Making the morning rounds.
? In other words, he's still on track for the opener. Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said Tuesday he's "very optimistic" about star receiver Michael Floyd's progress toward fulfilling the criteria for returning from a DUI-related suspension in time for the season opener against South Florida. "He makes one mistake, in terms of how he handles himself, he doesn't play here ever," Kelly said before a "Football 101" event to raise money for breast cancer awareness and prevention. "There is no suspension, there is no sit for one game. He's got to live his life the right way. If he does that ? and all the signs point toward he's moving in that direction ? then I expect him to play every game."
On the legal side, Floyd is still seeking a plea agreement with the state by the end of the month to avoid possible jail time. [Chicago Tribune]
? We'll get back to you. A member of Ohio State's board of trustees said Tuesday the 18-member board will break its silence on the Buckeyes' ongoing football scandal sometime next week. "We're at the beginning of the beginning of what we're doing," said Robert Schotteinstein, a businessman and chairman of the board's audit committee. "If we could [release a fuller statement earlier] we would. It's not my style to be not forthcoming."
With coach Jim Tressel already out, the board's confidence remains critical to the futures of university president E. Gordon Gee and athletic director Gene Smith, whose initial description of Tressel's coverup of NCAA violations as "an isolated incident" that no one else in the department knew anything about means he was either a) Woefully out of touch with his most profitable program, or b) Lying. [Associated Press]
? Storm's a-comin' over Storm's a-goin'. The father of ex-Miami running back Storm Johnson described the restrictions placed on his son's transfer by the university as "modern-day slavery" motivated by an arbitrary grudge on the part of new coach Al Golden. "Any [Football Subdivision] school within six hours of his [Georgia] home has been blocked. UM should be ashamed for doing this to an 18-year-old," Wesley Johnson told the Miami Herald, noting that the university had barred Johnson from transferring to any of 26 specific schools in the ACC and SEC or appearing on future Miami schedules. "Storm and Al Golden didn't see eye-to-eye. Storm didn't approve of the military style he was being coached. He didn't hurt anybody. He did nothing but transfer."
Before his departure, Storm Johnson was one of a half-dozen 'Cane players reportedly suspended for at least the season opener for an undisclosed violation of team rules, though no suspension has been officially confirmed (or denied) by Miami. Golden's response to papa Johnson's rant: "[Storm] wasn't doing the things he needed to do. He can spin it any way he wants." [Miami Herald]
? Let's get it (back) on. After a decade-long hiatus, Penn State and Pittsburgh have agreed to renew their longstanding rivalry with a pair of home-and-home dates in 2016-17. The Nittany Lions and Panthers met on an annual basis throughout the 20th Century, with only two brief hiatuses (from 1932-34 and 1993-96) between 1900 and 2000, before Penn State decided an extra home game against Temple in even years was a better financial bet than a trip to Pittsburgh. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]
? Rich get richer. On the recruiting trail, two prospects ranked among Rivals' top 100 overall for 2012 made in-state commitments Tuesday to SEC schools. In Alabama, 6-foot-2, 205-pound running back T.J. Yeldon, Rivals' fifth-ranked RB and No. 58 player overall, verbally committed to Auburn, giving the Tigers their third top 100 commitment to the '12 class. And in Florida, 5-11, 187-pound cornerback Brian Poole, Rivals' eighth-ranked corner and No. 75 overall player, became the second top 100 recruit to verbally commit to the Gators. [AuburnSports.com, InsidetheGators.com]
? Comings and goings. Maryland announced Tuesday that two likely backups, sophomore defensive tackle Zach Kerr and freshman receiver Nigel King, have been declared ineligible for the 2011 season, bringing the attrition since coach Randy Edsall took over in January to three transfers, two early departures by would-be fifth-year seniors and now two academic casualties. "It is what it is. I'm not one of those guys that is going to go around and say 'woe is me' or anything like that," Edsall said. "You put your plan in place and if something happens you have plans in case you have to move somebody or do those sort of things." [Baltimore Sun]
Quickly… Russell Wilson's decision on a new school could be coming today. … Like everything else, mock draft love is motivation for Matt Barkley. … A dissenting opinion on Phil Fulmer's bid for Tennessee athletic director. …A top Vol blogger quits his job. … And apparently Cody Hawkins is the best quarterback the United States has to offer to the rest of the world in the International Federation of American Football Senior World Championship.
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Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.
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