I fill in for Neal this weekend with my version of 10 thoughts. I'll throw in some SEC QB rankings, the key players if Ole Miss is going to get a top 10 recruiting class, some examples on why the scholarship situation in baseball is important and much more.
1. How to load the bases
Ole Miss is currently No. 6 in the country in the team recruiting rankings, and the Rebels are hoping to top the 2013 class in national standing. Shea Patterson is the kingpin to the class, and that won’t change, but there are other major prospects who Ole Miss needs in order to hit the grand slam.
Landing a top-10 class is about four-star depth and major prospects throughout the list, but there have to be several prospects at the top who can compete against any other class in the country. Patterson and DK Metcalf are the start the Rebels need, but who are some of the candidates if Ole Miss is going to make a run at a prominent national position in the rankings?
Ole Miss can have a competitive and top 20 class without many more big fish involved, but here are the names that will decide just how special February is for the Rebels. The more off this list, the closer to Ole MIss' goal.
Deontay Anderson - S, Manvell, Texas
The safety camped at Ole Miss and is one of four players on this list with a considerable friendship with Patterson. Ole Miss has been able to snag top players out of other states in recent years.
Willie Allen - OL, River Ridge, Louisiana
There’s a certain amount of believe it when see it when it comes to a John Curtis prospect picking Ole Miss over LSU, but Allen has showed real interest. And while he doesn’t say a lot about favorites, the Rebels have at least put themselves in the game.
Rashard Lawrence - DT, Monroe, Louisiana
Ole Miss is in the top four with UCLA, Florida State and Alabama. There are a lot of battles for Ole Miss with the Crimson Tide.
Devin White - ATH, Springhill, Louisiana
White traveled to see Patterson commit to Ole Miss, and the two are extremely close, but most people in the industry give Alabama the edge in this one at the moment. He wants to play running back, and Alabama has done a good job promoting that.
Jeffery Simmons - DL, Macon, Mississippi
Simmons is just a three star for now, but that will change soon, and I expect him to keep climbing up the rankings. Ole Miss and Alabama are the favorites, and the Rebels have had success at Noxubee County. Simmons dominated competition at a camp in Texas recently.
Nigel Knott - CB, Madison, Mississippi
Knott is ridiculously athletic and has been climbing the rankings for months. His dad played at Ole Miss, and he said it’s in the back of his mind. He recently released a top 10 that includes Ole Miss. He seems to be the Ole Miss in-state target most likely to commit out of state.
There are other names like Greg Little and Shyheim Carter who Ole Miss continues to recruit and get on campus, but I’m not including any commits to other schools. Also I didn’t mention prospects similar to Rashan Gary. The list was prospects who have had the Rebels in the top group.
2. SEC Quarterbacks
Obviously Ole Miss has its three-headed quarterback battle to work out, and there are other schools with uncertainty at the position, while there’s also experience in the league, as well. With the QB conversation ongoing in Oxford, it’s a good time to look at other situations around the SEC.
There are battles at other schools, so I just took my best guess at the starter. Clearly if I can’t for sure tell you who is starting for the Rebels, I’d have a hard time handicapping the other races. But this will give you an idea at the quarterback situations at other schools.
Alabama - Jacob Coker (Senior)
Coker, a Florida State transfer prior to last season, couldn’t beat out Blake Sims and is now in a tight battle with youngster David Cornwell. In six games last season, Coker was 38-of-59 for 403 yards and four touchdowns. The hype has been present since he arrived, but the results haven’t matched it to this point. Alabama’s first SEC game is against Ole Miss at 8:15 p.m.
Auburn - Jeremy Johnson (Junior)
I’ve been impressed with Johnson since the first time he camped at Ole Miss, and he hasn’t disappointed since then. He can move around in the pocket, and he has a big, accurate arm. He handled things well with Nick Marshall out last season.
Arkansas - Brandon Allen (Senior)
Allen does exactly what he’s asked with the Razorbacks. He threw for 2,285 yards with 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 339 attempts last season. He throws well off play-action and doesn’t make many mistakes. Arkansas is always going to run first, so Allen just has to be competent.
Florida - Will Grier (Redshirt freshman)
New coach Jim McElwain may go with upside here and start Grier, who was the No. 46 overall prospect in the 2014 class. Trevon Harris, who started the final six games (4-2) of 2014, is also in the race, but Grief is a better fit, and I’ll go with him as the starter in the majority of the games.
