The Hurricanes have done it again, this time landing on the top 10 list of two in-state recruits: 5-star wide receiver Jacob Copeland of Pine Forest High (Pensacola, Fla.), and local talent Latavious Brini, a 3-star corner who plays at the Mater Academy (Hialeah Gardens, Fla.).

Looking at both of the prospects, they would be stellar pickups for Mark Richt and his staff. Both are Florida kids that could be huge grabs over rivals like FSU and UF (both of which were featured on Brini’s and Copeland’s lists).

Brini is a local Miami-area talent, showcasing his skills at Mater Academy. The class of ’17 corner measures in at 6’2″, and weighs an even 200 lbs. His size and length will prove to be beneficial at the next level

pic.twitter.com/XwjWHDw3dh

— Latavious Brini 1️⃣ (@Tall_Man26) June 10, 2016

At the corner position, he has the speed to cover the deep ball without getting burned (according to 247sports.com he runs a 4.50 40-yard-dash). His highlight tape is a clear indication of how hard of a hitter he is. Brini also has a great nose for the ball, constantly locating it, getting up and securing the interception. His vertical is impressive.

Much like other recruits in UM’s class of 2017, Brini would be a great addition, based on the fact that he is local Miami-area kid. It doesn’t hurt to have more local guys in the loaded 2017 class.

On the other side of the ball, there’s wide receiver Jacob Copeland, a bonafide 5-star with incredible athletic ability.

The Pensacola prospect measures in at an exact 6’0″, and weighs in at 188 lbs. His physique is long and solid, and he has a great frame to absorb hits.

Copeland is a class of ’18 prospect, who is a burner, clocking in at 4.44 in the 40. According to 247sports, Copeland is the third best receiver in his class.

Top ❗️#BlessUp pic.twitter.com/6EcWAMYVNd

— Yung King J5⃣❗ (@lil_Jabo) June 13, 2016

After watching his film, it is easy to see that he is an incredible athlete. He has fluid hips, great vision and burns past would-be defenders. One of the best adjectives to describe Copeland is “slippery” (it may sound odd, but just watch the highlights). He wriggles and works his way of tackles with ease.

He seems to be a complete wide receiver, both a burner and guy who can move the chains. He also has the ability to make big plays running the ball on jet sweep plays. He will not be taken down with an arm tackle.

Things are looking better and better for Miami in terms of recruiting. With prospects like these guys showing interest in the Hurricanes, it is clear that things are going in the right direction for Mark Richt and his team.

My story of becoming a Hurricanes fan was pretty straight forward and like many others. I was a young, impressionable sports fan back in 2001 looking for a college football team to follow. Due to living in the Washington DC metropolitan area I had plenty of professional franchises to follow but no (in my mind, anyways) college team within my “direct” vicinity or any that I had an affinity for. Virginia Tech was six hours away and in rural Blacksburg, wasn’t interested. Al Groh bored me to death over in Charlottesville with his vanilla 34 defense and grind it out running game. Maryland…. Don’t get me started on the Terps.. If the average sports fans think Miami fans are delusional and or obnoxious, don’t go to College Park, I’ll leave it at that.

So in 2000, I was essentially a budding sports junkie looking for a college football team to sink my teeth into. Here came the big bad Hurricanes into the National Title against the stuffy, boring Nebraska Cornhuskers and they blew their doors off in style, I was immediately hooked and here we are.

Of course if you know the local DC area you’d probably find the timing of this incredibly hilarious. As many of you know, the DC sports landscape is…. Barren. When it comes to a winning tradition the last twenty or so years, don’t look to the Deadskins, Nati-nals or the Lizards. So naturally, when I picked the Canes I thought I was getting at least one wringer to follow. Blame it on me if you’d like but I’ll never forget watching the Canes football program slip and slide one loss at a time back to mediocrity but that just hardened my resolve to follow the squad. Maybe I’m a glutton for punishment when it comes to my favorite teams being terrible but at least I can say I’ve been loyal over the years.

