A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday morning: A year ago, Billy Napier went to the podium at SEC Media Days hailed as the wunderkind who was going to lead Florida football from the abyss and back to championship levels. After a 6-7 first year, many of those same folks are a bit more skeptical. When Napier takes the podium in Nashville today there will be more than a few in the media audience who claim he’s on the hot seat, that if he doesn’t deliver this year athletic director Scott Stricklin will be going through his Rolodex in search of Florida’s seventh head football coach since Steve Spurrier resigned after the 2001 season. Unless the Gators go totally in the tank this season, nothing could be further from the truth. With a handful of breaks last year, Napier would have won 10 games even with a roster full of holes left from the previous administration. So many of those holes have been patched through good recruiting and the transfer portal, and the way Napier is hauling in the prospects, the future is looking very, very bright. Already with a class ranked No. 3 by both 247Sports and On3, Napier flipped 4-star wide receiver Tawaski Abrams (5-11, 175, Fort Myers, FL Dunbar) from Florida State Tuesday. How hot are Napier and the Gators on the recruiting trail? Of the 21 commitments in their 2024 class, 13 have chosen UF since June 1. Meanwhile, in Nashville Napier will be flying pretty much under the radar. Most in the media have written off UF this season and it will show when the preseason All-SEC team voted on by the media in attendance is released tomorrow. If the Gators get more than one preseason first team pick view it as an upset. EDGE rusher Princely Umanmielen has a legitimate shot at first team, but smart money says second team. Corner Jason Marshall Jr. is one of the four or five best corners in the league but he will be fortunate to be a second team choice. Punter Jeremy Crawshaw would have finished second in the nation in 2022 if he had enough attempts. He won’t even get honorable mention. Why isn’t left tackle Austin Barber getting any attention? Has anyone checked the analytics on left guard Micah Mazzccua, the Baylor transfer? Such is life when you coach a team that has two consecutive losing seasons. Expectations and perceptions are at the bottom of the barrel. He won’t say so from the podium today, but Billy Napier is loving the lack of preseason respect. UF baseball: Who’s signed a pro contract, who hasn’t Wyatt Langford: The fourth overall pick in the draft, Langford had a slot value of $7,698,000. The Rangers signed him for $8,000,000, a rather nice way to start your adult life. Hurston Waldrep: Waldrep was the first round pick of the Atlanta Braves who signed him for $2,997,500. The slot value of the pick was $3,270,500. Brandon Sproat: You have to hand it to the New York Mets. Just because they couldn’t get Brandon Sproat a year ago, it didn’t stop them from trying once again. A second rounder, Sproat signed for his slot value of $1,474,000. Josh Rivera: The Chicago Cubs took Rivera in the third round and signed him for $725,000. His slot value was $872,400. Phil Abner: Taken in the sixth round by the Colorado Rockies, Abner has a slot value of $328,000. The only information is that he has agreed to terms. Signee Steven Echevarria: The righthanded pitcher was taken in the third round where his slot value was $1,005,700. To say he made out like a bandit would be an understatement because the Oakland A’s paid him a flat $3,000,000 to forego the University of Florida. Signee Stone Russell: The C/IF from Montverde Academy was taken by the Kansas City Royals in the 18th round, but he has yet to agree to terms. SEC Media Days: They said it Kirby Smart on what Georgia learned studying the rugby All-Blacks from New Zealand: “This year we studied the New Zealand All-Blacks, most successful sports team in the history of real teams, over 100 years they’ve had the highest winning percentage. So, we took a deep dive. We took six weeks. We took a title and a mantra from them and studied those things for six weeks because we don’t want complacency. They’ve done it better than anybody else, and we use that. One of their big mantras is better never rests. We believe that. Those are strong words now when you think about it. Think deep on it. Better never rests.” Hugh Freeze on the foundation of Auburn’s football culture: “Our culture is based on faith, attitude and mental toughness, integrity and love and what do those things mean to us. Faith, obviously, that’s a word that can mean a lot of different things for a lot of different people, and certainly it means something for me, and the bottom line is if we are going to re-establish Auburn being what Auburn should be, we must have faith in each other. That means faith in our administration. That means faith in our coaching staff, faith in the guy that lines up next to you, and that’s probably where it needed to begin, because I think that was lost for whatever reason … But I did sense coming in that the faith in the whole family of Auburn football was fractured somewhat, and I think that is where I had to start in trying to repair that.” Zac Arnett on things he learned from the late Mike Leach: “There’s a lot of slogans and words spoken in our building the last three years: Don’t listen to the noise, play the next play, all the in every other football building