Bishop Media Sports Network
Looks Like Me
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
College athletes across the country began raking in money for their name, image and likeness (NIL) July 1st.
Who’s set to earn the most money? We may never know as some players are keeping the details of their deals with companies entirely private.
Most fans assume the biggest earners will be college football players, but that may not be the case. Social media outlets like TikTok and Instagram may be a determining factor in the marketability of a player in other college sports.
Local businesses in sports-crazy college towns will contribute heavily and if a player secures multiple deals from companies big and small, they will become a presence in their city, and still scrape in some decent royalty cash. Let’s take a look at some of the early winners in NIL.
- Olivia Dunne, LSU Gymnast: Dunne, an All-American gymnast is a social media BEAST. She has 5.1 million Twitter followers, 400,000 TikTok followers and 1.2 Instagram followers. Dunne is projected to make over one million dollars a year off NIL.
- Hanna and Haley Cavinder (twins) Fresno State Basketball: The Cavinders have over four million followers on TikTok and Instagram. The estimated annual gross income for social media influencers is about 80 cents per follower, you do the math, this is a sports magazine.
- D’Eriq King, Miami Football: King signed a couple deals with College Hunks Hauling Junk and Murphy Auto Group that total around $200,000. King and McKenzie Milton partnered on a NIL platform called Dreamfield as well, whose contributions are unknown.
- Hercy Miller, Tennessee State, Basketball: Miller is the son of rapper Master P. Hercy Miller signed a two-million-dollar deal with Web Apps America, and that’s just for right now.
- Brock Vandagriff, Georgia Football: Vandagriff signed a big money deal with Onward Reserve, a men’s apparel company. Vandagriff was one of five players to sign with Onward Reserve, the identities of the other four are yet to be known.
- Spencer Rattler, Oklahoma Football: Rattler signed a deal with Raising Cane’s, a Louisiana based restaurant franchise with locations across the country. Rattler promised to share his NIL profits with underprivileged communities this season.
- Lexi Sun, Nebraska Volleyball: Sun signed an undisclosed deal with Ren, a volleyball apparel company.
- Trey Knox and Blue, Arkansas, Football: Knox and Blue (a Siberian Husky) signed a deal with PetSmart, which operates 1,650 stores in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Also, notably, more than 4,000 college athletes have partnered with Yoke Gaming, an app that allows fans to pay to play video games with them on stream.
Welcome to the new world of college athletics. It’s going to be hard (actually impossible) to enforce NIL violations, but it is about time that young athletes get the chance to earn money for themselves and their families!
Another interesting benefit to explore is that college athletes will be granted direct work experience in the line of a professional athlete, and isn’t that a great reason to go to college?
This will avoid athletes from signing predatory marketing deals their first year in the bigs and allow them to strategize marketing platforms for their NIL alongside their playmaker marketability.
In my opinion, it’s going to be crazy unsettling and it will take a couple years to get a handle on all this in the leagues. I wonder why this step in the right direction took so long for the NCAA to make.
Foundation Rebuilding
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Florida State ended a hectic month of June with supreme style, landing four public commitments from the final weekend of official visits before the Dead Period began.
The Seminoles moved to number 3 in some recruiting rankings and that’s top in the ACC.
Most fans pay attention to the details of their own team, and look at rival teams with a broad stroke. Assuming the worst for their rivals, fans don’t get into the details of why or how very often.
So… Florida State: they hired Mike Norvell from Memphis, who went 3-6 last season. Fans ignore the state of the roster and lack of coaching time mostly due to COVID, meanwhile Gator and Cane fans have laughed about “Memphis Mac” for about a year now.
If you watch video from his time with the Tigers, you will see a dynamic offense. Most Florida State fans assumed that would translate immediately to their program, and they were left hopeful after the North Carolina game.
FSU fans ignored the roster and lineup changes during the season and any improvement on the offensive line. All they saw was three wins! That only reinforced FSU’s rivals on social media that Norvell can’t coach or recruit.
Norvell is building his FSU team inside out. He currently has 14 total commits and 7 are offensive and defensive linemen. The class is led by the number 2 player in the country Travis Hunter from Suwanee, GA and Sam McCall is the other five-star commit from Lake Gibson, FL.
