1.Bobby Johnson made a lot of chicken salad in eight seasons at Vanderbilt. Nearly every year, the Commodores upset or scared the daylights out of a better SEC opponent. Johnson took Vandy to its first bowl in 26 years in 2008. I heard grumbling that his decision to resign Wednesday, seven weeks before kickoff, left Vanderbilt in the lurch. Coaching when your gut isn’t committed to it would have inflicted greater damage. Johnson made a good, tough call.
2.Georgia coach Mark Richt’s decision to drop two-a-days is a victory for practicality over tradition. Richt believes that he can accomplish more by practicing and teaching than by instilling the toughness that two-a-days instill. Whether two-a-days make players tough or are just done because they’ve always been done is a question for others to answer. If Georgia stays healthier and plays well this season, two-a-days may go the way of the I formation.
3.You see two very different philosophies in the care and feeding of young quarterbacks who are big stories at Texas and Florida. Longhorns sophomore Garrett Gilbert is going to the Big 12 Conference Media Days even though he has played one game in his career. The Gators’ John Brantley, a fourth-year junior, isn’t going to SEC Media Days. Brantley is quiet and, I’m guessing, happy not to go. But that probably had little to do with Urban Meyer’s decision.