By now, many of you might have already heard of the James Wilder "announcement" in which he committed to Florida. This has probably been the hottest recruiting story over the last 24 hours and stirred up a ton of excitement and then disappointment. Wilder is one of the top overall prospects in the country and a five-star athlete projected as a tremendously high ceiling talent on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The ...

Ever since the final whistle blew on the Graham Harrell era, nothing but bad luck has surrounded the Texas Tech Red Raiders when it comes to the quarterback position. Injuries plagued both Taylor Potts and backup Steven Sheffield for much of the 2009 season. This continued into the following spring, where in the midst of a competitive battle for the starting QB spot, both Sheffield and Potts suffered injuries that have limited their time on the ...

Who does not love a mascot? Usually the mascot during the game is some college co-ed stuffed into an over sized foam costume. Or they’re dressed in a costume, with or without their face painted. Pretty much if your team is getting blown out by 50 and you want to jump off the 500-level of your stadium; the mascot is there to help you stay off the ledge. Some schools use live animals as their ...

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.) Alabama has but a few fifth-year seniors on this year's team. Even fewer are starters. The last members from that 2006 class are doing their farewell tour this year. They are the last of the players not handpicked by Nick Saban. As an Alabama writer, I have studied the players for years, but as an Alabama fan first and foremost, those players who "stayed the course" before Saban's arrival will ...

Malcolm Brown is the top running back in the 2011 class and one of the nation's top overall prospects. He's arguably the top player still available, and while he's received offers from almost every major program in the country it's become clear this is a two-horse race between two of the Big 12's biggest rivals. Texas and Oklahoma. Some believe that Oklahoma put themselves out of the running and Alabama has the advantage, but there's ...

BYU Football Takes the Field Every winter coaching staffs around the country take a look at their white boards in order to assess the depth and skill levels at each position. They look at who is coming in for fall, who they are bringing in for spring, and who the underclassmen are that will fill voided positions during spring practice and eventually in the fall. Going through this process helps the coaching staff set their off-season and ...

Dennis Dodd reminds me of Pat Forde. Each is a Missouri graduate, and each loves to ignite or pour kerosene on a fire of controversy. But what most intrigues me about them is that each is always ready to regurgitate some put down of the ACC. What leads Mizzou-trained sports journalists to denigrate the ACC repeatedly? Familiarity did not breed that contempt; perhaps envy did. An example of an ACC put-down from Forde is in his piece ...

  The days are winding down before fall practice starts. Much has been accomplished for the Auburn football program since the end of the 2009 season. One of the most highly talented freshman classes in Auburn football history will soon start cracking pads for the first time. With all of the optimism around the Auburn football program many have not taken a look into the 2010 schedule. The official 2010 Auburn football schedule is quite favorable. There ...

There has been a lot of talk lately surrounding the scheduling strategy of the Oklahoma program. It seems that there's momentum building for OU to adopt a more "Texas-like" strategy in regards to non-conference scheduling. Consider me old school, but I don't like it! If the Floridas and Texases want an easier path to the championship, good for them. Oklahoma has never been about that, and there's no reason to start. ...

Larry Burton (Panama City Beach, Fla.) At heart, Nick Saban is an old country boy who knows that you keep going back to a great fishing spot until you've got all the big ones. The Mobile area is one of those good fishing spots that have provided much to the "keepers" that Saban and company have pulled in for the Crimson Tide. The latest big catch is "Marvelous Marv", or Marvin Shinn of Vigor High School.  ...