Eric Smith files harassment charges against alleged victim

Auburn RB Eric Smith, the former Armwood star arrested recently and charged with third-degree assault and disorderly conduct, is fighting back against the alleged victim.

The Opelika Auburn News is reporting tonight that Smith “has filed charges of harassment against the Auburn student he allegedly assaulted outside a local hotel.”

Arrangements have been made for Decari Jenkins to surrender to Auburn police, assistant police chief Tommy Dawson told the paper.

Smith is due in court Nov. 5.

He could face up to a year in jail and no more than a $6,000 fine if convicted of the assault charge, a Class A misdemeanor. According to the paper, “another court date will be set for the allegations against Jenkins, but the two cases could very well be settled at the same time.”

Paper addresses Stephen Garcia’s pros and cons

On Thursday night, former Jefferson standout Stephen Garcia officially becomes THE man at South Carolina That's when, as the starting quarterback, he’ll lead the Gamecocks against N.C. State in both teams' opener.

Garcia has started games before, but never before has he been this clearly entrenched as the No. 1 QB for USC and its slightly demanding coach, that Steve Spurrier guy.

To mark the occasion, the Myrtle Beach Sun News has offerd up five reasons for USC fans to be confident in Garcia and five reasons to worry about him.

On the plus side, the paper notes that “Garcia has a strong arm and quick feet."

But it counters that “Garcia has a bit of that Brett Favre gunslinger mentality” and says too many of his throws “often turn into interceptions.”

You can find the complete story HERE.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Hit Parade: Former East Lake star Chris Coghlan sets new Marlins team record

Former East Lake standout and current Florida Marlins rookie Chris Coghlan has had quite a month.

A record-breaking month.

With a fourth-inning single Sunday, Coghlan set a new Marlins team record for hits in a month with his 46th hit of August.

It's also the most hits in a month by a rookie in 55 years, when Cardinals outfielder Wally Moon had 52 hits in July 1954.

Coghlan hit .390 (46-for-118) in August.

``I think being on this platform, being up here, this is a lot more special than any month I've had in my life,'' Coghlan told the Miami Herald Sunday.

It's not the first time the 24-year-old outfielder has made club history since he was recalled from Triple-A on May 8. He had eight consecutive multi-hit games earlier this year, becoming the first rookie to accomplish that feat since Reds first baseman Dan Driessen in 1973.

Coghlan also leads all current rookies with a .297 batting average.

-- EDUARDO A. ENCINA

Gainesville Sun: Dexter McCluster is Ole Miss’ best player

The Gainesville Sun has given major props to Largo grad Dexter McCluster.

In the paper’s SEC season preview, it called McCluster Ole Miss’s top player -- not stud QB Jevan Snead, who some believe is a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Says the Sun: “Snead gets much of the credit for the Rebels’ turnaround a year ago, but the speedy and versatile McCluster was just as important (ask Florida). He’s a smaller version of Percy Harvin the way he makes plays running and receiving.”

McCluster, a senior, did well against the Gators last year and that certainly didn’t hurt his cause with the Sun. In an upset over the eventual national champs, he rushed for 60 yards and a touchdown.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

UGA student paper thinks Orson Charles will make impact early

A quick note from Athens, Ga. ...

The Red and Black, the University of Georgia's student newspaper, named Plant grad Orson Charles as the freshman most likely to make a splash for the 'Dawgs this fall. Charles, a tight end, helped lead the Panthers to the Class 4A title last December.

The paper wrote: "Charles will be worked into creative offensive schemes, split out as a receiver and a passing threat on both big plays and in red zone opportunities. Don't be surprised if Charles is in charge of the Georgia tight end spot real quick, and in a really big fashion."

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Will Aaron Murray redshirt this fall at UGA?

Former Plant QB Aaron Murray, who helped lead the Panthers to the Class 4A state title last season, did not win the battle in the spring to be Georgia’s starting quarterback.

Now, the question is this: Will he play at all this fall?

Senior Joe Cox is the starter. Logan Gray is expected to be Cox’s top backup.

