Month: January 2021

Breaking: Former LSU five-star tight end Arik Gilbert headed to Florida

Arik Gilbert was the crown jewel of LSU’s 2020 recruiting class that featured three five-stars, including cornerback Eli Ricks

Arik Gilbert was the crown jewel of LSU’s 2020 recruiting class that featured three five-stars, including cornerback Eli Ricks and wide receiver Kayshon Boutte.

The 6-foot-5, 250-pound Gilbert was an immediate starter at tight end for a rebuilt LSU offense in 2020. However, the season didn’t quite go as planned for Gilbert with LSU’s struggles at quarterback.

In early December, with two games remaining in the season, Gilbert announced he was opting out for the final two games. At the time, speculation swirled that Gilbert was homesick and contemplating a move closer to his hometown of Marietta, Georgia.

On Sunday, Gilbert finally announced his plans for 2021. He’s heading to Florida to play for Dan Mullen and the Gators.

Gilbert announced the move on his Twitter account.

“After careful consideration I have decided to commit to the University of Florida. This is the best situation for me and I’m excited to join the family,” Gilbert said via Twitter.

The play of Kyle Pitts likely played a role in Gilbert’s decision to move to Florida. The 2020 John Mackey Award winner caught 43 passes for 770 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2020.

At 6-foot-6, 246 pounds, Pitts has similar size and athleticism to Gilbert, and Mullen was able to sell Gilbert on possibly stepping right in for Pitts and replacing his production immediately.

Gilbert’s transfer to Florida stings in two ways for LSU. First, they lost an elite talent, and to make matters worse; it is to a bitter rival.

Sophomore Kole Taylor could start the spring atop the depth chart at tight end for LSU. The Tigers could also look to add depth to the position via the NCAA transfer portal.

 

 

 

 

Watch: Nick Saban’s pitches Alabama to recruit

This video surfaced recently of Alabama coach Nick Saban allegedly making a recruiting pitch, check it out here.

Nick Saban is one of the most storied coaches in college football history with a coaching record that is just ridiculous.

Saban’s all-time Alabama record: 165-23

That is an 87% win rate in case you are wondering, which is incredibly impressive given how hard consistency can be in the college football world.

I have often wondered how Saban makes his recruiting pitches, as if Alabama needs any pitch to sell the school to recruits.

This video surfaced recently of Saban allegedly making that pitch, check it out here.

Although we are not sure it was meant for a recruit, it is fascinating to watch Saban rattle off stats like how many guys Alabama has playing in the NFL or how many times the Crimson Tide have been in the playoffs.

Now let us hope Georgia coach Kirby Smart can follow in his mentor’s footsteps and turn Georgia into the next great dynasty.

 

 

This week former Bulldogs Brandon Boykin and Chris Burnette joined UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton to talk Dawgs, their new podcast and more! Listen here for lots of laughs!

Thunder vs. Rockets: Lineups, injury reports, and broadcast info for Monday

The OKC Thunder and Houston Rockets will face off on Monday. See the lineups, injury reports and how to watch the game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder will finally see the Houston Rockets this season.

Oklahoma City’s first game of the year was supposed to be against the Rockets, but the game was postponed due to positive coronavirus tests and COVID-19 protocols in the Houston locker room. On Monday, the two teams will face off.

The Thunder (8-10) have won two of their last three games, but gave up 147 points on Friday to former Rockets star James Harden’s new team, the Brooklyn Nets.

The Rockets (9-9) have been on a roll since the Harden trade, having won six of nine games since the deal and five in a row.

Here are the details of how to watch:

Opponent: Houston Rockets
Date and time: Feb. 1, 7 p.m. CT
How to watch: FOX Sports Oklahoma
Radio station: WWLS 98.1FM OKC

LOOK: Jack Coan’s Wisconsin teammates help him move out of Madison

Once a Badger, always a Badger

Once a Badger, always a Badger is how the famous Wisconsin saying goes. That statement was personified today when Wisconsin transfer QB Jack Coan packed up to head to Notre Dame for his final chapter as a college player.

