(USA Today Sports Images)

There’s never a good time for an NFL draft prospect to get arrested, but being arrested in your hometown when city officials are about to declare a day named after you, is probably the worst-case scenario.

Welcome to Tharold Simon’s world.

Simon, a former LSU cornerback hoping to get drafted, was arrested in his hometown of Eunice, La., on Thursday and charged with public intimidation, resisting an officer and unnecessary noise violation. Moreover, he allegedly threatened a police officer. Simon denies any wrongdoing in the case and his agent said he has 20 witnesses to corroborate that claim (you can read more on his denial below).

[Also: NFL draft first-round winners and losers]

And all of this before city officials were about to declare Friday “Tharold Simon Day.”

According to the police report, police requested Simon move his car, which was blocking a city street. Simon allegedly lashed out at the officer telling him, "I own Eunice," and "I'm gonna buy these projects and you are gonna be mine.” The report also said he backed the car up in an aggressive manner and turned the radio all the way up while doing it.

The charges are fairly minor, but it might be enough for some NFL teams to pass on Simon, who was projected as a mid-round pick.

However, the City of Eunice still stands its hometown hero and Mayor Rusty Moody said the ceremony announcing “Tharold Simon Day” would go on.

(USA Today Sports Images)
Bobby Bowden is and probably always will be synonymous with Florida State football, which is why the last three seasons have been a little strange.

Bowden hasn't been back to a home game since he was forced out at the end of the 2009 season. That's why the announcement that Bowden will attend two home Florida State games, Oct. 26 against N.C. State and Nov. 16 against Syracuse, was huge news for the school. The press release included excited comments from the school president, athletic director, current Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, the FSU board of trustees chair and the Seminole Boosters president & CEO. Getting Bowden back to a game was obviously a really big deal for the school, and that's understandable.

The polite and oft-stated reason for Bowden's absence is that he didn't want to overshadow Fisher as Fisher built his own program. There's something to that, surely, but it's easy to imagine Bowden kept his distance because he wasn't completely thrilled with how his career came to an end. Bowden said he isn't still upset over how his time at Florida State ended, even though it was a year sooner than he wanted.

Time has passed, and now will be the time for Florida State to have a full-scale celebration for its legendary coach.

Something didn't seem quite complete with Bowden holding out of coming back for a home game. The Nov. 16 game will honor the 1993 national championship team. Surely the thought of doing that celebration without Bowden weighed heavily on Florida State.

Bowden coming back to soak in the cheers he has rightfully earned at Florida State will be a great moment for everyone involved with the program, including for the longtime coach who turned the Seminoles into a powerhouse.

“What Bobby Bowden means to Florida State University cannot be measured or overstated,” FSU president

Who says fancy uniforms and helmets are only for FBS teams?

University of Findlay, a Division II school, is trying to become a trendsetter by being the first college football team in the country to add names to the back of their helmets.

(USA Today Sports Images)This is a fascinating stat from Jon Solomon at AL.com: Nick Saban has already passed Bear Bryant for number of first-round picks at Alabama.

Bryant produced 13 first-round picks in 25 seasons with the Crimson Tide. Saban has 14 in six seasons, which is hard to fathom. That's 19 fewer seasons for Saban than Bryant.

The Crimson Tide produced three more first-round picks last night, with cornerback Dee Milliner, guard Chance Warmack and tackle D.J. Fluker. The amazing thing is it could have easily been a couple more, because running back Eddie Lacy and defensive tackle Jesse Williams could both go in the second round on Friday.

There are plenty of qualifiers to Solomon's great stat, of course.

14 teams in NFL in 1961 RT @jonsol: AM RT Saban tops Bear Bryant's 1st-round picks at Bama... in 19 fewer seasons. bit.ly/Zorn7H

— Cecil Hurt (@CecilHurt) April 26, 2013

Also, one could make a logical argument that first-round picks have nothing to do with judging a college coach. For one example, Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te'o didn't go in the

We’ve seen some weird recruiting letters this offseason — mostly from Mississippi State — but the one Rutgers sent to three-star athlete Noah Brown of Sparta, N.J., might be the strangest letter we’ll see for a long time.

The Scarlet Knights sent Brown a letter containing a photo of a weightlifter with the head of defensive coordinator Dave Cohen photoshopped onto the top of the body.

(@nb_dosuno)

Go ahead, marvel at this masterpiece.

It then added the pitch: “If you can’t beat me, join me! We want you … Come to Rutgers!!

