NCAA Football News

Put on your recruiting hats, boys and girls—the 2013 National Signing Day is fast approaching, and it’s time to predict how things will shake out among a few of the nation’s top recruits.

Robert Nkemdiche:

A former Clemson commit, Nkemdiche is the nation’s No. 1 recruit (according to ESPN) and the one whose college choice appears the most clear.

Nkemdiche has offers from all across the nation (including schools like Alabama and Florida), but all signs point to the talented defensive end choosing to play his college ball at Ole Miss.

Nkemdiche recently cancelled his planned trip to LSU, and he has strong family ties to Ole Miss. His brother, Denzel Nkemdiche, plays linebacker for the Rebels, and it appears that Robert is ready to follow in his footsteps.

His father recently told Rivals’ Neal McCready (per AL.com’s Mike Herndon):

I like Ole Miss because the program is on the rise and they have a very good coach. They're having success now. I'm very familiar with the coaching staff. I don't know much about Florida's coaches. I know it's a very good program, but I don't know much about it.

Nkemdiche has the potential to be a dominant lineman at the next level. He’d be a huge get for the Rebels.

Prediction: Ole Miss

Mackensie Alexander:

One of the top cornerbacks in the nation, Alexander’s choice is a bit trickier to peg.

Once a Tennessee commit, Alexander decommitted back in March and has had schools hot on his tail ever since.

Mackensie has visited four schools (according to ESPN)—Auburn, Mississippi State, Clemson and Texas A&M. He was originally thought to be a package deal with his brother Mackenroe, a safety with offers from Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

However, ESPN.com's Mitch Sherman has reported that the two are leaning towards separate schools, which blows Mackensie’s recruiting wide open and gives a slight edge to Auburn.

Mackensie just visited Auburn and came away impressed, telling Auburn Undercover (per Auburn Authority’s James Crepea):

It was a good visit. I enjoyed it. Great people. It was a great experience for me to be here. I chose to come here and I was really impressed.

Again, this one will be close, but it looks like the Auburn Tigers are set to snag another big-time recruit.

Prediction: Auburn

Laremy Tunsil:

Tunsil is the top offensive line recruit in the nation (per ESPN) and is down to just three schools—Alabama, Georgia and Ole Miss.

Just a few weeks ago, Georgia and Alabama were considered “out in front by what seemed to be a considerable margin” (per ESPN.com’s Derek Tyson), but a recent visit to Ole Miss has seemingly left Tunsil at an impasse.

He told ESPN (per the Jackson Clarion-Ledger’s Hugh Kellenberger):

I’m confused right now. I really don’t know what I’m going to do. I think it’s going to be like a last-minute thing, like when I wake up the morning of signing day, the first team on my mind is probably going to be the college I pick.

While normally it’s never wise to pick against Nick Saban, this might just be the exception. Ole Miss is picking up a lot of steam among the top recruits, and Tunsil’s most recent impression is likely to be the strongest and the most memorable.

Prediction: Ole Miss

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In the wake of what every Trojan fan would admit was a very disappointing 2012 football season, many of those who follow USC have passed the offseason engaging in the bashing of head coach Lane Kiffin.

The screams calling for Kiffin's job have reached a crescendo with nary a day going by where someone isn't questioning his ability to lead the Trojans in 2013 and beyond.

Of course, "Kiffin bashing" is not a new phenomenon. Perhaps the most hated coach in the United States, those who have spit venom at Kiffin are numerous and can be found from coast-to-coast.

But what is fairly new is the inordinate number of Trojan fans who have joined the bandwagon calling for his job.

Naturally, this is to be expected when a preseason No. 1 team—such as USC was in 2012—falls flat on their collective faces by posting a pathetic 7-6 record.

Now many Trojan fans are saying that Kiffin can't coach and are blaming him for everything from USC's futility to starving children in Africa.

Interestingly, these same fans were rather enamored with their embattled coach in 2011, when he led the Trojans to a 10-2 record, but that is another story.

This slide show will look at the reasons why these fans—and the haters around the country—are wrong about Lane Kiffin.

Like its coach, USC will be back in 2013, and those claiming the sky is falling for the Trojans will find a smile creeping back on their faces next season.

Here are the reasons why...

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I thought I had a wild college experience. I really did.

I honestly went after it with a zealous fervor and tried to get myself into as many weird and strange situations as possible.

But nothing I did is even close to messing with the kind of legendary material Texas A&M star quarterback Johnny Manziel is putting out right now. Not even that one thing with the peanut butter and the alpacas.

He’s a young superstar who has embraced his fame and still continues to pump out college-age ridiculousness in spite of the saturating press coverage that's dumped upon his every move.

