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          • Greg Ostendorf, ESPN Staff WriterFeb 27, 2015, 09:00 AM ET
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            • Covers the SEC.
            • Joined ESPN in 2012.
            • Graduate of the University of Alabama.
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          1. Dan Mullen is finally getting paid. After leading Mississippi State to its first 10-win season in school history and a New Year’s Six bowl game, Mullen received an extension Thursday that runs through the 2018 season and comes with a nice pay raise. The new deal will start out at $4 million in 2015 and escalate in the years to come. That puts him along the same pay grade as fellow SEC coaches Mark Richt (Georgia), Les Miles (LSU) and Hugh Freeze (Ole Miss). Who could’ve ever guessed that both Mississippi State and Ole Miss would be willing to pay over $4 million to keep their coaches around? Let’s not forget that it’s been less than a decade since Nick Saban became the first college football coach to make $4 million annually when he signed with Alabama in 2007. Now all seven coaches in the SEC West make at least that much.

          2. The financial aid agreements signed by recruits before signing day seem like a good idea in principle. But there’s always a catch, and it looks as if LSU found that out the hard way. The Tigers are getting slapped with recruiting sanctions all because a recruit backed out of his commitment. No big deal, right? In this case it is. That recruit, offensive lineman Matt Womack, signed a financial agreement with LSU which gave the school unlimited contact with him. The only problem is he didn’t sign his letter of intent with LSU. He signed it with Alabama. That made the unlimited contact with the recruit illegal, and the NCAA is making them pay. So who’s at fault here? LSU couldn’t have seen this coming. But can you blame the kid for changing his mind? That happens. Ultimately, I think the rule has to change.

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