Georgia - Brice Ramsey (Sophomore)
Mark Richt feels so confident about his quarterback situation that this month he added Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert, who was a benched team captain with the 5-7 Cavaliers. This job could go to Ramsey, Lambert or Faton Bauta. Ramsey was the leader out of the spring, and he’s the most talented prospect. Lambert is the only one with legitimate Division I experience.
Kentucky - Patrick Towles (Junior)
Towels threw for 2,700 yards in his debut season with the Wildcats and will have to hold off redshirt freshman Drew Barker throughout the season. Kentucky started the season 5-1 before limping the rest of the way. He threw 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
LSU - Brandon Harris (Sophomore)
I would have said Anthony Jennings here before he was arrested for allegedly breaking into an occupied dwelling with several teammates this past week. My guess is that gives Harris a leg up. It’s one of the two or both, and they combined for just 140 passing yards per conference game last year. So, basically, let Leonard Fournette throw it.
Mississippi State - Dak Prescott (Senior)
The Mississippi State senior carried the Bulldogs an Access Bowl appearance last season which included a No. 1 national ranking for several weeks. With an improving wide receiver group, it’s up to Prescott to carry MSU as far as they go. Prescott ran for 986 yards, threw for 3,449 yards and scored 41 combined touchdowns in 2014.
Missouri - Maty Mauk (Junior)
Mauk has two SEC East titles in his two years of action in Columbia — one during a combined effort with James Franklin and one as the full-time starter. Last season he threw for 2,648 yards and 25 touchdowns but had some inconsistent days. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes in SEC games.
South Carolina - Connor Mitch (Sophomore)
Steve Spurrier is the coach, so that’s a positive, and Mitch was a Rivals250 prospect in the 2013 class. He has only six career passes and no starts.
Tennessee - Josh Dobbs (Junior)
Hobbs is the trendy pick to be a top-tier quarterback in the league after guiding the Volunteers to a 4-1 finish in 2014. He had 17 combined touchdowns and threw for 1,200 yards, including 192 and two scores in a loss to Alabama. He didn’t play in the Vols’ 34-3 loss to Ole Miss.
Texas A&M - Kyle Allen (Sophomore)
Allen is a talented sophomore, who started the final five games of 2014. He threw for 1,322 yards and 16 scores and has weapons at receiver. He has to hold off Kyler Murray, but he survived the Kenny Hill show last season. The biggest obstacle for Allen is the TAMU defense.
Vanderbilt - Johnny McCrary (Sophomore)
Four different quarterbacks started games for the Commodores last season, with McCrary leading the way with 985 passing yards. He completed 51 percent of his passes. There are a couple nice players, but there’s no reason to think Vanderbilt will be anything but another train wreck.
3. SEC Championship Odds
Las Vegas released conference title odds this past week, and the Alabama schools lead the list. Unsurprisingly, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are the bottom.
Alabama 5-2
Auburn 15-4
Georgia 5-1
Ole Miss 8-1
LSU 8-1
Tennessee 8-1
Arkansas 10-1
Missouri 12-1
MSU 12-1
TAMU 15-1
Florida 18-1
South Carolina 15-1
Kentucky 75-1
Vandy 100-1
So, Vegas has Alabama a heavy favorite with Auburn next and LSU and Ole Miss the spoilers in the West. It also shows how dominant the West is expected to be again.
From a betting standpoint, there’s no value in Alabama or Auburn. You’d be best to take LSU, a Mississippi school or whichever team you think benefits from Georgia screwing it up again. The West is a crapshoot where a $4 million head coach is going to finish last. The East seems to be the best betting situation because that champion just has to win one game and beat the West champion in Atlanta.
Any of the teams below 12-1 seem like a sucker bet
I get Arkansas is the media darling, but man 10-1 seems really high. Same with LSU since there’s no able quarterback on campus. I think both teams compete and spoil some things, but it’s hard to see conference champions there.
4. Financial education for student-athletes
CBSSports.com recently released an article about Mississippi State requiring finance education classes for student-athletes to receive their cost-of-attendance stipends.
Ole Miss is also being proactive in helping student-athletes understood budgets and real-world application when it comes to financial situations. I hope to have more on this later in the week, but it’s a huge step in limiting trouble for students when they leave college and join the workforce — whether it’s in an athletic career or not.
Young people are stupid with money, and this is well worth it if it helps at all. I wish I’d experienced a similar course in college. Financial stupidity isn’t limited to student-athletes. I was an example of that unless you count my Tommy John-repaired elbow throwing 80 MPH as an athletic feat.