That loyalty and passion brought me to State of The U where I started out as a commenter and then decided to try my hand at the “fansided” posts. The manager for the site at the time (LT if you’ve been with us that long) contacted me and asked if I could compose a few player pieces and from there the position took on a life of its own. Five years or so later I was in the pressbox during a few games and even interviewing players and coaches after both wins and losses. It’s been a wild ride.

It may have started as a bandwagon hopping idea when I was in seventh grade to follow the Canes but it sure as heck has been interesting over the years. There haven’t been many highs (up to our standards anyways) but there sure have been lots of lows. In the end, if they get this ship pointed in the right direction over the next few seasons the feelings won’t be expecting to be great but rather appreciative of the success.

Hopefully.

New commit Markail Benton says ‘Alabama has better coaching’ than Auburn | AL.com

“Auburn’s a great school, don’t get me wrong,” Benton said. “They have a great facility too, and it’s like 30 minutes up the road so I would take a visit to Auburn every weekend. But I mean, Alabama’s got better coaching.” * * * “Alabama wins championships,” he said. “They win games… The times that I go up there now, (Foster) told me to stay focused and if I want to win championships and games, come to Alabama.”

From the mouth of babes:  Honestly, Auburn has not coached one linebacker to their potential since Tommy Tuberville’s heyday. Why any defender would go to the Barn mystifies me to this day.

10 questions with new Alabama QB commit Mac Jones | AL.com

What made you decide to go ahead and commit to Alabama? “I just love the people there. The coaches are awesome. Coach (Nick) Saban and (offensive coordinator Lane) Kiffin and all the assistants. I really clicked with them. I felt I fit the offense really well with my high school team’s offense. The people all around Tuscaloosa, Alabama made us feel really welcome. The staff and the people who showed us around, the girls who showed us around were just awesome people. I felt very at home at Alabama.”

Really good piece here from Eye Ell Dawt Cawm re: Mac Jones. Jones is a Wing-T quarterback, and though the potential is there to be sure, he’s a bit less polished of a prospect than Tua.

A year later, what was the actual impact of cost of attendance on SEC football recruiting? | AL.com

No SEC coach could cite a circumstance where a recruit was swayed by a difference in cost of attendance stipends between schools, which started paying out the stipends, in accordance with the Ed O’Bannon case, last August. Even during the barrage of recruiting announcements on National Signing Day, not one time did cost of attendance get mentioned. “When you get into something that’s kind of the unknown like it was last year and how is it gonna work, everyone gets into comparisons and all of that, but I think it’s been great for our student athletes,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “I know it’s helped their families. But really there hasn’t been much said about it or talked about it after the initial month of it”

I will fully admit I was wrong on this one (as was Saban.) One year later, cost of attendance has been almost a no -actor. Then again, take a look at places like Ole Miss, and you can sort of figure out why an extra $1700 may not have that great of an impact. That said, a little more transparency would still be nice.

Alabamas Tony Brown Earns All-America Honors in the 110-Meter Hurdles at NCAA Championships – ROLLTIDE.COM – University of Alabama Official Athletic Site

Alabama’s Tony Brown finished sixth Friday in the 110-meter hurdles to earn All-America honors on the final day of men’s competition at the 2016 NCAA Track and Field Championships at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. “For a guy who has seen pretty limited action on the track the last two years, Tony Brown really stepped up and showed what a competitor he is,” said head coach Dan Waters. “He’s an impressive talent and he did a great job this season making his way into the final here and earning All-America honors.”

The Tide T&F team had a rough outing this past Friday, but Tony Brown becomes the first Tide All-American in the 110M hurdles since 1992. That is spectacular. Well done, Mr. Brown.

