HOOVER, Ala. - The current Florida coach took a shot at his predecessor Tuesday, when Will Muschamp called out Ohio State for turning the Gators in to the NCAA for alleged secondary violations the past two years.
“In both situations we were turned in by Ohio,” Muschamp said during his stint at SEC media days.
“We didn’t do anything wrong. The University of Florida didn’t do anything wrong. And so we appreciated our friends from Ohio making sure we’re compliant with NCAA rules. They certainly know a little bit about that subject.”
According to reports, Ohio State turned in Florida for a recruiting “bump” between a Florida assistant coach and a recruit during an impermissible period and for a Florida player giving a ride to a friend who was a prospect. Muschamp said the SEC and NCAA found no wrongdoing.
Ohio State, led by second year Coach Urban Meyer, who guided Florida to two national championships in his seven seasons, went 12-0 last year but had a postseason ban for NCAA infractions.
Meyer told the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun that it was “absolutely untrue” that he was responsible for turning in Florida. Later, an Ohio State spokesman told the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch that it was someone else at Ohio State who informed the NCAA on the Gators.
It has been a trying off season for Meyer, who has been criticized for his lack of control of Florida players during his tenure.
Former Gator Aaron Hernandez is being held on a murder charge in Massachusetts.
Muschamp appeared to take a veiled shot at Meyer during his time at the podium in the big print room, saying a coach is “100 percent responsible” for the actions of his players.
Fun with Steve
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier added to his reputation for being perhaps the most outspoken coach in the country, saying, among other things, that SEC coaches had voted 14-0 that Notre Dame should join a conference and that football and basketball players should be given expense money in the range of $3,600 to $3,900 per year to help their parents get to games.
Early kicks
Arkansas will kick off its season against Louisiana-Lafayette at 3 p.m. on Fox Sports Network at Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville on Aug. 31, the SEC announced Tuesday.
It will be the Razorbacks’ first non-night opener since 1996 and the first opener not on pay-per-view since 2006.
Arkansas will host Samford at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock on Sept. 7 at 6 p.m., with the game to be televised on a pay-per-view basis.
In the third week of the season, the Hogs will return to Fayetteville to face Southern Miss at 11:21 a.m. on the SEC Network.
The Razorbacks’ only other known kickoff is at LSU on Friday, Nov. 29, at 1:30 p.m. on CBS.
Fear in the eyes
South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who attracted one of the biggest media gatherings, said he could detect fear in Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd.
“You can see in his eyes that he’s scared of our d-line,” said Clowney.
The expected No. 1 NFL Draft pick didn’t leave his opinions of scared quarterbacks at that, claiming two SEC quarterbacks - later confirmed to be Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson and Georgia’s Aaron Murray - were also scared of him.
Visor guy
Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze said he wore a visor as a high school coach because he “wanted to be like Steve Spurrier.”
Now, Freeze says, he and Spurrier have become good friends since he revealed that information last summer.
“He calls me his visor guy,” Freeze said.
“Hugh Freeze and I have a lot in common,” Spurrier said. “We both play golf. We both wear visors. We both call the plays. How can you not like a guy like Hugh Freeze ?”
Trainor moderator
Kevin Trainor, Arkansas’ associate athletic director for public relations, is moderating the coaches’ appearances at SEC media days for the third year in a row.
“It’s always an honor to be asked to be a part of SEC football media days,” Trainor said. “It’s one of the premier sports events in the country.”
Hunting surprise
Florida quarterback Jeff Driskell was hog hunting in rural Arcadia, Fla., with his girlfriend when he was shocked to see his name come up as a 29th-round draft pick by the Boston Red Sox.
“They explained they were willing to risk a 29th round pick not showing up to get me,” said Driskell, who signed a professional contract.
Driskell’s football eligibility is not impacted by his pro baseball deal, but he can’t play college baseball and the Red Sox are the only major league franchise he can play for, based on the terms.
Driskell, who hasn’t played baseball in three years, said, “Hopefully football works out and I never play baseball again, but it’s nice to have playing for the Red Sox as a good backup plan.”
Driskell said both he and his girlfriend both bagged hogs on the hunt.
Home again
Due to scheduling quirks, Missouri played at Texas A&M for a third season in a row in 2012, losing 59-29 to break its two-game road winning streak at College Station.
“That’s been a blast going down there three years in a row,” Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said, tongue in cheek.
“In college football, how can you play three times in a row anywhere? I whined and nobody listened.”
Hype containment
Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze, addressing the hype created by the Rebels’ 7-6 season and the school’s banner recruiting year, tried to tamp down the supercharged expectations.
“Unrealistic expectations, they always produce frustration,” Freeze said.
Big room
Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel, making his first appearance at SEC media days, said he’d been told by Florida officials what to expect, but still got a surprise when he entered the print media ballroom.
“I wasn’t expecting to walk into a room that looked like the New York Stock Exchange,” Driskel said laughing. “But other than that, it’s no big deal.”
Don’t bet the house
Beware, whichever SEC team is picked by members of the media to win the conference championship.
Since 1992, the media has picked the correct champion only four times in 21 tries.
The media got it right with Florida in 1994, 1995 and 2008 and with LSU in 2007.
In 14 seasons, the media’s pick hasn’t even made the SEC Championship Game.
Twice the media has picked teams to win the conference title which tied for fifth in their divisions: Alabama in 2000 and Tennessee in 2005.
Fashion statement
Ole Miss linebacker Mike Marry and receiver Donte Moncrief easily won the best-dressed players contest Tuesday, and it’s hard to imagine anyone from the remaining 10 teams beating them.
Marry, a 6-3, 256-pounder, wore a pink sport coat with powder blue slacks, a plaid pink shirt and pink and blue tie.
Moncrief wore a seersucker suit and green bow tie.
“Donte talked me into wearing this,” Marry said. “I was going to wear the same blue jacket I did last year, but he talked to me about wearing more colors and having fun with it.”
Sports, Pages 23 on 07/17/2013