Recruting tactics

UT’s Kiffin just latest to use helicopters in recruiting


Tennessee coaches arrive at M.L. King-Stephenson game in a rented helicopter this past Friday. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin is neither the only coach nor the first coach to employ a helicopter in recruiting. In fact, lots of the schools are doing it these days, according to a recent article in The New York Times.Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans reported on Oct. 16 that swooping into high school games on a chopper is just the latest emerging trend in major college football recruiting. Cincinnati, Missouri, UCLA and Maryland are among those that have apparently been doing it for awhile. In fact, the Terrapins apparently were one of the first to employ the strategy but no longer do it due to budget constraints, the newspaper reported.But such grandiose tactics hadn’t been seen in these parts until Kiffin and assistant coach Ed Orgeron arrived at the nationally-televised M.L. King-Stephenson game this past Friday at Hallford Stadium in Clarkston in a small, rented helicopter. It was a carefully orchestrated ploy in which the pilot made sure that he landed at the adjoining soccer field precisely as the “Star Spangled Banner” was playing over the stadium loudspeakers and the 7,000-person crowd was standing at attention. Every player on both teams — there were as many as 20 Football Bowl Division prospects participating — turned and watched as the red chopper hovered longer than needed about 30 feet above the ground.All eyes now on them, Kiffin and Oregeron entered the stadium from a back gate and hobnobbed with coaches and administrators on the sidelines as the teams went through their final pregame paces, then watched the first half of the game. At halftime, they piled back into the tiny whirlybird, took off and headed north to Suwanee where they arrived during the first few minutes of the North Gwinnett-Northview game.The players seemed to appreciate the show.“That really felt good to me,” said Mike Thornton, a star defensive tackle at Stephenson and one of the Vols’ primary targets. “[Kiffin] told me he was going to come in and show off a little bit and, sure ‘nough, he did his thing.”It’s a two-fold strategy. One, it obviously has the potential to make a big impression on impressionable young recruits. Two, it’s a fast and nimble mode of transportation that can help coaches can avoid traffic and make multiple stops in one night.UCLA actually has its own helicopter, “Air Bruin,” which was donated by Larry Welk, the grandson of the late entertainer Lawrence Welk. Coach Rick Neuheisel told The Times it is invaluable for navigating over the infamously awful L.A. traffic and allows them to attend mutiple games in one night.Helicopters can also be rented (costs range from $1,000 an hour up). Judging from the size of the helicopter Kiffin and Orgeron were squeezing into, the Vols went the low-budget route.
Georgia Tech is of course located in downtown Atlanta and is surrounded by some of the worst traffic in the nation. But recruiting coordinator Giff Smith said he doesn’t see the Yellow Jackets resorting to such tactics.“We’ve never used it with Coach [Paul] Johnson and I don’t see us ever doing that, to be honest,” he said. “The head coach only gets one ‘drop-in’ and we think it’s important for him to sit down in the home with the parents and explain how he’s going to mentor their kid and help him achieve his goals academically and in football. I don’t know you can do that flying into a football game.”

Week 7: Preview and Predicitons

Here are my picks for week 7:

Mississippi State @ Middle Tennessee What is Mississippi State doing playing at Middle Tennessee? Talk about a game where you have everything to lose and nothing to win. The Bulldogs are coming off three tough losses in a row, so they’re not going to be picky about the particulars. They need any win. It won’t be easy in Murfreesboro, Tenn., but Anthony Dixon and Co. will find a way to grind it out.

Ole Miss @ UAB The worse Ole Miss plays, the worse its schedule looks. This schedule wasn’t very flattering when you broke it down back in August. It really looks like a dud now. So far, the Rebels have beaten Memphis, Southeastern Louisiana and Vanderbilt. They get a chance to add UAB to that list on Saturday, which isn’t going to win the Rebels much love nationally. But more than anything, they just need a game where they play well on offense and get everybody going in the same direction.

Georgia @ Vanderbilt -Go back and check the recent history of this series. Vanderbilt always seems to play Georgia tough, and it beat the Bulldogs in Athens in 2006. Vanderbilt has really targeted the state of Georgia in its recruiting, too, so winning this game would give the Commodores even more legitimacy when they start knocking on doors in that state. Look for another second-half game, but Vanderbilt simply doesn’t have enough offense to pull off the upset.

Kentucky @ Auburn -The schedule has really worked out pretty nicely for Auburn to this point. The Tigers get to come back home after their first loss of the season and face an injury-riddled Kentucky team that will be playing without its starting quarterback and best defensive player. The Wildcats played valiantly last week at South Carolina, but you wonder if they’re about to hit that wall.

