Bishop Media Sports Network
The Best
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
When Kyle Pitts took a brutal hit from Georgia safety Lewis Cine, many speculated that his football career at Florida was over.
Talking heads in college and pro football stated it was in Pitts best interest to opt out the remainder of the season to prepare for the NFL draft.
The impact from the hit by Cine left Pitts with a fractured nose.
Pitts was cleared to play two weeks ago against Vanderbilt, but Coach Mullen decided not to allow him to travel with the team to Nashville.
Sidelined for two weeks, Pitts made an immediate impact in the contest Saturday against Kentucky.
On the first drive of the game, Pitts twisted Kentucky cornerback Kelvin Joseph into a pretzel for a 56-yard touchdown catch.
Pitts was back in full swing and added a two-yard slant route for his second touchdown. Then capped off the day with a fake slant and out for his third touchdown.
Prior to the game Kelvin Joseph was quoted “I feel like the biggest challenge to Pitts is going to be facing me and my teammates.”
J.J. Weaver stated, “Kyle Pitts is most definitely going to see me this Saturday. We’ve just got to be more physical than him.”
Pitts wasn’t opting out and he wasn’t going to let Joseph get the last laugh. Pitts rocked the baby and Kentucky’s defense.
Kyle Pitts has become the best tight end and maybe the best offensive weapon in today’s college football.
In six games, Pitts has 29 receptions for 513 yards and 11 touchdowns. He has more touchdown receptions than all of Tennessee and Florida State have touchdown passes.
Pitts is the perfect example of a player utilizing his length and size correctly. He maximizes his build with innate body control, ball tracking ability, high-point timing, and sheer strength at the catching point.
In the red zone against 6 foot 2 cornerback Tyson Campbell (future NFL 1st round pick), it wasn’t just size that made the difference, but the fact that Pitts leaped up for his balls and secured them with total authority.
Coming into the 2020 season, there was a clear-cut top 3 of the 2021 NFL Draft tight ends: Penn State’s Pat Frieermuth, Miami’s Brevin Jordan and Pitts. As of today, Pitts has gained access to this tight end group.
Truthfully, Pitts is an absurd athlete. He stands 6 foot 6, 246 pounds, but he moves with the explosiveness of an outside wide receiver. He has become a defensive coordinator’s nightmare.
Most mock drafts have Pitts going in the top 10 and the first tight end off the board.
Plenty of NFL teams have a need for a player like Pitts, but creative offensive minds would have a field day sifting through the mismatches that Pitts provides.
Before the NFL Draft 2021, Pitts still has a few games left as a Florida Gator. Gator and college football fans can enjoy the Kyle to Kyle combo for just a little longer.
No Sting For Tech?
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Geoff Collins is only in his second season at Georgia Tech. It may be too early to say if he was the right hire, but we can check his progress.
As you know he replaced Paul Johnson, who was there for 11 years. He was famous for being the only Power 5 team to run the triple option.
Collins runs a spread offense, so he has a completely different style. Many of the kids on the roster do not have the skillset for that offense.
Johnson was also notorious for not recruiting well. Collins is trying to improve the overall talent on the roster.
Tech’s 2020 recruiting class was ranked 27th nationally and fifth in the ACC.
There were four 4-star recruits in that class. They include quarterback Jeff Sims, running back Jahmyr Gibbs, corner back Miles Brooks and defensive end Jared Ivey.
The 2022 class is currently ranked 32nd and they have two 4-star players in the class. Obviously, it’s not set in stone until signing day so this can change.
Anytime you see Collins he talks about changing the culture and the 404 (Atlanta’s first area code). I’ll be honest, I think it would be better if he spoke more about the game of football.
It seems like he has more style than substance because of that but what do I know.
Let’s take a look at his on-field results. His record at Tech is 6 – 14.
In his first season in 2019 he was 3 – 9 and 2 – 6 in conference play.
He was not expected to have instant success. One score I want to mention so we can compare it to this season is the Clemson game. Last season in Death Valley the Tigers won 52 – 14.
This season they played Clemson at home in the fifth game of the season.
They were steamrolled 73 – 7. I was alarmed by that score because it made me think, how was your team better last season?
In year 2 there should be better talent and more experience playing in your system. I probably oversimplified his progress by just looking at that game.
The Yellow Jackets are 3 – 5 so far in 2020. All three wins are in conference play, so they have more ACC wins than they did last season.
Also, we have to admit during this pandemic that this year is more difficult than normal circumstances.
