Spring Meetings: SEC coaches vote in $300-per-game stipend

The SEC coaches might have just done something that could change the course of college football. This tweet came from Scott Hood at Gamecock Central: Scott Hood ‏@ScottHood63 In case you missed it, Steve Spurrier told me last night the SEC coaches unanimously approved giving FB players $300 per game for expenses. This isn’t just big news. This is massive news. This could mean that players are at least paid for playing – taking back some of the money that schools, clothing companies and other parties (yes, even college football blogs!) so happily take from them year in, year out. Hood played this down slightly, saying it probably wouldn’t get through the Athletic Directors and Presidents: Scott Hood ‏@ScottHood63: The key question, though,

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Spring Meetings: While you’re waiting…

While you’re waiting for all the news to come out of today’s SEC Spring Meetings, we’ve got some stuff for you to read (some of it’s a little old, so you’ll have to excuse us): 1) What’s a bigger dump – College Station, TX or Gainseville, FL? Kevin Sumlin and Will Muschamp have their comments, hilariously discussed by Outkick The Coverage. 2) Michael Felder (In The Bleachers) and Barrett Sallee (Bleacher Report) arguing over whether high-profile recruit Robert Nkemdiche will go to LSU or Alabama.  We think he’ll go to Georgia, because of his uncle and the chance to start pretty much straight away. 3) Alex Ferguson (ViewfromAmerica) put together a Storify piece about Steve Spurrier being awesome at his

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Tiger running scared? Miles not happy about Florida as permanent rival

The biggest news of the SEC Spring Meetings happened right at the end when news came out that LSU and Florida would be paired together for the forseeable future as ‘permanent’ SEC rivals as part of the new 6-1-1 scheduling. One coach was happy about this. One coach was not. LSU’s Les Miles was the one NOT wearing the smile. He said at his press conference in Destin (according to the Palm Beach Post): “This is all based on some vague tradition that is not considering that you’re adding teams to the conference. Tell me about the tradition of the conference when you add teams to it. He added: “I mean, Florida isn’t even a nearby state. This tradition of rivalry

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Recruiting News: DB picks USC

Ali Groves could have gone to Florida. Or to Vanderbilt. Or to Missouri. But instead, the Stephenson High defensive back chose Steve Spurrier and the University of South Carolina for his football career. The biggest issue for him may be a neck fracture, which kept him out for most of the 2011 season. Having said that, he was cleared to play in December – rather like a certain SEC alum we all know – so should be fine come September. Palmetto Sports said that linebacker Brandon Golson of Georgia Military Junior College may also come to Columbia as soon as this week. It must be noted that Groves wasn’t offered by his two homestate universities – UGA or Georgia Tech

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Tuesday Spring Meetings: Spurrier, the 6-1-1, and other stories

It’s been a busy first day at the SEC Spring Meetings with everybody getting to find out how they felt about a play-off. Everyone wants a four-team play-off, and in particular the four-best teams in the country. But Steve Spurrier said that actually, the winners of the East and West should be decided ONLY on their records in their divisions. He said: “We’ve lost seven games in the last two years, and five of them are to Auburn and Arkansas. We were pretty good against them other guys, I guess.” Nice way to talk about your divisional rivals, Steve. In that world, LSU would have played South Carolina in Atlanta for the SEC Championship, by the way. Mark Richt, Georgia’s

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SEC Spring Meetings: James Franklin interview

While Nick : and Les Miles were expected to battle it out for a National Championship in 2011, Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier were expected to battle it out for the SEC East, James Franklin and his Vanderbilt team were expected to be their inspiring, yet toothless selves. But the Commodores had a sensational season by their standards, finishing 6-6 and getting bowl eligible (they lost 31-24 in a heartbreaker in the Liberty Bowl). Franklin, looking resplendent in white shirt and chinos (he looked like one of the cast of the OC), took the interview with the SEC’s Buzz Baker: The 2011 season: The UConn win at the start of the season was critical to us – UConn were a

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SEC Spring Meetings:Nick Saban on entitlement, titles and schedules

Nick Saban sat down with Buzz Baker to talk about things at the University of Alabama, and he made sure that he delivered more than just an interview… Here are some of his best quotes: On Entitlement: There was a lot of entitlement in 2010 after we won in 2009 and we played badly. In 2012, the team we have now the entitlement is less but the schedule is tougher. But entitlement is a human condition. With it, you focus on what you’ve done and the holiday that you’re entitled to rather than focus on what makes you successful. The LSU game: I’m proud of the way they managed losing the first LSU game. We knew that we didn’t execute

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SEC Meetings: Miles, Saban headline Tuesday Schedule

Here are the SEC Spring Meetings schedule for the SEC Digital Network. The ones highlighted are the football head coaches.   10:40-10.50                     Gary Pinkel, Mizzou 11:00 – 11:10                      Les Miles, LSU          11:20 – 11:30                      Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss  12:00 – 12:10                      James Franklin, Vanderbilt 12:30 – 12:40                      Nick Saban, Alabama 12:50 – 1:00                        Commissioner Slive Don’t worry, we’ll be writing each of the press conferences up on SECFootballBlog.net! Expect: Gary Pinkel to talk about new, big wide receivers, and the challenge of SEC Football after the joke that was the Big XII North. Les Miles to talk about quarterbacks Hugh Freeze to talk about life after Houston

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Slive: I Like Play-Offs

When the most powerful commissioner in college football is saying: “I like play-offs”, it’s not going to be a matter whether college football goes to a play-off, it’s a matter when it does, and how many teams are involved. Speaking at the SEC Baseball tournament in Hoover (won by the Mississippi State Bulldogs, if you’re counting), Mike Slive said that he favours a four-team play-off. “I think what’s in the best interest of college football is a four-team playoff,” he told ESPN. “I think it’s better for everyone involved in the game. The plus-one narrows the postseason in a way that’s not necessarily in the best interest of all the conferences.” Of course, now comes the madness and questions: 1)

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Why the hate for Steve Spurrier?

Steve Spurrier made some non-needed headlines in the college football world this week when ESPN’s Mark Schlabach said that the South Carolina Gamecocks coach was ‘College Football’s Most Hated Coach (Of All Time)’. Said Schlabach in his article: “Rival fans hated Spurrier not only because he beat them so often while coaching at Florida, but more so because he loved to tell them about it afterward. From Spurrier’s famous jabs like “Free Shoes U.” and “Can’t Spell Citrus Without UT,” the Old Ball Coach gave rival fans myriad reasons to dislike him.” Also included in the list from 2-10 are: Ohio State’s Woody Hayes, Oklahoma’s Barry Switzer, Miami’s Jimmy Johnson, Tennessee and USC’s Lane Kiffin, Bobby Petrino, Ohio State head coach

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