Making the morning rounds

• A tale of two (suddenly rich) Tigers. Clemson quarterback Kyle Parker, first-round pick of the Colorado Rockies in June’s MLB Draft, agreed to a deal with the Rockies just before Monday night’s deadline for signing draft picks, less than a month after turning down an offer that likely would have forced him to give up football. Parker will still be the Tigers’ starting QB this fall, only now with a $1.4 million signing bonus to tide him over until he hits the diamond next spring – slightly less than he could have landed a few weeks ago, but all in all, not bad for his last few months on campus. [Associated Press]

LSU quarterback Zach Lee, on the other hand, is apparently done with the gridiron after just a handful of practices as a true freshman: The Los Angeles Dodgers shelled out a whopping $5.25 million signing bonus Monday night to lock up Lee as their No. 1 pick – twice the franchise record for signing a rookie. For that kind of cash, I’d not only agree to leave LSU; if they wanted, I’d free Mike the Tiger and set the stadium on fire on my way out. [Associated Press]

• Haden out. Florida freshman Jordan Haden, younger brother of former Gator All-American/top-10 draft pick Joe Haden, is transferring out of Gainesville before ever suiting up for a game. Haden enrolled early for the spring but found himself buried on a crowded depth chart at safety (one that includes fellow early enrollee Matt Elam), derailing any hopes of following his brother as a freshman starter. No word on whether Jordan’s departure changes the forecast of the third Haden brother, Josh, a Boston College transfer who seemed bound for Florida as recently as last week. [Associated Press]

• Another Vol bites the dust. Tennessee defensive tackle John Brown, a former five-star signee turned academic washout at Florida, has left yet another program after being declared academically ineligible at UT, too, another crippling development for a Vol defensive line that had already lost starters Ben Martin and Marlon Walls to season-ending injuries last week. (Although coach Derek Dooley, for one, doesn’t seem that worried by the latest in a long line of major losses since spring practice: “(It) wasn’t a big surprise to us.” Nor to Florida fans, coach, and if anyone knows from disappointing defensive linemen, it’s a Gator fan.) Incoming “athlete” Marcques Dixon will also go down as an academic casualty, albeit one who wasn’t going to be counted on to contribute right away. [Knoxville News-Sentinel]

• Better late than never. Miami’s other late-arriving, five-star signee, cornerback Latwan Anderson, has been officially approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse
to enroll in Coral Gables, where he should finally arrive later this
week – as a walk-on. Despite his recruiting hype in football,
Anderson’s scholarship is with the track team. [CaneSports.com]

• The circle of recruiting life. Former Washington tight end Kavario Middleton, a rising talent in Seattle prior to his departure last month, plans to transfer to Nebraska, where he’ll be eligible in 2011. But Monday’s tight end news was good to the Huskies, anyway, after they beat out Texas for a verbal commitment from local star Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, the top-ranked tight end in the entire 2011 class going into the season. [Lincoln Journal-Star, UDubSports.com]

• Movin’ on up. TCU has announced a $105 million renovation that will turn 80-year-old Amon G. Carter Stadium into “the ‘Camden Yards’ of collegiate football stadiums,” which in practice means adding 24 seats and 2,300 club seats without actually expanding capacity. (Officially, the stadium currently holds 44,358, with a record crowd of over 50,000; the expansion will put capacity at 40,000 – a little above the average for last year’s undefeated, BCS-bound conference champions – with the ability to add another 10,000 if necessary.) Work will continue into 2012, forcing the Armed Forces Bowl to temporarily move to SMU’s Ford Field in Dallas. [GoFrogs.com, Dallas Morning News]

Not to be outdone, the Horned Frogs’ soon-to-be conference mate, Boise State, has invited boosters to a fundraising dinner ahead of announcing its own expansion plans for Bronco Stadium later this month. [Idaho Statesman]

• Screw you guys, I’m going home. Hyped North Carolina quarterback prospect Christian LeMay, an early Georgia commit for 2011, will complete his graduation requirements “in a private setting” after losing an appeal to overturn a 30-day suspension from his now-former high school. Between the suspension (which his family describes as a “youthful indiscretion” that “does not involve drugs, weapons or any form of violence”) and a mandatory 10-day conditioning period between rejoining the team and playing in a game, LeMay wouldn’t have seen the field for Butler High until November, and wouldn’t have been able to graduate in time to enroll early at UGA for spring practice. Instead, he’ll go his own way with private tutors and trainers and show up at Athens as planned next January – if he can still get in. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Quickly… Florida commit Ja’Juan Story was charged with battery after (according to him) breaking up a knife fight between his brother’s baby mama and three other women. … A new recruiting site from the founders of Rivals.com. … Willy Korn, once-hyped quarterback signee at Clemson, may be planning another transfer after being moved to safety at Marshall. … Georgia welcomes back two players who briefly left the team earlier in camp. … Two hyped freshmen, defensive back Nickell Robey and receiver Robert Woods, are making instant inroads on USC’s depth chart after a few practices. … The battle between Chris Galippo and Devon Kennard to become the Trojans’ starting middle linebacker could be decided at Saturday’s scrimmage. … Cornerback Dionte Allen is transferring from Florida State in search of playing time. … Texas tight end Trey Graham is out for the season with a knee injury. … Alabama signee Deion Belue plans to be back at Alabama by 2012, and may redshirt his first season at Northeast Mississippi Junior College to preserve a year of eligibility. … Illinois fans are still reveling in the glory years. … And when it comes to Alabama-Auburn, even the dogs have to choose a side.

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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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