Florida LB cleared to play

There was good news for the Florida Gators on Friday when linebacker Neiron Ball was cleared to play after a long injury. According to the Gainseville Sun, Ball missed the whole of the 2011 season after a blood burst in his brain and doctors found “arteriovenous malformation, a congenital vascular condition not related to football”. But finally, ball passed his final medical check-up, meaning that he’s free to put on the blue and orange soon. BOTTOM LINE: Great news for Florida, who now adds even more depth at linebacker and on the defensive side of the ball. Jelani Jenkins and John Bostic are going to be tough enough for offensive players to try and get through – and now Ball

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Recruiting: Vanderbilt adds two commitments

Vanderbilt continued an excellent recruiting season so far by adding the commitment of cornerback Darius Sims from Memphis – the 11th ranked player in the State. This was widely reported on Twitter. Sims, who is ranked as a three-star defensive back by Rivals committed to the Commodores on Sunday. Vanderbilt beat Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss amongst other schools to Sims. Sims is 5 ft 9,  can run a 4.65 40 and has a 32 inch vertical – and Vanderbilt will hope he can frighten quarterbacks for years to come. The commitment is the second to be announced this Sunday after defensive end Sean Spencer – the 52nd player in Georgia – committed to Vandy. Spencer was recruited by LSU and

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Recruiting: Tennessee adds two recruits

Quarterback Riley Ferguson has committed to The University of Tennessee , reports have said. Ferguson, who plays in Matthews, North Carolina, is a three-star quarterback, was recruited by Alabama, LSU, Clemson, Notre Dame and Michigan before opting to play in Knoxville. Ferguson was ranked 199th in the 2013 class by ESPN, and the sixth overall in North Carolina. He threw for over 3,000 yards and nearly 50 touchdowns in an incredible year in 2011. Grayson High School (Ga.) linebacker Zach Barnes also committed to the Vols today, too. BOTTOM LINE: This is quite a coup for Derek Dooley and his recruiting team – especially with the coach on the perennial Vols hot-seat this year.

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Recruiting: Georgia loses five-star recruit

We normally don’t do de-commitments, but when it’s one of the nation’s top high school running backs, we’re happy to get some words in. Derrick Henry, formerly a commitment for the Georgia Bulldogs, decided Athens is not going to be his home after all. He said in a statement – covered by the AJC said: “This has been a great experience getting to know so many great coaches and visiting some of the best college football programs in the country. Even though I’ve worked really hard to put myself in this situation, I know I’m blessed to have this opportunity I’m very thankful for that. “For me personally, this is one of the biggest decisions I’ll make in my life and

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Recruiting: Auburn adds four-star DE Tashawn Bower

Auburn has added defensive end Tashawn Bower, according to reports. The three-star weakside defensive end from New Jersey opted for Auburn on Tuesday. He said on his Twitter feed: “Just committed to auburn #wareagle“. In another tweet, he asked the media to stop nagging him for an interview: “Dear media please stop calling my phone #it‘s dying”. He’s thought of as the 8th best defensive end in New Jersey, and had a number of offers, including SEC schools Florida, South Carolina, Kentucky and Ole Miss. In fact, there weren’t a lot of schools in the country that didn’t chase him.  

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Recruiting: Georgia grabs one recruit, loses another to USC

Georgia has beaten Georgia Tech to the commitment for 4-star linebacker Naim Mustafaa, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported. He told the AJC: “I made my decision about a week ago; I just had to come down to Georgia and tell them face to face. It just came down to where I wanted to be, really. Georgia Tech and Georgia are both great schools. I had to choose one.” Mustafaa is the son of seven-year NFL veteran Reggie Rutland, who played for Georgia Tech. However, Saturday was not all good news for Bulldogs fans. They had battled it out for in-state offensive linesman JP Vonashek with South Carolina, and ultimately lost the battle to their SEC rival. Vonashek told the AJC: “It

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Scheduling: SEC games open ESPN’s CFB season

ESPN will be showing two SEC games on the first night of the season, the network announced. South Carolina’s tricky trip to Vanderbilt and Texas A&M first game of its SEC existence – against Louisiana Tech- will be shown on ESPN and ESPNU respectively. We’ll go out on a limb and say that we expect the Aggies- yes, even with THAT defence – to win that one comfortably. You should also keep an eye out for September 13th, when former Auburn offensive co-ordinator Gus Malzahn takes his Arkansas State team on the road to noisy Lincoln, Nebraska for a showdown with the mighty Nebraska Cornhuskers. Later that day, Mississippi State go to Troy (you can watch it online on ESPN3).

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Recruiting: Alabama picks up QB from Georgia

It seems that if you’re a four and five-star recruit, you are either heading to Tuscaloosa, Ann Arbor, or Los Angeles these days. Parker McLeod, the highly sought-after quarterback from Walton High School in Georgia, decided that he wanted to go to Tuscaloosa to play his football in 2013 – and so committed to Nick Saban and his Crimson company on Friday. “Alabama was my dream school all along,” McLeod told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “I got a firm offer from them on Wednesday and I committed on the spot. They wanted me to wait a little bit, or until Friday, until I went public with it.” Saban had earlier whiffed on quarterbacks Anthony Jennings and Johnathan McCrary, who went to Vanderbilt.

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Recruiting: Alabama adds four-star recruit

Nick Saban added his 15th commitment of the season when Texan cornerback Maurice Smith committed to play for Alabama, Al.com has reported. According to the report, Smith announced the decision via press release. He said: “Maurice Smith II (Fort Bend Sugarland Dulles c/o 2013) has researched, evaluated, and visited and has reached his decision to commit to University of Alabama and play for Nick Saban’s defense.” He added: “I knew this would be one of the biggest decisions in my life, and at 16 it seemed almost too big, and a lot of pressure. But someone told me that I would know when it was right. It just felt right, with no pressure, or expectation, it is just right for

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Friday Special: Ranking The SEC’s Coaches

Before Missouri, Texas A&M, Ole Miss and Arkansas fans get angry and upset as to why Mssrs Pinkel, Sumlin, Freeze and Smith aren’t on the list, it’s because none of them have had SEC coaching game under their belts so they are going in the N/A category. But for the other 10, here’s the SEC Football Blog’s ranking of the conference’s coaches. Tell us what you think – as we’re sure you will- if you disagree… 1. Nick Saban (Alabama) There are those who love him (Alabama fans, his family) and those who hate him (Other SEC fans, Miami Dolphins fans), but there’s one thing for certain: Nick Saban is the best coach in the SEC – and in college

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