Alabama Softball Coaches Named NFCA South Region Coaching Staff of the Year – ROLLTIDE.COM – University of Alabama Official Athletic Site

Alabama softball’s coaching staff was named the 2016 South Region Coaching Staff of the Year, announced Monday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The 2016 Crimson Tide coaching staff includes Head Coach Patrick Murphy (18th season), Associate Head Coach Alyson Habetz (18th season), Assistant Coach Stephanie VanBrakle (4th season), Volunteer Assistant Coach Adam Arbour (4th season) and Director of Operations Kate Harris (6th season). This is the third time this specific staff has won the award and the 10th overall for Alabama.

Another outstanding job by the staff, although some fans are beginning to openly question a staff with this talent and these results that have had such a difficult time getting over the hump — this season, particularly, as Alabama abandoned its small ball approach to swing away, and generated little offense at crucial stretches. Still, the Tide are among the best in the business, and I’m not going to criticize another 50-win campaign in an increasingly-difficult SEC.

Longtime Florida AD Jeremy Foley retiring after 25 years | NCAA College Football

“I want to do what’s right for Florida,” Foley said in a statement. “That’s why I have spent a lot of time thinking it through. And I want to make sure everyone understands this is my decision. I’m not sick. I’m not dissatisfied. I’m not getting pushed. It happens to all of us. The time comes.” The 63-year-old Foley will officially step down Oct. 1.

Not too bad for a guy who started off as a part-time grunt in the box office, eh? Foley was among the last of the truly powerful ADs who could pull strings and get things done. Noted for as many misses as hits, and his legendary cheapness, Foley has nevertheless been a positive force in the SEC, and he will be missed by the conference and by Florida.

Alabama deserves No. 1 until someone — anyone — dethrones Crimson Tide | Sporting News

Nick Saban’s Death Star continues to spin, and the Crimson Tide will seek a fifth national championship since he took over as head coach. The quarterback battle is the focus again, and this time Cooper Bateman, David Cornwell and Blake Barnett are fighting for the job. That’s the biggest question for a team that brings back big-time playmakers like wide receiver Calvin Ridley and defensive end Jonathan Allen. It’s the same-old challenge, but the Crimson Tide are equipped for a repeat.

Yet more positive press for the Tide in a season where many expect LSU, Tennessee, or a dark horse UGA to potentially unseat ‘Bama. Honestly, before the Fall camps begin, I have no problem with Alabama, LSU, or Clemson as the No. 1. All three should be excellent and all three have questions that can be answered through depth and coaching or some combination of the above.

Monte Kiffin feared for his life the night Lane Kiffin left Tennessee for USC | FOX Sports

But where it gets interesting is when [Eric] Berry begins to talk about former Vols coordinator Monte Kiffin, Lane’s father. “Monte was in the football complex and he was in a panic,” Berry said. “He wasn’t going to leave his office until the fires were out. And he didn’t. I think he slept there all night. I finally had to tell him, ‘Coach, they’re not going to do anything to you. It’s your son they’re after.'”

Tennessee is that crazy alcoholic you once dated: “I love you, I hate you, leave me alone, please come back.” The hayseeds make LSU fans look positively sane.

Boston College, Kansas lead Power 5 teams with soft schedules | FOX Sports

5. (tie) Miss. State – Index: 2.00: South Alabama, played two Power 5 opponents in 2015 and lost by a combined 89 points, is the Bulldogs opener. Later in September, MSU travels to play UMass, 3-9 last year and with only nine returning starters, in Foxborough. By far, the toughest of the four games is a trip to Utah to face BYU. The non-conference finale is against Samford, a 6-5 FCS program.

That’s fairly despicable, Bulldogs. Dishonorable mention to Texas A&M for their usual fluffy slate as well. (Someone needs to tell those fellas that only Alabama and Florida can schedule nauseous home slates and generally get away with it.)

