HOOVER, Ala. - It's a small world for Ole Miss rising star quarterback Jevan Snead.
The man who (momentarily) took away a unanimous preseason All-SEC First-Team selection from UF quarterback Tim Tebow seems to be at the center of the college football universe.
Snead transferred to Ole Miss after spending his freshman year at Texas and posted more than 2,700 yards and 26 touchdowns through the air.
After getting a chance to talk with the junior signal caller, I have decided to compile a list of the top storylines Snead is directly connected to for the upcoming season.
From No. 5 to 1, here's the list:
5. Tennessee -The Vols new coach, Lane Kiffin, has made a lot of noise this offseason in hopes of garnering attention for his program, but one move few can question is the hiring of former Rebels head coach Ed Orgeron as his associate head coach in Knoxville. When Snead decided to transfer to Ole Miss from Texas, Orgeron was the Rebels' coach. Snead sat out his mandatory season in Oxford, and by the time he was eligible to play last season, Houston Nutt had replaced Coach O as the head football coach.
4. Texas - Texas is one of the best teams in the nation and one of the favorites to meet UF in the national championship this season. Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy beat out Snead for the starting job when the two were freshmen the year after Texas climbed to the top of the college football mountain.
3. UF - Snead led the Rebels to victory in The Swamp last season, handing the Gators their only loss and sparking the now-famous postgame speech from Tebow. Long before all of that, UF coach Urban Meyer recruited Snead to come play quarterback for the Gators even though he was in the same class as Tebow. In "Meat Market," a book about football recruiting by ESPN's Bruce Feldman, Snead said that Meyer told him Tebow was going to play linebacker and that Snead would be able to come in and play quarterback. Snead was understandably skeptical and de-committed from UF after Tebow committed.
2. SEC vs. Big 12 Debate - The Big 12 has been gaining ground on the Southeastern Conference for league supremacy in recent years, and some experts feel as though there is a new power. Snead is able to offer an interesting perspective, as he played in both conferences and went on record in Hoover as saying he believes the SEC is the best conference in college football, in part due to the better defenses. Additionally, Snead led Ole Miss to a 47-34 victory over Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl last season in one of two bowl victories for the SEC against the Big 12.
1. The Heisman Trophy - Perhaps no storyline is more enduring throughout the college football season than the Heisman Trophy race. Snead is getting most of the preseason love as the fourth contestant for this year's award, behind the three-headed monster of Sam Bradford, McCoy and Tebow. Snead said he landed at Ole Miss because he didn't feel UF or Texas had a place for him since both schools decided to go with other options. If Snead makes it to New York as a Heisman finalist, he will be sharing the stage and the evening with the two guys who chased him out of town.
