Bishop Media Sports Network
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch April 7
Complicated Hero
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Stetson Bennett; the great story, has turned into something more complicated.
For so long he was the folk hero, the former walk-on proving everyone wrong, winning one and then two national championships.
All along there was an edge to him, but it manifested itself in endearing ways, especially to Georgia fans.
mic drop after throwing a touchdown, the telephone signal to taunt Tennessee fans who had lit up his cell phone. And the general competitive spirit that won over the Georgia coaches who kept trying to find another quarterback.
But since winning the second national championship, Bennett’s edges have come out in other ways.
Blowing off the morning-after news conference, being accused of not being warm enough with fans at the championship celebration, a slightly off-key speech at the celebration, then an arrest on a public intoxication charge.
By themselves, none of these put Bennett in red flag territory, but together- they’ve added up to an interesting narrative heading into the draft.
Bennett responded by retreating from public view, dodging interviews and press opportunities all together. He emerged and had a good showing at the NFL combine, as well as a pro day performance that reinforced Bennet’s arm strength, athleticism and accuracy.
Thus, the narrative has flipped: The physical attributes are there, the intangibles are now in question.
This drama-turned-screenplay is still being written. Will the next Act be in the NFL?
Admittedly, that’s a stretch. The idea of Bennett achieving a long NFL career is about as likely as … Well, feel free to ask a new employee of the Baltimore Ravens about doubting the kid from Blackshear, Ga.
Maybe it’s about being the best football player, but plenty else goes into the NFL Draft.
That’s why Bennett has to confront off-field questions. He said there have been “a lot of different questions,” not specifying which ones, but outlining his approach: being honest, and upfront, (NFL teams already know the answers to their questions). They want to see how Bennett, and any prospect in that matter, answers.
There’s a tired routine that’s played in the run-up to the draft: prospects being asked who they’ve met with. Bennett wasn’t asked that, pointing out that those meetings and media coverage is all a game.
Sometimes teams meet multiple times with prospects they have no intention of drafting, creating a smokescreen, then never meet a prospect they do draft until they’re drafted.
So Bennett takes the meetings, but doesn’t read into which team is talking to him, which team has concerns about his intangibles, and which team wants to pick the former walk-on turned folk hero turned complicated NFL prospect.
So, where will Bennett get selected on draft day? His résumé is impressive. He’s a back-to-back national champion. He is the first quarterback in Georgia history to achieve that accomplishment. It was a storybook college career for Bennett, as he grew up a die-hard Georgia fan. But the story may not have a happy ending if the goal is hearing his name early on draft night.
Ranked 10th at quarterback on my draft board, the 25-year-old is the same age or older than several NFL quarterbacks who have been in the league for a few years.
To put it in perspective, Bennett is older than the 24-year-old Jalen Hurts, who just led the Philadelphia Eagles to the Super Bowl … in his third NFL season.
That said, I believe Bennett will hear his name called before the NFL draft has concluded. He comes from a winning culture, and NFL teams love to be surrounded by winning.
From all accounts, Bennett would make a great addition to a locker room. On top of that, we know he is not afraid of the big moments should he ever be called upon.
Who knows, maybe Bennett’s legend will continue to grow, and he pulls off the unexpected. It wouldn’t be the first time.
The Measurables
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The 2023 NFL Draft is later this month. Let’s take a look at the top quarterback prospects.
Bryce Young, Alabama: In his two seasons as the starter in Tuscaloosa his record is 23 – 4.
In 2021 he won just about every accolade you can imagine. He won the Heisman Trophy, Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award, AP College Football Player of the Year, Sporting News College Football Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, SEC Offensive Player of the Year and SEC Championship Game MVP.
He’s thrown for 8,356 yards, 80 touchdowns, 12 interceptions and he completed 65.8% of his passes in his career. Young is 5’10, 204 pounds so he does not have the prototypical height for the position.
At his pro day he threw 50 passes and completed 44 of them. Four of the incomplete passes were not his fault. He has exceptionally good accuracy and he’s expected to be the top pick, going to Carolina.
