LSU: Spring practice under new coach Les Miles began Friday. Senior receiver Skyler Green is supposed to be in the best shape of his life. He played through a high ankle sprain last year. The starting quarterback position is up for grabs between JaMarcus Russell and fellow sophomore Matt Flynn. The coaches are hoping Justin Vincent will return to form and receiver Amp Hill will be ready to play after rehabbing the knee that he hurt in August 2003. Cornerback is a question mark with the loss of seniors Corey Webster and Travis Daniels. Ronnie Prude, Mario Stevenson, Daniel Francis and Colorado transfer Sammy Joseph are the possibilities. LaRon Landry and Jessie Daniels return at safety. (Advocate.com and TigerBait.com)

ALABAMA: In Saturday’s scrimmage, quarterback Marc Guillon was sharp. Freshman quarterback John Parker Wilson got a lot of work dodging the defense and he improvised well. Theo Townsend, Aaron Johns, Rashad Johnson all took turns at tailback Johns and Johnson--as well as the rest of the offense-- made strides in Thursday’s practice. Receiver Ezekial Knight has shown improvement to the point that he could be a budding superstar. Still, Tyrone Prothro is the best receiver. Left guard Antoine Caldwell, who was playing well, rolled an ankle. The defensive line had eight sacks. Justin Moon and Mark Sanders are battling for the right guard position. Moon, who is 6-foot-5, 300 pounds, can play any position along the line. Tight end Nick Walker, who is also 6-foot-5, showed a lot of promise until he bruised his leg. Receiver Will Oakley is rehabbing a hamstring injury. (BamaOnline.com)

AUBURN: In Saturday’s scrimmage, Brandon Cox was 8-of-22 for 97 yards and two touchdowns. The Tiger defense sacked Cox three times. He was one of four quarterbacks who played—Calvin Booker, Blake Fields and Dusty Goodwin. Quentin Groves had nine tackles and four sacks. Sophomore defensive back Eric Brock made seven tackles. Tailback Carl Stewart, a sophomore, gained 120 yards on 15 carries. Junior Kenny Irons gained 98 yards on 11 carries. In the first scrimmage, the backs averaged 6.7 yards per carry, but the line allowed eight sacks. Redshirt freshman cornerback Anthony Campbell could be a dangerous punt returner. In Thursday’s practice, the offense-- after the coaches had added screen and draw packages the previous day--outplayed the defense. Cox and Fields impressed Coach Tommy Tuberville. Junior Tre Smith is still listed as the top punt returner. Leon Hart who was moved to center before spring practice has been moved back to left guard. Jonathan Palmer, who was working at left guard, will get to try the center position. Tony Bell and Anthony Mix are being held out of spring practice until their deal with academic questions. Three of the starting linebackers are out for the spring. Weakside linebacker Antarrious Williams was recovering from a broken wrist, but middle linebacker Travis Williams (high ankle sprain) and strongside linebacker Kevin Sears (broken thumb) suffered injuries this week. Auburn holds its second scrimmage Saturday. (Auburnsports.com)

GEORGIA: Junior guards Josh Brock and Bartley Miller are excited about returning after redshirting last year due to shoulder injuries. The team began full contact Thursday. Tailbacks Danny Ware and Kregg Lumpkin will both take snaps at fullback. Defensive end Quentin Moses is hoping to replace the departed David Pollack. Although he has eight sacks and 52 tackles since 2003, he has never started a game. Coach Mark Richt is looking for receivers after having to replace Fred Gibson and Reggie Brown. Early favorites are split end Bryan McClendon and junior flanker Sean Bailey. Also in the mix are Mario Raley, Kenneth Harris, Demiko Goodman and T. J. Gartrell. Other impressive players in practice are quarterback D. J. Shockley, safety Kelin Johnson, and linebacker Tony Taylor. The offensive line is one of the strengths of the team with all five starters returning. Backup safety Tra Battle was hurt in a car accident Sunday night. Although he sustained a back injury, Battle is expected back on the practice field after the players return from spring break. Defensive tackle Darrius Swain returned after serving time in the local jail for probation violation. He will not be punished further after being charged with a suspended license. Joe Tereshinski has taken the early lead for the No. 2 quarterback position. He is more comfortable with the offense than Blake Barnes. The pads go on Thursday. (UGASports.com and Ledger-Enquirer.com)

OLE MISS: Josh Davis (6-6, 295), an offensive tackle from Tylertown (Miss.) is the fourth commitment this season. Ole Miss started spring practice Monday. The secondary will be strong for the Rebels after returning two sound cover corners in Travis Johnson and Trumaine McBride and safeties Charles Clark and Bryan Brown. Jamal Pittman and Vashon Pearson both broke long runs during scrimmage work. Ole Miss has to replace All-SEC kicker Jonathan Nichols and punter Cody Ridgeway. Running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis, a transfer from Indiana, is enrolled this spring. Depth at the line of scrimmage is a concern and transitioning from a two-linebacker set to a three-man set is another. Pressure is on offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone ($230,000 per year) for being the highest paid assistant coach on the highest paid Rebel staff in history. (RebelGrove.com and Clarion-Ledger)

