Man in the Hat media

Jordan Burch signed with South Carolina, after an extended hysteria caused by the media. Photo Courtesy Rivals.com National Signing Day has come and gone. One of the biggest media-made events saw the usual major prospect signings, prospects switching at the last minute and the usual "class rankings" to decide who won and lost signing day. I can't hold my nose too high to it. During my time as a high school beat reporter I covered a slew of signing events, where athletes signed to places such as Alabama, Clemson, South Carolina and Wake Forest to little known Divison II programs. It was and remains a huge coverage day on the local level. On the national level, it has helped fuel the creation of the recruiting industry, for better or worse. For South Carolina, the focus fell quickly to Jordan Burch, a national-level recruit out of Hammond, a private, independent school in Columbia who signed with the Gamecocks on February 6. But the story behind that signing too...

Nation, we have a Heisman winner. His name, Joe Burrow...or is it Burreaux? Burrow had a stellar season for the LSU football team. His 4,715 passing yards and nation-leading 48 passing touchdowns made him an easy favorite to win the Heisman trophy. In all honesty, the Heisman award is ridiculous. Not that it honors the nation's top player, no, those gentleman have earned the acclaim. It is merely a vessel to get ratings and eventually give the award to (usually) the quarterback of the best perceived team. In Burrow's defense, he likely is the best QB in the nation. At worst, he is top three and will likely be getting a sizable payday from the NFL in the upcoming draft. So, in honor of the pure jocularity of the award, here are the first, and likely last, annual Lake Report awards for top award-winners deserving of awards. The Brett Favre award Brett Favre is a Hall of Famer from his time with the Green Bay Packers. He was a true gunslinger who would fit in with toda...

You feel it? It is that time again. Spring is gone, and summer is in its peak, and that means one thing, college football is near. Now, the South's king will return, and it will be better than ever. This year, will be a year of expansion for the Report. This year, substance will be put above style, hence the simpler redesign. This year, I'll be expanding coverage to not just the SEC and ACC. This year, Big South and the Southern Conference. To make the transition easier, a larger conference will be coupled with a D1-AA conference. We'll be looking at the ACC and the Big South in the next piece, but this piece will focus on the SEC and SoCon. First, the SEC. We'll take a quick overview of each team, to give you, the reader, a more in-depth look at the teams in the conference. Alabama The Crimson Tide lose John Parker Wilson at QB, and this will hurt more than Tide fans think. Greg McElroy is the incumbent, but I expect Redshirt Freshman Star Jackson to be the guy by seas...

How bout those Longhorns knocking off Oklahoma? How bout Miss. State coming up and biting the Vanderbilt Commodores in the butts? How bout the Tarheels taking down the Fighting Irish? And did I mention the firings of Auburn coordinator Tony Franklin, and Clemson head coach Tommy Bowden? And they ask why college football is so addictive. Upsets occur every week, and this coming week will probably do the same. Headliners this week are South Carolina vs LSU in the SEC, and Virginia Tech vs Boston College in the ACC. It is Tigers for Cocks, and a rematch of the ACC Title game last season. As TO says, "Get your popcorn ready." VS Gamecocks (5-2, 2-2) South Carolina is coming off a 24-17 come from behind win over the Kentucky Wildcats. A drive that was led by freshman QB Stephen Garcia (23-for-35, 300 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), who gets his first career start this week (much to the chagrin of the Carolina faithful). Garcia will lead an offense that is still finding itself with Kenny Mc...