Speaking of that, Georgia Tech just played their first game after an unexpected four-week layoff. I think this game may have been the turning point for Collins.
They beat Duke 56 – 33 at home. The true freshmen played well. Gibbs had touchdown runs of 61 and 26 yards in the first half before leaving with a hamstring injury.
Sims threw for 3 touchdown passes and ran for 108 yards, setting career highs. Jordan Mason ran for 105 yards.
Three players earned ACC honors after the game. Defensive end Jordan Domineck was named defensive lineman of the week. He had 2 sacks and 2.5 tackles for loss. He had a strip sack in the end zone and recovered the ball for a touchdown.
Sims was rookie of the week and offensive lineman Zach Quinney was co-offensive lineman of the week.
My opinion on Collins has changed and I think he has the team on the right track. He needs one or two more recruiting classes and a normal offseason to get things back on track.
Wildcat Roar
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It was a very straining year for the Camden County Wildcats. It was a year full of ups and downs and year that saw Camden decimated with injuries.
Overall, the Wildcats finished the season with a 5-6 record.
Camden opened up at home against the Richmond Hill Wildcats. Camden struggled mightily on offensive and Richmond Hill pulled away, beating the Wildcats 28-11.
The second game of the season went a little better for Camden as they stopped the high-powered rushing attack of the Glynn Academy Red Terrors for a 31-14 win. This started a 4-game winning streak for Camden.
In that streak they beat the Raines Vikings 35-26 on the road, the defending state champion Marietta Blue Devils at Chris Gilman 24-21, and notched a road win against the Oakleaf Knights 25-12.
The tide quickly turned as the injuries continued to mount for Camden and the Wildcats would lose the next three games.
The Coffee County Trojans came to Kingsland and beat the Wildcats in convincing fashion, 37-13.
Then Camden took to the road to play the Warner Robins Demons in a game where the Wildcats were vastly out-manned and put on a running clock in the 4th quarter. Camden lost this game 43-7 and scored on the last play of the game to avoid being shutout. This was, most certainly, the low point of the season.
It did not get any easier for the Wildcats the following game as they traveled to Moultrie to take on the Colquitt County Packers, who were ranked #3 in the state at the time. Despite a valiant effort in the first half, the depleted Camden County Wildcats went down 34-13.
The losing streak ended the following week as Camden manhandled the Tift County Blue Devils 35-14 to notch their first region win and guarantee them a #3 seed at worst.
The following week Camden took to the road to Valdosta to play the Lowndes County Vikings with a #2 seed on the line.
Most did around the state did not expect this game to be close, but with the Wildcats beginning to get healthy they went toe to toe with the Vikings. Lowndes held off Camden in the end for a 28-21 victory.
This ended the regular season for the Wildcats with a 5-5 record. Camden earned their way into the playoffs and took to Atlanta to take on the Parkview Panthers, who were the #2 seed from region 4-7A.
Camden struggled again on offense for the first 3 quarters of the game and fell behind 17-0 in that span. The defense kept the Wildcats in that football making critical stop after critical stop to keep them in the football game.
Camden dominated the 4th quarter and came all the way back to force overtime 17-17.
Parkview would prevail in overtime 24-17 to end Camden’s season.
What we saw for most of the year was a team that was under-manned due to injuries and then a very good football team once the team finally started getting healthy. Evidenced by blowing out Tift, playing Lowndes tough to the end and giving Parkview all they wanted.
We will see what the 2021 season brings to Kingsland.
Loading The Nest
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
You can tell a lot about where an NBA franchise thinks they are with how they approach their free agency.
Do they sign long-term max deals to players that they want to have around for a while?
Is their approach to sign guys they believe will be able to help push them over the edge and get them into the NBA finals?
Do they even participate in it at all?
The Hawks may not be on the cusp of the NBA finals, but they’re free agent signings announced to the rest of the league, and I imagine to their head coach as well, that anything less than a playoff appearance will be unacceptable.
With the young talent on Atlanta’s roster I think most people believed the organization would target veteran players they could sign for two years at a reasonable salary to help those younger players mature a little quicker; basically, what they did with Rajon Rondo. I don’t think anyone expected them to be nearly as aggressive as they were.
Even if you weren’t a bit surprised when Atlanta signed Danilo Gallinari to a 3-year contact for just north of $61 million, I imagine the most ardent Hawks supporter didn’t see them signing Bogdan Bogdanovic at 4 years/$72 million.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying either of those signings were bad, just not the moves most people were expecting Atlanta to make.
