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ATHENS, Ga. -- Three precocious passers are trying to prove its now possible for true freshmen quarterbacks to win big in the Southeastern Conference.Alabamas Jalen Hurts, Georgias Jacob Eason and South Carolinas Brandon McIlwain are a combined 5-0 as starters. Hurts and Eason directed comeback wins last week.Hurts was named SEC offensive player of the week after No. 1 Alabama overcame a three-touchdown deficit to beat then-No. 19 Mississippi. Eason calmly threw a go-ahead touchdown pass on fourth down with less than 2 minutes remaining in No. 12 Georgias win at Missouri.McIlwain ran for two touchdowns in his first start, a win over East Carolina.Excluding redshirts, no first-year quarterback has led his team to a SEC division title since Tennessees Erik Ainge in 2004.Its not difficult to measure just how tough it is to win big as a rookie quarterback in the SEC. Two of the leagues biggest stars, Tennessees Peyton Manning in 1994 and Georgias Matthew Stafford in 2006, played on four-loss teams as true freshmen. Manning won seven of his eight starts.Former Alabama quarterback Blake Sims said he has marveled at the early success enjoyed by Hurts and Eason.Ive been watching Alabama, Ive been watching Georgia and I think both quarterbacks are doing a great job, said Sims, who signed to the Atlanta Falcons practice squad as a running back last week.Sims was a backup quarterback and running back at Alabama before starting his first game at quarterback as a senior in 2014. After waiting so long for his chance, he appreciates seeing true freshmen win as starters.Its really tough, Sims said. Youve got to be real strong mentally and very calm and youve got to understand the little things.There are several reasons why true freshmen are having success.South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said players leaving school early for the NFL or transferring creates more opportunities.Quarterback is the one we focus on, but I think its all positions there are more guys coming out for the draft, Muschamp said. So there are more younger players playing now.Georgias Kirby Smart believes the growth of the passing game in high school has made quarterbacks better prepared to play immediately in college.They see so much more, they throw so much more, theyve seen a lot of the defenses before, the Bulldogs coach said earlier this month. There are a lot more prolific offenses out there in high school football. ... I certainly think quarterbacks come in with more ability to play early.It can also help a quarterback to adjust more quickly to the college game if he has played in a similar scheme as in high school.I think if a guy played in spread offense, hes probably more apt to be able to come in and play early in a spread offense in college, Alabama coach Nick Saban said. If a guy played in a pro-style, drop-back sort of offense in high school, hes probably going to be more apt to play in that style of offense in college.Hurts, Eason and South McIlwain opened the season as backups.Senior Greyson Lambert started in Georgias opening win. Redshirt freshman Blake Barnett started Alabamas opener against USC. Eason and Hurts became starters for their second games; McIlwain had to wait one more week.Eason was rated by some as the nations top high school recruit at quarterback. He enrolled early but even after going through spring practice is still learning.Smart has given candid criticisms about Easons difficulty in running the huddle, calling plays and throwing to the correct receiver. Even so, Smart said he and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney never doubted Easons poise.Coach Chaney has always said this kid is not affected by the environment, Smart said. Hes really not. Hes affected by what hes got to say in the huddle. Hes affected by some of the decisions hes got to make coverage wise, but hes a very confident player.Hurts has impressed with his cool demeanor, including after his lost fumble was returned for a touchdown by Ole Miss.Running back Damien Harris said after the play Hurts was no different than he was before.Sims said he told Hurts to remember its still the same game.Its like hey, Im back in high school, Im in the backyard still, Sims said. Thats how my process was.I talked to Jalen and I told him the same thing.---AP Sports Writers John Zenor in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and Pete Iacobelli in Columbia, South Carolina contributed to this report.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Cheap Shoes Replica . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Cheap Shoes .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. https://www.cheapshoesdiscount.com/ . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. Cheap Shoes Website . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Cheap Shoes From China . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Dawn Staley wasnt disappointed or angry that No. 6 South Carolina was tied with ninth-ranked UCLA at half. She believed she had the Bruins right where her team wanted.The Gamecocks backed her up in a big way Sunday, running past UCLA with a third-quarter surge for a 66-57 victory and their third win over a Top 10 opponent this season.Alaina Coates had 20 points -- 11 in a 17-3 run to start the second half -- and 14 rebounds for South Carolina (9-1). Still, things looked dicey at the break with both Coates and 6-foot-5 Aja Wilson limited by fouls the first two quarters.Not to Staley.I thought we were in a great place, Staley said. I thought we were picking up steam as the game went on. I was looking at UCLA, I thought they were exhausted playing at that pace. And with our bigs in foul trouble, I thought wed have a burst in the second half where we needed to have a burst.Coates powered the decisive run with 11 points that the Bruins forwards could not match.But South Carolina used a 17-3 run -- fueled by the 6-foot-4 Coates -- to start the third period.Coates scored 11 points in the critical stretch as the Gamecocks built a 43-29 lead that the Bruins (8-2) couldnt overcome.The closest UCLA came after that was nine points on Jordin Canadas basket with 9:16 to play. But Allisha Gray followed with a three-point play for South Carolina to restore the double-digit margin.They imposed their will with their inside game, UCLA coach Cori Close said.Along with Coates, Wilson had 13 points and 13 rebounds -- the second straight contest both had double-doubles.Canada, UCLAs leading scorer who had 30 points in her last game, had 15 points on 6-of-20 shooting before fouling out with 2:15 to go.Monique Billings had a career-high 22 rebounds to go along with 12 points for the Bruins. She surpassed her high of 16 boards collected in a win over Micchigan a week ago.ddddddddddddUCLAs shooting touch was ice cold. The Bruins shot 28.2 percent for the game and made just four of 27 attempts from 3-point range.THE BIG PICTUREUCLA: The Bruins showed the speed, size and strength to match up with the best teams in the country. Billings, at 6-4, went toe-to-toe with South Carolina twin post stars in Wilson and Coates.Canada regularly sped past the Gamecocks quick guards. The Bruins seemed to wear down before halftime as the Gamecocks wiped out an eight-point lead with an 18-10 run over the final seven minutes of the second quarter.South Carolina: The Gamecocks need to start faster if they hope to succeed in the rugged Southeastern Conference. South Carolina made only two of 15 field goals in the opening quarter and finished with six points. Its been a recurring problem this season for the Gamecocks, whove scored fewer than 20 points in the first quarter in six of their 10 games this season.POLL IMPLICATIONSUCLA could slip out of the Top 10, but should not fall too far after coming cross-country to face the Gamecocks.South Carolina should hold its spot at No. 6 after winning three games in eight days.CANADA COLDSouth Carolina was wary of Canadas skill and game-planned to make it difficult for her. Canada started 2 of 9 shooting as the Gamecocks forced her to give up the ball, then worked to deny her getting it back. Shes their engine, Gray said. The whole thing was to shut down Canada.UP NEXTUCLA: Stays in the South, playing at North Carolina A&T at noon on Tuesday.South Carolina: Plays its final nonconference game when it travels to Savannah State on Wednesday night.---Story has been corrected to show that UCLA plays North Carolina A&T at noon on Tuesday instead of 9 a.m. ' ' '
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