Now the inside players, FSU currently has 4 offensive linemen committed. Antavious Woody a 6-3, 291 guard out of Lafayette, AL, Qae’shon Sapp a 6-5 320 tackle out of Leesburg, GA, Aliou Bah a 6-6, 325 tackle out of Memphis, TN and Kanaya Charlton 6-5, 351 guard out of Brunswick, GA.
Norvell and staff are currently addressing their need on the o-line and I think FSU will try to add two or three more linemen to this class, Norvell has his sights on Elijah Pritchett, Julian Armella, and Daughtry Richardson.
With the way things are going, it’s probably safe to say the Seminoles will land a top class of offensive linemen, in pursuit of rebuilding. One of many steps in multiple recruiting cycles to acquire competent depth; sounds like a good coach.
As Florida State gets closer to the start of fall football practice, the offensive line may be the most intriguing unit. They weren’t great by any means this past season, but there was notable growth. With the entire group returning, there’s cause for optimism in the depth chart’s rotation.
Norvell must win more than 5 games this year, or these recruits will portal to another, more successful campus to call their home.
Eagles To Fly In 2021
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Collins Hill (Suwanee, GA) is not one of the top high school football programs in the state of Georgia.
They have always struggled with being a consistent contender. Typically, every 3-4 years they have a class that can make the playoffs and win a game or two.
The 2020 season was very successful, they finished 12–3. The Eagles made it to the 7A state championship game and lost to Grayson for the second time.
They beat some very good teams in route to the state final game like Alpharetta, Parkview and Lowndes. Grayson was stacked with talent so there was no shame in losing to them.
Going into the 2021 season Collins Hill is returning some great talent. They have the top-rated recruit in the class of 2022, five-star corner back Travis Hunter. He is rated as the third overall recruit nationally and he committed to Florida State.
Hunter is 6’1, 165 pounds with great speed. He also returns kicks and punts for the Eagles. I would suggest looking up some of his highlights when you get a chance because he seems like a young Deion Sanders.
Quarterback Sam Horn is a four-star player and he’s rated as the 6th best player in Georgia for the class of 2022. Horn has prototypical size for the position, standing 6’4 and 190 pounds. In 2020, he passed for over 3,900 yards, 41 touchdowns and 14 interceptions. Horn has committed to Mizzou. I expect him to have another big year as a senior and cut down on his interceptions.
His top target is senior wide receiver Cam Pedro. Pedro recently committed to Marshall.
I have seen some publications rank Collins Hill in the national preseason top 25. The highest I have seen them ranked is No. 11. Even though that is high, Grayson is ranked higher.
It’s an understatement to say expectations are high and they are expected to compete for the 7A state championship. They are also in one of the toughest regions, 8-AAAAAAA.
The season kicks off August 22nd against Brookwood. The Broncos are a very good program and they are coming off an 8-3 season. They have the No. 13 prospect in the state, corner back Marquis Groves-Killbrew. This will be a tough game. I give the edge to the Eagles.
Week 2 is against Sprayberry. This should be an easy win for Collins Hill.
September begins with a game versus Greenville Christian (Greenville, MS). They were 11–1 last year and won the state championship. The Saints will be a solid opponent.
Week 4 is on the road against Rome. The Wolves are very good, but they are in a smaller classification, 6A. The teams played last year, and Collins Hill won 28–14. I expect a similar result in 2021.
The next game is against Alpharetta. These teams played twice in 2020 and Collins Hill won both times. I expect the Eagles to beat Alpharetta again.
East Coweta comes to town September 24th. The Indians were 10–2 in 2020 and won region 2-AAAAAAA. This will be a close win for the Eagles.
Region play begins October 1st against archrival Peachtree Ridge. The Lions will get blown out similar to last season’s 42–7 score.
After a bye week Collins Hill travels to North Gwinnett. The Bulldogs are a very good team and I think they will win.
The last two games are against Mountain View and Mill Creek which will be convincing victories.
Going into the playoffs I expect the Eagles to be 9-1.
