SEC Coaches Make Same Mistake Again
posted by Scott Hood on Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Then there’s the new math, whatever that is.
Finally, there’s the football math practiced by SEC head coaches.
It’s different, no question about it. How different? Ten is, apparently, greater than 27, or, as I learned many years ago, 10 > 27.
Crazy, you say? Not if you’re a SEC head coach.
South Carolina’s Dion Lecorn enjoyed a brilliant freshman campaign with 27 receptions for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 31.5 receiving yards per game.
All of his receptions came in the final eight games of the season. Yet, it wasn’t enough to impress the SEC coaches.
When the SEC All-Freshman Team was announced Dec. 6, Lecorn was nowhere to be found. Instead, Terrance Toliver of LSU and Denarius Moore of Tennessee were honored with places on the squad.
What kind of numbers did Toliver and Moore post for their respective clubs? Toliver had 10 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Moore had 10 receptions for 126 yards and zero touchdowns.
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.
Lecorn had nearly triple the total number of receptions by either Toliver and Moore, yet was forgotten by the coaches when it came time to vote for the All-Freshman Team.
Better, their combined receptions fall seven short of equaling the number of catches made by Lecorn.
How does that happen? Obviously, the head coaches aren’t paying attention to what’s going on around the league outside of their cocoons.
Or worse, they’re programmed to vote for players from the so-called “big boys” of the SEC. Has the good ol’ boy network among SEC coaches finally run amok? I suspect it has.
What’s even more surprising, Tolliver was a unanimous selection by the league coaches. Did the coaches even know Lecorn was on the ballot?
Frankly, if it wasn’t so sad, it might be laughable.
It can’t be argued Lecorn toiled in oblivion. He set season/career highs with eight receptions and 109 yards on national television against Arkansas Nov. 3. He had five receptions against Clemson Nov. 24 on ESPN2.
Lecorn logged 16 receptions – six more than Toliver or Moore had all season - in the final three games and finished as USC’s fourth-leading receiver.
I guess the SEC coaches just covered their eyes and pretended it didn’t happen.
At least the coaches got it right in naming Ladi Ajiboye (39 tackles) and Cliff Matthews (26 tackles) to the All-Freshmen Team.
I feel like giving the coaches one of those sarcastic cheers frustrated fans shower officials with when they finally make a call in favor of their team.
But that still doesn’t hide the fact they blew it when it comes to Lecorn.
I’m happy to report The Sporting News got it completely right when they named six Gamecocks to the SEC All-Freshman Team, including Lecorn, Ajiboye, Matthews, tight end Weslye Saunders, defensive end Travian Robertson and kick returner Chris Culliver.
Unlike the coaches, they understand what’s happening around the league.
Unfortunately, Lecorn’s unfortunate omission is not the first time a well-deserving Gamecock player has been left off the All-Freshman Team.
Last year, Eric Norwood has 30 tackles, nine for loss, and seven sacks as a freshman. He was named first-team Freshman All-America and first-team Freshman All-SEC by The Sporting News. He was also named a second-team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.
Yet, the SEC coaches didn’t see fit to vote Norwood onto their Freshman All-SEC team.
Hey, one dumb decision deserves another.
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There’s the math you learned in secondary school.
Then there’s the new math, whatever that is.
Finally, there’s the football math practiced by SEC head coaches.
It’s different, no question about it. How different? Ten is, apparently, greater than 27, or, as I learned many years ago, 10 > 27.
Crazy, you say? Not if you’re a SEC head coach.
South Carolina’s Dion Lecorn enjoyed a brilliant freshman campaign with 27 receptions for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 31.5 receiving yards per game.
All of his receptions came in the final eight games of the season. Yet, it wasn’t enough to impress the SEC coaches.
When the SEC All-Freshman Team was announced Dec. 6, Lecorn was nowhere to be found. Instead, Terrance Toliver of LSU and Denarius Moore of Tennessee were honored with places on the squad.
What kind of numbers did Toliver and Moore post for their respective clubs? Toliver had 10 receptions for 249 yards and three touchdowns. Moore had 10 receptions for 126 yards and zero touchdowns.
Your eyes aren’t deceiving you.
Lecorn had nearly triple the total number of receptions by either Toliver and Moore, yet was forgotten by the coaches when it came time to vote for the All-Freshman Team.
Better, their combined receptions fall seven short of equaling the number of catches made by Lecorn.
How does that happen? Obviously, the head coaches aren’t paying attention to what’s going on around the league outside of their cocoons.
Or worse, they’re programmed to vote for players from the so-called “big boys” of the SEC. Has the good ol’ boy network among SEC coaches finally run amok? I suspect it has.
What’s even more surprising, Tolliver was a unanimous selection by the league coaches. Did the coaches even know Lecorn was on the ballot?
Frankly, if it wasn’t so sad, it might be laughable.
It can’t be argued Lecorn toiled in oblivion. He set season/career highs with eight receptions and 109 yards on national television against Arkansas Nov. 3. He had five receptions against Clemson Nov. 24 on ESPN2.
Lecorn logged 16 receptions – six more than Toliver or Moore had all season - in the final three games and finished as USC’s fourth-leading receiver.
I guess the SEC coaches just covered their eyes and pretended it didn’t happen.
At least the coaches got it right in naming Ladi Ajiboye (39 tackles) and Cliff Matthews (26 tackles) to the All-Freshmen Team.
I feel like giving the coaches one of those sarcastic cheers frustrated fans shower officials with when they finally make a call in favor of their team.
But that still doesn’t hide the fact they blew it when it comes to Lecorn.
I’m happy to report The Sporting News got it completely right when they named six Gamecocks to the SEC All-Freshman Team, including Lecorn, Ajiboye, Matthews, tight end Weslye Saunders, defensive end Travian Robertson and kick returner Chris Culliver.
Unlike the coaches, they understand what’s happening around the league.
Unfortunately, Lecorn’s unfortunate omission is not the first time a well-deserving Gamecock player has been left off the All-Freshman Team.
Last year, Eric Norwood has 30 tackles, nine for loss, and seven sacks as a freshman. He was named first-team Freshman All-America and first-team Freshman All-SEC by The Sporting News. He was also named a second-team Freshman All-America by Rivals.com.
Yet, the SEC coaches didn’t see fit to vote Norwood onto their Freshman All-SEC team.
Hey, one dumb decision deserves another.
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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 @.