TheMatadorSports

If you missed the Tim Tebow Super Bowl commercial, check it out. Not as controversial as some previously suggested. However, what are your thoughts about Pam getting jacked up by Timmy?

Florida State never really had the 2006 Emerald Bowl Trophy

It’s official. The Florida State Seminoles will be forced to vacate 12 of its wins, five from the 2006-07 season and seven from the 2007-08 season. As part of the NCAA’s punishment, the school will be required to forfeit any trophies won during those seasons. Not that it’s an eye stopper at the Rick Losco Trophy Room, but this means the school must return its Emerald Bowl trophy back to the appropriate sponsor.

Other teams facing sanctions were men’s and women’s basketball, track, and softball. Over 61 student athletes were implicated in this academic cheating scandal which will undoubtedly leave a lasting scar on the Seminoles and their reputation in the ACC and the entire NCAA community.

Bobby Bowden could not be reached for comment, but his all time winning record has now dropped to 377.

Willy Korn's Leaving Clemson For Marshall

Clemson backup QB Willie Korn is leaving the football program for Marshall. Korn, a redshirt sophomore, came to Clemson in 2007 as one of the most prized QB recruits in history. Then-coach Tommy Bowden had so much faith in Korn that he and his coaching staff did not go after another QB in that recruiting class.

Unfortunately, Korn’s career at Clemson has been plagued with injuries which left him too far behind on the depth chart. As a result, he has never been able to recover. His fate was sealed when redshirt freshman Kyle Parker beat him out for the starting job during summer workouts.

It’s hard to root against the kid as he’s very charismatic and has a great work ethic. The Clemson sports community will miss Korn, but he’ll have their full support at Marshall.

QB Prodigy Sills Gives Verbal Commit To USC

Lost in USC’s signing day madness was David Sills’ verbal commit to the Trojans. Unlike the rest of USC’s current recruiting  class, Sills will be arriving on campus in 2015. In the last 48 hours, the QB from Delaware has become the most popular teenager in the country outside of the Jonas Brothers. Sills and his family headed to Manhattan Friday morning for a guest appearance on Good Morning America.

Call me crazy but isn’t 13 a little too young for a kid to know where he wants to go play college ball? Nevermind the fact that Lane Kiffin may not even be there in 5 years to welcome Sills with open arms. Either way, the press that Sills and USC is  getting by his announcement is priceless. College coaches from all over the country will be flocking en masse to Delaware to see what the kid’s about.

U.S. Army-American Victor Hampton Arrested

On Wednesday, CB Victor Hampton signed his letter of intent and became a part of South Carolina’s 2010 impressive recruiting class. On Friday, he signed his intake papers at Darlington County Jail for underage drinking becoming a part of a growing number of athletes landing behind bars.

In the aftermath of his signing celebration, this four-star recruit decided to take his own party to school and celebrate by getting his drink on in homeroom. Much to the dismay of school officials, the authorities were contacted and arrived at the scene were Hampton was arrested. To add to the embarrassment, Hampton was paraded around Darlington High School in cuffs as the officers worked their way back to their police cruiser.

Now underage drinking shouldn’t be a shocker, but to be drinking on a Friday morning in class is taking it a bit too far. Although, in Hampton’s defense, he’s had no stability during his high school days. He’s attended four schools in four years, he was dismissed from his last high school football team, and worst of all, he missed an opportunity to be a Florida Gator.

Hampton was all set to sign on the dotted line, but the Gators stopped recruiting him because of his lack of discipline and his poor grades. Yes, his poor grades! Even Florida has to set some standards regardless of how low they are. But for an institution that focuses on sports first, Hampton’s SATs must have been atrocious for the Gators to drop their interest. Read the rest of this entry →

It's going to be a weekend filled with snow

For my readers on the east coast and especially in Washington, D.C., brace for a whopper of a snowstorm. Apparently D.C. is going to get hit with 18-24 inches of snow in the next two days. So if you happen to be stuck in Reagan National Airport on your way to South Florida for the Super Bowl, here are a few links to help you pass the time while you scarf down a Five Guys Burger and top it off with a treat from Cinnabon:

It looks like Lane Kiffin dropped to a new low. He just recruited a 13 year old football player to play for USC in 2015. Talk about taking a gamble! This kid isn’t even in high school. I don’t care how athletic he is, he is only 13. I’m not sure what the laws are in Delaware, but is an adult even allowed to call a 13 year old? That just doesn’t seem right.

RichRod continues to recruit outstanding citizens. He’s surely done what he sought out to do, making a name for himself in Ann Arbor.

Is the other USC going to make some noise in the SEC this season? Did you know that the Gamecocks have never participated in the SEC Title game.  With the addition of RB sensation Marcus Lattimore and a top 30 recruiting class maybe tomorrow will be a lot better than yesterday.

The old man still has it. Penn State boasts a top ten recruiting class and garnered the best QB group nationally with top prospect Paul Jones headlining the gunslingers.

And if your flight just got cancelled and your standing in the customer service line waiting to rebook, bug the guy in front of you and tell him we need a college football playoff!

#35, the greatest Cavalier ever

The Matador would like to pay special tribute to Virginia great “Bullet Bill” Dudley who sadly passed away today in a Lynchburg hospital. Dudley was a legend on the gridiron and was arguably the greatest player to ever wear the orange and blue. He was a record setting Cavalier finishing 5th in the 1941 Heisman race. That season, he was a consensus All-American scoring 18 TDs, 23 PATs, and 1 FG. He was the first Cavalier to have his number retired (#35) and the first to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

After college, Dudley joined the Air Force and then returned to football a few years later. He was the #1 pick in the 1943 NFL draft for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He went on to Pro Football Hall of Fame career.

His legacy will always be remembered and it will continue to be honored annually through the Dudley Award which is given every year to the best college football player in the state of Virginia.

Zook has plenty to ponder after having his worst recruiting class in Illinois

Ron Zook is known for his ability to recruit the nation’s top talent such as Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn. However, his demise, as fans will proclaim, has always been his coaching and play calling. Well it looks like his recruiting finally caught up to his coaching. This year, the Ilini finished the recruiting season with one of its worst classes ever. Rivals.com ranked the class at 70 while Scout.com had them a bit higher at 60. Even so, it was a poor showing for Zook and the Big 10.

An obvious explanation for the poor recruiting is the Illini’s record this past decade. Last season the Illini were a disdainful 3-9.  During Zook’s five year tenure, he amassed a combined record of 18-30 (.375). In his defense, he inherited an awful team from Ron Tuner that went  3-8 in 2004. But regardless, these are hardly the numbers that sway top recruits.

Additionally, kids want to be on TV and win bowl games. The last bowl game Illinois won was the  MicronPC bowl in 1999. The drought is taking its toll, not only on the fans, but on high school athletes that never see Illinois on TV and when they do, they usually get spanked. Read the rest of this entry →