Regions Bank gave Ole Miss $500,000 to support this endeavor over multiple years. Ole Miss’ life-skills portion of the student-athlete development program completed its first course in financial literacy in the spring with freshman football players. Moving forward it includes the entire student-athlete population.
In the first installment, the football players were given different housing options and then had to calculate utility costs based on their selections.
“The experience was really good,” Marquis Haynes told OleMissSports.com. “We all learned about keeping our money safe and not spending it and not wasting it on worthless items. It taught us how to keep money in our pockets.”
Following the housing and bills part, the students were given “life happens” moments to deal with regarding their budgets and then had to balance checkbooks.
Obviously there will still be wasted money, and it’s not going to cure everything, but I applaud Ole Miss and all schools for teaching practical skills. It’s something that actually matters in the real world. A little less algebra, a little more knowledge that will translate to longterm quality of life.
5. Draft drama to come
The 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft was pretty eventful for Ole Miss fans, as Chad Smith was the only true drama as far as sign or no sign, but 2016 is gearing up to be a tough one for Ole Miss fans’ fingernails. Here’s the list of high school commits for that class and the national ranking, via Perfect Game.
C - Thomas Dillard 15
C - Cooper Johnson 38
RHP - Greer Holston 96
SS - Grae Kessinger 114
SS - Bryce Blaum 164
1B - Cole Zabowski 227
RHP - Will Ethridge 264
OF - Bryan Seamster 292
LHP - Thomas Spinelli 341
RHP - Jason Barber 300
1B - Trace Tyre 331
OF - Jacob Wilcher 500
LHP - Ryan Rolison 502
RHP - Houston Roth
LHP - Jackson Tavel
A lot of those names were standouts at the Perfect Game event this week. It has the chance to be a special class, but that’ll require some luck next summer.
6. “I feel bad for Dustin,” Jordan Spieth said
For some reason you sort of believe him.
The consolation prize is a high six-figure paycheck, but man Dustin Johnson adds another collapsing chapter to his resume. He’s not the most likable guy on tour, but you had to feel for the dude as he three-putted the 18th hole to lose the US Open after several huge golf shots.
Spieth has won the first two majors of the season and will go to the Open Championship with the grand slam still in play. His pitiful tee shot on 17 and subsequent double bogey is suddenly a forgotten story, as he’s the champion and wunderkind and Johnson is the one who can’t finish the tournament.
Under Armour is living right these days, and Spieth is the next American superstar. He’s certainly doing his part to set up a rivalry with Rory, though rivalries are overplayed in golf. You play a full field, and obviously a bunch of Jordan-Rory showdowns would be fun, but you just want the next generation to be excellent at golf, and it’s a generation Spieth may be ready to lead. He’s incredibly consistent and is quickly collecting big-time tournament pelts.
With Tiger hacking his way to rounds in the 80s and Phil struggling to put consistent rounds together, Spieth has taken the American golf baton.
7. Scholarship situation
I’ve noticed more back-and-forth fighting about whether or not additional scholarship money affects college baseball. The answer is yes it certainly does. Those who agree will agree, and I won’t change the mind of most of those who refuse to acknowledge that Vanderbilt’s situation where the Commodores provide additional academic aid on a case-by-case basis is of more benefit than Ole Miss getting just 11.7 scholarships with few exceptions.
I see a lot of opinions based on inaccurate information. First, endowment has nothing to do with it. Private schools can choose to supplement baseball scholarships with case-by-case academic money with few public knowledge requirements. Public schools have to offer the same supplements to every student, not just athletes. So, for those who say Ole Miss should just waive out-of-state tuition for Memphis players, doing that for every Memphis student would be a financial hit for the university. That makes no sense.
That’s why it’s all about the lottery scholarships and “funny money.” Arkansas has a program that allows any student from a state that borders Arkansas with barely above average grades to only pay in-state tuition prices. It’s the top baseball advantage that never gets talked about. There are a lot of good baseball players in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kansas. Kids from Lubbock, Texas and Biloxi, Mississippi can get in-state tuition to Arkansas.
Here are a couple hypotheticals:
In realistic terms, let’s say Ole Miss is recruiting against Vanderbilt for a prospect. Tim Corbin sits down with him and says that based on the academic aid possibilities the prospect can get an elite education and not pay a dime. The same prospect sits down with Mike Bianco and Ole Miss offers a 50 percent scholarship (which is fairly large for a baseball player) but the prospect’s family still owes 12,000 a year. The numbers are made up, but the situation is real. Ole Miss offered a huge scholarship. Vanderbilt didn’t even dip into its 11.7. It’s impossible to say Bianco isn’t at a disadvantage with that conversation.