across the country. Maybe not those exact words, but in other ways. Control the controllables, worry about the things you can control. Al of those things. They are just buzzwords or slogans or catch phrases that coaches say because they’re good to have in a building. They’re actually critical to winning football and developing a winning football team. A lot of the same things that were being preached over the last three years, well, my beliefs are the exact same as Coach Leach about what it is that goes into a winning football team.” Clark Lea on improving Vanderbilt’s football facilities and what it means to the future of the program: “Look, right now it’s not pretty. There’s a lot of shut-down roads and a lot of dirt and construction equipment but it gives us a chance. It gives us the landscape to paint the picture of what the future will be and in short order we’ll be talking about Vanderbilt football with cutting-edge facilities and best-in-class resources. When has that ever been said? These are all exciting things for us. You’ve got a top 15 school. We play in the SEC. We’re in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt is one of one. You make no compromises. We’re going to support you with the best facilities and the best resources. You’re going to have coaches that invest in you every day. We’re not out there to swap pieces in and out every year. We’re going to develop from the bottom up.” No media deal expected for the Pac-12 next week Someone with supposed knowledge of the situation told The Athletic that no deal will be announced at Pac-12 Media Days because there are more options available that will result in “better deals than the league would have gotten three, six, nine months ago.” We’ve been hearing how imminent a deal is ever since George Kliavkoff became the Pac-12 commissioner. Deadlines or predictions come and go and there is no deal. Everybody always says the presidents of the remaining 10 schools are patient and unified. Meanwhile there is no deal and the longer there is no deal the more likely it is that at least one school bolts to the Big 12. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: Given the seriousness of the reporting by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution regarding the football culture at the University of Georgia, you would think Kirby Smart would have been asked more than one question about off-the-field difficulties at SEC Media Days in Nashville. Think about it. There have been something like 312 traffic incidents involving Georgia football players, one of which resulted in the deaths of player Devin Willock and recruiting staffer Chandler Lecroy. Willock’s parents launched a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against the Georgia athletic department. Just last week, Victoria Bowles, who suffered serious injuries in the accident that killed Willock and Lecroy, filed suit. Included in the AJC investigative report was information about 11 sexual assaults by football players, one of which was a 16-year-old underage recruit who had spent the night on the town drinking with current UGa players. Tuesday, Smart sounded so remorseful (insert sarcasm) when he said the program “endured the loss of two dear family members, Devin Willock and Chandler Lecroy. We love them and we miss them.” He wouldn’t have said anything more until someone in the media asked about “traffic-related incidents” and whether he’s disappointed that his players don’t seem to be getting the message that this is unacceptable. Here is verbatim Smart’s response: “I’m disappointed any time we have traffic incidents. It’s very evident when you look at it, we’ve had traffic citations and incidents throughout the history of being at the University of Georgia. We actually don’t have more than we’ve had in the past. What concerns me most is the safety of our players and when you drive at high speeds it’s unsafe. We don’t want that to happen. We’re going to do all we can to take that out and make sure it’s eradicated. But I’m also smart enough to understand and know that it’s 18-to-20-year olds is when this happens. It’s when it happened to me as a student-athlete. What we want to do is take that out and make it safe and not have high speeds. As long as they don’t get a speeding ticket, it should not be a super speeder.” What? Did the speech writer for Kamala Harris write that answer on a cue card? That was word salad. Amazing that in the hours since Kirby came up with that brainless response that no one seems to have raked him over the coals. Someone should starting with the comment that there aren’t more traffic incidents now than there were in the past. Oh really? And how about the one that essentially said the equivalent of it’s okay to speed just make sure you’re doing 100 in a 40 mile per hour zone? The answer should have been something like, “It’s an embarrassment that we have such a lack of discipline in our program and from here on out, anyone who gets a speeding ticket that’s more than a couple of miles over the speed limit will sit a game or two. Get in a high speed wreck and you’re gone.” And while he was about it, he should have addressed sexual assault with “any accusation of violence against women and your scholarship is revoked.” He should have. He didn’t. It’s Georgia. Kirby Smart, whose salary is 12 times that of the school president runs the place and it’s all about the winning.

