It Just Means More
By: Steve Norris
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If there’s one thing that truly confuses fans of college football teams from other conferences, it’s why many fans of SEC teams pull for other SEC teams against non-conference rivals.
The chant of “SEC!! SEC!!” can be heard in stadiums all over the country almost every week and especially during the bowl weeks.
In fact, the SEC Network uses that chant to promote itself pretty regularly. But why? Why do fans of other conferences not feel that way about their conference members?
For me, when I’m watching another SEC team play a team outside the conference, it comes down to this…when in doubt, pull for the SEC neighborhood, and it started when I was little.
I grew up in a Georgia household. Both of my parents graduated from the University of Georgia in 1969 and married right after graduation. I came along about a year later.
My mother is definitely a Bulldog fan but it was my dad who truly burned red and black in my formative years.
My dad hated Florida, Tennessee, and Auburn as much as anybody. But one thing he truly hated more was what he referred to as “The Midwest media bias against the SEC.”
In the 60’s and 70’s, sports journalism was dominated by the writers from the Midwest. When it came to the polls, the Heisman, and naming the national champion, teams like Notre Dame, Penn State, Ohio State, and the Big Ten, in general, always seemed to receive the benefit of the doubt.
It all began to change in 1984, when the University of Georgia, along with the University of Oklahoma, sued the NCAA in the Supreme Court over TV rights and won.
The victory meant that conferences and schools could immediately begin negotiating their own television deals.
Once the SEC was able to get their product in front of many millions of more viewers every year, the building of the SEC dynasty began.
Fast forward to present day. In the last fifteen years, the SEC has had a team in the national championship game every year but one. Five different SEC teams have won the national championship game.
The SEC arguably has the best teams, the best coaches, the best recruiting, the best stadiums, the best tailgating, and most of all, the best and most rabid fans, which is why ESPN begged the SEC to take their money.
All of this adds up to bring me to my point: The SEC is a pretty nice neighborhood to live in. It’s so nice that blue blood programs Oklahoma and Texas told the Big 12 to pound sand last year and abruptly announced that they were leaving as soon as possible.
The reason, of course, is money (it usually is). The SEC TV rights net each school some serious bank every year and it continues to go up.
In 2021, each SEC school got approximately a $55 million payout. In 2024, it’s expected to be around $70 million.
Currently, the Big 12 is expected to pay out around $28 million per school. And that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is why Oklahoma and Texas can’t wait to be a part of the neighborhood.
Now, just because you live in a nice neighborhood, it doesn’t mean you have to like all of your neighbors. But it’s still important for your neighbors to keep their part of the neighborhood looking good.
It’s important to pull for that. This is why I always say, “When in doubt, pull for the SEC.” For some of you SEC fans, there is never any doubt. You pull for your team and everybody else can burn.
I have a Georgia buddy that always says, “I wouldn’t pull for Florida if I was on the team plane and both engines went out.” I certainly understand that and as a Georgia fan I could never pull for Florida, either.
However, I always want the neighborhood to look good and the best way to do that is with money. You only get a lot of money from the likes of ESPN if the product is really good from top to bottom. So, when in doubt, pull for your neighbor. All the other neighborhoods can burn.
Claw Sharpening
By: Garrison Ryfun
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
At the end of the 2022 season, things seemed to be trending downward for the Clemson Tigers. After a 31-14 Orange Bowl loss to Tennessee, which never looked all that competitive, there were real questions about the future of the program.
The beginning of this perceived decline started with the 2020 season when Jeff Scott, one of Dabo’s Co-Offensive Coordinators, took the head coaching job at the University of South Florida.
This move helped Tony Elliot become the singular Offensive Coordinator for the 2020 and 2021 seasons.
Going into the 2022 season, Dabo lost both his stalwart defensive coordinator in Brent Venables and offensive coordinator, Tony Elliot to head coaching vacancies at Oklahoma and Virginia respectively.
Instead of going out and hiring big name coordinators, Dabo decided to try to keep continuity within the program and promoted from within for both positions; promoting Brandon Streeter from Passing Game Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach to the Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach role, and on the defensive side promoting Wes Goodwin to Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers and Mickey Conn to Co-Defensive Coordinator/Safeties.