Let’s say there’s a Louisiana recruit, and LSU offers 25 percent while Ole Miss offers 50 percent. Well, the kid also gets TOPS, so his tuition is covered before the 25 percent is kicked in. At Ole Miss the 50 percent doesn’t even cover all of tuition. Ole Miss gave the prospect twice the scholarship, but it would still cost the prospect twice the amount to money to pick Ole Miss.
The Rebels recruit the top kids in the region and country, so these are potential real situations.
It is what it is. Bianco doesn’t use this an excuse, but as I notice the debates around town pick up after Ole Miss had a relatively down season.
We can talk about bats and balls and BBCOR and all that, but the scholarship situation is the biggest issue with college baseball.
8. Five quick thoughts
a) Ole Miss was the first offer for Arkansas Wings AAU prospect Connor Vanover. He’s a 7-foot-3 2018 center who seems to have some shooting ability. Arkansas has had a good hold on that AAU program, but it’s nice exposure for the Rebels. Ole Miss is getting out in front of a future national prospect.
b) Errol Robinson is hitting .323 in the Cape and maybe more notable is Tate Blackman hitting .265. That’s not an on-fire average, but Blackman is swinging a wood bat against top competition. That’s a step in the right direction.
c) Former Ole Miss soccer All-American Rafa Souza had a nice World Cup for Brazil, but Australia eliminated them in the opening round of the knockout phase. Ole Miss should promote Souza’s spot on that team. You know Matt Mott is yelling it from the rooftops.
d) Max Scherzer has retired 54 of the last 57 batters he’s faced and gets the Phillies up next. Congrats Scherzer fantasy owners.
e) Brian O’Connor is a hell of a baseball coach. He did a nice job holding the Cavaliers together without their ace during the season and finding a way into the postseason. Now UVa gets another shot at Vandy for the national title. The Commodores are much more talented and should win, but O’Connor should be the coach of the year. Beating Florida two of three to get to this point is a heck of an accomplishment. I thought Florida was the favorite entering Omaha.
9. Happy Father’s Day
I’m writing this part on Saturday night. At the time, Father’s Day is hours away, and I spent part of the day picking out Clark’s headstone and other parts visiting both sides of my family — each dealing with some significant health issues. (As this is published my father is in the hospital. Prayers appreciated)
At the same time in Detroit, 11 were shot on a basketball court.
I spent part of the week on vacation without Internet, so when I landed in Memphis to drive home I powered up my phone and the first Tweets I saw were from the Charleston shooting that took the lives of nine people inside a church. The act is sickening no matter the location, but if we aren’t safe in our churches…
Sanctuary, by definition is a refuge of safety.
It’s been a trying year for me, and the holiday this weekend has me dealing with a variety of emotions that I can’t fully comprehend. It seems like we’re in a world where the good is getting better and the bad is getting worse.
While I said all that, this isn’t supposed to be about me. It’s about cherishing moments, making the phone calls to those important to you and not letting opportunities slip from present to past regrets. Call dad, mom, aunt, uncle or any other important people in your lives.
My recent difficulties have softened me. I’ve lost some cynicism and sarcasm (not all, as people around me would tell you but some) and I hope my eyes have been opened some, as well. It started with all your kindness in April and I’m thankful that it’s continued this summer. I’ve made an effort to appreciate things and those around me more, and I only wish it didn’t take such a traumatic event to act as a catalyst.
So, in short, the world is an unpredictable place, where even our safe havens can become places of pain and tragedy. Call your parents, hug those around you and try to recognize some chances before they are too late to take action.
It’s a sick world, but there’s a lot of good if we stop to notice it.
10. Links from the week
I’m not a Charles Pierce fan usually, but his opening few paragraphs hit this on the head. It was terrorism. Someone thought about it and executed a heinous act. Mental abnormalities and illness may be our biggest danger.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a35793/charleston-shooting-discussion/
Just a thought but what if there’s evidence that the Cardinals used intel from this to impact the Pujols trade. Maybe Houston was trying to get involved the deal or something. Just a thought. Nonetheless, he’s decent story on Grantland regarding what this means.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2...als-houston-astros-fbi-hacking-investigation/
How athletes sometimes escape legal punishment. Some SEC schools examined here.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...nfluence-factors-somes-avoid-criminal-charges
Sticking with Grantland and the upcoming All-Star Game likely featuring some odd (and blue) fan votes, here’s an in-depth look at some players with poor seasons getting acclaim
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/m...el-players-found-their-way-to-the-mvp-ballot/
1. How to load the bases
Ole Miss is currently No. 6 in the country in the team recruiting rankings, and the Rebels are hoping to top the 2013 class in national standing. Shea Patterson is the kingpin to the class, and that won’t change, but there are other major prospects who Ole Miss needs in order to hit the grand slam.