Brown posted the picture on his Twitter feed, but had to remove it after getting some colorful comments. He did note that he enjoyed the picture and didn’t find it as creepy as the rest of us.

I found the mail very funny. Not creepy in anyway . It was creative and original. Yall need to relax

— Noah Brown (@nb_dosuno) April 25, 2013

Even though this letter is a little corny, at least it stands out. Brown currently has 12 offers but this letter from his in-state school could give the Scarlet Knights the extra muscle it needs to land Brown's commitment.

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H/T SB Nation

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(USA Today Sports Images)This offseason we will count down various topics from Monday through Friday, bringing you the top five of the important and definitely some not so important issues in college football. It's the Doc Five, every week until we will thankfully have actual games to discuss.

COACHES WHO COULD PROBABLY USE A BIG SEASON

NO. 2, MACK BROWN

To listen to Mack Brown tell it, the recent struggles of Texas football were due in large part to having young teams.

Maybe so, but Texas should never struggle like it has recently. Fair or not, the expectations are high for the program that generates more cash and has arguably the most fertile recruiting territory in all of college football. A 22-16 record over three seasons, which is what Texas has produced this decade, should not happen. The Longhorns have too many built-in advantages to produce that record.

[Also: Is Matt Barkley a cautionary tale for Johnny Manziel?]

There have been notable recruiting failures at quarterback, letting Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III and Johnny Manziel slip away. The offense has seemed stuck in neutral without a clear plan. The defense has faltered, especially last season. Texas is in danger of becoming the second most attractive destination for recruits in the state, if Kevin Sumlin can keep making rapid progress at Texas A&M.

Brown's ultimate legacy will always be a 2005 national championship, which came in the middle of a nine-season streak of at least 10 wins. But he certainly doesn't want his time at Texas to end on such a disappointing note.

Orangebloods.com wrote a fascinating piece on Brown last December. It talks in depth about what has gone wrong the past few years, and explores the hypothetical situation of Brown possibly walking away had Texas won the BCS Championship Game at the end of the 2009 season against Alabama. Brown is apparently convinced if Colt McCoy didn't get hurt, the Longhorns would have won. While respectfully disagreeing, a win in that game likely would have changed everything when it

(USA Today Sports Images)The argument has been made that USC quarterback Matt Barkley wouldn't have gone in the top 10 of last year's draft, as some predicted when he decided to return for his senior season. He would have been picked apart before last year's draft, just as he was the past few months. That might be accurate.

Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, once ranked by both ESPN's draft analysts as the third best quarterback in last year's draft that saw Ryan Tannehill go eighth overall (and last year was a much better draft, by the way), stayed in school like Barkley. Maybe he too would have slipped in the draft during the intense pre-draft evaluation. All the same can be said for quarterback Tyler Wilson, who passed on a chance to be a high draft pick last year to return to Arkansas.

Maybe Jones, Wilson and Barkley will all end up going in the first round of the NFL draft on Thursday night. Nobody seems to think that will happen, but this is the most unpredictable draft in years. Who knows.

But the most likely outcome is that trio will wait a while to hear their names called, and provide a very poignant "what if" scenario to an incredible group of underclassmen in college football who will decide on their future at the end of next season.

[Also: Mack Brown running out of excuses at Texas]

Quarterbacks Teddy Bridgewater of Louisville and Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, receivers Marqise Lee and Sammy Watkins of Clemson, Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, Alabama offensive lineman Cyrus Kouandjio and Notre Dame defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt and Ohio State linebacker Ryan Shazier are just some of the players who might leave school early to enter the 2014 draft. Many of those players would be drafted in the top half of this year's watered-down draft if the NFL's unfair draft eligibility rule didn't exist. That's a loaded group.

And most of them will likely take a look at Barkley, Wilson and Jones over

Florida wide receivers coach Joker Phillips won the Internet Thursday morning.

We’ve spent the past few weeks mocking his weird Photoshop posts, but on Thursday, he posted one that was actually quite entertaining and should get the notice of all the teams on the Gator’s schedule. At least it's not creepy like the rest of the pictures he's put up this offseason. He must have had a good week.

Yes, that is Pac-Man board and yes, each of the ghosts is one of Florida’s opponents in 2012. Instead of Pac-Man, Phillips uses a gator head and it looks like LSU is the first in Florida’s direct path.

[Also: New college football playoff faces a tough dilemma]

Wait, are there two LSU's?