On the defensive side of the ball, Tennesse has to replace a few more guys than the offense.  Up front the Vols have to replace DT Malik Jackson.  Jackson led the Vols in tackles for loss with 11.  The Vols lose their defensive leader with the graduation of LB Austin Johnson; they also have to replace LB Daryl Vereen who was a situational defender.  They have to replace a couple of defenders in the defensive backfield, but if the Vols can find a replacement for Austin Johnson, there is a ton of experience returning next year on both sides of the ball.

Needs Met: If you love skill positions, you will love the 20 guys that Tennessee signed in the 2012 recruiting class.  On the offensive side of the ball, Tennessee signed four outstanding receivers.  Jason Croom and JUCO transfer Cordarrelle Patterson are both tall (over 6’4”) physical receivers that will pose significant match-up problems for defenses, and while Drae Bowles and Alton Howard aren’t that tall, they can both fly.  They signed two RB’s in this class, and Alden Hill fits the fullback mold at 220lbs.  RB Quenshaun Watson is a quality speed back that will add depth.  Davante Borque is listed as an athlete, but he will also probably play RB when he gets on campus, and he will push for playing time next year.  The Vols also signed Justin Meredith, a quality TE prospect out of South Carolina, and they signed QB Nathan Peterman who will have time to redshirt and develop behind Tyler Bray and Justin Worley.

Tennessee signed five defensive linemen with this signing class.  DT Daniel McCullers and DT Danny O’Brien are the headliners on the defensive front, but I think Vol fans will really like JUCO transfer Darrington Sentimore.  Sentimore started out his career at Alabama, and while at Alabama he was always praised for his high motor.  Justin King is the lone LB signed in this class, and he is a big LB that will be solid in the middle of the field for Tennessee in coming years.  They also signed three defensive backs and I think Deion Bonner is too good to keep off the field next year.  I would not be surprised to see him starting next year.  Even though the Vols return a lot of starters next year, don’t be surprised if some of these guys come in and take some starting jobs away from guys already on campus.

Biggest Get: Cordarrelle Patterson.  Patterson was a singing day pick-up, and I think he will be highly involved in the offense next year.

Biggest Miss: Jovon Robinson.  Robinson was a big punishing in-state RB that the Vols let get away.

Final Evaluation: This class definitely gives Tennessee depth at the skill positions to match up with just about any SEC team.  Unfortunately Tennessee was terrible in run blocking in 2011, and if I were a Tennessee fan, I would have liked to have seen a few O-Linemen signed in 2012.  All SEC fans know games are won in the trenches.

Final Grade:  B+

Other 2012 Signing Report Cards:

• Alabama Crimson Tide: A+
• Arkansas Razorbacks: C+
• Auburn Tigers: A-
• Florida Gators: A+
• Georgia Bulldogs: A
• Kentucky Wildcats: C
• LSU Tigers: A-
• Mississippi State Bulldogs: B
• Missouri Tigers: C+
• Ole Miss Rebels: C
• Vanderbilt Commodores: B+

Coming off a bye week and with Tennessee still sore from playing Alabama, South Carolina’s top-ranked pass defense and a physical defensive line should feast on the Rock Hill, S.C., native making his first collegiate start.

It’s never that easy and now it’s up to South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore-less offense to put up enough points to beat the Volunteers at Neyland Stadium – a venue that has been a House of Horrors for the Gamecocks. South Carolina has won in Knoxville once the last 16 games, a 16-15 victory in 2005.

Quarterback Connor Shaw and a multitude of running backs will have to control the clock, limit turnovers and make a few big plays to improve to 7-1 and stay in the SEC East lead. True freshman Brandon Wilds will get the start at tailback and Bruce Ellington is expected to see action at receiver and running back. He’ll take a few snaps in the Wild Cock as well.

In the midst of a three-game losing streak, Dooley made the switch to Worley after Matt Simms had a combined no touchdowns and three interceptions against LSU and Alabama. Incumbent starter Tyler Bray is still out after breaking his thumb against Georgia on Oct. 8.

“We had a lot more data on Tyler going into last season when I made the move than I do right now on Justin,” Dooley said earlier this week. “This one is a little different and I don’t know what it is going to look like on Saturday. I am doing it with a little less expectation of what I’ll see is how I will say it. Last year. I felt like I knew what I was going to see. This year, I am not so sure, but I just feel like it’s the right thing to do.”

