Making the morning rounds.• Please, hammer, don't hurt us. LSU docked itself four scholarships – two in the upcoming 2011 class and two in 2012 – in atonement for violations involving former assistant coach D.J. McCarthy and short-lived junior college signee Akiem Hicks in 2009. The school's 55-page report to the NCAA earlier this year outlined improper contact with at least three recruits, sketchy housing and transportation arrangements for Hicks and at least one cash transfer (of $350) to Hicks from an unidentified, non-LSU coach working at an LSU summer camp. The NCAA can accept the school's ritual self-flagellation as penance, or add more sanctions of its own. [Times-Picayune]
• We're all professionals here. All signs point to Maryland offensive coordinator James Franklin as Vanderbilt's next head coach – yes, still – but it won't be official, apparently, until the university announces the hire on the wall of its official Facebook page. If the comment thread on the post is any indication, sentiment seems to be trending strongly in an unexpected direction. [The Tennessean, Facebook]
[Update, 10:47 a.m. ET] Make it official: Finally, James Franklin is Vandy's head coach, only four days after it was initially reported by the Washington Post. Those must have been some pretty gnarly contract negotiations.
• Everything's bigger, etc. Texas hasn't filled its offensive or defensive coordinator positions, but there shouldn't be any shortage of interested candidates after UT regents meet today to discuss paying both coordinators seven-figure salaries. Whoever gets those jobs can address his thank-you note to Gus Malzahn. [Dallas Morning News, USA Today]
• Godspeed. Rutgers defensive tackle Eric LeGrand, paralyzed from the neck down during the Scarlet Knights' Oct. 16 win over Army, has reportedly regained some sensation in his hands, a few weeks after being taken off a ventilator. He was also awarded Thursday with the Orange Bowl Courage Award. You can contribute here to the university's Eric LeGrande "Believe" Fund. [Newark Star-Ledger, Associated Press]
Elsewhere in the Big East, Syracuse punter Rob Long has been released from the hospital and is recovering at home from brain surgery to remove a benign tumor. Long's father described the surgery as "successful," according to the neurosurgeon who performed it. [Syracuse Post-Dispatch]
And, as expected, former Georgia quarterback Zach Mettenberger has signed on with LSU after a JUCO stint in Kansas, and may be enrolled early enough to participate in some Cotton Bowl practices. [Baton Rouge Advocate]
• We're still here. Parents of Elizabeth Seeberg, a 19-year-old St. Mary's College student who died of an apparent overdose of prescription medication after accusing a Notre Dame football player of sexual assault in September, told the Chicago Tribune they feel "a sense of betrayal" over what they feel was a "superficial" investigation into their daughter's death. Among the materials the Seebergs provided to the paper: Elizabeth's initial account of the alleged attack; records that show the accused player wasn't interviewed by investigators until two weeks after she reported the incident; and cell phone records that show a non-teammate friend of the player texted Elizabeth the morning after the incident with the message, "Don't do anything you would regret. Messing with notre dame football is a bad idea."
When he was interviewed (after Seeberg's death), the player described the incident as consensual, and isn't being identified because he has not been – and apparently will not be – charged with a crime. You are highly encouraged to read the entire article and the accompanying timeline of the investigation. [Chicago Tribune]
Quickly… Two Georgia players are good Samaritans. … Early reports suggest Ball State's new head coach will come from Elon. … Al Golden begins filling out his staff in Miami. … Derrell Johnson-Koulianos hires a high-profile attorney to defend him against drug charges. … Shockingly, BCS power brokers dismiss Mark Cuban's plan to destroy the BCS. … Von Miller makes a fashion statement. … Oregon's secondary coach talks about stuff earlier this season. … Shockingly, Florida International's trip to the Little Caesar's Bowl in Detroit isn't a hot ticket in south Florida. … And Villanova is playing at Eastern Washington tonight at 8 p.m. ET in a I-AA semifinal. On ESPN2. On red turf. Possibly in the snow. If that's not first-rate entertainment on a Friday night, I don't know what is.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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