As a UT fan, I like Lane Kiffin. Really. I do. He’s grabbed a good recruiting class in less than three months of work, and all signs point to things looking well on the recruiting front in 2010 (has four early commits, two of which are four-stars by Rivals’ account). The guy’s been getting a lot of flak, and rightfully so — it isn’t very wise to come in and take shots at a coach that just won a national title and is building a freaking dynasty at Florida.

So despite the numerous recruiting infractions that Kiffin has had to go along with the numerous stupid things he’s said, he’s just misunderstood, according to his AD, Mike Hamilton.

And while the new coach has ruffled some feathers with his bold moves and brash comments, athletic director Mike Hamilton told The Associated Press Thursday that Kiffin’s statements have been “misunderstood.”

“Everybody says, ‘Does he really understand what he’s doing or saying?’ Yeah, he does,” said Hamilton. “He might have been shocked initially or surprised initially at the attention that anything he says will get.”

Bottom line: The guy’s getting recruits, something that hadn’t been done in a while at UT (okay, only two years). As far as I’m concerned, he could rip his clothes off and run around in panties screaming that Nick Saban is a drag. As long as he grabs recruits, we’ll take anything. And then we’ll spin it that it’s just misunderstood.

[AJC]

When I first heard Greg Paulus was considering playing football, I figured it was a joke. The guy already played at Duke, so how the hell could he just pack up and head north to Michigan?

Turns out the guy was a good high school quarterback. And though he won’t be playing for the Wolverines this year — and trust me, Rich-Rod could use him — he will be playing up north, only for Syracuse, whose last good season might have been when DNabb roamed those parts.

“My gut and my heart were telling me that (Syracuse) was the best place for me,” Paulus said from Durham, N.C., during a conference call.

He worked out for the Green Bay Packers in April, acknowledged meeting with Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez about playing for the Wolverines, also visited Nebraska and said he was contacted by about two dozen programs.

This will at least make Syracuse relavant this year. They probably won’t win, but it’ll give people something to keep up with. And for Paulus, switching to football will at least make sure this never happens.

[AJC]

Lane Kiffin made some pretty harsh remarks in the direction of University of Florida coach Urban Meyer when he accused him of cheating while recruiting Nu’Keese Richardson, and one high school in Florida isn’t going to take it. They’ve banned him, as well as any bof his assistants, from their school.

An assistant coach from Tennessee, who was visiting the high school in the Florida town on the edge of Lake Okeechobee, found the welcome mat officially rolled up. Eddie Gran was shown was the door after Pahokee High principal Ariel Alejo asked him to leave.

The story doesn’t say much else, except that the principal couldn’t be reached for comment. Gran said he hopes his actions or a principal’s actions don’t stop a kid from going to college. I don’t think it’ll stop these kids from going to college — just stop them from going to UT, which, based on the few classes I took there (no, really, I did go there), can’t really be considered much of a college. Academically, y’know.

[AJC]

Poor guy. He goes to Georgia Tech, they hire Paul Johnson. He wants to play in a pro style offense, and that ain’t it. So he transfers. To Michigan. To the Big 10. To an entire conference that has never heard of anything other than I-Form sets, two receivers, a fullback and a halfback. And then they hire Rich-Rod. And now he’s off to ASU.

Odds on ASU firing Dennis Erickson and hiring a guy that runs the option, just for kicks?

[Source: Threet to Transfer from Michigan]
[ESPN]

I guess anything’s possible, even the Jesus-like saint letting a woman sit in his lap out of wedlock. This could be just another girl, but that smile on Tebow’s face implies otherwise. All this picture reminds me of is how perfect Tebow’s life is, and how bad mine is. Asshole.

[Deadspin]

Lane Kiffin has been one to — how should I best put it? — pop off at the mouth since he joined UT. He said he was going to beat Florida. He accused Urban Meyer of cheating. He stole two of UF’s players, and then accused Meyer of cheating. And then he accused Urban Meyer of cheating.

Am I getting repetitive?

