Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 23
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 20
The Trask Train
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Gators started slow against Missouri in Columbia. Blame it on the coaching, the weather, or anything you want, but do NOT blame it on Kyle Trask.
After going into the locker room with a 6-3 lead, Gator Nation on Twitter was in meltdown mode. The major debate before, during, and after was: should Kyle Trask be the starting quarterback at Florida?
Kyle Trask was the backup quarterback after Feleipe Franks went down with a dislocated ankle. Trask stepped in and stepped up.
Trask has led the Gators to a great season and afforded a chance for a New Year’s Six Bowl Game.
The optimist on Twitter would look at Kyle Trask and say he holds the ball too long; he isn’t a running threat and he doesn’t fit Dan Mullen’s offense.
No one was paying attention when Trask lead a come from behind win against Kentucky. Nobody cared when he showed intestinal fortitude in the convincing win against Auburn. Trask had fans believing in his team in a shootout in Baton Rouge. As Birdman would say, put some “Respeck” on Kyle Trask’s name.
The loss to Georgia has some fans not caring about the 2020 season. The big question fans are asking, “Is Trask able to lead this team to a championship or would Florida be better off playing Emory Jones to gain experience for 2020?”
Let me throw another monkey wrench into the quarterback room. What happens if Feleipe Franks decides to return to the Gators next season?
I have seen a lot of fans questioning Dan Mullen on Emory Jones’s playing time. The reason is that Emory has not progressed enough in the passing games to allow him to take the QB1 job.
I think Kyle Trask won the backup quarterback job during camp and now give the Gators the best chance to win. He is completing 66.8% of his passes this season, a bit over 2/3.
Remember this is Trask’s first year playing as a starting quarterback since Junior High. Trask’s ability to make the correct reads and deliver the football on time in limited playing time has translated into wins.
Florida’s rushing attack has been non-existent this season. The offensive line can’t bust a grape and the running backs are averaging less than 4.1 yards per carry.
Coach Mullen was hired to win games. Florida’s new fun and gun offense put their talent in the best position to win. Kyle Trask as the starting quarterback also puts the Gators in the best position to win.
The answer to whether Trask can win a championship has proven to be “NO”, at least for the 2019 season. Trask is a redshirt Junior and has one year left at Florida.
The 2020 team will be different. Florida loses a lot of leadership and production players, but Coach Mullen has changed the direction of the program in two short years and has the Gators trajectory heading in the right direction.
Perhaps it would behoove Gator fans on Twitter and Facebook to be a little more patient with Kyle Trask. Just last year, LSU fans were having the same discussion with Joe Burrow. This season Burrow is lighting it up and is the favorite to win the Heisman.
I am not saying Trask will take the same path as Burrow, but you have to let the young man develop. Trask is going to have to take the right steps forward in a continually challenging SEC Conference, but his trajectory indicates success on the Swamp’s horizon.
Mullen, Gator Nation, and the players know that to win a championship, you have to beat Georgia. That is not an easy task, considering Georgia is an Elite, championship program.
To the fans questioning Coach Mullen’s decisions, I say “Trust The Process!
There is still work to be done. There is still time to jump on the Trask Train! Trask 2020, make the Gators Great Again!”
Not Your Father’s Tigers
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football regular season is winding down. Clemson won the national championship last year and they are in the hunt again this season.
They currently have the top ranked recruiting class for 2020. Let’s take a look at some of the incoming talent.
So far, they have 20 commits including six 5-star recruits and nine 4-star. The Tigers have a hard commit from the top player in the nation, defensive tackle Bryan Bresee. He attends Damascus High in Maryland.
At 6’5, 290 pounds he already looks like a pro lineman. He’s dominant and if you have not seen his highlights yet I advise you to check him out.
Another 5-star defensive lineman joining Bresee in Death Valley is defensive end Myles Murphy. Murphy attends Hillgrove in Powder Springs, Ga. He’s 6’5, 260 lbs. so he also looks physically imposing. At The Opening he ran a 4.65 forty and had a 34.10 vertical. He’s the No. 4 recruit in the country.
