Looking back at the 8 biggest headlines since spring practice
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Let’s review the biggest headlines from the last few months in the world of SEC football.
Mizzou loses two defensive linemen
Missouri junior defensive lineman Harold Brantley was firmly on our top SEC players to watch in 2015 list, and his loss to the Tigers’ defense is one of the bigger headlines this offseason. Of course, after being involved in such a serious car wreck, at this point, Brantley is focused on his health and resuming a normal life. We hope his recovery is smooth and successful.
Turning back to the on-field ramifications… the situation obviously hurts even more as a result of the May dismissal of defensive end Marcus Loud. Missouri has a well deserved reputation of reloading defensive line talent each year, but the losses of Brantley and Loud make the situation more difficult.
The Georgia QB battle evolves
The Georgia quarterback battle has been a major storyline heading into 2015, and it became much more interesting in recent weeks with the transfer of former Virginia quarterback Greyson Lambert to Georgia. In the wake of the transfer, the former Mr. Football from the state of South Carolina, Jacob Park, announced that he is transferring from Georgia.
The quarterback battle now involves Bryce Ramsey, Faton Bauta and newcomer Greyson Lambert with Ramsey as the expected frontrunner.
Alabama adds wide receiver from Oregon State
Lane Kiffin and the Crimson Tide offense took another step in replacing the departed Amari Cooper’s production at the wide receiver position when former Oregon State WR Richard Mullaney announced he is transfering to Alabama for the 2015 season. Since Mullaney has already graduated, he is eligible to play immediately.
Mullaney is former three-star recruit out of Thousand Oaks, Ca. He caught 83 passes for 1,160 yards and five touchdowns during his career with the Beavers but missed the second half of last season with an elbow injury. During the 2013 season, Mullaney recorded a pair of 100-yard games.
Defensive Back Shuffles around the SEC
The Gamecocks added a nice defensive back when Kansas DB Isaiah Johnson announced he would transfer to South Carolina. Johnson has already graduated and is eligible to play immediately.
After three – yes, three – Auburn defensive backs announced they were transferring last month, Will Muschamp’s defense has rebounded with the additions of Blake Countess and a couple 2016 recruits. Countess is a former All-Big Ten cornerback for the Michigan Wolverines and is eligible to play immediately for Auburn.
Mark May out
In addition to the big change for ESPN’s College GameDay broadcast (Davis in, Fowler out), ESPN has made changes to its other college football line ups. Most notably, Mark May – a source of much criticism on social media – was removed from the College Football Final broadcast. With Rece Davis moving to GameDay, ESPN is rolling out a brand new line up for this show. Adnan Virk will host and will be joined by Danny Kannel and Joey Galloway. Don’t expect much SEC love from this group…
Butch Jones isn’t a fan of ‘Sweet Home Alabama’
In one of the funniest moments of spring practice (the video came out last month), you can see Butch Jones’s reaction to hearing Sweet Home Alabama playing over the speakers at Tennessee’s spring practice.
Egg Bowl rivalry spills over into baseball warmups
Fans around the SEC are aware of the hatred between the Mississippi schools, but Mississippi State found itself in a mini-controversy when the baseball team rolled out warmup shirts with a vulgar message directed at Ole Miss. The adidas practice jerseys for the baseball team had neon dots which created phrases such as “Hail State” and “Starkvegas.” One of them spelled “F–K The School Up North” directed at Ole Miss. You can see the shirts here.
The school was quick to apologize after the news of the shirts spread, and it’s unlikely we’ll see them again.
An interesting offseason continues for Alabama
After some ugly headlines late in March (Defensive tackle Jonathan Taylor dismissed, Geno Smith’s DUI, Tyren Jones dismissed), the off-field news continued through the spring.
It hasn’t all been arrests and dismissals in recent months, however. A few nice headlines have given the Crimson Tide fans something to smile about.
In May, former QB Blake Sims penned a goodbye letter to Nick Saban and the entire Alabama fanbase. And just a few weeks ago, Saban’s daughter got married in Bryant-Denny Stadium and capped the night off with a stroll around the field in a Rolls-Royce under a sky lit up with fireworks.
@ESPNAssignDesk here's the original video that the picture came from, if you wanted to use that as well! pic.twitter.com/Cx27EIhtjh
— Lindsey Crowe (@lsgreenberg7) May 31, 2015
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