C.J. Stroud, Ohio State: I think he’s the best prospect in the draft. Stroud is 21 – 4 in his two seasons as a starter. He’s 6’3, 214 pounds so he has the height to see over defenders and offensive lineman in the pocket.
In his career he passed for 7,775 yards, 81 TD’s, 12 picks with a 69.3% completion rate. He played the best game of his career in his final game in the College Football Playoff against Georgia.
It says a lot about his character that he was able to play his best on a national stage against the best team in the nation. He should be picked No. 2 by the Houston Texans.
Will Levies, Kentucky: After the first two quarterbacks I think there’s a precipitous drop off in talent. Levis started his career at Penn State from 2018 to 2020.
He redshirted his first year, then spent the next two as Sean Clifford’s backup. He transferred to Kentucky in 2021, after graduating that May with a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State’s Smeal College of Business.
In his two season’s starting in Lexington his record is 18 – 8, which is impressive for Kentucky. He’s thrown for 5,876 yards, 46 scores, 25 interceptions and he completed 64.9% of his passes.
He’s thrown double digit interceptions in both seasons so he does turn the ball over. Some people make the argument that the Wildcats lacked talent so he had to force some throws.
He is 6’4, 232 lbs. so he has good size. He’s now projected to go later in the first round, possibly as late as the No. 19 pick to Tampa Bay.
Anthony Richardson, Florida: He’s the example of possessing all of the measurables but the film does not match that. He’s 6’4, 244 pounds so scouts fell in love with his size. Then he ran a 4.43 40-yard dash and had a 40.5 inch vertical jump.
Now for what he’s done on the field. He’s only started 13 games, with a 6 – 7 record.
He’s passed for 3,105 yards, 24 touchdowns, 15 interceptions and completed 54.7% of his passes. He did rush for 1,116 yards and 12 scores.
He struggles with accuracy and turning the ball over. He also does not have much playing experience. He’s going to be drafted high based on his potential.
He has been projected to be drafted as high as No. 4. I think he will be picked in the top 10 by a desperate franchise, even though he is expected to be a backup as a rookie.
On The Clock
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Falcons have the eighth pick in the NFL Draft. Round 1 begins on April 27 in Kansas City. The Falcons own eight total picks in the draft.
Arthur Smith and Terry Fontenot had some roster rebuilding to do in their first two seasons, starting with shedding expensive salaries.
Weathering that stretch came with back-to-back 7-10 seasons, but they had money to spend this offseason for the first time.
They first used it on safety Jessie Bates III, defensive tackle David Onyemata, linebacker Kaden Elliss, cornerback Mike Hughes, wide receiver Mack Hollins and quarterback Taylor Heinicke; then, they traded for former Titans and Patriots tight end Jonnu Smith.
Casey Hayward will be entering his 12th season this year, and he’s coming off a torn pectoral muscle. The Falcons need an heir similar to Hayward, who they can pair with A.J. Terrell into the future.
Bates addresses the immediate need in the starting lineup, and 2021 second-round pick Richie Grant will man the other spot, but the Falcons need depth and could use special teams bodies as well.
Hollins’ signing takes care of the No. 2 receiver position, but the modern NFL rewards teams who have a lot of targets. Atlanta needs at least one more wide receiver.
The one position everyone was sure the Falcons would address in free agency was edge rusher. The Falcons were 31st in the NFL last season in pressure rate (25.8 percent), which was an improvement over dead last in 2021 (24.1 percent).
Atlanta’s 39 sacks over the last two seasons rank last in the NFL by a wide margin. The 31st-place Raiders have had 62 in that span. Sixteen teams have at least doubled the Falcons’ total.
None of that changes the fact that the Falcons need a pass rusher, and at this point it’s going to have to come with the No. 8 pick in the draft.
So here I go with three pass rushers who the Falcons should be looking at in Rounds 1.
Tyree Wilson, edge, Texas Tech: It feels like Wilson moves up one spot in all the mock drafts every week, and he might not be available at No. 8.
The Falcons might be able to get the No. 6 pick from Detroit by swapping this year’s Nos. 8 and 75 for it.