Worley threw for a state record 5,315 yards and 64 touchdowns as a prep senior at Northwestern High, the rival of Jadeveon Clowney’s South Pointe. South Carolina cornerbacks coach Lorenzo Ward discussed the relationship between the two after South Carolina’s practice Monday evening.

“The young man is obviously a good football player,” Ward said. “He was the PARADE Player of the Year at Northwestern and won a state championship. I told Clowney that he beat him, so we’re going to take it a little personal. We’ve got to go play and play to get better as the Gamecocks. Tennessee is going to give us their best shot. It boils down to how we play.”

With two weeks to prepare for Tennessee’s limited offense, you have to think South Carolina can win and cover the 4.5 point spread. But history in this match-up says otherwise and it’ll probably come down to which team plays better on defense.

The Gamecocks are nine interceptions away from tying the single-season school record of 23. D.J. Swearinger, Antonio Allen, Stephon Gilmore and C.C. Whitlock hope to inch closer to that impressive total Saturday night.

For Dooley it probably seemed like deja vu all over again as quarterback Matt Simms, subbing for injured star-sophomore Tyler Bray, struggled to ignite the Big Orange offense.  Dooley chose to light the fire himself by sending number 14 onto the field at Bryant-Denny Stadium and in turn, setting true-freshman Justin Worley’s red-shirt ablaze.  This afternoon Dooley announced that Worley, from Rock Hill, will start this Saturday against his home-state South Carolina Gamecocks saying, “We just need to make this move.”

Simms, a senior, had a tough draw once Bray went down with a broken right thumb in the final minutes of the Georgia game as LSU and Alabama were lined up on the Tennessee schedule.  In those two games, Simms completed just 14-of-37 pass attempts (38%) with no touchdown passes and his three interceptions surpassed the two that Bray threw in five starts.  The Vols lost to LSU and Alabama by a combined score of 75-13 with Simms very much resembling the same quarterback from a year earlier.  In 10 career starts for the Volunteers, Simms won just two and may very well best be remembered for his touchdown pass to Denarius Moore that beat UAB in double overtime last year in Knoxville.

Simms’ inability to consistently move the Tennessee offense and his propensity for hanging on to the ball far too long gave Dooley little choice in opting for the reigning Gatorade National Football Player of the Year and Parade High School All-American, Justin Worley, in the absence of Bray. 

Tennessee has now lost three straight and will need to win at least three of their final five games to gain bowl eligibility.  Dooley realizes the importance of winning now and his decision shows his unwillingness to sacrifice potential wins in 2011 for potential wins with Worley in a possible futuristic view of the 2015 season.  In the SEC, no coach can hardly afford to look beyond the season at hand and if he makes decisions with a mentality to the contrary, his career will likely be cut short and the future unrealized.  To paraphrase Dooley’s “Opportunity is NowHere” slogan, the future is now here.

Last season it was Bray who was suddenly thrust into the SEC limelight amid Simms’ struggles and the Vols responded by winning their last four regular season game and gaining a birth in the Music City Bowl.  Worley is an unproven commodity at the college level but with five games remaining on the Tennessee schedule, Dooley is ready to roll the dice with the unproven rather than what has proven to be ineffective.

Worley, who at 6’5″ 200 lb. is similar in stature to Bray, was an early commit for Dooley in last years recruiting wars and led Northwestern High School to an undefeated 15-0 mark and the South Carolina Class 4A-II state title.  Worley’s numbers were outstanding, throwing for 5,315 yards and 64 touchdowns while completing nearly 73 percent of his attempts during his senior campaign. 

Worley joins Tennessee football legend Peyton Manning as the only two Tennessee players to receive the Gatorade National Football Player of the Year honor, which was founded in 1985.

One - The Vols have one more interception than a dead man and are tied for last in the NCAA with a few other programs that are also suffering from rigor mortis in the secondary.  It seems like ages since Art Evans turned in the pick-six against Montana in Tennessee’s opening game of the season.  Obviously the unit was dealt a blow when All-SEC safety Janzen Jackson was dismissed in late summer but just one interception in five games is somewhat amazing, especially when you consider that no other SEC team has less than four and in-state little brother Vanderbilt leads the conference with 14.

Two - Tennessee is 0 and two in the early portion of their SEC schedule following losses to Florida and Georgia.  Injuries to star players Justin Hunter and Tyler Bray will not help as the Vols’ next four SEC opponents are LSU, Alabama, South Carolina and Arkansas.

