Thoughts of the Day: April 15, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

WE AWAIT THE STARTER’S GUN FOR THE CHAOS TO BEGIN OFFICIALLY

The NCAA Division I Council, in its infinite wisdom, voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a rules change that will allow an athlete in any sport to transfer once without having to sit out a year. The new rules are expected to become official today when voted on by the entire Division I body. The moment the new rules are signed into place, it will be like the starter’s gun at a track meet as what is expected to be a record number of athletes sprint for the transfer portal.

From a purely ethical standpoint, the new transfer legislation is a good idea. After all, a coach who makes millions of dollars can change jobs without having to sit out a season while players who get a scholarship and, if they’re at a school that can afford it, some cost of attendance stipend money. The optics aren’t very good, however, and the NCAA knows it, which is one of the reasons there will be rubber stamp approval of the new transfer rule.

Ethics aside, however, the results of the change are going to be chaotic for at least a couple of years, perhaps longer. It will take awhile for coaches to figure out how to deal with the outflow and to make adjustments in the way they recruit to accommodate experienced transfers who can offer immediate help. Not every kid who wants out at one school will find a soft landing spot somewhere else, however. Just as a large percentage of kids who declare for the NFL and NBA drafts give up their eligibility only to be disappointed when no pro team selects them, it will be the same with the transfer portals.

Some kids will get their fresh start at a place where they will fit in immediately. There are others who just want out of their current circumstance no matter what the future may bring. If there is a chance to play again, they’ll be happy. If not, they understood the consequences of their actions both good and bad when they put their name in the portal. Then there are others who are about to get the shock of their lives when there is no scholarship awaiting. For them, there will be the shock and realization that they’ve just made a colossal mistake by opting out of their scholarships.

The NCAA transfer portals are currently in overflow capacity, but they will be bulging at the seams in another 4-6 weeks when the academic year and spring football have concluded. One stipulation of the new rule will be that an athlete has to be in good academic standing so quite a few kids sweating bullets in the classroom will be jumping on the transfer train the moment their final grades are posted. At the end of spring football, kids who didn’t make any kind of move up the depth chart will be looking for a new place to play. The men’s basketball portal is already strained to their limits with more than 1,300 on their way to new locales as of Wednesday at 10 p.m.

In an interview on ESPN radio recently, Florida football coach Dan Mullen, who has had great success adding productive transfers to his roster, sounded the alarm of what’s to come.

“I can tell you this, I think three to four to five years from now, college football will be very, very different than it is today,” Mullen said. “I don’t know if it’ll be better or it’ll be worse and I don’t know how it’s going to be different, but I would feel extremely confident saying it will be very different than it is today. And it’s going to be a wild ride over the next couple of years as we all try to figure this out.”

GLOVER TO SAMFORD

Ques Glover (5-11, 182) has found a new home at Samford University. With Glover’s announcement, all four UF transfers – Noah Locke (Louisville), Omar Payne (Illinois) and Osayi Osifo (Jacksonville) are the others – have found a new place to play basketball next season.

In two seasons at Florida, Glover scored 185 points and averaged 3.6 per game. He had six games in which he scored double figures.

OTHER UF SPRING SPORTS

Gymnastics: The Gators, who are the overall No. 1 seed for the NCAA Gymnastics Championships, will participate in the 1 p.m. semifinals session Friday with Minnesota, Michigan and California. The Gators will begin on the uneven bars ... Trinity Thomas earned All-America honors on vault, bars, balance beam, floor exercise and all-around. Others earning All-America were Megan Skaggs, Alyssa Baumann, Leah Clapper, Ellie Lazarri, Nya Reed and Savannah Schoenherr.

Softball: It was a bad night at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium Wednesday as 23rd-ranked UCF (30-9) scored four runs in the top of the first and cruised to a 7-0 win over 4th-ranked Florida (30-5). The Gators were held to three hits by UCF’s Breanna Vasquez. It was the first non-exhibition game in which the Gators have been shut out this season. Florida hosts 3rd-ranked Alabama for a three-game set this weekend.

Swimming: When Florida women’s coach Jeff Poppell became the head coach for men’s and women’s swimming at South Carolina, UF athletic director Scott Stricklin elevated Anthony Nesty to head coach of both the men’s and women’s teams … Nesty was named SEC Coach of the Year for the third straight year.

Volleyball: The 8th-seeded Gators (19-3) will face Morehead State in the second round of the NCAA Omaha Regional today at 3:30 p.m … Named to the AVCA All-Southeastern Regional team from UF were Thayer Hall, Holly Carlton, T’ara Caesar and Lauren Forte.

Women’s golf: The Gators are in a four-way for fourth after one day at the Southeastern Conference Championships in Birmingham. LSU and South Carolina share the lead at -16, while Mississippi State (-13) is in second. The Gators, Ole Miss, Arkansas and Auburn are tied for fourth at -9.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL/HOOPS) Alabama: In accepting the national Coach of the Year Award, Nick Saban said the Crimson Tide “overcame tremendous adversity.” Adversity? Your football team went 13-0 and in the only game won by fewer than 10 points (Florida), you had a three-touchdown lead in the second half. If you had been forced to come from three touchdowns down in the second half, Nick, then you could talk adversity.

