TENNESSEE: Offensive lineman Jason Respert is finally healthy and expected to battle for the starting center position. He can bench press nearly 500 pounds. Jonathan Wade is moving from receiver to defensive back. The Vols start spring practice next week. (Volquest.com)

AUBURN: In Saturday’s 125-play scrimmage, the defense dominated the first eight offensive series that resulted in five sacks and four three-and-out possessions and no scores. Quarterback Jason Campbell, who was sacked six times, was 6-12-52 yards. The defense had 10 sacks. Tailback Carnell Williams was held to one-yards on eight carries and Ronnie Brown had 44 yards on four attempts. Brandon Cox may have taken the lead in the No. 2 quarterback race after completing 9-of –15 for 175 yards. Cox, who has overcome a blood disorder, threw a 54-yard scoring play to receiver Devin Aromashodu. Sophomore Courtney Taylor and Aromashodu have moved ahead of senior Silas Daniels and junior Ben Obomanu. Sophomore receiver Lee Guess caught two of Cox’s passes for 51 yards. The two were high school teammates at Hewitt-Trussville High. Kelcy Luke was 5-of-13 for 84 yards including a 54-yard scoring play to walk-on receiver Jamoga Ramsey. Kenny Irons, a South Carolina transfer ran for 103 yards and two scores on 18 carries. Because he transferred to a Division I-A school, Irons will not be eligible to play until the 2005 season. Tailback Tre Smith, who is considering a redshirt season, rushed for 73 yards on 13 carries. Defensive end Stanley McClover led the team with eight tackles and defensive tackle Wayne Dickens had four tackles, three tackles-for-loss and two sacks. Linebacker Quentin Groves had seven tackles, one tackle-for-loss and forced a fumble and Karibi Dede had seven tackles plus a sack. Dede has fit in well at linebacker after moving from safety. (Auburnsports.com)

MORE TIGERS: Defensively, sophomore Will Herring, a free safety and sophomore Montae Pitts, a cornerback, have played well working with the first team. Offensive guard Jarrod Britt is out for the rest of the spring with a twisted knee. He is scheduled to have his knee scoped Monday. Linebacker Kevis Burnam, a rising junior, seems to have recovered from a series of knee injuries. Former Auburn president William Walker is receiving $270,000 per year in a role as “special counsel to the president”. (Mobile Register) Former Tiger tailback Brandon Jacobs could transfer to Nebraska, Tulsa or Southern Miss (Collegefootballnews.com)

LSU: Arkansas State has been added to the 2004 schedule on Sept. 11 replacing Houston. Arkansas State was scheduled to play LSU in 2005, but school officials moved the game up one year. Tiger officials have agreed to a home-and-home series with Oklahoma with dates to be announced later this spring. The Tigers picked up verbal commitment No. 7 after fullback/linebacker Steven Korte (6-2, 230) of Fontainebleau High in Mandeville, La., cast his lot with LSU. Chris Keys (6-2, 210), a safety from Port Barre, La., verbally committed to the Tigers a few days earlier. (TigerBait.com)

ALABAMA: In Saturday’s 106-play scrimmage, the leading receiver was Brandon Brooks (5-4, 163) who caught three passes for 68 yards and a score. Mike Shula praised the play of receivers Matt Caddell, Matt Miller, Tyrone Prothro and Brooks. Marc Guillon, a Miami transfer, was 14-27 for 175 yards and two scores. Walk-on quarterback Michael Machen was 8-21 for 11 yards and two picks. Safety Thurman Ward and cornerback Ramzee Robinson intercepted the passes. Linebackers Demarcus Waldrop and Juwan Garth and safety Roman Harper each had seven tackles. Defensive end Todd Bates had three sacks. Tailback Ray Hudson ran for 40 yards on eight attempts and Ken Darby had 31 yards on 11 carries. Fullback Tim Castille had five carries for 22 yards and caught three passes for 19 yards. The coaches are concerned about replacing long snapper Nick Ridings. David Sears is a possible replacement. Dominic Lee, a defensive lineman, had ankle surgery and will miss the rest of the spring. Lee along with senior Anthony Bryant and sophomore Jeremy Clark are the three top tackles for the Tide. Charlie Pephrah, who has started 21 straight games at cornerback, is being looked at as a safety. Sophomore Ramzee Robinson worked at cornerback replacing Peprah. Anthony Madison is playing at the other cornerback position. Cornelius Wortham and Freddie Roach continue to battle for the middle linebacker spot. Receiver Scoop McDowell has missed four consecutive workouts. No word from Tide officials on his situation. (Bamaonline.com)

