Ramblings from The Sports Think Tank
By Bo Bounds
Lane Kiffin may be a pretty-boy coach, but he’s playing for keeps on the recruiting trail. Kiffin stunned Nick Saban and Bama nation by hiring Lance Thompson away from Alabama on Thursday.
Kiffin continued his all-out aggressive onslaught on Friday by convincing Frank Wilson, Mississippi State’s top recruiter, to join him in Knoxville. Wilson is one of the better recruiters in the Southeast.
I’ll give UT and Auburn credit for surrounding young and inexperienced head coaches with good assistants who can recruit. It’s obvious the SEC athletic directors understand signing day is arguably the most important day in your program.
UT and Auburn have recognized they have a distinct disadvantage in recruiting compared to Alabama, LSU, Florida and Georgia. It’s official – money is no object when putting together a staff for the top-6 teams in the conference.
Wilson loss big blow for Mullen
Frank Wilson is heading to Knoxville to join his old boss Ed Orgeron. This is a big blow for young Dan Mullen. Wilson was considered the best recruiter on the staff. Rumors out of Vegas have Tony Hughes, assistant at USM, replacing Wilson. If Hughes lands in Starkville, Mullen has landed another good recruiter. Hughes has a good reputation as a recruiter, and has spent over 20 years coaching in Mississippi, on the high school and college level.
On some of the message boards, fans have called out Wilson as a traitor. What? Wilson is a hired recruiter. Nothing more, nothing less. He doesn’t care about the logo on the helmet. As long as the check cashes twice a month, Frank Wilson will recruit for your school. When another school offers more cash, the Frank Wilson’s of the world are gone.
Maybe MState fans will appreciate Rick Stansbury a little more after this off-season in college football. Stansbury could be coaching at a school like UNC-Charlotte or South Florida; where it’s much easier to recruit. Instead, Stansbury has stayed around Starkville because he actually loves MSU.
AKs wife files suit
Are you serious? Why? Kimber Kennedy filed a lack of consortium suit December 22 against the cab driver (Jiddou) and the valet (Strother). This ordeal goes from train wreck to a tabloid-like story. What’s next? Kennedy’s trial is scheduled to start April 20th in Cincinnati, OH.
The message boards are having a big-time with Kimber Kennedy’s law suit. My theory, Kennedy wins because he has better attorneys, and can spend the money to fight this thing. With a $900k/per year salary on the line, and the risk of coaching in basketball purgatory if you lose, Kennedy will do what it takes to make this thing go away.
Underclassmen going pro and staying in college
As a huge college football fan it’s great to see Sam Bradford and teammates stay in Norman for one more year. On the business side of things, what are they thinking! Every play in the college and NFL game is a train-wreck.
If I’m Jermaine Gresham or Gerald McCoy, all-american Oklahoma football players, I would would be playing in the NFL in 2009. You cannot pass up 10+ million in bonus money – when you risk injury every time you step on the field.
C.J. Spiller is another player who should have left Clemson. Watching Dabo Swinney applaud Spiller’s announcement of coming back for another year was nothing short of selfish on Swinney’s part. I know Swinney is hired to win football games, but another year of wear and tear on Spiller’s body will only shorten his career. Running backs average 2-3 years in the league. Spiller should be playing with a NFL team in 2009.
Tebow’s decision to come back makes sense. He was guaranteed nothing. Gresham, McCoy and Spiller were guaranteed big bonus money. Brandon Spikes was crazy for coming back. The middle linebacker position is one of the most brutal positions in the game. In a game where every down is a gift, players should go to the next level when guaranteed money is on the table.
Bo Bounds is the editor of Yallsports.com.