None of the four free agents Atlanta has added (yes, I’m including Kris Dunn) were brought in to merely be placeholders, bridging the gap until guys like De’Andre Hunter, Cam Reddish, and Kevin Huerter are ready to take the reins.
They were brought in to not only make the Hawks competitive, but as a signal to those young players that their learning curve just dwindled; it’s time to take that next step and they better be ready for it.
In the matter of a week the Atlanta Hawks went from a team not good enough to play in the bubble, which is like not being good enough to get a participation trophy, to being a team that could cause problems for others in the playoffs.
Which leads me to Lloyd Pierce, who is about to enter his third year as the Hawks head coach with immensely more pressure on him than he had a few weeks ago.
I imagine the next 8-9 months for Pierce will be like watching Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” music video on a continuous loop.
The good news for the soon to be on the hot heat coach (if he doesn’t already begin the season there) is that he has a lot of different lineup options he’ll be able to fall back on, giving him an opportunity to be creative with his substitutions.
If we’re being realistic, the best case scenario for Atlanta is a second place finish in the Southeast behind Miami and a favorable first round matchup as a five or six seed.
There is the slight possibility their season could turn out even better, but I imagine that would have to do with other teams struggling more than Atlanta having success.
Regardless, this should be the best season the team has had in the past four or five years.
It’s playoffs or bust for the Atlanta Hawks, or at least that’s what their free agent signings indicate.
Arming Up
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The Braves have signed their second veteran starter this offseason, announcing that they’ve agreed to a one-year pact with right-hander Charlie Morton.
The contract will pay Morton a guaranteed $15M for the 2021 season.
Morton joins southpaw Drew Smyly, who inked a one-year deal worth $11M earlier in the offseason, as two new faces who’ll round out the Braves’ rotation behind Mike Soroka, Max Fried and Ian Anderson.
The addition of Morton and Smyly likely pushes Kyle Wright out of the Atlanta rotation, and likely back to Triple A Gwinnett to start the 2021 season.
Sean Newcomb, Bryse Wilson, Touki Toussaint, Huascar Ynoa, Tucker Davidson, Patrick Weigel and Jasseel De La Cruz don’t really have a shot at being part of the rotation going into the 2021 season.
Soroka is still recovering from his season ending Achilles injury may need some extra time to recover, and may not be available to start the season in April.
The Braves have quality arms on the roster and in the farm system they could part ways with some of those arms to build up other areas of the roster.
Morton is 37 years old and a short-term fit but he should bolster the Braves’ rotation.
He’s 47-18 with a 3.34 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 10.6 K/9 in the past four seasons.
The only four starting pitchers in baseball over that span who’ve matched Morton’s ERA, WHIP and K/9 in as many innings are Jacob deGrom, Gerrit Cole, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander.
Morton has also been a solid in the playoffs something the Braves will need in the short term as this team is a World Series contender.
Morton and Smyly make the Braves the favorites again in the NL East and maybe the National League in 2021. The Dodgers are still the team to beat and the Braves are right there nipping at their heels.
This will be Morton’s second stint with the Braves. The Atlanta Braves selected Morton in the third round with the 95th overall selection of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft.
The Braves added Morton to their 40-man roster on November 20, 2007. Morton made his major league debut on June 14, 2008.
On June 3, 2009, the Braves traded Morton with Gorkys Hernández and Jeff Locke to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Nate McLouth. Any Braves fan remember that trade?
I think adding a veteran like Morton to this rotation makes the Braves a much better team. It is a short-term fix for a team that can win a world championship next season, and a great bargain for $15M.
It is also cheaper than the failed Cole Hamels experiment from 2020 that provided no ROI.
Biggest question now for Atlanta is will the National League adopt the designated hitter rule permanently in 2021 so they can resign Marcell Qzuna?
If they can’t the Braves are going to have to package some of those arms listed above in a package to sign another power hitter to insert in the lineup.
I’m still not sure about third base for the Braves also. I feel like the Braves need to address that position this off season.
With the signing of Morton, the Braves will have one of the top rotations in MLB.
Brunswick High Pirates Coach’s Show w Sean Pender November 25
Glynn Academy Red Terrors Coach’s Show w Rocky Hidalgo November 25
Florida Recruiting Wars
By: Robert Craft
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With the Early Signing Period less than a month away, I want to look at the Big Three in Florida’s potential recruiting classes for 2021.
