Thoughts of the Day: August 3, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

JUD FABIAN WILL BE BACK Jud Fabian was in the driver’s seat all along when it came to the Major League Baseball Draft. Because the 2020 season didn’t count against anyone’s eligibility, Fabian still has two years of college eligibility remaining, so he had leverage when the Boston Red Sox selected him early in the second round of the July Major League Baseball Draft. He was under no pressure to sign with the Red Sox because he is still an underclassman when he comes back to UF.

The Baltimore Orioles wanted Fabian and were willing to offer him a bonus well beyond the slot value of $1.86 million, but the Red Sox selected him ahead of the Orioles and they weren’t nearly as flexible. Reports are that Fabian would have signed with the Red Sox for something in the neighborhood of $2.2 million – far less than what the Orioles were willing to pay – but Boston overspent and couldn’t meet Fabian’s price.

As a result, Florida’s center fielder will be back for another year with the Gators. As a third-year sophomore, Fabian hit 20 home runs and drove in 46 but saw his batting averaged dip 45 points over the .294 he was hitting when the 2020 season was postponed because of COVID-19. His 79 strikeouts in 2021 no doubt cost him dearly as Fabian began the season as the No. 4 overall prospect. But, now he has a chance to come back to UF, work on making better contact and getting back to first round draft status.

By returning to UF, Fabian will also have a chance to play a season with younger brother Deric, Florida’s Mr. Baseball and the Class 4A Player of the Year after a season at North Marion in which he hit .462 with 13 homers. A high school shortstop, Deric Fabian could play second, third or shortstop at UF.

Florida coach Kevin O’Sullivan lost nine players to the transfer portal, but only three – first base/pitcher Jordan Butler, second baseman Cory Acton and shortstop Jordan Carrion – are significant losses. The Gators picked up catcher BT Riopelle from Coastal Carolina in the transfer portal. In the Major League Baseball Draft, only four high school signees and two junior college pitchers were taken from Florida’s national No. 1-ranked recruiting class. Currently, O’Sullivan has 38 on the roster – 19 returning veterans, one transfer and 18 incoming freshmen.

NCAA rules allow 35 on the roster so there will have to be some trimming done between now and February when the 2022 season begins.

UF BASEBALL ROSTER AS OF AUGUST 2, 2021 Catchers (4): Cal Greenfield, R/R (6-1, 210, SR); BT Riopelle, L/R (6-0, 205, GR/TR); Mac Guscette R/R (6-0, 210, SO); Rene Lastres, R/R (6-3, 205, FR)

Infielders (6): Kris Armstrong B/R, JR); Josh Rivera, R/R (6-2, 205, SO); Colby Halter, L/R (6-1, 200, SO); Wyatt Langford, R/R (6-1, 215, RFR); (6-4, 225, Deric Fabian, R/R (6-3, 180, FR); Jorge De Goti, R/R (6-1, 180, FR)

Outfielders (8): Jud Fabian, R/L (6-2, 190, JR); Kendrick Calilao, R/R (6-1, 210, JR); Sterlin Thompson, L/R (6-3, 185, SO); Tucker Talbott, R/R (6-2, 185, RFR); Ty Evans, R/R (6-2, 200, FR); Michael Robertson, L/R (6-1, 175, FR); Corey Robinson, R/R (5-11, 170, FR); Matthew Prevesk, L/L (6-3, 190, FR)

Pitchers (20): Garrett Milchin, LH (6-5, 210, RSR); David Leuthje, RH (6-5, 210, JR); Hunter McMullen, RH (6-2, 205, RJR); Nick Pogue, RH (6-5, 235, RSO); Hunter Barco, LH (6-4, 220, SO); Timmy Manning, LH (6-2, 190, SO); Nick Ficarrotta, RH (6-3, 180, SO); Tyler Nesbitt, RH (6-3, 195, RFR); Blake Purnell, RH (6-3, 210, RFR); Ryan Slater, RH (6-3, 185, RFR); Jac Caglianone, LH (6-5, 210, FR); Pierce Coppola, LH (6-8, 215, FR); Phil Abner, RH (6-1, 225, FR); Brandon Neely, RH (6-3, 205, FR); Fisher Jameson, RH (6-5, 220, FR); Anthony Ursitti, RH (6-4, 205); Kyle Larsen, RH (6-2, 225, FR); Karl Hartman, RH (6-4, 213, FR); Samuel Sloan, RH (6-3, 200, FR); Carsten Finnvold, LH (6-1, 175, FR)

