People are making a huge deal out of Kentucky getting commitments from eighth and ninth graders, but there’s nothing binding in any of this. No one’s signing any papers yet. So why is this such a big deal and how is it different from what everybody’s been doing for years behind closed doors?
- Tim H., Frankfort, KY

I think getting commitments from 8th and 9th graders is rather silly. These commitments are non-binding, so what’s the point?

The player is free to change his or her mind. The coach is free to change his or her mind. Yes, I realize that can happen when a senior commits, but I’d venture to guess well over 80% of commitments made by a senior are honored.

I also think it can become a bit risky for a coach. For example, what if Frank Frankfort shows promise as a 6-3 freshman point guard, but gets no bigger, no better, no quicker, no stronger. So the coach decides the kid really isn’t good enough to help his team.

If he pulls the offer, then the coach gets beat up in the recruiting circles. “You can’t take that coach’s word,” critics would argue. If the coach takes the kid who can’t play, he’s stuck for maybe 4 years with a non-contributor.

And for the youngster, I think committing to a high profile school at a young age can only put more pressure on him. He will be the target of every opponent and every opponent’s fans.

Let the kids have fun. Let them enjoy life. Let them grow up a little before they are burdened with making decisions about which college to attend.

I watched your guys clips on Ole Miss and Mississippi State on your Sports Source page. I want to know why you think Ole Miss is in better shape than the Bulldogs. We just went to a bowl game last year while Ole Miss went 3-9. What’s up with that?
- Jerry D., Meridian, MS

I don’t think Ole Miss is in better shape than Mississippi State. The point was this: Do you think the programs will get better or worse or stay the same over the next four years?

That determines whether you buy the stock or sell the stock. I applaud the job Sly Croom did at Mississippi State last year, but I don’t think the Bulldogs will average 8 wins over the next 4 years.

On the other hand, Ole Miss was horrific in Ed Orgeron’s 3 years. The Rebels were 0-8 in the SEC last year and have lost 18 of their last 20 SEC games. Do I think that will continue? No.

If Ole Miss averages 5 wins over the next four years, that’s an improvement over the 3 wins last year and the average of 3.3 wins since 2005. That would make money on the stock market.

That’s why I would buy Ole Miss stock. I also think Orgeron left Houston Nutt with enough talent to be competitive right away. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Rebels make a bowl game this season.

Who is more important to Florida’s hopes this Fall: Tim Tebow or Percy Harvin? With Harvin, Tebow won’t have to do everything by himself - and get beat to Hell again. And Urban’s already shown he can win a national title without Tebow as his starter. I think Harvin is actually more important than Tebow. What say you?
- Darrel J., Ormond Beach, FL

Tebow is more important. I’ll take a great quarterback over a great receiver any time. I’d take Joe Montana over Jerry Rice, Tom Brady over Randy Moss, Troy Aikman over Michael Irvin, Peyton Manning over Marvin Harrison.

The quarterback position is the most important on the field. There’s a reason the quarterback is the only player in football that has a won-loss record attached to his name.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I think Percy Harvin is a dynamite player, one of the most explosive in college football. But Tebow makes that team go.

And while you are right that Florida won a national title without Tebow as the starter, I would submit Florida wouldn’t have won it without Tebow. Without Tebow, I don’t think Florida beats Tennessee that year or maybe Georgia and Florida State. He converted critical third and fourth down plays with his running ability to help win games.

Even with Harvin last year, Tebow got the heck beat out of him. Some of that is Meyer’s play calling and not having a reliable running back. So while Harvin is valuable, Tebow is the man.

Does Tennessee have to make Tim Tebow throw the ball in order for Tennessee to win in September and if Coach Clawson has a great year, can you see him as Fulmer’s successor?
- Jeff, Knoxville, TN

Yes, Tennessee must make Tebow throw to beat the Gators. That doesn’t ensure a win, but it helps.

I thought UT made a mistake last year against the Gators in basically playing them straight up defensively. I didn’t see a concerted effort to take away the run or the pass. That allowed Florida to do both.

Auburn devised a game plan to take away the run, forcing Tebow to throw. Tebow didn’t have a good passing game that night and the Tigers scored an upset. You have to commit one way or the other, and I think against Florida’s spread option, you commit to take away the run and hope Tebow is off target.

If Coach Clawson has a great year, or a great two or three years, I could see him replacing Fulmer. While I might be in the minority on this, I think Fulmer wants to go out on top.

If he has three good seasons, he could surpass Gen. Neyland as UT’s all-time winningest coach. If Fulmer does it in a season in which the Vols win at least 10 games, I think he would retire. And if UT is doing well during that stretch, Clawson, with his head coaching experience, would be a logical replacement.

He would know the ins and outs of the UT program, he would have been successful, he would understand what it takes in the SEC, and he would be ready for a big-time program. But I think it would take more than one good year by Clawson to promote him to the head spot.

Now, if things go sour over the next two or three years, you can count out Clawson. You don’t promote from within if the program is on the slide.

This is your chance to ask our Ace Reporter, Jimmy Hyams, a question about your team’s football or basketball program.

Simply send your question to questions@mrsec.com along with your real first name, your last initial, and your real hometown.

From there we’ll gather the best questions and answer them on Jimmy’s “Ask the Ace” page.

