No surprise here - Bama in the lead with 8 ESPN 150 recruits.

South Carolina cited w/ failure to monitor, 3 years probation, scholarship reductions, recruiting restrictions, $18,500 fine.

The NCAA alleges South Carolina athletes received $47,000 in impermissible benefits by staying at a hotel near campus for reduced rates. South Carolina also has been cited for athletes receiving $8,000 in improper inducements from a mentoring group out of Delaware.

An unnamed source has told the Associated Press that Arkansas will hire former Michigan State coach John L. Smith as its interim football coach to replace Bobby Petrino next season.

Smith, who left the Razorbacks after last season to become the coach at Weber State, is returning on a one-year appointment, according to the person who spoke today on condition of anonymity because the school had not made its decision public.

His thoughts on Nick Saban and what he’s done at Alabama.

"He’s got a nice little gig going, a little bit like (John) Calipari. He tells guys, ‘Hey, three years from now, you’re going to be a first-round pick and go.’ If he wants to be the greatest coach or one of the greatest coaches in college football, to me, he has to go somewhere besides Alabama and win, because they’ve always won there at Alabama."

His thoughts on who’s the best coach in the SEC.

"I think it’s Saban. He’s considered the best. Les Miles is considered one of the best, when you look at number of wins. I believe you’re as good as your record. You are whatever your record is. Don’t give me any excuses or that you can’t win at this place."

"Auburn announced the hiring just 5 hours before rival Alabama faced LSU in the Allstate BCS Championship Game."

Way to make a splash Aubbie!

Good blog post on Smart by Chris Low.

Texas A&M University today officially notified the Big 12 Conference that the institution will submit an application to join another athletic conference. Should this application be accepted, Texas A&M will end its membership in the Big 12 Conference effective June 30, 2012.

Bets on whether he'll sit the group (or anyone) for the Oregon opener?

Another good man done (gonna be) gone.

And other equally shocking news of the day: the sky is blue and the Earth is round. Somewhat seriously though, how do you commentate on college football for a living and not know how to spell Saban's name?

"[T]he largest endorsement deal ever for a NFL rookie, a multiyear shoe and apparel endorsement contract with Under Armour, according to Darren Rovell at CNBC. While specific numbers were not available, the deal will reportedly surpass Reggie Bush’s $1 million per year contract with Adidas that was signed in 2006."

On this, our National Signing Day, let us pause and give thanks for this timely reminder that thou shall not covet one recruit above all others:

"The Arkansas native was one of the most sought-after high school players in history."

Various outlets, including American-Statesman Internet partner Hookem.com, are reporting that Auburn’s Jeff Grimes is in Austin today talking to Texas coach Mack Brown about the Longhorns’ offensive line job, the only remaining vacancy to be filled on Brown’s coaching staff.

For what it's worth, Orangebloods is reporting that Teryl Austin is the new Texas defensive coordinator.

Hopefully he'll get the win and shake some of the bad rep in the process.

Longtime agent Gary Wichard was suspended by the NFL Players Association on Friday for nine months for his role in a recruiting scandal involving the University of North Carolina.

Alabama appears 3 times in this top ten list:

No. 6 - Iron Bowl
No. 5 - Bama vs. LSU
No. 1 - Bama vs. Florida

The corndogs will not be happy that it's a day game.

The Heisman Trophy Trust will look closely at what Bush was found by the NCAA to have individually done to violate NCAA rules, including whether he received extra benefits. On the Heisman Trophy ballot, it is stated that "the recipients must be in compliance with the bylaws defining an NCAA student athlete."

Alabama athletic director Mal Moore, whose ties to Alabama go back to his playing days under Bear Bryant from 1958-62, has been selected as one of five finalists for the Athletic Director of the Year award presented by SportsBusiness Journal and SportsBusiness Daily.

The other finalists are North Carolina's Dick Baddour, UCLA's Dan Guerrero, Ohio State's Gene Smith and Boise State's Gene Bleymaier.

The winner will be announced May 20.

Mind you, this is apparently Todd McShay's, Steve Muench's, and Kevin Weidl's take on Cody's performance, as reported by Low (i.e., not Low's assessment). "Cody hasn't been a factor rushing the passer and has had trouble splitting double teams. Because of his consistent lack of effort and his weight, the Scouts Inc. crew says teams might be hesitant to use even a second-round pick on him."

Basketball only . . . for now.

Former University of Alabama head coach Mike DuBose has been hired by the University of Memphis as a defensive line coach under new head coach Larry Porter.

ed. - DuBose recruiting in Memphis? This should end well...

Alabama walk-on quarterback Thomas Darrah is looking to transfer to a smaller program at the end of this semester.

Darrah visited Jacksonville State this past weekend, the Anniston Star reported today. Darrah's father Tommy told the newspaper that his son had been given permission to pursue a transfer and that the word was JSU's coaching staff "wants Thomas to come to Jacksonville State."

He is also reportedly looking at UT-Martin. A 6-foot-5 redshirt sophomore walk-on from Newnan, Ga., Darrah can enroll in the spring and have two years of eligibility remaining at a Football Championship Subdivision program.

Darrah has appeared in a mop-up role during three games this season. He has fallen to the fourth spot in Alabama's practice rotation behind Greg McElroy, Star Jackson and freshman AJ McCarron.

This week Darrah has portrayed Florida quarterback Tim Tebow on Alabama's scout team.

"The University of Michigan released embarrassing details of an internal audit Monday that discovered Rich Rodriguez's team failed to file forms tracking how much time players spent on football during the 2008 season -- his first -- and the offseason last spring."

By Ian Rapoport no less. About commitments doing some recruiting.

"I'm not a guy who wants to just come in and be the only big name of the class," said Sims, who also considered Georgia, Florida State and Tennessee. "I mean, if I feel like we need to get other guys in here to get a better team, I'll do it. Recruiting is fun and everything, but winning is more important."

"Lane comes from the Pac-10, which in many respects is the epitome of great academics and great athletics, as this past weekend showed on several different levels, including to us. When we lost to UCLA, we lost to a better academic institution, too."