GATORS SIGN SHOOTING GUARD ELIJAH KENNEDY Mike White has filled the scholarship vacated by Samson Ruzhentsev by signing shooting guard Elijah Kennedy (6-4, 205, Virginia Beach, VA Green Run). Kennedy and 5-star (by Rivals.com) freshman Kowacie Reeves will be the only freshmen on Florida’s 12-man roster. White still has one vacant scholarship that could be filled with another freshman or a transfer.

Kennedy is a lefty shooter who was the Virginia High School Association Class 5 Player of the Year in 2021. A two-time All-State player in Virginia, Kennedy averaged 22 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.1 steals and 2.6 assists per game last year.

Kennedy was impressive at the recently concluded Nike Peach Jam where he played for Boo Williams, the same AAU program that sent Keyontae Johnson to Florida.

UF BASKETBALL ROSTER AS OF AUGUST 2, 2021 Post (4): Colin Castleton (6-11, 231, SR); Anthony Duruji (6-7, 209, RSR); Jason Jitoboh (6-11, 305, JR); CJ Felder (6-7, 231, JR)

Wings (6): Keyontae Johnson (6-5, 229, SR); Phlandrous Fleming Jr. (6-5, 205, GR); Myreon Jones (6-3, 175, SR); Neils Lane (6-5, 206, SO); Kowacie Reeves (6-6, 182, FR); Elijah Kennedy (6-4, 205, FR)

Point guards (2): Brandon McKissic (6-3, 185, GR); Tyree Appleby (6-1, 163, RSR)

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: The Board of Trustees has approved Nick Saban’s contract extension which will keep him coaching until 2029. Saban’s deal has an annual raise of $400,000 to go with an $800,000 completion payment for each year he coaches beyond 2025. Saban will make in excess of $10 million for 2023 and will pay a base of $11.25 million the final year of the contract.

Auburn: Former Auburn and NFL corner Trovon Reed is joining Bryan Harsin’s support staff as an assistant in player development.

Georgia: Tykee Smith, who transferred to Georgia from West Virginia, is being sued for $7,941 plus court costs for late rent and garbage fees from his apartment in Morgantown.

LSU: Quarterback Myles Brennan, who suffered a season-ending injury in game three last year, broke the humerus bone in his left arm. He will undergo surgery today and there is no timeline for his return. Brennan was expected to battle Max Johnson for the starting job.

Ole Miss: Strong safety Jon Haynes, who started 10 games in 2020, has entered the NCAA transfer portal. In two seasons as the starter, Haynes had two interceptions and 86 tackles.

South Carolina: First year head coach Shane Beamer, who was the special teams coordinator at Oklahoma last year, said that by adding Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC, “… this is the toughest conference in America and it just got tougher.”

Vanderbilt: Pitcher Kumar Rocker, who the New York Mets didn’t sign after selecting him No. 10 in the Major League Baseball Draft, will not return to Vanderbilt. Rocker, who reportedly had some arm issues that made the Mets hesitate to sign him, will either spend the next year rehabbing so he can be drafted again next year or go the Japan, which might be willing to pay millions.

DOING THE LATE, GREAT ELLA WHEELER WILCOX PROUD … Listening to some of the reaction to Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 Conference for the SEC reminds me of the late, great poet Ella Wheeler Wilcox, who was known for her passionate prose. In her classic Solitude, Wilcox penned the phrase, “Laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.” Some of the non-SEC reactions around college football are downright laughable and some of them are just sad.

Here are a few recent reactions:

New Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff, who no doubt became an expert on college football during his days as a member of the Board of Governors of the WNBA, said expansion of the College Football Playoff from four to 12 teams needs to be paused, all because Texas and Oklahoma are leaving for the SEC.