That would be contingent on two things, the Lions not loving Florida quarterback Anthony Richardson and the Falcons really loving Wilson.
There’s a lot to love about the 6-foot-6, 271-pounder, who has an 86-inch wingspan. He will make an immediate impact as a pass rusher, but Wilson needs to be a better run defender (the lesser of Atlanta’s concerns).
Myles Murphy, edge, Clemson: If Wilson is off the board, then Murphy is the next best thing. At the moment, Murphy is mid- to low-first round in most mock drafts, but that could change on April 4, when he holds a private workout.
A tweaked hamstring kept him from doing much of anything at the combine or at Clemson’s pro day. A lot of people will be comparing the numbers from Murphy’s workout against the numbers Wilson puts up at the Red Raiders’ pro day Wednesday. Murphy has pedigree (five-star high school prospect) and production (more than 10 tackles for loss each season).
Nolan Smith, Edge, Georgia: Atlanta will be tempted to end the consecutive Georgia guys in the first round to 4, but four consecutive Bulldogs on defense, they might be tempted to extend it.
That’s never a bad strategy when drafting a Georgia defensive player. Smith has the sixth-best relative athletic score (RAS) among defensive ends in this year’s class and ran a blazing 4.39-second 40-yard dash at the combine. Four. Point. Three. Nine. Seconds.
With the 8th pick in the NFL Draft the Atlanta Falcons select….
Amen!
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Spring is in the air as the best in the world head to the Augusta National Golf Club for the 87th playing of the Masters Tournament.
Blooming dogwoods, azaleas, and the beautiful golf sanctuary of Augusta National tell you that Spring has officially arrived on the calendar.
Patrons will choose between two Masters favorites on the low priced food menu, the Pimento Cheese or Egg Salad Sandwich. No cell phones are allowed, limited commercials if you happen to watch on TV, and finally my favorite, tradition, the rough is referred to as the “second cut.”
Up until 1983 players had to use local caddies provided by Augusta National. Players are allowed to use their own caddies now, but they have to wear the Augusta uniform, which is a green hat and white jumpsuit.
The Masters has always been the crown jewel of Georgia based sporting events, and in 2023 the event will be completed on Easter Sunday.
2023 Masters odds:
Jon Rahm 15-2: Rahm is the betting favorite coming into the 2023. Rahm has never won the Masters but always seems to be near the top of leaderboards during the big events.
This guy is mentally tough and has every shot in his arsenal to win multiple Masters over his career.
He is the 21 US Open winner, and has top 5 finishes in the other 3 majors.
Scottie Scheffler 8-1: The defending champion is the best player in the world currently.
Scheffler is coming off a win at the Players Championship, and he has won a lot of golf tournaments (6) since the start of 2022. A win in 2023 puts him in the club of repeat winners that includes Nicklaus, Woods, and Faldo.
Rory McIlroy 17-2: Rory shot a final round 64 in 2022 to finish second three shots behind Scheffler.
He is only 32 years old so there is still plenty of time. He has six top-10 finishes to his name at The Masters and has only missed the cut twice. From 2014 to 2020 he finished outside the top-10 only once. Rory plays well at Augusta. The career Grand Slam is in his sights.
Cameron Smith 12-1: Smith can putt. He is the current holder of the Open Championship. He currently plays on the LIV Golf League. With all the drama going on between LIV and the PGA tour will this be a distraction for Smith?
Jordan Spieth 15-1: Can Spieth get back to the status of a few years ago? I think he is close to another breakthrough win.
Justin Thomas 16-1: Thomas has that ‘it’ factor now. Multiple major winner that can compete at every major moving forward.
Xander Schauffele 18-1: Talent is there. Zander just needs a break to go his way at Augusta.
Tony Finau 20-1: Tony has it all. Some tag him as the best player to never win a major. I dislike that tag. Finau’s time will come.
Will Zalatoris 20-1: Will has been very close at majors. Lost in a playoff to Justin Thomas at Southern Hills for the 2022 PGA Championship. Another player who seems to play his best in the majors.
