LSU: Earl Lane was hired at LSU as an assistant coach after being on staff at South Florida. The Tigers start March 4. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell is expected to miss the entire spring as he rehabs his shoulder. Peach Bowl MVP Matt Flynn and redshirt freshman Ryan Perrilloux will have plenty of chances this spring. Defensive linemen Kyle Williams and Claude Wroten are gone. Glen Dorsey will be one of the tackles, but there is question as to who the other tackle will be. Charles Alexander and Ricky Jean-Francois will battle for the other position. Linebacker is another big question mark as it was last season. Cameron Vaughn, E J Kaule and Kenny Hollis are gone. The SAM linebacker is Ali Highsmith. Dominic Cooper will back him up. Luke Sanders, Quinn Johnson and Jacob Cutrera, a freshman, will battle for the MIKE position. The WILL position could be manned by Darry Beckwith. At running back, Alley Broussard and Justin Vincent are rehabbing ACL’s. The backs in the spring are redshirt freshman R J Jackson and Antonio Robinson along with fullbacks Jacob Hester and Steven Korte.

GEORGIA: Center Ian Smith, a redshirt freshman, has been suspended for the first two games after being arrested for intoxication. Marcus Elmore, a senior defensive tackle, has been arrested for driving with a suspended license. He is the fourth Bulldog to be arrested since Nov. Linebacker Dannell Ellerbe was arrested in January for theft and DUI. He is indefinitely suspended. Safety Antonio Sims was arrested for DUI and misusing a parking pass. He was suspended for a semester. Sims has appealed his suspension and it was denied, meaning he is ineligible to enroll in classes at Georgia the rest of spring semester. Without credit hours, he will not be able to play football. If Sims is gone, then C. J. Byrd, Kelin Johnson, Antavious Coates and Tra Battle will compete for two starting safety spots. Georgia starts March 4.

ALABAMA: Tide receiver Tyrone Prothro had a rod inserted again in his broken leg this week. He said he would play next season. A rod was inserted the day he broke the left leg against Florida, but had to be taken out three weeks later due to an infection. Receiver Ezekiel Knight will be moved to defense end after struggling last year at receiver. Starting cornerback Ramzee Robinson will sit out the spring with a stress fracture in his back.

OLE MISS: Robert Lane will be a full-time tight end after moving from quarterback, tight end and H-back last season. Antonio Turner has moved from running back to linebacker. Sophomore Michael Oher moved from right guard to left tackle. Rebel coach Ed Orgeron had elbow surgery to repair an elbow ligament. Linebacker Patrick Willis has had foot surgery and he is out for the spring. Ole Miss already has eight verbal commitments.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Melvin Smith is the new defensive backs coach replacing Freddie Kitchens (former running backs coach) who went to the Dallas Cowboys. Smith coached last year at Texas A & M. Smith was on the Bulldog staff from 1996-2001. Shane Beamer will now coach the running backs and remain as recruiting coordinator. Ellis Johnson will continue as defensive coordinator and now coach linebackers. State begins spring practice March 6.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Brad Lawless, an assistant coach with the Gamecocks from 1998-99, has returned to the staff to take the vacant defensive line position. Lawless, who has spent the last three seasons at North Carolina as the recruiting coordinator, replaces John Thompson.

AUBURN: The Tigers are few days away from spring practice. Some of the questions that remain are will Leon Hart and King Dunlap be able to fill vacancies left over from Marcus McNeil and Troy Reddick? Hart played a lot the past two seasons. Dunlap is 6-foot-8, 310 pounds. How will the Tigers replace three 1,000-yard receivers in Anthony Mix, Devin Aromashodu and Ben Obomanu? Senior Courtney Taylor returns. The two other spots are likely to be filled by junior Prechae Rodriquez (10 games last year) and sophomore Robert Dunn (seven game last year). Will Herring, who played safety last season, has been moved to linebacker. Sophomore Tristan Davis has moved from tailback to free safety. Sophomore Lorenzo Ferguson will battle him. How long Herring stays at linebacker will be determined by the progress of Davis and Ferguson. Safety Tony Bell and lineman Brian West are no longer on the team.

TENNESSEE: All the work this spring will not be on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive line, Parys Haralson, Jason Hall and Jesse Mahelona are gone. Xavier Mitchell returns at defensive end and Turk McBride comes back at defensive tackle. There are many questions at linebacker with the loss of Kevin Simon, Omar Gaither and Jason Mitchell. Rico McCoy, a redshirt freshman, who had a foot injury last season, has the coaches excited. Marvin Mitchell, who has struggled with ailing knees, could be the answer at middle linebacker. Junior Ryan Karl will also be in the mix. He was a real factor on special teams.

MIAMI: Mario Cristobal decided to stay on the Cane staff instead of going to the NFL. George Robinson (6-0, 175), a two- star receiver from Miami Central, has finally signed with the Canes. He recently acquired a qualifying SAT score. Former Murray State head coach Joe Pannunzio could be in line for the tight ends coach at Miami. He was fired in November after a 2-9 record. Coach Larry Coker has filled the receivers slot with Marquis Mosely, an assistant with Northern Illinois. Mosely, who has worked with Todd Berry, the Canes quarterback coach, is also a commercial pilot. He was also considering David Kelly (Georgia, LSU, Georgia Tech and Stanford), former Florida receiver Wes Chandler (receivers coach at Minnesota Vikings) and Pitt’s Aubrey Hill. Former Cane quarterback Jim Kelly said at the Dan Marino charity event Monday that the firing of former assistant Art Kehoe hurts him. Kelly said, “When someone like that leaves, you start wondering.”

VIRGINIA: Senior linebacker Ahmad Brooks failed a drug test and is off the team. Injuries limited him last season to 27 tackles. He status for next season is yet to be determined.

FLORIDA STATE: The Noles have to replace Ernie Sims, A J Nicholson, Sam McGrew and Marcello Church (252 tackles last year). Strongside linebacker replacing Ernie Sims could be Lawrence Timmons, who had 35 tackles last year. Toddrick Verdell could back up Timmons. Buster Davis, who had 91 tackles last year, returns at middle linebacker. Jae Thaxton and Derek Nicholson back him up. Anthony Kelly, who was a defensive end last season, has lost weight and is moving to linebacker. The weakside linebacker could be Geno Hayes. Davis has also played a lot at the weakside position. FSU will hold a Junior Day on March 25 that consists of a facilities tour, meeting with staff, introduction to program traditions, academic planning.

GEORGIA TECH: Head coach Chan Gailey may allow offensive coordinator Patrick Nix to have more of a say in play- calling. Gailey has had nearly total control of the offense. The past two years the Yellow Jacket offense was ranked No. 10 in scoring offense. The athlete director job has been given to LSU assistant AD Dan Radakovich. Bill Curry, the ESPN analyst and former SEC head coach, was the second choice.

NORTH CAROLINA: Mark Weber, formerly of Fresno State, is the new offensive line coach

N C STATE: Rick Kravitz is the new safeties/ special teams coach for the Wolfpack after spending 10 years at South Florida as defensive coordinator.

TODD BLACKLEDGE has moved from CBS to ESPN where he will be teamed with Mike Patrick for college football broadcasts.

BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE CLAY COUNTY LINE IN ORANGE PARK, FLA., HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM, SAMSPORTSLINE.COM AND GATOR BAIT MAGAZINE. HE CAN BE HEARD ON ESPN 1460 ON MONDAY AND THURSDAY AFTERNOONS ON THE RUMBLE WITH MIKE DEMPSEY AND TOM MCMANUS.