On Twitter, Coan’s father Mike shared a picture of the QB’s Wisconsin teammates helping him move out of his apartment in Madison. Collin Wilder, Wisconsin QB’s Danny Vanden Boom and Chase Wolf, Mike Gregoire, and Scott Nelson were all lending a hand:

Coan now starts his next journey at Notre Dame, where he will battle for the starting spot in his final year of eligibility.

Watch: UGA great Matthew Stafford’s legendary mic’d up moment

Watch Georgia great Matthew Stafford in one of the best mic’d up moments ever here.

Former Georgia Bulldog All-American Matthew Stafford is widely considered as one of the toughest quarterbacks in the NFL. 

After 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, Stafford will be bringing his toughness to the L.A. Rams next season after a blockbuster trade involving draft picks and Rams quarterback Jared Goff was finalized on Saturday. 

Here’s a little preview of what to expect Rams fans:

 

Just incredible commitment and competitiveness from Stafford there. He dislocates his shoulder and then lines up and throws a game-winning touchdown against the Browns in his rookie season.

 

This week former Bulldogs Brandon Boykin and Chris Burnette joined UGA Football Live with J.C. Shelton to talk Dawgs, their new podcast and more! Listen here for lots of laughs!

Xander Schauffele called out Patrick Reed after his sketchy incident at Torrey Pines

Good for Xander Schauffele.

Patrick Reed was the talk of the golf world this weekend and it had little to do with his victory at Torrey Pines but rather with an incident in Saturday’s third round in which he seemed to break the rules of golf yet again.

Reed, in cased you missed it, had an incident with what he said was an embedded ball on the 10th hole on Saturday. He picked the ball up, then had a rules official come over to feel the ground, then was able to take a free drop that gave him a much better lie and led to a nice par.

It also led to just about every golf media member and fan calling him out for bending the rules again. Even Jim Nantz wasn’t impressed and he’s usually the most vanilla announcer you will ever hear on TV.

Well, after Sunday’s round Xander Schauffele, who finished five strokes back in a tie for second, called out Reed and even the PGA Tour:

“I mean, he did everything by the book according to the official and everyone stood by there. Obviously the talk amongst the boys isn’t great, I guess, but he’s protected by the Tour and that’s all that matters, I guess.”

He’s the transcript:

The PGA Tour has always been way too protective of its players and it came out in Reed’s defense this weekend.

Hopefully more players speak up like Schauffele did, though, because what Reed gets away with is so bad for the game of golf.

Projecting Oklahoma’s offensive depth chart for 2021 season

With Oklahoma’s roster finally getting settled in ahead of the spring, the Sooners’ offense lost only one key player off of the 2020 team.

With Oklahoma’s roster finally getting settled in ahead of the spring, the Sooners’ offense really lost one key player in Creed Humphrey.

Lincoln Riley returns his quarterback, gets Kennedy Brooks back, his four highest rated receivers, all of his H-Backs, four starters on the offensive line and added two starters from Tennessee. Got all that?

Oklahoma should return to historic levels of offense in 2021. Key word: should. The last two years have seen some ebbs and flows as Riley has worked with new quarterbacks. This will be the first time Oklahoma has had the same quarterback for multiple years since 2016.

Yes, been a long time.

Add in top offensive tackle Wanya Morris to the fold and things along the offensive line feel instantly better. That is a group who needed a big anchor at left tackle like Orlando Brown, and Bill Bedenbaugh got it.

How the skill positions pan out will be interesting, but there is so much talent it doesn’t matter a ton who is on the field.

Here is a look at Sooners Wire’s way-too-early projection at the offensive depth chart for the 2021 season.

Don’t entertain quarterback competitions.