Quarterback DJ Uiagalelei is the best pro style QB in this entire recruiting class.
He’s like a bigger more powerful version of Tua, standing at 6’4 and 246 pounds. You might be familiar with him from the show QB 1 Beyond the Lights.
He plays for national power St. John Bosco (California). Getting a highly recruited player like him from California shows just how much Clemson has grown as a program. They typically recruit well in the Southeast but rarely get players from outside that region.
DJ also plays basketball and baseball so he’s a good athlete and he moves well for his size. Through 11 games this season he has passed for 3,177 yards, 35 touchdowns and only 2 interceptions. He also completes 63% of his passes.
His team travels and plays several ranked teams from out of state. They also played the top high school team in the nation, Mater Dei so his numbers are impressive.
Running back Demarkcus Bowman (Lakeland, Fl) is ranked No. 3 nationally at his position. He averaged 11.9 yards per carry this season and last season was the same. Through 10 regular season games he has 1,523 yards and 23 touchdowns. He’s a big play threat and his longest run of the season is 88 yards.
Cornerback Fred Davis II (Jacksonville, Fl) is 6’0 so he has good size for the position. He’s ranked third at the position nationally. His official forty time is 4.3 so he’s very fast. He is expected to step on campus and be a shutdown corner.
The final 5-star player is defensive tackle Demonte Capehart from IMG Academy. IMG recruits nationally so being a standout player for that team means he’s an elite player. He’s the No. 4 recruit in the state of Florida.
Capehart is 6’5 and 295 pounds. Many of these players have prototypical size already.
Clemson has been very successful without having top 5 recruiting classes. Now that they are getting this much talent it’s frightening for the rest of the college football programs.
Their defensive line should be the best within the next two years.
The SEC Fortune Teller
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
As sportswriters, we love to make predictions, especially when we don’t revisit our assumptions afterwards to see how well we did.
So, in the spirit of trying to hold myself accountable, here are three semi-bold predictions for the upcoming SEC basketball season, that I’ll come back to at season’s end to see how I did.
1- Florida, not Kentucky, will enter the SEC Tournament with the best conference record. On the surface it’s easy to dismiss this as an overreaction on my part to Kentucky’s loss to Evansville; I promise it’s not.
Don’t get me wrong, as much as I enjoy watching a John Calipari coached team lose that type of game, the outcome will have absolutely zero bearing on the team they’ll ultimately become.
The reason I’m going with Florida is, besides the dearth of talent on the Gators roster, Kerry Blackshear Jr.
Normally, the expectations for a graduate transfer aren’t quite that high because if they were that talented to begin with, they would’ve either already been drafted, or would still be with their original team; Blackshear is the rare exception.
Having watched him play at Virginia Tech for the past few years, he is a better than average talent who will bring experience and tenacity to the Gators.
He’s that “heart and soul” type player you want on your team in big time games, because in most instances he’s going to deliver. He may not be the best player in the conference, but he could wind up being the most important.
2- Anthony Edwards will be the SEC Player of the Year. I say this about Edwards for two reasons.
The first is that I genuinely think he may be the most talented player in the country. In a freshman class that is underwhelming compared to the last few years, Edwards is one of the few players that would’ve been a top tier talent in those earlier classes.
The second, and what may factor in as much as his talent, is that Tom Crean is going to make sure Edwards is showcased as much as he can.
It’s like if you were the owner of Willie’s Wee-Nee Wagon for a day, would you spend it advertising the burger and hotdogs, or would you push the pork chop sandwich?
You’re going to go with what works best, right. (By the way, Cole Anthony is going to get the same treatment at UNC that Edwards will get.)
Edwards has the potential to be a program changing recruit, so you know Crean is going to give him every opportunity to put up numbers. Edwards won’t be the most efficient player in the country, but he may turn out to the best.
3- Only 5 teams from the SEC will hear their name called on Selection Sunday. Out of the three predictions, this is the one most likely to come back and bite me.