Powerful Baylor booster confirms ‘we’d like to see’ Art Briles come back | FOX Sports

Bob Simpson graduated from Baylor in 1970, got his MBA at the school in ’71 and then went on to make a fortune in the Texas oil and gas business. He’s a co-owner of the Texas Rangers. He’s given so much money to the school that his name is on the building that houses the Baylor football locker room, weight room and other support facilities for Baylor student-athletes. So yeah, you can imagine the amount of weight his words carry around Waco, which makes his comments Monday saying “we would like” to bring Art Briles back as head coach of Baylor football interesting.

At play in Waco is the new University administration who wants the school to wag the football tail, not vice-versa, versus a divided board, and boosters/alumni/donors with a helluva’ lot of Oil Money who like kicking the Longhorns’ ass and are not eager to return to 3-9, damn the human costs. This is the most Texas of all tragicomic dramas I think I’ve ever seen unfold, and that includes the implosion of the SWC.

4 reasons the SEC should replace its divisions with this scheduling plan – SBNation.com

While talking about how dumb the Big 12’s idea to have five-team divisions is, last week’s Podcast Ain’t Played Nobody proposed doing away with divisions entirely, for every conference. The more we’ve thought about it, the more we’ve realized it’s pretty much a perfect idea. We should get rid of divisions, and we should replace them with small groups of annual rivals. Let’s use the SEC as an example, since it has the most complicated issues at the moment. (We’ll look at a couple other conferences later this week as well.)

At the risk of shouting “get off my lawn,” the SEC is not just about retaining “permanent rivalries;” it’s about a core group of schools with longstanding historical ties and nearly-annual meetings divided by geography. Any proposal which ignores that is a non-starter in my book. Likewise, these myopic proposals utterly ignore the fact that the SEC has been cyclical in its 25 years of division play: no division remains at the nadir, and even within the divisions, the power fluctuates. Taking the long view, and this is an overreaction (that also seems a much more calculated agenda that smacks of “please, anyone, beat Alabama/LSU/Auburn etc.”) Florida is on the upswing, Tennessee is returning to power, the Dawgs never left, South Carolina should be more competitive, Mizzou can likely regain momentum with a new, younger regime — give it time, the dynamics will shift again. I promise.

I’ll bump this one to the front so that you fine people can spar with the Mothership commenters mano e mano.

Urban Meyer has recruited and coached an incredible lineup of quarterbacks during his tenure at Florida and Ohio State. After inheriting Chris Leak at Gainesville, his very first quarterback commit in the 2006 recruiting class was future Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow.

His newest quarterback commit, 2017’s Tate Martell, is currently the top dual-threat quarterback in the 2017 class and further extended Ohio State’s lead as the best recruiting class in the country according to 247 Sports Composite Team Rankings. He’ll join 2016’s Dwayne Haskins, who Urban Meyer called “the best QB recruit he’s ever seen.”

So how does Martell compare to the best quarterbacks that Meyer has recruited?

If you organize that list by rating, Martell is Meyer’s fourth-highest rated quarterback recruit and best at Ohio State.

Besides Tebow, Jeff Driskel and John Brantley — who were the second- and third-highest rated quarterbacks to commit to Urban Meyer — can be considered disappointments based on their college careers. Driskel never actually played for Meyer, as he resigned at Florida before Driskel got on campus. Forced in to multiple offensive schemes that never maximized his abilities, he eventually transferred again to Louisiana Tech, where he found enough success to be drafted by San Francisco. John Brantley, a Florida legacy, was a poor fit for Urban Meyer’s scheme.

Dwayne Haskins, who holds the title of highest-rated quarterback at Ohio State currently, will lose that distinction in just a year, though the two will battle to replace J.T. Barrett.

Though Urban Meyer’s track record includes a number of high-profile transfers, he really only has one miss in Brantley. Besides that poor scheme fit, all of his blue-chip quarterbacks had impressive college careers: Tebow, Newton at Auburn, Brissett at NC State, Driskell at Louisiana Tech, and Barrett currently.

Former record-breaking Texas Tech WR Eric Ward posted on Facebook last night that he was cussed out by the Wichita Falls ISD Athletic Director and Rider High School head coach Marc Bindel. I’ll let you read it in full below (WARNING: there is some harsh language included). Ward recently announced he was leaving his position as wide receivers coach at Rider High School to coach at Elgin High School next year.