Jimmy’s got his ear to the ground, so you can expect the inside dope and an honest opinion to your query.

Will all of the negative talk thrown at Bobby Petrino when he left the Falcons haunt him in the future with recruiting? ESPN and the national media absolutely destroyed the guy. It became way too personal if you ask me.
- Jack K., Gillam Park, AR

Was it personal? Yes. Was it deserved? Probably. You don’t walk out on your team. Having said that, I don’t think it will kill his recruiting.

Truth is, when it comes to jobs and recruiting, coaches lie. If you kicked out every football coach for telling a lie about a job or recruiting, you wouldn’t have many left.

Petrino did a marvelous job turning around a Louisville program that was ranked 97th in the nation in total offense (333 yards per game) when he took over and finished No. 5 in the nation (488 yards per game) in HIS FIRST SEASON. You’ve got to have a special offensive mind to formulate that turnaround.

And when it comes to fibbing, it didn’t hurt Nick Saban when he left the Dolphins for the Crimson Tide. He just had arguably the nation’s top recruiting class.

Petrino will win at Arkansas. He will score points at Arkansas. He will recruit well at Arkansas. But in his first season, the Hogs lost too many offensive weapons to expect much this season. Considering what he inherits, going .500 would be a decent achievement.

Why does everybody make fun of Les Miles? The guy wins 10 games every year and just won a national championship. He also knows how to recruit. I would think a lot of coaches would like to be as “stupid” as Miles.
- Ronnie T., Biloxi, MS

Ronnie, Les Miles didn’t help his cause when he first arrived, wearing some sort of silly headset that looked like it came from Star Wars. And it didn’t help his image to wear his cap so high on his head that you could have fit two softballs underneath. And when he blew the Tennessee game after leading 21-0 in Baton Rouge, he seemed like a bad hire. He also tried to call a timeout in a key situation of a game, apparently not realizing the clock had stopped either by an incomplete pass or a player going out of bounds.

But I will give Miles credit for winning the national championship last year. Yes, he won with a lot of Nick Saban’s talent. Still, he had to overcome a lot of injuries to key players — including his quarterback, who didn’t play in the SEC title game — and he got his players to play hard. I always thought one of Pat Dye’s strengths was getting good players to play hard. You’ll win a lot of games doing that.

Having said all that, I think the jury is still out a bit on Miles. He has recruited well. He has won more games than any coach in the country over the past three years. But can he sustain that success as Alabama and Mississippi State and — yes — even Ole Miss improve?

Is there any way in the world that Kentucky can be as good this year as they were with Andre Woodson? Without Woodson, the Wildcats wouldn’t have been anywhere near a bowl game last year. With him in the NFL, is there any reason for hope for us Kentucky fans?
- Mark J., Cupio, KY

Nope. Randy Sanders, Kentucky’s quarterbacks coach, told me the Wildcats would be much better at quarterback than many think. He said Mike Hartline reminded him of Erik Ainge. I think he meant Ainge as a junior and senior, not as a sophomore. Also Kentucky has some good running backs.

But in the wake of losing wideouts Keenan Burton and Steve Johnson, Dicky Lyons Jr. had a disappointing spring. He’s not the leader coach Rich Brooks would like for him to be. And the offensive line is average. So you won’t see Kentucky scoring 40 points to beat teams like Louisville, Arkansas and LSU.

The defense has improved some, but it ranked 12th in the SEC in scoring defense and 10th in total defense and rushing defense. If Kentucky can beat Louisville to open the season, the Wildcats could reach 4-0. But then they could — could — lose eight in a row. I don’t see Kentucky going any better than 6-6.

Now that my Vols have gotten rid of Erik Ainge (Dink) and David Cutcliffe (Dunk), will we finally see a wide open offense again? Peyton Manning, Heath Shuler and Tony Robinson were the last big guns that liked to wing it and actually could. Now it’s Jonathan Crompton’s turn to air it out. Right? Right?
-Jim C., Lenoir City, TN

Jim, if Tennessee airs it out, the Vols are in trouble. History tells us the Vols are a much better team when they don’t throw it all over the park. Seldom do the Vols win when they throw it 45 times in a game. Of course, I realize in some of those games, UT threw because it was behind.

This one might surprise you: in Tennessee’s best three regular-season wins last year, the Vols ran it over 40 times. Those were the only three games in which UT ran it at least 40 times. See a trend?

Now, with Crompton, the Vols will throw more downfield than with Ainge, who was bothered by a shoulder injury suffered in the season opener. Crompton proved against LSU in 2006 he could throw the long ball. He did it again in the Orange and White game this Spring.

But while you want to see the Vols air it out, you SHOULD want to see them run more. If they can average over 160 rushing yards per game, they will have a chance to win the East. If they average less than 140 and throw it 35 times a game, UT won’t contend.

Crompton’s job is be productive, make plays and avoid mistakes. Productive could mean going 14 of 20 for 180 yards. But he’s got to get help from the run game because I don’t think he’s good enough to carry the offense.

I do like the way he throws slant routes — something previous coordinator David Cutcliffe avoided becaue he felt it was a difficult timing route to throw. And one other thing: as new offensive coordinator Dave Clawson said, he can’t try to win the game on every play. For a guy with limited experience, he needs to play like a veteran.