Thoughts of the Day: May 4, 2022

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

THE ERA OF DEEP POCKETS IS UPON US

In Texas there is this saying that only God and the Longhorns have more money than the Aggies. There are rumors that Texas A&M spent somewhere around $30 million to land its 2022 football recruiting class, which is said to be one of the best in history. To make sure all these high priced newbies feel comfortable enough to play hard for their new alma mammy, the Aggies are investing another $120 million to upgrade their facilities, already among the top two or three in the entire nation.

The Aggies have always had that kind of money, but now they have real plans to use the big bucks to win championships by spreading wads of cash among unproven high school kids and transfers looking for greener (pun intended) pastures. And, they figure, you can’t let this high priced talent play in anything less than the best facilities, now can you?

When I see what they are doing at Texas A&M and to a lesser extent at Arkansas, which has quite a few billionaires willing to write large checks designed to create championships, I have to wonder how the Gators and most of the other schools in the SEC are going to compete? UF has a lot of wealthy boosters and alums, but can they compete with those in Aggieland or Sowbelly State? What particularly concerns me is that Florida is only now catching up to the upper half of the SEC when it comes to facilities. The $30 million recruiting figure – if true – is also a shock to the system. Texas oil money can cover that on a yearly basis. Arkansas can make cash calls to the Walton (Walmart) or the Tyson (chicken) or Reynolds (aluminum) people with little fear of coming up empty.

Does Florida have that kind of money at its disposal? From where I sit, that is what it’s going to take to compete in the Southeastern Conference. Oh sure, getting an additional $25-30 million a year from the SEC is nice, but the Aggies and Razorbacks will be getting the same amount and they’ve got the mega donors ready to write checks for however much money they need to buy a championship. Florida will have to pony up or get left behind.

So, welcome to the new college sports landscape where only those with the deepest pockets can figure to win championships.

UF BASEBALL: FABIAN LIGHTS UP USF FOR THREE HOMERS

Until Tuesday, Jud Fabian had never hit a grand slam at the University of Florida. The second of his three homers in Florida’s 18-3 win over South Florida came with the bases juiced. Later, he hit a third homer – the 50th of his UF career – to move past JJ Schwarz for fourth place on Florida’s all-time list. Fabian’s big night was good for a career-best eight RBI.

In addition to Fabian’s 17th, 18th and 19th homers, BT Riopelle (13th), Mac Guscette (3rd) and Ty Evans (2nd) went deep for the Gators. Wyatt Langford went 3-4 with a pair of RBI and Sterlin Thompson went 2-3 with four RBI.

Getting the win was Nick Pogue (2-2), who gave up three hits and two runs (only one earned) in four innings. Freshmen Tyler Nesbitt, Karl Hartman and Anthony Ursitti combined to limit the Bulls to three hits and one run over the final five innings.

The Gators (26-18, 8-13 SEC) travel to Starkville this weekend to face Mississippi State (25-20, 9-12 SEC).

UF SOFTBALL: GATORS TAKE ON NO. 2 FSU IN TALLAHASSEE Even though this isn’t an SEC game, tonight’s Florida-FSU softball battle in Tallahassee (is critical for the Gators (38-13), who have completed the conference portion of their schedule. The Gators are almost certain to host an NCAA regional, but to secure home field for the entire NCAA tournament, a resume-building win over FSU, a four-game sweep over Mercer and Florida Gulf Coast this weekend, and a good showing in the SEC Tournament will be a requirement. The Seminoles (45-5) are ranked 2nd nationally while the Gators are currently ranked 12th.

SEC FOOTBALL: THE QB SITUATION AT ALL 14 SEC SCHOOLS

Alabama: Bryce Young won the Heisman Trophy. He’s the best QB in the country again and will be everybody’s Heisman frontrunner. The battle is for the backup between redshirt freshman Jalen Milroe and true freshman Ty Simpson. Milroe has the edge because he spent a year in Bill O’Brien’s system.

Arkansas: KJ Jefferson is the unquestioned No. 1 and will be on a lot of Heisman Trophy short lists in the fall. The backup will be Malik Hornsby, who thought about transferring out before he was convinced to stay. Behind those two are transfers Cade Fortin (South Florida) and Kade Renfro (Ole Miss).

Auburn: Spring practice ended without a clear No. 1. Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada started 10 games last year for the Aggies including the win over Alabama. T.J. Finley started five games at LSU in 2020 and three games for Auburn last year. He has the biggest arm. Third-year freshman Robby Ashford spent two seasons at Oregon without playing a down. He is the best dual threat. Lefty freshman Holden Beringer seems to be the QB of the future if he doesn’t get a baseball contract.

FLORIDA: Anthony Richardson solidified his hold on the No. 1 QB job in the spring. Ohio State transfer Jack Miller III emerged as the backup with redshirt freshman Jalen Kitna still hanging around after the transfer of Carlos Del Rio-Wilson.

Georgia: Stetson Bennett IV will always be the QB who led Georgia to a national championship. Kirby Smart loves him but redshirt sophomore Carson Beck has the bigger arm and is coming off an outstanding spring. Brock Vandagriff is a dual threat who was buried behind Bennett and Beck following the spring. Freshman Gunner Stockton will have to wait his turn.