The Current ranking for the Miami Hurricanes is 13th in the nation and fourth in the ACC with 21 commits.
The Canes currently have 1 running back, 5 receivers, 3 offensive linemen, 4 defensive linemen, 3 linebackers, 2 defensive backs, 2 athletes and 1 kicker.
Coach Diaz has done an excellent job of keeping the top talent in South Florida to commit to Miami.
Leonard Taylor, the number two player in the state and ninth nationally, is the anchor to an outstanding class. The Canes have commitments for three of the five heralded players from Miami Palmetto (Taylor, Bashard Smith WR, and Savion Collins DE).
Miami has 19 current commits from the State of Florida and 16 of the 19 are from South Florida.
Key players in this class: James Williams 5-star safety, Romello Brinson high 4-star wide receiver and Laurence Seymore 4-star offensive guard.
Miami needs to find a quarterback, two or three more offensive linemen and 3 or 4 more defensive backs.
When the dust settles after the early signing period, I predict the Canes will be in position for a top 10 class.
The Florida State Seminoles are currently ranked 28th and in the ACC with 15 commits.
The Seminoles currently have 1 quarterback, 4 receivers, 3 offensive linemen, 3 defensive linemen, 1 linebacker and 3 defensive backs.
Coach Norvell must think he is still at Memphis with the star power of the current class. FSU (Five Star U) has ZERO five stars in this class, four 4-stars and eleven 3-stars.
The Seminoles only have six recruits from the State of Florida.
The disaster on the field has affected recruiting. If Norvell wants to be competitive on the field it starts with recruiting top players in the States of Florida and Georgia.
Norvell may want to utilize the transfer portal this season to acquire some talented players who are dissatisfied with their current situation. The current roster has six five-stars and a top 10 composite ranking but only two wins on the field.
The Seminoles need to add 4 to 5 offensive linemen, 2 receivers, 3 defensive linemen and 2 defensive backs. Norvell sure looks to have his work cut out for him.
FSU will finish the 2021 with a class ranked around 25th. Maybe FSU fans are wishing they didn’t fire Willie so quickly!
The University of Florida Gators are currently ranked seventh in the nation and fourth in the SEC with 26 commits.
The Gators have 2 quarterbacks, 6 receivers, 5 offensive lineman, 5 defensive linemen, 2 linebackers, 5 defensive backs, and 1 athlete.
When Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville, he was not known as a top recruiter but he had made smart hires. The Gators will carry over the success on the field into recruiting.
The Gators snagged the two remaining players for Miami Palmetto in Jason Marshall and Corey Collier. The Gators currently have 18 commits from Florida and 3 from Georgia.
Florida may have lost a commitment from 4-star linebacker Chief Borders out of Franklin, GA to Sanford.
Players to watch for commitment are 4-star linebacker Xavian Sorey and 4-star safety Terrion Arnold out of Tallahassee, it’s a Florida – Alabama battle for both players.
The Gators are in good shape to finish with a top 10 class. My prediction is they will have the sixth ranked class in the nation.
Florida is one of the richest recruiting states in the country, and if the Big Three want to stay in the Big Three, they must recruit the State of Florida first.
Welcome To The League
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
With everything going on in the world to go along with a lack of star power in this year’s draft, it would be completely understandable if you forgot the NBA Draft hadn’t taken place yet.
Honestly, the only reason I remembered is I haven’t purchased NBA 2K21 yet because the rosters couldn’t be up to date since there had been no draft (or free agency and trades).
As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m not a fan of giving out grades when to comes to drafts.
I know they’re interesting to read, which is why most media outlets post them, but unless it’s just a no brainer pick, or one that makes absolutely no sense, it’s three or four years before you can really make any judgements.
So, instead of telling you how well or poorly the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic did, here are a few remarks on the type of player each team is getting.
Atlanta Hawks
Oneyka Okongwu, C, USC. The former 1st team All-PAC 12 player was largely considered to be the best low post player in the draft.
Like most young big men with similar size and athleticism his strength is on defense, however his offensive skillset is farther along than most of his peers.
I imagine the plan is for Okongwu to back up Clint Capela while he adjusts to the NBA, but if his development is quicker than expected Capela could become expendable, something that may be appealing to Atlanta at the trade deadline.
There’s a very good chance the Hawks drafted their long-term answer down low.
