Charlie Strong
Pat Dooley of Gainesville Sun reports on Charlie Strong’s visit with Louisville: “Florida defensive coordinator Charlie Strong confirmed to The Sun on Monday morning that he was interviewed by Louisville athletic director Tom Jurich on Sunday night but that no decision was made on whether Strong will be the next coach at Louisville.”
C.L. Brown of the Courier-Journal on Strong: “Joe Headon called Strong a ‘father figure,’ and Janoris Jenkins labeled him a ‘players’ coach.’ And all the players talk as much about what Strong does for them off the field as they do about what they learn from him on it. ‘If you have problems, he’s the one you go see,’ said Jenkins, a sophomore cornerback.
Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser reports on Auburn’s win over Virginia: “The highs and lows came quickly for Brendon Knox on Monday night. The senior missed a critical free throw with 31 seconds remaining. Thirty seconds later, he watched teammate Dewayne Reed miss on a drive and saw the ball carom into a perfect position.
The world slowed down. His moment had arrived.”
Paul Newberry of AP reports on Alabama’s domination of All-SEC selections: “The Crimson Tide picked off Seven first team selections, including the top three individual awards: running back Mark Ingram was named offensive player of the year, linebacker Rolando McClain led the vote for the top defensive player and Nick Saban claimed his second straight coach of the year honor.”
Mike Griffith of the Knoxville News-Sentinel writes that Bruce Pearl wants UT to finish: “‘We continue to struggle finishing around the rim,’ Pearl said at his Monday press luncheon. ‘My job is to try to help us get high-percentage looks, and once we get the ball in there, we have to finish around the basket. If we could do that better, our shooting percentage would be up a bit and we’d get to the foul line more.’”
Robbie Andreu of Gainesville Sun reports on Tim Tebow’s upcoming trip to New York: “For the third consecutive year, Tebow will be in New York City this weekend as one of five finalists for the Heisman Trophy. The award’s ceremony is Saturday night at the Nokia Theatre.”
Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News writes that BCS title match is no David and Goliath: “It’s a nice visual, Terrence Cody as the allegedly unbeatable giant and Colt McCoy as the plucky little guy with a stone. Too bad it’s wrong. It’s so wrong, when ESPN made that laughable suggestion Sunday evening, it almost made a serious mistake.”
Ron Morris of The State thinks South Carolina might want to try the option: “That line of thinking is a bit drastic, especially when there is a solution. Of course, it would take the same kind of guile and commitment made two years ago by Georgia Tech. Plain and simple, when all else fails, go after a coach whose team runs the triple-option.”
Jeff Lockridge of the Tennessean reports on Vandy’s Warren Norman being named SEC Freshman of the Year: “Vanderbilt’s Warren Norman may have locked up SEC Freshman of the Year on Halloween, when in a game against Georgia Tech, he returned a kickoff for a touchdown for the third time this season. Or it could have happened in the Nov. 21 season finale against Tennessee, when he surpassed Georgia’s Herschel Walker for the most all-purpose yards by an SEC freshman.”
Wes Rucker of the Chattanooga Times Free Press writes that Tennessee’s staff departures could affect recruiting: “And Lane Kiffin’s Tennessee Volunteers, who have compiled one of the nation’s best commitment lists to this point, are approaching a late fork in the road. Wide receivers coach Frank Wilson and running backs coach Eddie Gran, UT’s key recruiters in fertile Louisiana and South Florida, decided within the last few days to leave for LSU and Florida State.”
Peter Kerasotis of Florida Today writes that foibles fouled up Florida: “But all too often, it felt like that wire-to-wire was one long tightrope the Gators were walking. Too many times this season, Florida looked wobbly, shaky. The Gators never seemed in sync. No, it never felt quite right.”
