AUBURN: Senior quarterback Jason Campbell has been very solid in the initial workouts. During one practice session, cornerback Carlos Rogers batted down passes and told the quarterbacks to “quit wasting their time and throw to the other side”. He sat out Tuesday with a slightly twisted knee. Rogers is not the only defensive back to exhibit stellar play this week. Junior Rosegreen, Will Herring, and Montae Pitts have suffocated the receivers during the first week. Defensive back David Irons, who was performing well in the early practices, tore his ACL Thursday and is out for the season. Linebacker Antarrious Williams has been a big hitter. Freshman Jerald Watson has a chance to make an impact on special teams with his speed. Watson, who was selected in the 40th round of the baseball draft by the Florida Marlins, holds two national high school records in the 60-meter dash. (Birmingham News) However, the other freshman running back Brad Lester has made a bigger impact in the early going. Redshirt freshman Tez Doolittle has been moved from end to defensive tackle after the injury to nose guard T. J. Jackson, who dislocated his elbow earlier in the week. Jackson should return for the opener. Auburn has a scrimmage set for Saturday morning. Aairon Savage (5-11, 175), a cornerback from Albany (Ga.) Westover, has committed to the Tigers. Louisville, Vanderbilt, Duke and Tennessee are also recruiting him. (AuburnSports.com)

FLORIDA: The early major battles are on the offensive line where only three starters-center Mike Degory, tackle Randy Hand and guard Lance Butler-return. Defensively, the end position with Joe Cohen, Tranell Morant and Jarvis Moss will be extremely competitive. None of the five tight ends have been impressive in practice this week. Brian Crum, who looked very athletic in the preseason workouts, has been described as disappointing. The play of the day, Wednesday, was a Chris Leak 35-yard completion to receiver Andre Caldwell with cornerback Reynaldo Hill draped all over him. Coach Ron Zook has spent a lot of time with the defensive backs. (GatorBait.net)

LSU: Receiver Bennie Brazell is not in camp because he is participating in the Olympics as a sprinter and alternate on the relay team. Tight end signee Jeremy Jones did not pass his physical and will not report to camp. Kyle Anderson (6-5, 250), a tight end from Woodlands, Texas committed to the Tigers after considering Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Arkansas. (Tigerbait.com) Quarterback Matt Flynn has been battling an intestinal problem all week. He and JaMarcus Russell are contently playing behind Marcus Randall. There is a temptation to move receivers Early Doucet and Xavier Carter to the secondary, but Coach Nick Saban said he will probably leave them on offense because they are game breakers. (theadvocate.com) Although they will not be eligible until next season, defensive lineman Chase Pittman (Texas) and Sammy Joseph (Colorado) have transferred to LSU. (Tigerbait.com)

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Cornerback Brian Staley, who had 19 interceptions in two years at Georgia Military Institute, has joined the team and is eligible to play this season. Senior receiver Antonio Hargro has been dismissed from school for a violation of team rules and will not return. Three other freshmen signees--linebacker signee Rory Johnson, receiver Kenny McClellan and linebacker Damien Huren-- did not qualify. Senior receiver Ray Ray Bivines is about 80% recovered from hamstring surgery. Former Bulldog running back Nick Turner has transferred to Murray State where he will be eligible to play this In Wednesday’s press conference, Croom said he was pleased with the progress of senior nose guard Ronald Fields, who has lost from 330 pounds to 308. He also mentioned cornerback Quinton Culberson, who is in shape at 213 pounds and running back Jerious Norwood, who has shown he can catch the ball well coming out of the backfield. Sophomore defensive end Deljuan Robinson and cornerback Kevin Dockery also receiver compliments from the Bulldog head coach. In position moves, former defensive back Rickey Wright is now at halfback and defensive tackle Avery Hannibal is now at rover. (BulldogBlitz.com) Croom signed his new contract this week that includes a non-compete clause, meaning he cannot go to any other SEC team, including his alma mater, Alabama. The contract places Croom in a four-year cycle, with the four-year clock beginning at the conclusion of any penalties State receives from the NCAA allegations. (Clarion-Ledger.com)

