Former Gator Ingle Martin is not only expected to be the starting quarterback at Furman, but he might also be the punter. (The State)

GEORGIA: The Bulldogs have begun spring practice. Junior Tyson Browning has been moved to receiver because of a lack of depth. Browning caught a 93-yard pass against LSU. Georgia has 10 returning starters on offense and seven on defense. Bulldog coach Mark Richt said this year’s mat drills were the best since he has been at Georgia. Junior middle linebacker Odell Thurman has gotten much bigger (240 pounds) over the offseason. The theory of tailback by committee last year meant that Georgia did not have a rusher gain 100 yards in a game, the first time this has happened since 1972. Michael Cooper is hoping to push Kregg Lumpkin for the starting tailback position. Cooper had more yards last year, but Lumpkin ended the year as the starter. (Athensonline.com) The coaches are trying to build depth in the offensive line. Nick Jones, who played center last year, is trying his hand at guard. Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN attended practice this week to tape a segment for SportsCenter the week of April 5. Herbstreit said the Bulldogs are a legitimate top three pick in the preseason. Richt said tackle Max Jean-Gilles is solid on the line, but the other positions are up for grabs. Andy Bailey, a redshirt freshman, is leading a group trying to replace Billy Bennett. (UGASports.com)

TENNESSEE: The quarterback battle between C. J. Leak, Rick Clausen and James Banks has begun in earnest for the Vols. Leak is No. 1 on the depth chart. Clausen, who is the brother of Casey Clausen, is up to 205 pounds. He weighed 185 last summer. Offensive lineman Albert Toeiana (6-6, 350), a junior college transfer, is attracting a lot of attention. He can bench press more than 500 yards. Kevin Simon is doing well with his move to middle linebacker. Defensive coordinator John Chavis said his biggest concern is at strong safety. Jarod Parrish and Brandon Johnson will get a chance to prove their ability at that position. Chavis would like to keep Jason Allen at cornerback. Tailback Gerald Riggs, Jr., is hoping that he will have some success in his third year. He is competing with Cedric Houston and Jabari Davis. Robert Meachem is back this spring after taking a medical redshirt last season because of a knee injury. Senior tailback Corey Larkins hurt his ankle Tuesday and had to be carried off the field. He has a severely sprained ankle. Defense tackle LaRon Harris suffered a knee sprain. It was originally feared that he might have an ACL tear. Offensive guard Arron Sears also sprained his ankle. Jonathan Wade, who is also on the track team, has moved from receiver to cornerback with the loss of three seniors in the secondary. The receiver position is deep. Wade was a cornerback in high school. (Tennessean.com)

ALABAMA: An estimated crowd of 35,000 saw the White beat the Crimson 21-0 in the annual A-Day game. Defensive lineman Todd Bates won the MVP award and tailback Tim Castille (9 carries for 63 yards) was selected as the offensive MVP award. Castille is down from 237 to 225 pounds. Ken Darby ran 10 times for 53 yards. Ray Hudson had six carries for 44 yards. Quarterback Marc Guillon was 22-of-47 for 180 yards and one score. Tyrone Prothro caught six passes for 37 yards, Jake Collins caught three for 189 yards and Marcus McKnight caught two passes for 33 yards. Linebacker Freddie Roach had five tackles and his competition Cornelius Wortham compiled four tackles and one pass breakup. Demarcus Waldrop totaled six tackles. Bo Freeland made two punts of 50 yards during halftime drills at A-Day. However, Brian Bostick missed field goals of 38 and 44 yards. Coach Mike Shula said the group that made the most progress is the offensive line. Roman Harper has made a smooth transition from strong safety to free safety. (Bamaonline.com)

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Spring practice started Wednesday. Players have said new coach Sly Croom is determined to bring discipline to the program. Junior quarterback Kyle York is limited after December shoulder surgery. Sophomore Aries Nelson and sophomore Omarr Conner, who moved from receiver, will get the bulk of the work this spring. (Bulldogblitz.com)

