dawgs are just the tip of the iceberg as the talented roster continues to grow with 6 Five Star prospects alone coming into the program.
Looking back on a fantastic 2017 season the SEC and Rose Bowl Champion Bulldogs had some talented players that will earn many pay days in the NFL.
Let’s take a look at some draft prospects for a few of those players.
Roquan Smith: Simply put Smith is the best linebacker to ever roam the sidelines in Athens. He is fast and his football instincts are off the chart.
Plug in the Georgia Tech tape from last season and you will see how one man can stop the triple option and how you run sideline to sideline, which will have NFL scouts camping out in Athens until draft day.
Smith is a special talent and should go as a top ten pick in the first round of the upcoming draft. I have Smith going at #10 to the Oakland Raiders who will be moving to Vegas soon.
A lot of Roquan Smith jerseys will be purchased by Raider Nation. In my opinion the only player from last year’s team that is irreplaceable in Athens. Smith was a generational talent.
Nick Chubb: Chubb will always be a favorite in Athens because of the way he overcame that horrific knee injury in 2015 and battled back and became the SEC’s second leading rusher of all time behind the GOAT whose name I won’t mention in this article but he wore #34 in Athens.
Chubb will impress at the combine with his strength and will be a solid NFL running back. I expect Nick to go in the second or third round to a team like the Lions that need a solid back who can run between the tackles.
Sony Michel: The versatility is what makes Sony special. Dawgnation would be wearing Natty shirts right now if Sony would have been used more in the second half of the title game.
Michel can catch the football and at 215 pounds can run inside or outside. Sony will be a fantastic pro. I think Michel goes in the second round to a team like Packers, Bears, or Bucs that need infusions of talent at the RB position.
Lorenzo Carter: Who doesn’t need an edge rusher in the NFL? Carter is long and fast and will carve out a fine NFL career. His speed will shock people at the combine and he has first round talent and could move up high on many teams draft boards.
Carter will probably go in the second round. Carter came back for his senior season and the blocked Rose Bowl FG in OT puts Carter in the all-time UGA highlight reel.
How Long Can Falcons Fly?
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons had a disappointing season in my opinion. Coming off an 11-5 2016 with a Super Bowl appearance they regressed. There was only a one game difference because they finished 10-6 this season.
That one game made a huge difference in playoff seeding. The 2017 team barely made the playoffs, getting the #6 seed. That means every playoff game is on the road. The 2016 team was the #2 seed and both of their playoff games were at home.
The biggest difference was obviously the loss of offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan. Atlanta was the highest scoring offense in the NFL last season. They were second in the league in total offense, averaging 416 yards per game.
Shanahan left to become a head coach in San Francisco. Steve Sarkisian replaced him and I thought that was a poor hire when it happened. The offense slipped to eighth averaging 365 ypg. The only thing to look forward to is maybe the team will play better in the second year in Sarkisian’s system. The same thing happened under Shanahan.
The team did improve drastically on defense. The 2016 team finished the season 25th in total defense. They surrendered 25.4 points per game and 371 ypg. The Falcons jumped to ninth in 2017 allowing 19.7 ppg and 318 ypg.
Head coach Dan Quinn has the defense going in the right direction. I think they can be even better in 2018, possibly finishing in the top five.
Defensive end Takk McKinley was a rookie this season and he played fairly well. He finished the season with 6 sacks and 20 total tackles. Not very impressive but I expect him to make a big jump in his second year.
The same thing happened with Vic Beasley and in his second season, he led the league with 15.5 sacks. He also regressed and only had 5 sacks in 2017. I think the emergence of McKinley will force teams to stop double teaming Beasley and his sack total should go up. I think they can become the best pass rushing duo in the NFL.
Matt Ryan was named the NFL MVP in 2016. He passed for nearly 5,000 yards, 38 touchdowns and completed 70% of his passes. This past season his totals dropped to 4,095 yards, 20 touchdowns and 64.7% completion rate. He also threw 12 interceptions compared to just 7 the previous season.
Ryan has showed us that he is a top ten quarterback for the past decade. He has the potential to be a top five QB once he becomes acclimated to a system. He has elite weapons like Julio Jones and Devonta Freeman to help him.
The best-case scenario for Atlanta in 2018 is to be one of the most balanced teams on both sides of the ball.
The offense needs to return to an elite level while the defense improves. With the young talent added from the last two drafts this should happen.
