Bishop Media Sports Network
Getting To Know Napier
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The college football regular season is over.
Some coaches at prominent programs were fired and vacant positions are being filled.
USC lured Lincoln Riley away from Oklahoma about 24 hours after they lost to Oklahoma State. He was the most high-profile coach on the market.
The Florida Gators fired head coach Dan Mullen. In my opinion Urban Meyer should have been targeted to return to Gainesville. He’s struggling in his first season in Jacksonville. Instead, the Gators hired Billy Napier, who is currently the head ball coach at Louisiana-Lafayette.
Napier played quarterback for Furman from 1999 – 2002 and took over as the starting quarterback his junior year. He led the Paladins to the 2001 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game and they lost to Montana, 13 – 6. He earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors in 2001 and 2002.
His father is a high school football coach in Northern Georgia. Napier followed in his footsteps and started as a Grad Assistant at Clemson from 2003-04. From 2006-08 he was the tight end coach and recruiting coordinator for the Tigers.
In 2008 Tommy Bowden resigned and Dabo Swinney was named the interim head. Swinney promoted him to quarterback coach. When Swinney was promoted to the full-time head coach after the 2008 season, he promoted Napier to offensive coordinator. In 2009 Clemson scored a then school record 436 points and won the ACC Atlantic Division.
The offense was not nearly as productive in 2010 and he was fired after the season.
In 2011 he was hired by Nick Saban as an offensive analyst for Alabama. In 2012 and 2013 he made coaching stops at Colorado State and Florida State.
In 2013 he returned to Tuscaloosa as wide receiver coach and stayed there until 2016. He was the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach at Arizona State in 2017.
In 2018 he was hired for the head coach position at Louisiana-Lafayette. His record for the Ragin’ Cajuns is 39 -12. They were 12 -1 this season and beat Appalachian State in the Sun Belt Championship game.
Hiring coaches from the Nick Saban coaching tree is very popular, considering he’s the best college coach of all time.
Every program is hoping they can replicate his success. Napier will make the 27th former Saban assistant to get hired as a head coach.
I think this is a decent hire for Florida. They have someone who has proven he is capable of turning a program around.
On a scale of 1 to 10 I rate this as a 7. Hopefully he can turn the Gators back into a powerhouse.
Smart Or Not?
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
First and foremost, I am a huge fan of Kirby Smart.
After six years, some honest and constructive assessments seem fair game.
Kirby is hands down the best recruiter UGA has ever seen and probably the best in college football. The Athletic Board has given him a blank check for several hundred million dollars of new and upgraded facilities.
The UGA fan base is one of the most loyal, loud, rabid and die-hard in America. They show up and show out. Kirby has been given every possible resource at his disposal. He has proven himself as a phenomenal recruiter. He has not yet proven himself to be a phenomenal head coach.
Some guys are great defensive coaches. Kirby, Will Muschamp certainly qualify. Some guys are great offensive coaches. Todd Monken appears to be one of the best they have ever had at UGA.
But being a great Coordinator does not mean you will be a great Head Coach, just ask Muschamp and Mullen.
So far, Kirby has been a better than average Head Coach, and he has shown growth and improvement during his six years.
Clearly there are other coaches who have done more with a lot less talent and sub-standard facilities. Kirby is building a program for the long haul. No shortcuts. But to quote Kirby, “you’re either elite or you’re not” and Kirby is not an elite coach … YET.
Elite professionals work as hard improving themselves as they do improving others.
They don’t let egos or stubbornness impede their personal growth. I don’t know if that is what is happening with Kirby this season or not, but the next few weeks will certainly answer the question.
Kirby has tried beating Bama twice with Stetson Bennett. He failed both times.
He has more than enough film to prove he is not going to beat his mentor with Stetson Bennett. He also saw Auburn take Bama to 4 OT ‘s by playing man defense and pressuring Young with a constant blitz.
Georgia has three of the brightest defensive minds and through stubbornness or ignorance, they stayed in zone defense, with no pressure, and allowed Young to pick the Dawgs apart. Auburn had 7 sacks; Dawgs had zero.
Elite coaches will ADMIT their mistakes and make the necessary corrections. Time will tell if Smart has that skill set or not. And soon, we will see if Kirby can become an elite coach.
If he continues to do the same thing and expect different outcomes, then we will know Georgia hired a phenomenal recruiter, and an above average head coach.
Flame away if you like, but these are my constructive thoughts. Good news is you won’t have to wait but about a month to find out if I’m right or not.
