T he S ports L edger
FEBRUARY 2023
PAGE 8 www.TheSportsLedger.com
Steele, Rees, and Armstrong Added to Alabama Coaching Staff
SEC To Implement New Rules For 2023 Baseball Season
Mike Bobo has accepted the role of offensive coordinator for the University of Georgia’s football program for the second time in his career after offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach Todd Monken accepted a similar spot with the Baltimore Ravens. Monken finishes a three-year stint that saw the Bulldogs win back-to-back national championships thanks to an offense that scored 38.6 points per game in 2021 and one that averaged 41.1 this past season. “We are extremely thankful and appreciative of the three years Todd and his wife, Terri, have spent with our UGA family,” said head coach Kirby Smart. “I am excited to name Mike Bobo our next Offensive Coordinator. Mike has a decade of experience as a successful SEC play-caller and over 20 years spent at UGA, both as a player and coach. Mike was an excellent addition to our staff last year as an analyst, and we are looking forward to his expanded leadership on the offensive side of the ball.” Bobo, a native of Thomasville, GA, who played quarterback for the Bulldogs from 1994-97, had served in the role as a quality control analyst for the Georgia offense since January 2022. He also had a 14-year stint with the Bulldogs from 2001-14 under Mark Richt as quarterbacks coach and then offensive coordinator. A veteran coach in the Southeastern Conference, Bobo spent the 2021 season as offensive coordinator at Auburn. He worked in 2020 at South Carolina as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach after a five-year stint as head coach at Colorado State. Bobo played four seasons with Smart at Georgia and coached alongside him in 2005 when Smart was running backs coach for a year. During his time under Richt at UGA, Bobo helped lead the Bulldogs to 135 victories, including two SEC championships, five SEC Eastern Division titles and eight bowl victories. The 2012 Broyles Award finalist held the offensive coordinator spot for 92 games with the Bulldogs, scoring 30-plus points 57 times, 40-plus points 29 times and more than 50 points 13 times. Bobo Named Offensive Coordinator at Georgia After an outstanding playing career for the Irish where he posted a 23-8 (.733) record as the starting quarterback, Rees began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Northwestern in 2015. He spent the 2016 season as Between those years on the Crimson Tide’s coaching staff, Steele coordinated the Clemson defense from 2009- 11, the LSU defense in 2015 and the Auburn defense from 2016-20. In five years at Auburn, Steele’s units ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense four times while producing 14 NFL Draft picks with multiple first-rounders. Steele was head coach of the Baylor Bears for three seasons (1999-2002) and spent four years on Bobby Bowden’s staff at Florida State (2003-06) as the executive head coach. He also coached linebackers for the Carolina Panthers (1995-98) after six years at Nebraska. Rees comes to the Capstone after coaching quarterbacks at Notre Dame for the past six years (2017-22) and serving as the Fighting Irish’s offensive coordinator for the past three seasons (2020-22). “I have the utmost respect for what Coach Saban has built at Alabama and the tradition of this program,” Rees said. “I’m excited to have this opportunity, and I’m looking forward to getting in the meeting room and on the practice field with this team.” Alabama head football coach Nick Saban has announced the addition of defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Tommy Rees and inside linebackers coach Austin Armstrong to the Crimson Tide coaching staff for 2023. “We are excited to bring in such a gifted group of coaches to develop our players both on and off the field,” Saban said. “Kevin, Tommy and Austin have a great mix of energy, enthusiasm and experience that will be a tremendous asset to our program. They are all excellent teachers of the game and fantastic recruiters who bring a wealth of experience and resources to our staff.” Steele, a veteran defensive coordinator with 39 years of coaching experience, begins his third stint on the Alabama coaching staff after calling the defense at Miami in 2022. Steele served as the defensive coordinator at Alabama in 2007 and was the associate head coach and head defensive coach for the Crimson Tide in 2008. He returned to the Capstone in 2013 as the Director of Player Personnel before coaching the Tide’s inside linebacker in 2014. “My history with Coach Saban goes back a long time and what he has built here at Alabama is truly amazing,” Steele said. “I understand the high expectations of both Coach Saban and the program, and I am looking forward to helping continue that success.”
an offensive assistant for the San Diego Chargers before returning to his alma mater to coach quarterbacks in 2017. While at Notre Dame, Rees developed quarterbacks Ian Book, Brandon Winbush and Jack Coan while coordinating a balanced and explosive offense attack. The Fighting Irish ranked 19th nationally in 2021 in scoring offense (35.2 ppg) while Coan led the passing attack to an average of 282.5 yards per game that was 20th nationally. In 2020, ND rushed the ball for 211.1 yards per game to rank 24th nationally and then averaged just under 190 ypg on the ground in 2022. Armstrong joins the Crimson Tide staff to coach the inside linebackers after serving as the defensive coordinator at Southern Miss for the past two seasons where he was the youngest defensive coordinator in the FBS. “Growing up in West Alabama the opportunity to coach at The University of Alabama is a dream come true,” Armstrong said. “I have admired what Coach Saban has built in Tuscaloosa and the long history of tradition and success this program has enjoyed. I am excited to get to work as we continue the legacy of success that is synonymous with Alabama football.” The Southern Miss defense, known as the Nasty Bunch during Armstrong’s tenure, ranked third nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.3), fifth in sacks (3.38) and seventh in interceptions (17). USM was also third in fourth down conversion defense (.231) in 2022. In his first year at USM, they ranked No. 42 nationally in total defense (385.5) besting their mark by 18 spots from the season before. His defense also ranked in the top 10 in the country in first downs allowed (No. 2), fumbles recovered (No. 4), red zone defense (No. 6) and defensive touchdowns (No. 7) while also finishing No. 15 in turnovers gained and No. 24 in passing yards allowed. Prior to his time at Southern Miss, Armstrong coached inside linebackers at Louisiana in 2020 and was a defensive quality control coach at Georgia in 2019. While appropriate members of The Board of Trustees have been notified of the proposed terms and conditions of this proposed appointment, the financial terms remain subject to approval by The Board of Trustees. Fans will have the opportunity to find out a little more about the Crimson Tide's new coaches during the 2023 Golden Flake A-Day Spring Football Game which will be played on Saturday, April 22. The game time and further information will be announced at a later date. The annual A-Day Game is the 15th and final practice of the spring and takes place at Bryant-Denny Stadium. Admission will be free to the public.