If the team does not improve next year then I think the championship window for Atlanta is almost closed. It will be time to reevaluate everyone on the roster and possibly start over.
Jaguars On The Prowl
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Most Jag fans felt like this was going to be the year at the beginning of the 4th quarter last Sunday in Foxboro.
New England came back from a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit, the Jaguars had no idea what hit them. Sure, Tom Brady doing Tom Brady things played a major role here. Tom Brady is the best QB in NFL history and Jacksonville became another Brady victim in the AFC title game.
The Jaguars went 7-2 with a playoff win over Buffalo at Ever Bank Field in 2017. The Jags went 5-5 on the road with a signature win over Pittsburgh in the playoffs.
The biggest turnaround for Jacksonville in 2017 was the running game. In the five previous seasons the Jags ranked no higher than 22nd in the league in rushing offense.
In 2017, the Jags were first in the NFL in rushing offense averaging 141.4 yards a game. The biggest reason for this was the addition of Leonard Fournette. The rookie from LSU had 1,040 rushing yards and 268 carries for 9 TD’s and carried the ball over 20 times in each of the Jags three playoff games. Fournette had 109 yards in the big road playoff win against the Steelers.
The Jaguars offense finished the season ranked in the top 6 of the league in rush yards, points per game, yards per game, and time of possession, but yet Blake Bortles takes a lot of heat from the fan base for underperforming.
Bortles passed for 3,687 yards which was in the top half of the league. He passed for 21 TD’s which is middle of the pack and threw 13 interceptions. Cam Newton and Ben Roethlisberger threw more picks than Bortles but yet they don’t get the heat from the fans and media that Blake does.
Bortles is still a young QB that will continue to improve. The Jaguars averaged 224.6 passing yards per game which ranks 17th in the league. Did I mention that the Jaguars led the NFL in rushing offense? Translation is that Jacksonville is right on track on improving the offense which is what Doug Marrone has stated all along.
With the addition of Cam Robinson, the OL improved dramatically. The running back position is set with Fournette for a decade. The WR corps probably needs upgrading in the upcoming draft. The perception is that the jury is still out on Bortles.
On defense, the Jaguars finished in the top two in the league total yards allowed, points per game, and sacks with 55. Jacksonville led the NFL is pass defense only giving up 169.9 yards per game.
The only warning sign for Jacksonville is rushing defense where the Jags allowed 116.3 rushing yards per game which ranked 22nd in the league. The Jags may need to add some depth at middle linebacker and some run stuffing road grader depth in the middle of the defense.
The Jaguars have the best CB tandem in the NFL in A.J. Bouye and Jalen Ramsey and maybe the best overall secondary in the NFL that totaled 21 picks in 2017.
This defense is special at rushing the passer. Calais Campbell had 14.5 sacks, Yannick Ngakoue had 12, and Malik Jackson and Dante Fowler had 8 each thus earning the title “Saxonville” in 2017.
Telvin Smith led the team with 102 tackles and Myles Jack followed with 90.
This team isn’t going anywhere folks. The Jags are built like a cold weather team that can run the football and play defense in January.
The New England Patriots run may be over after this Super Bowl because I guarantee you a 41-year-old Tom Brady in 2018 does not want to see this defense again.
If I told you before the season the Jags would play in the AFC title game you would have said pass me some of what you are smoking.
No more tarps covering empty seats in the upper decks Jaguar nation. This team has earned your support.
Underwhelming Wildcats
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Kentucky is one of the blue blood programs of men’s college basketball. Every year they’re expected to at least compete for a national championship. The Wildcats also have some of the best recruiting classes every year under coach John Calipari.
They started the season ranked in the top five. So far, the Cats have not lived up to the hype with a 14-5 record. Their only 4-3 in conference play which is the biggest surprise. The SEC is one of the weaker power conferences and Kentucky has dominated the league for decades.
Kentucky has lost two consecutive games to South Carolina and Florida. The Gators won a close game on the road 66-64. They also snapped Kentucky’s 30 game home win streak against conference opponents.
“At the end of the day we had our chances, and I love the fact we fought,” Calipari said.
Currently the Wildcats are unranked and tied for fourth place in the SEC.
At this rate it looks like they’ll struggle to make the NCAA tournament. We will see if Kentucky can right the ship and become a contender.
They’re led by talented freshman again this year. Forward Kevin Knox leads the team with 14.3 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Knox was Mr. Florida in 2017 and he was considered a top-10 prospect by several publications. His father was a wide receiver for Florida State and a member of the 1993 national championship team.