OLE MISS: Larry Kendrick, a junior college transfer, who spent two years in the Florida program, is expected to make an impact this season. Kendrick played ten games as a true freshman in the 2001 season, but hurt his knee after three games in the 2002 season. Tailback Jamal Pittman has been suspended for six games and linebacker Ken Bournes, who was also having academic problems, has been dismissed permanently. Pittman and Bournes were involved in a gun-waving incident in Memphis with a plainclothes policeman. Bournes is likely headed to Southeastern Louisiana, coached by former Kentucky head man Hal Mumme. Fullback Rick Razzano has been suspended for the opener against Memphis. Michael Spurlock has played well in his first week as the probably starting quarterback. (RebelGrove.com)

ALABAMA: Receivers Tarry Givens and Damien Jones and defensive back Thurman Ward were not on the official 105-player roster. Ward played in 12 of 13 games last season. Receiver Ezekial Knight of Randolph County is eligible to play after receiving a passing score on the Alabama High School Graduation Examination. He practiced for the first time on Wednesday. There is some temptation for the coaches to put Knight on defense. D. J. Hall, Marcel Stamps, Keith Brown and Will Oakley are some of the other freshmen receivers drawing praise from the coaches. Quarterback Brodie Croyle and receiver Tyrone Prothro have picked up where they left off in the spring. Offensive tackle Drew Davis, another freshman signee, has stuck with a grayshirt year, meaning he will enroll next January. Because of lack of numbers on the 105-man roster, he could have been invited to report with the rest of the team Monday. Quarterback signee John Parker Wilson is also expected to grayshirt. Signee Justin Britt has been listed as defensive tackle instead of an offensive lineman. Britt’s two other brothers, Wesley and Taylor are also on the team. Defensive tackle Anthony Bryant is eligible to play this season after he finished his last class required for a criminal justice degree. After playing last season at 335 pounds, Bryant, who has been sidelined with an abdominal strain, now weighs 325. Rudy Griffin, a transfer from The Citadel, has filled in well for Bryant. Junior college transfer Chris Turner could make an immediate impact for the Tide at either end or tackle. (BOL.com)

KENTUCKY: The Louisville series will continue after the present contract runs out in 2005 according to officials from both schools. The series resumed in 1994 after the two teams did not play the previous 70 years. Kentucky, who has nine starters returning on defense, lost to Louisville last year 40-24. Bobby Petrino, the coach at Louisville, called a timeout with 13 seconds left that gave the Cardinals time to add another score. (SI.com) The Wildcat coaching staff has said this season is a much smoother transition than last year, the first for the coaching staff. Stats show that this is a much stronger team than last year. A total of 61 players were bench- pressing 300 pounds or more, a 20% gain over last year. Redshirt freshman fullback Joe Razzano has left the team for good. The younger defensive backs are going to have to step up after the loss of Andre Jones and Bo Smith. (Kentucky Sports Report)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Fullback signee Antonio Lamar is waiting to be cleared by the NCAA. He was diagnosed with a learning disability last month. Two other freshmen, receiver Sidney Rice and defensive lineman Matt Raysor have been cleared after retaking the ACT recently. The Gamecocks have three players from Canadian. That is more than they have from Virginia (1), Maryland (2) and Alabama (2). Senior Andrea Gause has been moved to running back after playing defensive back and receiver during his career. The motto on T-shirts hanging in the locker room was “Shut up and hit somebody”. The Gamecocks practiced in full pads Wednesday. The linebackers, including Ricardo Hurley, have practiced well. (GamecockCentral.com)

TENNESSEE: Vol signees Demonte Bolden, defensive tackle, and Arian Foster, a tailback, did not report with the rest of the team. Bolden likely will not qualify and report to Hargrave (Va.) Military, while Foster still has a shot to qualify. Junior defensive tackle Greg Jones is not expected to play this season because he is behind academically. Jones, who started five games last year, lost his sister in a car accident that involved several family members. (Tennessean.com) Most of James Banks’ work so far has come at safety instead of receiver. Coach Phil Fulmer praised freshman defensive back Jon Hefney, who attended Hargrave Military Academy last year, in early practices. He is usually hesitant to compliment youngsters in the early going. Hefney could also see action returning kicks. Receiver Chris Hannon, who ran a 4.28 in the 40-yard dash this summer, has looked impressive early. Tight end Victor McClure, who is 310 pounds, caught the ball well over the weekend. Fulmer said he wanted defensive tackle Tony McDaniel, who is 6-7, 300 pounds, to step up. The Vol coach said he looked like Tarzan and played like Jane too many times. Fulmer is also depending on defensive tackles Justin Harrell and LaRon Harris. Senior Chuck Prugh returned to action Wednesday after spending time in a hospital last season. The offensive line is coming together. Fulmer praised Arron Sears, Rob Smith and Cody Douglas, who is recovering from shoulder surgery. The Vols scrimmaged Wednesday with the freshmen quarterbacks-Brent Shaeffer and Erik Ainge- playing well. Shaeffer had a jaw dropping play on a 40-yard run. Also in the scrimmage, receivers Robert Meachem and Jayson Swain made nice one-handed catches and tailback Gerald Riggs made some nice runs. Junior cornerback Jason Allen has been a real strength of the secondary after taking his lumps the first two years. Allen has had some work at safety because of a lack of experience at that position. (Volquest.com)