Landing a top-10 class is about four-star depth and major prospects throughout the list, but there have to be several prospects at the top who can compete against any other class in the country. Patterson and DK Metcalf are the start the Rebels need, but who are some of the candidates if Ole Miss is going to make a run at a prominent national position in the rankings?
Ole Miss can have a competitive and top 20 class without many more big fish involved, but here are the names that will decide just how special February is for the Rebels. The more off this list, the closer to Ole MIss' goal.
Deontay Anderson - S, Manvell, Texas
The safety camped at Ole Miss and is one of four players on this list with a considerable friendship with Patterson. Ole Miss has been able to snag top players out of other states in recent years.
Willie Allen - OL, River Ridge, Louisiana
There’s a certain amount of believe it when see it when it comes to a John Curtis prospect picking Ole Miss over LSU, but Allen has showed real interest. And while he doesn’t say a lot about favorites, the Rebels have at least put themselves in the game.
Rashard Lawrence - DT, Monroe, Louisiana
Ole Miss is in the top four with UCLA, Florida State and Alabama. There are a lot of battles for Ole Miss with the Crimson Tide.
Devin White - ATH, Springhill, Louisiana
White traveled to see Patterson commit to Ole Miss, and the two are extremely close, but most people in the industry give Alabama the edge in this one at the moment. He wants to play running back, and Alabama has done a good job promoting that.
Jeffery Simmons - DL, Macon, Mississippi
Simmons is just a three star for now, but that will change soon, and I expect him to keep climbing up the rankings. Ole Miss and Alabama are the favorites, and the Rebels have had success at Noxubee County. Simmons dominated competition at a camp in Texas recently.
Nigel Knott - CB, Madison, Mississippi
Knott is ridiculously athletic and has been climbing the rankings for months. His dad played at Ole Miss, and he said it’s in the back of his mind. He recently released a top 10 that includes Ole Miss. He seems to be the Ole Miss in-state target most likely to commit out of state.
There are other names like Greg Little and Shyheim Carter who Ole Miss continues to recruit and get on campus, but I’m not including any commits to other schools. Also I didn’t mention prospects similar to Rashan Gary. The list was prospects who have had the Rebels in the top group.
2. SEC Quarterbacks
Obviously Ole Miss has its three-headed quarterback battle to work out, and there are other schools with uncertainty at the position, while there’s also experience in the league, as well. With the QB conversation ongoing in Oxford, it’s a good time to look at other situations around the SEC.
There are battles at other schools, so I just took my best guess at the starter. Clearly if I can’t for sure tell you who is starting for the Rebels, I’d have a hard time handicapping the other races. But this will give you an idea at the quarterback situations at other schools.
Alabama - Jacob Coker (Senior)
Coker, a Florida State transfer prior to last season, couldn’t beat out Blake Sims and is now in a tight battle with youngster David Cornwell. In six games last season, Coker was 38-of-59 for 403 yards and four touchdowns. The hype has been present since he arrived, but the results haven’t matched it to this point. Alabama’s first SEC game is against Ole Miss at 8:15 p.m.
Auburn - Jeremy Johnson (Junior)
I’ve been impressed with Johnson since the first time he camped at Ole Miss, and he hasn’t disappointed since then. He can move around in the pocket, and he has a big, accurate arm. He handled things well with Nick Marshall out last season.
Arkansas - Brandon Allen (Senior)
Allen does exactly what he’s asked with the Razorbacks. He threw for 2,285 yards with 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions in 339 attempts last season. He throws well off play-action and doesn’t make many mistakes. Arkansas is always going to run first, so Allen just has to be competent.
Florida - Will Grier (Redshirt freshman)
New coach Jim McElwain may go with upside here and start Grier, who was the No. 46 overall prospect in the 2014 class. Trevon Harris, who started the final six games (4-2) of 2014, is also in the race, but Grief is a better fit, and I’ll go with him as the starter in the majority of the games.
Georgia - Brice Ramsey (Sophomore)
Mark Richt feels so confident about his quarterback situation that this month he added Virginia transfer Greyson Lambert, who was a benched team captain with the 5-7 Cavaliers. This job could go to Ramsey, Lambert or Faton Bauta. Ramsey was the leader out of the spring, and he’s the most talented prospect. Lambert is the only one with legitimate Division I experience.