The full text of Ward’s post, which can be found here:

Today, there was an incident which I was publicly humiliated by WFISD Athletic Director Scott Hafley and Rider Head Football Coach Marc Bindel. Due to an issue that was not to my knowledge. There were under 200 kids, parents, and elderly bystanders present on the field for a NFL Flag Regulation game, who also witnessed this act. I was given permission to use the new Rider turf field by Head Coach Marc Bindel via phone conversation at approximately 4:31pm, Today June 13th, I personally asked Bindel for permission to use the turf field during our conversation, Coach Bindel agreed by sharing, “You can use the other end of the turf field while I use the opposite end for 7 on 7.” Bindel allowed me to use 45 yards of the 100 yard field for the NFL Flag Football participants, while he coached his Rider football players in 7 on 7 for 2 hours at the opposite end. At approximately 6:54pm I noticed a WFISD branded Suburban pull in and park in the Rider Athletic Parking Lot. To my surprise, Scott Hafley (WFISD Athletic Director) gets out of the Suburban and walks down the sidewalk leading to the turf field where under 200 participants, kids, parents, and elderly were presented. He yells at me “Eric Ward get you fucking ass over here!” I’m in shock and also confused that this is even happening more so that Hafley would address me in such manner in front of under 200 spectators. I respectfully abandoned my referee duties and cluelessly hustled over to meet Scott at the track and sidewalk intersection. At this time Coach Bindel had walked over from the field as well. Scott Hafley begins yelling, “get these fucking kids off of my field now!,” repeatedly. I responded, “Coach please let me explain” Scott then says ” this is a fucking 1.2 million dollar field, get these fucking kids off now, I don’t want to hear another word from you or anything you have to say, get these fucking kids off of my 1.2 million dollar field.” The 200 witnesses paused in awe and disbelief as to what just happened. I’m lost for words myself because Coach Bindel did not bother to tell the truth regarding the permission he granted prior to using the field. Instead, Marc Bindel denied every ounce of truth but did mention “I don’t think I said you can use it, I thought I said maybe the field isn’t ready.” But, why would I use only half of the field and you use the other half simultaneously when he was hosting his players 7 on 7? Assuring that I had Bindel’s permission. So Bindel allowed me to get humiliated in front of 200 people by Scott Hafley who did not bother to professionally address the misunderstanding on behalf of Marc Bindel appropriately and not in front of kids. Personally, my feelings are tarnished and I am very humiliated, I cannot believe I got cursed out and talked to like a peasant in front of 200 people. Is this what I get for pouring my heart into the kids in our community to keep them active and out of harms way through the summer? Is this the thanks I get for giving back. I am so humiliated that this happened to me. For the 200 witnesses that saw this occur, you know how traumatizing Hafley’s verbally abusive rant was. I am sorry for the parents and children who had to listen to such words like “get your ass over here now” “shut this shit down now,” and “get these kids off of my fucking 1.2 million dollar field,” from Scott Hafley. I apologize to the elderly who just wanted to watch their young family members enjoy some flag football instead of witnessing the verbally abusive rant and defamation of humiliation that took place. Not to mention, Coach Bindel shared that he never liked me because he felt that I “Never gave him 110% respect as the Head Football Coach at Rider.” Excuse me, I turned my cleats in to change lives, not validate insecurities.

This is truly a weird story. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard anything like it before. I remember Ward as not just an outstanding football player on the field, but a well-spoken and fantastic representative of Texas Tech off the field as well. I would be shocked if he knowingly did something wrong in this situation, but there are two sides to every story.

As for the allegation that Ward never gave 110%, again, the exact opposite was true during his time as a Red Raider. I seem to remember him being praised by his coaches as a guy who was always hustling. I even remember after receiving a few holding calls, fans seemed to give him the benefit of the doubt since he was at least working his tail off trying his best to make an impact even when he didn’t have the ball.

