Speaking of recruiting, that whole Thing About Thigpen? Another victim of the Kiffin Chimera's "you still have a scholarship offer, but you're really not the right fit for us" negative pitch. Better shape up fans, I'm telling you, because I fear that they're going to start sending such messages to fans. Yours -- yes, yours -- is in the mail.
Speaking of Kiffin: table manners. And also speaking of Kiffin, Dawg Sports is the latest to attempt an early nickname, but none are really sticking at this point. Most are missing the mark, I think, because they focus solely on Lane. The Kiffin Coaching Chimera may not stand the test of time, but I think it's at least headed in the right direction by being focused on the entire staff.
Part of the reason why Emmanuel Negedu is becoming the Dane Bradshaw of the the 2008-09 Vols is his attitude: "I heard the crowd, they were shouting and yelling at me, and it felt kind of special. If coach plays me one minute, I go hard and I'm happy. Two minutes, I go hard and I'm happy. He is the coach, and he knows what he is doing.''
SEC
Sylvester Croom regrets nothing about his time at Mississippi State and is headed back to the NFL to coach running backs for the St. Louis Rams.
Auburn has apparently found a QB to run its Spread Option Experiment, Take II. Tony Franklin is the big loser here because this time, Auburn may actually be committed to making it work.
This sounds just like the Gators. Somewhere back in the black and white age, the Florida Gators defense went fetal, giving its opponent a quick score, just so its offense could score again. For the record, I'm all for this.