ARKANSAS: After the departure of Matt Jones the quarterback position is up for grabs among the group led by sophomore Robert Johnson, redshirt freshman Alex Mortensen, sophomore Landon Leach and freshman Cole Barthel. Johnson easily has the most playing experience from last season. (HawgSports.com)

GEORGIA: The Bulldogs are on spring break this week. The coaches are cross-training some defensive line players such as linebacker Marcus Howard, who has moved to defensive end for pass rush purposes. Receiver Bryan McClendon is ahead of the other wide outs. Coach Mark Richt said defensive lineman Charles Johnson is becoming a dominating player. Linebacker Tony Taylor has also caught Richt’s eye. (Ledger-Enquirer.com, UGASports.com)

FLORIDA: The Gators began practice Thursday. Coach Urban Meyer said he has been very pleased with the attitude of the receivers. He said usually where he has gone the receivers have given him the most resistance. That is not the case at Florida. He is also trying to shore up problems areas at running back and linebacker. Meyer has also toured the school fraternities in order to soothe relationships between students and players.

SOUTH CAROLINA: USC begins spring practice Saturday, March 19. ESPNU and ESPN2 are televising the Gamecock spring game. Blake Mitchell is hoping to be the top Gamecock quarterback coming out of spring practice. After arriving at USC as one of the top rated quarterbacks nationally in 2003, Mitchell has played little, but he is excited about the prospect of playing for Coach Steve Spurrier. The NCAA is expected to rule this week on a possible sixth year of eligibility for quarterback Michael Rathe. Spurrier wants to spruce up Williams-Brice stadium by getting certain areas painted. He also wants to hang a banner for the 1969 ACC title team, 1980 Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers and NFL receiver Sterling Sharpe. Receiver David Smith was arrested early Wednesday on burglary and domestic violence charges. Nine current or former players have been suspended since November. Spurrier said Smith will probably not be back. (The State and GamecockCentral.com)

TENNESSEE: The Vols linebacker Daniel Brooks practiced last week despite being accused of inciting a brawl with Tennessee fraternity members for the second time in three months. Redshirt freshman backup center Cameron Mayo hurt his knee in Saturday’s practice. Tennessee had already lost starter Richie Gandy to a torn ACL. Cody Douglas, who was the starting center on Thursday, has not practiced since then because of caution concerning a mid-foot sprain. Running back Ja’Kouri Williams could be used at receiver in certain formations. Roshaun Fellows and Jonathan Hefney are getting a look at safety. An off-campus apartment rented by defensive tackle Jesse Mahelona and offensive tackle Arron Sears caught fire Sunday morning and both players lost a considerable amount of their belongings. Dustin Lindsey (6-1, 215), a running back from Alcoa, Tenn., committed to the Vols. (Tennessean.com, Volquest.com)

LSU: The Tigers return 47 lettermen including 10 starters on offense and seven on defense. Under Coach Les Miles, the Tigers will hit more in practice than former LSU coach Nick Saban, who had a philosophy of limiting contact in practice. Sophomore quarterback JaMarcus Russell currently weighs 250 pounds after losing 10 pounds. He has also recovered from offseason elbow surgery. Tiger players said Miles is much calmer during practice than Saban was. Both Miles and Saban teach basically the same thing, but they do it with a different style. (advocate.com and TigerBait.com)

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Lineman Brad Weathers has ended his football career after re-aggravating a nerve injury in his shoulder. Quarterback Omarr Conner practiced for the first time after twisting his ankle while walking on his porch. Lineman Chris McNeil has been named to the 2005 Rimington watch list. He has played in 26 games and earned 15 starts. (BulldogBlitz.com)