Can I even talk modern football talk? The game has changed, the standards have changed, and even the terms have changed. The other day somebody asked me, “If you were at SEC Media Days on Wednesday what would you ask Billy Napier?” Since I haven’t been to an SEC Media Days in three years, I had to think about that one. Napier takes to the podium at 2 p.m. ET on Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt Hotel official function of the old East-West division format. Three Florida players are with him to the event -- wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. and starting center Kingsley Eguakun. It’s already beginning to feel vastly different. Can I even talk modern football talk anymore? The game has changed, the standards have changed, and even the definitions have changed. The rules of engagement are also different. And since I rarely get a chance to ask the Florida coach any kind of question at all, I might even gag. The other day an obscure young reporter asked Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz if he planned to use artificial intelligence for assistance in formulating a new defensive scheme. To Drink’s credit, he said no – and he took a pass. Shortly after that, another youngster asked Eli three questions about analytics that sounded all Greek to me, leading me to wonder if it’s time for me to be turned out to pasture with a copy of Steve Spurrier’s common sense football glossary on football. Are you getting the drift about changes in the game? And as a matter of fact, by the time we’re done with the ‘23 season and are about to launch the expanded SEC '24 campaign, we’ll be preparing for an alternative universe which frankly scares the bejeebers out of me. There will have been more changes in CFB from 2020 through 2024 that all the previous 50 years combined. Lord, help us. I woke up from a nightmare recently where SEC Media Days were being held somewhere in Texas and they were down to just five schools. Three of them were in Texas, one from Oklahoma, and I believe the other was Georgia — the foreshadowing of a concern, perhaps that the SEC has been hijacked by the ghost of the Southwest Conference past. Turns out maybe that’s not all that farfetched, as SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey opened the Nashville hypefest with the news that next year’s SEC Media Days will be held in Dallas. Can the greedy hand of Jerry Jones be far behind? My paranoia only got worse when Paul Finebaum’s first caller (from Tulsa) – after waiting on hold for 30 minutes Tuesday – just couldn’t wait to tell him that Oklahoma was getting more four-stars than Texas and beating the Longhorns in recruiting. Which was really hot SEC news since those two teams won’t join the league for another year. Otherwise, Tuesday in Nashville was fairly mild -- except when Kirby Smart-ass kept insisting the proper way to identify the rivalry with the Gators was officially the GEORGIA-Florida game. ReportedlyThe HBC fired back on his Facebook post: "Until he wins 11 out of 12 of the FLORIDA-Georgia games I think we all know what it's called."t. Except that the HBC says he never wrote or said that and was surprised to hear it attributed to him. "I never said that," he told me Wednesday. Later he checked it out and attributed it to "an overzealous assistant." I must admit it would have been a helluva quote though. Napier isn’t going to be walking into a hornet’s nest on Wednesday because he gets to fly under the radar of low expectations and is likely to be overshadowed by what that guy from Tuscaloosa says about how he’s going to handle LSU and Georgia two slots ahead of him at the lectern. This could be a good space for Napier, who by comparison to the Bully Boys, is just trying to get the word out that he and the Gators will be fielding a team, too, this season. There are even a few insiders close to the program who are saying Florida will easily surpass the FPI ranking of No. 18, which projects a 6.8-5.2 record. Harmless, of course to the Georgias, LSUs and Alabamas. We already know Napier will be peppered about his quarterback Graham Mertz and new defensive coordinator Austin Armstrong. Providing we had a clear channel of communication, and that he’d have the time and inclination to respond, I would like to know truly how he feels his team has improved, by how much, who, and what are their realistic expectations of wins. And who are the players who will make the difference for him in 2023. If they can hold serve -- that is to say, if they can win over half their games in 2023 -- the way things are setting up at 2024 for this Florida football team will be a contender again. Yes, I said a contender, and yes, I meant for the 12-team playoffs, since the SEC East will be no more. It all starts there. And the issue is right now is trust. So take a deep breath Gator fans and double down on your white-knuckle faith.

July 18, 2023

Half the excitement of getting selected in the MLB Draft is realizing that your lifelong dreams of reaching the majors is now a reality. Understandably, the other half comes when you sing your first contract.

