John Clay's Sidelines

Shadrach Thornton

Shadrach Thornton, the Hinesville, Georgia running back who committed to UK, will visit Georgia Tech this weekend, the AJC has confirmed. But he says he also likes Vanderbilt.

Thornton is ranked by Rivals as the 58th best player in Georgia.

An excerpt:

Georgia Tech will be trying to edge out Kentucky for Thornton’s services, although the main competition could be Vanderbilt. “As of right now, I’m really l liking Vanderbilt. It’s because of the education, and that they are trying to do something different. They are trying to turn their program around. Here in the near future, I feel like they are going to do it and I want to be part of something like that.”

After Thornton visits Georgia Tech, he will sit down with his mother and coach and go over a list of pros and cons of each of his four finalists. He expects to reach a final decision within two weeks.

Apparently, Mitch McConnell’s last-minute lobbying didn’t work.

Brett McMurphy of CBS Sports is reporting that the Big 12 has decided on West Virginia over Louisville.

Excerpt:

West Virginia has been invited to join the Big 12 Conference, college football industry sources told CBSSports.com Friday.

The Mountaineers will accept the invitation, sources said. The Big 12 is expected to officially announce the invitation later today.

The Big 12′s board of directors voted Friday morning and chose West Virginia over Louisville. They will stay at 10 schools, a source said.

On Tuesday, West Virginia had received a verbal offer to join the Big 12, but then the league put the Mountaineers on hold because the league’s board of directors wanted to perform “due diligence.”

The league was split between adding West Virginia or Louisville to replace Missouri, which is expected to leave the league for the SEC.

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(AP photo/Dave Martin)

Big Blue Links for Friday:

• Ex-UK quarterback Tim Couch sees Cats through eyes of an analyst
• Kentucky football commitment will visit Georgia Tech this weekend
• Nothing will come easy for the Cats, says Calipari
• SEC Notes: Summitt says you must have plan to fight dementia
• SEC coaches are on outside looking in when it comes to realignment
• Calipari says Cats are too young to be picked to win the SEC
• Calipari now has to start putting his top players together
• SEC’s new alignment could be an equalizer, say coaches
• Calipari wants Cats to be a great defensive team
• NBA, NCAA and conference expansion were Calipari topics in Birmingham
• UK football blackout needs full support from fans to get full effect
• “Prayer for a Perfect Season” is a must-watch for UK fans
• Antoine Walker signs with Idaho Stampede
• Terrence Jones for Player of the Year?
• At Blue-White scrimmage, Jones showed why Kentucky could be great
• 24th-ranked UK volleyball plays host to South Carolina tonight

SEC links for Friday:

• SEC website briefly posts story welcoming Missouri to conference
• Pat Summitt’s support team includes her competition
• Cuonzo Martin keeps his poise at SEC Basketball Media Day
• Tennessee’s new coach finds the Bruce Pearl legacy hard to shake
• Spurrier having trouble bringing quarterbacks to Columbia
• Five reasons Florida football has dominated Georgia
• Georgia’s Aaron Murray seeks a merry ending to Florida game
• Gators expected to have Demps back for game in Jacksonville
• Only Vanderbilt has allowed more sacks than Auburn’s offensive line
• Ole Miss gearing up for a run-heavy Auburn offense

Joker Phillips discusses UK’s injury situation and Mississippi State after Thursday’s practice.

More video of John Calipari’s post-game presser last night after the Blue-White game.

Short clip of UK freshman Kyle Wiltjer talking to media last night.

(H-L photo/Mark Cornelison)

Big Blue Links for Thursday:

• Click here for Herald-Leader photo gallery from Blue-White scrimmage
• CoShik Williams has his head in the right place
• Mississippi State football looking for red-zone answers
• Terrence Jones pours in 52 points in Kentucky’s Blue-White game
• Big night for the veterans in Kentucky basketball scrimmage
• Terrence Jones went big for the Blue
• Three things we learned from watching Calipari’s Cats scrimmage
• Calipari finds good on offense, bad on defense
• Terrence Jones says he was just pretending the game was practice
• Brand new Jones (how many more ways can we say Jones was good?)
• Jeff Goodman’s take on Jones’ 52 points (Goodman wasn’t at Rupp)
• No such thing as a sophomore slump for Jones
• The basketball Cats tease their potential
• This team is simply filthy with talent
• It’s going to be hard to keep Michael Kidd-Gilchrist out of the starting lineup
• Update with junior college offensive lineman Donald Hawkins
• Mississippi State game could be turning point for Cats

(AP photo)

SEC links for Thursday:

• Tennessee players tweet they want black jerseys for Halloween
• Auburn would like to finish grueling October with 3-2 record
• Auburn offense missing injured wide receiver Emory Blake
• Georgia’s Malcolm Mitchell now doubtful for Florida game
• Ranking the best in the Georgia-Florida football rivalry
• Georgia’s Cornelius Washington trying to put DUI arrest behind him
• Only something shocking would prevent Florida’s John Brantley from starting
• Gators simplifying their defensive playbook with Georgia up next
• South Carolina’s Bruce Ellington battling a slight hamstring injury
• Arkansas’ wide receivers are looking for more
• Vanderbilt coach doesn’t want any part of bowl discussion
• Ole Miss has a bad case of the second-half blues
• Alabama and LSU pacing themselves before showdown Nov. 5
• Pat Summitt welcomes yet another colleague at Tennessee
• Only time will tell if Renardo Sidney has changed for the better
• NCAA poised to make sweeping changes