On Dustin Garrison...

FORT LAUDERDALE -- West Virginia lost its leading rusher when Dustin Garrison blew out his knee Friday during practice down here in sunny Florida, and it sounds like a big loss whenever "leading rusher" is attached.

Thing is, I'm thinking this isn't a huge deal for the Mountaineers because they run the ball so little.

The freshman averaged 61.8 yards rushing this season, but that clip was inflated by a 291-yard effort against Bowling Green. Take away that total -- his only 100-yard effort of the year, by the way -- and Garrison's average goes down to 37.5 yards a game.

Garrison did, however, have 201 receiving yards on 21 catches.

The SEC and defensive linemen

NFL Draft guru Mike Detillier caused a bit of a stir in these parts in his analysis of Brandon Thompson when he said this to TI recently:

Grab the parkas for Miami, and links

On the Miami Herald web site this morning is this critical weather development under the "Breaking News" heading:

Cold front to sweep through, with low in the 50s

Revisiting the Jamie Harper decision

About a year ago today, amid the ear-splitting backdrop of cars racing around Charlotte Motor Speedway, I was asking some of Clemson's underclassmen if they were considering leaving early for the NFL.

Mark Richt and the spirit of giving

Mark Richt has a longstanding reputation as one of the nicest guys in the coaching business, and that image will only be strengthened with this revelation by the AJC that he doled out thousands of dollars from his own pocket to pay assistants and other personnel.

On Booker and Jennings

After last night's trouncing of Alabama State, Devin Booker was asked if he's planning on getting in any surfing on the trip to Hawaii. He laughed and said he might give it a try.

The Malzahn weirdness

What is it about football in the state of Alabama that produces such a high frequency of truly bizarre situations?

On coaches' salaries and priorities

It's sometimes said that people in athletics departments exist in a bubble that's completely detached from reality.

Steamed Korn

(Photo courtesy of thestate.com)

Fairly startling article on a number of levels in this piece by the (Spartanburg) Herald-Journal, which profiles Willy Korn's comeback from a disastrous time at Clemson.

Ten thoughts from the weekend

1. The locker rooms of Clemson and Virginia Tech were pretty close together at Bank of America Stadium, and that produced some stark contrasts late Saturday night as the winners and losers milled about.

In Gus they trust?

(Photo courtesy of al.com)

I'm a believer in Gus Malzahn's system, but not certain he's destined for stardom as a head coach.