This one is going to hurt in Tallahassee! On Tuesday night, four-star wide receiver Tawaski "TJ" Abrams announced that he would flip his commitment from Florida State to Florida. Abrams committed to FSU back in January, but that was before he had received an offer from the Gators. He made his way to campus for an official visit on June 16, and it was apparently enough to change the Dunbar (Fla.) product's mind. The 5-foot-11 pass catcher had long been considered a potential flip target for the Gators who remained active in pursuing Abrams despite his half-year long commitment to the Seminoles. He is ranked as the No. 46 receiver according to On3's industry rankings. Abrams is another fast receiver added to the class of 2024 and his track experience has proven his quickness, which should translate very nicely into the slot on offense. He had multiple sub-11 second 100-meter dashes during his sophomore track season. On the field, Abrams has used his speed and agility to be a massive threat on offensive, averaging 11.6 years per touch last season. At receiver, he corralled 37 catches for 429 yards and 5 scores while also adding 21 carries for 248 yards and 2 touchdowns. Wide receiver coach Billy Gonzales appeared to be very keen of Abrams and gave the Fort Myers native a reason to believe that he could be a difference maker in Gainesville. "He (Billy Gonzales) wants me to play for him. He loves the speed. That is what most coaches like about me. He tells me I remind him of Kadarius Toney. That is what he says. A lot of people say I should go to Florida solely of that comparison," Abrams told 247Sports. It's another exciting victory for Billy Napier and his staff who have reignited Florida recruiting to a level we haven't seen in many, many years. Florida is now up to 21 commits for the class of 2024 and remains as the third ranked class in the nation according to both On3 and 247Sports. The addition of Abrams makes up for a difficult recruiting stretch this past weekend that saw Florida miss on a few targets. In other recruiting news, Jaylen Heyward has decommitted from Georgia. The four-star safety was a target for the Gators prior to his commitment to the Bulldogs, and will likely be bumped back up to a priority as his recruitment reopens.

As we slowly creep towards the start of the 2023 football season, the Florida Gators released their official roster ahead of the August 31 season opener. Football is now right around the corner as Fall training camp is set to begin on July 31. Among the notable changes from the spring roster to the roster released this morning is offensive lineman Will Harrod leaving the program. The reserve lineman took part in Senior Day festivities last season after graduating in the fall but appeared to be using the rest of his remaining eligibility as he stayed with the program in the spring. With the departure of Harrod, the Gators sit at 83 scholarship players, with two more scholarship spots before reaching the maximum of 85. In terms of who could fill those scholarship spots, kicker Adam Mihalek, who will likely be the starting kicker, is among those who will be heavily considered. If Mihalek does earn a scholarship for the fall, Napier could elect to bring in a late transfer or promote a walk-on to fill the last scholarship. Several players were on scholarship during the spring and summer semesters, but it is unclear whether or not they will land scholarship spots for the fall. Those payers include DL Kennan Landy and TE Scott Isacks III. The official roster also provided weight and number updates, both of which saw some big changes across the board. Numbers were announced for four players who enrolled after the spring football session. Safety RJ Moten will wear No. 16, while freshman wide receiver Eugene Wilson III will wear No. 21. There is a lot of hype around Wilson who joins a very talented freshman receiver group. Offensive lineman Caden Jones will wear No. 63 for Florida and cornerback Dijon Johnson will wear No. 26. FIU transfer Lyndell Hudson Jr. will wear No. 74. As for players changing their numbers from last year, both Caleb Douglas and Arlis Boardingham are heading to single digit numbers. Douglas will switch from No. 12 to No. 4, which Boardingham changes from No. 81 to No. 8. Single digits are typically reserved for players with large roles either on offense or defense, which suggests that both pass-catchers will be more involved in the offense this season. Several players experienced significant weight changes, both gaining and losing weight after spring ball. OL Jalen Farmer dropped 23 pounds to sit at 310 lbs. Safety Dakota Mitchell is down 13 pounds to weigh in at 185 lbs. Desmond Watson, who's weight has been a point of emphasis for a long time, is down 10 points and is now 439 lbs. Looking at those who gained weight, safety Ja'Markis Weston, who was recently seen benching over 400 lbs., is up 7 pounds and sits at 232 lbs. Running back Trevor Etienne and CB Jason Marshall Jr. each gained six pounds, coming in at 213 lbs. and 203 lbs. respectively. Another notable gain is Derek Wingo who bumped his weight up to 240 lbs. He'll be a big body on the interior of the defense.