College basketball is so wide open this year it’s difficult to find a team, let alone multiple teams, you feel confident in.
This may be the season all those whose clamor to see more mid-major teams in the tournament get their wish.
Regardless of whether or not any of these predictions come true, this season promises to be an entertaining one. It’ll just be a little bit easier to revisit in a few months if I happen to be right.
The Closing Act
By: TJ Hartnett
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
While the first two moves of the Atlanta Braves’ offseason failed to impress (the re-signing of Tyler Flowers and Nick Markakis), Alex Anthopoulos and company made a bigger splash by signing the best free agent relief pitcher on the market.
Atlanta inked All-Star closer Will Smith to a 3-year, $39 million contract (with a 4th year club option for another $13 million), shoring up what was their most glaring weakness going into the 2019 season and checking off one of the bigger offseason boxes on their list (though far from their only need).
This is a signing that looks good and should pay dividends, even if Brian Snitker keeps Smith’s former teammate from the San Francisco Giants Mark Melancon in the closer role.
Smith’s numbers against lefties are ridiculous. He has allowed a .157 batting average against and an OPS of a meager .395 from southpaws, not to mention an insane 42-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio against lefties. That’s 42 strikeouts for every 1 walk that he surrenders.
Really bonkers stuff from Smith. His numbers against righties (.212 average, .709 OPS) are strong as well. He gets strikeouts, with 37% of his outs coming from a K, and he’s managed to keep walks low and balls in the ballpark for his whole career.
The indication that Melancon will retain his role as the team’s closer isn’t much of a surprise, given that Melancon converted all 11 save opportunities after Atlanta acquired him midseason.
He’ll back the guy who’s played for him; but it may not stay that way for long. Smith seems like the more natural choice, given his stuff and his strikeouts, plus the fact that Melancon has one year left on his contract and Smith just signed for three (maybe four). That means the job will be Smith’s eventually anyway. Time will tell how things shake out.
Perhaps, the more interesting (and immediate) consequence to consider of Smith’s signing is what it means for the rest of the Braves’ offseason. $13 is nothing to scoff at, which could mean one of two things: 1) Liberty Media has decided to open their checkbook and Atlanta is ready to spend on talent, or 2) this was the big signing of the offseason for the Braves.
Knowing Liberty Media, the latter does seem likely.
Josh Donaldson is still out there, having predictably rejected the Braves’ qualifying offer of nearly $18 million to play third base for them in 2020.
The market for him will be one to watch. I still feel that everything being relatively equal, Donaldson will return to Atlanta, umbrella in tow.
I don’t foresee him signing with the team sight unseen, but even with a salary discrepancy of, say $10 million (another team offers him 3 years, $80 million vs. a Braves offer of 3 years, $70 million), he’ll be back at the hot corner in Suntrust Park this April.
I also think that Madison Bumgarner is still on the table after the Smith signing. I do wonder, however, if both would be.
Certainly, signing Donaldson to somewhere around $25 million eliminates even the vaguest possibility of a Gerrit Cole joining the Braves. (A long shot regardless – the Braves can’t win a bidding war.)
Madison Bumgarner might be looking at something more akin to $10-15 million per year for 2 or 3 seasons. That’s not unreasonable for the Braves to afford.
The issue then becomes finding a catcher and deciding what to do in the outfield (start the season with Inciarte, Acuna, and a farm hand?).
Questions are infinite, but at the end of the day the Braves took care of a need, and that’s a good start.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch November 16
The Inflated SEC
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
On Tuesday night, the latest installment of the College Football Playoff rankings were released.
There weren’t too many surprises. LSU topped the chart after an historic win over Alabama. Ohio State continues to churn along and the defending champions from Clemson won’t drop out of a coveted top-4 so long as they remain undefeated.
The only small surprise was that Alabama fell all the way out of the top-4, coming in at No. 5 while Georgia claimed the final spot – for now – in the ultimate playoff.
