Too soon?

I heard of this story last night, and it absolutely shocked me.

New USC head coach Lane Kiffin has received a verbal commitment from a quarterback. Not a big deal...until you consider the kid is only 13 years old and is in the 7th grade.

This whole story is wrong on so many levels, but I'll limit myself to only four fingers to point.

First, the NCAA. They actually classify 7th graders as "recruitable" now. Kids that may not have even reached puberty yet can be recruited by colleges for athletic scholarships. There's nothing wrong with 13 year old children thinking about college if it's for an education that they're seeking, but to be recruited for athletics? Insane!

Second and third go hand-in-hand. Kiffin and Steve Clarkson, the personal coach of this 13 year old. Kiffin was reportedly alerted of this wunderkid by Clarkson and directed him to a video on YouTube. Kiffin watched the video and liked what he saw. The child's age was an issue, but it didn't deter Kiffin from offering the scholarship. Clarkson says this kid is the best he's seen. Better than Matt Barkley and Jimmy Clausen.

And here's where it all starts, the boy's father. It's one thing to have your son involved in athletics, but Clarkson was hired as a "personal coach" three years ago. This boy will no longer have the ability to grow up a "normal" boy. The bulls-eye on his son's back has increased a hundred fold at least. When opponents hear that they're playing his son's team, they will go after him more than other QB they face just because of the label and stigma attached.

"He's the kid already committed to USC. Get 'em!"

We've all been 13 and know that's what will happen.

Thanks, Dad. All I really wanted was an Xbox 360.

Lane Kiffin leaves for USC

UPDATE: Norm Chow will not be joining Kiffin at USC. He will remain at UCLA. It's been said that he and Kiffin have a bit of a frosty relationship.

Fourteen months. Count 'em. Fourteen months was the amount of time Lane Kiffin spent as the head coach for the Tennessee Volunteer football program. Now, Kiffin leaves for the calling for the sunny skies and glitz and glamour of Southern California.

The surroundings will be all too familiar for Kiffin. He was an assistant at USC under Pete Carroll from '01-'06. Kiffin left USC to take the job as head coach of the Oakland Raiders. After being disposed by Al Davis, Kiffin landed on his feet in Knoxville in November, 2008. Now, in January, 2010, Kiffin returns to California.

They will be more familiarity at USC. Monte Kiffin, Lane's father and defensive coordinator, and Ed Orgeron, assistant head coach and recruiting director, will make the trek as well. There are also reports that current UCLA offensive coordinator Norm Chow could also travel across town to rejoin Kiffin and Orgeron. Chow also worked under Carroll fron '01-'04.

Kiffin was addressing his former team, and some of the players didn't bother to hang around to hear the whole "speech" Kiffin was delivering. They heard all they needed to hear first, Kiffin was leaving. And some reacted angrily. One was overheard calling the football staff "a bunch of traitors".

Sound familiar? Can you say Brian Kelly and Cincinnati? The timing of this whole cycle stinks and the NCAA seriously needs to address it. If it's all about the buck, then the NCAA itself has been delusioned like the rest of us.

Just like Pete Carroll "slithered" out of California,  Kiffin "slithered" out of Tennessee. His televised comments were on tape so that he wouldn't have to face an angry mob. A mob that set ablaze about a thousand T-shirts with his likeness.

But don't forget what lies ahead for Kiffin. Surely, USC's AD Mike Garrett (right) had to assure Kiffin that all is well with the NCAA investigation and that little, if anything, will come out of it. Surely, Kiffin wouldn't leave a nice gig in Knoxville if there are any lingering doubts about USC's status, would he? Just like Kiffin tries to sell kids on his program, you'd think that Garrett had to sell his program to Kiffin.

But this goes deeper. With National Signing Day only three weeks away, this puts the Tennessee program squarely behind in the recruiting battle. Some players have already decommitted to Tennessee and could most likely be following Kiffin and Co. to USC. Some may choose to attend other schools they were considering when they committed to Kiffin's sales job.

But what about the education of these kids? Isn't that supposed to be the primary goal of college athletics? I'm not naive enough to really think it is. It's all about the football, and college football, especially at USC, brings in major bucks. In other words, it's a business and these kids are getting dragged into the net of that business.

Judge this as you will, but Orgeron even contacted all of Tennessee's early enrollees and told them not to attend class today. That way, it would be easier for these kids to transfer, either to USC or some other school. It almost sounds like Orgeron is stating that the education of these kids is secondary to their football commitment. And to some of these kids, unfortunately, it is. The coaches know this. The kids are the ones being expoited the most and, in most cases, don't realize it because of their blind passion for the game.

The Tennessee position is an excellent post to have, and the program will survive, but it may take a year to recover. Possible candidates are former Tennessee assistant and current Duke head coach David Cutcliffe and Texas' defensive coordinator Will Muschamp. But Muschamp is the "coach-in-waiting", and will take the reigns in Austin when Mack Brown decides to leave.

Phillip Fulmer doesn't look so bad now.

Can Kiffin sing and cash checks?

I've been wondering about a couple of things. Is it possible that Tennessee head coach Lane Kiffin is getting his vocal chords warmed up? And if said vocal chords do get warmed up, does he even know all the words to "Rocky Top"? The answer to both question may be "no" because Kiffin should be getting ready for the drubbing of his coaching career.

And he will have earned that drubbing.

Kiffin announced his arrival and brashness upon his being hired by Tennessee when he made an extreme error in judgement. We've all seen the video. (If you haven't, click here to watch it.) Last December, Tennessee is holding a news conference announcing that Kiffin is the new guy in Knoxville. During his "speech", Kiffin stated that it would be a blast singing "Rocky Top" all night long after they beat Florida...this year! Needless to say, that comment raised some eyebrows in Gainsville.

But Kiffin didn't stop there. He even took the opportunity to make a verbal swipe at Florida's Urban Meyer. Kiffin accused the head Gator of breaking NCAA recruiting rules. After review, Kiffin was in the wrong and he later issued an apology to Meyer. The SEC has something to do with that because Kiffin also received a reprimand for his actions.

Kiffin's main issue should be the location of this Saturday's game. At 3:30 PM, the Volunteers will be in The Swamp. Any road game in the SEC is a tough game, but Kiffin placed his team in the crosshairs by the statements he's made. And he has to live with the results.

Since Meyer has come to Florida, the Gators have reeled off four straight wins in this rivalry. Here are the scores during that four year span.
2005: 16-7 (at FLA)
2006: 21-20
2007: 59-20 (at FLA)
2008: 30-6
Total: 126-53
With the exception of 2006, the Vols have been within a touchdown only once. I look at the last two games because Tim Tebow was the Florida starting quarterback in those games and the combined final score: 89-26. Ouch. You know Tebow will keep those comments in mind. Like the guy needs any more motivation.

And 40 is the magic number. Since 2001, Florida is 40-0 when scoring 40 or more points. Almost scary all those 40's. You know that if Meyer has the oppotunity to run up the score, he will. And I can't say I blame him. He will have just cashed in on a chance to throughly beat a conference rival. That's all.

Kiffin? Will he be able to cash the check he wrote?

Doubt it. That bank wasn't covered in the bailout.