Thoughts of the Day: August 18, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

TEBOW DIDN’T MAKE IT, BUT AT LEAST HE HAD THE GUTS TO TRY

Maybe the two most overused words in the English language are what if. We hear it every day. What if I had taken that computer course back in college? What if I had asked him/her out when we were 21? What if I had taken that job in another state instead of waiting for a promotion that never came? And on and on and on.

Tim Tebow doesn’t have to worry about what if. No, he won’t be playing for the Jacksonville Jaguars this fall. He was cut Tuesday morning, snuffing out a chance he took to stage an NFL comeback at a new position he’d never played years since he last played professional football. Critics like Greg McElroy and others will gloat that he failed, and you’ll never hear the end of them saying I told you so, but how many of the critics ever stepped out on a prayer and tried to do the unthinkable? How many of them spend their life wondering what if? Tebow doesn’t.

Tim Tebow failed trying to make it as a tight end at age 34. So what? It’s not the end of his world, not by a million years. Tim has always had a purpose in life that extended far beyond the athletic fields, but he’s managed to combine that purpose with sports, along the way doing things wherever he’s been to better the lives of others. His NFL quarterback career went snake eyes back in 2012. He spent a few years beating the minor league bushes in the New York Mets organization where he made it all the way to AAA before he retired, not bad for someone who hadn’t played baseball since high school.

You can look at getting cut by the Jags and never making it to the Major Leagues with the Mets as failures if you want, but at least admit that it took a tremendous amount of courage on Tebow’s part to even try. He knew it was a long shot to make it as a tight end, particularly considering he’s 34 years old and never played the position before. He knew it was a long shot to make the Majors since it had been years since he faced live pitching. But, unlike McElroy and the gloaters, Tim can say at least he was willing to try.

Don’t think for a second that Tebow wasted the time or the money of the Jags or the Mets, either. Tebow jerseys were hot sellers not only in Jacksonville but all over the country and now that his career is over, expect them to become high-priced collectables. The Mets loved that Tebow was great box office. Home and on the road at every whistle stop there was Tebow-mania and sellout crowds were the norm.

Tebow won’t lack for things to do in the fall since he won’t be playing football. His foundation is always actively doing things that better the lives of others. There will be opportunities to preach. The SEC Network gig is still there. And, would anyone be surprised if Tebow winds up working for the Jaguars in some capacity? Urban Meyer said Tuesday, “Players loved him. Locker room loved him.” Sounds like someone Meyer and the Jaguars would like to keep around doing something productive.

SOMEWHERE, UNDER THE RADAR … These five guys aren’t household names just yet, but they have a chance to factor in Florida’s rotations this fall:

Princely Umanmielen (6-4, 260, SO): He is a very physical defensive end who can get to the passer and play the run. He’s got very good upper body strength. He played in seven games last year and had half sacks against Georgia and Arkansas, a solo sack against Tennessee. He figures to be the backup to Zachary Carter but will be on the field a lot. He picked Florida over Texas, Baylor and Auburn.

Avery Helm (6-1, 174, RFR): When Jaydon Hill went down with the ACL tear, everyone expected Jedarrius Perkins or Jason Marshall Jr. to step right in. Perkins and Marshall will get their opportunities, but when the Gators scrimmaged this past Sunday night, Helm was the starting corner opposite Kaiir Elam. He only played in the Cotton Bowl last year (1 tackle) so he must have made some rather lengthy strides. Out of high school in Texas, Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Georgia all offered.

Lloyd Sumerall III (6-5, 247, RSO): He’s no longer the tall, skinny guy he was coming out of Lakeland High School, which has plenty to do with why he’s sat for the last two years. He’s put on 28 pounds of muscle since arriving and now he’s strong enough to be in the regular rotation as an outside linebacker. Summerall has a huge wingspan and good quickness. We tend to forget that he was recruiting heavily by Alabama, Georgia, LSU and Ohio State out of high school.

Jeremy Crashaw (6-4, 193, RFR): Here’s everything you need to know about him. His only two punts of the 2020 season were in the Cotton Bowl and good for a 49-yard average. He spent all of last year growing accustomed to football American-style (He’s an Aussie) and backing up Jacob Finn. Finn obviously saw the handwriting on the wall because he transferred out despite averaging 46.27 yards per punt.

Ja’Markis Weston (6-3, 215, RSO): He wasn’t on the 7-on-7 circuit while in high school in Clewiston so he pretty much flew under the recruiting radar. He spent last year playing almost exclusively on special teams. He caught one pass for 13 yards in the Cotton Bowl. That was then. This is now. He’s learned to run good routes, to look the ball into his hands and how to set up a DB before he makes a move or blows by him. He’s going to catch a lot of passes in the fall. He’s the nephew of Gator great Rhondy Weston.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: Former quarterback turned wide receiver Slade Bolden says the chemistry between quarterback Bryce Young and the receivers is starting to build. “You’re starting to see it, throughout practices, throughout scrimmages, that we’re starting to dial into that chemistry,” Bolden said … Wide receiver John Metchie III, running back Brian Robinson, cornerback Josh Jobe and safety Jordan Battle have signed with GSE Worldwide to represent them for NIL deals.

Arkansas: Freshman Raheim Sanders has moved into the No. 2 running back spot behind last year’s leading rusher Trelon Smith.