There is still a month to play in the regular season and history suggests that a big shakeup or two are still in store, but the latest rankings continued a long-running trend.
For more than a decade it has been pretty much impossible for Southeastern Conference teams to not make up a large portion of any poll.
To be fair, there is no reason to be surprised by seeing SEC teams ranked near the top. The conference won seven consecutive national championships from 2006-12 and has won two more since then. A team from the SEC was also the runner-up in three other title games since 2012.
It’s inarguable that the SEC routinely produces some of the best teams each year. But a quick look at how the rankings – both the playoff rankings and the Associated Press poll – play out each week shows why the league is all but guaranteed to get a crack at the title, even in down years.
The fact that the thousands of bowl game fans doing the ‘S-E-C’ chant don’t want to admit is that, for all the greatness of the top few teams each season, the bottom of the league features bad teams the likes of which can be found in any other conference. But the real issue with the SEC and the rankings comes from the 4-5 teams in the middle of the conference standings.
Year in and year out, ranked SEC teams that suffer tough losses never seem to suffer the same sort of hit in the polls as similar middling teams from other leagues.
As an example, from the most recent playoff rankings, Florida and Auburn are the two highest ranked two-loss teams and both come in ahead of undefeated P5 school Baylor, as well as five other teams with just one loss.
The constant argument is that the SEC is just so much better that its teams play exponentially tougher schedules and deserve the benefit of a doubt.
That’s simply not true in practice. Alabama has yet to beat a ranked team this season and only has one left on its schedule.
Auburn has only beaten one ranked team this season in Oregon. Florida’s only win over a ranked team came when it beat Auburn.
That’s the vicious circle which continues to play out in the SEC’s favor. Anytime a favorite wins, like it should against a league doormat, it gets extra credit for winning an SEC game.
When a favorite loses, the blow in the rankings is softened for the same reason. And anytime an otherwise unimpressive SEC team jumps up to beat a league rival, the voters overreact and race to throw that team right into a top-20 spot.
And that’s how the league continues to take up nearly a third of each new poll despite not being nearly the dominant force it was a decade ago.
The top few teams in the SEC are great and have a legitimate shot at a national championship each season. But all of their lesser friends need to stop sucking up all the air in the rankings that could be used on better teams from other conferences.
Improving The Gator Bite
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I have spent a lot less time writing about recruiting during the college football season. The season is short and I want to enjoy every Saturday while I have it.
After watching the Georgia-Florida game, I definitely see a talent difference between the two SEC programs.
Georgia has been recruiting at an elite level since Kirby Smart arrived in Athens. Florida’s recruiting classes under Mullen have been good, but not elite. If Mullen wants to compete with Georgia on the field, he must first start winning some battles off the field.
Georgia has four commits from the state of Florida, all five are top 50 players in Florida.
They are four-star QB Carson Beck out of Jacksonville, four-star DT Jalen Carter out of Apopka, four-star OL Joshua Braun out of Live Oak and four-star WR Marcus Rosemy. I do not count 4-star DT Warren Brinson from IMG Academy because he is from Savannah.
Three of the four commits live less than a two hour drive from Gainesville. Coach Mullen must do a better job keeping the in-state talent in state (this goes for Miami, FSU and UCF).
Georgia is currently ranked fifth nationally and third in the SEC with 16 commits. Florida is currently ranked 11th nationally and sixth in the SEC with 19 commits.
Mullen’s current staff does not have an Alpha on the recruiting trail. Mullen must add one or more to his staff and increase staff in the recruiting department.
Florida currently has 19 commits and can take as many as 30 this cycle. I believe the Gators will take right around 27 this cycle.
The Gators’ strong season and HBO special exposure is having a positive impact on recruiting. Also, Willie Taggart’s firing will provide positive ramifications due to lack of competition.
Florida recruiting class has one quarterback, three receivers, four offensive linemen, one tight end, four defensive linemen, one linebacker and five defensive backs. Florida appears to be done adding to this class.
The Gators need to address depth on the offensive line and defensive line. This class should have five or six players in the trenches.
