Thoughts of the Day: August 13, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning:

MULLEN SPEAKS …

After Thursday’s practice, Florida HBC Dan Mullen sounded off on several topics during a media ZOOM call:

On Emory Jones and his progress at quarterback: "Really good. I think he has a good grasp. He obviously has a really good grasp of the offense, been around a couple of years. I think it's really getting into more of how to function, how to use the offense, constantly on accuracy, balance, making all his different types of throws that he needs to make and then his comfort level of how to make plays and when to make plays. We limit some of that in practice. You have the freedom to scramble today. There will be days where I won't give him that freedom, you have got to stand in the pocket. Then you actually gotta coach beyond that and say, 'Hey, I hope you would have scrambled in that situation, because there was a huge running lane and go take advantage of it. We give him a lot of different things. I think his grasp of the offense is really good. It's getting him prepared in every situation in how to be the best playmaker he can be."

On the competition for the starting placekicker job between Chris Howard and Mississippi State transfer Jace Christmann, who was Mullen’s placekicker in 2017 in Starkville: "Yeah, it'll be a good little competition between those two guys. You know, obviously, Chris has been with the program since I've been here and I've seen unbelievable improvement of him from one year to the next within our program. I think, comes into the year with a lot of confidence. And then obviously, Jace, knowing Jace, recruiting Jace out of high school, having him play for me. Heck, you know, I mean he scored the points the last time we were in a stadium and I was just on the opposite sideline this time. He's the one that scored the points when we went out there to play him a couple years ago at Mississippi State against us. So, I know that he has experience and a background. So, it'll be a good little battle for those two guys, but I think they work together and it gives us the opportunity to make sure we have two kickers that are ready to go play."

On NIL and how the Gators are dealing with the opportunity to make money: “I'll be honest with you, I think our guys probably, the most part are very focused on football and that's consuming a massive amount of time right now in everybody's lives. So, you know, there's probably not that time to sit there and say, 'Okay, how am I doing this deal? How am I working this? How am I working that?' when their focus is football and being better in football right now. So, we discussed it, we had a little team meeting earlier today to discuss a couple of little small factors in it. But all of those are still growing deals and making sure we're doing it the right way, following the law the right way, how are we doing it? As we continue to learn, here's some different information to continue to give them, you know? But guys come up and they're asking questions all the time. I think you're going to continue to see, you know, little things here and there that guys are continuing to work on."

On the torn ACL suffered by corner Jaydon Hill, who will miss the entire 2021 season: “I think massive disappointment. Being ready for this opportunity to be the guy, but you’re looking at a young guy that’s been through this once and came out on the positive end on the other side. I think he understands how to come through it, what he needs to do and how he can get through it and how it’ll improve. I think with him knowing the program, knowing the defense, knowing his maturity, he’s a guy that’s going to be pretty comfortable, I think, saying I put myself in the position to be a starter. I had this little setback, but I’ve worked hard. Nothing was ever handed to me. I had to work hard to be a starter. If you’ve done that, if you know the path of hard work, how to get into that role, when you get knocked off course, you know how to get back there. If it was just handed something, maybe it was harder. But he’s worked his tail off to earn everything he’s gotten here. I think that makes it easier because you und how to get back there. I know that path. I know what I need to do, and I plan on being back full speed here shortly.”

On redshirt freshman Fenley Graham and others in the punt and kickoff return game: “Fenley coming out of high school, obviously everybody knew that was a guy that was very much a utility player, a really good football player, can return punts, can return kicks, can move him around defensively. A guy who has a really natural instinct for the ball. Obviously in the return games he’s up there big. Trying to work Demarkus Bowman into that situation to return kicks. For new guys, I’m trying to think who else we got back there … we really just started with kickoff return so I haven’t seen those guys do that. Punt return, obviously you have Xzavier Henderson back there, Kaiir Elam, guys that have been back there in the past to go do that stuff as well. We’re just kind of working through those things with that. Ja’Markis Weston is a guy I’m really excited to see in a kickoff return role possibly. We kind of really have been more on technique and individual part of special teams rather than the return game and the full-on scheme; that’s coming in the next week.”

