I’ll be fishing for a couple of days next week with the pro-staffers from Vicious Fishing Line - Jason Quinn, Russ Lane and Jeff Reynolds.

I’m planning to ask important questions like:

What’s the best way to catch big smallmouth on Pickwick during the fall?

What’s the best coldwater bait on Kentucky Lake?

What’s up with those gold loops Jason Quinn wears in his ears all the time?

If there’s a question you’d like to ask one of the bass pros, send me a note and I’ll be sure to work it into the conversation.

According to Adam Zagoria of the Herald News in New Jersey, John Calipari had an in-home visit with Tyreke Evans yesterday. Evans, who is probably a one-and-done type player, is ranked No. 6 by Rivals.com in the class of 2008. Louisville and Villanova have been perceived as Evans’ top two choices for awhile, but people began mentioning Memphis as a strong contender once this article in GQ detailed Evans’ relationship with William Wesley. Evans is scheduled to visit Memphis in November.

Evans will probably be the key to whether Memphis lands a top-10 recruiting class or not. Though St. George’s guard Elliot Williams is visiting in October and has kept his intentions very close to the vest, most people in town believe he will not end up with the Tigers. Beyond Williams and Evans, there probably isn’t an elite guard out there for Memphis. Though there is a next tier of players Memphis could look at, it’s very possible John Calipari will simply move on to 2009 if they miss on both players.

Whatever happens with the guard situation, my suspicion is the Tigers will certainly sign another frontcourt player after losing the Morris twins. Wesley Witherspoon would certainly be a nice recovery. Since the twins were obviously never going to come to Memphis in the same recruiting class with Angel Garcia, you have to think of the 2008 class in terms of Garcia and (Witherspoon or ??) vs. Morris and Morris. That’s the choice Memphis had to make. We’ll see how it plays out in the coming months.

THE BIG STORY

It’s not just Nick Saban that’s cashing in at Alabama.

Saban is making $4 million a year, but he’s making sure his assistants don’t have to eat at the McDonald’s drive-in window every night. In figures released by the University of Alabama on Tuesday, Saban’s staff is almost set to collect $2.245 million in salaries this year. The staff includes 14 people with nine on-the-field assistants.

The salaries have yet to be approved by the UA Board of Trustees, but approval is a formality.

Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and offensive line coach Joe Pendry, the staff’s two veterans with 28 and 14 years experience respectively, will make base salaries of $350,000. Offensive coordinator Major Applewhite (sixth year) and secondary coach Kirby Smart (ninth year) will make $250,000 and $275,000 respectively.

The rest of the coaching staff: Tight ends/special teams coach Ron Middleton: $230,000; Running backs coach/associate head coach Burton Burns: $220,000; Outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson: $210,000; Defensive line coach Bo Davis: $190,000; Receivers coach/recruiting coordinator Curt Cignetti: $170,000.

LSU’s assistant coaches’ budget is No. 2 behind Alabama with a reported $1.88 million and Auburn is third at $1.87 million, according to a study earlier this year by the Columbus (Ga.) Ledger-Enquirer.

Five of the Tide’s seven position coaches will earn at least $200,000 this year. Compare that to Tennessee, where none of the position coaches at Tennessee, for instance, will receive more than $175,000 this year. That number is only $5,000 more than the lowest-paid member of Alabama’s coaching staff, Cignetti.

“I don’t think any of our coaches are worried about the money they are making around here,” Saban said during Wednesday’s SEC coaches teleconference. “They’re more concerned about the type of job they’re doing.”

A look at the league: Read the rest of this entry »

Mid-South football fans may recognize a familiar face roaming the Jacksonville State sidelines Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

JSU coach Jack Crowe returns to the Mid-South to lead his 1-AA squad (oops, sorry, 1-AA no longer exists, it’s now the Football Championship Subdivision) against Memphis. Crowe was named coach at the University of Arkansas in 1990 after Ken Hatfield left abruptly to take the Clemson job.

Crowe didn’t have a great run at Arkansas. Outgoing AD Frank Broyles dismissed Crowe one game into his third season after he opened with a loss at home to The Citadel. So infuriated was Broyles that immediately after the game he hustled from the press box to the field, bypassing the elevator, taking the stadium steps and zipping past the media to begin the process of replacing Crowe.

Too bad it didn’t work out for Crowe, who also coached at Auburn, Clemson and Baylor. He is a class act. It’s nice to see him enjoying some success at Jacksonville State, which has gone 30-17 since 2003 under Crowe.