Thoughts of the Day: July 6, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Tuesday morning:

MLB.COM HAS FABIAN GOING NO. 22 TO THE CHICAGO WHITE SOX Although CBSSports.com has dropped Florida center fielder all the way down to the No. 41 prospect for the July 11-13 Major League Baseball Draft, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com isn’t wavering. He’s got Fabian going No. 22 to the Chicago White Sox, noting “Fabian’s tools are undeniable, though the swing-and-miss concerns some.”

R.J. Anderson of CBSSports.com isn’t so optimistic. He writes, “Teams won’t be running pell-mell in Fabian’s direction, but a club who believes his hit took can approach fringe-average could pop him before the end of the first round.”

Mayo has the Gators losing signee Andrew Painter (6-7, 230, Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian) going No. 13 to the Philadelphia Phillies, noting the Phillies “like Painter’s size, how his arm works and his feel for pitching.” CBSSports.com ranks Painter the No. 22 prospect in the draft.

CBSSports.com ranks Florida signee Chase Petty (6-1, 185, Somers Point NJ Mainland Regional) as the No. 37 prospect. Anderson writes, “He has big time arm strength, of course, with which he’s broken the 100-mph mark in the past. His slider has also shown promise as a putaway pitch.”

Assessing the Gators in the draft: I’m of the opinion that Fabian will go in the first round, probably somewhere between 20-25. His strikeouts are a concern, but he’s one of the younger draft-eligible players since he skipped his senior season at Trinity Catholic to enroll early at UF so he’s got a very high upside.

Nathan Hickey still has three years of eligibility (2020 didn’t count per the NCAA) so he has options if he doesn’t get a contract to his liking. He’s a consistent hitter who probably goes in the first three rounds.

Tommy Mace is a late first rounder in some mock drafts. MLB.com had him ranked as the No. 31 prospect just a month or so ago. He’s probably going mid-second. When Jack Leftwich was switched to the bullpen, he improved his draft stock considerably. He could be picked as a closer or long reliever since he has plenty of starting experience. MLB.com ranked him as the No. 136 prospect.

Other Gators who could be drafted are pitcher Franco Aleman, left fielder Jacob Young and first baseman Kris Armstrong. Young needs to go if he’s drafted. Aleman needs another year in the worst way and Armstrong needs another year to get hold of his power consistently.

Because the draft has been shortened to 20 rounds and the money pool has been reduced, some of the high school prospects signed by UF may opt for college baseball. The money is going to be there for Painter and quite possibly for Petty. There are mock drafts that have center fielder Jay Allen (6-3, 190, Fort Pierce, FL John Carroll Catholic) going first round but he’s more likely a second rounder. If Florida can somehow hold on to catcher Rene Lastres (6-3, 205, Hialeah, FL/Fort Lauderdale, FL Calvary Christian) and lefties Jac Caglianone (6-5, 210, Tampa, FL Plant), Pierce Coppola (6-8, 215, Verona, NJ) and Phil Abner (6-1, 220, Port Charlotte, FL Charlotte Christian) then Kevin O’Sullivan can call this one of the best recruiting classes he’s ever signed. All four figure to go mid-second to fifth round.

TRE MANN UP TO NO. 10 IN ONE MOCK NBA DRAFT Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com, the nation’s best basketball writer, has moved Florida guard Tre Mann all the way up to No. 10 in his July 5 mock draft. Parrish has Mann going to the New Orleans Pelicans and says, “The Pelicans still need to surround Zion Williamson with shooting – and adding Tre Mann would accomplish that goal. He shot 40.2% on 4.7 3-point attempts in his final season at Florida, where he also played and guarded several positions.

Also at CBS, Colin Ward-Henninger has Mann going No. 20 to the Atlanta Hawks and Kyle Boone has him going No. 21 to the New York Knicks. Ward-Henninger writes, “I don’t rate Mann as highly as some other draft evaluators, but the Hawks would be lucky to get him at this point and start grooming him as Trae Young’s backup. His scoring ability is undeniable and his shot creation is among the best in the draft.” Boone writes, “He made 40.2% from 3-point range at Florida last season and has the offensive versatility to add a little on and off the ball as a scroer and creator.”