ARKANSAS: Houston Nutt, in his seventh season, is trying to replace 17 starters. The only offensive lineman with experience is Zac Tubbs, the right tackle, who has started two games. In a short scrimmage Tuesday, Robert Johnson and Rhett Lashlee split duties at quarterback. Matt Jones, the starting quarterback, has been excused in order to work on academic. He returns to the team soon. Tailbacks DeCori Birmingham, De’Arrius Howard and Dedrick Poole drew praise from Nutt. Tight end Mason Templeton severely sprained his ankle and won’t practice again. (HawgSports.com)

AUBURN: New offensive coordinator Al Borges said about 60% of the offense was installed during spring practice. Although the defense was limited in terms of blitzes, defensive coordinator Gene Chizik was not pleased with his unit allowing 564 yards including 335 yards passing on 29 attempts in the annual spring game where the White team beat the Blue 24-16. The offense ran for 239 yards on the ground. Carnell Williams (70 yards on four carries) had a 58-yard touchdown run, Tre Smith (107 yards on 13 carries) had a 37-yard run and a 58-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Cox to Silas Daniels. Cox was 12-of-13 for 206 yards and two scores. He was the offensive MVP award. Jason Campbell was 8-of-10 passing for 96 yards and a touchdown. Linebacker Antarrious Williams had six tackles and two tackles-for-loss. Defensive end Stanley McClover might be the most improved player this spring. He was named the MVP during the spring game after having five tackles, one tackle-for-loss and one sack. His nickname is the Predator, because his dred locks, helmet and body shield are similar to the character in the movie in the last 1980’s. Juco transfer cornerback David Irons was beaten on the touchdown pass to Daniels. Otherwise, he had a fine spring. An estimated 30,700 fans were in attendance. Sophomore punter Kody Bliss had seven punts for 44 yards. (AuburnSports.com)

The Tigers had their final scrimmage Wednesday. The defense rebounded from a difficult spring. No rusher had more than 54 yards. (Smith ran 12 yards for 54 yards). Cox continues to show tremendous accuracy (8-of-9 for 103 yards and one score). Williams led the team in tackles with 10. (AuburnSports.com)

KENTUCKY: Linebacker Deion Holts, a junior from Bowling Green, has been dismissed from the team for a violation of team rules. He has a history of discipline problems in his two years. Last year, he had 52 tackles (8.5 for loss) and tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. The Cats signed Mikhail Mabry (6-2, 225), a linebacker from Hawaii. Spring practice starts Wednesday, March 31. (Kentucky Sports Report)

LSU: Freshman Amp Hill, who had a medical redshirt last year, is not fully healed, but it is expected he will be an important part of the receiver rotation. The Tigers have a logjam at running back with Joseph Addai, Justin Vincent, Shyrone Carey, Alley Broussard, Barrington Edwards and Jason Spadoni. The Tiger quarterbacks are much bigger after the offseason. Marcus Randall is 235 and Matt Flynn and JaMarcus Russell are nearly 250 pounds. Receiver Dwayne Bowe is up to 220 pounds. (TigerBait.com) The Tigers visited the White House this week to meet the President. Southern Cal’s team made the trip also. (Advocate.com) Joe Lawrence, a 27 year-old-walk-on freshman, has been moved from receiver to strong safety. Herbstreit, from ESPN, also visited practice for a future SportsCenter special. After losing all three holders from last season, Flynn could win the position. (Tigerbait.com)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Coach Lou Holtz has eased some on his rules for the way players wear their hair. He has not budged on his no-earring policy. Cornerback Tremaine Tyler has been reinstated after a seven-week suspension. Brandon Schweitzer has lost 23 pounds since January. Schweitzer, who is now 265, is moving from defensive tackle to fullback. He hopes to be 250 by the end of spring practice. Senior Taqiy Muhammad is back at cornerback after three different position switches. He played 10 games at receiver last year before finishing the year at safety. USC needed depth at that position after three cornerbacks left last year. (The State) Tight end Andy Boyd, a redshirt sophomore, should be able to see action this spring after continuing his rehab from knee surgery. There are only eight scholarship offensive linemen for the coaches to work with this spring. Last year there were five receiver positions in the offensive scheme, but this year there are only three positions. Nine starters are returning on offense. Skip Holtz said he is comfortable with role as quarterback coach. (Gamecockcentral.com)