July 17, 2023

Deric Fabian has made his decision about where he will spend the rest of his college career as he announced on social media with a "War Eagle" tweet on Sunday afternoon. A sophomore, Fabian was a big contributor for the Gators his freshman year and fell out of the rotation attion during his sophomore campaign. Fabian was named Mr. Baseball in Florida during his high school senior year in 2021 and was recognized as a top 200 player in the nation by Perfect Game when he attended North Marion High School. Photo of Deric Fabian during his time at the University of Florida. Photo via FloridaGators.com During his time at Florida, Fabian started over 50 games in his first two years, with 43 starts as a freshman and a decline in playing time during his sophomore season, participating in only 22 games. His freshman year showed promise with a .218 batting average in 142 at-bats, collecting 31 hits, 4 home runs and 22 RBIs. However, his playing time decreased in his sophomore year, where he logged 38 at-bats over 22 games, making 10 starts, and accumulating 11 hits, including 2 home runs and 10 RBIs. Known for his defensive versatility, Fabian has showcased his ability to play all four infield positions. He achieved a .931 fielding percentage as a freshman and maintained a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in his sophomore season. While primarily a shortstop, Fabian has played all over the infield. Fabian is regarded as one of the highest-rated transfers Auburn has acquired during the offseason. Deric is the younger brother of former Gator great Jud Fabian. Jud had a successful career for the Gators and is currently a prospect for the Baltimore Orioles, having been selected 67th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft.

Florida gained a commitment from former Virginia Tech catcher Brody Donay on Saturday. Donay entered the transfer portal after just one season with VT and will have three years of collegiate eligibility remaining. It is the second catcher that the Gators have added via the transfer portal in the last two months, with former Coastal Carolina catcher Tanner Garrison committing in June. In his one season with the Hokies, the 6-foot-5 backstop hit .260 with 12 home runs and 38 RBI in 39 games. Donay started the season red hot at the plate, but had a slow end to the season, hitting just .167 over the course of 11 games in May. He started 33 games for Virginia Tech with six errors over the course of the season. The catcher's frame is not typical of a college catcher, which brings into question whether or not he will stay behind the plate for the Gators. After losing BT Riopelle to graduation, and a pair of other catchers to the transfer portal, Florida needed to add depth at the position regardless. Donay was the No. 174 prospect according to Perfect Game as an incoming freshman a year ago. Before starting his college career, Donay played four years of varsity baseball at Lakeland Christian High School (Fla.). He is currently playing summer baseball in the Cape Cod League, where he is hitting .424 for Hyannis. Florida still has several questions pending ahead of next season, specifically on the mound. After one of their top incoming freshmen, Steven Echavarria, was drafted and incoming transfer Kelly Austin signed with the Astros, the Gators are still looking for some arm replacements. Jac Caglianone is the lone returning weekend starter for Florida after the Friday and Saturday starters, Hurston Waldrep and Brandon Sproat, were both selected in the draft. Kevin O'Sullivan will likely have to pursue another pitcher ahead of the 2024 campaign.

The class of 2024 has reached the 20 commit mark with the latest addition of three-star cornerback Teddy Foster. Foster announced his commitment to Florida on Friday as the Florida recruiting hot streak rolls on. The Gators emerged as the heavy favorite to land the cornerback after his June 16 official visit to Gainesville. It was the only official visit that Foster took throughout his recruiting process. Foster played on both sides of the ball during his junior season at Cardinal Mooney, getting snaps both at wide receiver and cornerback. He registered 38 tackles, 9 pass breakups and 2 interceptions on defense which also catching 17 passes for 242 yards and three touchdowns. The Gators were late on the scene in pursuing Foster. Napier and company extended an offer to him after the spring football period and shortly after had him in Gainesville. During his time on campus, Foster went through a workout in front of much of the staff and ultimately became a heavy target for Napier and secondary coach Corey Raymond. Foster only began playing football his sophomore year, so there is a lot of development and growth needed. However, both Napier and Raymond liked what they saw. The Sarasota (Fla.) native is yet another in-state recruit locked down by Napier and his staff, which has remained a major focus throughout his time with the program. With Foster's commitment, the Gators now have five in-state prospects committed to the class. Foster is the first true cornerback to join the class of 2024, with two very talented safeties, Xavier Filsaime and Josiah Davis, already committed. However, with the addition of Foster the secondary as a whole begins to take shape. On3 ranks Foster as the No. 102 corner in the country while 247Sports has the three-star as the No. 60 cornerback. Miami and North Carolina were the other two schools listed in his top three, but the Gators prevail.

