Signing Day review/preview
Yes, there was a major yawn factor to Wednesday's signing day activities by comparison to recent years.
Still, there were some shake-ups and shake-outs at the 11th hour.
> Alabama secured the No. 1 overall class for like the 100th time in the last 101 years. For those of us who are not Johnny Tide Fans, the Alabama haul at defensive line continues to be an annual spring issue for so many of us - like the knuckleheads who do not vaccinate and tax time.
> Georgia landed the No. 2 class and sealed that by swiping five-star WR George Pickens from Auburn late in the process. Kirby Smart is doing work friends, and Georgia has opened a five-star river into Clarke County.
> Auburn and Tennessee closed quickly, despite the Tiger losing out on Pickens, the nation's No. 3 wide out who had been committed to Auburn for almost two years. Each added some coveted O-Linemen and each addressed a monster hole in this class as UT added four stat linebacker Henry To'oto'o and Auburn adding a four-star running back from South Florida. That's the good news. The bad news is, even with classes that rank 11th and 12th respectively by 247sports.com, Auburn and Tennessee are staring up at four and three annual foes who had seven of the 10 classes ranked above them.
> Hey, FSU, are you 100 percent sure you wanted Jimbo Fisher to head West young man? FSU, which is normally a monster in the recruiting mix, did not close quickly, lost out to Maryland for a much-needed four-star QB and finished a very blah-tactic 16th with zero five-stars.
> Of the top 24 classes according to 247sports, 11 of them call the SEC home. So there's that.
> And don't that trend is going anywhere any time soon. Because it's never too early around these parts, Alabama already has 10 commits for the 2020 class and is ranked No. 1 in the rankings, one spot ahead of LSU, with Florida at 6 and Texas A&M at 7 for the 2020 class.
Football season never stops
Hey, we have covered my growing excitement of the AAF over the last couple of days. I have vouched for the Atlanta Legends, but I think the inaugural season could be filled with struggles. There has been some coaching issues, so we will see if Aaron Murray is ready to make the most of his last chance.
(Regulars around here know we are not Johnny Bulldogs Backer, but in the post-Herschel days of Georgia football, Murray may very well be my favorite UGA player. David Greene has been great on Press Row, as well, but Greene ripped out Auburn's soul in 2002. Pretty high on DeAndre Swift too. That's a bad man.)
Where were we? Yes, the AAF launch.
But we are in with the Legends, whether this week and even the first season is going to be a struggle or not.
Part of that struggle is the match-up Saturday as Atlanta visits Orlando and its coach - one Steven Orr Spurrier. And if you are not excited about the Ol' Ball Coach being back coaching ball and calling ball plays, well, then the terrorists have won. Plain and simple.
That leaves us with a couple of undeniable truths: There is football this weekend. It's a Thursday. That means we need to do some pickin' right? No, not the nasal kind or even the 'pick your seat' variety.
Yep, Fab 4 (AAF version) is a thing, and we are excited. And nervous. And quite a bit unsure. This is the seventh grade dance all over again, and I've got the butterflies about asking Maria Murphy to go with me.
So let's roll the dice shall we?
Orlando-Atlanta under 44.5. The biggest spread of opening weekend is Spurrier minus-5.5 over the Legends, who lost their head coach during training camp and were without OC Mike Vick during the Super Bowl festivities. So, we are going to side with the defenses here, especially since we did a little research and learned that Matt Simms will start over Aaron Murray for my Legends. Side note: Color me excited to see Denard Robinson, the former dual-threat QB/RB/WR from Michigan, run the ball for the Legends. Orlando has a couple of familiar names on the defense with Giorgio Newberry and Leon Orr on the line and Marquez White, Will Hill and Cody Riggs in the secondary.
San Antonio minus-5 over San Diego. San Diego lost its starting quarter when Josh Johnson was picked up by the Redskins. That hurts. What will hurt more is San Antonio has the ability to turn and hand the ball to former Texas A&M running back Trey Williams and get the ball to Greg Ward Jr., the former University of Houston quarterback on the perimeter.