MATT HAYES ON LIKELY PROBLEMS FROM NIL

Matt Hayes, one of the best college football writers in the business, answered this question for a reader over at the Saturday Down South website:

“You can always find a negative, and there will be a handful with this new frontier. Recruiting – more specifically, cheating in recruiting – is at the top of the list. There’s really no way to control it, and that was the biggest concern of nearly every administrator and coach. One overlooked problem: tiers in the locker room. Or as one SEC coach told me last week: ‘There are people and things I have no control over setting up a tier system in my locker room.’

“Translation: players who sign NIL agreements and earn money are automatically on a separate tier from those who don’t. Will there be jealousy? Absolutely. Will it cause friction? Unquestionably. Coaches spend all season trying to keep everyone on the same level, pushing toward the same goal. Like it or not, that will be harder to preach (and manage) in the NIL world. And that will impact team chemistry, the one true foundation of championship teams.”

CHARLES BARKLEY WEIGHS IN ON NIL Speaking on the Dan Patrick Show, Charles Barkley said he’s concerned what endorsement deals for a few will do for the rest of the players on teams. Barkley talked about the problems that would have been at Auburn during the time he and Bo Jackson were in school.

“What really bothers me and scares me and scares me about the whole scenario, Dan, there’s going to be so much resentment from other teammates. They’ll be like, ‘Damn, Charles is selling jerseys. He’s got a car deal. We work just as hard as him.’ Same thing with Bo Jackson. The offensive lineman – he opens up all the holes for Bo Jackson. Bo Jackson is making all this money and the offensive lineman who has to do all the work is not making a dime. I think there’s going to be resentment and jealousy on these teams.”

WHERE SEC COACHES RANK NATIONALLY PER SPORTING NEWS

Okay, we know who the obvious choice at No. 1 is, but Sporting News went to all the trouble of ranking the other 129 football coaches in Division I. Here are the top 25 and after that, just the SEC coaches and where they rank:

1. Nick Saban, Alabama (256-65 career, 165-23 at Alabama) 2. Dabo Swinney, Clemson (140-33) 3. Lincoln Riley, Oklahoma (45-8)

4. Brian Kelly, Notre Dame (134-60 in Division I, 81-39 at Notre Dame) 5. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M (109-33 career, 26-10 at A&M) 6. Ryan Day, Ohio State (23-2) 7. Kirby Smart, Georgia (52-14) 8. DAN MULLEN, FLORIDA (98-55, 29-9 at Florida) 9. Matt Campbell, Iowa State (71-43, 35-28 at Iowa State)

10. Mack Brown, North Carolina (259-132, 15-10 at North Carolina) 11. James Franklin, Penn State (84-43, 60-28 at Penn State)

12. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (106-81) 13. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati (41-21, 35-14 at Cincinnati)

14. Ed Orgeron, LSU (61-41, 45-14 at LSU)

15. Jim Harbaugh, Michigan (78-43, 49-22 at Michigan)

16. Mario Cristobal, Oregon (52-57, 25-10 at Oregon)

17. Paul Chryst, Wisconsin (75-38, 56-19 at Wisconsin)

18. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (137-67) 19. Kyle Whittingham, Utah (134-66) 20. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa (168-106) 21. Tom Allen, Indiana (24-22) 22. Gary Patterson, TCU (178-74) 23. Mark Stoops, Kentucky (49-50) 24. David Shaw, Stanford (90-36)

25. Clay Helton, Southern Cal (45-23) The rest of the SEC: 26. Lane Kiffin, Ole Miss; 28. Mike Leach, Mississippi State; 33. Eli Drinkwitz, Missouri; 35. Bryan Harsin, Auburn; 39. Josh Heupel, Tennessee; 56. Sam Pittman, Arkansas; 66. Shane Beamer, South Carolina; 77. Clark Lea, Vanderbilt

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC

Alabama: Redshirt freshman quarterback Bryce Young has an NIL endorsement agreement with Cash App … Pitcher Dylan Smith has moved up to the No. 44 prospect for the MLB Draft according to CBSSports.com.