ARKANSAS: When the Hogs start spring practice, the only returning starter on offense is quarterback Matt Jones. Hog coaches are looking to replace Tony Bua, who was the school’s career leading tackler. Although he was a safety, Bua actually played as a hybrid linebacker/safety. Clarke Moore, who missed most of the season with a broken leg, is expected to re-claim his starting spot at middle linebacker. (Hawgsports.com)

OLE MISS: Finding a replacement for Eli Manning is the first priority for the Rebels this spring. The heir-apparent is redshirt junior Michael Spurlock, who has been in the system for three years. He has a strong arm and is very athletic. Robert Lane and Ethan Flatt are also in the mix. Lane is a highly regarded freshman. Tailbacks Tremaine Turner and Ronald McClendon are gone, but Vashon Pearson, who had 302 carries last year, returns. Rebel coaches are hoping Jamal Pittman can overcome not one, but two torn ACL’s. (RebelGrove.com)

KENTUCKY: The opener against Louisville has been picked up by ESPN or ESPN2 for Sunday, Sept. 5.

FLORIDA: The Gators start spring practice Tuesday with many questions. Who replaces three-year starters Max Starks and Shannon Snell on the left side of the offensive line? Possible candidates are juco transfer Billy Griffin, sophomore Steve Rissler, juco transfers Anthony Guerrero and sophomore Lance Butler. The secondary is even less experienced with new defensive back coach Dan Disch needing to replace four new starters. (GatorBait.net)

FLORIDA STATE: Former Nole quarterback Fabian Walker has started spring practice at Valdosta State. He is one of nine quarterbacks on Chris Hatcher’s roster. Nate Hardage, another former Nole, is a linebacker for VSU. Hatcher has coached Daunte Culpepper and Tim Couch in the past. The coaches went on their annual Caribbean cruise during spring break. Quarterback Chris Rix, fullback James Coleman and tight end Paul Irons took part in a mission trip to South Africa this week. Receiver Lorne Sam was looking good at receiver this spring before he hurt his hamstring in practice the week before spring break. With starting center David Castillo recovering from foot surgery, sophomore John Frady has received the bulk of the work. Linebacker A. J. Nicholson, who is expected to start at weakside linebacker, intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown in the last mini-scrimmage. Quarterback Wyatt Sexton said he has a good grasp of the offense and now he has to get a feel for the speed of the game. Sexton is now 212 pounds and he wants to be 220 by the start of the season. Defensive end Darrell Burston is contending for the starting left defensive end spot to replace Kevin Emanuel. Receiver De’Cody Fagg has recovered nicely from his broken leg he suffered at Hargrave Military Academy. (Warchant.com)

VIRGINIA: Rising junior tight end Heath Miller is a candidate for the Lombardi Award. Miller caught 70 passes for 835 yards. (TheWagonOnline.com)

CLEMSON: The Tigers began spring practice Saturday with 15 starters returning. During the offseason, Tommy Bowden changed the duties of five assistants including naming Mike O’Cain as offensive coordinator. Former offensive coordinator Brad Scott returns to coaching the offensive line. He coached the same position at FSU. Clemson returns several solid tailbacks including starter Duane Coleman (5-10, 190), who is bigger and stronger this season. Senior Yusef Kelly (6-0, 230) returned to the practice field in shape and exhibited his sub 4.5/40 speed. Sophomore scat-back Reggie Merriweather will also see his share of snaps. Bowden would like to have his offense average more than 150 yards rushing per game, which has not been done in three years. Three starters--junior Chip Myrick, and seniors Tommy Sharpe and Cedric Johnson-- return on the offensive line this season. Coaches are excited about junior defensive tackle Cory Groover, who has lost 15 pounds and is down to 280. He will challenge starter Trey Tate. There is concern about the defensive line that lost Donnell Washington and DeJuan Polk from last season’s team. One of the highlights of the first few days was the improvement of receiver Chansi Stuckey, a former quarterback. (TigerIllustrated.com)

