The scoop
Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin said Monday that the university is gathering facts after a report that quarterback Johnny Manziel was paid for signing hundreds of autographs in January. Sumlin said he first learned of the situation on Sunday.
Speaking to the media before the Aggies opened camp, Sumlin said he would not speculate whether Manziel will be his starter when the season begins Aug. 31 against Rice. Sumlin also said starting defensive tackle Kirby Ennis, who was arrested in February on a weapons charge, will be suspended for the Rice game.
Vegas oddsmakers have taken note: Their consensus opinion is that Manziel is worth 7 points per game (favored by 8 points against Rice with him; favored by 1 point without him).
Remember the name: Gators cornerback Louchiez Purifoy hears it all, yet he insists he listens to none of it.
Purifoy’s experiment this past spring at wide receiver and his rise up NFL draft boards made for good offseason chatter. “I’m tired of all the hype,” he said.
Looking for playmakers on offense, coaches gave Purifoy a look at receiver and liked what they saw.
Purifoy is 6 feet and 190 pounds with 4.3-second speed in the 40-yard dash. Last season he had 51 tackles, five pass breakups and excelled on special teams, where he forced three fumbles and blocked two kicks.
NCAA hanging around: In recent weeks, the commissioners of three of the most prominent conferences in college sports, including the SEC's Mike Slive, have publicly mused about how the five most powerful leagues might be forced to create their own division in order to govern themselves.
When it comes to football, however, the commissioners of the other five conferences in the Football Bowl Subdivision do not seem eager to see a split.
The 10 conferences in the FBS signed a 12-year, $5.5 billion deal late last year agreeing to a playoff format that begins next season and includes dozens of contracts for regular seasons between teams from the top five conferences and those from the bottom five. “There are 5 1/2 billion reasons why,” said Ryan Rodenberg, an assistant professor of sports law analytics at Florida State. “The money is too good. They just entered this deal. Why mess with it now?”
Court beat: The LSU Tigers opened camp Sunday and two players did not report to camp: sophomore running back Jeremy Hill, their leading returning rusher who remains suspended, and freshman defensive back Rashard Robinson, who is still going through the NCAA Clearinghouse. Hill was suspended indefinitely from the team in April after he was accused of punching a 20-year-old man at a Baton Rouge bar and knocking him unconscious. He pleaded guilty to simple battery in July. On Monday a judge in Baton Rouge gave him an additional two years of probation and 40 hours of community service.
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