Pirates Passage
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Kanaya Charlton is going into his senior season at Brunswick High School.
Number 69 for the Blue and Gold stands at 6’5 and weighs in at around 335 pounds. At that size Charlton is a pretty good athlete. He has quick feet and plays multiple positions along the Pirate offensive line which he will anchor in 2021.
He currently holds 22 committable offers from some big-name schools. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Tennessee, South Carolina, Florida State, North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia Tech just to give you a sample size.
On the academic side Mr. Charlton has a 3.8 GPA and is fully qualified. He will graduate BHS early and will enroll in college in January 2022.
Things I noticed in the interview for this article was that Kanaya is a yes sir/no sir type of kid with a firm hand shake and he looks you in the eye when he talks to you.
Charlton’s head coach Sean Pender had to following to say about his highly recruited offensive line prospect: “Kanaya is a young man that wants to get better daily. He takes hard coaching very well, and he can play anywhere along the offensive line when we need him to do so. College coaches look for that versatility in kids they recruit plus he is a great student so we don’t worry about him producing in the classroom. He has gone from a shy kid when he arrived in 9th grade into a confident young man who now addresses the team in meetings in a leadership role. He is the type of kid that is going to show you every single day that he is up for any task we throw at him.”
I spoke with BHS Offensive Coordinator and Offensive Line Coach, Garrett Grady who is Charlton’s position coach and he offered the following comments: “Kanaya is a complete student-athlete. He cares about his academics as well as his performance on the field. He is a genuine person who truly cares about everyone around him. His development from his freshman year to now is amazing. He has made tremendous gains in the weight room becoming one of the strongest members of this team. Kanaya has stepped into a leadership role this year and has raised the level intensity & pride of this team. I am very proud of the young man he is becoming and looking forward to what the future holds for Kanaya Charlton. Expect Great things from him!”
I asked Kanaya a few questions regarding this season and his college plans:
What does this coaching staff at BHS mean to you? “My coaches have been there as role models for me. That is an amazing feeling. I feel like they are a huge reason why I’m in the position I am in today”.
What do you like about this 2021 BHS football team? “Since I have been here our team and coaching staff have gotten better every single season. Our goals this year are: City Championship, Region Championship, State Championship. Being put out in the second round the past two seasons has really left a bad taste in our mouth. We are going to change that in 2021. I want our group of seniors this fall to be known as the class that changed our program culture from just being a winning program into a championship program. That is a huge step for our program”
College choice, any thoughts on where you might go? “Today FSU is my #1 choice. I am going there on an official visit this month. I have been on many unofficial visits there so far. The coaches there make me feel the most at home. I will probably make my official commitment to the school I choose either the last week of June or the first week of July. I want to get this behind me so I can 100% focus on my senior season at BHS”. Charlton has indeed committed to go to Florida State.
What will you major in at college? “Life Sciences with a possible focus on Marine Biology”.
Any last comments? “Pirate Pride and remember it is “All about the Family” at Brunswick High School.
The Willis Way
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recently The Glynn County Board of Education approved the renaming of the BHS field house in honor of longtime BHS coach John Willis.
The “John Willis Field House” will be named after a man who roamed the sidelines at historic Lanier Field and Glynn County Stadium from 1980-2001.
For 22 seasons John Willis was the face of Pirate football and will always be the face of Pirate Football to me because John Willis is MY football coach.
I played on his first two football teams in 1980 and 1981. Pirate football is a passion to me to this day because of one man and one man only and his name is John Willis.
The situation at Brunswick High School in 1979/1980 was similar to what we see in our country currently which was a lot of racial division. Our program was coming off a horrible 0-10 season. Our head coach resigned and I was going into my junior year at BHS. Our school needed someone who could unite and bring us all together.
John Willis was named head football coach at BHS in the summer of 1980. I met John Willis for the first time on a hot steamy practice field behind the old BHS campus around 7AM in early August of that year.
Our first game in the 1980 season was a road game at Camden County. Keep in mind we had not won a football game in two years, and the first thing out of the mouth of our new coach was when we beat Camden. Not we are or we hope it was when we beat Camden.
