South Florida football players are a weird obsession for University of Tennessee Coach Lane Kiffin. In the last recruiting campaign, he sparked controversy -- then the kind of back-pedaling you'd prize in an All-America cornerback -- after he accused Florida Coach Urban Meyer of breaking NCAA rules with a prospect from Pahokee. And in this year's recruiting cycle, he's bought a billboard on I-95 near Oakland Park Boulevard in hopes it will have a hypnotic effect on local stars considering the Volunteers.
"It's time," says the billboard. For... a restraining order? For us to see other people? And this is a region accustomed to seeing billboards designed for an exclusive target, but at least Rush Limbaugh is an adult. Kiffin's targets are just starting their senior year in high school.
By cross-referencing the Volunteers' prospects list for Broward players, we can safely assume that his billboard is built for exactly five local football players, four of whom come from St. Thomas Aquinas. They are:
- Gio Bernard, a small-but-shifty running back.
- Cody Riggs, an elite cornerback.
- Keion Payne, the other St. Thomas cornerback.
- Brian Robinson, a safety.
- Max Beaulieu, a defensive end who plays for the University School.