Trovon Reed to Auburn

Just letting you all know, Trovon Reed just committed to Auburn. He is the No. 37 high school player in the country according to Rivals.com, and the No. 5 wide receiver... And just to point out, I'm the second to report this :)  --  (Rivals beat me to it)

Reed is the No. 1 ranked player in the state of Lousianna. He joins Shon Coleman (Mississippi) and Michael Dyer (Arkansas) as the third player to commit to Auburn that sits atop his state's prep rankings. Three Mr. Football's in one class is pretty special. And the Tigers could also land South Carolina's Mr. Football, Marcus Lattimore. But we'll see.

I think Reed's commitment will be HUGE is swaying Lache Seastrunk to Auburn, if he's not already sold. 

CJ Spiller deserves the Heisman

And here's just one explanation of why, (all you really have to do is watch even ONE Clemson game - he's absolutely amazing and is easily the most dynamic player in college football. Remember Reggie Bush? Spiller is just as fast but with better vision and a little tougher), per a member of Rivals.com:

Copied from a rivals post

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Teddy Heffner on Talk Radio in Columbia makes a good point in reference to all-purpose yards in that a crappy team that gets scored on all the time with a guy who returns 5 kicks a game can get 100 all purpose yds at 20yds a return. It is a good point but it has resulted in many, like Teddy, dismissing much of CJ's production because of the term "all-purpose" that goes with his yardage and the scenario above that they associate with it.

In order to relieve CJ of the all-purpose "bias", what I have done below is take all of Spiller’s kick returns and subtract 20yds from each one. In other words, if he had a return for 50yds, I subtracted 20 and only counted 30yds in his stats. Call the first 20 return yards "junk yards" because they are common for returners, so let's not count them. For example, the player returning 5 kicks at 20 yards a pop who gets credit for 100 all purpose yards would actually get credit for 0 yards in my revised numbers for Spiller below. Fair enough?

Spiller has 15 kick returns. If we take away 20yds per return that results in 300 yds that will be removed from his total yardage below. For comparison sake, I added the stats for the other 2 front runners in the Heisman race without altering Ingram and Tebow's stats in any way. Here they are.

------- Touches -- Total Yds -- TDs--- Yds Per Touch -- Touches Per TD --

Spiller-- 177 ------ 1,494* ---- 12 ------- 8.4 ------------ 14.7 ---

Ingram--- 199 ------ 1,364 ----- 11 ------- 6.8 ------------ 18.0 ---

Tebow---- 328 ------ 2,109 ----- 20 ------- 6.4 ------------ 16.4 ---

*Note ? 300 kick return yards of CJ's 1,794 total yds were removed per my explanation above.

What jumps out at you? Here's my list...

1. First of all it is the yards per touch. He is producing approximately 30% more yards per touch than Tebow and Ingram, even when you don’t count those 300 return yards. If I had included those return yards he would have averaged 10.1 yds per touch.

2. Look at the number of touches that result in a TD for each player. CJ scores a touchdown every 14.7 times he touches the ball. It takes Ingram 18 touches to get a touch down and Tebow 16.4 touches to get one. That said, which player's hands would you want the ball in when you need a score?

3. Keep in mind Tebow’s stats include passing yards & passing TDs which significantly skew things when comparing a QB to any other skill position. A good QB's total yards and TDs typically triple those of a running back or receiver. That makes Spiller’s numbers in comparison to a Heisman QB even more impressive. CJ still smokes him in TDs produced per touch and yds gained per touch even though I removed 300 of CJ's kick return yards.

4. CJ Spiller has been hurt since game one. As a result, he has played very sparingly against teams that we blew out. He had only 5 carries against Middle Tenn St., 9 carries against Wake Forest & 5 carries against Coastal Carolina. What that means is that his stats are not padded in games we played weaker opponents. His stats above were compiled almost entirely against our best opponents in what amounts to about 6 games, not 9.