Then we proceeded to run 21, yes 21, I’ll never forget, 100-yard gassers. Coach Willis said I want to find out who is going to quit on me because if you quit on this practice field then you will quit on me on Friday night.
Coach would chant “what kind of meat?” we would answer Wildcat meat. That became our preseason rally cry. We became a football team in three short weeks.
We loaded the bus and went down to Camden on a Friday afternoon for that season opener. John Willis had a way of making you want to run to run through a wall for him. We believed we were going to beat Camden that night and we did 6-2.
We were all jumping for joy on the field and the first person who hugged me when the horn went off was John Willis and his quote was “I told you so Kipp”.
Outside of my own Father I can’t think of another man I respect more than John Willis in this world today. We went on to become a playoff team my senior season in 1981 and when I see my former team members there is always a special bond from that season when we became a winning football team.
John Willis made us into winners and the lessons he taught us on the practice field still hold true today. If you believe, work harder, and never give up then not many folks will beat you in life.
The ‘John Willis Way’ gave two decades of Pirate football letterman a solid foundation for life. I’m told the road from Habersham Street to the John Willis Field House will be called John Willis Way.
Former players have called Habersham Street John Willis Way for years because John Willis helped teach us how to become a man.
The ‘John Willis Way’ is the only way I know how to approach the game of football. Thank you coach for all you have done for Brunswick High School. Next stop for you should be The Glynn County Sports Hall of Fame. You taught me Pirate Pride coach!
Expansion
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If you’ve been living off the grid, you missed the big news last week.
College football is headed towards expanding the Playoffs to 12 teams. Let’s break down which programs are going to benefit the most on the field.
1.UCF: Through the past five years, the Knights have been widely regarded as the most capable Group-of-5 program.
Add Cincinnati and Boise State to that mix, and with expansion, there is now a seat at the table for really talented and fun to watch teams that may come once every few years for a program.
These types of teams have historically been an afterthought to the committee for the College Football Playoffs.
- Georgia: Georgia has made the Playoffs in the past, but now the Bulldogs aren’t at the mercy of Alabama.
Kirby has built an elite level roster; and instead of making it once every ten years, Georgia is going to make it every. single. year.
- Every Second Tier Big 12, Big 10, ACC, and SEC teams.These programs will no longer have to conquer the powerhouse programs in their conference to make the Playoffs.
When the Playoff expansion hit, the first person I thought about was Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. Given his troubles surrounding Tennessee, I’d make a strong case that UCF is a better job than dealing with the SEC.
Most fans don’t view the Group of 5 as worthy of a playoff spot because they don’t play a Power 5 schedule, and/or they don’t recruit at the same level. The Best G5 teams every year still end up very, very good.
Now some of these G5 programs UCF, Cincinnati, SMU and Boise State (to name a few) actually have something to sell. These teams have better resources and support than most of their peers at the same level, and they suddenly have a fighting chance of making the Playoffs on an annual basis, more so than middle tier Power 5 teams.
If the Playoff expansion is approved, UCF, SMU, Cincinnati and Boise State are the real winners in terms of how this will help the schools improve their recruiting.
The losers in this expansion are Notre Dame and the Pac 12. The PAC 12 commissioner and athletic directors want automatic bids for conference winners. Unfortunately, they are likely not alone in this discussion.
Notre Dame cannot receive a playoff bid due to no conference affiliation. Look for the Irish to join the ACC in the near future.
While the College Football Playoff expansion to 12 is expected to be formally approved as soon as August, it’s not going to take effect immediately. The earliest it could take effect is 2023.
When there is more money available, that usually leads to more business opportunities. For college football, more opportunities usually leads to realignment and expansion among conferences.
My question is, will expansion kill the hype around the mid-level bowls games?
Hawks Flying To NBA Finals?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Atlanta Hawks are making an improbable playoff run.
They just beat the No.1 seed in the East, Philadelphia, in Game 7 of the East Semifinals to advance to the Conference Finals.
They overcame a subpar performance from the team’s star, Trae Young. He was 5 for 23 from the floor. Young did finish with 21 points and 10 assists.
