John Clay's Sidelines

Aaron Dougas

You may remember the death of Alabama offensive tackle Aaron Douglas, a transfer from Tennessee, who died at a party near Jacksonville, Florida on May 11. An arrest has been made in the case. Police have charged cab driver Rodney Young Odum with manslaughter and the sale and delivery of a controlled substance. According to police, Odom transported Douglas to Fernandina Beach on May 11. Douglas death was ruled as a drug overdose.

Alabama coach Nick Saban said Tuesday: “Nothing can erase the pain of what happened with Aaron. It was tough on our team when you lose a comrade and lose someone that’s a part of your team. Certainly I think that at least now the person who did the wrongdoing is being held accountable for it, which is a positive thing. But nothing can really make that wrong right.?It is good that maybe this person will be convicted and not be able to do this type of stuff to other young people.”

South Carolina celebrates walk-off win over Arkansas. (The State photo)

SEC links for Sunday:

• SEC assistants are some of the highest paid in college football, reports Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel.
• John Pelphrey will earn $180,000 as assistant at Florida, reports Robbie Neiswanger of the Arkansas News.
• Rivals are united in grief over the death of Alabama lineman Aaron Douglas, writes Cecil Hurt of the Tuscaloosa News.
• Tennessee’s NCAA hearing figures to be intense, writes Andrew Gribble of the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Tennessee wins SEC softball title, reports Kory Keys for the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• Don’t count out Auburn football next season, writes Mike Herndon of the Mobile Press-Register.
• Cam Newton trying to mitigate effects of NFL lockout, writes Brett Martel of AP.
• Alan Faneca should have bust at Hall of Fame, writes Scott Rabalais of The Advocate.
• Recruiting OK for Tennessee, reports Patrick Brown of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
• Wingo’s walk-off gives South Carolina a big win over Arkansas, writes Chris Dearing of The State.

Continue reading ‘SEC: Conference boasts high-paid assistant coaches’

Aaron Douglas

SEC links for Friday:

Death of Alabama offensive tackle Aaron Douglas brings no answers, only more sorrow to Alabama, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of the Birmingham News.

The cause of Dougals’ death remains pending, reports Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News.

Mississippi State beats Ole Miss 7-6 to start crucial SEC series, reports Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger.

Vandy and Florida collide with SEC title on line, writes Jeff Lockridge of Tennessean.

Mark Richt moving on after Ealey, says Seth Emerson of the Macon Telegraph.

Two more Razorbacks not returning, reports Robbie Neiswanger of Arkansas News.

Will Muschamp addresses Gator faithful, reports Chris Harry for Gainesville Sun.

SEC links for Wednesday:

Best story of the day may be David Hooker’s piece in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on Aaron Douglas, the returning offensive line starter at Tennessee who decided to pack up and leave Knoxville. Douglas said he dealt with depression problems, saying, “”It was really tough there for four, five, six weeks,” he said. “I had no desire to really do anything. It’s hard to explain. It’s just like your self-esteem bubble has been popped. I tried to handle it the best I could.”

By the end of spring drills, new Vols coach Derek Dooley lost Douglas, running back Bryce Brown and quarterback Nick Stephens. No wonder some think Tennessee will struggle to get six wins this fall.

BTW, the Tennessee-Oregon game on Sept. 11 will kickoff at 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

Also in the News-Sentinel, John Adams likes the idea of Phil Fulmer and Al Gore as commencement speakers.

Kyle Veazey of the Clarion-Ledger has a Q&A with new Mississippi State athletics director Scott Stricklin. As has been pointed out, Scott was associate athletics director for media relations at UK, but his dealings with sweethearts like me and other members of the local media did not deter him from earning the top job in Starkville.

Stricklin on his job:

“I think we’ve got to start dreaming. Twenty-five years ago we had 30,000 seats in our football stadium. This year, we averaged almost 55,000 people, 25 years later. I think we need to start coming up with a vision right now of what 75,000 football seats might look like at Davis Wade Stadium. We’re not going to get there overnight. It’s going to be a process. But once you have a long term plan, then you can start phasing it in. I think in short term, we’re going to need to add some seats there based on where the demand is right now.”

Continue reading ‘SEC links: Ex-Tennessee player admits depression’