Jasper Brinkley Finally Getting Respect
posted by Scott Hood on Thursday, June 21, 2007
The Nagurski Trophy is awarded annually to the best defensive player in college football.
I knew Brinkley had a chance to be successful when Steve Spurrier told us early in the spring of 2006 that he had to tell Brinkley to stop tackling USC's ball carriers so aggressively. I wish USC had more players like that, I recall thinking at the time.
Around the same time, Spurrier had high praise for Brinkley – he looked and acted like a SEC linebacker. Eventually, he played like one, too, finishing with 107 tackles, more than twice as many as the second place finisher (Marvin Sapp, 51 tackles).
During the Gamecock Club tour, Spurrier told the crowds he didn't know where the USC defense would have ended up without Jasper or Casper Brinkley. The twins combined for 151 tackles and 28 tackles for loss.
Here's the likely response: In a world of hurt.
I just hope the people who vote for the Nagurski Trophy pay closer attention to Brinkley's statistics as the season progresses than the SEC coaches did last year.
Amazingly, Brinkley was left off from the Coaches All-SEC First and Second Teams despite his gaudy statistics. I blame it on league politics or, worse, ignorance.
Brinkley had 24 more tackles than Sam Olajubutu of Arkansas and 22 more than Florida's Earl Everett. Both players made first-team. Incredibly, Brinkley had 43 more tackles than LSU's Ali Highsmith but the second-team nod went to Highsmith.
Talk about a lack of respect. I hope Brinkley remembers the snub everytime he takes the field this season.
It just goes to show that the smartest people aren't necessarily the ones with the highest incomes. And these are the same coaches who have a weekly poll that helps determine the national champion? Yikes.
But, hey, it's not like I'm still upset or anything.
By the way, I'm not lumping Spurrier in with the rest of the SEC coaches because they're not allowed to vote for their own players in the post-season balloting for the All-SEC teams. So, Spurrier is blameless in this fiasco.
Thankfully, the Associated Press came to the rescue by naming Brinkley to its First-team All-SEC Defense. That shows sometimes sportswriters are smarter than head coaches. Not often, I can assure you, but it happens.
I full expect Brinkley to be the centerpiece of a dominating USC defense in 2008. The defensive line should be much improved with several newcomers and the return of Marque Hall from a serious injury that ended his 2006 season after just two games.
Spurrier was clearly irked by USC's No. 9 ranking against the run last season and wants to see drastic improvement in that area. It's primarily a matter of getting bigger and stronger along the front seven. Mission accomplished.
The return of outside linebacker Dustin Lindsey once he fully recovers from knee surgery, and the maturation of Rodney Paulk and Marvin Sapp should help, as well.
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Other than the indictment of State Treasurer Thomas Ravenel on federal drug charges, here's the least surprising piece of news I've seen in recent days: South Carolina linebacker Jasper Brinkley has been named to the Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List.
The Nagurski Trophy is awarded annually to the best defensive player in college football.
I knew Brinkley had a chance to be successful when Steve Spurrier told us early in the spring of 2006 that he had to tell Brinkley to stop tackling USC's ball carriers so aggressively. I wish USC had more players like that, I recall thinking at the time.
Around the same time, Spurrier had high praise for Brinkley – he looked and acted like a SEC linebacker. Eventually, he played like one, too, finishing with 107 tackles, more than twice as many as the second place finisher (Marvin Sapp, 51 tackles).
During the Gamecock Club tour, Spurrier told the crowds he didn't know where the USC defense would have ended up without Jasper or Casper Brinkley. The twins combined for 151 tackles and 28 tackles for loss.
Here's the likely response: In a world of hurt.
I just hope the people who vote for the Nagurski Trophy pay closer attention to Brinkley's statistics as the season progresses than the SEC coaches did last year.
Amazingly, Brinkley was left off from the Coaches All-SEC First and Second Teams despite his gaudy statistics. I blame it on league politics or, worse, ignorance.
Brinkley had 24 more tackles than Sam Olajubutu of Arkansas and 22 more than Florida's Earl Everett. Both players made first-team. Incredibly, Brinkley had 43 more tackles than LSU's Ali Highsmith but the second-team nod went to Highsmith.
Talk about a lack of respect. I hope Brinkley remembers the snub everytime he takes the field this season.
It just goes to show that the smartest people aren't necessarily the ones with the highest incomes. And these are the same coaches who have a weekly poll that helps determine the national champion? Yikes.
But, hey, it's not like I'm still upset or anything.
By the way, I'm not lumping Spurrier in with the rest of the SEC coaches because they're not allowed to vote for their own players in the post-season balloting for the All-SEC teams. So, Spurrier is blameless in this fiasco.
Thankfully, the Associated Press came to the rescue by naming Brinkley to its First-team All-SEC Defense. That shows sometimes sportswriters are smarter than head coaches. Not often, I can assure you, but it happens.
I full expect Brinkley to be the centerpiece of a dominating USC defense in 2008. The defensive line should be much improved with several newcomers and the return of Marque Hall from a serious injury that ended his 2006 season after just two games.
Spurrier was clearly irked by USC's No. 9 ranking against the run last season and wants to see drastic improvement in that area. It's primarily a matter of getting bigger and stronger along the front seven. Mission accomplished.
The return of outside linebacker Dustin Lindsey once he fully recovers from knee surgery, and the maturation of Rodney Paulk and Marvin Sapp should help, as well.
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Scott Hood. Since February of 2005, Scott has covered the South Carolina football, men's basketball and baseball programs for GamecockCentral. He may be reached by email at scottblog(at)gamecockcentral.com. Replace (at) with @.