5. Building on #4... CJ’s best games have come against our greatest competition. For example, of the 3 opponents Clemson played currently ranked in the top 12 (Georgia Tech, TCU & Miami), CJ Spiller averaged 177 yds from scrimmage per game with an average of 264 all-purpose yards per game and 4 TDs. Here are his Yds From Scrimmage/All Purpose Yds/ TDs for each: GT: 156/256/1, TCU: 191/227/1, Miami: 185/310/2. Find another player in the country that has numbers even remotely close to that CONSISTENTLY against top 10 competition.

Given the above stats, I think it becomes even more clear who the best player in college football is. Who would you pay the most to see play? Who makes you hold your breath the most, EVERY TIME he touches the ball? Who steps up for his team the most in the games that matter the most? Whose hands do you most want the ball in if you have one play left in the game and need a score? That is who should win the Heisman trophy.

Another major football commitment on the horizon?

If you follow recruiting, you're well-aware that Lousianna's top prospect Trovon Reed is expected to announce his collegiate intentions tommorow morning at 10 a.m. CT. The folks at Rivals expect that he'll sign with Auburn. 

This would be huge for the Tigers, as he is the best in a state that is loaded with talent and incredibly difficult for anyone but LSU to pull from. He is ranked as one of the top fifty players in the country and top ten receivers in the country. If he does what most expect and commits to Auburn, he will come in and likely make a similar impact as Onterrio McCalebb has this year. 

BUT HERE'S THE KEY: if Reed commits to Auburn, it will pave the way for Lache Seastrunk to follow in his footsteps. The two are very close, like brothers, and say they would like to go to the same school, but that it's only an ideal. There are quite a few people who say Seastrunk has cooled on Auburn and is now looking heavily to the West Coast, like USC. I find this difficult to believe. 

This is a kid who has consistently recruited FOR Auburn in his visits to other schools. Although Marcus Lattimore, fellow top running back recruit, recently said he doesn't expect Seastrunk to "come" to Auburn, I think the Tigers are likely still atop his list. I just don't see a guy as sharp as he is forgetting the connection he has with Coach Luper and the Auburn family. I think he has planned his recruitment out very well and to the T, and that he'll end up surprising some folks with his commitment to the Tigers later. But I guess that's just my gut feeling.

But since I mentioned Lattimore, I'll also say that the Tigers are putting on a full-court press for his signature in February and are making a big impression. I think it will likely come down to Auburn and South Carolina for him. And the Gamecocks will be tough to beat.

Auburn already has Michael Dyer committed, and I think either Lattimore or Seastrunk would compliment him well, but not both. I don't see how it could be possible for Reed, Dyer, Seastrunk and Lattimore to all be major players in ANY offense at the same time, not to mention guys like McCalebb, DeAngelo Benton, Darvin Adams and Emory Blake, who will almost certainly be factors.

At any rate, it appears to be a good situation for the Tigers to be in. My prediction: Auburn lands Reed tomorrow, then Seastrunk later. And if that happens, expect four-star safety Ahmad Dixon to follow suit.

Are you ready for Tiger Bball? You should be!

Before I write this, I want to say that I really enjoyed the Tommy West vent I posted below and completely agree with him...

That said, folks, get ready for Auburn basketball because the Tigers are going to be very good in the near future. Yesterday, Coach Jeff Lebo added some serious talent to an already talented team. 

Remember Shawn Kemp - the former NBA All-Star? Well his son is also a star and just inked with Auburn. His name is also Shawn Kemp and he's going to be a force to be reckoned with. He's a four-star, 6'9" 235 pound power forward and should provide a much-needed presence down low in the post.

The Tigers also added a four-star small forward named Allen Payne. He's 6'6" and is extremely talented. 

To go along with Sophomore sensation Frankie Sullivan, senior leader Dwayne Reed, the sharp shooter Tay Waller and the magic man Lucas Hargrove (who is similar to Rasheem Barrett, only more consistent), the Tigers should win at least 20 games this year and make the NCAA tourney - that's my prediction, go ahead and write it down. 

Tommy West's Vent