ARKANSAS: Freshman receiver signee Cedric Logan received good news about his eligibility this week. Junior safety Vickiel Vaughn has turned heads this week with his performance. (HawgSports.com)

CLEMSON: Receiver Airese Currie is healthy again after allegedly being hit in the face this summer by two members of the FSU track team at a NCAA sponsored event party for the track and field championships. He had surgery to repair three fractures in his cheekbone. Clemson travels to FSU Sept. 25. Redshirt freshman Roy Walker, a possible successor to Travis Pugh at free safety in 2005, will miss the season after injuring his knee. Running back Duane Coleman is out for six to eight weeks after breaking his foot Tuesday. Last season, Coleman led the Tigers with 615 yards rushing. Senior Yusef Kelly and sophomores Reggie Merriweather and Kyle Browning are battling to replace Coleman. (TigerIllustrated.com)

MIAMI: Running backs coach Don Soldinger is trying to motivate starting tailback Tyrone Moss. After summer workouts, freshman receiver Khalil Jones has displayed an impressive 220 pound physique. Coach Larry Coker praised the play of receivers Roscoe Parrish, Akieem Jolla, Darnell Jenkins and Ryan Moore after Wednesday’s practice. Parrish had fluid drained off his knee Thursday. Coker also said there is no update on the academic situation involving freshman defensive line signees Kellen Heard and Joe Joseph. (Canesport.com)

N. C. STATE: Former Miami signee Bobby Washington has joined the Wolfpack team. Washington was selected as the No. 3 running back in the nation by Rivals.com. (TheWolfpacker.com)

NORTH CAROLINA: Former LSU running back Barrington Edwards signed a letter-of-intent Wednesday to play with the Tar Heels. He will be eligible to play after the 2004 season. The Tar Heels also added Joey Bozich, a quarterback signee from Hinsdale Central High in Illinois. (CarolinaBlue.com)

FLORIDA STATE: Receiver Dominic Robinson is ready to go after rehabbing his right knee for the last several months. He had it scoped this spring. Robinson has gained five pounds and now weighs 210. Defensive tackle Aaron Jones, a true freshman, will have surgery for a broken bone in his wrist and will likely take a medical redshirt this season. Most of the freshmen, except for quarterback Xavier Lee, have shaved their heads. As a compromise, Lee shaved his eyebrows. Sophomore cornerback Antonio Cromartie had a MRI done on his painful knee after going down with an injury Tuesday. Wednesday he was standing on crutches. There is no update on his condition at this time. As many as nine different starting positions could be decided in the next few weeks. The freshmen defensive backs-J. R. Bryant, Trevor Ford and Tony Carter-may have to play this season because of a lack of depth. In Wednesday’s work, Ford broke up a pass and Carter intercepted a pass. The second team linebackers Buster Davis and Ernie Sims are going to be hard to keep off the field. (Warchant.com)

GEORGIA TECH: Sophomore Wayne Riles, a Louisville tight end, might be transferring to Tech. Riles, who is from Albany, Georgia, was projected to be the Louisville starting tight end this season. Receiver Nate Curry could miss up to 10 days because of an undisclosed injury. In Wednesday’s scrimmage, Reggie Ball was 11-of-20 passing for 113 yards. Tailbacks P. J. Daniels (12 carries for 82 yards) and Chris Woods (21 carries for 83 yards) ran well. Former quarterback Damarius Bilbo caught two scoring passes. (JacketsOnline.com)

NOTRE DAME: How bad are the Irish? Notre Dame has lost nine of its last 14 games including three to Southern California and Michigan by a combined score of 127-27. (SportingNews.com)

BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE CLAY COUNTY LINE IN ORANGE PARK, FL.
HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM AND SAMSPORTSLINE.COM.