Collin Morikawa 22-1: Two time major winner has the game to win at Augusta. Can win on any type of golf course. Solid all around player.
Will Tiger be in the field? If he is then I will watch every shot from Thursday to Sunday and make the wife upset.
Hopefully she understands by now that if Tiger is on the tube then count Kipp Branch out of everything. Tiger brings massive TV ratings.
Winner Prediction: Rory gets it done and completes the career grand slam and cements his place as one of the all-time greats.
Winner Score: 276 (-12)
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch March 24
Falling Apart?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Many talent evaluators around the NFL believe Jalen Carter is the best player available in the NFL draft.
Whether he goes first or fifth or somewhere significantly south in the draft depends in large part on whether: 1) He has a significant turnaround from his current physical and mental state , or 2) a team locks onto his raw talent only.
The best version of Jalen Carter was not on display at Georgia’s Pro Day. NFL personnel officials, coaches and media members in attendance saw an overweight Carter huffing and puffing through drills that were set up for defensive linemen. He did not participate in any other skills tests, nor the 40-yard dash.
Carter weighed 323 pounds, that’s 13 pounds heavier than he was listed at during Georgia’s season. It’s also nine pounds heavier than the 314 he weighed at the scouting combine two weeks ago. It was clearly not nine pounds of muscle. He looked flabby. He looked like a risk for any team that decides to hand him a $20 million-plus signing bonus.
After arriving in Indianapolis to undergo physical exams and meet with teams (Carter had already opted out of workouts), the arrest warrant was issued in Athens-Clarke County, Georgia. Carter left Indianapolis, turned himself in and was booked and released within hours. Then he returned to the combine and resumed interviews with teams.
No, Carter shouldn’t get brownie points for having to leave the combine in the first place. Yet, he returned when others might have stayed away. Which is an additional point for teams to consider in assessing one of the most intriguing prospects in the draft.
Carter is the most dominant defensive lineman in this draft, who had a viral moment in the SEC Championship Game when he lifted LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels with one arm while throwing up the No. 1 sign with his other hand.
Putting aside Carter’s two misdemeanors, the main questions about Carter that have been out there among pro scouts since during the season related to his consistency and work ethic.
Carter’s Pro Day was not a good look. There already were lingering questions about where Carter might be psychologically after the accident, and how he had handled himself in the suddenly negative spotlight.
All 32 NFL teams attended the Georgia pro day, including Falcons Head Coach Arthur Smith, Bears Head Coach Matt Eberflus and General Manager Ryan Poles and Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin and GM Omar Khan.
Carter helped lead the Bulldogs to back-to-back national championships and played at a dominant level despite dealing with knee and ankle injuries.
He has a month before the draft to get into shape and ease concerns. He has a month to realize he is in the midst of a job interview.
Fighting Owls
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Kennesaw State Owls men’s basketball team made their first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history in 2023.
The Owls (26 – 9) were the No. 14 seed in the Midwest Region. They got there by winning the Atlantic Sun regular season and conference tournament. They faced No. 3 Xavier (26 – 9), who finished second in the Big East.
KSU played well early on, going into halftime with a 43 – 36 lead. They looked like they were to pull the upset. They led by as many as 13 points in the second half.
The Musketeers had a 68 – 67 lead in the final seconds of the game. Kennesaw State point guard Terrell Burden got a shoulder past his defender and drove to the paint. He stumbled and Xavier’s Jack Nunge blocked his shot.
The 7-footer’s block was part of the reason the Owls shot 2-for-15 over the final 9 1/2 minutes, reversing the momentum of the game.
Souley Boum hit four clinching free throws in the final 2.6 seconds for the Musketeers, who ran off 15 unanswered points as part of a game-ending 24-6 run. The final score was 72 – 67.
“In the timeout, we were supposed to switch everything,” Nunge said, adding: “He’s a really good driver at getting to the rim and I just came over and blocked it.”
Burden said everything with the play ran as designed until Nunge’s arrival.
“It was a great play by him to meet me at the rim,” Burden said.