July 14, 2023 A few thoughts to jump start your Friday morning: Saturday, 4-star cornerback Jalyn Crawford (6-0, 180, Lilburn, GA Parkview) is going to make his college commitment between Florida, Auburn and LSU. The analysts from 247Sports and On3 are convinced Crawford will commit to Auburn, but the way Florida has been closing lately, you have to give Billy Napier and the Gators at least a puncher’s chance to come away with the 20th commitment of the recruiting class of 2023. There is no hotter team on the recruiting trail than Florida, which has added 12 commitments since June 1, rising from a class that was ranked well outside the top 10 to No. 3 at both 247 and On3. The Florida class currently has two 5-star recruits and 11 4-stars. The Gators have the No. 2 ranking at ESPN and No. 5 at Rivals. If the Gators continue their current recruiting trend to finish in the top five of the rankings, it will mark Florida’s first top five finish since 2013 when Will Muschamp brought in the No. 3 class, his second straight third-ranked class. SEC football/basketball Alabama: Point guard Jahvon Quinerly is transferring to Memphis. Auburn: Linebacker DeMario Tolan, who transferred to Auburn from LSU, is no longer with the team. Georgia: Magdi El Shahaway has resigned as the deputy athletic director for academics and student development, citing “burnout” as the reason to step away. Kentucky: Defensive end Sam Anaele and offensive tackle Josh Jones have medically retired. Both will remain on scholarship but won’t count against the 85-man roster. Mississippi State: Wide receiver Tyson Schilling, who caught 60 passes for 798 yards and nine touchdowns at East Los Angeles College last season, has joined the team as a preferred walk-on. Missouri: Former Missouri offensive lineman Evan Boehm, who played in 55 NFL games with the Arizona Cardinals, is joining the Mizzou staff as the assistant director of recruiting/player relations. Ole Miss: ESPN’s Greg McElroy believes if Ole Miss can get better productivity from its defense, it will be a dangerous team because the offense should put a lot of points on the board. McElroy said, “I don’t know if they’re necessarily going to be a lock down group, but if this offense can be as good as I anticipate, they have a chance to be dangerous for every single team they play.” South Carolina: Austin Herro, the younger brother of former Kentucky and now NBA star Tyler Herro, has committed to play for the Gamecocks as a walk-on this fall. Tennessee: Chris Ledlum (6-6, 225), a Harvard transfer who averaged 18.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last year, has re-entered the transfer portal. Texas A&M: Wildens Leveque (6-11, 240) is transferring to the Aggies as a graduate after spending last season at UMass where he averaged 5.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Leveque spent his first three seasons at South Carolina. Vanderbilt: Athletic director Candace Storey Lee’s contract has been extended by five years. SEC Baseball/Portal ALABAMA Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were 1B Bryce Eldridge (Round 1, San Francisco) and SS A.J. Ewing (Round 4 compensation, New York Mets). Exits (9) Max Williams (to Florida State); Evan Chaffee (St. John’s); Gavin Jones (to Kent State); Jaxson West (to Florida State); Bryce Eblin; Brock Blatter; Kade Woods (to LSU); Colby Shelton (to Florida); Luke Holman Incoming (3): Ian Petrutz (from Maryland); Evan Sleight (from Rutgers); TJ McCants (from Ole Miss) ARKANSAS Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were SS Aidan Miller (Round 1, Philadelphia), OF Kendall George (Round 1, Los Angeles Dodgers), 3B Nazzan Zanetello (Round 2, Boston), SS Walker Martin (Round 2, San Francisco), RHP Dylan Quested (Round 5, Minnesota), RHP Barrett Kent (Round 8, Los Angeles Angels) and RHP Gabe Gaeckle (Round 20, Cincinnati). Exits (5): Tyson Fourkiller; Ryan Ward (to San Diego); Jade Putz (to Notre Dame), Isaac Webb, Harold Coll Incoming (6): Hudson White (from Texas Tech); Wehiwa Aloy (from Sacramento State); Jack Wagner (from Tarleton State); Stone Hewlett (from Kansas); Craig Yoho (from Indiana); Ross Lovich (from Missouri) AUBURN Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were SS Colt Emerson (Round 1, Seattle), SS Kevin McGonigle (Round 