Thoughts on the day

[TheTodd]

1. EIGHT DAYS INTO SPRING PRACTICE: I like what I see of Florida’s defense. You expect the defense to be ahead of the offense for a good portion of spring practice so sometimes it’s easy to get a false read on things, but I really believe there won’t be a whole lot of dropoff this season. This unit doesn’t have the star power of last season but there is an abundance of talent and speed everywhere. I really like what new defensive coordinator Teryl Austin is doing with the linebackers --- right now he’s got Brandon Hicks in the middle, Jelani Jenkins on the weakside and A.J. Jones on the strong side --- and the more I see of freshman Neiron Ball the more I think he is going to set some sack records before he is through here. I also like the leadership I’m seeing from Ahmad Black, Hicks and Justin Trattou. These guys have a chance to be really, really good.

2. EIGHT DAYS INTO SPRING PRACTICE, PART II: We’re starting to see some new wrinkles in the offense such as Jordan Reed running the wildcat package and more of a downfield passing game. The Gators are still going to strive for balance between the run and the pass but I think we’re going to see more passes in the 14-17 yard range and a little less of the dink and dunk. Probably the most impressive thing I’ve seen about this new group of wide receivers is how they take to the coaching of Zach Azzanni. I think Reed is going to emerge as a major weapon as a tight end who can run the wildcat packages and I think both Chris Rainey and Deonte Thompson are going to be a nightmare to defend. I thought the offensive line is starting to shape up nicely from what I saw Monday and I continue to be impressed by Mike Gillislee at tailback. John Brantley is the key, however. If he can make the right decisions at quarterback and protect the football, this is a unit that should be able to equal or exceed last year’s totals, which were best in the SEC and sixth nationally.

3. CATCHING UP WITH MAJOR: Major Wright was at Florida’s football practice Monday afternoon. He said he has worked out for the New England Patriots, Cleveland Browns, New York Jets and New Orleans Saints. He’s been hearing third round mostly but some are projecting him into the late second round due to his 4.49 40 time at the NFL Combine last month. He told me he isn’t putting any stock into anything anyone tells him. “I hear a lot of stuff but who knows what to believe about any of that,” he said. “I’ll just wait and see where I’m drafted just like everybody else.”

4. WITH THE FIRST PICK IN THE 2010 NFL DRAFT THE ST. LOUIS RAMS SELECT ...: Sam Bradford, quarterback, Oklahoma. You can just about etch that one in stone unless the Rams, who need plenty of help at plenty of positions, find someone who needs a quarterback worse than they do and is willing to trade multiple draft picks or veterans for the 2008 Heisman Trophy winner. Bradford just about sealed up the number one pick with a lights out Pro Day in Norman Monday that former Cowboys personnel director Gil Brandt says is the best pre-draft quarterback workout he’s seen since Troy Aikman. Bradford threw approximately 100 passes that were so impressive that Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll tweeted Bradford “lit it up.”

5. THIS BLOWS MY MIND: The National Football Foundation has announced its 77 new candidates for the College Football Hall of Fame and the list includes 11 from the Southeastern Conference. Of the 11, Jake Scott (Georgia safety), Jerry Stovall (LSU safety/tailback), and Charles Alexander (LSU tailback) deserve to be elected into the hall. The other eight include Willie Gault (Tennessee wide receiver), Bobby Humphrey (Alabama tailback), Bobby Majors (Tennessee defensive back), Paul Namoff (Tennessee linebacker), Ken Rice (Auburn defensive tackle), Matt Stinchcomb (Georgia, offensive tackle), Wesley Walls (Ole Miss tight end) and Scot Woerner (Georgia defensive back). Someone please tell me how the combined careers of those eight equals what Danny Wuerffel did? All Danny did was make first team All-America twice, win the Heisman Trophy in 1996 and lead Florida to a national championship. Yet, Danny isn’t in the hall of even on the ballot. That just blows my mind.