ARKANSAS: The Hogs will put on a full court press to sign Springdale (Ark.) quarterback Mitch Mustain (6-3, 200). He is a mobile quarterback and the top prospect in the state. (Hawgsports.com)

TENNESSEE: The Vols have the record for the highest attendance at a spring game not Nebraska. In 1986, Tennessee had a crowd of 73, 801. Tennessee started Thursday afternoon. Quarterback Erik Ainge, who has added 10-15 pounds of bulk in the offseason, will be scrutinized to see if his shoulder is healthy. Brent Schaeffer and Rick Clausen also were impressive in the first practice. Redshirt freshman tailback Arian Foster is expected to contribute after turning heads in practice last year. The coaches nearly took his redshirt off and played him in the South Carolina. Ja’Kouri Williams is another young running back who is looking for playing time along with Gerald Riggs, Jr. The center position is a real question after Richie Gandy had knee surgery for a torn ACL and Rob Smith sprained his ankle playing basketball. Cody Douglas, David Ligon, Cameron Mayo and Anthony Parker will get the first shot at center. Coach Phil Fulmer said the proper authorities were still looking into reports of a fight at a fraternity involving football players last weekend. (Tennessean.com and Orlando Sentinel)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Defensive end Moe Thompson surrendered to authorities Tuesday morning on charges that he stole electronic equipment from a dorm room. Thompson is a three-year starter and the state’s Mr. Football in 2001. Defensive tackle Kevin Mainrod was also arrested along with Thompson. Coach Steve Spurrier will be looking for improvement from his offensive line after last year’s group failed to live up to expectations. Jabari Levey and Na’Shan Goddard anchor the USC offensive line at the tackle position. After starting his career on the defensive line, Freddy Saint-Pruex has found a home at offensive guard. James Thompson could be the other guard and Chris White is looking like he will be the center. (The State and Gamecockcentral.com)

FLORIDA: Gator coach Urban Meyer was quite candid in his talk with the media this week. Meyer said the offense starts with the consistency of center Mike Degory and quarterback Chris Leak. He praised the receivers as a group, but challenged the running backs (Skyler Thornton, Markus Manson and DeShawn Wynn) to produce. Meyer praised the effort of linebacker Brandon Siler and Earl Everett, but, similar to the tailbacks, he wants to see more production from the rest of the group. In other news, defensive linemen Javier Estopinan (shoulder) and Marcus Thomas (back) will miss spring drills. Receiver Reggie Lewis has been moved to defensive back. (Gatorbait.net)

MIAMI: The Canes started spring practice Tuesday. Miami lost seven starters, but only one –Antrel Rolle—from the defense. Kyle Wright and Kirby Freeman will battle for the starting quarterback job. Cornerback Kelly Jennings is one of the few defensive backs guaranteed a starting spot. Fighting for the other cornerback spot is Devin Hester, Carlos Armour, Glenn Sharpe, Rashaun Jones and Marcus Maxey. One of the early depth chart surprises was Maxey being ahead of Hester at corner opposite Jennings. Hester sustained a hip pointer Thursday in practice. At the safety position, Greg Threat, Brandon Meriweather (hampered by an injury), and Anthony Reddick (stepped in as a freshman) have all started games. On special teams, Brian Monroe is solid as a punter, but plackicker Jon Peattie has not been very consistent. Tyrone Moss (limited by a shoulder injury) has lost 11 pounds after being too heavy last year. The team is off until March 22. (Canesport.com)

FLORIDA STATE: The Noles have anywhere from six to nine signees who have yet to qualify. Defensive tackle Callahan Bright from Pennsylvania has improved his grades and is on course to qualify. Bright can bench press 400 pounds and can squat 700 pounds. Freshman defensive end signee Justin Mincey is up to 275 pounds. Offensive line coach Mark McHale has been impressed with the redshirt freshman such as Jacky Claude and Dumaka Atkins. (Warchant.com)

CLEMSON: This spring means many changes for Clemson. Defensive coordinator John Lovett, offensive coordinator Mike O’Cain and whips coach Thielen Smith were fired and Rob Spence (offensive coordinator) from Toledo, Vic Koenning (Troy) defensive coordinator and Marion Hobby (Ole Miss) defensive line were hired. This means the team must learn new terminology. Seven starters including quarterback Charlie Whitehurst return on offense and six return on defense. Defensive lineman Vontrell Jamison has been denied another year of eligibility, receiver Gerald McCloud will transfer, receiver Michael Collins will work as a student-coach, offensive lineman Tony Willis is out due to academics and defensive back Robert Reese is no longer in the program due to a violation of team rules. (TigerIllustrated.com)

BIG EAST SCHEDULE: UCONN starts with Buffalo and Liberty before traveling to Georgia Tech and Army. Pitt hosts Notre Dame in the opener before traveling to Ohio and Nebraska. Louisville starts at Kentucky before returning home to play Oregon State. South Florida begins at Penn State before hosting the trio of FAMU, UCF and Louisville. They go to Miami on Oct. 1. (Collegefootballnews.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.