Maybe UT can snag Taylor if Malzahn gets rid of him. He did used to coach/recruit here under Fulmer
Coaching News/Rumors
1. Auburn’s new offensive coordinator, Rhett Lashlee, is joining head coach Gus Malzahn in making the move from Arkansas State.
2. Do Bobby Petrino and Houston Nutt want the job Malzahn just left?
3. The house cleaning at Auburn continues - strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall is out – 10th assistant under Gene Chizik to be let go. Auburn may owe last year’s staff as much as $11 million.
4. Auburn’s new defensive coordinator, Ellis Johnson, has the blessing of Gene Stallings: ”He’s a good person, a good recruiter and a good football coach. I think Auburn made a good hire.”
5. What’s the future of assistant coach Trooper Taylor at Auburn?
6. Assembling a staff now a focus of Bret Bielema at Arkansas.
7. The question about new Tennessee coach Butch Jones – we know he can cook dinner but can he buy the groceries?
8. With new coaches in place in bordering SEC states, Missouri coach Gary Pinkel’s job just got tougher.
9. Texas Tech offensive coordinator Neal Brown rumored to be in line for the same spot at Kentucky. But with head coaching jobs open at mid-major programs, Brown may have other options.
10. New Kentucky defensive coordinator D.J. Eliot is already out on the recruiting trail for UK.
11. South Carolina assistant Shawn Elliott was rumored to be interested in the head coaching job at Appalachian State, but he’s staying in Columbia.
12. Mike Bianchi on Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher: “If FSU fans don’t think Fisher would leave Tallahassee for an SEC job, they are delusional.”
13. The “farm system” for big-time programs? ”In the 2013 season, at least 13 of the 57 BCS automatic-qualifier teams will have head coaches who have been head coaches in the MAC.”
14. New Cal coach Sonny Dykes gives the fans a reality check: “It’s going to be a long, arduous process.”
Honors/Awards
15. SEC All-Freshman Team – Alabama, Florida, Texas A&M lead the way with four selections each.
16. More hardware for Johnny Football. Johnny Manziel wins Davey O’Brien Award given to the nation’s top quarterback. Manziel’s top 10 plays of the year. Footballs and helmets signed by Manziel (many believed to be fake) have sold for more than $400.
17. Five of the last six O’Brien winners have gone on to win the Heisman. The case for each of the three finalists.
18. Manziel teammate and offensive lineman Luke Joeckel wins the Outland Award, prevents Alabama’s Barrett Jones from becoming repeat winner, but Jones does win Remington Trophy.
19. Mississippi State’s Johnthan Banks wins the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s top defensive back.
20. Top ten Heisman seasons of the last 40 years?
SEC/College News
21. Arkansas juniors ponder the possibilities of leaving early for the NFL.
22. Mississippi State will open bowl practices to fans next week as the Bulldogs gear up for the Gator Bowl.
23. Ron Morris comes to the defense of the ACC conference: “(W)hy pick on the ACC because it does not compete at the same level (as the SEC)? Neither does the Big Ten, or the Big 12, or the Pac-12, or the Big East.”
SEC Basketball
24. Vanderbilt 66 – Xavier 64 (OT). Career-high 25 points for Vanderbilt guard Kyle Fuller.
24. Back-to-back games for Tennessee under 40 points - first time since 1946.
25. Missouri has talent but can all these new parts learn to play together?
Realignment/Expansion
26. Does Mike Kryzewski’s unhappiness with realignment mean he’s worried that Duke could be next?
27. Mark Story: Will the ACC that exists now be the one Louisville ultimately joins in 2014 and the one in which it is still playing a decade from now?
28. Realignment taking its toll on the Big East - could take $20 million to $40 million hit on new television deals.
Extra
29. Fired-up coach head-butted player. Player had helmet on…coach did not.