In terms of total offense, Streeters coordinating would be seen as an improvement over Tony Elliot’s 2021 efforts, as Clemson went from the 99th total offense to the 48th in 2022.
Though Streeter did seem to help elevate the offense from season to season, 48th in the country is still well below the standard for a Clemson offense in the modern era.
The blame for their offensive struggles, perception wise, ultimately rested on Streeter’s scheme, which was similar to Elliot’s and Scott’s.
Firing Streeter was not an easy move for Dabo to make. He was a former player at the university and was a longtime assistant under Dabo, coaching at the school for six years before he became the offensive coordinator.
He also was a big part of the success Clemson had at quarterback, helping to develop Deshaun Watson and recruit and develop Trevor Lawrence. The two quarterbacks who led Clemson to national titles in 2016 and 2018.
The firing of Brandon Streeter meant that Clemson had to hit on a big-time candidate for the offensive coordinator position. Enter TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley and former Clemson offensive coordinator Jeff Scott.
In Garrett Riley’s three years of being an offensive coordinator, he has never been outside of the top 15 in points per game and has only been outside of the top 15 once for total offense.
Even in the context of an embarrassing 65-7 loss against Georgia, the problem for Riley’s offense was not the scheme.
Now entering Clemson, Riley has a better talent pool to work with that can match a more physical SEC team if they make the playoffs.
Riley will have a chance to not only coach better talent, but also recruit better talent at Clemson.
In a time when some were starting to perceive Dabo as losing his edge, he made an important move that changed the trajectory of the program before it was too late.
The move of bringing in Garrett Riley is an important one, but bringing in Jeff Scott to learn underneath him is the more underrated aspect of this whole deal.
This is Dabo positioning himself to not only revolutionize his offense, but be able to keep continuity on that front when Riley eventually takes a head coaching position elsewhere.
This kind of move is one that Clemson needed going into a divisonless 2023 in the ACC, with a rising Florida State team, and others, trying to knock them off their throne.
Frog Stomp
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Going into the national championship game I thought UGA winning was a slam dunk.
I thought they were forty points better than TCU. I was surprised to see people like Stephen A Smith and Robert Griffin III picking the Horned Frogs to win. They pointed out how they only had one five-star recruit and one four-star on the roster.
It turns out I underestimated the Bulldogs. No. 1 Georgia (15 – 0) demolished No. 3 Texas Christian University (13 – 2) 65 – 7. It was a beat down from the opening kickoff.
Starting quarterback Stetson Bennett IV was taken out of the game with 13:25 left in the fourth quarter. Kirby Smart called a timeout so he could walk off the field for the last time.
Bennett accounted for six touchdowns, four passing and two rushing. He completed 18/25 passes for 304 yards and rushed for 39 yards.
“As simple as it is, just one last huddle with the guys,” said Bennett, who finished with a 29-3 career record as Georgia’s starter. “That was special, coming off and seeing Coach Smart. That was really cool, and I appreciate that.”
“First time he’s ever walked off that I was hugging him,” Smart said with a smile.
The defense played great, recording 5 sacks. They also recorded three turnovers. They recovered a fumble and had two interceptions. TCU quarterback Max Duggan was also a Heisman finalist like Stetson Bennett, but he struggled.
The Horned Frogs did score their lone touchdown in the first quarter to make the score 10 – 7. They very briefly made it look like they could compete with the Bulldogs. Both of Duggan’s interceptions came in the first half and led to UGA scores.
He threw his second pick with 36 seconds left in the half. Two plays later Bennett threw another touchdown pass to make the halftime lead 38 – 7. It was the largest halftime lead in a national championship game since the 2002 BCS title game when Miami lead Nebraska 34 – 0.
Georgia won their first national title in 41 years last season. Now they’ve repeated as national champs, making them the first team in the College Football Playoff era to accomplish that.
TCU was 5 – 7 last season, which lead to them hiring head coach Sonny Dykes from SMU.