Three- Tennessee won a total of three SEC games last season with wins over Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.  Subtract Ole Miss from the 2011 schedule, insert Arkansas, and suddenly the road to three SEC wins looks much tougher.  If the Vols can make it 27 straight over Kentucky and stop James Franklin’s improving Vandy squad, they will still need to pull off an upset among the four remaining conference opponents.  Those four other opponents are all ranked in the AP Top 25 with LSU (1), Alabama (2), South Carolina (15) and Arkansas (10).  It will take that signature win that Dooley is still seeking to at least equal last year’s three SEC victories.

Four - The Vols have lost four fumbles and also recovered four on the season but amazingly they have coughed up the ball 18 times in just five games.  In the SEC, only South Carolina, with 19 fumbles in six games, has put the pigskin on the turf more than Tennessee.

Five - The Vols have just five take aways in five games this season and currently rank 107th out of 120 FBS programs.  The five turnovers that Tennessee has pulled in ranks last in the SEC.

Six - The Vols, who have historically made a good living pounding the rock, have just six rushing touchdowns in 2011.  Only Kentucky, with three, has fewer rushing scores than Tennessee.

Seven - The Vols have the seventh worst net-rushing yards-per-game average among all FBS teams in the country, leaving just six programs who average less.  The Vols check in at number 114 nationally and dead last in the conference with just 84.8 yards per-game and rank ahead of only Rutgers, Kent State, Arizona, Miami (OH), Idaho and East Carolina.  Tennessee was at the bottom of the conference in rushing last season but averaged 116 yards per contest.  Tauren Poole who rushed for over 1000 yards in 2010 has been hampered by nagging injuries and is now nursing a strained hamstring.  If the running game continues to decline, this year’s team runs the risk of joining the 1958 and 1964 teams as the only Tennessee teams to not rush for at least 1000 yards as a team.  Incidentally, they only played a 10 game schedule back in the day so this would set a standard in futility.

Eight - How do you replace number 8 is the number one question facing the Vols.  Number 8 as in star-quarterback Tyler Bray.  When Bray broke his thumb on his right hand Saturday night against Georgia, it seemed as if you could hear the air being let out of the Big Orange balloon all across the state of Tennessee.  Bray has been brilliant, leading the conference in passing yards-per-game (316), touchdown passes (14), pass efficiency (165.2), completion percentage (65.9) and total offense (304).  So how do you replace number 8?  You don’t.  Matt Simms deserves a ton of credit for showing maturity and sticking with the program after taking a beating last season.  I’m in Simms’ corner and hope he can turn this opportunity into a Hollywood script, but Tyler Bray is just one of those special players that is next to impossible to do without.

Nine - Tennessee is the SEC’s number nine ranked team in field goal percentage at 66.7 percent.  Michael Palardy has had his struggles as the Vol’s place-kicker connecting on 6-of-9 attempts and had a PAT blocked against Georgia.

Ten - What many thought would be a strength for the Tennessee defense, the secondary unit has not lived up to expectations and currently ranks tenth in the SEC in pass defense, allowing 204 yards-per-game.  Justin Wilcox’s defensive backfield is allowing seven yards-per-attempt (T-10th in SEC) and ranks only above Auburn at 7.2 yards-per-attempt.

Now, Tennessee will turn to backup Matt Simms who started the first half of the 2010 season before playing his way out of a starting position.

Button your chin straps, Tennessee fans!

Anyway, there always seems to be teams returning veteran quarterbacks that are cemented into the starting position. However, 2011 will be unlike any I can remember in regards to newcomers at quarterback. There will be ongoing battles throughout the year in the SEC, and I cannot wait to watch it unfold.

Alabama – AJ McCarron or Phillip Sims

AJ McCarron has gotten his feet wet on occasion, filling in for Greg McElroy, but Phillip Sims has yet to take the field for the Tide. It will be interesting to see how this one plays out and who starts for Alabama game one.

Auburn – Barrett Trotter or Clint Moseley

Both Trotter and Moseley have yet to really have any type of impact for the Tigers on offense. Trotter looks to be the guy for the Tigers on opening day, but Moseley will push him. Also, freshman Kiehl Frazier looks to make a name for himself as well.

Arkansas – Tyler Wilson or Brandon Mitchell

Wilson has all but won the starting job, and he filled in nicely for Ryan Mallett last year upon his injury in the Auburn game. Mitchell looks to be on the outside looking in at this point. Wilson looks to set up with talent around him, and there will be huge expectations in Fayetteville for him in year one.

