My latest source shows Natchez’ Nook Logan batting .315 while playing for Long Island in the Independent League, while Vidalia’s Jarrett Hoffpauir is hitting .305 with the Cardinal’s AAA Memphis affiliate.

People still occasionally ask me if I miss officiating college football. Since my last on-field officiating experience in the Southeastern Conference was 19 years ago (1989) it would be hard to say that I still miss it.

Each season there are fewer and fewer officials active in the SEC who were around during my career. I do know a lot of them from my 11 years as an observer for the SEC. There are no head coaches in the conference remaining from my time, and only a few assistance coaches remain active.

During my SEC officiating days the Southeastern Conference (and several other conferences, I recall) had rules requiring that a football official could no longer be active past the year in which he turned 59 years old.

Though that rule was unwritten (and likely illegal) one would have been unwise to fight it because the possibility of getting game assignments would have vanished. The SEC did not move into the ‘crew’ system until 1992, so game assignments were made on an individual basis.

The old age rule caught four of us after the 1989 season. Of those four officials, I was the only one whose condition would have allowed me to continue officiating. All of the other three former officials are now dead, and two of them passed away within a year of retirement.

Bear in mind that retirement is only a figure of speech. We were all independent contractors so any retirement was our own responsibility. As only the oldest and highest ranked National Football League officials make enough in fees to maybe live on, college officials must all have real jobs.

I was fortunate to have stayed on with the SEC for 11 additional years as an observer, but the then-Commissioner did not have confidence in the observer system consequently the pay and expense allowance had been reduced to the point that it was no longer fun.

College football officiating was good to and for me. Not only did I officiate many great games and for many great coaches and players, it required that I stay in top physical condition. I ran the streets of Natchez almost every morning, but fell back to walking after my on-field officiating days ended.

The years of pounding asphalt streets and Astroturf fields had taken a toll on my ankles and feet. I still walk to try to control my weight, but the old motivation is not there.

Young high school football officials ask me about the best route to college officiating. I do not know the requirements in the SEC now, but fairly recently they required an official to have four years of college officiating experience before he (or she) could be accepted. Small college and junior college officiating were acceptable.

A person interested in that avocation should be prepared to start by officiating youth league, middle school, and junior varsity high school games.

Learn the rules completely, get in and stay in perfect condition, and be patient. Be prepared to see that politics play a part in officiating, as in anything else.

Once an official has been accepted as qualified by the SEC, that official is placed on the applicant list. This leads to assignments to officiate scrimmages at SEC schools, where he is observed by veteran officials.

From there he is placed on the supplemental list, which provides officials to fill in during the early part of the season, when more officials are needed than are available from the regular list.

And, That’s Official.

Al Graning writes a weekly column for The Democrat.