Hamidou Diallo averages 13 ppg and 4.5 rpg. The 6’5 shooting guard was rated No.1 at his position in 2016. He actually had to redshirt last season because he was a midyear enrollee in January 2017.
Canadian guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averages 11.9 ppg and 4.3 assists per game.
With young talent, sometimes it takes time for them to adjust to college. At a school like Kentucky they have star players at each position so it can be difficult for them to play as a team.
Saturday January 27th they participate in the Big 12/SEC Challenge at No.6 West Virginia. This is the best opponent on the schedule and I think this game can determine the rest of the season.
I think a win will give the team great momentum. It will boost the teams’ confidence and encourage them to play as a team. Based on what I’ve seen I give the advantage to the Mountaineers.
The next game is home versus Vanderbilt. They beat the Commodores 74-67 earlier this month. I expect a season sweep.
February begins on the road at Mizzou. This is the first meeting of the season but I expect Kentucky to prevail since they have more talent.
I expect the Wildcats to stop struggling in conference play and put a decent winning streak together. I don’t see them catching up with Florida to win the regular season conference title.
Super Bowl Preview
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
There’s a line in “Spaceballs” where Rick Moranis’ character, Dark Helmet, says “So, Lone Star, now you see that evil will always triumph because good is dumb.”
As soon as New England defeated Jacksonville, cementing a spot in their 8th Super Bowl over the past 16 years, that was the first thing that popped into my head.
Of course, after Philadelphia completely manhandled Minnesota, I suddenly had that part of movie playing in my head on a loop. (Good lord, I hope the commercials will be enjoyable).
That being said, allow me to be one of approximately 7,385 articles you’ll read on Super Bowl LII.
There will be fair number of juicy stories, mainly coming from the Patriots side. (Did Tom Brady finally win Patriot of the Week?!?!?)
You’ll get your share of “experts” over analyzing every last detail, down to the Eagles conversion rate on 3rd and 3, during their 1st possession of the 2nd quarter.
To me, it’s all going to come down to how Philadelphia performs. I know that sounds kind of basic, but let me explain.
You pretty much know what you’re going to get from New England, for the most part. Their defense will give up a fair amount of yardage, but will tighten up in the red zone. Besides the two drives Jacksonville had at the beginning of the game, they were only able to score 2 fields goals.
Offensively, Tom Brady will do what Tom Brady does in the Super Bowl, basically he’ll throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns.
You can almost count on all those things taking place.
So, the question is what will we get from Philadelphia? In regards to this, there are two specific things I’m curious to see.
The first, revolves around Philly’s defense. The Eagles are known for being opportunistic on the defensive side and that hasn’t changed over the past few years.
As great as Tom Brady is, and has been in Super Bowl games, he does take chances that Philadelphia should be able to take advantage of. As someone who had their defense in his fantasy league, when they get an interception they are looking to score. More often than most, they find the end zone.
Don’t get me wrong, Brady will take advantage of their aggressiveness; can Philadelphia capitalize on Brady’s mistakes as well?
The next concerns both the Eagles head coach and offensive coordinator, Doug Pederson and Frank Reich, respectively.
You know the Patriots are going to come up with some sort of scheme to slow down Philadelphia’s running game, which has been one of the league’s best throughout the season.
Knowing that, can Pederson and Reich put together a game plan that will ease the comfort level of Nick Foles, so that he’ll be confident to make the throws you know he is going to have to make.
So far in playoffs, they have done a terrific job with this against two defenses in Atlanta and Minnesota, that should have been more dominant than they were.
Philadelphia has an awful lot of talent on that side of the ball and should be able to move the ball with more success than New England’s first two playoff opponents.
When all is said and done, who will walk away victorious? Well, I’ve learned not to bet against New England, so I guess I’ll go with the Patriots.
Then again, I may not even watch the game- it’s been a while since I sat down and watched “Spaceballs”.
The Miami Marlins Curse
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Miami Marlins have a short history of existence and long track record of winning championships and pissing off their fan base.
When former owner and Floridian supervillain Jeffrey Loria sold the team last year, baseball fans from across the globe wondered what kind of change this would bring to a team with 25 years of winning every single postseason series they’ve ever played in, along with never winning a single division title and constantly trading away their most popular players.