Kentucky - Patrick Towles (Junior)
Towels threw for 2,700 yards in his debut season with the Wildcats and will have to hold off redshirt freshman Drew Barker throughout the season. Kentucky started the season 5-1 before limping the rest of the way. He threw 14 touchdowns and nine interceptions.
LSU - Brandon Harris (Sophomore)
I would have said Anthony Jennings here before he was arrested for allegedly breaking into an occupied dwelling with several teammates this past week. My guess is that gives Harris a leg up. It’s one of the two or both, and they combined for just 140 passing yards per conference game last year. So, basically, let Leonard Fournette throw it.
Mississippi State - Dak Prescott (Senior)
The Mississippi State senior carried the Bulldogs an Access Bowl appearance last season which included a No. 1 national ranking for several weeks. With an improving wide receiver group, it’s up to Prescott to carry MSU as far as they go. Prescott ran for 986 yards, threw for 3,449 yards and scored 41 combined touchdowns in 2014.
Missouri - Maty Mauk (Junior)
Mauk has two SEC East titles in his two years of action in Columbia — one during a combined effort with James Franklin and one as the full-time starter. Last season he threw for 2,648 yards and 25 touchdowns but had some inconsistent days. He completed less than 50 percent of his passes in SEC games.
South Carolina - Connor Mitch (Sophomore)
Steve Spurrier is the coach, so that’s a positive, and Mitch was a Rivals250 prospect in the 2013 class. He has only six career passes and no starts.
Tennessee - Josh Dobbs (Junior)
Hobbs is the trendy pick to be a top-tier quarterback in the league after guiding the Volunteers to a 4-1 finish in 2014. He had 17 combined touchdowns and threw for 1,200 yards, including 192 and two scores in a loss to Alabama. He didn’t play in the Vols’ 34-3 loss to Ole Miss.
Texas A&M - Kyle Allen (Sophomore)
Allen is a talented sophomore, who started the final five games of 2014. He threw for 1,322 yards and 16 scores and has weapons at receiver. He has to hold off Kyler Murray, but he survived the Kenny Hill show last season. The biggest obstacle for Allen is the TAMU defense.
Vanderbilt - Johnny McCrary (Sophomore)
Four different quarterbacks started games for the Commodores last season, with McCrary leading the way with 985 passing yards. He completed 51 percent of his passes. There are a couple nice players, but there’s no reason to think Vanderbilt will be anything but another train wreck.
3. SEC Championship Odds
Las Vegas released conference title odds this past week, and the Alabama schools lead the list. Unsurprisingly, Kentucky and Vanderbilt are the bottom.
Alabama 5-2
Auburn 15-4
Georgia 5-1
Ole Miss 8-1
LSU 8-1
Tennessee 8-1
Arkansas 10-1
Missouri 12-1
MSU 12-1
TAMU 15-1
Florida 18-1
South Carolina 15-1
Kentucky 75-1
Vandy 100-1
So, Vegas has Alabama a heavy favorite with Auburn next and LSU and Ole Miss the spoilers in the West. It also shows how dominant the West is expected to be again.
From a betting standpoint, there’s no value in Alabama or Auburn. You’d be best to take LSU, a Mississippi school or whichever team you think benefits from Georgia screwing it up again. The West is a crapshoot where a $4 million head coach is going to finish last. The East seems to be the best betting situation because that champion just has to win one game and beat the West champion in Atlanta.
Any of the teams below 12-1 seem like a sucker bet
I get Arkansas is the media darling, but man 10-1 seems really high. Same with LSU since there’s no able quarterback on campus. I think both teams compete and spoil some things, but it’s hard to see conference champions there.
4. Financial education for student-athletes
CBSSports.com recently released an article about Mississippi State requiring finance education classes for student-athletes to receive their cost-of-attendance stipends.
Ole Miss is also being proactive in helping student-athletes understood budgets and real-world application when it comes to financial situations. I hope to have more on this later in the week, but it’s a huge step in limiting trouble for students when they leave college and join the workforce — whether it’s in an athletic career or not.
Young people are stupid with money, and this is well worth it if it helps at all. I wish I’d experienced a similar course in college. Financial stupidity isn’t limited to student-athletes. I was an example of that unless you count my Tommy John-repaired elbow throwing 80 MPH as an athletic feat.
Regions Bank gave Ole Miss $500,000 to support this endeavor over multiple years. Ole Miss’ life-skills portion of the student-athlete development program completed its first course in financial literacy in the spring with freshman football players. Moving forward it includes the entire student-athlete population.
