Taking Stock Of Tuesday's Perfect Storm
posted by Scott Hood, Wednesday, January 20, 2010
It started with the reports that TE Weslye Saunders had been suspended indefinitely, continued with reports that backup QB Reid McCollum was transferring and ended about 8 p.m. or so when OL prospect Eric Mack decommitted. But there was another piece of news that fell under the radar. Hopefully, USC has exhausted their limit of bad news for the month of January.
Ellis Johnson Stays: Had Ellis Johnson left to take the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech or the Assistant Head Coach position at Tennessee, it would have been far more devastating to the USC program than any overhyped recruit deciding USC wasn’t the right school for him. But Johnson declined both jobs (as well as rejecting the overtures from Georgia for their defensive coordinator job), even though he could have easily doubled his salary. A seven-figure income can go a long way in Ruston, La. Will USC reward his loyalty? Yes. Johnson should receive a significant bump in salary and an extension to his contract, which runs through 2011. He makes around $350,000 now. Some defensive coordinators in the SEC that lack Johnson’s career accomplishments earn more than that.
Weslye Saunders Suspended: Anyone could say they saw this one coming from a mile way and actually sound believable. Saunders has the potential to be one of the top tight ends in the country but his attitude and work ethic have always been a huge question mark. Nothing he did in the early stages of winter workouts changed that. Saunders started playing well towards the end of the regular season when he had all three of his TD receptions against Florida and Clemson, but he was practically invisible during earlier stretches. Overall, he had a mediocre season that fell below expectations. During bowl practice, tight ends coach Jeep Hunter told me freshman Justice Cunningham was a better blocker than Saunders. Why? Blocking is a lot like rebounding in basketball. It’s all about effort and technique. Saunders was told after the season he had to improve his work ethic if he wanted to stick around. Will he?
Reid McCollum Transferring: Well, it’s not finalized yet, but could be today when McCollum meets with Spurrier. This development is hardly surprising in the wake of the hiring of Shawn Elliott as offensive line coach. Elliott loves the spread option, a scheme that doesn’t fit squarely with McCollum’s skills. He is a pure drop-back quarterback. The USC coaching staff hasn't hid their feelings about Connor Shaw, who enrolled last week. He is a lot like Stephen Garcia in that he is proficient both running and throwing the football. He is certainly being eyed as Garcia's successor. With Garcia and Shaw around, McCollum saw the writing on the wall. His chances for significant playing time in the next two years was slim. I look for McCollum to transfer to a Div. I-AA or Div. II school and start for three years. He should be a good QB for a smaller school somewhere. As you may recall, McCollum enrolled early at USC in January of 2008 but returned home shortly thereafter. He incurred a devastating double shot to the psyche a few years ago when an assistant coach he was close with at Summerville became one of the heroic ‘Charleston 9.’ Soon thereafter, an ex-girlfriend died in a beach house fire. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mental scars haven’t totally healed.
Eric Mack Decommits: Frankly, I don’t know how these recruiting analysts stay sane. Is it getting to the point where we can’t trust anything that anybody says during the recruiting process? Sunday night, Mack told every South Carolina based media entity he spoke with that he had enjoyed a great visit to USC over the weekend and was firmly committed to the Gamecocks. Within hours, he said he would take an ‘unofficial’ visit to Auburn this upcoming weekend. Less than forty-eight hours later, he had dropped USC and will now reportedly choose between Auburn and Florida. Again, I go back to Brad Lawing’s comment last year that a verbal commitment today is a lot like a dinner reservation. The player might show up, maybe he won’t.
The Legal Wars: With everything else going on, this one fell way under the radar but it could have implications in the future for the USC athletic department. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Southern Cal rightfully owned the trademark to the interlocking ‘SC’ logo used by both schools. This will most affect the Gamecock baseball team, which has the logo on their hats. According to a story on the website insidehighered.com, USC will not be required to immediately discontinue use of the logo. However, what it does mean is USC won’t enjoy the protections that come with federal registration of a trademark and allow Southern Cal to challenge USC’s use the interlocking ‘SC’ logo.
