Thoughts of the Day: August 12, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:

CHRISTIAN ROBINSON SOUNDS OFF ABOUT UF LINEBACKERS

University of Florida linebackers coach Christian Robinson spoke Tuesday about some of the linebackers he’s coaching up. UF has more depth and talent at the position than it has in years. Here are some of Robinson’s comments:

Ventrell Miller: “My Dad told me the best thing you could do as a coach is to create other coaches. With Ventrell being together, a lot of the things he’s gone through personally and a lot of things he’s gone through learning the system and being a part of what we did, I no longer have to take on every single little task because as a leader and wanting to be a player-driven team he’s able to take those tasks for me in the room and say, ‘Hey, this is what we’re doing.’ When things start to slip with a guy, I don’t have to be the one who always has to do it, so it makes my life easier. But on the field you hear a guy taking charge and really controlling what goes on out there, and that’s always been the dream for him and any player that comes in our room.”

Mohamoud Diabate: “He’s done everything I’ve asked him to do. And Coach Savage and just being a gym rat his body looks the way a linebacker’s supposed to look. He has more to grow and he knows that he has to keep developing and doing his part. And he’s become a leader. If you ever come out this summer and see him pushing those guys, it’s pushing the group forward together. It takes somebody like him, Ventrell and somebody else in the room to do that. He’s done that one the field and in the classroom.”

Diwun Black: “To come in and just be thankful for this opportunity when you think that opportunity might be taken away, your attitude of being thankful for where you're at and what you have, I think that attitude is going to translate to him helping us this season and the seasons to come. Being thankful for where you're at and knowing it's not as hard as it could be. I'd rather be doing this then wearing a different logo somewhere else. He's just thankful to be here. He's excited just to have our strength staff, our nutrition staff, to have somebody to help him organize his class assignments and make sure he's on time. Sometimes when you get used to what you have you forget that it's a blessing. I think he knows he's blessed to be here and we're glad to have him finally."

Amari Burney: “He’s played the STAR, he’s been everywhere. When a young DB gets out there and they might not know what to say, he’s getting on them. Sometimes position groups get on each other. What ultimately you want is a group that the older guys talk to every position. ‘Hey, what is this going to do in a game? That might not help us.’ You know, ‘Hey, you showing over here, that might not be what we need to do where the offense doesn’t know what we’re doing.’ So to have multiple coaches, that makes the room better. That makes the team better. We have to be a coach-driven team in order to get where we want to go in December.”

SANKEY, EXPANSION, THE PLAYOFF AND OTHER THINGS

The good news is that football season is going to begin in 16 days and when it does, maybe the folks in the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC can find something to talk about other than (a) Greg Sankey is nothing more than a greedy old meanie; (b) adding Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC was a sneak attack and Sankey is lower than the petrified whale poop at the bottom of the Marianna Trench; (c) Sankey only wants an expanded College Football Playoff so that the SEC can totally dominate; and (d) at least three other Power Five conferences and maybe some of the Group of Five are going to unify and pay back Sankey for “stealing” two teams from the Big 12.

Let’s go through this point-by-point:

Adding Texas and Oklahoma was NOT about greed. Did money play a part of it? Of course, it did and so did ESPN. There would not have been a deal if ESPN had told Sankey this won’t work and that adding Texas and Oklahoma would dilute the money being paid out to the other 14 SEC schools. ESPN may not have been involved directly with the negotiations but the network let it be known the $300 million a year contract with the SEC that goes into effect in 2024 will be amended to accommodate the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Considering what some economists are predicting, adding Oklahoma and Texas could mean each SEC school may be getting a check for somewhere between $75-85 million. YEARLY. If the SEC had not added Texas and Oklahoma, the yearly check would be something like $62-63 million yearly. Greg Sankey’s job is to do what is best for the SEC. Mission accomplished.

The sneak attack part is so laughable. Was Sankey supposed to email or text Bob Bowlsby and say, “Hey Bob, Texas and Oklahoma came to me in confidence about leaving the Big 12 and joining the SEC. Just wanted to let you know so you can alert the other members of your conference so you can torpedo the deal. We make plenty enough money in the SEC so we really don’t need them. Just want you to deal with this best you can! Love, Greg?” If Sankey had violated the trust of Texas and Oklahoma you can bet all that you hold sacred that they would have gone straight to the Big Ten. Do you think for even a nanosecond that the Big Ten or any other conference out there would have said no? Texas and Oklahoma were NOT going to stay in the Big 12 for two basic reasons: (1) OU and Texas decided when the Big 12 didn’t expand in 2016 that the league would become unsustainable economically and (2) both schools lost a ton of revenue because of the pandemic in 2020 and neither could see the Big 12 generating enough to cover those losses. Just as Greg Sankey did what was best for the SEC, Texas and Oklahoma had to do what they see is best for their athletic programs. Maybe everyone was caught by surprise, but it wasn’t a sneak attack.

The SEC already dominates the College Football Playoff. Sankey has said repeatedly he’s perfectly content if the playoff remains at four. Expanding to 12 teams will indeed mean more SEC teams have a chance to get in the playoff, but it also opens the door for conferences that don’t have a seat at the table and won’t have a seat if the playoff remains at four. One additional thought. Is it the SEC’s fault that the other conferences can’t keep up with its level of excellence?