Florida – John Brantley, Jeff Driskel or Tyler Murphy

Sure, Brantley started most of 2010, but he has yet to convince anyone he belongs at the helm for the Gators. Both Murphy and Driskel have an opportunity to take this job from Brantley should he struggle in practice early or early on in the season.

Kentucky – Morgan Newton or Max Smith

Newton played in the bowl game last year, and he really did not have the showing anyone wanted him to. Newton will have to progress fast or he will be beat out. He has yet to make an impact on the Wildcats football team. The Wildcat coaching staff is really excited about Max Smith, and they could give him a shot to lead this team.

LSU – Jordan Jefferson or Zach Mettenberger

Everyone thought LSU was a quarterback away from winning it all in 2010; however, Jefferson must have taken it personally because he showed out this spring. Can Mettenberger steal the job from Jefferson, or will Jefferson step up to the plate his senior year and lead the Tigers to the promise land?

Ole Miss – Randall Mackey or Barry Brunetti

Mackey has all but been named the starter, with Nathan Stanely deciding to transfer. Transfer Barry Brunetti had a good spring and really came on strong, but Mackey looks to be the newcomer to lead the Rebels in ’11.

South Carolina – Stephen Garcia or Connor Shaw

With Garcia suspended indefinitely, South Carolina has major questions at quarterback. Can Shaw step up and lead this team? He doesn’t have to be an All-American, but he does need to run the Steve Spurrier offense adequately. Will Garcia get another shot?

Tennessee – Tyler Bray or Matt Simms

A week ago I thought there was no quarterback controversy in Knoxville; however, with Tyler Bray’s rather dudly performance in the Tennessee’s Orange and White game this past weekend, it has some people questioning whether Bray is ready to lead this team – 5-30 passing really doesn’t cement your name in the starting lineup, son.

The rosters were determined by evenly dividing the seniors and drafting the remaining players to their respective teams.  Head Coach Derek Dooley presided as acting commissioner over the draft and had final say of approval for player personnel.  Here’s a look at the two squads of football brothers that will go head-to-head in the annual gridiron classic and analysis of who may have the edge at each position, as well as my prediction for the game.

Quarterbacks

Orange – Tyler Bray, Nash Nance & Myles McKee

White – Matt Simms, Justin Worley & Doak Raulston

Edge – The White team has better depth, but the nod goes to the Orange with the SEC’s top returning signal caller, Tyler Bray.

Running Backs

Orange – Tauren Poole, Jaron Roney, Ben Bartholomew (FB) & Austin Bolen (FB)

White – Rajion Neal, Dorian Cozart, Toney Williams & Channing Fugate (FB)

Edge – Neal has been impressive thus far in the spring, but Poole’s experience gives the Orange the advantage.

Receivers

Orange – Justin Hunter, Vincent Dallas, Matt Milton, Chris Cates, Jacob Carter, Mychal Rivera (TE) & Brent Slusher (TE)

White – Da’Rick Rogers, Zach Rogers, DeMario Williams, Tyler Drummer, Cory Eichholtz, Dylan West, Brendan Downs (TE) & Dakota Summers (TE)

Edge – Milton has been turning heads this spring and everyone now knows Justin Hunter.  Da’Rick and Zach Rogers are both excellent but the Bray to Hunter connection has been off-the-charts.  Orange rules at receiver.

Offensive Line

Orange – James Stone, Marcus Jackson, Dallas Thomas, Darin Gooch, Carson Anderson, Chase Phillips & Ja’Wuan James (Injured – will not play)

White – JerQuari Schofield, Kevin Revis, Zach Fulton, Alex Bullard, Jacob Gilliam, Mack Crowder & Marques Pair (Injured – will not play)

Edge – Experience wins again for the Orange on the O-line.

Defensive Line

Orange – Joseph Ayers, Corey Miller, Montori Hughes, Martaze Jackson, Rae Sykes, Willie Bohannon, Jaques Smith (Injured – will not play) & Keensen Chambers (Injured – will not play)

White – Malik Jackson, Daniel Hood, Gregory Clark, Arthur Jeffery, Marlon Walls & Steven Fowlkes

Edge - Slight edge for the Orange on the D-line.

Linebackers

Orange – Nigel Mitchell-Thornton, Gregory Grieco, Robert Nelson, LaDarius Denson, Daryl Vereen & John Propst (Injured – will not play)

White – Shane Reveiz, Grant Jessen, Greg King, Raiques Crump, Jake Storey, Herman Lathers (Injured – will not play) & Austin Johnson (Injured – will not play)

Edge -  Tough call, but the White team wrestles this one away.