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Tuesday started slow but soon shifted into overdrive. It started well with the news Ellis Johnson had decided not to pursue the Louisiana Tech head coaching job, but went downhill after that.
It started with the reports that TE Weslye Saunders had been suspended indefinitely, continued with reports that backup QB Reid McCollum was transferring and ended about 8 p.m. or so when OL prospect Eric Mack decommitted. But there was another piece of news that fell under the radar. Hopefully, USC has exhausted their limit of bad news for the month of January.
Ellis Johnson Stays: Had Ellis Johnson left to take the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech or the Assistant Head Coach position at Tennessee, it would have been far more devastating to the USC program than any overhyped recruit deciding USC wasn’t the right school for him. But Johnson declined both jobs (as well as rejecting the overtures from Georgia for their defensive coordinator job), even though he could have easily doubled his salary. A seven-figure income can go a long way in Ruston, La. Will USC reward his loyalty? Yes. Johnson should receive a significant bump in salary and an extension to his contract, which runs through 2011. He makes around $350,000 now. Some defensive coordinators in the SEC that lack Johnson’s career accomplishments earn more than that.
Weslye Saunders Suspended: Anyone could say they saw this one coming from a mile way and actually sound believable. Saunders has the potential to be one of the top tight ends in the country but his attitude and work ethic have always been a huge question mark. Nothing he did in the early stages of winter workouts changed that. Saunders started playing well towards the end of the regular season when he had all three of his TD receptions against Florida and Clemson, but he was practically invisible during earlier stretches. Overall, he had a mediocre season that fell below expectations. During bowl practice, tight ends coach Jeep Hunter told me freshman Justice Cunningham was a better blocker than Saunders. Why? Blocking is a lot like rebounding in basketball. It’s all about effort and technique. Saunders was told after the season he had to improve his work ethic if he wanted to stick around. Will he?
Reid McCollum Transferring: Well, it’s not finalized yet, but could be today when McCollum meets with Spurrier. This development is hardly surprising in the wake of the hiring of Shawn Elliott as offensive line coach. Elliott loves the spread option, a scheme that doesn’t fit squarely with McCollum’s skills. He is a pure drop-back quarterback. The USC coaching staff hasn't hid their feelings about Connor Shaw, who enrolled last week. He is a lot like Stephen Garcia in that he is proficient both running and throwing the football. He is certainly being eyed as Garcia's successor. With Garcia and Shaw around, McCollum saw the writing on the wall. His chances for significant playing time in the next two years was slim. I look for McCollum to transfer to a Div. I-AA or Div. II school and start for three years. He should be a good QB for a smaller school somewhere. As you may recall, McCollum enrolled early at USC in January of 2008 but returned home shortly thereafter. He incurred a devastating double shot to the psyche a few years ago when an assistant coach he was close with at Summerville became one of the heroic ‘Charleston 9.’ Soon thereafter, an ex-girlfriend died in a beach house fire. I wouldn’t be surprised if the mental scars haven’t totally healed.
Eric Mack Decommits: Frankly, I don’t know how these recruiting analysts stay sane. Is it getting to the point where we can’t trust anything that anybody says during the recruiting process? Sunday night, Mack told every South Carolina based media entity he spoke with that he had enjoyed a great visit to USC over the weekend and was firmly committed to the Gamecocks. Within hours, he said he would take an ‘unofficial’ visit to Auburn this upcoming weekend. Less than forty-eight hours later, he had dropped USC and will now reportedly choose between Auburn and Florida. Again, I go back to Brad Lawing’s comment last year that a verbal commitment today is a lot like a dinner reservation. The player might show up, maybe he won’t.
The Legal Wars: With everything else going on, this one fell way under the radar but it could have implications in the future for the USC athletic department. A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that Southern Cal rightfully owned the trademark to the interlocking ‘SC’ logo used by both schools. This will most affect the Gamecock baseball team, which has the logo on their hats. According to a story on the website insidehighered.com, USC will not be required to immediately discontinue use of the logo. However, what it does mean is USC won’t enjoy the protections that come with federal registration of a trademark and allow Southern Cal to challenge USC’s use the interlocking ‘SC’ logo.
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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 @.