In the first installment, the football players were given different housing options and then had to calculate utility costs based on their selections.
“The experience was really good,” Marquis Haynes told OleMissSports.com. “We all learned about keeping our money safe and not spending it and not wasting it on worthless items. It taught us how to keep money in our pockets.”
Following the housing and bills part, the students were given “life happens” moments to deal with regarding their budgets and then had to balance checkbooks.
Obviously there will still be wasted money, and it’s not going to cure everything, but I applaud Ole Miss and all schools for teaching practical skills. It’s something that actually matters in the real world. A little less algebra, a little more knowledge that will translate to longterm quality of life.
5. Draft drama to come
The 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft was pretty eventful for Ole Miss fans, as Chad Smith was the only true drama as far as sign or no sign, but 2016 is gearing up to be a tough one for Ole Miss fans’ fingernails. Here’s the list of high school commits for that class and the national ranking, via Perfect Game.
C - Thomas Dillard 15
C - Cooper Johnson 38
RHP - Greer Holston 96
SS - Grae Kessinger 114
SS - Bryce Blaum 164
1B - Cole Zabowski 227
RHP - Will Ethridge 264
OF - Bryan Seamster 292
LHP - Thomas Spinelli 341
RHP - Jason Barber 300
1B - Trace Tyre 331
OF - Jacob Wilcher 500
LHP - Ryan Rolison 502
RHP - Houston Roth
LHP - Jackson Tavel
A lot of those names were standouts at the Perfect Game event this week. It has the chance to be a special class, but that’ll require some luck next summer.
6. “I feel bad for Dustin,” Jordan Spieth said
For some reason you sort of believe him.
The consolation prize is a high six-figure paycheck, but man Dustin Johnson adds another collapsing chapter to his resume. He’s not the most likable guy on tour, but you had to feel for the dude as he three-putted the 18th hole to lose the US Open after several huge golf shots.
Spieth has won the first two majors of the season and will go to the Open Championship with the grand slam still in play. His pitiful tee shot on 17 and subsequent double bogey is suddenly a forgotten story, as he’s the champion and wunderkind and Johnson is the one who can’t finish the tournament.
Under Armour is living right these days, and Spieth is the next American superstar. He’s certainly doing his part to set up a rivalry with Rory, though rivalries are overplayed in golf. You play a full field, and obviously a bunch of Jordan-Rory showdowns would be fun, but you just want the next generation to be excellent at golf, and it’s a generation Spieth may be ready to lead. He’s incredibly consistent and is quickly collecting big-time tournament pelts.
With Tiger hacking his way to rounds in the 80s and Phil struggling to put consistent rounds together, Spieth has taken the American golf baton.
7. Scholarship situation
I’ve noticed more back-and-forth fighting about whether or not additional scholarship money affects college baseball. The answer is yes it certainly does. Those who agree will agree, and I won’t change the mind of most of those who refuse to acknowledge that Vanderbilt’s situation where the Commodores provide additional academic aid on a case-by-case basis is of more benefit than Ole Miss getting just 11.7 scholarships with few exceptions.
I see a lot of opinions based on inaccurate information. First, endowment has nothing to do with it. Private schools can choose to supplement baseball scholarships with case-by-case academic money with few public knowledge requirements. Public schools have to offer the same supplements to every student, not just athletes. So, for those who say Ole Miss should just waive out-of-state tuition for Memphis players, doing that for every Memphis student would be a financial hit for the university. That makes no sense.
That’s why it’s all about the lottery scholarships and “funny money.” Arkansas has a program that allows any student from a state that borders Arkansas with barely above average grades to only pay in-state tuition prices. It’s the top baseball advantage that never gets talked about. There are a lot of good baseball players in Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Missouri, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Kansas. Kids from Lubbock, Texas and Biloxi, Mississippi can get in-state tuition to Arkansas.
Here are a couple hypotheticals:
In realistic terms, let’s say Ole Miss is recruiting against Vanderbilt for a prospect. Tim Corbin sits down with him and says that based on the academic aid possibilities the prospect can get an elite education and not pay a dime. The same prospect sits down with Mike Bianco and Ole Miss offers a 50 percent scholarship (which is fairly large for a baseball player) but the prospect’s family still owes 12,000 a year. The numbers are made up, but the situation is real. Ole Miss offered a huge scholarship. Vanderbilt didn’t even dip into its 11.7. It’s impossible to say Bianco isn’t at a disadvantage with that conversation.
