End of July brings sigh of relief
Friday 7/27/01
You can almost hear it from the mouth of very football fan. I do love baseball and "The Boys of Summer" but my heart always yearns for the fall and SEC football. Plus I do like reading the papers and listening to some sports talk radio. And they are dying here in July with absolutely nothing to write or talk about.
I guess my first take on SEC football is the same one I had when Alabama hired head coach Dennis Franchione. The SEC West is going to be a "bloodbath" this year. When Alabama hired Franchione, it brought the total of million dollar coaches in the SEC West to three with the other three not far behind. Nick Saban, Tommy Tuberville and Franchione are the million dollar men while Jackie Sherill is very close and should hit it after another successful season.
Houston Nutt and David Cutcliffe are a little behind but again a good season could put them very close to a million. The point in all this is that these coaches’ salaries are one of the biggest indicators of how competitive life has gotten in the SEC West. It is all out “arms race” hiring coaches, improving facilities and recruiting players.
It is now pretty much the most competitive division in the SEC which could be the toughest conference in college football. The SEC East is competitive but not as close as the West. Florida and Tennessee are at the top level, Georgia and South Carolina are next and Kentucky and Vandy bring up the rear.
In the West it can’t get much more competitive or much closer. Sherill has made State a regular contender and this year they bring back the best 2 running backs in the SEC and a senior QB plus they still have Joe Lee Dunn masterminding the defense.
LSU brings back the best QB in the West in Rohan Davey and the best recruiting class in the SEC. Auburn, last year’s SEC West champ, brings back a very good defense and a lot of good young talent as Tuberville and Co. have gotten their system in place. Bama brings back a truckload of former all-star recruits and with a credible coach at the helm it seems we should finally see some of their talent. Arkansas brings back a good portion of the gutty group that upset Alabama, Miss St and nearly knocked off Auburn at home last year. They also get back a load of good players that got hurt early last year.
Last but not least the Eli Manning era starts at Ole Miss with some other pretty good talent coming back on offense. Every coach but Franchione has had at least 2 years to get his system in place. It is going to be as close and competitive as it gets this year. There is going to be a lot of joy and heartbreak in the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Arkansas this year. Let’s get it started…