FLORIDA STATE: In Saturday morning’s scrimmage (March 20), senior receiver Chauncey Stovall led the team with 113 yards on four catches. Junior linebacker A. J. Nicholson had three tackles for loss and broke up a pass. Lorenzo Booker had 32 yards on eight carries. Chris Rix was 4-of-8 for 63 yards and one score and Wyatt Sexton went 3-of-11 for 89 yards. Sexton is struggling through the problems of a strained arm. He is 6-of-18 for 155 yards this spring. The defense had six sacks. Lineman Matt Heinz, who has yet to be released for contact, is back on the practice field after undergoing surgery on two herniated discs last August. Buster Davis is making a push for the starting middle linebacker job owned by Allen Augustin last season. Davis, who weighed 252 last season, has lost down to 232 pounds. (Warchant.com) Coach Jeff Bowden said Rix has shown more maturity and is calmer this spring. Bowden said Rix must be aware of his mechanics. When he is sloppy in his mechanics the ball tends to rise on him. (TDO.com) Guard Cory Niblock has drawn praise from the coaching staff. He saw action last year mostly on special teams. Junior Ron Lundford has been challenged to lose some weight from his 6-foot-5, 340-pound frame. Ann Bowden watched practice with her husband from the tower Tuesday. Chris Hall looks like he has a leg up on the punting position. Donnie Carter (6-4, 260) has been impressive at tight end. Senior Paul Irons is battling him. A noticeably difference in the spring has been the tight ends being more involved in the offense. Sophomore cornerback Antonio Cromartie has moved ahead of senior Leroy Smith. Smith has three career starts and was tied for the team lead in picks last year with three. (Warchant.com)

VIRGINIA: The Cavs start spring practice Friday with the annual spring game set for Saturday, April 17. Kai Parham (back), Marvin Richardson (surgery), Rich Bedesem (off season surgery) and Jermaine Hardy will likely miss the rest of spring due to injuries. Marquis Weeks has been moved to safety. (TheWagononline.com)

CLEMSON: C. J. Gaddis might be making a position switch soon. The reserve quarterback is capable of playing any one of several positions. Another reason for the position change is that Will Proctor has all but solidified the job as the No. 2 quarterback. Junior defensive tackle Trey Tate is pushing for a starting position. (TigerIllustrated.com)

GEORGIA TECH: Army has been added to the 2006 and 2008 schedule. Army will play in Atlanta in 2006 and Tech travels to West Point in 2008. Former Tech coach Bobby Ross coaches Army. Early work in spring practice has been used to reshape the offensive line. Tech returns seven starters on offense and defense. (AJC.com)

NORTH CAROLINA: Darian Durant is the first team quarterback with the opening of spring practice. Matt Baker, a junior from Rochester Hills, Mich., and redshirt freshman Roger Heinz of Tallahassee, Fla., rotated with the second and third teams. (CarolinaBlue.com)

LOUISVILLE: Justin Rascati, a quarterback from Buchholz in Gainesville, is transferring from Louisville. He was the Gainesville Sun player of the year in 2001. Rascati said the signing of quarterback Brian Brohm and two relatives on the staff (brother Jeff Brohm as the quarterback coach and father Greg as the director of football operations) has made the Cardinals quarterbacks nervous about their future. He might transfer to Central Florida and South Florida or a Division I-AA school.

MIAMI: The coaches need a new starter on the offensive line. They are looking for someone in the trio of Alex Pou, Andrew Bain or Derrick Morse can win a spot. With the start of spring practice this week, the first depth chart lists Kevin Everett as the No. 1 tight end. Former tight end, Eric Winston, is the No. 1 left tackle. Talib Humphrey is the No. 1 fullback over Kyle Cobia. At quarterback, Brock Berlin is No. 1, Kyle Wright and Derrick Crudup are listed at No. 2. New offensive coordinator Dan Werner told his unit that he was not going to allow penalties. If an offensive player committed a penalty, then there would be immediate consequences such as the entire unit doing up-downs. Running backs coach Don Soldinger has put Tyrone Moss behind Quad Hill in the depth chart to teach him a lesson. Frank Gore weighs 218 pounds. Last year he played at 209. Freshman quarterback Kirby Freeman might get a shot as punter. Receiver Devin Hester could get a shot at cornerback. Coker said he could be a great cornerback. Right guard Chris Myers has gained 20 pounds and is up to 302. (Canesport.com)