Incoming four-star WR T.J. Vasher played at Rider High School and was coached by Eric Ward last season. We will look for a response from Rider High School and/or Wichita Falls ISD and update the story if needed.

It’s the middle of June, and Vanderbilt doesn’t have a single verbal commitment in his recruiting class of 2017. Should head coach Derek Mason be concerned?

The Commodore cupboard for ’17 and beyond is bare as Mason preps his fourth class of high school standouts. Nashville hasn’t been a hot summer destination for top recruits, but history shows valuable players can he added in May and June. James Franklin had the most success on that front, but Mason hasn’t been a failure in his own right. However, as that recruit tracker remains stuck behind programs like Harvard, Idaho, Villanova, Gardner-Webb, and Indiana State, worries about this team’s future grow.

The counterbalance to the concern is simple. It’s not how you start. It’s how you finish. With a handful of major camps coming up, more recruits will be in contact with the Vanderbilt coaching staff than ever before. July and August will provide this program with several opportunities to bend the ears of some of the nation’s top players.

But hauling in early recruits can play a major role in reeling in players as National Signing Day approaches. Commits like Brian Kimbrow and Josh Grady did as much work as assistant coaches when it came to touting Vanderbilt’s praises and talking to other high school standouts back in 2012 and 2011.

So where does Mason’s empty class of ’17 stack up against the program’s recent recruiting efforts? Here’s who the Commodores have been able to bring to campus before the dog days of summer could drain the sweat out of the south since 2008.

Mason still has work to do to match his own standard. He’s responsible for a 2014 class that brought in the two highest-rated summer recruits in program history — though Donovan Sheffield was a holdover from the Franklin days. The argument against his Class of 2017 will grow louder the longer he waits; Vandy standouts like Nigel Bowden, Darrius Sims and Caleb Azubike pledged allegiance to the ‘Dores in the June before their respective senior seasons. That’s no indicator of future success, but it certainly wouldn’t look good in comparison.That list includes two starting quarterbacks (and a possible third in Deuce Wallace), a Minnesota Viking (Stephen Weatherly), and a 2011 class that set the ‘Dores up at linebacker for the next four seasons. It also included its fair share of washouts, including one offensive lineman best known for getting stabbed by a former teammate. On average, the team’s summer recruits rate out as mid-three star prospects with a slightly less than 50/50 shot of developing into a starter for Vanderbilt.

So yes, there’s some reason to be concerned about next year’s recruiting class. Mason has secured commitments from some strong prospects the last two summers, but doesn’t have anyone locked in for Signing Day 2017 just yet. Still, it’s early, and the summer/fall will allow this team plenty of chances to correct this drought. It’s not time to worry just yet, but that will change if Vanderbilt can’t lock down any new players by August.

Previous games in this series: MSU, Auburn, Syracuse, EMU, South Carolina

8:25 1st Quarter, 3rd & 5 on the Florida 49 –

LSU is running an interesting screen pass where Dural is going to come in motion and then reverse back to become the screen guy. As we’ve broken down LSU’s offense thus far we’ve seen how different teams teach their backside players to deal with bootlegs and zone runs. Watch No. 14 on Florida do what’s called a PUP technique and then be able to shake off his block and make a play. So far this season we’ve seen some teams chase the running back (EMU) and some teams chase the QB (South Carolina) but I feel like this is the best technique to handle these type of plays. Still, Dural has to come up with the catch because he can probably turn the corner and pick up a few yards.

2:32 1st Quarter, 1st & 10 on the LSU 12 –

Another boot for LSU and you’ll notice No. 20 for Florida playing that same PUP technique before diagnosing that Harris still has the ball and attacking him. This means that Harris doesn’t have time to go through a progression. He’s still able to dump the ball to Gordon accurately.