Urban Meyer hasn’t forgotten about being called out for lousy cheater that he is, and he’s making it clear that he’s going to do his talking on the field this September. His players, too.

“I couldn’t believe what he said,” Florida junior safety Ahmad Black said Monday. “Not trying to be cocky or anything, but we’ve beaten them four years in a row … by a lot, too. But taking shots at our coach is like taking shots at us. We’re family. It’s definitely personal now.”

“That’s OK, because they’ve got something coming,” Florida center Maurkice Pouncey said Monday. “[Kiffin] went public with all his stuff, but we’ll do all our talking on the field. That’s when we’ll have something to say about it.”

Oh, and Florida has pictuers of Kiffin everywhere, reminding them of what a prick he is and how badly they want to kill him. Kiffin’s response when he found this out?

“First, I think it’s a neat thing that Tennessee’s logo is all over Florida’s locker room,” Kiffin said, smiling, during an interview Tuesday morning with “ESPN First Take.”

“We have great respect for Florida and Urban Meyer and what they’ve done there,” he continued. “It’s a big-time place and big-time program. I don’t think bulletin-board material makes a difference.”

We can say what we want about Kiffin. But the bottom line is that he just made this game worth watching again.

[ESPN]

[AJC]

UPDATE: Kiffin says he’s done apologizing, according to the AJC. He said he’s already apologized to the university and to Coach Meyer, and the entire thing has been blown out of proportion. You can read the full story at the link above, but like I said: This makes this series matter again.

Trying to be as much like Terelle Pryor, last year’s prized high school recruit, Bryce Brown waited as long as humanly possible to announce which school he’ll attend in the fall. And his decision?

Bryce Brown, the No. 8 prospect in the ESPNU150, will play his college football at Tennessee. Brown picked the Vols over a list of finalists that included Oregon, LSU, Kansas State and Miami.

It’s a big boost for UT, who got Brown even though Florida cheated. Congrats to Kiffin & Co. on landing Rivals’ number one overall rated player. Bigger question here: Did UT lure Brown in with their clinching, sealing moment of Ed Orgeron ripping his shirt off and running around like a crazed fifty year old man?

[ESPN]

If you don’t get the title, then you haven’t watched enough Seinfeld, and desperately need to (I’ll still say it: Best. Show. Ever.)

Anyway….

Geno Hayes, who spent his college career at FSU — where we’ll never be able to tell you how many victories he was a part of since some of them may be taken away — was stabbed by his girlfriend over the weekend. Once with a pair of scissors. Then with a knife. In the neck. Clearly a bad breaker-upper.

The incident began with an argument Saturday, and Bagley grabbed a pair of scissors, stabbing Hayes and causing a superficial wound to Hayes’ head, Carter said. Hayes got the scissors away from Bagley. Then Bagley “grabbed a knife and stabbed him in the neck,” Carter said.

The good news is he’s alive. The bad news is his girlfriend’s a crazy bitch, and a break up like this can be hard to repair.

Deputies Say Bucs’ Hayes Stabbed By Girlfriend [TBO]
[The Big Lead]

And not in a good way. Like, by a girl. By the cops. Even if they did do everything in their power to let him off and look the other way.

Mallett, according to the report, was given an opportunity to call for a ride home, but struggled to do so. He was unable to reach anyone and “appeared to lose focus on making phone calls to get a ride and would begin staring off into the distance.”

Good to know the police of Arkansas will let someone who’s so incoherent he can’t even call a friend, call a friend. Bobby Petrino was interviewing for other jobs, and couldn’t be reached for comment.

[The Big Lead]

Mike Leach was the subject of many coaching rumors this year, but it appears he’ll be staying put for the next five years, and he’s got close to 13 million reasons to celebrate. He’ll have a job on his hands next year with the losses of Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, but I figure that offense will work against any defense not named Oklahoma.

It’ll be hard to stay in the national title talk next year; Texas returns McCoy and bunches, and Oklahoma will probably be everyone’s preseason No. 1 or No. 2. Couple that with the fact that Ok. State should be better, and the Big 12 will be a tough division to compete in.