Arkansas @ Florida- This is the fourth straight week that Arkansas has faced an unbeaten team. The Hogs also get the pleasure of being the second team this season (joining Kentucky) to have faced both Alabama and Florida, the top two teams in the country. The Hogs have a better idea of what they’re getting into for this game than they did at Alabama and have improved on defense. This game will be closer than most people expect, but the Gators are too dialed in to stumble now.

South Carolina @ Alabama- Any time you get Steve Spurrier on one sideline and Nick Saban on the other sideline, it ought to be fun. Now, if Spurrier were still coaching some of those Florida teams from the 1990s, this would be one everybody would want to see. But he’s not. Anyway (as the Head Ball coach would say), the Gamecocks have been one of surprises in the SEC in the first half of the season and have hung in there despite some costly injuries on defense. Quarterback Stephen Garcia is getting better, and this could be one of Spurrier’s best teams at South Carolina. But that’s still a far cry from having a team that’s ready to go to Tuscaloosa and beat an Alabama team that might be the best in the country.

Trying to bounce back after last week. Peace and Go Dawgs!

Defenseless?

Chip Towers of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has done some research on where the Georgia defensive starters ranked in some of the recruiting services coming out of high school, and the results are pretty telling. And not real pretty for the Bulldogs. As Towers notes, talent shouldn't be the problem right now for the Georgia defense, which has given up 37 or more points eight times in the last 15 games dating back to least season. According to Towers, the Georgia defensive starters had a higher average rating coming out of high school than even Alabama's defensive starters. Eight of Georgia's 11 defensive starters averaged at least 4 stars (out of 5) coming out of high school. hmmmm...so where does that blame fall?

Collison course

While none of these beauitful girls have nothing to do with the actual football part of these school, we thought we would go ahead and give them apprication anyways.......Thanks ladies..cheers to you.

You can see it from a mile away. We’re not even to the midway point for some teams in the SEC, but you can see it coming. Alabama and Florida are on a collision course to meet again in the SEC Championship Game. And after the most anticipated Saturday of the season in the SEC, it’s hard to discern at this point who has the better team. They both made convincing arguments. Florida, playing with a Tim Tebow who wasn’t quite Tim Tebow, ruined what has become a national holiday in these parts, Saturday night in Tiger Stadium. The No. 1-ranked Gators rolled to a 13-3 victory over the No. 4-ranked Tigers to stay unbeaten and now have their toughest road game of the season out of the way. Nick Saban and Alabama are on course for another showdown with Florida.Do they stay No. 1? Does it really matter? Florida senior linebacker Ryan Stamper doesn’t feel the need to lobby, but he doesn’t think there’s a better overall team out there. “With our offense, defense and special teams clicking as one, I think we deserve that No. 1 spot right now,” Stamper said. The Gators (5-0, 3-0) have won 15 in a row dating back to last season, the nation’s longest winning streak. And while two of their three SEC wins this season were still close in the second half -- unlike their blitzkrieg through the SEC in October and November a year ago -- nobody seems too concerned about style points. “We don’t even talk about (being No. 1), really,” Florida tight end Aaron Hernandez said. “We just go out there every game like we’re the worst team in the country and come out and fight. “We try to grind every game. Every game is the same to us, come out with a victory.” Stamper admitted that he tuned in to part of Alabama’s 22-3 bludgeoning of Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon while hanging out at the team hotel. “The SEC championship will get here when it gets here,” Stamper said. “We’ve got to play every week.” Perhaps so, but the rest of us can start anticipating a rematch now. After all, the game last season in Atlanta was a classic. “Yeah, that would be a good rematch for the SEC championship,” Hill said. “But right now, we’re not looking that far down the road. We’re looking at Arkansas. We’ll take it one step at a time.” That’s certainly been Alabama’s mantra this season. Of course, it better be if you're going to play for Nick Saban. The No. 3-ranked Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0) haven’t had a close game in the second half since the season-opening win over Virginia Tech. They didn’t just beat the Rebels on Saturday. They beat them up. Between them, the Florida and Alabama defenses gave up just one third-down conversion Saturday. LSU was 1-of-9 against Florida, and Ole Miss was 0-of-9 against Alabama. And to this point, the Crimson Tide have been even more diverse offensively than the Gators. They’ve run it when they’ve needed to (See Mark Ingram’s career-high 172 rushing yards against the Rebels), and they’ve thrown it when they’ve needed to (See what Greg McElroy has done all season without throwing an interception since the opener). Granted, there’s still a lot of football left to be played. But a second straight No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the SEC Championship Game doesn’t seem that far away.

SEC Preview and Predictions Week 6

MONSTER weekend of SEC games this week. I'm just going to sit my little tush on the couch and just watch away....we live for games like these...LETS GO!