Johnny Football isn’t bowing to the quiet “read a chapter of The Boxcar Children and go to bed early” mold most young athletes embrace after rising into the eye of the national media.

Nope, Johnny Manziel is still enjoying his time in school and isn’t in any rush to be someone he’s not. And between his fame and love for living it up, his college glory days are utterly demolishing yours.

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With National Signing Day 2013 quickly approaching, which schools are in trouble as the deadline nears?

According to Scout.com, Michigan comes in as the number one recruiting class with Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Ohio State, and LSU rounding out the top five.  

While teams continue to shift in the rankings and make the final push to boost their rankings, three programs are in trouble.  

USC, Oregon, and Florida State, typically strong recruiting schools, are in trouble heading toward the deadline.  

USC Trojans

According to Scout.com, USC currently has the highest average star rating out of any team in the country with 4.46 stars.  But, USC only has 13 recruits, which skews that average star rating.  

Nonetheless, 13 recruits who are all four and five star players is impressive.  But the Trojans are still in trouble as the deadline approaches. 

According to Rivals.com, USC had already landed 18 recruits in July and found themselves sitting at the top of the Rivals recruiting team rankings.  The Trojans had everything set in place.  They had a number one recruiting class, a number one ranked team, and a national championship run in sight.  

Then disappointment set in.  

USC struggled all season long, finishing 8-5.  Head coach Lane Kiffin and his staff sat on the hot seat. Kiffin is still around, but has lost most of his defensive coaches including Monte Kiffin and Marvin Sanders.  

With the losses of coaches on the defensive side, USC lost five commits on defense and six commits overall.  

According to Gary Klein of the L.A. Times, "Hatcher would be the sixth player who orally committed to the Trojans to reopen his commitment, following safety Max Redfield, receiver Eldridge Massington, defensive lineman Eddie Vanderdoes, defensive back/receiver Sebastian LaRue and defensive lineman Kylie Fitts."

USC may lose more recruits, and they will not be able to recover from the losses.  

The Trojans will have a strong talent pool of players. But with a low number of recruits, if they continue to lose, the Trojans are in trouble.  

Oregon Ducks

Chip Kelly is finally done flirting with the NFL.  Kelly made the jump to become the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.  

Kelly's decision to dive into the world of NFL coaching hinders Oregon's recruiting. But, Kelly's indecisiveness and wavering throughout the season slowed the Ducks recruiting prior to the big announcement.

According to Bud Elliott of SB Nation, "Oregon really didn't have much to lose. Oregon's class numbers just 13, and of those, only six are consensus rated four-stars or better. Hardly a recruiting class of a consistent national title contender."

Oregon should not have much of a drop off since Kelly's flirtation with the NFL already left its mark on this year's recruiting class.

But now Oregon has little time to recover and is without the face of their program for the last four years.

Two other fairly strong football schools in recent years lost their head coaches, Tennessee and Auburn, and then plummeted in recruiting.

Oregon will not drop as much as these two schools.  

But Kelly's indecisiveness and sudden departure has left new head coach Mark Helfrich and the Oregon Ducks struggling as the signing day deadline approaches.  

Florida State Seminoles

 Florida State is the top ranked recruiting class out of the ACC, but sits at number 21 on Scout.com's list.

The Seminoles have a stacked defensive class thanks to the recruiting power of new defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.  

Offensive coordinator James Coley left the Seminoles for the Miami Hurricanes offense.  Coley was arguably the Seminoles top recruiter, and many players have ties to him.

Coley's loss could spell a loss of recruits on offense as national signing day approaches.  

According to Dallas Jackson of Rivals.com, "Four targets, in particular, may have been rattled by the turnover."

The coaching change has left offensive tackle Austin Golson, defensive end Davin Bellamy, cornerback Marquez White, and running back Alex Collins to reconsider their commitment to FSU.  

Florida State still has one of the higher ranked recruiting classes, but they still have a ways to go. Within the ACC, Florida State is at the top, but in comparison to other teams in the almighty SEC, Big Ten, and Pac-12, the Seminoles have more work to do.

With time running out before National Signing Day 2013, the Seminoles could be in trouble.   

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The Florida State Seminoles have lost the commitment of 4-star offensive tackle Austin Golson.

This is a rather sizable recruiting loss for Jimbo Fisher and the Seminoles, but Florida State's loss could ultimately be the SEC's gain.