0:48 1st Quarter, 2nd & 6 on the LSU 34 –

The progression on this play is, first, the tight end, Jeter, and then outwards from there. Jeter is taken away by the middle of the field safety. Even though the linebacker is in pretty good coverage, against split safeties you can find a way to get the ball in there over the backer. Harris, then, works to the next receiver, Dupre. Harris doesn’t like that the outside linebacker is walling off anything coming in which denies Dupre a free passage to the inside of the field. Finally, because that outside linebacker walled and then stuck with Dupre, it gave a window for Dural to get into. Good play by Harris to stay in the pocket and eventually find someone. Not often do we talk about Harris getting to his third read in a progression so kudos to him here.

0:13 1st Quarter, 1st & 10 on the LSU 48 –

Harris hits Dural on the crossing route when the Florida safety, who had crept up pre-snap, gets enough depth to take away Dupre on the deep route. Harris has a lot of time in the pocket and he makes the right read although the ball could be a little more outside.

15:00 2nd Quarter, 1st & 10 on the Florida 34 –

Florida is playing a lot of one-high safety coverages so that they can stop LSU’s rushing attack. When you play these coverages, often, you’re going to have to play with soft corners. What do soft corners get thrown at them? Comebacks. Here’s Harris missing Dural wildly on a sideline comeback route where Dural is wide open.

14:05 2nd Quarter, 3rd & 8 on the Florida 31 –

More man coverage from Florida off their blitz. Once Harris realizes he can’t make a play over the top to Dupre because of the deep safety, he comes down to hit Dural on the mid-level crossing route. There are two linebackers that could be patrolling the underneath middle of the field but since Florida is in man, they are staring at the two RB’s and end up in no mans land. There are a couple things you can do when you’re in man coverage with a backfield player and that player doesn’t go out for a pass, this is not the best idea. Usually you’ll see teams blitz that player or actually drop back into a zone, Florida does neither here.

10:12 2nd Quarter, 1st & 10 on the LSU 33 –

Unfortunately, we don’t get the replay to show exactly which concept LSU is running here. The Florida cornerback runs with Dural on his pre-snap motion suggesting that Florida is playing man but then at the snap you can kind of see some of the defenders dropping into zone. Either way, Harris takes his time and throws to his checkdown and Dural gets a few yards.

7:00 2nd Quarter, 3rd & 6 on the Florida 30 –

Nothing to say about Harris on this play but I like the design of this screen pass. LSU really made it look like a regular drop back pass before releasing for the screen. Also, the middle screen aspect of it can confuse a defense. Defenses will talk about which defensive player has PEEL technique when a back swings or bubbles out of the backfield meaning which player will pick him up in coverage. All of a sudden you run a middle screen and it can confuse the defensive assignments (not that it did here, but it’s something to think about).

5:07 2nd Quarter, 3rd & 5 on the Florida 9 –

This might be my favorite pass by Harris this season. He’s reading if someone drops into the deep corner of the endzone which would take away his corner route to Dupre. When no one does, he knows he can put the ball to a spot and has to trust that his receiver will get there. Also, a great adjustment by Dupre to find the ball.

2:52 2nd Quarter, 1st & 10 on the LSU 42 –

Again, Florida is playing with one safety. The flea flicker action get the safety to come down and Harris throws it over the top to Dupre for a big play. You may be wondering why the safety jumps down when Dupre is basically running at him. A lot of teams tell their receivers not to block the cornerback in front of them because teams would rather leave a cornerback unblocked than a safety. The safety, on this play, may be thinking Dupre is coming to block him and that’s why he stepped up.

0:35 2nd Quarter, 2nd & 13 on the LSU 46 –

Interesting decision to call a screen pass in this situation. Harris looks off before coming back to Dupre for a minimal gain. It’s possible he was reading the amount of defenders who ran to the RB screen on the bottom of the screen before coming back to the WR tunnel screen.

:27 2nd Quarter, 3rd & 9 on the LSU 49 –

lol.