“I knew I had to find a way,” Young said. “My shot was off. My right hand and shoulder were giving out. But my teammates showed up and made plays. I wanted to come through in the end and help them out.”
Shooting guard Kevin Huerter led the team with 27 points, making 10 of 18 shots (55%).
Danilo Gallinari had 17 points off the bench. John Collins had 14 points and 16 rebounds.
“This team is special, man,” Huerter said. “Everybody has counted us out all year. For us to make it this far and win in this building in Game 7, it’s huge for us.”
Lloyd Pierce was fired as the head coach and Nate McMillan was named interim head coach on March 1, 2021. The Hawks went 27 – 11 and won the Southeast division.
“I felt like they were built for this moment tonight to win this game,” Coach Nate McMillan said.
MVP runner up Joel Embiid had 31 points, 11 rebounds and 8 turnovers playing with a meniscus tear in his right knee.
The other star for the Sixers, Ben Simmons played poorly. He only had 5 points in the game and routinely passed up open shots. In the series he shot 33% from the free throw line, which is clearly terrible.
Atlanta had been 0-9 in Games 7s on the road. Now they are advancing to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2015.
This marked only the second year since 1973 — when the NBA began seeding for the playoffs by conference — when neither No. 1 seed will make the conference finals. The Clippers eliminated West No. 1 seed Utah.
“We gave them life from Game 1,” 76ers forward Tobias Harris said. “It’s a young, hungry team.”
The next test waiting for Atlanta are the Milwaukee Bucks, the No. 3 seed in the East. The Bucks are led by superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, AKA the Greek Freak.
This season he averaged 28.1 ppg, 11 rpg and 5.9 apg. He makes 56.9% of his field goals but he plays close to the basket. He only shoots 30.3% from the three-point line. In Game 7 against the No. 2 seed Brooklyn Nets, he had 40 points and 13 rebounds.
The deciding factor in the series will come from the rest of the team. Giannis will play well, but he needs help from his teammates.
Small forward Kris Middleton averaged 20.4 ppg and 6 rpg this season. If he plays well consistently Milwaukee will be tough to beat.
Game 1 is Wednesday, 8:30 pm in Milwaukee. We will see if the Hawks can continue to be road warriors and steal the opening game.
I think the playoff run comes to an end for Atlanta. I expect the Bucks to win in 6 games.
Jason Bishop Show w Kipp Branch June 19
Game Changer
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Recruiting at all levels is very important, but programs still need to recruit the high priority positions to recruit real game changers.
The most important game changing recruit is the quarterback, for example. And if your team does not have a great quarterback, then your team will be at a huge disadvantage no matter how many blue chips you have on the rest of the roster.
I saw an article where the “Blue Chip” ratio was given for schools and the top schools were as follows: Alabama 84%, Georgia 80%, Ohio State 79%, Clemson 67%, LSU 66%, Oklahoma 66%, Texas 66%, Florida 66%, Texas A&M 61%.
The SEC led the way with six schools, followed by the Big Ten (3), Big 12, Pac 12 and ACC with two each.
The article defined Blue Chip using the composite star ranking and four and five-star count. The article counted transfers and high school recruits.
For the first time since 2018, the Florida State Seminoles did not make the top ten in Blue-Chip Ratio. Once a recruiting juggernaut, Florida State ratio has fallen below 40%.
The Seminoles currently have 91 players on scholarship and 34 are Blue-Chips. That includes 33 guys who were four or five stars out of high school and UCF transfer McKenzie Milton.
Florida State still has more blue chip talent than most of the ACC (North Carolina State, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, Boston College, Louisville, Duke, Wake Forest, Virginia, and Virginia Tech).
FSU has recruited a lot of Blue Chips since 2018 but they haven’t lived up to their billing, that’s about the same with every other school as well.
The Seminoles haven’t had a game changer at quarterback since Jameis Winston in 2014, however that will change if McKenzie Milton can stay healthy.
Coach Mike Norvell targeted Milton for several reasons, and his in-game experience was the top of the list.
Milton was the first quarterback commit under Scott Frost and earned the starting job as a true freshman. Milton’s freshman season was a rocky road amassing a 6-7 record.
