Greg Auman

sorry, guys: Patrick Grant has signed with Louisville

He said Burnham's sold him on the idea of him playing safety. He hasn't played the position with any regularity since high school, and since he's not in until summer, it's hard to imagine him acclimating quick enough to be a real challenger for a starting job at a position with so much back. Remember that Carlton Williams and Danny Verpaele both have parts of two seasons as starters, plus you have Louis Gachette and Nate Allen, etc. ...

it's feb. 8, day after signing day ...

He was with the team at the memorial service on Thursday -- he'll be wearing No. 34 for the Bulls ...

Did Kevin Williams actually enroll? I have no record of him enrolling.

Short of him not wanting to leave a job he just accepted at Freedom, I see no reason why Blackwell wouldn't be a good match for the offensive GA job.

I can confirm that he's interested in USF; not sure yet how interested USF is getting him. He had shown an interest at the same time McKenzie was making his decision. Not sure the Bulls will have as many scholarships available for summer transfers as in past years ...

that coaches convention was last week.

You might be right about the original LOI being moot because he didn't qualify. Hadn't thought about that ...

Ford signed a national letter of intent with Alabama in 2005. Pretty sure once you've signed one of those, you're done with them, so from there on you sign a grant-in-aid, which is much more non-binding. I have every reason to think Mike Ford is at USF and will start classes Tuesday, just didn't want everybody to get excited over "proof" that likely isn't really there.

The Palace? What is this Palace you speak of?

I'm going to be sad the day that I catch Collin in posts. He's the anti-Mazza -- when you do stir him awake and get him to post, it's a blast like that. I talked to Kiefer today, and he said anytime you get players who are in residency with the U.S. teams, you realize you might not have them all four years. Hidalgo will go high when MLS does its supplemental draft ...

Of those, Arizona State, Boston College and Cincinnati have all had coaching changes since he was being recruited ...

I would not expect South Sumter's Jarrod Fleming to be a factor at quarterback. He's a first-year walk-on, and I think he's enough of an athlete that he could contribute at other positions.

McCullum had two unused scholarships entering the year. At the time late in the process when Collin Dennis decided he was leaving, McCullum said he didn't feel it was a wise use of a scholarship to add someone at that point -- remember that it's a four- or five-year commitment to a player who has been largely unclaimed by lots of programs at lower levels than USF. So he puts Capko on scholarship, and he has a scholarship available to give to Holmes, who is more highly touted than anyone McCullum would have gotten in late summer as the last member of this year's class. I suppose a lot of people would say McCullum shouldn't be thinking long-term in his decisions, and depth continues to be a major issue, but this is how McCullum would explain his decisions regarding the roster.

One thing to remember with Gregory is that after three games, he was not playing on purpose with the plan to take a medical redshirt. He would have played otherwise. Instead, he's now in the same class as Grothe, with three years of eligibility remaining, providing he gets the redshirt from the NCAA.

Probably still a little bit off. Still have two other things to file before I can get to blogging. Won't be long. Relax, everybody!

Hey. I've got like seven browsers open. Writing a Ted Ginn feature for Sunday's paper. That's mindboggling to some, I know, that I'd write an Ohio State story. Imagine that. I'll get to Ford before too long. Is Greenberg going to beat Duke again? His Hokies are tied with Duke at Cameron with five to play ...

There's much less roster implication in the off-season, and because Hall makes the league minimum, he has no salary-cap implications. The Bears wanted to sign him, and Hall was able to use that leverage to get a $35,000 signing bonus from the Broncos, which is rare for a street free agent. That's the best news for Andre.

McCaskill, Fonua and Warren are expected to start classes Monday, from last year's signing class.

He'll be eligible in mid-December 2007, like Verdejo and Gransberry were last month. He can play as soon as fall exams are over.

Matt said after the game they had told him 6 to 10 weeks, in plenty of time to be healthy for spring practice. It's a slight fracture of the fibula in his right leg.

And if anybody's coming over from Atlanta on I-20, watch your speed. Saw at least 15 people pulled over in a two-hour span. Man, I love chooped pork.

Went there today for a late lunch. Amazing.

Bullsfan is right -- they need 5,200 to match last year. The last 1,000 was for the autographed collectible tickets.