Morning links

In case you didn't see it, here's the ESPN story that says the recipient of A.J. Green's jersey was a former North Carolina player. Chris Hawkins, who played for UNC from 2001-03 until being kicked off the team, said he identified himself to Green as a memorabilia collector and financial adviser.

But Hawkins is also linked to the investigation at North Carolina, which has ensnared a number of players. A source told ESPN that Tar Heel players told the NCAA that Hawkins referred them to two different agents. If that's true, it's no surprise the NCAA decided to define him as an agent.

The key for Green, as far as his appeal, will be how much ignorance he can plead about Hawkins' status.

Other than the appeal, however, that may be it as far as the investigation's impact on Georgia - assuming no other links to Hawkins or the agent come out.

North Carolina is still on the clock as far as the NCAA investigation. North Carolina is still on the clock as far as the NCAA investigation. And the football team's academic issues may pre-date this year, according to this report.

We'll keep you updated.

- In other news, here's my story from this morning's papers on the two quarterbacks in Saturday's game. Georgia's Aaron Murray and South Carolina's Stephen Garcia played at nearby rival high schools in Tampa, Fla., though never against each other. They will at Williams-Brice.

The two high schools, Jefferson and Plant, are four miles apart, according to Mapquest. They both reside in relatively upscale areas in Tampa, Fla., both have pretty good football programs and consider themselves rivals.

Aaron Murray has a distinct memory of one tussle between the two schools. He was a sophomore at Plant, watching his team take on Jefferson, whose quarterback was a senior named Stephen Garcia. Plant was led by a senior quarterback with an equal amount of hype, Robert Marve. Plant won on a late touchdown by Marve and went on to win the state title.

“It was a huge battle between those guys, the Mavre-Garcia showdown,” Murray said.

- More NCAA investigation news: Here's a copy of the letter South Carolina received yesterday, notifying it of an official inquiry into its football program.

To repeat a point I made on Twitter yesterday, the South Carolina letter of inquiry is different from what Georgia received in July. Georgia received an "interview notice" for a student-athlete.

- Tennessee, meanwhile, is also being looked at by the NCAA, according to ESPN.com. That includes the men's basketball and football programs. The school has yet to receive a letter of inquiry, but the NCAA has already met with coaches there, including Bruce Peal.

Anybody here think the NCAA is considering just moving its offices to somewhere in the Southeast?

- Finally, there was an honest-to-goodness football game in the SEC Thursday night. Auburn used its defense to beat Mississippi State, 17-14.

Auburn QB Cameron Newton, who a week earlier played like Warren Moon in his starting debut, could have been Soleil Moon Frye in the second half against Mississippi State. Newton threw two touchdowns in the first half, then sat back and watched the defense hold the Bulldogs.

This either means that Auburn's defense is going to be better under Gene Chizik than we thought - or Dan Mullen's offense at Mississippi State still has a WAYS to go.