The college football offseason very easily becomes “police blotter season,” as young men get into all sorts of trouble and drive their coaches crazy. The past week of news wasn’t entirely limited to that realm of activity, but it certainly featured a number of unsavory incidents. What is especially noteworthy is how these occurrences might change the way programs enter the season in September.
Former South Florida Defense End Arrested Again
It’s been a rough month for former South Florida defensive end LaDarrius Jackson. For the second time this month, he was arrested for sexual assault. The charges will be sexual batter and false imprisonment, which is related to an incident that occurred in March.
After appearing at a hearing for the first sexual assault last week, he was then charged again this week. Apparently, he hasn’t learned his lesson.
Head coach Charlie Strong, who is new to the program, was called out in the court. The prosecutor, mostly for effect, hoped that Strong would not allow this to become the culture of the team. However, Strong appears to be on the same page here as he dismissed Jackson after his first incident.
One thing that isn’t often a concern with Strong’s football teams is character. He struggled to win at Texas but the team was fairly clean off the field. The same should be the case in South Florida and Jackson appears to be one bad apple.
Josh Smith Of Tennessee Arrested
The Tennessee Volunteers needed a smooth offseason. More than that, they needed to show that their skill-position players were ready to step up, given the departure of quarterback Josh Dobbs, the team’s most important offensive player in 2016. Tennessee needs its non-quarterback playmakers to carry the offensive workload in 2017. This is how embattled coach Butch Jones could potentially survive the coming season and work into 2018 with his job intact. This basic plan took a hit last week when receiver Josh Smith was arrested. This hangs another question over the program and makes it harder to expect that Tennessee will get the most out of its wide receiver corps.
SEC Network Worth Four Times More Than Big Ten Network
There is a lot of discussion about the future of various conference TV networks after all the layoffs at ESPN, which have created concerns about the amount of TV rights fees the conferences can expect in the future. With this in mind, it is notable that SEC Network was valued last week as being worth four times as much as Big Ten Network. ESPN’s properties might not all be in good shape, but the SEC Network certainly is. If any conference in college football will not suffer in terms of rights fees and related TV income, the SEC is number one.
Holyfield of Georgia Arrested
When Georgia plays this season, it will have two quality veteran running backs: Sony Michel and Nick Chubb. When those players go to the NFL, the 2018 Dawgs will need reinforcements at running back. Therefore, the arrest of running back Elijah Holyfield last week is a very discouraging moment for head coach Kirby Smart. Forget the fact that Holyfield is related to former world heavyweight boxing champion and Atlanta favorite Evander Holyfield. The more important story beyond the level of celebrity involved is that Georgia’s future has been hampered. The extent of the damage is something we won’t know until the running back picture becomes clearer in the spring and summer of 2018.
Colt Lyerla Escapes Prison
When a football player shows speed, it is generally a good thing, but that’s not the case when the player shows speed by breaking out of prison. That’s what former Oregon football player Colt Lyerla did last week. Of all the incidents on this list, this one will not affect Oregon football in any meaningful way. Yes, it’s an embarrassment, but current football coach Willie Taggart has no part in this development. It’s a headline grabber because of how dramatic a story it is, but it won’t go anywhere beyond that.
Click here to bet on the college football futures for the 2017 college football season right now. DSI will have all of the latest lines, spreads and props for this year’s action!
