Honey Badger heading to the NFL

By John TaylorNov 29, 2012, 11:59 AM EDT

The roller coaster ride that’s been the life and career of Tyrann Mathieu the past year has officially come to an end at the collegiate level.

As expected, and as first reported by ESPN.com‘s Joe Schad, the former LSU cornerback announced Thursday that he has decided to forego his remaining eligibility and will make himself available for the April NFL draft.

“I am committed to tackling my personal issues and will work to better myself every day as a man first and only then as a football player,” a portion of Mathieu’s statement read. “I will always consider myself an LSU Tiger.”

A 2011 season that ended with Mathieu as a Heisman Trophy finalist and his name on numerous postseason All-American teams gave way to a series of developments that led to today’s decision. August 10, Mathieu was dismissed from the Tigers football program for what turned out to be the failure of multiple drug tests. While speculation flew that he would drop down to the FCS level, Mathieu ultimately returned to school at LSU — following a brief stint in rehab — and some around him held out hope that he could return to the team after sitting out the 2012 season.

While that was never a realistic possibility, the door was all but officially slammed shut after an SI.com article hinted at Mathieu and others running afoul of NCAA bylaws as well as a late-October arrest on marijuana-related charges.

At this point in time, the best-case draft scenario would be in the second- to third-round range, although he’ll have several off-field hurdles to clear with NFL teams to even be selected that high.

Oregon hopeful leading receiver will be back soon

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By John TaylorSep 19, 2017, 1:59 PM EDT

Antonio Callaway among Gators reportedly set to face felony charges

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By John TaylorSep 19, 2017, 11:37 AM EDT

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If one report is accurate, things are about to get very real for a couple of members of the Florida football team.

Citing unnamed sources, thereadoptional.com reported overnight that “Antonio Callaway, Jordan Smith, and one other player are likely to be arrested on charges of felony grand theft, with the possibility of further misdemeanor charges being tagged on, according to a lawyer representing one of the players.” That trio is part of the group of nine Gator football players who have been indefinitely suspended in connection to the misuse of scholarship money in general and, specifically, for making improper charges on their student debit cards at the school bookstore and then selling those items for cash. The Read Optional has further added that the players then claimed that the debit cards had been stolen.

In addition to Callaway, a junior wide receiver, and Smith, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman, the other suspended players include junior defensive end Keivonnis Davis, sophomore defensive lineman Richerd Desir-Jones, freshman linebacker James Houston, freshman linebacker Ventrell Miller, junior running back Jordan Scarlett, freshman offensive lineman Kadeem Telfort and redshirt freshman wide receiver Rick Wells.

Charges against the three players, one of whom is unnamed, are expected to be filed later on this week, next week at the latest. It’s also expected that the other six players will be arrested as well.

Restitution for the debit card scheme has already been made, the website noted.

The off-field trouble for the football program doesn’t end there, however, as The Read Optional is also reporting that a separate investigation into players using stolen credit cards is underway. From the website:

This morning, we reported that several players were also being investigated in a separate credit card fraud case being run in conjunction by the Gainesville Police Department and the University of Florida Police Department.

Both police departments uncovered the stolen credit card details from the same victim while operating its own individual investigations — the GPD into Jordan Smith paying his rent with stolen credit card details; and the UFPD into the student debit card scheme, an investigation that broadened over time.

The investigation into the stolen credit card information is ongoing, with other student-athletes to be interviewed on Wednesday.

All nine players remain indefinitely suspended from the football program and, based on this report, they will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

Baker Mayfield, what derailed Sooners’ 2014 season? ‘I blame Katy Perry’

By John TaylorSep 19, 2017, 11:11 AM EDT

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Well, that explains it.

Oklahoma began the 2014 season a perfect 4-0 and was ranked fourth in the country before heading into Fort Worth for a showdown with No. 25 TCU. ESPN‘s College GameDay was in Oxford for the huge Alabama-Ole Miss matchup, with Katy Perry serving as that weekend’s epic guest picker.

At one point during the show, the pop singer famously — or infamously if you’re an OU fan — very seductively hit on Trevor Knight, telling the Sooners’ starting quarterback to “call her.”

Knight waited four months before publicly acknowledging the offer. Coincidentally or not, OU, including the 37-33 loss to TCU, went on to finish out the 2014 season on a 4-5 skid, including a 40-6 pasting at the hands of Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl. Knight missed three of those nine games because of injury, throwing nine interceptions in the six games he did play in after throwing three in his first four pre-Perry flirtation.

Monday, Baker Mayfield, the Sooners’ current starting quarterback who was a transfer from Texas Tech during that 2014 season, was asked what OU’s downfall that year was.

“I blame Katy Perry,” the 2017 Heisman front-runner said.

Way to go Katy. Or Trevor, for not immediately following up with a call and triggering the jinx that killed OU’s season.

That said, I’m fairly certain neither the call for action or the inaction to the call for a call had anything to do with the Sooners’ collapse that season. A defense that gave up more than 30 points in each of the losses, as well as once in one of the wins, though, is certainly a prime and more realistic suspect when it comes to laying blame for the collapse.

One final note: Katy Perry is easily Top 3 when it comes to all-time GameDay guest pickers. And that’s not up for debate.

Nation’s No. 1 recruit in 2015 granted release from Auburn

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By John TaylorSep 19, 2017, 10:53 AM EDT