LSU: Coach Les Miles said last week the most immediate need for the Tigers is to rebuild the offensive line after losing three starters. Miles said the starters coming out of spring were freshman left tackle Ciron Black, junior left guard Will Arnold, sophomore center Brett Helms, senior right guard Brian Johnson and senior right guard Peter Dyakowski. LSU plays Auburn, Tennessee, Florida and Arkansas on the road. Receiver Xavier Carter won the 400 and 200 meters at the SEC Conference Championships Sunday. He is only the third man in the 74-year history of the event to do so.

OLE MISS: Quarterback signee Brent Schaeffer is on pace to graduate after the spring semester ends on May 25 at the College of the Sequoias in California.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Memphis defensive end transfer Cortez McCraney said he was transferring to State after having problems with coaches and making some bad choices. He walked off the field during team punishment drills and did not come back. The team was doing exercises for 40 minutes because three players skipped classes. Former Florida defensive tackle Michael Brown (6-5, 305) has transferred to Miss State. Brown, who will sit out this season, will have two years left. He will be an offensive tackle at Miss State.

FLORIDA: Stephen Garcia (6-3, 212), a dual-threat quarterback from Tampa Bay Jefferson is among many heralded prospects expected to attend the NIKE camp at Florida this weekend. South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier and Florida’s Urban Meyer and LSU’s Miles will be attending Garcia’s spring game Thursday night. Allen Bailey (6-3, 250), a defensive end from Darien (Ga.) McIntosh County Academy, will also attend this weekend’s NIKE camp. Miami, Georgia and Florida are recruiting him the hardest.

The Gators have a verbal commitment from Chris Rainey (5-8, 180), a running back from Lakeland (Fla.). Regardless, Rainey said he would like to visit Southern Cal, Notre Dame and Texas. Meyer and Doc Holliday are trying to be very visible in the Dade County area. Besides Marquand Manual and Lawrence Wright, the Gators have signed few impact players from the area. Meyer also said the return game has to improve. He said Brandon James was signed specifically for that need. Incoming freshman Percy Harvin and defensive back Reggie Nelson would contribute. Meyer also said 41% of the players had a 3.0 grade point average of higher. Quarterback Tim Tebow had a 4.0 GPA this past semester. He also added that the fastest players on the team are Jemalle Cornelius and Andre Caldwell.

GEORGIA: School president Michael Adams, working through the SEC, has asked CBS to stop its use of the phrase “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party” in promoting the Georgia-Florida game. Adams said CBS made it clear that they will use the name if they see fit. Last September, Georgia and Florida renewed their contract through 2010. Coach Mark Richt said Georgia has a new policy that states if a student at Georgia is arrested for an alcohol related incident the penalty, he or she is to take a course or perform community service, but if it happens twice then there is a semester suspension. Before summer workouts begin the first week of June, players can still hear from their coaches with the use of “video playbooks” which Richt says is full of valuable information for players. Some of the incoming freshman class is already on hand including fullback signee Shaun Chapas, who is from The Bolles School.

Bulldog signee Justin Anderson, an offensive lineman from Irwin County, is going to Hargrave Military Academy this fall. With receivers Sean Bailey, A J Bryant, and Michael Moore recovering from surgery, Richt is hoping Demiko Goodman, who had shoulder surgery in January, will step up after contributing little last year. Georgia will win the SEC All-Sports Trophy for the first time in 15 years.

SOUTH CAROLINA: Steve Spurrier and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt have become friends over the years. Final grades are in. Receiver Noah Whiteside is the only player who will have a tough time qualifying academically. Spurrier joked in a meeting this week that when he is asked how South Carolina beat Tennessee, his reply is the same way Vanderbilt did. ESPN might be televising the Georgia game in prime time on Sept. 9. Spurrier also said this week that incoming freshman quarterback Chris Smelly will not be redshirted.

KENTUCKY: Coach Rich Brooks dismissed senior cornerback Bo Smith for a violation of team rules and former basketball player Ravi Moss, a receiver, will miss half the season due to improper benefits he received after the basketball season.

ALABAMA: Cornerback signee Tremayne Coger has hit a problem in qualifying because the school sent only half of his credits to the Clearinghouse. He has been told that it might take 45 days to get it cleared up.

SEC CHANGE: Jefferson Pilot is no longer the sponsor for the early Saturday game. Lincoln Financial Group takes over for JP.

SEC OPENING WEEKEND: The first game of the year is South Carolina hosting Mississippi State on Thursday night. USC at Arkansas was almost moved to Sunday, Sept. 3, but USC would not agree to it and the game continues to be set for Saturday, Sept. 2. Kentucky at Louisville could move again to Sunday as in previous years. Vanderbilt at Michigan is the noon ESPN Big Ten game. ESPN is looking at Washington State at Auburn, Cal at Tennessee and USC at Arkansas for evening slots. Hawaii at Alabama, Southern Miss at Florida and Memphis at Ole Miss are candidates for the early game. Western Kentucky at Georgia and Louisiana-Lafayette at LSU will not be televised. SEC officials are hoping to know more TV times before the SEC meetings in Destin on Memorial Day weekend.

ESPN THURSDAY NIGHT GAMES: Aug. 31-South Carolina at Miss State and Boston College at Central Michigan, Sept. 14-Maryland at West Virginia, Sept. 21-Virginia at Georgia Tech, Sept. 28-Auburn at South Carolina, Oct 5-FSU at N C State, Oct. 12-Virginia Tech at Boston College, Oct. 19-North Carolina at Virginia, Oct. 26-Clemson at Virginia Tech, Nov. 2-West Virginia at Louisville, Nov. 9-Louisville at Rutgers, Nov. 16-West Virginia at Pitt and Nov 23 (Thanksgiving night)-Boston College at Miami

FLORIDA STATE: Fullback is an area where incoming freshmen such as Seddrick Holloway and Matt Dunham could contribute early. Holloway said recently he weighed in at 246 pounds. He also plans on being at FSU when voluntary workouts begin on June 5. Tight end signee Caz Piurowski said he will not pursue a pro baseball career. He has been told that he would probably be selected in the first ten rounds of the pro baseball draft. He was selected to play in the FACA All-Star game the last weekend of the month in Sebring.

