Thoughts of the Day: November 17, 2021

A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning:

NAY’QUAN WRIGHT AND THE TURTLE: A PLAN FOR LIFE

With the Gator Nation in a turmoil about Dan Mullen – will he stay or will he go – and so many pulling their hair out about recruiting, potential assistant coach hires if Mullen stays and revamps his coaching staff, we tend to forget that the Florida football team is made up of kids, mostly 18-to-22 years old. Not all of them think UF is here as a waystation on the road to the NFL. Some, like running back Nay’Quan Wright, see the University of Florida as the next step to bigger and better things, not necessarily about football.

He often tweets about turtles. Why does a fast, shifty, make-you-miss running back tweet about one of the slowest animals on the planet? After Monday’s practice as the Gators ready for a game at Missouri this weekend, Wright explained the thinking behind the tweets.

“A turtle normally races a rabbit, and in the end the turtle won, so in the end I will be successful and it’s not just on the field,” Wright said. “It’s off the field, also. So I want to win, and my family preaches we just want to win at life and that’s the end goal – winning at life. Not just on the field, not just winning no natty or no championship. I mean, we gotta win at life.

“The end goal: get a degree, get a master’s, set myself up for success, set my family up and the generation that comes after me. So, the life of the turtle is basically a process: ups and downs and in the end the turtle definitely came out on top.”

In Wright’s family back in Miami, ideas and visions are both shared and shaped. That time after lunch or dinner when they sit down together is a time when plans are formulated about how to make the future better for everyone.

“We have this little group chat where we pick each other’s brains and learn from one another,” Wright said. “And when you really think you do know your family, you actually don’t after you sit down after you have dinner together or lunch and just talk.”

It was in those family sessions that got Wright thinking about the turtle.

“I took it and ran with it because as I reflect, it defines my life and what I’ve been through,” he said. “And it was all a process, so I’ll continue to elevate.”

Sometimes kids have a way of putting things in perspective for the adults.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF POLL: WEEK THREE

The top seven teams remained the same in the third College Football Playoff poll, but now that there are only two weeks remaining in the regular season, we could be seeing some movement. Cincinnati, which has been whining about being stuck outside the top four, could easily crack the top four next week if No. 3 Oregon and/or No. 4 Ohio State lose.

The Top 25: 1. Georgia 10-0; 2. Alabama 9-1; 3. Oregon 9-1; 4. Ohio State 9-1; 5. Cincinnati 10-0; 6. Michigan 9-1; 7. Michigan State 9-1; 8. Notre Dame 9-1; 9. Oklahoma State 9-1; 10. Wake Forest 9-1; 11. Baylor 8-2; 12. Ole Miss 8-2; 13. Oklahoma 9-1; 14. BYU 8-2; 15. Wisconsin 7-3; 16. Texas A&M 7-3; 17. Iowa 8-2; 18. Pittsburgh 8-2; 19. San Diego State 9-1; 20. North Carolina State 7-3; 21. Arkansas 7-3; 22. Texas-San Antonio 10-0; 23. Utah 7-3; 24. Houston 9-1; 25. Mississippi State 6-4

Games that could seriously alter the poll next week:

No. 3 Oregon (9-1) at No. 23 Utah (7-3): If Oregon loses, the Pac-12 won’t get a team in the playoff. Utah is favored by three and has the kind of QB that can drive Oregon nuts in dual threat sophomore Cameron Rising.

No. 7 Michigan State (9-1) at No. 4 Ohio State (9-1): This is essentially a playoff elimination game since both have one loss. The Buckeyes are 19-point favorites but they have a shaky defense. Can Michigan State keep the ball away from that prolific Ohio State offense by pounding Kenneth Walker III between the tackles?

SMU (8-2) at No. 5 Cincinnati (10-0): SMU is the best team Cincinnati has played since it beat Notre Dame and the best offense the Bearcats have seen all year. SMU QB Tanner Mordecai (37 TDPs) can pick defenses apart if his protection holds up. Can the Bearcats make him average? Cincinnati is favored by 11.5 points.

