Usually, parents just want what’s best for their kids.  They’re just looking our for their child’s future, helping them make good decisions about things like nutrition, dating and – you know – sometimes…school.  Unless, of course, they’re a sought after athlete’s parents who are more concerned about their own legacy than their kid’s.  That appears to be exactly what happened in the case of Floyd Raven, the #8 cornerback recruit in the nation.  According to CBS and now confirmed by Old Miss coach Houston Nutt via David Brandt of the AP, Raven’s mother forged his signature on a letter of intent to Ole Miss:

Nutt confirms Floyd Raven’s mom forged his signature on LOI to Ole Miss.  Raven is going to Texas A&M

Now that’s embarrassing.  I wonder how dinner at the Raven house will be like the next few days.  Well, I suppose if Floyd’s mom were paying for college, she could certainly have a say in where young Floyd will attend.  However, since her son is an overall top 100 NCAA Football recruit, she really doesn’t have to worry about that.  But that’s still has to sting for Floyd.  Signing with Ole Miss when you grew up in Louisiana…c’mon Mom, are you kidding me?

[Source: Lobservateur]

Who says the NCAA doesn’t have standards?  Proving that academics does still hold some value in college, the association has declared top University of Missouri recruiting prospect Tony Mitchell ineligible.  According to Sports Illustrated:

The 6-foot-8 forward from Dallas was considered one of the top high school prospects in the nation after averaging 20.5 points and 13.2 rebounds last season. No. 11 Missouri had been hopeful Mitchell could join the program for the spring semester.

The NCAA said Wednesday that Mitchell did not qualify academically. Mitchell was initially ruled ineligible on Jan. 5 and the school appealed to the Division I Initial Eligibility Waiver Committee, which upheld the staff decision on Jan. 13.

Odd.  I thought as long as a top recruit had a heartbeat and could sign his name he was fair game.  The problem, of course, is not for the Missouri Tigers but for Mitchell, himself.  He only needed a C average to play ball at Missouri.  That’s not exactly an insurmountable challenge, even for student athlete.

Without knowing all the details, I’m going to hazard a guess that somewhere along this young man’s academic career path he was dealt an awful injustice.  Someone made him believe that athletic ability was all that mattered.  Now, he’s probably wondering what went wrong.  Well, hopefully, there’s still time for second chances…or even thirds.

Local Memphis product Tarik Black decided on Sunday to play his college basketball for the University of Memphis Tigers according to Memphis Roar.

Black, ranked #47 by Rivals, adds to a recruiting class for the Tigers that was already considered the #1 2010 class in the country after Atlanta native Jelan Kendrick’s (Rivals #8) surprise commitment over the weekend.

The pair joins Joe Jackson (Rivals #12), Will Barton (#11), Chris Crawford (Rivals #67), Hippolyte Tsafack (top 200), and Antonio Barton (top 200)

Some recruiting experts are calling it, not only the #1 class of 2010, but one of the top recruiting classes of all-time as well.

Rivals Top 150 College Prospects for 2010

With the SEC (Southeastern Conference) boasting a modest 3 teams ranked in the top 5 and another team sitting at #7, you have to wonder how they accumulate all of this talent. Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting! Here is a list of the average recruiting budgets over the last 3 seasons.

Tennessee: $1,154,802      Auburn: $705,125            LSU: $662,772

Florida: $599,818                 Georgia: $521,174          Arkansas: $499,578

Ole Miss: $410,608              Kentucky: $307,571        Miss. State: $286,467

Alabama: $285,649             S. Carolina: $273,909     Vanderbilt: N/A

Vanderbilt did not disclose expenses

You can see by Rivals rankings over those 3 years it was money well spent. You may say recruiting rankings are subjective and overrated. Well, in National Championship games over those 3 seasons the SEC is 3-0. Look for this trend to continue after the conference signed a lucrative 15-year TV deal with ESPN.

2009                        2008                         2007

#1   Bama               #1   Bama               #1 Florida

#2   LSU                  #3   Florida            #3  Tennessee

#6   Georgia           #7   Georgia          #7  Auburn

#10 Tennessee     #11   LSU              #9  Georgia

#11 Florida                                            #10 Alabama

What helps the SEC the most aside from recruiting is having 2-3 strong teams on each side of the conference unlike the Big 12. It is a huge factor for their strength of schedule. Now that many of the perennial top teams like Ohio State, USC, and Oklahoma already have a loss I definitely see the SEC champion in the National Championship game for a fourth straight year.