After that season, Milton and UCF blazed through their schedule, and Milton did not lose another game as quarterback for the Knights.
Milton’s play can help cover up some of the issues the offensive line may have. Milton’s quick release and pre-snap reads of the defense would be two noteworthy traits that make him a difference maker.
I expect Jordan Travis to get snaps because he’s very dynamic running the football to keep Milton off the field.
However, I’m curious to see how Coach Norvell uses his two quarterbacks to their best individual abilities. Let’s hope Norvell is creative with the talent he’s given
There’s an old football cliche that states, “IF YOU HAVE TWO QUARTERBACKS, YOU HAVE NO QUARTERBACK.”
It has been a long time since FSU’s Blue-Chip Ratio has been this low but the Seminoles have a game changer at quarterback, who goes by the name McKenzie Milton.
Gurley Reclamation
By: Jeff Doke
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Todd Gurley wrapped up his time between the hedges in 2015, he was expected to land somewhere between Herschel Walker and Terrell Davis in the pantheon of UGA alumni in the NFL.
For a while there, it looked like he was going to meet those lofty expectations. After a sophomore slump in 2016, Gurley followed up his 2015 Rookie of the Year Award with some serious hardware; two straight Pro Bowls in 2017 & 2018, 1st team All-Pro for both years and NFL leader in rushing touchdowns in those same years.
Then, the wheels started to come off.
The knee issues, that cost him 3 games in his already NCAA violation-shortened final campaign in Athens, raised their ugly head during the 2018 playoffs and the 2019 season as well.
Gurley saw a significant drop in every metric from 2018 to 2019, and it cost him his job just two years removed from a massive $60 million extension.
Those numbers fell even further during his one season with the Atlanta Falcons. The fewest yards, attempts, and touchdowns in his career – combined with some costly mental errors – meant his return to the Peach State was over before it really had a chance to get started.
The fall from grace is staggering when you look at it. To go from a league-leading multi-millionaire to an unsigned free agent in two years is almost unheard of.
The arthritic knee – which was the focus of great speculation leading up to Super Bowl LIII – seems to be more of a career-threatening issue than originally expected.
The situation in Atlanta seemed to have been tailor-made for the Tarboro, NC native, but the results simply weren’t there and the powers that be in Flowery Branch decided “one year is enough, thanks.”
So where does Gurley go now? Last month, it seemed like he was destined to join the Detroit Lions backfield, joining fellow Dawg D’Andre Swift and the former Packer Jamaal Williams.
Gurley made a visit to the Lions facility and talks progressed, but no contract. Last week, he made another unfruitful visit, this time with the Baltimore Ravens.
Between the two teams, the Ravens seem like the unlikelier choice. He’d be battling Justice “I’m Not Related to Tyreek” Hill for the third spot behind J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards.
Plus, the Ravens only have a scant $11 million left in cap space – not exactly the wiggle room you need to get into a bidding war, and that’s exactly what it looks like Gurley is trying to force.
One must wonder, though, if that’s the best strategy for an injury-plagued back looking for his third team in three years. Granted, he could have a comeback season for the ages on tap for this year, but until we see him on the field it’s anybody’s guess.
Gurley will make a roster this year, of that I have no doubt. More than likely, it will be with the Lions, but there are some fairly intriguing options out there as well.
For example; the Miami Dolphins. Myles Gaskins is a serviceable if uninspiring starter.
The Fins signed Malcom Brown in the offseason and drafted Gerrid “that’s not how you spell that last name” Doaks in the 7th round, so there’s competition to be had if Gurley decides to head south.
The Buffalo Bills. The Mafia has had some workhorses in the backfield over the years; Thurman Thomas, Travis Henry, Marshawn Lynch. 2021, though? Not so much. The tandem of Devin Singletary and Zack Moss scream two things; “committee” and “training camp open competition.” Gurley would do well here.
The New England Patriots. Bill Belichek can’t seem to resist two things; UGA running backs and reclamation projects. Gurley would be a twofer, so don’t rule out a trip to Foxboro in his future.
