Category: Vanderbilt

As the SEC season looms, the Big 12 gives us stark news

With the SEC season looming, there are some worrying signals out of the Big 12 that this season won’t be straightforward as we might have hoped. For this Saturday’s start of the Big 12 and ACC seasons, already TCU has postponed its game with SMU, Baylor has postponed its game with Louisiana Tech, and Oklahoma State has done the same with Tulsa. All of the delays have been attributed to COVID-19. The most recent – and most unfortunate – one of these postponements was Louisiana Tech vs Baylor.  Louisiana Tech, based in Ruston, LA, was hard-hit by Hurricane Laura, which took out 90% of the area for 7-10 days, sending athletes scurrying to seek other places to live. That sent COVID

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Tennessee cancels scrimmage due to COVID-19

Tenneesee has cancelled its scrimmage at Neyland Stadium today because of COVID-19 measures that made 44 players unavailable. Although there were only ‘seven or eight’ players who actually had COVID-19, a large number of other players were sidelined due to quaratine measures – meaning that only 30 offensive players were available. NCAA guidelines dictate COVID-19hat players tessting positive must sit for 10 days and have three days without symptoms before coming back to play. Players who have been determined to have “high-risk” contact with players who test positive are required to sit for 14 days (which would be in players’ position groups or a player who is within 6ft of someone who tests positive for over 15 minutes without a face

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SEC East Preview: Can Georgia continue its roll?

We know that 2020 is going to be difficult for all sorts of reasons. COVID-19 has put a spectre like no other on the SEC season. These two previews – one for the East and one for the West – are going to be done with the knowledge (and the hope this won’t happen) that it could all end in disaster.  SEC EAST PREVIEW The SEC East hasn’t been given a lot of credit by anyone over the years. Mainly because it’s been Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, and people haven’t recognised that Florida’s not really that bad. It’s also been scourged by the relative uselessness of Tennessee, Missouri, South Carolina and Vanderbilt, who have paled into comparison to the talent-rich monsters

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Georgia’s new QB Newman opts out

Georgia’s new quarterback Jamie Newman – a lot of people’s tips to start this year – has decided to opt out of the 2020 season on COVID-19 concerns. The 6-4, 234lb graduate transfer from Wake Forest had 2,868 yards and 26 TDs in 2019 with a QB rating of 145.3 and a completion percentage of 60.9. “With much prayer and discussion with my family I would like to announce that due to the uncertainties of this year amid a global pandemic I will officially opt-out of this football season to prepare for the upcoming 2021 NFL draft,” he tweeted. Newman becomes the latest high-profile player to leave for the NFL Draft. If you’re a college football coach, you might be wondering

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LSU DT Shelvin to opt out of 2020 season

LSU defensive tackle Tyler Shelvin is going to opt out of the 2020 season. The 6-3, 364 lb junior is widely-tipped to be one of the top picks at his position in the 2021 NFL Draft. Last year he had 39 total tackles – including 3 tackles for loss and 13 solo tackles, as well 2 defended passes. That led LSU’s starters for the year. He was a massive unit to stop – a reason that although he started all 15 games, he didn’t record a tackle against Oklahoma and Clemson in the College Football Play-Off games.  

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COVID shreds Auburn, LSU position groups

The COVID-19 pandemic may have hit the University of Alabama’s school population hard, but it’s hit Auburn and LSU’s teams harder. Auburn hasn’t been able to practice since Tuesday, because positive COVID-19 tests meant practice was cancelled on Thursday. Wednesday’s practice may have been due to the virus, but also due to social justice issues, but Auburn hasn’t been transparent about it. And when they do step on the practice field in the burning, humid heat, the team will only have 16 players due to positive tests and worries about exposure to the virus. “We are learning as we go here,” Malzahn said, according to 247Sports. “Every day and every week is a different challenge, and we talk about the teams

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Ja’Marr Chase opting out of season – reports

LSU wide receiving star Ja’Marr Chase is going to opt out of the 2020 season, according to reports. Apparently this is not COVID-19 related, but so Chase can concentrate on getting prepared for the 2021 Draft. CBS said that it was “agents may have simply convinced Chase to leave before his third collegiate season”. And although it’s claimed that it’s not related to the virus, here’s the deal: If Chase had had a bad case of COVID-19, it would have exhausted him. The virus has been linked with heart conditions, lung conditions and left tons of tons of victims utterly exhausted. Imagine if that happened to Chase during his junior year. As for Chase, he really didn’t have anything to

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SEC adds another COVID-19 testing mandate

The SEC has updated their testing practices. The league will now require three tests per week instead of the updated two, with a third rapid diagnostic test coming nearer the game. “We remain vigilant in monitoring the trends and effects of COVID-19 as we learn more about the virus, and this cardiac evaluation enhances the effectiveness of the protocols already in place,” said SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey. He added: “We are confident in our institutions’ ability to provide a healthy environment supported by rigorous testing and surveillance. Our student-athletes have indicated their desire to compete and it is our responsibility to make every effort to deliver a healthy and medically sound environment for providing that opportunity.” In our view, the

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If the SEC really cared, they’d ban fans

If there’s one thing that differentiates us from other football conferences, it’s tailgating. The regalia of The Grove. The boats below Neyland. The whole LSU scene. We are legendary. Most schools are going to ban tailgating this season. After all, they don’t want a reduced stadium to spurn a party of 100,000 outside (we see you, Baton Rouge!). That could lead to some innovative tailgating spots in parks with big screens getting put up for people to watch games like you would for play-off games in different professional sports cities, but most sensible people will walk away. Georgia is not yet decided on this.  The stadiums themselves – schools have announced – will be reduced by around 20-25%. According to

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NCAA Division 1 Council votes on eligibility

The NCAA Division 1 Council has voted to allow players in any fall sports to play ANY amount of competition and it not to count towards their eligibility. In essence a player can opt-in for a game or two, and then opt-out if he or she feels uncomfortable about the environment. Also, this means that should the College Football season close down during the season, players won’t lose eligbility. This should assuage a lot of fears that the NCAA would take off years of people’s scholarships for opting-out, but it was predictable bearing in mind how badly the organising body has handled the whole COVID-19 situation. SO WHAT CAN BE DONE ABOUT THE SCHOLARSHIP HEADACHE? With the new rules in

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