Tiger quarterback Charlie Whitehurst is looking sharp. The only question about the quarterbacks is who will be the between redshirt freshman C. J. Gaddis or sophomore Will Proctor. (Tigerillustrated.com) In position change news, Kyle Browning, who was last year’s third-leading rusher with 152 yards, has moved from running back to cornerback, Gerald McCloud, a Jacksonville native, goes from rover to receiver and walk-on Cole Downer moves from tight end to offensive tackle. Defensive tackle Todd McClinton’s career is over after he took a medical redshirt because of recurring seizures. (The State)

N. C. State: Coach Chuck Amato has hired Reggie Herring as his defensive coordinator. Herring held the same position at Clemson (1997-2001). He had tried to hire Miami’s Randy Shannon, but Shannon stayed with the Canes. Herring, a FSU grad, spent the past two seasons as linebacker’s coach of the Houston Texans. (TheWolfpacker.com)

MIAMI: The Canes have only four healthy running backs (Tyrone Moss, Quad Hill, Talib Humphrey and Kyle Cobia) this spring. Frank Gore will be held out while recovering from knee surgery. Fullback Quad Hill could be moved to tailback. The receivers are very talented and deep as they work with new offensive coordinator Dan Werner. Roscoe Parrish, Devin Hester, Darnell Jenkins and Sinorice Moss are small with game-breaking speed. Akieem Jolla and Ryan Moore are tall receivers that can present mismatches. Jolla has bulked up considerably. Hester is more familiar with the offense. Moore and Moss are recovering from minor surgeries, which makes their status for spring shaky at best. The coaches want to find a go-to receiver from the pack after losing Andre Johnson and Kellen Winslow the past two years. At the start of spring practice, Brock Berlin, Kyle Wright, Derrick Crudup and freshman Kirby Freeman will all get chances with the first team until a pecking order is created. Werner said Berlin goes into spring as the starter. Berlin has to cut down on his tendency to throw the ball up for grabs. Crudup could be the odd man out if Wright is impressive. Defensive end John Square is no longer with the team after deciding not to play football any longer. Jon Beason has moved from fullback to linebacker. He was recruited as a safety. (Canesport.com)

LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals have five non-Saturday games set for television: Sunday, Sept. 5 vs. Kentucky, Thursday, Oct. 14 at Miami, Friday, Oct. 22 vs. South Florida, Nov. 2, 3, or 4 at Memphis and Nov. 9, 10, or 11 vs. TCU. (Collegefootballnews.com)

ESPN is showing interest in a bowl game in Charleston, S.C., called the Palmetto Bowl. The problem is the game, that would pit teams from the ACC and C-USA, would be played in The Citadel’s Johnson Hagood Stadium with a seating capacity of only 22,000 (after an upcoming expansion). The NCAA requires 35,000 for a bowl game. (SI.com)

PAC 10 SCHEDULES NUANCES: (Collegefootballnews.com)

OREGON STATE: The Beavers have three tough non-conference games at LSU, at Boise State and home against New Mexico.

OREGON: Duck fever should be running wild because Oregon misses USC this year and the first three games are home against Indiana, at Nevada and home against Idaho.

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: The Trojans begin the season against Virginia Tech, at BYU and home against Colorado State. Washington comes to Los Angeles. Their biggest game could be at Washington State on Saturday, Oct. 30.

WASHINGTON: The Huskies have their last road games at USC, Oregon and Washington State.

CAL has four of its first five games against Air Force, Southern Miss, Oregon State and USC.