MIAMI: The Canes might be the strongest this season at linebacker with seasoned players such as Jon Beason, Tavares Gooden, Glenn Cook and Romeo Davis. Willie Williams, Darryl Sharpton and Spencer Adkins have little experience. Williams is trying to regain 20 pounds that he lost during spring practice. He played last year at 240. Beason, Cook and Gooden spent most of the spring as starters.

Miami has signed another home-and-home series with South Florida in 2012-13. Miami beat USF, 27-7, last year. They play again in Tampa in 2009. Dolphin Stadium officials are trying to lure Miami away from the Orange Bowl. Miami officials want to stay in the Orange Bowl beyond the four years remaining on the lease if renovations are done. Quarterback signee Daniel Stegall has been told that he will be the scout team quarterback if there are no injuries. He could also play baseball at Miami. Athletic director Paul Dee has began scheduling talks with Pac-10 schools such as Southern Cal, UCLA or Arizona.

VIRGINIA TECH: The Hokies have scheduled a home-and-home series with Nebraska for 2008 and ’09.

ESPN: The network has already set up three Sunday night football games: Boise State vs. New Mexico on Oct. 15, USF at Cincinnati on Oct 22, and UConn at Rutgers on Oct. 29. the USF game would be competing against Game 2 of the World Series and the UConn game goes against a possible Game 7.

NCAA EXPANSION: The NCAA is studying the possibility of adding schools from outside the U.S. Canada’s University of British Columbia and St. Clair College have expressed an interest. The NCAA has already sanctioned the International Bowl in Toronto on Jan. 6 with teams from the Mid-American and Big East conferences.

HOT SEAT COACHES: Dennis Dodd of CBSsportsline.com has his annual hot seat ratings. Kentucky’s Rich Brooks is the only coach to have a 5 rating. Brooks is 9-25 overall in four seasons. Coaches who are on the bubble or worse are Fisher DeBarry of Air Force, Ted Roof of Duke, Chan Gailey of Georgia Tech, Ron Zook of Illinois, Mark Mangino of Kansas, Larry Coker of Miami, Gary Pinkel of Missouri, John Bunting of North Carolina, Dennis Franchione of Texas A & M and Ty Willingham of Stanford. Dodd rated Brooks and Franchione as the coaches on the hottest seats.

NOTRE DAME: Irish officials are beginning to negotiate for neutral site games beginning in 2009. They are negotiating with Jacksonville, Fla., Orlando, Fla., New Orleans and Dallas for possible games. The Irish also fired long-time announcer Tony Roberts and replaced him with Don Criqui, a Notre Dame alumnus. He will be teamed with Allen Pickett, in his sixth season. Former Irish coach Lou Holtz was extremely critical of the decision even after undergoing hernia surgery Monday.

FIVE-YEAR FOOTBALL ELIGIBILITY QUESTION: The AFCA is about to make a major push to grant a fifth year of eligibility. Coaches have realized that they are not going to get more scholarships instead trying to maximize what they have. The idea would erase redshirt seasons and give players five years to play five. The proposal has yet to reach the NCAA rules committee. It must be officially proposed by a conference.

NEW TRANSFER RULE: Tyler Kreig, an offensive lineman, graduated from Duke last week. He plans on leaving Duke and entering a graduate program at Cal on May 22. He also plans on playing his last season of football at Cal this season. A new NCAA rule permits transfers who have completed their undergraduate degree to finish their eligibility immediately at another school if they have been accepted to pursue an advanced degree. Kreig, a two-year starter at Duke, is looking to play at Cal, who lost three offensive linemen.

ABC TV LINEUP: The network will provide a 12-week season this year starting with Notre Dame at Georgia Tech on Sept 2. Some other highlights are Ohio State at Texas on Sept. 9 and Nebraska at USC on Sept. 16. Brent Musburger and Bob Davie are the broadcasters. College GameDay will broadcast from the sites of the first two games.

SPORTING NEWS MAG OUT (PREDICTIONS):
Eastern Division—
Florida 10-2, Georgia 10-2, Tennessee 9-3, South Carolina 7-5, Kentucky 5-7 and Vanderbilt 3-9;

Western Division—
Auburn 11-1, LSU 10-2, Ala 8-4, Arkansas 7-5, Ole Miss 7-5 and Miss State 4-8 SEC title game: Auburn beating Florida National race: 1. Notre Dame 2. Ohio State 3. Auburn 4. LSU 5. West Virginia 6. Southern Cal 7. Texas 8. Florida 9. Oklahoma and 10. FSU… 12. Georgia…14. Miami…16. Virginia Tech…18. Tennessee…20. Texas Tech; … 24. Clemson and 25. Alabama.

Best quarterbacks-
Auburn’s Brandon Cox, Florida’s Chris Leak, LSU’s JaMarcus Russell, South Carolina’s Blake Mitchell and Tennessee’s Erik Ainge Top offensive coordinators: LSU’s Jimbo Fisher, Auburn’s Al Borges and Tennessee’s David Cutcliffe Top defensive coordinators: LSU’s Bo Pelini, Tennessee’s John Chavis and South Carolina’s Tyrone Nix

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.