This is the team that wholesaled sold off their big guns after both World Series wins and the team that fired Joe Girardi the season he won Manager of the Year.
They have constantly developed superstars and then shipped them elsewhere. In 2012 the team built a new stadium and hired Ozzie Guillen to manage the team, which included freshly signed free agent superstars Jose Reyes, Mark Beuhrle, and Heath Bell.
Guillen was fired after one season and not one of those three players saw a second season in a Marlins uniform.
So, the team being sold was cause for celebration for the handful of Floridians who live and breathe Marlins.
After all, the team was chocked full of talent and maybe a new guiding hand would be able to supplement the likes of Giancarlo Stanton and Marcell Ozuna with players that would help Miami take a huge step forward.
Another wrinkle was that the group buying the team included Yankees legend Derek Jeter among its members. This was a true baseball guy, someone who knows how the game is played and what’s more, knows how to win. All in all, things were hopeful for the Miami faithful.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Jeter and the ownership group moved quickly to do the same thing to the Marlins that the previous two owners did – strip it down for parts. Over the course of one week, just seven days, Miami traded away three of their most valuable assets.
Dee Gordon was the first to go, packing his bags for Seattle. Marcell Ozuna was part three, being traded to St. Louis exactly one week later.
Ozuna was just an extra kick in the ribs, as three days prior, reigning MVP Giancarlo Stanton was traded away. It should be noted that he was traded to the Yankees, because there is no justice in the world.
In the span of just seven days all the promise that the concept of new ownership had brought to the team sank into the familiar sense of utter betrayal that must by now feel like a warm hug to Marlins fans.
Rebuilding isn’t inherently an awful thing and it may not even be the wrong thing to do for Jeter but what a wrong foot to start out on for this new regime.
For a franchise that has repeatedly been torn down to be rebuilt and then torn down again, trading away some of the most talented players the team has ever seen as a first move will not instill trust between owners and fans. Stanton is probably the second greatest Marlin in their team’s short history behind Miguel Cabrera (who was traded), ahead of the likes of Gary Sheffield (who was traded), Josh Beckett (who was traded), and literally any other Marlins player was any good at all (who was traded).
He was incredibly popular and now he’s gone, along with Ozuna and Gordon and Christian Yelich isn’t going to be too far behind.
No one liked Jeffrey Loria. He didn’t have a good relationship with his players and they were usually happy to leave south Florida but Derek Jeter is a likeable guy.
Yet Christian Yelich’s agent claimed that the relationship between Yelich and the team was damaged beyond repair.
The Curse of the Bambino prevented the Red Sox from winning a World Series for 86 years.
The Curse of the Black Sox prevent the White Sox from winning a World Series for 88 years.
The Curse of the Billy Goat prevented the Cubs from even participating in a World Series for 71 years, extending their championship drought to 108 years.
The Marlins have won two World Series in the past 25 years but are they cursed to forever be a front office mess?
Local Star Wars
By: Alex Mathis
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Signing day is quickly approaching and several of Glynn County’s football players are looking for a college home.
These student athletes are taking official visits (visits paid for by the college football program) and unofficial visits (prospect pays for visit out of their own pocket).
Glynn County has been a major hotspot for college coaches this past week. There have been over 30 colleges visit the 3 high schools in Glynn County. Brunswick High, Frederica Academy, and Glynn Academy have seen some of the biggest names in their hallways this week.
The most notable being the head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, Kirby Smart. Glynn County is Dawg country and you could not log onto any social media platform and not see a picture with Kirby Smart with a Glynn County resident.
Coach Pender’s Pirates have seen a lot of traffic as of late. The Pirates have one the largest senior classes in the school’s history.
That senior class is loaded with talent. Jaylen Jackson is committed to Georgia Tech and Kam Futch is committed to West Georgia.
Several other prospects are being heavily recruited as well. Djay Whitfield is coming off his official visit from Albany State. Aubrey Williams recently visited Rice University and has interest from other schools as well. Sharrod Frazier has several division 1 offers as well. He should start traveling soon for his official visits.
Brunswick High also has several others who could potentially go play college football next year.
Tevin Small, Jalen King, Alonzo Brown, Rudy Nixon, Ty Hinson, and John Cano should all suit up for a college football team next year.
Warren McClendon will be one of the biggest recruits in South Georgia next year. He has several Power 5 conference offers and he is completely open to all schools at this point in his recruiting process.
