LSU: Alex Cate (6-1, 200), a quarterback from Cottonwood High in Salt Lake City, Utah has committed to the Tigers. Oklahoma State, Nebraska, LSU and Arizona also are recruiting Cate. Since he is a mid-term graduate, Cate will be able to participate in spring drills. The Sept. 10 home game against Arizona State has been selected by ESPN for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff. (Tigerbait.com)

WUERFFUL TROPHY: The award is named after the Florida Heisman Trophy winner. It symbolizes the player who best combines community service along with outstanding academic and athletic achievement. The selection committee includes Irv Cross, Mike Ditka, Bill Curry, Steve Owens, Dick Enberg, and Mike Gottfried. (Gainesville Sun)

OLE MISS: The Rebels were the early leaders in verbal commitments with eight. Georgia has surpassed them with 11 as of this week. Mississippi State has seven. Auburn, Arkansas and South Carolina have none. (Rivals.com)

ALABAMA: Curtis Dawson, a sophomore defensive tackle, has been dismissed from the team due to a violation team policy. Dawson said the suspension was mostly academic and that he might have a chance to rejoin the team in a few months. Although Dawson was suspended before the Music City Bowl, he came back with a strong performance in spring drills. The Southern Miss game on Sept. 10 has been selected by ESPN2 for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff. The first road game of the season at South Carolina on Sept. 17 has been picked up by CBS for a 3:30 kickoff. Brian Motley (6-1, 266), an offensive lineman from Autaugaville (Ala.) High, is verbal commitment number six for Alabama. (Bamaonline.com)

GEORGIA: The Bulldogs had three verbal commitments in one day last Saturday: offensive tackle Kevin Perez from Miami, Fla., fullback Shaun Chapas from The Bolles School of Jacksonville, Fla., and Ronnie Tyler from Wagener, S. C. Perez (6-3, 273) is ranked No. 48 in the Rivals.com Top 100 players. Chapas (6-3, 235) has offers from Clemson, UCONN, Georgia Tech, North Carolina, South Florida and Wake Forest. Tyler (5-10, 170) visited South Carolina before making his decision. He rushed for 1,300 yards and 17 touchdowns last year in only seven games. The Bulldogs now have five offensive line commits. They would like to sign six. Commitment No. 11 is defensive tackle Ricardo Crawford (6-1, 303) from West Columbus, High in Cerro Gordo, N C. Crawford benches 405-pounds and squats 630. Twelve of the nineteen signees have enrolled at Georgia. Linebacker Jamar Chaney’s fate is still undecided. Several other schools, including FSU, have entered the picture. The issue for Chaney is whether or not Georgia will allow him to retake the SAT. Defensive end Corey Moon is still awaiting the results of his SAT scores. He needs to raise his score by 30 points. Moon could join fellow signee Darius Dewberry at Hargrave Military Academy. Several freshmen have received praise from the upperclassmen including defensive tackle Jeff Owens, cornerback Bryan Evans and offensive lineman Ian Smith (UGASports.com)

TENNESSEE: The UAB home opener on Sept. 3 has been selected by Jefferson Pilot for a 12:30 p.m. kickoff. (Tennessean.com)

SOUTH CAROLINA: Quarterback Michael Rathe’s third and final appeal for a sixth year of eligibility has been turned down by the NCAA. Coach Steve Spurrier will have to use an inexperienced quarterback for his first season. Blake Mitchell and Antonio Heffner at least have spring practice experience. For the first time in school history, the first three games will be nationally televised: Sept. 1 home against UCF 7:45 p.m. (ESPN), Sept. 10 at Georgia 5:30 p.m. (ESPN) and Sept. 17 home against Alabama 3:30 p.m. (CBS). Former coach Lou Holtz has been hired by ESPN as a studio analyst. (Gamecockcentral.com and ESPN.com)

AUBURN: The Georgia Tech game on Sept. 3 has been picked up by ESPN for a 7:45 p.m. kickoff. Jefferson Pilot has selected the Mississippi State game the following week for a 12:30 p.m. start. Auburn is 32-23-2 on ESPN and 15-6 on JP. (AuburnSports.com)

CBS TV SCHEDULE: Sept 17-Alabama at South Carolina 3:30 p.m. and Tennessee at Florida 8:00 p.m.; Sept. 24-Arkansas at Alabama 3:30 p.m. or Florida at Kentucky;

Oct. 1-Florida at Alabama 3:30 p.m.; Oct 15-Auburn at Arkansas noon and Florida at LSU 3: 30 p.m.; Oct. 22-Tennessee at Alabama 3:30 p.m.; Oct. 29-Georgia vs. Florida 3:30 p.m. (CBSSportsline.com)

NORTH CAROLINA: Senior quarterback Matt Baker replaces three-year starter Darian Durant this season. Since 2002, Baker has seen action in only three games. Baker will benefit from four of the team’s starting five receivers returning. Tailback Ronnie McGill is out for four to five months after he tore a chest muscle while working out last Friday. He was the third leading rusher on the team last year. Last year, McGill injured an ankle and missed five games. (HeraldSun.com)

FLORIDA STATE: Linebacker A J Nicholson was shot with a Taser and arrested early last Friday morning when police found him hiding in bushes at an off-campus apartment complex under construction. According to off-duty officers at a nearby nightclub, Nicholson was demonstrating disorderly conduct and drinking violations before he was arrested. Nicholson, who led the team in tackles last season, is in a pretrial intervention program over his arrest in February on DUI charges. Quarterback Wyatt Sexton is being hospitalized. Police took him to be checked out after he acted very irrationally Monday. Sexton had not yet shown up yet for summer voluntary workouts. Quarterback Drew Weatherford is also not attending workouts because he is recovering from ankle surgery last month. Defensive tackle Andre Fluellen has been a leader in voluntary workouts after the loss of Clifton Dickson, who is academically ineligible and the possibility of losing Brodrick Bunkley, who is taking several classes this summer in order to be eligible this fall. Linebacker signee Geno Hayes has qualified and is expected to be on campus by the first of next week. (TBO.com, Tallahassee Democrat and Warchant.com)

CLEMSON: Paul Muse (6-4, 242), a tight end signee from First Coast High in Jacksonville, Fla., is planning on early playing time this season. Muse, who is also an accomplished baseball player, would like to talk to Coach Jack Leggett about possibly playing with the Tigers after football. He is also fully qualified. (TigerIllustrated.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.