Skylar Mays, G, LSU. With the NBA’s emphasis on drafting young players based on potential, hopefuls like Mays- four-year players with NBA level skills- oftentimes find themselves waiting until the second round before they hear their names called, if at all.
Mays, who started all four years at LSU and was named 1st team All-SEC this past season, is certainly good enough to play at the NBA level, the only question is whether he’ll get a chance to prove himself with Atlanta.
Not many players drafted in the 50th spot hang around, Mays has the potential to be an exception to the rule.
Orlando Magic
Cole Anthony, G, UNC. As a devout parishioner from the church of ABC (Anybody But Carolina) I was able to watch Anthony a few times during his lone, injury riddled season in Chapel Hill.
I try not to make player comparisons, but the best way I can describe Anthony’s game is “Kyrie Irving Lite”.
Anthony has great handles, can get to the rim with relative ease, and has a knack for making the “no, what are you thinking…. yes, great shot” shot, a la Irving.
But, also like Kyrie, the former Tarheel tends to forget he has teammates he can pass the ball to and avoids playing any semblance of defense.
Now, In Anthony’s defense, he wasn’t surrounded by a plethora of talent at Carolina this past season, so I understand to a point why he was the volume shooter he was.
However, I have a feeling things wouldn’t have been all that different, even if the talent level had been greater.
The Magic may have just found their most beloved, and frustrating, player on their roster.
We’ll see how these guys turn out over the next few years. For both the Hawks and Magic, they’re hoping the 2020 Draft will be a bright spot in an otherwise dreary year.
Can I Wear That Jacket?
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
This year’s telecast of the Masters on CBS recorded the major tournament’s lowest final-round numbers since 1957, extending a streak of soft sports TV viewership numbers.
The broadcast averaged a 3.4 rating and 5.59 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
That is about 51% lower than last year, when Tiger Woods recorded a comeback win, and also well below the previous lows of 6.7 in 1980 and 11.05 million viewers in 2017. (Viewership has been tracked since 1995.) In 1957, CBS aired one hour of coverage and drew a 3.0.
I enjoyed The Masters. I liked the fact that three of golf’s Major Championships were able to reschedule and play in 2020. The Open Championship cancelled the 2020 tournament early on in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Dustin Johnson is the number one golfer in the world according to the World Golf Rankings.
With the win at Augusta he capped a stellar stretch in the majors this year finishing 2nd in the PGA Championship, and 6th in the US Open.
Johnson has now won the US Open and The Masters, and has runner-up finishes in the PGA and Open Championship.
The play has been consistently very good since August where has finished no worse than 6th in seven starts on tours with two wins.
Johnson was born in Columbia, South Carolina and played his golf at Coastal Carolina University so the proximity to Augusta National made last weekend’s win very special to Johnson.
Johnson grew up in Irmo, South Carolina. His childhood dream was to win The Masters.
Once the Green Jacket was placed on him by Tiger Woods, he became very emotional and barely could speak a word.
That raw emotion from Johnson was very good to see. Johnson is known as stoic player, who just handles his business on the golf course and in 2020 style that post tournament side of Johnson was something that I wish we could see more of on the PGA tour.
Back to the final round of The Masters, Johnson carded a final round of 68 that left him at 20-under 268, beating the previous tournament best of 18-under set by both defending champion Tiger Woods, in 1997, and Jordan Spieth, in 2015.
Johnson shot four rounds under par for the tournament. He has played 11 straight rounds under par at Augusta which is a record.
Johnson became the first world number one to win at Augusta since Tiger in 2002.
Don’t let the low television ratings from last weekend put a damper on the quality of golf that was played.
Those of us who watched saw a record-breaking performance by Dustin Johnson, who has rapidly become one of my favorite golfers on the tour.
Johnson’s work ethic is better than most on the tour. At age 36 Johnson is in his golfing prime. Many more wins could be on the horizon.
Brooks Koepka called out Dustin Johnson as only having one major championship going into the final round of the PGA Championship in August and it backfired on Brooks.
Koepka finished tied for 7th at 10 under par at The Masters. Good showing but it was 10 strokes behind your 2020 Master Champion Dustin Johnson, who now has two majors under his belt.
Dustin Johnson is the best golfer in the world and he may stay there for a while. He has The Green Jacket to prove it.
He will defend in April and this time we will have Azalea’s and Dogwood’s blooming once again.
Yellowstone is my favorite show on TV right now and in grand Rip Wheeler fashion it is time to take 2020 on a trip to the Train Station.