Glynn Academy Coach Rocky Hidalgo has also had a lot of visitors. Last year Glynn was able to send Deejay Dallas and Zalonte Hillary to the University of Miami.
Dallas made an immediate impact with the Hurricanes. Miami coaches expect Hillary to make an even bigger impact next year upfront.
Coach Rocky still has a lot of talent on his team that college coaches are coming by to see. Randon Jernigan was highly recruited but decided to sign and play baseball at the University of Georgia.
Marvin Dallas is a long and athletic corner that college coaches love on the outside. He is receiving a lot of attention from several schools.
Dynamic running back, Caine Crews, is a stud running back that will be a major contributor for whatever school he decides to suit up for.
Hunter Hall might be the most underrated recruit in South Georgia. This four-year starter has all the tools that will make him a successful college linebacker. All he needs is a chance.
Frederica Academy has been busy as well. The Knights have 3 seniors who are being recruited to potentially play football in college.
Santana Clark received and offer from the prestigious Rhodes College. He will travel next weekend to Memphis to check out the campus.
Tyler Pierce has received some attention from D3 and NAIA schools.
John Mitchell Brock could possibly kick at the next level of he chooses. There are some D3 schools that are interested in his services.
Jashawn Sheffield and Jaylin Simpson are going into their last year at Frederica. Power 5 schools have been coming in packs to check on this duo.
The 2019 class also has another potential D1 player. Harry Veal has found his way on the radar of college coaches as well. Veal finished the season with 120+ tackles and this has not gone unnoticed by college coaches.
SEC Stocks
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Have you looked at your 401K plan lately? The stock market is at an all-time high. Let’s take a look at the SEC Football Stock report currently.
Alabama: Hold. Good blue chip producing stock that is the best investment out there. It’s at the top of its value so there’s not much upside but the dividend pays well. Best CEO in the business. Been a top producer for over a decade now. How long will the current CEO stay hungry/motivated?
Arkansas: Buy for now. This Company has seen better days and former CEO ate up all of the profits. New CEO is on board with expansion into the Texas marketplace as his first priority.
Auburn: Dump it. Rollercoaster stock that could go up or down based on some key indicators. Downturn is likely because this company has the most overpriced CEO in the business. This company has a Sears/Kmart mentality.
Florida: Buy. Been a tough down cycle of late, but this is a bargain currently. New executive team comes from a lower-tier company that performed very well in a tough market. This stock will rebound quickly and be a top producer once again. New CEO must find a new chief operations officer quickly during this recruiting cycle.
Georgia: Buy it in droves. They are Amazon and Facebook a few years ago. High upside with an Alabama type CEO, but a solid business model that has been underperforming for almost 40 years and it’s bound to stay on top after earnings went through the roof in 2017. Gobble it up.
Kentucky: Sell. Other divisions are performing well, but this brand has never gained a foothold in the market. The March division manager needs to share his SOP’s with the entire brand.
LSU: Sell. CEO is in way over his head. Traditional producing stock, but time will tell if this CEO has it in him to get shareholders on board and happy. Sell now, and gobble up down the road when the board decides it is time for a CEO change.
Mississippi State: Sell. Old CEO got hired by a Fortune 500 company. New CEO has no CEO experience in a tough environment that is hard to produce in.
Ole Miss: Dump it. The Security and Exchange Commission is investigating this company and has handed out early fines, but once you violate the public trust turnaround will be difficult. Gordon Gekko has been hired as a consultant during this rough transition. Money never sleeps you know.
Mizzou: Dump it. Why this company is publically traded is beyond me. This company needs to geographically relocate where overhead and labor costs are cheaper so they can compete.
South Carolina: Buy. This stock is on the rise once again. Up and down historically, but buy it now. New CEO has laid down the law to employees. Be ready to sell at any time though.
Texas A&M: Buy. New CEO brought in at $75 million from another Fortune 500 company, and the cash reserves in this company are outstanding. New CEO will move this company into the top tier of revenue producing companies within 2-3 years. Load up now.
Tennessee: Hold. This stock has bottomed out and has nowhere else to go but up. Once the best in the business in the 1990’s, but Bill Clinton has been gone for almost 20 years now. This stock can’t stay down forever. First time CEO may or may not be the answer. Hold it now because it is only worth a penny.
Vanderbilt: Hold. This stock holds its value quite nicely. Hold what you have but don’t invest in more of it.
Don’t forget to compensate me for the advice if you decide to invest in one of these stocks with huge upside.