No. 9 Oklahoma State (9-1) at Texas Tech (6-4): Texas Tech beat Iowa State on a 62-yard field goal at the horn last week. Oklahoma State has a habit of losing a game it shouldn’t, like to Iowa State a month ago. If Okie State loses, it’s essentially the end of the Big 12 playoff hopes.

OVER, UNDER, AROUND AND THROUGH THE SEC (FOOTBALL)

Alabama (9-1, 5-1 SEC): Linebacker Will Anderson Jr. leads the nation with 12.5 sacks good for -72 yards in losses.

Arkansas (7-3, 3-3 SEC): Since Jalen Catalon was lost for the season with an injury, Myles Slusher has taken over at safety with 24 tackles and an interception in his four starts.

Auburn (6-4, 3-3 SEC): With placekicker Anders Carlson sidelined after an injury suffered during an onside kick in last week’s loss to Mississippi State, Ben Patton will take over the kicking duties for Saturdays game with South Carolina. He hasn’t attempted a field goal this year but is 3-3 on extra points.

Georgia (10-0, 8-0 SEC): Wide receiver George Pickens, who hasn’t played this year while rehabbing an ACL, is practicing in non-contact jersey and going against the No. 1 defense.

Kentucky (7-3, 5-3 SEC): The Wildcats have their second winning record in SEC play since 1977, both posted by Mark Stoops, who will be taking UK to a school record sixth consecutive bowl game.

LSU (4-5, 2-5 SEC): Commenting on rumors that have him interested in the soon to be vacant LSU job, Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley said, “I coach at the University of Oklahoma. You know how I feel about this place and this program. We’ve all been down this road many times before. You guys know where I stand and that hasn’t changed.”

Mississippi State (6-4, 4-3 SEC): To have a chance to beat Mississippi State this weekend, former Ohio State Heisman Trophy winner and Tennessee coach Eddie Georgie says, “When they get in the red zone we need to force them to kick field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.”

Missouri (5-5, 2-4 SEC): How good is running back Tyler Badie? HBC Eli Drinkwitz says, “He’s been five wins valuable. I don’t know that we have five wins if it’s not for Tyler Badie.”

Ole Miss (8-2, 4-2 SEC): ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit likes the Rebels and says, “If they can keep winning … they’ve got a real shot to get to 10-2 and be a New Year’s Six bowl team.”

South Carolina (5-5, 2-5 SEC): Addressing speculation that he might be a candidate for the vacant Virginia Tech job, where his father had a hall of fame career as the HBC, Shane Beamer said, “This is home for me. I want to be the head coach here at South Carolina.”

Tennessee (5-5, 3-4 SEC): Defensive coordinator Tim Banks has been nominated for the Broyles Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Texas A&M (7-3, 4-3 SEC): Athletic director Russ Bjork is satisfied with Jimbo Fisher’s statement that he has no interest in coaching LSU next year. “He told the truth,” Bjork said Tuesday.

Vanderbilt (2-8, 0-6 SEC): Speaking about Ole Miss QB Matt Corral, who the Commodores have to stop to beat the Rebels this weekend, HBC Clark Lea said, “He’s a guy that has the ability to extend plays and thrown from multiple arm angles and find open receivers. It’s not going to always be the way it looks in the playbook.”