13:29 3rd Quarter, 3rd & 14 on the LSU 21 –

There’s no replay on this one. I think Florida is in a split safety coverage meaning that the dig or post route by Diarse is gonna be the area where you wanna throw the ball. It’s not an easy throw considering the linebacker is in a trail position under Diarse and both safeties end up squeezing it. Diarse actually frees himself from the linebacker but the ball has to be thrown a little quicker. I’ve written about throwing seams on time and this is the same thing. Harris gives time for the safety come over the top and kind of make a play.

7:22 3rd Quarter, 2nd & 6 on the LSU 28 –

Here’s where Harris gets himself in trouble. How many times have we seen him just throw the ball up to a receiver down the sideline who covered well. Hargreaves should have picked this off.

7:13 3rd Quarter, 3rd & 6 on the LSU 28 –

No replay. Harris stayed in the pocket as long as he could. Tried to make a play. Couldn’t see the route concept.

1:47 3rd Quarter, 3rd & 5 on the LSU 20 –

Again, no replay. I guess good on Harris to get to his checkdown but I can’t tell if anyone was open down the field.

13:44 4th Quarter, 3rd & 5 on the Florida 46 –

LSU is running their triple slants concept. Florida is in a split safety coverage meaning the linebacker who is inside of the third receiver has to protect the middle of the field first which opens up the second slant to Dural against an off nickelback.

11:33 4th Quarter, 2nd & 8 on the Florida 11 –

Fade route against a press corner. Pretty good ball placement by Harris but it’s really good coverage by 31 of Florida.

Cal will receive a visit from Cedar Hill, Texas all-purpose back Kaegun Williams in June when he visits the West Coast.

#Cal, #Stanford visits coming up for #TTHL #Scout300 4* RB @Kaegun_Williams: https://t.co/2lWazjOsMI pic.twitter.com/ct8IuywaKR

— Gabe Brooks (@gabrieldbrooks) May 31, 2016

A commitment on the heels of a good visit would be huge for Cal for a few reasons.

1. Cal currently has no running back commitments in the 2017 recruiting class
2. Tre Watson and Vic Enwere are juniors while Khalfani Muhammad is a senior.

Therefore, a commitment would be a huge first step towards maintaining our RB depth, while bringing in another talented player to challenge for a starting role.

Here are the rankings for Williams among various scouting services:

• ESPN – 3 star RB
• 247Sports – 3 star RB, 6th ranked APB, 353rd ranked player nationally
• Scout – 4 star RB, 294th ranked player nationally
• Rivals – 3 star RB, 8th ranked APB

Let’s take a look at what Williams brings to the table.

Right off the bat, Williams demonstrates his versatility. He lines up in the slot and goes into motion, catching a short pitch pass from the quarterback before turning the corner on a sweep. Williams then proceeds to break not one but two tackles before making another defender miss. To cap things off, he bulldozes his way through a scrum of players into the endzone.

That first play shows us many of the abilities that Williams . Time and time again we see his elite lateral quickness as he makes defenders miss. He has fantastic vision, hitting the hole hard and utilizing his quick feet to cut back into open space. Williams also shows us the ability to gain extra yardage, utilizing stutter steps and spins to give him that little bit of extra room in tight space. And even when defenders do manage to hit him, he is able to consistently break tackles and drag defenders along with him. The cherry on top is that he shows that he has the ability to catch the ball out of the backfield.

Perhaps the only areas of concern are his lack of size and the fact that he didn’t show breakaway speed. Nevertheless, there is certainly room on the Cal roster and a role in the Bear Raid for a versatile, talented RB like Williams. Aside from his Cal offer, Williams has offers from Colorado, SMU, Tennessee, Kansas, North Texas, and Tulsa. However, we should be hopeful right now as Williams has stated that Cal has showed him the most attention so far, with RB coach Garrett Chachere in constant contact. Furthermore, he has noted his interest in Cal as a top academic institution.

Let’s hope that Williams enjoys his visit to Cal.