6. SEC SPRING ROUNDUP: South Carolina calls its wildcat formation with cornerback Stephon Gilmore running the show the “Wild Cock.” Gilmore should have an All-SEC season this year on the defensive side ... LSU loves what it saw of cornerback Morris Claiborne, who will be the starter opposite Patrick Peterson in the fall ... Auburn is still looking for some defensive tackles. The Tigers couldn’t stop anyone running the ball last year and the way they’re playing this spring, it doesn’t look like they’ll be able to stop anyone this year, either ... It’s a neck and neck battle at Georgia between quarterbacks Aaron Murray (10-15, 125 yards and one touchdown Saturday) and Zach Metterberger (7-10, 157 yards and a touchdown). Logan Gray looks like he needs to find a new position after going 6-14 for only 37 yards and getting sacked three times ... Bryce Brown, who is contemplating transferring from Tennessee, paid a visit to a Tennessee practice last week ... The sooner juco transfer Jordan Rogers learns the playbook the happier they’ll be at Vandy, which continues to struggle with its offense this spring ... Mark Barron is the only returning starter on Alabama’s defense but Barron thinks the unit will be more talented this year ... With Ryan Mallett injured and out for the spring, redshirt freshman Tyler Wilson is getting all the snaps at Arkansas ... Kentucky’s spring practice starts today ... Ole Miss had to move its Monday practice indoors because of weather conditions ... Mississippi State likes what it sees of the defense under new coordinator Manny Diaz.

7. ODDSMAKERS LIKE DUKE: The folks in Vegas think Duke is going to cut down the nets in Indianapolis next Monday night largely because Coach K is coaching the Blue Devils. I’ll put my money on West Virginia and Bob Huggins. The last time Huggy and Coach K squared off was the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2008. That Duke team was seeded number two in the West and had eight McDonald’s All-Americans. West Virginia was seeded seventh and had none. Huggy’s zone defense forced the Blue Devils into a 5-22 night behind the arc and point guard Joe Mazzulla darn near pulled off a triple double with 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. This is the same Joe Mazzulla who scored as many points against Kentucky (17) as he did in the previous four games. I like WVU’s ability to close out on shooters while at the same time collapsing on the inside. I also think Devin Ebanks is going to eat Kyle Singler alive. I think West Virginia walks away with the win.

8. NO FAN OF CALIPARI: Former Tennessee basketball player Lang Wiseman, now a Memphis lawyer and basketball blogger, is no fan of Kentucky coach John Calipari either as a person or as a basketball coach. After watching the Wildcats go down in flames against West Virginia Saturday, Wiseman blogged (from Lane Wiseman: Random Thoughts): “But as the clock wound down last night on the most important minutes of the most important game, Cal had ... nothing. It was as if suddenly he went mute. Indeed, if you watched closely, there were significant moments when the always-standing, always-shouting Cal was sitting down --- yes, sitting! --- while the game played out. He bailed on his players. Although, mind you, it wasn't intentional --- he just didn't know what to do. He was lost.”

9. FOR A MERE $65 MILLION YOU CAN ... : So, that vacation home you’ve been thinking about buying if only you could find the right one at the right location ... well, have I got a deal for you. Greg Norman’s got his Jupiter Island home on the market again and for a mere $65 million it’s yours. He tried to sell the house last year at the same price and didn’t have a single taker. One would think Norman would consider the fact the economy isn’t exactly blazing down the highway these days so maybe, just maybe it would be a good idea to REDUCE the price by a couple million or so. But, that would make too much sense.

10. RANDOM THOUGHTS: Say a prayer today for Auburn football signee Shon Coleman, who is undergoing chemo for leukemia ... he University of Minnestoa beat Louisiana Tech, 9-1, in college baseball Saturday at Target Field, the new home of the Minnesota Twins. The game attracted 37,000 fans who paid $2 apiece for admission ... With Jacory Harris sitting the spring recovering from surgery on his thump, freshman Stephen Morris (12-21, 209 yards, two touchdowns at Saturday’s scrimmage) is having a very impressive spring ... Former Gator David Lee is second in the NBA in rebounding (11.9 per game) ... ESPN has Kentucky’s John Wall as the number one prospect for the June NBA Draft with DeMarcus Cousins at number four ... A Lexington radio station concedes the Wildcats will lose five early entrees to the NBA Draft (Wall, Cousins, Patrick Patterson, Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton). Talk around Lexington is that there is no way Bledsoe and Orton will hang around another year ... The Baylor women got vengeance for the men’s team losing to Duke Monday night. Baylor’s women knocked off Duke 51-48 to advance to the Final Four ... Kristine Lilly became the first player to appear in a Team USA soccer match in four decades when the US beat Mexico Sunday. Lilly has appeared in 343 international matches for Team USA in her career.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Mike Freeman of CBS Sports is also no fan of John Calipari. Freeman writes, “Calipari stays one step ahead of the sheriff. If Bob Marley were still alive, he would sing a song about Calipari.”

[radbag]

awesome...thanks toddy!