Here are some of the top targets still in the noncommitted group.
St. Thomas Aquinas offensive tackle Marcus Dumervil is the Gators main target. Dumervil is a four star and this is going to be a Florida-LSU battle.
Miami Columbus wide receiver Xzavier Henderson is the top wide receiver on the board. Henderson has offers from Georgia, Clemson, Alabama, ect. This is a three-way battle between Clemson, Georgia and Florida.
Deerfield Beach running back Jaylan Knighton has turned his interest towards the Gators after decommitting from FSU.
This 2020 class is in the same shape as the 2019 class. If fans are relying on on-field performance to provide a significant bump in this class, the loss to Georgia certainly doesn’t help.
The early signing period is December 18th. National Signing Day always brings a few surprises, and this year will be no exception.
Who is flipping and who is delaying their signing until February? Can the Gators close the talent gap with Georgia and the other elite programs?
Pick A Number
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are coming off the biggest weekend of the college football season. There were two games featuring unbeaten, highly ranked teams. No. 2 LSU beat No. 3 Alabama 46 – 41. No. 17 Minnesota defeated No. 4 Penn State 31 – 26.
The AP and Coaches Poll rankings for the week were revealed. Alabama only dropped one spot, which has upset fans of other one-loss teams. Let’s look at my top four teams.
#1 LSU: The Tigers have the best resume in the nation. They have beaten four ranked teams; all of them were ranked in the top 10 at the time. This is the first LSU team I can remember with a potent offense.
They are ranked fourth nationally in total offense despite playing one less game than two of the teams ranked ahead of them.
Quarterback, Joe Burrow is the frontrunner to win the Heisman Trophy. Burrow has passed for 3,198 yards, 33 touchdowns and only 4 interceptions.
He also completes 80% of his passes. They also have a great running game led by Clyde Edwards-Helaire. He has 11 TD’s, averages 5.8 yards per carry and he’s on pace to eclipse one thousand yards.
The surprising weakness is defense. The Tigers rank 33rd nationally in total defense, allowing 340 YPG.
#2 Ohio State: The Buckeyes are the most balanced team in the nation. The defense is #1 in total defense, only giving up 215 YPG.
The offense is fifth in total offense with 536 YPG. Quarterback, Justin Fields is also a Heisman contender. He’s the best dual threat QB in college. He’s passed for 1,859 yards, 27 TD’s and only one interception. On the ground, he has 347 yards and 10 touchdowns.
J.K. Dobbins is one of the best backs in the game. Dobbins has already gained 1,200 yards, 11 TD’s and averages 7.2 YPC.
Star defensive end and possible No. 1 pick in the upcoming draft, Chase Young may miss significant time with a suspension. He did not play the last game due to a possible NCAA violation from 2018.
#3 Clemson: The Tigers are the defending national champions but they struggled early in the season. They narrowly beat unranked North Carolina 21 – 20 the last week of September.
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence looked great in the national championship game but he has not performed up to expectations thus far.
Lawrence has thrown 23 touchdowns and 8 picks. Running back Travis Etienne has been dominant with 1,214 yards, 13 TD’s and 8.9 YPC. Despite the problems, they rank second in total offense at the FBS level. They also rank fourth in total defense.
So far, they faced one ranked opponent and have one more on the schedule, No. 19 Wake Forest.
#4 Oregon: The Ducks began the season with a 27 – 21 loss to No. 16 Auburn. Since then they won 8 consecutive games.
They’re led by QB Justin Herbert, who will be a top five pick in the 2020 draft. He has thrown for 2,329 yards, 24 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.
Oregon should play No. 8 Utah in the Pac 12 championship game and that will be a good win.
The first team on the outside looking in is Georgia. The Bulldogs lost at home to unranked South Carolina.
The only ranked team left on the schedule is No. 11 Auburn. If they win the rest of their games including the SEC Championship, they have to be in the playoffs.
Alabama still has an outside shot of making it if some upsets happen and they win out.