Reevaluate the quarterback situation and get JT Daniels ready to play. I don’t know if it will happen but I do believe it needs to. I know many Dawg fans want to see Daniels under center against Michigan.
UGA has to get healthy and get some guys ready to play.
The STAR/nickel position got exploited against Alabama. I think the staff needs to get Kamari Lassiter or Javon Bullard or whoever ready to play winning football going into the playoffs.
The bottom line is Kirby Smart has built an Elite Program but can he win the BIG GAME?
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch December 4
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 24
SEC Hardwood
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re about two weeks into the college basketball season. The SEC is known for football but there are several programs ranked in the top 25 in basketball.
It looks like Kentucky will have some competition after a down 2020-21 season. Let’s examine the ranked teams to see who the real contenders are.
#10 Alabama: The Crimson Tide (4 – 0) have been doing well on the hardwood lately. They advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last season and lost to UCLA in overtime.
They also won the SEC Tournament. Alabama finished last season ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll and Coaches Poll. Those were the school’s highest season-ending rankings since 1956.
Junior guard Jaden Shackelford leads the team in scoring with 19.5 points per game. Junior Jahvon Quinerly averages 15.5 PPG and senior Keon Ellis averages 14.5 PPG.
Alabama heads to the ESPN Events Invitational this week in Orlando, where it will meet Iona on Thursday at 4 p.m. CT in a rematch of its NCAA tournament opener in March. They will play either Belmont or Drake on Friday, with a chance to meet Kansas on Sunday in the finale. The Jayhawks are No. 4 in the AP poll and No. 3 in the coaches poll this week.
# 10 Kentucky: The Wildcats (3 – 1) lost the third game of the season to No. 5 Duke, 79 -71. Last season they finished 9 – 16, their worst season since 1988-89.
Since head coach John Calipari took over in 2009, he’s built the team with the top one-and-done players every season. Surprisingly, out of the top four scorers on the team only one is a freshman.
Freshman TyTy Washington Jr. and junior forwards Oscar Tshiebwe, Keion Brooks all lead the team with 13 PPG.
The next four games are against Albany, North Florida, Central Michigan and Southern. Those should all be blow out wins. The schedule gets tougher after that with games against Notre Dame and Ohio State.
#13 Arkansas: The Razorbacks (3 – 0) are looking to make the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year. In 2020-21 they were 25 -7 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
Senior guard JD Notae leads the team with 21.7 PPG. Fellow senior Chris Lykes averages 15.7 PPG.
They have eight games before conference play begins December 29th and only two of those games are against Power 5 teams. They should be undefeated during this stretch.
#15 Tennessee: The Vols (3 – 1) just played some elite teams over the weekend in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off tournament. They were blown out by No. 5 Villanova 71 – 53 on Friday. They rebounded Saturday and beat No. 18 North Carolina, 89 -72. They have some marquee games against Colorado, Texas Tech, No. 9 Memphis and No. 17 Arizona before SEC play starts.
#19 Auburn: The Tigers (3 – 0) have been doing well the last few seasons since Bruce Pearl took over as head coach in 2014. They advanced to the Final Four in 2019 and would have been in the 2020 NCAA Tournament if it was not cancelled due to the pandemic. Last year they were 13 – 14.
They play UConn in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament in the Bahamas for their next game. No. 24 Michigan State, No. 6 Baylor and Syracuse are potential opponents in the next round.
#23 Florida: The Gators (3 – 0) play Cal in the Fort Myers Tip-Off this week. They will face No. 21 Seton Hall or Ohio State in the next round.
The best team they have played so far is Florida State and they won 71 – 55.
Chomped
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Well, here we are in the smoldering aftermath of the Damn Mullen era at UF.
It was fun at first, but ultimately, bad roots produced bad fruits.
Mullen is gone and before we turn to the excitement of the coaching search, here are a few takeaways that I think we should all keep in mind for the future:
CFB is a recruiting game; recruiting sorts out all the small details on the field automatically- There are no “master developers”, Portal Kombat is a fantasy, and coaching only beats talent when talent isn’t coached.
Want to know if your team is on the path to an SEC Championship? Show me a composite top-5 class or a superstar QB. Until 30 years of history are proven wrong, that’s reality for today’s game.
Long-term rebuilds are like unicorns. I love the idea, but I sure can’t find one. Only 2 coaches since the early 90s have won their first SEC after year 3 at a school. One had a #1 overall class (Fulmer at Tennessee in 97) and one had a superstar QB (Tuberville at Auburn in 04). But again, winning fast means recruiting fast.