Vandy @ Army- This is the first of two option offenses the Commodores will see this month. Of course, defense hasn’t been the problem for the Commodores this season. They simply haven’t been able to score, totaling 19 points in their three SEC losses. Look for them to match that total at West Point, which should be enough to even their overall record at 3-3. Vandy wins

Auburn @ Arkansas- Gene Chizik has done a terrific job with the Tigers, who at 5-0 are the surprise team of the league. They’re extremely balanced on offense and playing with a purpose. The chinks have come on defense, which has given up more points and yards than anybody on the Plains would like. That will finally catch up with them in Fayetteville, where the Hogs will find themselves on the right end of a shootout this time. UPSET of the week, Hogs win a wild one.

UGA @ Tennessee- The Vols have been close enough to be dangerous in their two SEC losses. Their defense has given them a chance against both Florida and Auburn. Now, if only the offense would cooperate. The Bulldogs haven’t been able to run it the past two weeks, which doesn’t bode well for them against Monte Kiffin’s defense. Meanwhile, the Vols’ running game seems to be hitting its stride. However, rain may play a factor in this one and UGA will get that pass game going. Dawgs rebound and win.

Kentucky @ South Carolina- Too bad South Carolina can’t play Kentucky every week. The Gamecocks haven’t had many teams’ number in the SEC, but they’ve pretty much owned the Wildcats. South Carolina has won nine straight and 11 of the last 13 games in the series. History’s not the only thing working against the Wildcats, either. Both of their starting cornerbacks, including All-American Trevard Lindley, are out for this game. Cocks win big.

Houston @ Miss. St- The Bulldogs go from a run-happy offense last week to a pass-happy offense in Houston this week. The Cougars can score points with the best of them. They just can’t stop anybody. UTEP’s Donald Buckram ran for 262 yards and four touchdowns last week against a Houston defense that’s allowed 121 points in its last three games. Think Anthony Dixon is licking his chops? Dogs win.

Alabama @ Ole Miss- These teams always seem to play close games, and Alabama always seems to win. The Crimson Tide have won five straight and six of the last seven in the series. If the Rebels (and Jevan Snead) were playing better, it would be tempting to pick them at home. But Alabama’s defense is just too good, and the guy playing quarterback for the Crimson Tide hasn’t been what you’d call shabby. Bama wins.

Florida @ LSU- Will he, or won’t he? Picking this game without knowing the playing status of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow is like trying to hear the signals in Tiger Stadium on a Saturday night. The place will be rocking for sure, and LSU’s defense will be ready for whatever quarterback Florida trots out there. Ultimately, though, the difference will be the Gators’ defense, which has only given up two touchdowns all season. The Tigers have had a hard time scoring touchdowns in the red zone, and you’re not going to beat Florida kicking field goals. Gators win.

Final thoughts- Well I have run my record to 26-3 in predicting these things. Hopefully my trend continues. Y'all be safe out there, peace and Go Dawgs!

Talent reigns

Florida and LSU are two of the most talented teams in the country. That talent will be on display Saturday night in Tiger Stadium in the form of 27 draft-eligible players who have a chance to either be drafted or sign as free agents, according to Scouts Inc. analyst Todd McShay. McShay has Florida defensive end Carlos Dunlap rated as the No. 1 overall prospect in college football right now. Florida cornerback Joe Haden and LSU receiver Brandon LaFell are also rated highly by McShay.

Bring the Ruckus
Death Valley is a wild place. LSU has a 32 night game win streak there and from every opposing player they say the ground shakes and Mike the Tiger greets you as soon as you get off the

bus just eating away at a piece of meat. The area will be set ablaze this weekend and it just gives you goosebumps thinking about it.

On call

Two years after blowing up Tim Tebow’s cell phone with voice mails and text messages, the LSU students are at it again.This time, they’ve gotten hold of the cell phone numbers of No. 2 quarterback John Brantley and starting wide receiver Riley Cooper, and they’re wearing out their thumbs sending text messages to the two Florida players.“They’ve left a bunch of them,” Brantley said Monday. “There haven’t been any death threats or anything. I just ignore them.”Brantley said he also thinks the LSU students have Urban Meyer’s cell phone number.“Supposedly so,” Brantley said.Starting cornerback Joe Haden said Cooper also has been getting texted by some LSU students.“He was like, ‘They got it (Cooper’s cell number),’” Haden said.Haden said he hasn’t received any messages on his phone from Baton Rouge.Two years ago, Tebow received hundreds of messages on his cell phone the week leading up to the UF-LSU game. There even were some death threats.I don’t know where they’re getting the numbers from,” Haden said. By the way Tigers, ask Knowshon how he feels about having his phone blow up last year.....http://video.google.com/videosearch?hl=en&source=hp&q=knowshon%20moreno&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wv#q=knowshon+moreno+vs+lsu&hl=en&emb=0