Secondary

Orange – Prentiss Waggner, Brent Brewer, Marsalis Teague, Zach Allen, Naz Oliver, Melvin Goins, Tyler Page, Anthony Anderson & Tyler Coombes

White – Eric Gordon, Art Evans, Justin Coleman, Robert Younce, Nick Branum, Rod Wilks, Dontavis Sapp & C.J. Fleming

Edge – Orange in a mismatch.

Specialty

Orange – Michael Palardy (PK), Derrick Brodus (P) & Nick Guess (DS)

White – Matt Darr (P), Chip Rhome (PK) & J.R. Carr (DS)

Edge – White has the better punter but Palardy puts points on the board.  Advantage Orange in the kicking game.

Prediction

Maybe I’m looking through my orange-colored glasses, but clearly the Orange team is loaded up with the most star power.  The question is, how long will Coach Dooley leave his most-proven players on the field?  Remember, this game is merely a scrimmage and the staff will want to get a look at as many players as possible.  This game will be closer than it looks to be on paper.  I’ll take the Orange, 31-21.

Clad in bright orange, many around the South will head out into the woods this fall in search of big game, such as deer, bears and wild boars.  But for Justin Hunter of Tennessee, big game takes in 2011 will not be tallied in pelts or mounts, but rather in the form of touchdowns and wins for the orange and white as the Volunteers try to bag victories over Grizzlies, Bearcats, Gators, Tigers, Wildcats and yes, even elephants.

The lanky 6’4″ 185 pound receiver arrived in Knoxville as a member of Head Coach Derek Dooley’s signing class of 2010, rated as the nation’s number 26 overall prospect and the number five receiver in his class by ESPN. In just one short season, Hunter has been making believers of any who doubted his remarkable talent by backing up the hype with spectacular play on the gridiron.

The true-freshman first found pay dirt in the Vol’s 31-17 loss at Florida on a 35-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Matt Simms and finished the afternoon with three receptions for 60 yards.  Three weeks later, Hunter had a break-out game in a losing effort at Georgia, hauling in a season-high four catches for 110 yards and his second touchdown.  It was a sign of great things to come, but it wasn’t until fellow-freshman Tyler Bray was named the starting quarterback for the Memphis game did Hunter really begin to make the most of his extraordinary athletic skills.

The talented freshman duo connected for six pass completions in the next five games and amazingly, five went for Tennessee touchdowns.  The chemistry between the two youngsters was unmistakable as their combined efforts helped lead the team to four consecutive victories and a birth in the Music City Bowl.  Bray, the California gunslinger, was never afraid to throw into coverage to the phenomenal Hunter and the touchdowns began to pile up.

The Virginia Beach native finished out his freshman campaign with a modest 16 receptions, but that’s where the modesty ends, as Hunter’s 16 receptions accounted for a staggering 415 yards and seven touchdowns, sixth best in the SEC.  No one in the conference, with at least ten receptions, even came close to Hunter’s gaudy 25.9 yard-per-catch average.  Perhaps, even more startling is the fact that Hunter caught seven touchdown passes out of just 16 receptions on the season.

Expressed as a percentage, Hunter’s touchdown-per-reception percentage is an astonishing 43.8 percent.  The math is simple, touchdowns divided by receptions equals TD/R %.  How does Hunter stack up against the SEC’s leading touchdown receivers using this novel statistic?  Take a look at the chart below.

To put his freshman numbers into perspective, had Hunter achieved just the average amount of receptions as the SEC’s touchdown receiving leaders ahead of him, “statistically speaking,” his stats begin to resemble, well, no body’s in the history of the conference.  Would it really be possible to score 25 touchdowns on just 57 receptions?  Of course it’s possible, but not very realistic, especially since the SEC single-season reception record for touchdowns is 18, now that might be something to shoot for.  Or what about the Tennessee all-time record for touchdown receptions of 25 held by Peyton Manning’s favorite target, Joey Kent?  I could definitely see that one being in trouble before Hunter is through at Tennessee.

Since the end of the football season, Hunter has been breaking records and staying in shape by competing in the long jump as a member of the UT track team.  The two-sport star performer will compete this weekend in the NCAA Championships, hosted by Texas A&M in College Station, TX.  Hunter qualified for the event in January and has since established a career-best jump of 26′ 1 1/2″ and currently holds the Tennessee freshman record in his featured event.

At the conclusion of the NCAA Championships, Hunter will once again return his focus to snatching passes from the air from big game hunting buddy, Tyler Bray, with spring practice set to begin in just a couple of weeks on March 22nd.  Spring practice will wind down on April 16th in the annual Orange and White game.