Let’s say there’s a Louisiana recruit, and LSU offers 25 percent while Ole Miss offers 50 percent. Well, the kid also gets TOPS, so his tuition is covered before the 25 percent is kicked in. At Ole Miss the 50 percent doesn’t even cover all of tuition. Ole Miss gave the prospect twice the scholarship, but it would still cost the prospect twice the amount to money to pick Ole Miss.
The Rebels recruit the top kids in the region and country, so these are potential real situations.
It is what it is. Bianco doesn’t use this an excuse, but as I notice the debates around town pick up after Ole Miss had a relatively down season.
We can talk about bats and balls and BBCOR and all that, but the scholarship situation is the biggest issue with college baseball.
8. Five quick thoughts
a) Ole Miss was the first offer for Arkansas Wings AAU prospect Connor Vanover. He’s a 7-foot-3 2018 center who seems to have some shooting ability. Arkansas has had a good hold on that AAU program, but it’s nice exposure for the Rebels. Ole Miss is getting out in front of a future national prospect.
b) Errol Robinson is hitting .323 in the Cape and maybe more notable is Tate Blackman hitting .265. That’s not an on-fire average, but Blackman is swinging a wood bat against top competition. That’s a step in the right direction.
c) Former Ole Miss soccer All-American Rafa Souza had a nice World Cup for Brazil, but Australia eliminated them in the opening round of the knockout phase. Ole Miss should promote Souza’s spot on that team. You know Matt Mott is yelling it from the rooftops.
d) Max Scherzer has retired 54 of the last 57 batters he’s faced and gets the Phillies up next. Congrats Scherzer fantasy owners.
e) Brian O’Connor is a hell of a baseball coach. He did a nice job holding the Cavaliers together without their ace during the season and finding a way into the postseason. Now UVa gets another shot at Vandy for the national title. The Commodores are much more talented and should win, but O’Connor should be the coach of the year. Beating Florida two of three to get to this point is a heck of an accomplishment. I thought Florida was the favorite entering Omaha.
9. Happy Father’s Day
I’m writing this part on Saturday night. At the time, Father’s Day is hours away, and I spent part of the day picking out Clark’s headstone and other parts visiting both sides of my family — each dealing with some significant health issues. (As this is published my father is in the hospital. Prayers appreciated)
At the same time in Detroit, 11 were shot on a basketball court.
I spent part of the week on vacation without Internet, so when I landed in Memphis to drive home I powered up my phone and the first Tweets I saw were from the Charleston shooting that took the lives of nine people inside a church. The act is sickening no matter the location, but if we aren’t safe in our churches…
Sanctuary, by definition is a refuge of safety.
It’s been a trying year for me, and the holiday this weekend has me dealing with a variety of emotions that I can’t fully comprehend. It seems like we’re in a world where the good is getting better and the bad is getting worse.
While I said all that, this isn’t supposed to be about me. It’s about cherishing moments, making the phone calls to those important to you and not letting opportunities slip from present to past regrets. Call dad, mom, aunt, uncle or any other important people in your lives.
My recent difficulties have softened me. I’ve lost some cynicism and sarcasm (not all, as people around me would tell you but some) and I hope my eyes have been opened some, as well. It started with all your kindness in April and I’m thankful that it’s continued this summer. I’ve made an effort to appreciate things and those around me more, and I only wish it didn’t take such a traumatic event to act as a catalyst.
So, in short, the world is an unpredictable place, where even our safe havens can become places of pain and tragedy. Call your parents, hug those around you and try to recognize some chances before they are too late to take action.
It’s a sick world, but there’s a lot of good if we stop to notice it.
10. Links from the week
I’m not a Charles Pierce fan usually, but his opening few paragraphs hit this on the head. It was terrorism. Someone thought about it and executed a heinous act. Mental abnormalities and illness may be our biggest danger.
http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/news/a35793/charleston-shooting-discussion/
Just a thought but what if there’s evidence that the Cardinals used intel from this to impact the Pujols trade. Maybe Houston was trying to get involved the deal or something. Just a thought. Nonetheless, he’s decent story on Grantland regarding what this means.
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/2...als-houston-astros-fbi-hacking-investigation/
How athletes sometimes escape legal punishment. Some SEC schools examined here.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_...nfluence-factors-somes-avoid-criminal-charges
Sticking with Grantland and the upcoming All-Star Game likely featuring some odd (and blue) fan votes, here’s an in-depth look at some players with poor seasons getting acclaim
http://grantland.com/the-triangle/m...el-players-found-their-way-to-the-mvp-ballot/