1, Detroit) and LSP Bjorn Johnson (Round 12, Milwaukee) Exits (3): Jordan Armstrong; Ryan Dyal; Camden Hill Incoming (6): Mason Maners (from Jacksonville State); Cooper Weiss (from Miami, OH); Carson Meyers (from UAB); Christian Hall (from UAB); Sam Mongelli (from Sacred Heart); Javon Hernandez (from Jacksonville State) FLORIDA Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were RHP Steven Echevarria (3rd round, Oakland) and C/IF Stone Russell (18th round, Kansas City). Exits (11): Yoel Tejada (to Florida State); Salvatore Alvarez (to Florida Southwestern); Rene Lastres; Carsten Finnvold; Anthony Ursitti (to Florida Gulf Coast); Clete Hartzog; Deric Fabian; Matt Prevesk (to UCF); Tyler Nesbitt; Erik Blair; Chris Arroyo Incoming (2): Colby Shelton (from Alabama); Tanner Garrison (from Coastal Carolina) GEORGIA Exits (11): Luke Wagner; William Moore (to Georgia Highlands); James Smith Jr. (to Georgia Tech); Michael Polk; Jonathan Little (To Pensacola State); Will Poindexter; Charlie Goldstein; Max Beck-Berendsen; Josh Tate; Max DeJong; Justin Thomas Incoming (10): Weston Eberly (from Columbia); Bryan Zeldin (from Pennsylvania); Luke Farris (from Western Kentucky); Slate Alford (from Mississippi State); Kolby Branch (from Baylor); Clayton Chadwick (from Sam Houston); John Marant (College of Central Florida); Daniel Padysak (from Charleston Southern); Henry Hunter (from UAB); Logan Jordan (from Campbell) KENTUCKY Exits (4): Tanner Kim; Kendall Ewell; Reed Gannon; Seth Logue Incoming (5): Trey Paige (from Delaware State); Trey Pooser (from College of Charleston); Ty Crittenberger (from Western Kentucky); Mitchell Daly (from Texas); Dominic Niman (from Central Conecticut State) LSU Recruits who were drafted include C Blake Mitchell (Round 1, Kansas City), LHP Cameron Johnson (Round 20, St. Louis), OF Ashton Larson (Round 20, Minnesota) and LHP Jake Brown (Round 16, Texas). Exits (5): Jason Bollman (to Oklahoma); Darian Howard; Jacob Fury; Josh Stevenson (to Ohio State); Cale Lansville (to San Jacinto JC) Incoming (4): Justin Loer (from Xavier); Kade Woods (from Alabama); Michael Braswell (from South Carolina); Gage Jump (from UCLA) MISSISSIPPI STATE Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were SS Colin Houck (Round 1, New York Mets) and OF Aidan Smith (Round 4, Seattle). Exits (9): Slate Alford (to Georgia); Ryan Williams; Marc Seibert; Graham Yntema (to Mercer); Lane Forsythe (to Oklahoma State); Bryce Hubbard; Andrew Ray; Rufus Harvey; Nate Williams Incoming (3): Johnny Long (from Pittsburgh); Logan Kohler (from Memphis); Karson Ligon (from Miami) MISSOURI Exits (16): Jordan Austin; Ty Wilmsmeyer (to Arkansas); Carlos Pena; Derek Williams; Jacob Hasty; Chandler Murphy; Javyn Pimental; Zach Leach (to Missouri State); Nander De Sedas; Kyle Potthoff; Logan Lunceford; Hectorgiovanny Mangual-Duran; Trevor Austin, Dalton Bargo (to Tennessee); Ross Lovich (to Arkansas); Austin Troesser Incoming (1): Danny Corona (from Wake Forest) OLE MISS Taken in the MLB Draft were RHP Jake Knoth (Round 1 compensation, Milwaukee), RHP Zander Meuth (Round 2 compensation, Pittsburgh) and SS Cooper Pratt (Round 6, Milwaukee). Exits (14): Will Plattner; TJ McCants (to Alabama); Tim Simay; Austin Tolley; Noah Magee (to Delta State); Braden Luke; Hudson Sapp (to Georgia Highlands); Matthew Parenteau; Nathan Fink (to Florida Southwestern); Peyton Chatagnier (to TCU); Tywone Malone (to Ohio State); Jordan Vera (to Virginia Tech); Brady Disbro; Tommy Henniger (to USC Upstate) Incoming (5): Kyler Carmack (from Arkansas State); Treyson Hughes (from Mercer); JD Urso (from Tampa); Andrew Fischer (from Duke); Connor Spencer (from Southeastern Louisiana) SOUTH CAROLINA Recruits taken in the MLB Draft were IF George Wolkow (Round 7, Chicago White Sox) and OF Raudi Rodriguez (Round 19, Los Angeles Angels). Exits (5): Michael Braswell (to LSU); Brett Thomas; Jack Theil; Kevin Madden (to College of Charleston); Winston Wheeler Incoming (8): Austin Brinling (from North Florida); Garrett Gainey (from Liberty); Blake Jackson (from Charlotte); Tyler Dean (from Virginia Tech); Kennedy Jones (from UNC-Greensboro); Parker Noland (from Vanderbilt); Ty Good (from College of Charleston); Matt Duffy (from Canisius) TENNESSEE Exits (10): Jake Fitzgibbons; Alex Stanwich; Turner Swistak (to