NBA Twitter reacts to Kevin Durant dunking on Davis Bertans

Kevin Durant threw down hard on Davis Bertans in the second quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ game against the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

Davis Bertans learned a valuable lesson on Sunday. The Washington Wizards sharpshooter tried to contest Kevin Durant at the rim in second quarter of the Brooklyn Nets’ visit to Capital One Arena on Sunday. Bertans was not successful in his attempt, instead Brooklyn’s star forward posterized Washington’s sharpshooter.

By the games midway point, Durant already had 21 points to his name, playing a big part in Brooklyn’s ridiculous opening half. The Nets score 71 points through the first two quarters on 57.8% shooting (45% from 3-point range). But of course, there were only two points everyone wanted to talk about heading into halftime: the ones Durant got when challenged by Bertans.

Here’s what Twitter had to say about Durant’s big dunk:

Report: Packers deny Rams’ attempt to trade for QB Aaron Rodgers

The Rams wanted Aaron Rodgers, per the Los Angeles Times. The Packers had no interest in trading him.

The Los Angeles Rams threw up a Hail Mary, but Brian Gutekunst and the Green Bay Packers batted it down without a second thought.

According to Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, the Rams “considered making a hard run” at a trade for Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers before eventually agreeing to a deal for Matthew Stafford, but the Packers dismissed the trade inquiries and were “adamant” about not trading the presumptive MVP.

The Rams also looked into Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans, per Farmer, highlighting the wide net cast by Los Angeles to upgrade at quarterback via the trade market.

With Rodgers and Watson out of the picture, the Rams completed a deal that sent Jared Goff and future first-round picks to the Lions for Stafford, who wanted out of Detroit.

This is the first reported attempt at a trade for Rodgers, who is expected to win his third MVP award after throwing 48 touchdown passes and leading the NFL in completion percentage and passer rating in 2020. The Packers traded up in the first round to draft Jordan Love last April and may eventually move on from Rodgers to start the Love era, but no transition appears imminent.

In fact, it’s certainly possible the conversation between the Rams and Packers was a quick one. The Rams, doing their due diligence in an attempt to get better at quarterback, had to call the Packers about Rodgers. An adamant denial suggests the Packers weren’t at all interested in even having the conversation.

All signs continue to point to Rodgers being the Packers quarterback in 2021.

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Steve Nash on fellow Canadians SGA, Lu Dort: ‘It must be in the water’

Brooklyn Nets coach Steve Nash complimented Thunder players and fellow Canadians in the NBA Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

Prior to the Oklahoma City Thunder game against Brooklyn, the Nets head coach Steve Nash was asked about two OKC players: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort.

They have blossomed before our eyes this season, and Nash thinks he knows what has helped them develop.

“I think it must be in the water in Canada, if you ask me,” he said. “That’s a pretty high-powered back court.”

Nash would know. Born in South Africa, his family moved to Canada when he was a young toddler and he grew up in British Colombia. Whatever water he was drinking there must have helped him develop into a two-time NBA Most Valuable Player.

He said he has seen growth in Gilgeous-Alexander, who was born in Toronto, this season.

“Shai is turning into an All-Star guard in front of our eyes,” Nash said.

“He’s taken another step — his scoring, his feel, his passing, pick-and-roll and isolation situations … He’s shooting better off the bounce than (he) has been historically. He just continues to grow and prove he’s a very clever player.”

Nash thinks that multiple All-Star games are in Gilgeous-Alexander’s future.

“For such a young career, you can see him evolving into a perennial All-Star,” Nash said.

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Dort was born in Montreal and grew up in the area. He hasn’t made as much of an impression on Nash, who just became a head coach this year.

“Dort’s a terrific defender and shooting the ball very well this year from 3,” Nash said.

The two can continue growing. Nash didn’t even become a starter until his third season, and it took him six to become an All-Star. The Hall of Famer will be watching their progress with whatever Secret Stuff they’ve got up north.

Nets Wire contributed to this post.

This post originally appeared on OKCThunderWire. Follow us on Facebook!

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