“We’ll learn from it,” Dykes said, “and next time we’re on a stage like this, we’ll handle it better.”
Last season’s championship team had five first-round NFL draft picks.
“If the team last year played this year’s team, last year’s team probably had more talent on it,” Smart said, “but this year’s team was different. They just had this eye of the tiger; they weren’t going to lose.”
Georgia dominated on the ground, rushing 44 times for 254 and five TD’s. Kenny McIntosh was the leading rusher with 8 carries for 50 yards. Branson Robinson had 7 carries for 42 yards and two scores.
Sophomore tight end Brock Bowers won the John Mackey Award this year for the nation’s best tight end. He played great in this game, recording 7 catches for 152 yards and a score.
Ladd McConkey also had a big night with 5 receptions, 88 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Dykes compared Bowers to a tight end he coached while he was the offensive coordinator at Arizona. That guy was named Rob Gronkowski.
Bowl Grades
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This has been an interesting college football season to say the least in the SEC.
Below are my bowl grades for each team. Auburn, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt did not qualify for a bowl game in 2022. Auburn fired their head coach, and A&M is the biggest disappointment in college football currently.
Current Record: 6-5 (East: 2-4, West: 4-1)
Las Vegas Bowl: Florida got blown out by Oregon State 30-3. Florida holds the longest streak in college football of consecutive games of not being shut out that dates back to 1988.
When it mattered the most the Gators drove the field with little time remaining and kicked a 40+ yard field goal to keep that streak intact.
Florida was a pathetic team in 2022, finishing the season with a 6-7 record for the second consecutive year. Bowl Grade: F-
Gasparilla Bowl: Missouri went to Tampa and got beat 27-17 by Wake Forest. Did anyone watch? Not many did.
A bowl loss to the ACC gives the Tigers a low grade. Bowl Grade: D
Liberty Bowl: One of the most exciting games of the bowl season.
Arkansas with their horrendous defense, blew a huge second half lead against Kansas and then pulled it out 55-53 in triple OT.
This game film will not be shown at coaching clinics that focus on defense. Arkansas finishes 7-6 on the season. Exciting finish. Bowl Grade: B
Texas Bowl: Ole Miss lost to Texas Tech 42-25 in this contest.
Lane Kiffin and his ‘going for it on 4th down’ antics from anywhere on the field perhaps cost Ole Miss this football game.
The Rebels should have beaten Texas Tech but, instead, continued the late season nose dive for Ole Miss. Ole Miss sat at 7-1 on the season going into the Alabama game on November 12th. Ole Miss finished the season at 8-5. Bowl Grade: D
Gator Bowl: South Carolina lost to Notre Dame in an exciting game 45-38.
Both teams acted like they wanted to be there. Carolina finished at 8-5
Bowl Grade: B+.
Orange Bowl: Tennessee finished the season with 11 wins for the first time since 2001 by beating an overrated Clemson team 31-14.
Clemson, under Dabo Swinney, is starting the decline from elite status to coming back to the pack. Tennessee dominated the ACC champs. Bowl grade: B
Sugar Bowl: Alabama missed the college football playoffs, landed in New Orleans, and beat Kansas State 45-20.
Bryce Young did not win a Natty at Alabama is the huge story here. Bowl grade: C
Music City Bowl: Kentucky got shut out in Nashville 21-0 by Iowa and for their crappy showing the Wildcats receive an F as a Bowl grade.
Reliaquest Bowl: The Mississippi State Bulldogs, in memory of Mike Leach receive an A+ from this writer for beating Illinois 19-10. Rest easy Pirate.
Citrus Bowl: LSU curb stomped Purdue 63-7. For doing their job LSU receives an A for their bowl game grade. Florida, Ole Miss, and Missouri take notes on how to take care of business.
Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal):
Georgia took down Ohio State 42-41 in an instant classic.
Dawgs trailed 38-24 in the 4th quarter and Stetson Bennett led UGA on the largest comeback in CFP history.
OSU hooked a 50-yard game winner and 2023 rang in. 1000 yards of total offense. Jacked up crowd and the finish you want in a playoff game makes this one a classic.