Auburn: Wide receiver Hal Presley, who enrolled in June and then abruptly left the program has committed to Baylor.

Kentucky: Now that he’s withdrawn from the NBA Draft, Minnesota guard Marcus Carr will remain in the transfer portal with Kentucky, Texas, Kansas and Louisville as his final four. Kentucky is the favorite to land Illinois big man Kofi Cockburn if he elects to withdraw from the NBA Draft.

LSU: Darren Rovell of Action Network says LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne could make more than $1 million on NIL. She has more than one million followers on Instagram … Pitcher Jaden Hill is the No. 42 prospect for the July MLB Draft according to CBSSports.com.

Mississippi State: Will Bednar, the MVP of Mississippi State’s national championship run, is the No. 31 prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft per CBSSports.com. The MLB.com mock draft has Bednar going No. 11 to the Washington Nationals.

Ole Miss: Former Utah offensive lineman Olando Umana (6-4, 329) is expected to announce he is transferring to Ole Miss … CBSSports.com ranks pitcher Gonnar Hoglund the No. 17 player for the upcoming MLB Draft. The MLB.com mock draft has Hoglund going No. 20 to the New York Yankees.

Vanderbilt: CBSSports.com ranks pitchers Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker the No. 2 and No. 8 prospects for the MLB Draft later this month. Jonathan Mayo of the MLB.com website has Leiter going second to the Texas Rangers and Rocker going seventh to the Kansas City Royals.

NOT THAT I’M COUNTING OR ANYTHING BUT …

It has been 14,796 days since Georgia last won a national championship in football back on January 1, 1981. That is 486 months and 2,109 weeks. Georgia is 355-139-5 since the 1981 season with four SEC championships. Florida is 359-136-4 with three national championships and eight SEC titles. Alabama is 353-134-2 with seven national championships and 11 SEC titles since 1981. LSU has won three national championships and seven SEC titles since 1981. Tennessee has won a national title and so has Auburn.

It has also been 38 years since Herschel Walker won the Heisman Trophy, the last Georgia player to win one. Since Herschel, Alabama has had three Heisman winners (Mark Ingram, Derrick Henry, Devonta Smith) and Florida has had two (Danny Wuerffel and Tim Tebow).

Just a little bit of information that might come in handy should you run into one of those “you guys don’t stand a prayer against us this year” Georgia fans.

ALL-TIME ROSTER FOR MY FAVORITE MLB TEAM

Growing up, my American League team was the Baltimore Orioles. They were a dominant team from 1964-83 but have dropped off the radar since. Here is my all-time 25-man Orioles roster.

Catcher: Andy Etchebarren

First base: Boog Powell

Second base: Davey Johnson Shortstop: Cal Ripken Jr.

Third base: Brooks Robinson Left field: B.J. Surhoff Center field: Paul Blair Right field: Frank Robinson Designated hitter: Eddie Murray Reserves: Rick Dempsey, C; Rafael Palmeiro, 1B/DH; Mark Belanger, SS; Ken Singleton, RF/DH; Adam Jones, CF; Doug DeCinces, 3B; Manny Machado, SS/3B Starting pitcher: Jim Palmer Starting pitcher: Dave McNally Starting pitcher: Mike Cuellar Starting pitcher: Mike Mussina Starting pitcher: Milt Pappas Relief pitcher: Hoyt Wilhelm Relief pitcher: Gregg Olson Relief pitcher: Stu Miller

Relief pitcher: Jim Johnson

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: For all the hand wringing and head shaking over NIL, at least one player has his heart in the right place. I can’t see anyone on the Florida State team having a problem with defensive lineman Dillon Gibbons, who will use whatever he can make from his name, image and likeness to go into Go Fund Me to help friend Timothy Donovan, who suffers from a rare disease that affects the nerves in his hands and feet. I hope more athletes use their NIL platform to help those less fortunate. I can dream, can’t I?