Hunting season opens in just 178 days for the Vols on September 3rd when the Montana Grizzlies make their way to Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.  With a healthy Bray and Hunter, locked and loaded for the upcoming season, Derek Dooley’s orange-cladded Volunteers should once again be in the hunt for the big game that has narrowly eluded and escaped them in the recent past.  Get ready SEC, Justin Hunter is Tennessee’s big game hunter.

Saturday Down South is continually counting down the top 20 players in the SEC for 2011 – pre-season style!

Tyler Bray – No. 16

Tyler Bray is coming off of a fabulous freshman campaign that saw him attempt 224 passes, completing 125 of them for 1,849 yards and 18 touchdowns. He did, however, throw 10 interceptions, but what more could you want out of a true freshman who only really played the last half of the season? Sure, he might have thrown the interception in OT in the Music City Bowl to lose the game, but the kid has more upside than almost everyone in the SEC. Bray was 99% of the reason Tennessee made it to a bowl game.

Bray came in as an early enrollee last year for Lane Kiffin. During that time, the Vols also signed JUCO quarterback Matt Simms to compete for playing time as well. Simms won the job early, but to make a long story short, he could not cut the mustard throughout the season. So, Bray got his shot against Memphis. It seemed to be no big deal, as he only lit up the scoreboard for five touchdowns in the first half against the Tigers. He looked calm, cool and collected, running around at 175lbs soaking wet. I’m sure he weighs more than 175, but he sure didn’t look it.

One might look at Bray and knock his skinny stature, but what he lacks in size, he does not lack in heart or arm strength. He can make all the throws on the field. Multiple times he hit the fade route beautifully, and he hit the quick post over the middle on time and looked very fluid while doing so.

Bray can come out one series and throw a terrible interception but shake it off the very next series with a 60-yard bomb. The mental aspect of the game seems to really not be too big for him. He has a gunslinger mentality, and that is just he way he plays the game – balls out.

Maybe the most surprising aspect of his game – Bray moves really well within the pocket. He keeps his eyes downfield when he’s flushed out of the pocket very well, looking for receivers to get open.

Possibly the best thing he has going for him right now at Tennessee, besides his tremendous upside, is the great, young talent that surrounds him. Wide receivers Justin Hunter and Da’Rick Rogers will be dynamic this coming season for Tennessee in the passing game. Tennessee also has a good, young nucleus at offensive line, and the Vols have Tauren Poole back at running back.

I look for Tyler Bray to carry this past season’s momentum into 2011 and really light it up this next year for the Vols.

The Countdown:

• #17 – Brandon Bolden
• #18 – Stephon Gilmore
• #19 – Chris Relf
• #20 – Zach Mettenberger

This past season on College GameDay, Desmond Howard said that Matt Simms (Tennessee) was one of the worst three or four quarterbacks in the SEC. And you know what? He’s right. Think about it…there is only one quarterback in the SEC I would take Simms over, and that is Larry Smith from Vanderbilt. Even with such a terrible season that John Brantley had, I would still take Brantley every day and twice on Sunday.

Apparently, Phil Simms wanted to “punch” Desmond for saying that when they came in contact this past week. Don’t get me wrong, Desmond is a dweeb on College Gameday, but he does make a great point about Simms. Howard put it all out there for the world to see on twitter after his “verbal altercation” with Simms.

Can you imagine Simms and Howard battling it out? Simms is 6-3 and Desmond is 5-10. Simms is 220 plus and Howard is 185 plus. I’ve got Desmond Howard all day. I would pay to watch that one.

Also, this isn’t the only time that Simms has taken up for one of his sons. On NFL Countdown, Steve Young questioned Chris Simms’ toughness on TV when he played for the Bucs.

“He grew up in a much different atmosphere, a laissez-faire kind of atmosphere,” Young said. “And I’m worried that he really doesn’t have the mental toughness to deal with the information overload that comes with the NFL.”

In which Simms promptly took up for his son at the time.

“There’s one thing my son doesn’t lack, and that’s toughness. And he didn’t grow up in a laissez-faire atmosphere,” Simms said. “Far from it. Come to my house and live around with me and we’ll see how laissez-faire it is. . . . You can say whatever you want about my son. But the one thing that will get me mad – and I’ll stand in your face about it – is about toughness.”

And Simms did get in Desmond’s face this past week. So, this battle might be coming to a ring near you. I have Desmond all day.