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: Lane Kiffin is given credit for changing Alabama’s offense from ground and pound to a wide-open spread during his three years as offensive coordinator. “People want to give me credit for changing the offense there but as a head coach, especially a head coach who is set in his ways – for him to want to change the offense, it was his idea,” Kiffin said on Colin Cowherd’s radio show Thursday.

Arkansas: Tight end Levi Draper, who has had three previous surgeries on his shoulder, injured his shoulder once again and will take a medical hardship.

Auburn: Running back Tank Bigsby has an NIL deal with Bojangles restaurants.

Georgia: Offensive coordinator Todd Monken says quarterback JT Daniels has grown more comfortable with his teammates and the offense. “As we keep evolving offensively, he really appears to be in control of what we want done,” Monken said.

Kentucky: Freshman wide receiver Dekel Crowdus, a former 4-star recruit, suffered a significant injury in practice Thursday. It’s unclear if the injury will require surgery and how long Crowdus will be out.

LSU: Defensive lineman Glenn Logan has a broken foot but might be able to return to the team this season. “It’s going to take a little bit of time to heal,” Coach O said Thursday. “We’ll get him sometime this season.”

Mississippi State: Southern Miss transfer quarterback Jack Abraham, who was expected to challenge for the starting job, has missed all the practices since last Friday due to an injury.

Missouri: Freshman O-lineman J’Marion Gooch, who is 6-8, 360, has been medically disqualified after something showed up when he took his physical.

Ole Miss: Ole Miss gave Lane Kiffin a raise to $4.5 million with a $500,000 bonus if he is the coach at the end of the season. His contract was extended through 2024.

South Carolina: Cornerback Karon Prunty, who transferred to South Carolina from Kansas, has placed his name in the NCAA transfer portal.

Tennessee: Offensive lineman K-Rojhn Calbert has had surgery and will miss an extended amount of time per HBC Josh Heupel … Quarterback Brian Mauer was absent from practice for a second straight day. He could be entering the transfer portal soon.

Texas A&M: Paul Finebaum says the Aggies have a legitimate shot at knocking off Alabama in College Station on October 9. “I think they have a shot at Alabama,” Finebaum said on ESPN Radio. “The one thing about Alabama I don’t know is what Bryce Young is going to look like. I know how much he’s making on the side … but he’s going to have to do more than make money to prove to me that he is an adequate replacement for Mac Jones.”

AUTOGRAPHS … AT $150 A POP

Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler appeared recently at the National Sports Collectors Convention in Chicago where he signed 600 memorabilia items at $150 per signature. That’s $90,000 from signing his name. Rattler also makes money from his merchandise website “SpencerRattlerShop.com.” Rattler is said to make $6,600 from a single post on Instagram. I have to wonder if he will be able to focus on football in three weeks when the season begins.

Meanwhile Clemson quarterback DJ Uiagalelei has added a gig to appear in a Dr. Pepper commercial to go with his deals with Bojangles and Candy Digital.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: You can stick a fork in the NCAA, its many volumes of ridiculous rules and regulations and their notion that collegiate sports are all about the student-athlete and not about money. Proof that the only thing lacking to pronounce the NCAA dead is a priest to read last rites came Thursday from, of all places, Brigham Young where a company called Built-Brands signed all the BYU walk-ons to an NIL deal that will pay for their tuition. Additionally, Built-Brands is signing the BYU players on football scholarships to an NIL endorsement deal. When a private company can give financial benefits to all 123 scholarship players and walk-ons, it’s a sure sign that the NCAA has lost complete control of college athletics. These are no longer student-athletes. They are pros. What this tells me is it’s only a matter of time before college sports teams are going to wear the logos of the corporation that pays its players. Get ready for college football jerseys that bear a strong resemblance to the soccer jerseys you see in Europe. And hopefully, we’ll see at least the football schools in Division I breaking away completely and setting up their own rules and regulations. I have to wonder that once one school takes on a corporate sponsor and all these athletes become paid employees, if it will signal an end to all these Title IX regulations about balancing out equal scholarship opportunities for men’s and women’s sports. For example, if a corporation like Publix decided to do an NIL deal with Florida baseball, could the Gators have a fully-paid 35-man roster instead of the current 11.8 scholarships spread among 27 players?