Knoxville-bound: Defensive back Janzen Jackson of Lake Charles signed this morning with Tennessee. Jackson, a 6-foot, 175-pounder who ranked as the nation’s No. 2 cornerback, had committed to LSU in February. Volquest.com reported Jackson chose the Vols because of their new defensive coordinator, Monte Kiffin, the father of head coach Lane Kiffin. Monte Kiffin has spent the past 26 seasons in the NFL, including the last 13 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Home run champ in court: Home run king Barry Bonds pleaded not guilty today to charges he lied to a grand jury investigating steroid use in sports. It was Bonds’ third time pleading in the case. He originally was indicted in November 2007, but the government revised the charges twice to fix legal technicalities. The former San Francisco Giants slugger now faces 10 counts of making false statements to a grand jury, plus an obstruction of justice charge. The case is scheduled to go to trial March 2. If convicted, Bonds faces a sentence between probation and two years in prison.
Called out: Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin today accused Florida coach Urban Meyer of an NCAA violation in the recruitment of Nu’Keese Richardson, a receiver from Pahokee, Fla., who committed to the Gators but signed with the Volunteers. “I’m going to turn Florida in right now in front of you,” Kiffin said during Tennessee’s recruiting celebration, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel. “Nu’Keese was here on campus (on his recruiting visit), and his phone kept ringing. One of our coaches said, ‘Nu’Keese, who’s that?’ He said, ‘Urban Meyer.’ Just so you know, when a recruit is on another campus, you can’t call him. I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn’t get him.”