Louisiana Tech); Jacob Bimbi (to Western Kentucky); Bradley Gagen; Dillon Orr; Hollis Fanning; Chase Burns (to Wake Forest); Logan Chambers (to Missouri State); Payton Ebbings Incoming (6): Anthony Causey (from Jacksonville State); Nathan Snead (from Wichita State); Cannon Peebles (from North Carolina State); Ryan Galanie (from Wofford); Billy Amick (from Clemson); Dalton Bargo (from Missouri) TEXAS A&M Taken in the MLB Draft was recruit RHP Isaac Morton (Round 19, Milwaukee). Exits (8): Jaren Warwick; Wyatt Tucker (to Sam Houston); Robert Hogan; Lucas Kelly; Matt Tucker; JD Gregson; Max Debiec; Ty Sexton Incoming (8): Hayden Schott (from Columbia); Ali Camarilo (from Cal State Northride); Jackson Appel (from Pennsylvania); Ted Burton (from Michigan); Zane Badmaev (from Tarleton State); Tanner Jones (from Jacksonville State); Eldridge Armstrong (from San Diego State); Charlie Pagliarini (from Fairfield) VANDERBILT Recruits from Vanderbilt in the MLB Draft were OF Max Clark (Round 1, Detroit), LHP Thomas White (Round 1 compensation, Miami), SS George Lombard (Round 1, New York Yankees) and LHP Alexander Clemmy (Round 2, Cleveland). Exits (3): Ivan Arias (to Dayton); Tyler McKenzie; Parker Noland (to South Carolina) Incoming (2): Sawyer Hawks (from Air Force); Jayden Davis (from Samford) ACC signs a football/basketball deal with The CW The Atlantic Coast Conference can’t get out of its contract with ESPN, but it’s scrambling for money wherever it can find it to keep the restless natives happy. That’s why commish Little Jimmy Phillips signed a deal with The CW to broadcast 13 football games in the fall and 28 basketball games in January, February and March. The money won’t be enough to bridge the gap that exists between ACC money and that of the SEC and Big Ten but right now the ACC is doing whatever it can to keep Florida State, Miami, Clemson, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia and Virginia Tech happy. ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT: The problems at Georgia continue to mount. Now, a former member of the Georgia recruiting staff has filed a lawsuit that has very serious implications. Victoria Bowles was in one of the vehicles that crashed the Saturday night after Georgia’s spring game, killing offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy. LeCroy was driving a rental vehicle that was to be used for recruiting purposes. It has been alleged that LeCroy and defensive lineman Jalen Carter were street racing when their vehicles crashed. Carter, who is named in the suit, left the scene of the accident but returned later on. There has been plenty of speculation that Carter was inebriated, went home and sobered up before turning himself in. Bowles is seeking reimbursement for $170,000 in medical bills as well as an unspecified amount for lost wages, future expenses, pain and suffering and punitive damages. Bowles claims she suffered a broken vertebrae and ribs, a fractured clavicle, broken and cracked teeth, lacerations to her kidney and liver, a punctured and collapsed lung, internal abdominal bleeding, neurological damage and a spinal cord injury that could eventually cause paralysis. As if that isn’t bad enough, Bowles says the Georgia Athletic Association flat out lied in a statement post crash, saying the vehicles were to be used for recruiting purposes only. Bowles’ attorneys presented screen shots of text messages that gave permission to use the vehicles that night even though LeCroy had a history of driving at unsafe speeds and had received a ticket in the fall for driving 77 in a 55 zone. Willock’s family has filed a $40 million wrongful death lawsuit against the University of Georgia and now this lawsuit on the heels of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution exposing UGa for a lack of discipline as evidenced by more than 300 traffic violations by football players and covering up 11 sexual assaults. The 9-page letter that refuted the AJC story and a Wednesday press conference in which Kirby Smart claims he takes all these allegations seriously has not been well received. If this is in any way similar to whistleblower situations, more reports will surface about more problems within the Georgia football program. Chances are things will get much worse before they get better in Athens.