Bowl grade: A+++
Return Of The Seminoles
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It started with a block in New Orleans and ended with a sack in Orlando. Those two moments felt like bookends to a resurged Florida State football program.
I don’t know if Florida State football is “back.” A Cheez-It Bowl victory is a step in the right direction.
But man, how sweet it must feel, a team that went from five wins a season ago to a 10-wins today.
It’s not easy to double your victory total in a year, but that’s exactly what the Florida State football team did this season. So, what outlook does that give the Seminoles in the 2023 season?
Florida State has already received a slew of good news about next season, with stars and starters like Jordan Travis, Trey Benson, Mycah Pittman, Robert Scott, Kalen Deloach, Tatum Bethune, Jarrian Jones, Renardo Green and others announcing they are coming back for the 2023 season.
“The Big Three” we still don’t know about are defensive end Jared Verse, defensive tackle Fabien Lovett and defensive back Jammie Robinson.
Verse and Robinson have said they will make their decisions in the coming days. Lovett hasn’t spoken publicly in weeks.
Norvell and his staff have done yeoman work in the portal this cycle. They’ve brought in one of the top offensive tackles Jeremiah Byers from UTEP), a potential starting guard (Casey Roddick from Colorado), two of the top tight ends (Jaheim Bell from South Carolina and Kyle Morlock from Shorter), maybe the best defensive tackle (Braden Fisk from Western Michigan), a rising-star defensive tackle (Darrell Jackson from Miami) and arguably the top cornerback ( Fentrell Cypress from Virginia).
That’s six potential starters; seven important rotation guys acquired in about three weeks.
To speak frankly, Norvell needed to hit the portal to supplement FSU’s lackluster high school recruiting. The Seminoles’ 2023 signing class ranked 19th; the 2022 class ranked 24th.
Sustainability when building by the transfer portal is a legit question. FSU, LSU and USC, among others, brought in big transfer groups in the offseason, and all had successful seasons. Does this foreshadow what the future of college football will look like?
I think most would agree that Florida State was the best team in the ACC during the second half of the season, and I think the Seminoles are going to be better in 2023.
I can’t say the same for the Clemson Tigers, the team that had a stranglehold on the ACC for the past decade.
With the way Jordan Travis played in the second half of this season, and with the moves the Seminoles’ staff is making in both player retention and in the transfer portal; Florida State is poised for another growth spurt next season.
And unless something changes at Clemson, (with declining talent in both players and coaches), there’s a very good chance they will continue to fall.
I won’t be the only person who writes this during this coming offseason, but I will definitely be among the first: For the first time since 2014, Florida State will be favored to win the ACC next season.
NIL Goes To Washington
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
NIL and their laws remain a controversy in college athletics.
That’s because, for all athletes, overarching rules have not been set. NIL has been around for a long time, so why does it still feel like lawless territory?
While its’ monetary impact has been helpful to the sport, we still have a ways to go in reforming and refining NIL rules until it’s most beneficial to all parties.
The stability of it on a national level continues to be the top concern of everyone across college sports. Until we see the rectification of that concern, those feelings will not change, whether we’re talking about rules for commissioners, coaches, or the athletes themselves.
With the inception of NIL in July 2021, decades of NCAA monitoring on student-athletes turning a profit turned into a blind eye. The script has been flipped for coaches, fans and administrators.
More importantly, daily conversations with student-athletes have altered, even at the high school level.
If there is any lesson after a year into the new era, it’s that NIL will continue to impact on the outcome of sporting events and the revenue collection.
For years, the NCAA banned boosters from paying students for attending a certain school or for their performances on the field. Those rules are still very much in place, yet NIL allowed a backdoor for individuals to move cash to athletes thanks to collectives.
There are now more than 200 collectives across the Division I landscape. Typically, founded by prominent alumni and influential supporters, school-specific collectives pool funds from a wide network of donors to create financial opportunities for student-athletes through an array of activities and events.
Independent of a university, collectives have potential to serve a variety of purposes. Most often, collectives pool their resources, help facilitate NIL deals for athletes, and invent ways for influential athletes to endorse their brands. Athletes and recruits benefit from lucrative NIL deals.
