Thurday's Links.....

Some things that crossed our radar that we found interesting:

• The AJC's Mark Bradley had a nice piece on Tech's new defensive line coach & recruiting coordinator Andy McCollum the other day. McCollum's Georgia roots will doubtless pay dividends in our state's very talented 2011 class.
• UVA has lost it's starting center Jack Shields. A two year starter, Shields will now focus on fox hunting from horseback & racing "Sun-Ray" class sloops. It's not like there was anything behind him to protect....
• Sports Illustrated's Andy Staples, whom we like a lot, jumped the gun and went ahead & ranked the recruiting classes from 2007. Tech's great class from that year finished 3rd behind Florida & Boise State. While we appreciate the love, it's a little soon. A player who signed in 2007 & took a redshirt year just completed his sophomore season of eligibility. With two years left to play for many members of this class, it's a bit premature to rank them right now. We'll stick with our rankings for the class of 2005 at Tech & applaud Staples that he didn't try & rate the classes before they've ever played a down.
• Roddy Jones & Logan Walls were named to the 2009 All-ACC Academic Football team. This is Roddy's second time for the honor & Wall's first. Gentlemen, you do us proud.
• Of the 120 schools that play Division I football, 27 of them return their coaching staffs unchanged from last season (that's 22% for those who don't want to do the math). It is interesting to note that five ACC teams return their entire coaching staffs from last season: Boston College, Clemson, UNC, VPISU, & Wake Forest. We haven't really drawn many conclusions from this so if you've got some thoughts, share them.
• James Coley is the offensive coordinator at Florida State & a recruiting stud, according to most people around Tallahassee. He also takes cheesy, cliche-ridden coach speak to another level. What is this mindless drivel? Are you gunning for Dr. Phil's job? The football version of Tony Robbins? Ummmmm, Mr. Coley, your Twitter account seems to indicate you are an epic douche-bag. Might we suggest not broadcasting this to the world? "Seminoles, pick this TURD up & claim it!!!" We're actually going to follow him on Twitter simply for the entertainment value. We'll keep you updated.
• Finally, where was this at our tailgate before the ACC Championship game in Tampa????? Damnit, we always miss the good stuff. Mobile strippers? Outstanding & innovative thinking by a small business owner. Wonder if they'll take a road trip to Charlotte next year?