Q AND A WITH MARK RICHT
Brent Beaird
April 28, 2013
Georgia coach Mark Richt was in Jacksonville, Florida this past Tuesday to speak to local boosters. I got a chance to sit down with him for a brief interview before the event.
Q: How is receiver Michael Bennett recovering?
A: “He’s doing great. I was looking out my window and saw him running routes and catching balls. He looks good. He’ll be ready.
Q: Is he mentally ready to play?
A: “He’s so tough and gaining so much confidence as to how he has been rehabbing. I think by the time preseason is over that he will be full speed.”
What did A-Day reveal about the Tide?
Brent Beaird
April 23, 2013
Multiple mistakes in a low scoring game can only tell fans so much about the defending national champions. Alabama has flaws, but make no mistake that there is plenty of talent on hand to compete for a possible third straight national title.
Team White, consisting of the first-team offense, scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:04 to play to beat Team Crimson for a second consecutive year, 17-14, before a crowd of 78,315 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
The teams combined for nine turnovers and seven penalties during the game. The third quarter was mostly third- and fourth-team reserves. Still, the first-team offenses and defenses played a lot of the fourth quarter.
What did we learn about the Tide this spring in terms of positions?
Reading between the lines: The Egg Bowl and Irish at FSU
By Brent Beaird
April 14, 2013
Two of the more interesting television notes this week include the Ole Miss/Mississippi State rivalry returning to a prime spot and Notre Dame traveling to Florida State in 2014. Let’s dig a little deeper to see what these games mean.
The Egg Bowl is back on Thursday night and I am glad to see it. Okay, don’t get too excited, right? Personally I would much rather watch the passion in the Egg Bowl than any of the NFL games that contribute to a long nap on Thanksgiving.
ESPN will televise Mississippi at rival Mississippi State on Thanksgiving night, Thursday, Nov. 28, at 7:30 p.m. ET. It will mark the 110th meeting between the SEC programs, the sixth-longest uninterrupted series between two teams. ESPN previously televised the rivalry game as its annual Thanksgiving Day prime-time college football game from 1998 to 2003. Ole Miss won last year’s meeting 41-24 breaking State’s three-year win streak.
Does the SEC take a chance on Gunner Kiel?
Brent Beaird
April 5, 2013
Should an SEC school sign former Notre Dame quarterback Gunner Kiel? According to ESPN’s Joe Schad, Kiel, a former Rivals.com No. 1 pro-style quarterback, is reportedly considering transferring to Mississippi State, Ole Miss or Tennessee. Since Schad’s report, CBSSports.com's Bruce Feldman has reported that the Vols are not pursuing Kiel.
Other schools mentioned in various reports to be transfer possibilities are Kansas State, Ball State, Northern Illinois, Miami of Ohio and Cincinnati. Bearcat officials hired former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville after Butch Jones left for Tennessee. Tuberville has Brendon Kay and Munchie Legaux battling for the quarterback job this fall.
Kiel has proven that he has trouble sticking by his decisions. In high school, Kiel, who was also recruited early by Alabama, verbally committed in July 2011 to play for the Indiana which is close to his home in Columbus, Ind. Then Kiel changed his mind and committed to LSU. He later changed his mind again just prior to signing day in 2012 and decommitted from the Tigers. On National Signing Day, LSU coach Les Miles publicly criticized Kiel for not having the “chest” to stick by his commitment. Kiel did sign with Notre Dame before being redshirted this past season.
Why we love Steve Spurrier
By Brent Beaird
April 1, 2013
There is a reason why sports talk show hosts and other media love South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier. Despite plenty of NCAA Basketball Tournament news, the head ball coach provided some great zingers on Wednesday.
Both Southern Cal and South Carolina held their Pro Day activities on Wednesday. ESPN was present for live coverage of Southern Cal quarterback Matt Barkley’s workout. Their cameras were not present in Columbia for the workout of running back Marcus Lattimore, who received warm praise from those in attendance.
According to The State newspaper, Spurrier expressed his displeasure at ESPN’s lack of presence in no uncertain terms:
“I noticed both USCs had their pro timing day today. One of them finished #7 in the country, the other was not in the top 25, yet ESPN decided to go out to the one in California which did not finish in the Top 25 and televise their day live. It’s interesting that (ESPN) doesn’t come around here on signing day, they don’t come around here on pro timing day, and yet they us to play all these Thursday night games. Maybe we need to consider playing on that new network, FoxSports 1.”
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