Kentucky: Last year’s starter Will Levis will start again with a new offensive coordinator. Redshirt sophomore Beau Allen is the backup followed by redshirt freshman Kaiya Sheron.

LSU: The situation is complicated to say the least. Myles Brennan, who was once Joe Burrow’s backup, is healthy for the first time in nearly two years. Redshirt freshman Garrett Nussmeier got in four games last year, but he had an impressive spring. Arizona State transfer and two-year starter Jayden Daniels didn’t come halfway across the country to sit. True freshman Walker Howard was the nation’s No. 1 dual threat QB in high school.

Mississippi State: No QB controversy here. Will Rogers has started two years and he will start in the fall. Former juco All-American and South Alabama transfer Chance Lovertich will battle it out for the backup job with redshirt freshman Sawyer Robertson, redshirt freshman Daniel Greek and true freshman Braedyn Locke.

Missouri: Brady Cook started the bowl game and Tyler Macon got the start against Georgia. Neither one has impressed enough to keep Mizzou from searching high and low in the portal. They wanted JT Daniels but lost him to West Virginia. Now they’re after Baylor transfer Gerry Bohannon.

Ole Miss: Sophomore Luke Altmyer had the most impressive spring, but Southern Cal transfer and Jaxson Dart will probably win the starting job in the fall. Kinkead Dean, who’s been a backup forever, will be the No. 3.

South Carolina: Oklahoma transfer Spencer Rattler didn’t arrive to sit. He is the unquestioned No. 1, backed up by Luke Doty, who got starts last year before he was hurt. Behind them are redshirt freshman Colten Gauthier and true freshman Braden Davis.

Tennessee: The Vols will run a Heisman-hype campaign for returning starter Hendon Hooker. Joe Milton III, the former Michigan starter who started two games at UT last year, is the backup. The QB of the future is freshman Taven Jackson.

Texas A&M: This is another situation that won’t be settled until August and maybe not even then. Haynes King was last year’s starter until he got hurt in game two. Max Johnson started 12 games last year at LSU. Freshman Conner Wiegman was the No. 1 dual threat high school QB in the country last year. The three of them ended the spring pretty much in a dead heat.

Vanderbilt: There isn’t a No. 1 yet, but the starter will be either Kenny Seals or Mike Wright, who split the reps in the spring.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Miami’s stud scoring guard Isaiah Wong is everything that is wrong with NIL. When Kansas State guard Nijel Pack was given an $800,000 deal that includes the use of a car when he transferred in, Wong issued a threat through his agent, Adam Pappas: Either pay me or I’ll transfer.

As much as it pains me to say it, I don’t blame Wong. He’s simply a product of a system that has gone sideways because no one ever stopped to think things through before squeezing all the toothpaste out of the tube. Wong has every reason to believe he has serious value to Miami basketball. He averaged 15.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and played lights out defense to lead the Hurricanes to their first Elite Eight appearance in school history back in March. A lot of experts consider Pack the top transfer in the country after a superb season in which he averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists. K-State finished 14-17 and didn’t sniff the NCAA Tournament.

From Isaiah Wong’s perspective, which is more valuable: Your team leader who got you to the Elite Eight or a guy who was really good for a bad team? So he says pay me or else I’m outta here. Assuming, of course, that there is someone out there stupid enough to fork out $800,000 for a basketball player. Minor little detail there.

Now, John Ruiz, the Miami go-zillionaire, has already whipped out more than $5 million in NIL deals in an attempt to buy athletic greatness that Miami hasn’t sniffed in football or baseball in 21 years and since God created the heavens and the earth in all other sports. Perhaps Ruiz will give in to Wong’s demands and match the deal he gave Pack dollar-for-dollar.

But what if he doesn’t? And what if no one else out there with more money than brains offers a deal that either matches or surpasses? Does Wong come back to Ruiz, hat in hand, and say, “Well, gee, John, old buddy, old pal, can’t you take a joke?” Would Miami forgive Wong and welcome him back after what can only be described as attempted extortion?

Isaiah Wong is the first athlete that we know of who is doing the college sports version of pay me or trade me. Perhaps there have been others, but even if there are, their situations haven’t been nearly as publicized. As long as the rules – or lack of – are what they are for NIL, you can bet the family farm that Isaiah Wong is merely the trailblazer. There will be others who figure if he can do it, so can they.

Imagine this scenario for a moment if you will: It’s the fall and three days before a big football game between a pair of ranked teams, the stud quarterback for one of the teams discovers through Twitter and then verifies that he’s underpaid by at least a couple hundred thousand dollars than his counterpart on the other ranked team. He calls his agent, who then calls the NIL people. After being told by the NIL benefactor that now is not the time or the place to be re-negotiating a deal, the agent advises the QB to go on strike unless a new contract can be written and signed before the 3:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday.

Don’t think it can happen? Well, think again, because the inmates now run the asylum. There is no question athletes should be compensated for their time and effort given the amount of money they generate for the school, but the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, has allowed a bunch of 18-to-22-year-olds to have the keys to a kingdom they didn’t build. Until someone figures out a way to slow this runaway freight train down, there will be more pay me or I’m outta here athletes.