SEC Basketball Tuesday’s games: No. 13 Kentucky (2-1) 80, Mount Saint Mary’s (1-3) 55; Georgia (2-1) 76, South Carolina State (0-4) 60; No. 14 Alabama (3-0) 73; South Alabama (1-2) 68

Wednesday’s games: Houston Baptist (1-1) at Texas A&M (3-0); Northern Iowa (1-2) at No. 16 Arkansas (2-0); VCU (1-1) at Vanderbilt (2-0); Detroit Mercy (0-2) at Mississippi State (2-0)

COACH WATCH Here are the current openings in Division I and how their coaching searches are trending: Southern Cal: James Franklin would take the job in a heartbeat, but his star is fading. AD Mike Bohn hired Luke Fickell at Cincinnati but Fickell probably only moves on from Cincy if Mel Tucker takes the LSU job or Franklin leaves Penn State. The hot name is Baylor coach Dave Aranda, who is from San Bernardino County and played collegiately at Cal Lutheran.

LSU: Forget Jimbo. He’s staying in Aggieland. Forget Lincoln Riley. He potentially has his next Heisman QB in Caleb Williams. Forget Franklin. Not even on the short list. Mel Tucker they want. If they can’t get him Dave Aranda probably gets the call if he’s still available.

Washington State: Nevada head coach Jay Norvell is the one they want, but he may hold out for what he perceives as a better Power Five job … like Washington. They also like Oklahoma DC Alex Grinich, who worked wonders with Mike Leach’s defense at Wazzoo a few years ago.

Washington: The name heard the most is Oregon offensive coordinator and former Mississippi State head coach Joe Moorhead. If Washington offers Nevada head coach Jay Norvell, he almost certainly takes it.

Virginia Tech: From the moment it was announced that Justin Fuente was being let go, the target has been on the back of Billy Napier, who reportedly is also on the TCU short list. If Napier takes the TCU job, look for Tech to go with Mike Houston, who has ECU bowl eligible and who won a D1AA national title at James Madison.

TCU: The guy they want is Billy Napier. The guy they probably will get is Sonny Dykes, who currently coaches SMU. Deion Sanders’ name has also been mentioned.

Florida International: This is a trainwreck. Mentioned as potential successors to Butch Davis are former Georgia offensive coordinator and Texas A&M tight ends coach James Coley and Western Carolina head coach and former Gator QB Kerwin Bell. If they’re smart they’ll stay right where they are.

Akron: They thought they could do better than Terry Bowden. They were wrong. Tom Arth was terrible. The guy they want is former Zips QB and Miami Dolphins QB coach Charlie Frye, who was on the Florida support staff as Director of Player Development for Old Yeller (2016-17).

UMass: They need to be back in D1AA where Mark Whipple made them a power, but they are D1 and playing paycheck games to pay for their Title IX sports. The guy they would love is Kentucky OC Liam Coen, a Massachusetts native. Two chances that happens: No way and no how.

ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Sometimes you get what you ask for and discover just how good you had it before you made the changes. Coaches asked for and got an early December signing period. You could say it’s successful since 85 percent of all Division I players will sign their LOI at that time but look what it’s done to the coaching profession. There have been 12 coaches fired DURING the 2021 season and we might expect a few more before the final regular season games are played November 27. The reason? To get a new coach in place to salvage recruiting.

It creates a vicious cycle. Coaches are fired and replaced by new coaches. The new coaches leave behind a school that now has to do its own coach search to salvage recruiting. Kids who worked their tails off to get to a bowl game see their head coach leave for new pastures and they are coached in the bowl game by a lame duck staff. There is a further domino effect now that we effectively have free agency. So many kids are going to be transferring in and out of programs that it will make your heads spin.

I always liked the old way of recruiting better when it all came to a crescendo on the first Wednesday in February. From a fan’s perspective that was best. I think it was best from coaching perspectives, too. There was less inclination to fire a coach during the season when a new coach could take over in January and have a full month to get his staff and recruiting together.

What I would like to see is early signing ONLY for kids who have the grades to early enroll. Everyone else signs in February. Have some sort of moratorium on firing coaches during the season unless there is something egregious like lying about death threats. Use December to hire new coaches since that would also give assistants a chance to find new jobs.

I doubt we’ll see anything like this in the near future. It makes good sense and we can’t have that, can we?