Dan Mullen is not Dabo Swinney and UF is not Clemson 2007. Assembling a great first staff and quickly acquiring a top-notch QB are huge. I could go on at length about this, but instead I’ll offer my evidence in six words: Knox over Seider. Jones over Corral. So, yeah. Watch this carefully over the next year.
The offensive line is still THE biggest personnel issue on this team, dating back to the Meyer era, and it must be fixed if the program is going anywhere.
The program stopped signing quality in numbers at the position around 2010 and it has been crippling to one degree or another ever since. Unlike other positions, the unit comprises almost a quarter of the starting 22, and this lack of excellence can’t continue.
The Gator program must recruit Florida’s elite athletes better if they’re to rise. There’s no way around it. They can’t make up for the home state futility in California, with a national approach, or through the portal.
An entirely new approach to recruiting is necessary that exploits every advantage and loophole. Bags and facilities are tools, but they weren’t why Mullen sucked. Lack of effort, lack of communication, lack of organization, lack of creativity, and lack of having more were the reasons.
It’s time for the program to be transformed into a recruiting organization first and foremost. They must find ways to capitalize on what the rules allow. They must use NIL to the fullest.
People will lie to you in this business, because tickling your ears is good for profit and popularity. Things have certainly improved, but there are still those out there who will mislead fans with optimistic reports that have little factual grounding.
One such profiteer got mad at me on Twitter a few years back when I called him out publicly for lying to fans, telling them “Mullen is en route to a top-5 class”. He demanded that I call him, which I did. When I asked him why he was telling fans that UF was in great position to land Dontae Lucas (who had a family connection to the FSU staff) and other unrealistic targets, he said “where does it leave me business wise if I’m not optimistic”. As consumers, you have a right to look at people’s track record and to ask them to show their math.
We’re fortunate in many ways to have had Mullen when we did. It’s been hashed and beaten to death, but none of the other available coaches that year would have been any better.
Probably a lot worse. We kept ourselves relevant enough to be distanced from Tennessee, Miami, and FSU. The Gators are probably not far off from CFP contenders if the new coach has a passion for recruiting – and it starts with AR15.
To end my breakup letter, I’m glad it’s over, and I’m excited for the future. I never liked him and I am thrilled, but I will always wonder what he might have been able to do here if he wasn’t such a gaping, stubborn, arrogant SOB.
Commit To The Spear
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s time to give Mike Norvell some credit. For the better part of the past six months, one of the biggest questions out there has been whether or not FSU will be able to hold onto the bulk of its No. 13-ranked recruiting class.
For a while, it looked like the answer was no, especially after Week 3’s stunning loss to Jacksonville State, but after FSU’s last-minute comeback win over their rival Miami, one would have to think that the Noles are in prime position to keep most of what it has committed.
Norvell and his staff decided to roll the dice and welcome a large group of visitors to Tallahassee for the showdown with the Hurricanes. Sure, there was bound to be plenty of energy inside Doak Campbell Stadium, but the Seminoles were in no way guaranteed to walk away with a W.
That’s why when Jordan Travis barreled his way into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown, a party broke out on FSU’s sidelines. The Seminoles not only snapped a three-game losing streak in the series, but managed to do so in front of nearly its entire recruiting class along with another dozen or so top targets.
Among the visitors Saturday, FSU had the nation’s No. 1-ranked overall prospect Travis Hunter. While the longtime FSU commit had his name linked to Georgia as a possible flip destination, yet he continues to say all the right things about the Seminoles.
Hunter was quick to celebrate Saturday’s win by sharing a 15-minute video from FSU’s locker room to his social media, which was capped off by Jermaine Johnson smashing a rock that had “The U” on it.
Given what’s happening with all the coach rumors at Florida and Miami, the Seminole must capitalize on these speculations. The State of Florida will be wide open for Norvell to dominate in recruiting,
This is the same opportunity Jimbo Fisher took full advantage of when Urban Meyer left. This 4 and 14 game could be the avalanche the Seminole need to build their roster with elite talent.
If Florida State can somehow manage to win out, I predict a top 7 class this season. But if the Seminole’s do not make a Bowl Game, don’t be shocked with a wave of “Respect My Decision” messages on social me
Norvell and the Seminoles aren’t going to sign all of those blue-chip targets. Heck, they might not even get one, but there’s no doubt that their win over Miami improved FSU’s chances with each recruit who attended that win, and that’s big for Norvell as he tries to build the Seminoles back into a championship contender.
Frederica Academy Knights Coach’s Show w Brandon Derrick November 17
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 17
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron November 17