“It’s [the playoff] certainly going to be readdressed,” Kliavkoff told CBS Sports. “Remember that was a two-year process done by four people. The proposal is good, but it’s not done. We’ve mis-set fans’ expectations that it’s going to move on a very fast timeline.”

Kliavkoff is the commissioner of a conference that has had exactly two CFP teams in seven years (Oregon 2014; Washington 2016) but they cash a $66 million check every year that the playoff pays to each power conference. Expanding the playoff to 12 teams is expected to triple the payoff to each conference. For a conference that is a financial bottom feeder, the Pac-12 can’t afford to delay CFP expansion and should pray it happens sooner than 2025.

***

Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades, who has suffered the indignity of seeing women’s basketball coach Kim Mulkey bolt to LSU in the SEC, told Max Olson of The Athletic that Texas has an inferiority complex.

“Many of my colleagues around the country believe that the University of Texas created this situation because they think so highly of themselves,” Rhoades said. “I disagree. I think it’s because they felt too little of themselves.”

Not really. Texas did what Texas needed to do after having to cut six sports and lose millions upon millions because of COVID-19. Faced with a league whose contract expires and no one wants to renegotiate, Texas went where there is financial stability.

***

There were reports that Clemson and Florida State reached out to the SEC to see if there is room at the inn for them. Clemson reacted with a statement that said, “There is no truth to the report that Clemson University has been in contact with the Southeastern Conference regarding membership.”

Florida State hasn’t issued any such statements. The folks in Tallahassee are probably wondering what the hell were we thinking when the SEC asked them to join in 1990?

The SEC isn’t in an inviting mood and if it did, Clemson and FSU would crawl backwards to Birmingham to join. The answer’s pretty simple. The additions of Texas and Oklahoma will generate yearly TV payouts of $70 million+ for the SEC. The ACC is stuck with a contract that pays all of $32.3 million a year. The contract expires in 2036.

***

Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby talks apples and oranges when discussing the difference in the likes of Rutgers and Maryland bolting for new leagues and Texas and Oklahoma leaving for the SEC.

“The others that have moved have typically been the Rutgers and Marylands that were down in the ranks,” Bowlsby said.

So, it’s okay for other schools to leave for leagues that offer more financial stability because they need the money, but it’s wrong for Texas and Oklahoma, who also feel a need for more money to do the same thing? Right. You’re making tons of sense Bob.

And this from Bowlsby, who says he doesn’t blame schools for looking for a better place but “there is a right way to do it.”

Bob’s still mad that Texas and Oklahoma didn’t announce to the world that they were dissatisfied with the money, the stability of the Big 12 or his leadership. And he’s mad that Greg Sankey didn’t call him up to say, “Hey Bob, Texas and Oklahoma came to me in confidence about joining the SEC. They think you and the Big 12 suck. I’m letting you know so we can screw things up permanently and have them go join the Big Ten instead.”

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Quarterback Quinn Ewers is going to forego his senior year at South Lake High School in metro Dallas/Fort Worth to enroll at Ohio State all because he thinks he will make a ton of money on name, image and likeness. New Ewers is considered a 5-star prospect that some say is a sure thing, but at the recent Elite 11 competition, he was completely outplayed. Sports Illustrated ranked him sixth, trailing Clemson commit Cade Klubnik (Clemson commit), Maalik Murphy (Texas), Nick Evers (Florida), Devin Brown (Southern Cal) and Ty Simpson (Alabama). Now he may tear it up from day one at Ohio State and put redshirt freshmen C.J. Stroud and Jack Miller (former 4-stars) and true freshman Kyle McCord (5-star) in his rear view mirror, but those three will have a distinct advantage. Stroud and Miller have been at Ohio State for a full year and McCord was there for spring football. Now some talking heads on radio were saying Ewers will benefit from skipping his senior year, but I would disagree. This isn’t like enrolling early AFTER your senior season and it’s not like kids enrolling early in basketball. There is a reason why kids don’t go straight from high school to the NFL and it’s because there are only limited numbers of games to play as opposed to basketball where thanks to the AAU circuit kids sometimes play 70-80 games a year. Ewers might make a ton of money on NIL, but what happens if he falls behind kids who have more experience?