OLE MISS: In Saturday’s scrimmage, senior quarterback Micheal Spurlock completed 8-of-16 passes for 116 yards and two scores. Sophomore Robert Lane was 3-for-8 for 43 yards. Junior tailback Jamal Pittman rushed 16 times for 107 yards. Tailback Ben Jarvis Green-Ellis, an Indiana transfer, had nine carries for 33 yards. Defensive line coach Joe Cullen has been arrested on alcohol-related charges. He is the second Rebel coach to be arrested on alcohol related charged in two months. Former linebacker coach Charlie Camp resigned Jan. 20. Defensive lineman McKinley Boykin is facing an assault charge from his arrest for alleged domestic violence. He is the ninth player or coach to be arrested in the past two years and the third since January. Boykin, who was named the defensive player of the week twice last year, is recovering from offseason knee surgery. (Clarion-Ledger and RebelGrove.com)

ALABAMA: In Saturday’s scrimmage, quarterback John Parker Wilson was 14-of-27 for 167 yards with two scores and two picks. Marc Guillon was 7-of-14 for 73 yards with no picks or scores. Tailback Aaron Johns ran for 53 yards on 13 carries and Theo Townsend ran nine times for 58 yards including a 52-yard touchdown. Receiver Tyrone Prothro caught four passes for 86 yards including a 66 yards touchdown and Ezekial Knight caught five passes for 49 yards. Reserve defensive end Keith Saunders lead the defense with nine tackles and two sacks. Overall, the defense had seven sacks, six tackle behind the line and two picks. Walk-on middle linebacker Matt Collins, who filled in for Freddie Roach, had five tackles while playing on the first team. Roach is out with a groin pull and is doubtful for the annual A-Day game this Saturday. Quarterback Brodie Croyle will not play. (BamaOnline.com)

MIAMI: Both quarterbacks-Kirby Freeman and Kyle Wright- stepped up their play Thursday. Wright outplayed Freeman in the first week of practice. Tailback Charlie Jones has been impressive replacing the injured Tyrone Moss, who has an ankle injury. Derron Thomas has attracted some attention with his catching out of the backfield. Receiver Ryan Moore has been the surprise of the spring so far. Cornerback Devin Hester will take the spring break week to recover from a hip-pointer. Receiver Lance Leggett has consistently caught the ball. Tight end Greg Olsen has somehow caught the ball with a cast over his broken wrist. He also runs routes well. Defensively, Brian Pata has shown much improvement on the defensive line. The surprise of the first week is cornerback Marcus Maxey, who was moved ahead of Hester. (CaneSport.com)

CLEMSON: Cornerback Sergio Gilliam will have a chance to replace Justin Miller, who declared for the NFL draft early. The Tigers practiced in pads Monday. Receivers coach Dabo Swinney named juniors Kelvin Grant and Chansi Stuckey, senior Curtis Baham, redshirt freshman Aaron Kelly and sophomore La’Donte Harris as his top five wideouts. Next week is spring break. (The State, TigerIllustrated.com)

GEORGIA TECH: Coach Chan Gailey had a heart attack Monday morning while playing racquetball and was taken to the hospital where he underwent a balloon angioplasty. Gailey is out of the hospital. Spring practice will proceed as normal. Assistant head coach Buddy Geis will take over for Gailey. Spring break is next week. Chris Reis is moving from outside linebacker to strong safety. Senior Dawan Landry, the starter at strong safety the last two years, is moving to free safety. (JacketsOnline.com)

FLORIDA STATE: The Noles begin practice Saturday. Quarterbacks Wyatt Sexton, Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee will battle for the starting quarterback position. (Warchant.com)

NOTRE DAME: The Irish start the season at Pitt and at Michigan. Southern Cal comes in Oct. 15 and Tennessee comes calling Nov. 5. Notre Dame ends the season hosting Navy, Syracuse and at Stanford. (Collegefootballnews.com)

NAVY starts by hosting Maryland and Stanford before going to Rice. The Middies have won 18 games the last two seasons more than Nebraska, Florida, Alabama, Kansas State and Notre Dame. They won 18 games from 1997 to 2002. (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.