Tommy Tuberville, the former college football coach and now State Senate Representative for Alabama, plans to release a draft of the bipartisan bill aimed to regulate name, image and likeness in spring 2023. Tuberville said he “does not foresee federal legislation being enacted in the next Congress that would include an antitrust exemption for the NCAA”.
Earning antitrust exemption status has long been a goal for college athletics and their governing bodies. With multiple class-action lawsuits having been brought up against the NCAA, no organization has been more aggressive than the Supreme Court’s unanimous decision in NCAA v. Alston in 2021. The ruling stated the NCAA was violating antitrust law by placing limits on the education-related benefits schools can provide to athletes.
Approaching Capitol Hill showed how administrators truly felt about NIL – uncomfortable. Coaches across the country, specifically in football and basketball, feel similar. On the contrary, coaches + admins are promoting the need to get with the times or be left behind.
Fans are left to ponder what the future of college athletics will look like. While regional conferences are torn apart over TV contracts, speculation on NIL runs rampant.
Did this recruit take a pile of cash as a bribe? Will this revamped transfer-portal team find success?
All of these answers remain unfound. A confused landscape will create nothing but fear and anger. The NCAA needs a double dose of clarity regarding NIL rules and enforcement.
Tame Gators
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This was a tough first season in Gainesville for first year head coach Billy Napier. The Gators started the season off with a win over No. 7 in the Swamp. It looked like they were going to have a great season.
That was the best game quarterback Anthony Richardson played this season. They finished the regular season 6 – 6 and 3 – 5 in SEC play. They lost to Vanderbilt and Kentucky, which is shocking.
The average season landed Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl against No. 17 Oregon State.
Florida was down to their third string quarterback because Anthony Richardson declared for the NFL Draft and skipped the bowl game. I have to wonder who is advising him because there’s no way he’s getting drafted in the first two rounds.
Backup quarterback Jalen Kitna, son of former NFL quarterback John Kitna was arrested on child pornography charges.
This was the first start for Florida redshirt freshman quarterback Jack Miller, and it showed. He completed 13 of 22 passes for 180 yards. Miller is a transfer from Ohio State.
The Beavers dominated and won the game 30 – 3.
“It’s my job to have the team ready to play,” Napier said. “We were not as ready to play as we needed to be.”
The Beavers reached 10 victories for the third time program history and the first time in 16 years. They first accomplished the feat in 2000, when coach Jonathan Smith was the team’s quarterback.
OSU running back Deshaun Fenwick rushed for 107 yards. He took up the load when Pac-12 Conference offensive freshman of the year Damien Martinez went out with an apparent shoulder injury on the Beavers’ second drive.
Martinez had rushed for at least 100 yards in six consecutive games and needed just 30 yards to become the fourth freshman in program history to gain 1,000 for the season. He had 12 yards on three carries before the injury.
Florida was 16th in the nation with 213.7 yards rushing per game, but Oregon State also had the 20th-best rush defense in allowing a 114-yard average. This was the fifth time the Beavers didn’t allow an opponent to rush for 100 yards, holding the Gators to 39.
Oregon State allowed just 219 yards while gaining 353.
Florida committed 11 penalties for 82 yards, including six for false starts. Back-to-back false starts wiped out a potential touchdown drive in the first quarter.
“I don’t know if we’ve had that many in an entire season, much less one game,” Napier said. “We lived in third-and-long today as a result of inefficiency, missed opportunities, penalties. When you live in third-and-long, your percentages of having success are not good.”
The Gators will begin next season with a trip to Pac-12 champion Utah. The roster will be very different so this will be a tough game.
One positive thing is they are a “serious contender” for Coastal Carolina signal caller Grayson McCall. He entered the transfer portal on December 12.
McCall took over as the Chanticleers starting quarterback in 2020 and never looked back. He’s since started 32 games, compiling a completion percentage of 70.4, 8,019 passing yards, 78 touchdowns, eight interceptions, 1,053 rushing yards and 16 rushing touchdowns along the way.