The Southeastern Conference will implement new initiatives and rules for the 2023 baseball season intended to reduce game times and elevate the fan experience. These changes apply to Conference vs. Conference games and the SEC Tournament. The new rules include game clock initiatives for conference games. The game clock policies are a supplement to existing NCAA Playing Rules, which remain applicable. • Between Batters Clock: A 30-second timer between hitters shall start at the conclusion of the prior play as indicated by the umpire’s final signal of “safe” or “out”, or other clear indication that the prior play has concluded. Consistent with NCAA pitch clock protocols, the batter shall be alert to the pitcher with 10 seconds or more remaining and the pitcher shall begin the motion to deliver the first pitch of the at-bat prior to the expiration of the 30-second clock. • Mound Visit Clock: A 30-second timer on a mound visit shall begin when a coach exits the dugout or when a defensive player leaves their position to visit the pitcher’s mound. Unless the coach signals for a pitching change, the coach must leave the mound when (or before) the timer expires. The mound visit clock shall not operate when a doctor or trainer accompanies a coach to evaluate a medical issue. Upon expiration of the 30-second clock, the 20-second NCAA pitch clock shall commence. • Pitching Change Clock: A 2:30 (2 minutes and 30 seconds) timer on a pitching change shall begin when a new pitcher who is entering the game, either at the start of an inning or as part of a mid-inning pitching change, crosses the warning track (or otherwise leaves the bullpen area if the bullpen is on the playing field). Upon expiration of the clock, the NCAA 20-second pitch clock shall commence. The SEC will also implement a 10-run rule for conference games. The policy stipulates that a contest shall be stopped after seven innings if one team is ahead by at least 10 runs, in accordance with NCAA playing rules. The 10-run rule shall also be utilized for all non-conference competition with the consent of the coach of the non- conference opponent. If the coach of the non-conference opponent does not consent, the game shall be played in its entirety consistent with NCAA playing rules. The SEC has also revised the inclement weather policy related to the final game of a conference series on Sunday when the visiting team does not have classes on the following day (Monday). The policy specifies if the visiting team’s institution does not have classes the following day (Monday), general curfew policies shall be waived. If the curfew is waived, no game may start after 10 p.m. local time or resume after midnight local time. Jax State Football To Play Southern Miss When Jacksonville State announced the move to Conference USA and the Football Bowl Subdivision, athletic director Greg Seitz knew that it would enhance the program's ability to schedule regional foes. The move has paid off for the Gamecocks before officially joining C-USA in July, with the announcement of a home-and-home series with Southern Miss. Jax State will host the Golden Eagles on Sept. 21, 2024 and will return the game with a trip to Hattiesburg, Miss., on Sept. 27, 2025. "This is one of the regional series that we anticipated when we made the move to FBS," Seitz said. "The move into Conference USA has allowed us to connect with several regional programs like Southern Miss, and this allows us to bring an established FBS program to Burgess- Snow Field, while offering a road game that is easy for our fans to travel to. We're excited about the opportunity to play them and will continue to schedule similar opponents going forward." JSU IS gearing up for their 2023 debut in FBS and C-USA and will begin spring practice on March 4. The annual spring game will be on Thursday, April 13.
Many high school basketball programs have already closed out the 2022-23 season. The Boaz Pirates ended the season with a 40-32 loss to Douglas in the Girls Class 5A Area 13 Tournament. Tori Rojek, shown attempting a layup against Boaz, and the Lady Eagles eventually fell to Sardis 50-37 in the Area Finals, and to Guntersville 51-31 on February 13 in the Sub-Regionals to end the season. The Sardis Lady Lions season also came to an end following a 47-30 Sub-Regional loss to Arab. Sardis finished with a 27-6 record. Closing Out The Season Photo by Brandon K. Pierce, The Sports Ledger
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Gadsden State's Kintavious Dozier has hit two major milestones. He recently moved past the 1,000-point mark during his time at Gadsden State, and he is the top scorer among National Junior College Athletic Association Division I teams. During his Freshman season he scored 608 points and as of Feb. 9, 2023 he has scored 1,228 at Gadsden State. The Lanett, AL native has a 3.27 GPA and he has already signed with Grambling State University for the 2023-24 season. Dozier headed to Grambling State Photo Courtesy of Gadsden State Athletics
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