The guy is 47 years old

So go ahead, say anything you want about Herschel Walker's debut in mixed martial arts, and then just take a look at the shape he's in. (Story here).

Recruiting, a bottom line

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for. And the escalating cost of recruiting in college football is nothing short of an arms race.

Nick Saban is one of the best recruiters in all the game, but he doesn't pick up the tab. In his three years at Alabama, he has delivered two top-ranked classes. On Wednesday, his fourth group of recruits will easily finish in the top 5. Saban also spends way more jack than his predecessor on the job of attracting high school talent. That's one reason why he's so much better at it.

Read more.

mg

SEC Recruiting Class: The Lizard King rebuilds his army

Florida is responding to its butt-whipping by Alabama, the loss of Tim Tebow and the long-weekend retirement of Urban Meyer by building a 2010 recruiting class that ranks with the all-time best.

The fact that Meyer has reacted to defeat with a burst of even more manic energy (the same obsessive drive that has many around him worried about his longterm health) is not so surprising. But even the most avid Gator followers have to be stunned that obvious questions about their coach's future apparently had no bearing on the decisions on so many of elite members of the 2010 class. In fact, many of the best kids chose Gainesville after Meyer's "I'm gone/I'm back" theater.

Read more here.

A few other tidbits.

You remember Gabe King of Greensboro? Started out as the state's top prospect; declared ineligible because of a residency scandal; moved to Oregon and was seen being fitted for a beak as an Oregon Duck. Now at the very close of recruiting, Oregon has rescinded its scholarship. Could it be that some school back east found something inappropriate about King's relocation to the edge of the Oregon campus? Well, if it quacks like a Duck. King continues his dogged pursuit of a higher education with a visit to California this weekend.

Also scheduled for a Cal visit: King's former high school teammate Keenan Allen. Allen committed to Alabama months back. But Tide fans are now sweating their star recruit's frame of mind. Allen's half brother was a quarterback at Buffalo, who transferred out after Turner Gill left to coach Kansas. Now the brothers are visiting schools together. Both have offers from Clemson (the presumed runner-up in the original KA Sweepstakes) and next comes the trip to Berkeley. Two scenarios appear to be in play here: By going on these visits, Allen is only trying to get his bro the best scholarship offer; OR the two -- and their family -- are dead set on playing together in college. The family has gone Dick Cheney this week. But Alabama hopes to get some insight tonight when assistant Bo Davis visits the Allen home. The final answer comes Wednesday when the brothers reveal their choice(s) at a joint press conference. For the time being, Alabama may have to decide if Allen is worth two scholarships

New Volunteer coach Derek Dooley seems to have found his footing as a recruiter. Dooley, who inherited a wasteland of a class after his Romper Room predecessor bailed on Tennessee for USC, appears on the verge of flipping his state's top offensive lineman. James Stone has long been considered a lock for the Tide. Why the change? Stone truly disliked Lane Kiffin and most of his staff. Now that Kiffin is gone, the in-state school has made up ground in a hurry. Dooley is also making a strong push for Da'Rick Rogers, a 5-star receiver and a longtime commit to Georgia.

Alabama's response to Stone's apparent change of heart? Nick Saban has targeted Shon Coleman, the 5-star lineman out of Olive Branch, Miss., who is visiting Tuscaloosa today. Coleman is one of the top-ranked commitments in Auburn's excellent class but has never stopped scanning the landscape. Word is he's about to find a new home in another great Alabama recruiting haul.

On the Plains, the Marcus Lattimore watch presses on. If the Byrnes, S.C., star chooses Auburn, Tiger coach Gene Chizik and his staff should be selected Recruiters of the Year. Better yet, they've already sewed up the award.

More recruiting news to come.

mg

Dexter McCluster is the next ...

... Chris Johnson. Or Leon Washington. Or Warrick Dunn. Or Percy Harvin. Or Darren Sproles. Or DeSean Jackson. Scouts and observers at the Senior Bowl have been drooling all week over the former Ole Miss star's speed and ability. Big question, of course, is his size (5-8, 165), but it sure sounds like some teams are telling themselves, "Hey, if he can survive the SEC ..."

Ivy League raids the SEC ... again

Kent Austin's leaving his job as Ole Miss offensive coordinator to take over as head coach of Cornell. He's replacing Jim Knowles, who's joining the staff at Duke (headed by former Ole Miss coach David Cutcliffe). Completing the Oxford-Ithaca nexus, Knowles himself had been hired away from Ole Miss six years ago.

ESPN's Chris Low writes about what it all portends for the Ole Miss offense, which is now without its OC, its QB and its two best playmakers (McCluster and Hodge).

A thing or two about Cornellians, since we just don't get enough chances to write about the Big Red:

* RB Ed Marinaro (the immortal Joe Coffey on "Hill Street Blues") finished a close second to Auburn QB Pat Sullivan in the 1971 Heisman race, the last time an Ivy Leaguer has been anywhere near the top in the voting.

* Notable dropouts include Huey Lewis, Harry Chapin and Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

So it goes.

Terrence Cody expanding his presence at Senior Bowl

Terrence Cody's weight fluctuates as much as the price of gasoline. It hit 3-7-0 on the Senior Bowl scales this week, which remains well below the 8 X half a hunnert he was carrying when he arrived at Alabama. The All-American nose guard supposedly played his senior season at 354.

But something must have happened between the National Championship Game and his trip to Mobile this week. Maybe after Alabama's win over Texas in the Rose Bowl, he visited Disney Land, ran down Mickey Mouse, and swallowed him whole.

Read more about the Big Man's conditioning and his pro prospects. By the way, Nick is still complaining about being clocked in the head with the Gatorade barrel.

mg

MSU recruiting: Pony yes, rented mule no

Just now getting to the goings-on in and around Starkville (UA, UF and UT have sucked all the air and ink out of the room of late; see new poll at right), but anyways ...

* Three recruits recently availed themselves of a "establishment deemed impermissible" -- meaning a strip club just across the county line -- and then made mention of it on Facebook, which SI's Andy Staples concludes is not a good idea.

* Great quote from father of QB Cam Newton, who decided on Auburn after leaning toward MSU, on the disparity in the two schools' overall talent: "I didn't want him to be a rented mule."