He’s the only player to earn Sun Belt Player of the Year honors three times in conference history.
Finishing 6 – 7 is disappointing but Napier should be able to improve in his second season.
College Football Playoff Predictions
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is playoff time once again! The College Football Playoff begins on New Year’s Eve.
Here are my previews and predictions.
The first semifinal on New Year’s Eve has No. 2 Michigan facing off with No. 3 TCU in the Fiesta Bowl.
The Wolverines are making their second consecutive appearance after having an unbeaten regular season that included a 45-23 drubbing of rival Ohio State.
The Horned Frogs are making their first trip, despite losing to Kansas State in overtime of the Big 12 title game.
TCU is the only team in the history of the CFP to lose a game and not drop in the rankings.
Michigan will look to physically dominate the line of scrimmage, and TCU will try to throw the football led by Heisman runner-up Max Duggan to put up points.
Michigan will have the more talented roster. TCU comes into the contest more battle tested with a series of come from behind wins during the regular season.
Most of the experts believe that Michigan should beat TCU rather easily. Could Michigan be looking past TCU to a UGA or OSU rematch? Time will tell.
TCU must stop Donovan Edwards. Michigan’s sophomore running back had to step in due to the injured Blake Corum. He has totaled more than 400 yards rushing in the past two games, and he has become the Wolverines biggest offensive threat.
If the game is close, TCU could pull the upset. Illinois provided the blueprint that teams must follow to beat Michigan. Michigan struggled in the 19-17 win other them. Match the physicality and force FGs in the redzone.
Prediction: Michigan 28-17.
The second showdown has No. 1 Georgia facing No. 4 Ohio State in the Peach Bowl. The defending champion Bulldogs will have the advantage of playing in the friendly confines of Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
UGA is already 2-0 this season in the Benz with blowouts over Oregon and LSU in the SEC title game.
The UGA defense will have to contend with Buckeye’s quarterback C.J. Stroud and some talented wide receivers.
Ohio State was a dominant team all season and have been defined going into this playoff game by one bad second half of football against Michigan.
On the negative side for the Buckeyes, they are banged up. WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba will not play, and RB TreVeyon Henderson is having foot surgery and will miss the game. RB Miyan Williams has been banged up as well.
Offensively, C.J. Stroud should still be a threat against a Georgia defense that allowed more than 500 yards passing against LSU. That had to drive Kirby Smart insane.
OSU’s skill people are on par with the offensive skill players that Tennessee had in 2022.
Defensively, OSU got bullied against Michigan and if that repeats in the Peach Bowl then they will not win the contest.
On the Georgia side, the defense must put together a Tennessee like performance in this contest.
Jalen Carter will be the best player on the field for UGA, and he must wreak havoc on the OSU offensive line. Kelee Ringo must play well against Marvin Harrison Jr. Finally, the UGA defense must tackle well.
Offensively, UGA must be balanced and not be stubborn and just run the ball. Stetson Bennett should have a fantastic game.
The UGA OL is better than the OSU DL and that must play out in this contest. Brock Bowers is a match-up nightmare for Ohio State, and the WR group will be as healthy as they have been since the season opener.
This is the best semi-final match-up to date in the College Football Playoff. This should be a fantastic football game.
Prediction: UGA 38-35.
The Real Heisman
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
One of the biggest success stories of the last two years in college football is UGA’s Brock Bowers.
The Georgia star won the Mackey Award this year as the nation’s best tight end and is emerging as one of the top players in the sport.
His transition to the college level wasn’t the easiest though. After all, he didn’t have a senior season to end high school. That made things tough.
It seems like he’s handled the leap from high school to college just fine. In two years with Georgia, Bowers has 1,608 yards, 19 touchdowns and a national championship ring.
He’s a big reason why they’re heading back to the College Football Playoff with a shot at another national title.
At first, Bowers said he felt a little behind the curve when he arrived in Athens. But the staff got to work to get him up to speed, and it’s paying dividends.
Bowers’ production after two seasons has already matched that of former first-round tight ends like Florida’s Kyle Pitts, but per NFL rules, he’ll have to play a third year before moving on to the big leagues.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end shared his goals for the 2023 season and how he wants to grow before taking off the Bulldog red.