Corey Dowlar of ESPN.com reports on Golson's decommitment. The 4-star recruit is reportedly uncertain about whether or not Florida State is still in the running, but a few SEC schools certainly seem to be, per Dowlar's report:

Golson made an official visit to Ole Miss, now considered the frontrunner for Golson, earlier this month. He just finished his trip to FSU this past weekend. Golson has also made an official visit to Alabama and previously had one planned for Auburn this upcoming weekend, but that could be on hold. 

It's worth noting and repeating that Florida State isn't officially out of the running for Golson just yet, but for all intents and purposes this looks like the SEC's recruiting race to lose from here on out.

Specifically for Ole Miss, landing the now former Florida State recruit would be a huge win.

Golson is 6'6'', 285 and he's ranked as the No. 8 offensive tackle in the 2013 class according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. He projects to be extremely talented at the college level, and at the very least he has incredible potential.

The Rebels are easily one of the hottest recruiting programs in the country right now, and elite recruits are considering Ole Miss to be a major option. Ole Miss just recently landed 5-star wideout Laquon Treadwell, and its considered to be the unofficial favorite for No. 1 overall recruit Robert Nkemdiche.

Landing Golson would be yet another big recruiting win for Ole Miss, and it would be a statement commitment for Hugh Freeze and his staff. At least for now, the Rebels appear to be in the lead. They are the leader on his 247Sports interest list, followed by Florida State.

There's also Alabama and Auburn to consider here, and the Tigers could end up playing a major factor if he does indeed go through with his scheduled official visit. If not, I still wouldn't count out either Nick Saban or new Auburn coach Gus Malzahn on the recruiting trail. Malzahn is slowly but surely salvaging Auburn's recruiting class and Saban's prestige on the recruiting trail speaks for itself.

Florida State isn't officially out of the running just yet, but the odds are stacked against them.

The chances seem rather slim that Golson ends up playing football in any other conference but the SEC.

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College football has become a multimillion dollar business that is driven by television contracts and bowl revenues. One group that reaps the rewards of the modern business model that drives football is the coaches. 

Over the past few decades college football coaching has become one of the more lucrative careers in sports. With the increase of revenue has come a group of overpaid coaches. This is a look at the 10 guys that should feel bad for taking home the cheddar that they do. 

It is a widespread epidemic across the game where teams are under the assumption that they must pay top dollar for unproven coaching talent. Others overpay coaches past their prime. This is an evaluation of coaches that need their contract reviewed this summer. 

***Salary information from USA Today 

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An unfortunate casualty of the latest round of college football realignment was the cancellation—at least for the time being—of the Texas vs. Texas A&M rivalry in football.

But that rivalry may be renewed in the future, according to a bill filed in the Texas House of Representatives by Rep. Ryan Guillen (h/t: Clay Travis of OutkickTheCoverage.com).

Just filed HB 778; it requires UT and A&M to play each other annually in a nonconference, regular season football game bit.ly/T24EvW

That bill would require the two football programs to meet on the gridiron every year.

And on cue, critics voice their displeasure.

"Doesn't the government have anything better to do?"

Just stop.

Yes, the government has a laundry list of things that should—and do—take priority over ensuring that football rivalries are played. But as Travis points out, government was needed to keep or restart the Iron Bowl, South Carolina/Clemson and Kentucky/Louisville, to name a few rivalries.

But keeping the rivalry going helps the state economy, encourages state pride and gives casual fans something to identify with.

Plus, it's not necessarily something that takes up a lot of time anyway.

The bottom line: Whether it's something that's agreed upon by the two institutions or mandated by the State of Texas, the two programs need to get the rivalry going again—for college football's sake.

Texas and Texas A&M have played 118 times since 1894, with the Longhorns holding a 76-37-5 advantage over the Aggies. Texas won the last meeting between the two teams in 2011; Justin Tucker hit a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give the Longhorns a 27-25 win in College Station.

Plus, think about how much has changed since then.

The Aggies stepped out of the shadow of the Longhorns in 2012, going 11-2 in their first season in the SEC and producing the first redshirt freshman to ever win the Heisman Trophy in quarterback Johnny Manziel.

They've emerged as one of the hot up-and-coming programs in college football and look to continue that momentum this offseason with one of the top recruiting classes in the country.

Meanwhile, Texas is rebuilding, but certainly still playing the "big brother" role in the state.

Why not put state pride on the line on an annual basis? If it's that big of a deal, settle it. Every year. Don't just live off history.

Tradition is the foundation of college football. While several of those traditions are being stripped away as the game evolves into the new era of big bucks and a four-team playoff, some of those traditions need to be preserved.

The Lone Star Showdown is one of them. 

Good for Guillen for kick-starting the process. Whether it's accomplished via the institutions themselves or mandated by the state, these two teams need to get back together.

Follow @BarrettSallee

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