Auburn: The first unit offensive line at Tuesday’s practice was LT Austin Troxell, LG Brandon Councill, C Nick Brahms, RG Keiondre Jones and RT Brenden Coffey.

Georgia: JT Daniels has an NIL deal with Zaxby’s.

Kentucky: Darian Kinnard has moved back to right tackle with LSU transfer Dare Rosenthal taking over at left tackle. Kinnard was a first team All-SEC at right tackle last season. Rosenthal started eight games at left tackle the last two seasons.

LSU: All fans attending LSU’s season opener against UCLA in the Rose Bowl will be required to wear a mask regardless of their vaccination status.

Mississippi State: Defensive end Jordan Davis has torn his ACL and will miss the 2021 season. Davis was in on 22 tackles with one sack last year.

Missouri: HBC Eli Drinkwitz clarified Tuesday that wide receiver Jay Maclin’s injury is a broken forearm and not a fractured orbital bone.

Ole Miss: Speaking to 247Sports, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit said quarterback Matt Corral “really has a chance to take off and maybe go to another level. He’s in an offense with Lane [Kiffin] and what they do is going to give him a chance to put up big numbers.”

South Carolina: Former Iowa State and North Dakota State quarterback Zeb Noland, who came to South Carolina as a graduate assistant, might factor in the quarterback position with Luke Doty out for an undetermined amount of time. Noland actually has eligibility remaining. During the spring D1AA season at NDSU, Noland threw for 721 yards and five touchdowns.

Tennessee: HBC Josh Heupel offered no real insight into the three-way quarterback battle between Harrison Bailey and the two transfers, Hendon Hooker and Joe Milton. “When we see separation, we’re ready to say something, I’ll come down here and do that,” Heupel said.

Texas A&M: When deciding who will win the two-way quarterback battle going on between Haynes King and Zach Calzada, Jimbo Fisher said on Sirius XM radio, “You’ve heard me say it a zillion times, quarterbacking still gets down to two things: decision-making and accuracy.”

Vanderbilt: Last year’s leading tackler, linebacker Anfernee Orji, has bulked up to 230 pounds.

PAUL FINEBAUM SPEAKS …

About why Nick Saban turned down a $100 million offer to coach Texas on the Saturday Down South Podcast: “The bottom line is they did want Saban and Saban was offered the job, and he considered it. He said to me and anybody who would confront him with this, that the reason he didn’t go to Texas – he said this privately; he didn’t say this publicly – was he did not want to have to answer to 10 or 15 different boosters who all felt like they owned the franchise. It was a little of a Jerry Jones complex or a T. Boone Pickens complex in college football in the past. That has always haunted Texas. By the way, it also haunted the University of Alabama until Nick Saban walked in there in 2007 and sat in booster club meeting after booster club meeting and said, ‘Listen, I run this place. You stay the blank out of my way.’”

About Mississippi State coach Mike Leach on the Saturday Down South Podcast: “I don’t think Mike Leach is a top 15 coach right now. I respect him, but to be a successful head coach these days, you have to do more than just coach, and my biggest fault of Mike Leach is he just doesn’t do very much other than show up at the game and call the plays, and I think he is making a mistake. I think that’s why he runs into trouble, not only with his fan base but with the people that employ him … I realize we just went through COVID but I wonder how many times Mike Leach has reached out in that community that he lives in to try to develop and further the football cause. I’m willing to bet you that very few people in [Starkville] know Mike Leach. I know people that are well plugged into that community. I’m not just talking idle fans. I’m talking about people that are part of that program who don’t know him, have never met him. That concerns me a little bit because ultimately, you do need to do more than just coach, and I think he’s a very good football coach. If you win 10-11 games, you’ll be successful whether you talk to anybody or not. But if you’re in those gray areas where I think Leach will be you need support, and I’m not sure he’s going to have that.”

About Georgia on ESPN: “I think Georgia is primed. I think this is the best Georgia team that Kirby Smart has had. He had a really good one in his second year. Let’s say they get past Clemson – and I would predict that they’re going to. They have a couple of other games that matter. They have Florida, of course, and then they have the likely Alabama game. I think they can get to the playoff, even by losing to Clemson. But of course, that’s not going to happen.”

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: After a month’s worth of slings and arrows fired in his direction, Greg Sankey finally did something other than what amounts to a rope-a-dope. With one subtle jab at Washington State president Kirk Schultz, who called the SEC “predatory,” Sankey reminded everyone that the Pac-12 tried to destroy the Big 12 back in 2010 with a raid that would have landed Texas and Oklahoma in addition to Colorado, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Texas A&M. Sankey also used the occasion to remind folks that the Pac-12, ACC and Big Ten have all been active in raids on other conferences in the past. The Pac-12 grabbed up Utah from the Mountain West and Colorado from the Big 12. The ACC took the legs out from under the Big East by poaching Miami, Virginia Tech and Boston College in 2004, then in 2013-14 finished off that league by taking Syracuse and Pitt. The Big Ten in 2011 took Nebraska from the Big 12 and in 2014 Rutgers from the Big East and Maryland from the ACC. The Big 12 grabbed West Virginia from the Big East and TCU from the Mountain West in 2012. That same year, the SEC added Texas A&M and Missouri. We’ve spent a good part of the 21st century watching conferences expand, contract and in some cases, disappear completely. It’s nothing new and Sankey is right to call out the hypocrites.