Arkansas: According to the ESPN Power Index, Arkansas will have the toughest football schedule in the country next year. In addition to the usual suspects from the SEC West, Arkansas will play Georgia and Missouri from the SEC East and non-conference games against Rice, Texas and Georgia Southern … Basketball coach Eric Musselman signed a new 5-year contract that will pay him $4 million per year.

Auburn: In discussing third-year starting quarterback Bo Nix, HBC Bryan Harsin said, “Always at that position, to me, the quarterback position is about decision-making.” In two seasons at Auburn, Nix has thrown 28 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He has yet to complete 60 percent of his passes, so decision-making is indeed a problem.

Georgia: Georgia running back Kendal Milton told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “This is Georgia. This is RBU.” Georgia sure has put out its share of talented running backs over the years but the only one who has a national championship ring is Herschel Walker and that was 40 years ago.

Kentucky: David Cobb of CBS Sports rated Kellan Grady (6-5, 205) and Oscar Tschiebwe (6-9, 260) and the numbers 15 and 19 college basketball transfers so far. Grady transferred in from Davidson while Tschiebwe transferred in from West Virginia.

LSU: Ed Orgeron says the competition for the starting QB job between Max Johnson, Myles Brennan and TJ Finley is ongoing and that there is no starting QB at this point of spring practice … Small forward/wing guard Aundre Hyatt (6-6, 225, RSO) placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal. Hyatt averaged 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds while playing in 15.9 minutes per game.

Mississippi State: Michigan football recruiting coordinator Matt Dudek is leaving Ann Arbor to become the new director of football recuiting at Mississippi State … Point guard Deivon Smith (6-1, 160, FR) is transferring to Georgia Tech. Smith averaged 5.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in 22.5 minutes per game of action last season.

Missouri: When Jeremiah Tilmon (6-10, 260, SR), Dru Smith (6-3, 203, SR) and Mitchell Smith (6-10, 221, SR) announced they are turning pro rather than come back for one more season at Mizzou, it brought to nine the number of players who won’t be back for the 2021-22 season – three pros and six transfers … Linebacker Z’Core Brooks, who didn’t record a single stat last season, has put his name in the transfer portal.

Ole Miss: Former transfers Jake Springer (Navy), Otis Reese (Georgia) and Mark Robinson (Alabama A&M) have had great springs and are reasons for optimism that the Rebels will have a much-improved defense in 2021.

South Carolina: North Texas wing guard James Reese (6-4, 170), who averaged 10.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for the Mean Green, is the fourth transfer to commit to South Carolina.

Tennessee: Quentin Diboundje (6-6, 185, Montpelier, France/Montverde, FL Montverde Academy) signed his LOI to play at Tennessee Wednesday.

Texas A&M: The Aggies will play only two games outside of Texas in 2021. Their schedule is rated the 23rdtoughest nationally by the ESPN Power Index.

Vanderbilt: Shea Ralph, one of the greats in UConn women’s basketball history, is the new women’s head coach at Vandy. One of her first official duties was to hire her husband as an assistant. He’s Tom Garrick, who played at Vandy and spent four years in the NBA.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL COACHING STUFF: Arizona went outside the “family” to hire longtime Gonzaga assistant Tommy Lloyd to replace the dismissed Sean Miller. Considered for the job were Pacific head coach Damon Stoudamire, Georgia Tech head coach Josh Pastner and Los Angeles Lakes assistant Miles Simon, all three former Arizona players … Cincinnati moved quickly to replace John Brannan, hiring UNC-Greensboro head coach Wes Miller, who has won three Southern Conference championships in the last five years. Miller was given a six-year contract … Brette Tanner is the new head coach at Abilene Christian, succeeding Joe Golding, who left to become the new head coach at UTEP.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: In taking inventory of my golf clubs in an attempt to decide whether to continue hitting the Wilsons that I’m particularly fond of or moving on to some clubs that promise to be more forgiving (Forgive me Father for I have sinned and hit the ball in that gully at Cariari where my caddie promises the 11-foot bushmaster that was there yesterday is now feeding a family of eight for the next week), I am reminded that the late, great Dan Jenkins once wrote: “Always keep in mind that if God didn't want a man to have mulligans, golf balls wouldn't come three to a sleeve.” Dan also gave us rules for recreational golf that go something like this: Hit ‘til your happy on one and 10; at least one mulligan every three holes; hit from the ladies tees at least once every six holes; free throws out of sand traps; no hitting from behind trees or bushes so move the ball to open space to ensure you don’t disturb some creature living in the tree or in the bush; any putt within 18 inches is good; if the hole is too damn far to reach in three shots, then hit from the ladies tees.” This isn’t, after all, the PGA Tour!