Just what do these other leagues hope to accomplish by uniting against Sankey and the SEC? Torpedo playoff expansion and they shoot themselves in the foot. With or without an expanded playoff, the SEC is going to make the most money. An expanded playoff will more than double and quite possibly triple the playoff paycheck each Power Five league makes and it’s going to make more money for the Group of Five conferences than ever before. Do you think that the Group of Five conferences are going to align against the SEC when it’s the SEC commissioner that is making it possible for them to have a shot at being Cinderella? So, let them talk until they’re blue in the face. When it comes time to vote, they will all approve of playoff expansion because they all need the money.

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The Big 12 is struggling to stay a viable Power Five conference. The Pac-12 and its rookie commissioner are clueless. ACC commissioner Jim Phillips knows how badly his league needs Notre Dame. The league that actually needs to move quickest is the Big Ten, whose media rights contract with ESPN and Fox expires after the 2023 athletic year. Financially, the Big Ten dwarfs the Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC, but it will be relegated to second place by the SEC expansion.

There are only a handful of options when it comes to finding a school that can move the Big Ten needle. For all the talk about Southern Cal and UCLA as a possibility, Kansas may make the most financial sense. It’s a little-known fact that Kansas (and Kentucky) basketball scores television ratings right up there with ESPN’s Saturday night prime time football game. Kansas hasn’t attempted to disguise its desire to bolt to the Big Ten. What would make geographic and academic sense for the Big Ten would be to poach KU and Iowa State from the Big 12. It is something the Big Ten needs to do before Bob Bowlsby can make a deal to merge with the Pac-12 or invite eight American Athletic Conference teams to join the Big 12.

What about the ACC? Notre Dame isn’t going to join the ACC so the ACC needs to add West Virginia and UConn. Neither will move the football needle, but both will help the league’s basketball profile plus UConn opens up the Metro New York City market.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC Alabama: Nick Saban says that the recent practice absences of tight end Jahleel Billingsley are due to COVID-19. “We had some COVID protocols that we had to go through with him,” Saban said. “He’s back out at practice. He needs to work his way back up the depth chart because he missed a little bit of football.”

Arkansas: Per several reports, former Florida Gator and Arkansas Razorback quarterback Feleipe Franks is the surprise of the Atlanta Falcons training camp. Franks is trying to make the team as an undrafted free agent.

Auburn: It might be the upset of the century if a quarterback not named Bo Nix is the starter when the season begins, but LSU transfer TJ Finley already has teammates talking.

Georgia: Georgia is hoping this is the breakout year for former 5-star recruit Nolan Smith, who had 22 tackles and 2.5 sacks as a sophomore in 2020.

Kentucky: Mike Renner of Pro Football Focus lists Kentucky as one of his five most underrated teams in all of college football.

LSU: Defensive lineman Glenn Logan will be out for an undetermined amount of time with an undisclosed injury. Logan has 99 tackles and six sacks in four years at LSU.

Mississippi State: Southern Miss transfer quarterback Jack Abraham has not participated in any practice or training drills since Friday.

Missouri: Mizzou president Mun Choi made it abundantly clear Wednesday that former athletic director Jim Sterk didn’t leave voluntarily. Choi said, “The fact that for us to develop into champions, we have to work harder than Alabama. We have to work harder than Florida. Are we going to bring that high level of expectation that starts at the top? That’s the reason WE made the decision.” Former UNLV AD Desiree Reed-Francois is the new athletic director at Mizzou.

Ole Miss: Lane Kiffin had “Rocky Top” blasting away at practice Wednesday.

South Carolina: Junior college transfer cornerback Isaiah Norris has reported to the team.

Tennessee: Former UT tight end Jason Whitten and running back Alvin Kamara will no longer have their images displayed on the Neyland Stadium scoreboard.

Texas A&M: Wide receiver Demond Demas is apparently back in the good graces of Jimbo Fisher although he can’t practice yet because of a foot injury. Demas, who was suspended during the spring when he was arrested on a marijuana charge, has been spotted on an exercise bike at practice.

Vanderbilt: New HBC Clark Lea is implementing a cultural change for Vandy football. “It’s not just based on weight room performance or speed performance or football performance,” Lea said. “It’s everything. It’s how we meet and greet people in the hallway. It’s the extra work we do in conditioning. It’s the investment we put into the program outside of the work when we’re on the clock together. I want teammates talking to teammates about what they want to create here.”

ONE FINAL PITHY COMMENT: Six years after the Baylor sexual assault scandal cost the jobs of school prez Ken Starr, athletic director Ian McCaw and head football coach Art Briles, the NCAA punted. Instead of dropping the hammer on Baylor for failing to report multiple incidents of sexual assault and misconduct by football players, the NCAA said none of its rules were broken. It’s hard to imagine that an organization with as many lawyers as the NCAA could take six years to investigate without finding a way to punish Baylor adequately. When six years nets absolutely nothing, it’s time for a brand new organization. The NCAA’s sell-by date has expired.