UGA coaches are in the process now of deciding what to do with Murray, who enrolled in January, and fellow freshman Zach Mettenberger. On Wednesday, the two acted as scout team players in a scrimmage as the Bulldogs’ prepared for their opener.

Afterward, coach Mark Richt said this to reporters about whether Murray and Mettenberger would redshirt: “I don’t think we’re there yet. We’ve still got some time and we’ve got some games to play. I don’t want either one of those guys thinking they’re redshirting right this minute.”

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Former LOL QB Drew Weatherford still working for a chance to play professionally

The Times' Brian Landman reports that former Florida State and Land O'Lakes quarterback Drew Weatherford isn't ready to take a knee.

"I'm doing everything I can to find an opportunity to play,'' he said.
 
Weatherford was in Orlando on Saturday for an open tryout for the Florida Tuskers of the upstart United Football League. He was among the estimated horde of 1,200 for a morning workout (participants had to pay $60 and included former teammates De'Cody Fagg, Neefy Moffett, Paul Griffin and Xavier Lee) and was then among a far smaller group of invited players to show their stuff later in the afternoon.

He was on the field for about 45 minutes in both sessions, so folks not just from the Florida team (which will play one game in St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field) but from the other three teams, could get a feel for his footwork, arm strength and vision. He also was spending part of today in Tallahassee putting together some game film to provide interested coaches. He did have his share of big-time performances.

Read more HERE.

Lakewood grad Louis Murphy shining bright for Raiders

With the NFL regular season fast approaching, one thing is becoming increasingly clear in Oakland: Lakewood grad Louis Murphy, a rookie, is going to play an awful lot this season.

Not only that, but ...

“He's making a strong case for one of the two starting spots,” according to the San Jose Mercury News.

In the team’s most recent exhibition game, Murphy caught two passes for 34 yards and scored on a third-and-21 play when he beat former Pro Bowl cornerback Nate Clements.

If you’re interested in keeping track of Murphy, who was a fourth-round draft pick after a stellar senior season at Florida, here are a few good places to start:

-ESPN Raiders page

-Oakland Tribune

-San Francisco Chronicle

--KEITH NIEBUHR

East Lake football has no shortage of brotherly love

Three players for the East Lake football team have siblings you may have heard of.

-The older brother of lineman Logan Williamson (Bobby), played for the Clemson Tigers from 2001-05 as a tight end. Bobby is an East Lake alum.

-Chris Coghlan, a rookie who starts in left field and hits leadoff for the Florida Marlins, is the step-brother of fullback Rocco Roefaro. Coghlan also attended East Lake.

-Nick Trump’s brother, A.J. Trump, is the starting center for the Miami Hurricanes. A.J. played his high school ball at Clearwater Central Catholic.

--KEITH NIEBUHR

Former Hillsborough High athletes featured in Sports Illustrated cover story

Ready to cry?

I ask this because if you read the following article that appears in the latest issue of Sports Illustrated, you’re bound to shed a tear. If you don't, you might not be human.

S.L. Price’s magnificent piece (found HERE) primarily centers around the lives of three individuals. Two of them are from Tampa.

One central character is former Citadel linebacker Marc Buononcini, who was paralyzed on Oct. 26, 1985 in a game against East Tennessee State while trying to make a tackle.

Another is Hillsborough High grad Herman Jacobs, the player Buononcini collided with.

Hillsborough alum Henry Mull is also prominently featured.

In fact, Price’s amazing and inspirational story doesn’t start when Buononcini hit Jacobs in 1985. It begins right here in Tampa in 1979 on the day Mull, then 13 and a Middleton Junior High quarterback, was rushed to a local hospital after an on-field collision.

With Jacobs.

Here's what I found to be the article's most powerful passage: "A player collides with two others on football fields six years apart, and the results seem clear-cut: One kid walks out of the hospital impaired, the second never walks again and the third walks away whole. But over time it becomes less clear who got paralyzed. The victims bull forward, try with every fiber to prevent their frailties from defining them, keep moving. On that cool October afternoon in 1985, only Herman Jacobs's life stopped cold."

Like I said, it's quite a story. If you get time, it's worth the read.

--KEITH NIEBUHR