Published June 15, 2012 - 4:04am
NEW: Discuss this topic in the Google+ community for SEC fans.
Alabama gets a commitment from the top long snapper in the country. Cole Mazza was told Nick Saban had never offered a scholarship to a long snapper before, but he did just that. Mazza flipped his commitment from UCLA to Bama. “They gave me this week to think about it and get back to them,” Mazza said. “I felt like I just couldn’t skip this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play for Alabama. Such a great coaching staff and a great program that’s been around forever and such a great community that is 100 percent behind the team. It’s just a great place to be for football and academically, I feel like.” Talk about cherry picking recruits… [AL]
Southern Miss announced a 2013 matchup with Arkansas is now on the schedule. The Golden Eagles will travel to Fayetteville early next year. Eagles’ AD Jeff Hammond had this to say about the matchup: “We look forward to the challenge of going to Fayetteville in 2013 to face a strong Southeastern Conference opponent in the University of Arkansas,” Hammond said. “Playing quality opponents it helps with our national exposure as well as a new regional rivalry that allows our fan base an opportunity to see their team play. We are not strangers to playing teams in the SEC and now we can add Arkansas to that long list.” Southern Miss’ new coach is former South Carolina DC Ellis Johnson. [Arkansas Sports 360]
Just because we hear expansion, college football is actually in a contraction mode. Great piece by John Clay about how the new playoff only helps the ‘Big Four’ conferences, which in fact it really does. With the Big Ten and the Pac 12 in a partnership, and with the SEC and the Big 12 in cahoots, the ACC and Big East are left out. [Kentucky]
Ole Miss set their first game time for the 2012 season yesterday. The Rebs will square off against Tulane on September 22nd, and it will kick off at 11 AM on FSN. Ole Miss fans will probably be asleep by halftime. Ole Miss has won 10 straight by 17 points per game. [Clarion Ledger]
Details emerge about Alabama’s Champions Plaza. When Alabama’s Board of Trustees meets Friday, it will be asked to consider “authorizing execution of an architectural service agreement and approving preliminary budget for the Champions Plaza.” The structure would have commemorative engravings that would highlight each team’s history, including SEC and national championships. [AL]
