So Dial said his hit was a clean hit. Looks like the SEC got their message across loud and clear to Dial.
Coaching News
1. Texas A&M special teams coordinator/tight ends coach Brian Polian reportedly interviewed for Nevada job. Favorite to take the job?
2. Mississippi State looking for two assistants. Former Minnesota assistant Tim Cross expected to be interviewed today for defensive line job. Also watch former Kentucky assistant David Turner and former MSU defensive tackle Dorsett Davis.
3. Alabama coach Nick Saban says he has no interest in returning to the NFL. How much longer will he coach? ”As long as I’m happy.” Saban also discusses Mariano Rivera, the tight end revolution and up-tempo play in which he sees the end of the huddle. Saban’s messy Miami legacy.
4. Has Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly been contacted by any NFL teams? “Any of those things that occur relative to contact, there’s a strict protocol for that.”
5. Secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt will finish at Alabama Monday night before going to Florida State to become defensive coordinator. “For me, I didn’t want to abandon these coaches or these players.”
Bowl Games
6. Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron connects in practice with wide receiver Kenny Bell, recovering from a broken leg. ”Put him in the game, coach!”
7. McCarron: “I was never an Alabama fan growing up.”
8. Crimson Tide receiver Amari Cooper needs just five receptions Monday night to tie Julio Jones single-season freshman record.
9. Alabama is a perfect 49-0 since the start of the 2008 season when rushing for more than 150 yards.
10. Notre Dame has six starters from SEC states.
11. Are bowl games really on the brink of irrelevance? (TV ratings tell a very different story than attendance figures.)
SEC Football
12. Alabama defensive end Quinton Dial on the hit against Aaron Murray in the SEC Championship Game: ”It was a clean hit, from my perspective. I saw the shot and I took it.”
13. SEC teams will likely be chasing Alabama again next season.
14. Looks like Florida quarterback Jacoby Brissett is transferring.
15. Postmortem on LSU’s season: Tigers limped into the sunset – major early season roster losses played a big role.
16. Les Miles had some tough words for Gunner Kiel when the quarterback chose to go to Notre Dame. Kiel doesn’t hold a grudge: “I was dumb during the recruiting process.”
17. Tennessee coach Butch Jones on his offensive line: “That’s going to be the strength of our football team.”
18. Want to reduce concussions in football? Reduce contact in practice. ”What’s very clear is if you reduce contacts in practice, you’ll reduce the likelihood of brain trauma and concussions.”
19. Middle school picture of Johnathan Manziel.
SEC Basketball
20. South Carolina coach Frank Martin on LaShay Page, declared academically ineligible. ”I failed LaShay, OK? I failed LaShay. I didn’t do my job well enough. It’s the first time I’ve had a kid not make it through the year, and that’s on me and my staff.”
21. Florida travels to Yale today. Senior forward Erik Murphy will have a personal cheering section today.
22. Decision will be announced Monday at Tennessee on whether Jeronne Maymon will play this year or not. Update: Maymon will redshirt.
23. Decision will be announced Monday at Missouri on whether Tony Criswell be available against Alabama.
24. How Mizzou point guard Phil Pressey’s game has changed: “Pressey never attempted more than 15 shots in his first 54 collegiate games. He has taken 18 or more shots in four of his last six.”
25. Georgia A.D. Greg McGarity on the state of Bulldogs basketball: “We talked about it’s not how you start it’s how you finish.”
26. Joe Dean, Jr. on the state of SEC basketball. Eight of 14 teams are in “building mode.” Half of SEC teams have undergone coaching changes in the last two years.
Extras
27. Former LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu: “”I abused myself through marijuana.” Interview with ESPN.
28. Mike Bianchi on Wikipedia entries and the differences between Michael Vick’s and the one for Ray Lewis: “In the opening paragraph of Vick’s, it mentions his notorious episode of dog-killing. In Lewis’ opening paragraph… there is not a single mention of the fact that he once was charged with murdering two men.”