“I guess catching balls is probably one of my stronger suits and I just want to keep working on getting stronger and bigger, put on some weight,” Bowers stated.
Bowers may have already added weight since the preseason roster update this fall but his NFL target is likely around 245 to 250 pounds. Even without the extra bulk, the former No. 1 tight end recruit is still the No. 1 tight end prospect on most big boards for the 2024 NFL draft.
Brock Bowers has already become the greatest tight end in Georgia history. Now he’s closing in on becoming the school’s greatest receiver.
With a possible 2 games remaining this season and an entire Junior season left, it is not out of the realm of possibility that we could see Brock Bowers become the all-time leader in receiving touchdowns, as well as receiving yards for the University of Georgia. An accomplishment that would all but cement his legacy as not only Georgia’s greatest tight end, but the greatest receiver in school history as well.
Bowers is arguably the most dangerous pass catcher in football as the best tight end in the NCAA. He would’ve been the highest-drafted player at his position if he entered this year. Looking at everything it’s crazy to think all he’s accomplished in only 2 years of college ball.
On another note, Caleb Williams was just recognized as the best player in college football as the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner. In my opinion the best player in college football is Brock Bowers.
At The Top
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The high school football season ended last weekend after the state championships were played. Let’s take a look at the entertaining 7A game.
Mill Creek 70 – Carrollton 35: This was for the state’s highest classification. Carrolton (14-1) was undefeated going into the game.
The Hawks (14-1) won their first state title in school history. Both teams are ranked nationally, Mill Creek is No. 18 and the Trojans are No. 26. The game was played in the fog and light rain at Georgia State’s Center Parc Stadium.
This gave Gwinnett its third straight state champion in Class AAAAAAA. Their 70 points broke the state record for most points scored by one team in a state final, according to Georgia High School Football Daily records, besting the old mark of 62 set by Valdosta in 1971 and Warner Robins in 2020.
This game also set the championship record for most combined points scored in a game with 105. The previous record was set in 2013 when Griffin beat Carrollton 56 – 35 (91).
Junior running back Cam Robinson ran for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Mill Creek ran for a total of 410 and averaged 9.5yards per carry.
“It’s not about me, it’s about us,” said Mill Creek’s Josh Lovelady, a coach at the school since it opened in 2004, and head coach the past four seasons. “What I mean by us is it isn’t just about the players here and the coaches here. A lot of coaches and a lot of alumni. I had people from all over the United States, ‘We’ve got you, coach.’ They understand what this program is about. It’s a foundation, building bricks. It came to that point but it took a lot of work by a lot of people from the Touchdown Club to the players to the administration.”
Mill Creek’s lone loss came to Buford, who was ranked No.1 and undefeated during the regular season.
The Hawks were dominant in the postseason and beat their first four playoff opponents so thoroughly the mercy rule with the running clock was used.
“I’m just so proud. Some unbelievable hours by our coaches. It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s wonderful because we did it the right way. I know it’s just my opinion, but by golly, we did it the right way with our kids. I’ve got so many youth pictures of our kids in little Hawk baggy uniforms, all those guys that played together at 10 years old and now they’re here. That’s what makes it so special.”
Carrollton hadn’t allowed more than 28 points in a game all season. The Trojans never got the deficit to single digits after the first quarter despite 529 yards and five touchdowns from freshman quarterback Julian Lewis. The Hawks finished with 601 yards of offense.
“It’s a great feeling. It’s a blessing to be able to be here and win it,” Mill Creek senior linebacker/tight end Jamal Anderson said. “Obviously, it’s a lot of emotion going through my body right now. I’ve been with the Mill Creek Hawks for what, 10, 11 years since I was 6 years old. It’s great. It’s great to get a win for the coaching staff. I know a lot of these guys haven’t been here yet to win one. So, it’s been a great time, great experiences with this team.”
A wild first half had Mill Creek with TDs that covered 66, 88, 96 and 80 yards, while Carrollton scored on two 80-yard passes.