Jerome Hunter scored a career-best 24 points to lead the Musketeers, while Boum had 17. Nunge had 10 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and two blocks.
Burden and Chris Youngblood each scored 14 points to lead Kennesaw State, which appeared on the verge of a signature March moment.
“We did some things early on both ends of the court that helped build that 13-point lead,” Kennesaw State coach Amir Abdur-Rahim said. “But if anybody in that building thought that was going to be how the game stayed, you hadn’t watched much basketball in March — and you probably haven’t watched much basketball in general.”
Amir is the younger brother of NBA All-Star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. They both attended Joseph Wheeler High School in Marietta Georgia.
Abdur-Rahim has been the head coach at KSU for four seasons. Things looked terrible in his first season (2019-20) when they went 1 – 28. They were also winless in conference play. Things gradually improved his second year with a 5 – 19 record. Last season they were 13 – 18.
This performance might propel Abdur-Rahim into the conversation for any head-coach openings this hiring cycle. This season was the Owls’ first winning season in the program’s 18-year history as a Division I school.
It looks like the Owls have a bright future. They did have three senior starters this season.
Playing in the NCAA Tournament should help raise the recruiting profile. I also believe higher profile players from the transfer portal will take a look at going to KSU.
I hope they can sustain the progress they made this season.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch March 17
Greener Grass
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
In a talk that generated headlines across the ACC, Florida State Seminole athletic director Michael Alford pointed out the difference in projected conference revenue between the ACC, the Big Ten, and SEC once their new media rights deals begin.
It’s true, FSU does not have a viable escape route anytime soon. In the Texas/OU and USC/UCLA cases, the schools waited to leave until their leagues’ Grant of Rights were up. (Two Big 12 schools have since negotiated an early exit.)
The ACC’s deal goes another 13 years. In that board meeting, FSU’s general counsel threw out $120 million as a cost to leave the ACC, but as best I can tell, that’s just the league’s exit fee.
The cost to buy back more than a decade’s worth of your own TV rights from the conference would be exponentially more.
It’s been suggested that FSU and Clemson (or others) could challenge the Grant of Rights in court, but contracts that deal with millions of dollars tend to be pretty ironclad. If they weren’t, someone would have challenged one already.
FSU, as well as Clemson, are posturing for unequal revenue sharing, under the premise they bring more value than the other 12 schools, the implicit threat is lingering: if you don’t pay us, we’ll leave eventually.
This story is similar to USC’s decade of largely behind-the-scenes grumbling, but this time the other schools have no short-term incentive to agree to it. The best case the pair could make might be,
“We’re your conference’s best hope of winning a national championship in football. The 12-team Playoff Model is expected to be more performance-based than presently, if a big money team like Clemson or FSU wins three games in the playoffs en route to the 2026 national title, everyone reaps benefits.”
I don’t think anyone wants to take in less money than they are currently making. The question is one of leverage. Do Florida State, Clemson and others have actual leverage in today’s negotiations?
They’re locked into a deal with the ACC through 2036 that could cost more than $300 million to break between just exit fees and the grant of rights.
If those schools do not have offers in hand to join the Big Ten or the SEC, can they really force the rest of the conference to acquiesce on this?
For what it’s worth, I’m not sure shuffling around a few million dollars per year actually closes the revenue gaps Alford was talking about with his board.
If FSU gets, say, $5 million more per year than it does now, does that actually close the gap it’s staring down with powerhouses like Georgia? Or is this more of a philosophical conversation?
The ACC should be thinking externally, not internally, and figuring a way to generate more revenue, because soon their schools are going to be sharing it with their athletes
I see the anxiety and hear the chatter from FSU fans every day. Everyone’s worried about revenue, stratification and falling behind. So it may help fans to hear your leaders fighting for more. But I’m also not sure there’s going to be enough of a force to force real change.
My two cents: Though I do recommend making some effort to keep your marquee programs happy, FSU does not have much leverage here. You’re talking about a “threat” that might not come to fruition for more than a decade, by which point the sport’s traditional conference model could be abandoned entirely.
Who knows what will happen in 13 years’ time, programs can only plan for the near future.