Memphis +1.5 at Birmingham. The flood of former Alabama and Auburn players on the Iron roster is troubling for sure. And you have to believe that if Trent Richardson- the highest-profile former NFL player in the league - is going to get one more last chance to play on Sundays in the fall, he will be ready and in shape, right? Side note: Kick Six hero Chris Davis is also on the Iron. But the Express from Memphis have the two best quarterbacks in this game and a slew of familiar names, so maybe this is a heart pick. There's a Pig Howard sighting on the Express. There's a Davis Tull sighting on the Express. There's a Colton Jumper sighting on the Express. Kudos to Fat Vader for picking the Express from the jump.
Arizona minus-4 over Salt Lake City. We are edging on QBs a lot in these because, well, what else can we base this on, right? Trevor Knight is the Hotshots dude. Edge Hotshots. The Hotshots are called the Hotshots; Salt Lake City is the Stallions. Edge Hotshots. Hotshots coach is Rick Neuheisel; Salt Lake City's coach is Dennis Ericsson. Edge push. And speaking of motivated familiar names, Arizona will have former Georgia five star recruit Trenton Thompson at DT and former Arizona All-American Scooby Wright at LB. That's enough for me.
Last week AAF picks: 0-0.
Last year AAF picks: 0-0
All-time AAF picks: 0-0.
New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis, center, goes up for a shot as Golden State Warriors' Kevon Looney, bottom left, and Kevin Durant defend during the first half in Game 5 of an NBA basketball second-round playoff series, Tuesday, May 8, 2018, in Oakland, Calif. (Ezra Shaw/Pool Photo via AP)Deal in the works
OK, the NBA trade deadline is today.
First, I do not believe there is anyway the Pelicans budge on Anthony Davis today. They will have much ore leverage in the summer when Boston can get in on the bidding.
Second, I do not believe there will be a bigger name on the move than Tobias Harris, who went from the Clippers to the 76ers earlier this week.
Third, I do not believe there will be a more odd story than Harrison Barnes being dealt in the middle of a game earlier this week. Crazy.
Finally, I know that Kevin Durant will not be traded. I also know that KD looks like petulant child almost every time he opens his yapper. Telling the media to grow up?
PUH-lease KD. Where's your burner Twitter account again?
This and that
- Well, Bob Stoops away from football lasted less than two years. Yep, Stoops is the head coach and GM of the Dallas XFL team. That also raises the question about how quickly ol' Urban Liar will be back roaming a sideline and corrupting young men and women somewhere new.
- OK, the regulars around these parts know that we view the 'winning the news conference' as valuable as back-up end zone pylons and an extra bag of chalk for the field. Hey, it's nice but it matters less than very little. So we say this without measure of the news conference and just the measure of the dude: East Hamilton hit a walk-off grand slam with the hiring of Grant Reynolds. Period. It becomes cliche, especially around signing day and free agency, but there are few coaches I personally know that the first phrase that pops into my mind is, "He's a great coach and a better man." Grant Reynolds is assuredly one of them. Here's more from the state's premier preps sports scoop machine Stephen Hargis.
- Get you some Soddy-Daisy. OK, Celestial Chaise Harris was arrested at Soddy-Daisy Middle on Wednesday. She was at the school to pick up her daughter, who during a class change went into the girls bathroom and starting scrapping with another student. Ms. Harris if you're nasty got neck deep in it. Maybe Ms. Harris if you're nasty should watch the Gillette commercial for better social understanding.
- LSU hit for us Wednesday night. That moves out college picks to 11-6-1 against the number. We'll take Troy tonight minus-5.4 against Arkansas Little Rock.
- Speaking of recruiting, here's TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer's excellent look at Rusty Wright's first all as UTC's head coach.
Today's questions
If you have the chance would you place a wager on the AAF or participate in an AAF fantasy league? Discuss.
Biggest takeaway from signing day? Discuss.
Did you submit a mailbag question?
As for today, Feb.7, let's explore.
Charles Dickens was born on this day. It likely was the best of times and maybe even the worst of times.
Steve Nash is 45 today. John Deere would have been 215. Garth Brooks is 57.
Wow, on this day in 1974, "Blazing Saddles" opened in theaters. Wow, 45 years later, that movie still is hilarious, and is on the Rushmore of movies that simply could not be made today. What else is on the Rushmore of excellent movies that could not be made in today's culture?
Go and remember the mailbag.