The game was a combination of offensive coordinator Major Applewhite’s spread formation and Tide assistant Joe Pendry’s NFL background. Tide fans were glad to see more of a pass rush package involving four- or- three man fronts with Wallace Gilberry, Bobby Greenwood, Zeke Knight and Keith Saunders. Saban selected six reporters to be honorary coaches in the game. Alabama received a commitment from Michael Boswell (6-6, 290), an offensive lineman from Tuscaloosa County High. He committed Saturday after the A-Day game. The Tide’s entire coaching staff was involved in a football clinic Monday afternoon in Mobile.

Former Tide quarterback Andrew Zow has taken the head football job at Union County replacing Buddy Nobles. Wilson has cemented the starting quarterback position, but Greg McElroy had a productive spring and showed he can compete. In the fall, Jimmy Barnes will compete with McElroy after he recovers from ACL surgery. Barnes did well in individual drills during the spring. There are already long range plans to possibly expand the south end zone of Bryant-Denny Stadium. No firm commitment has been made. The north end zone was the latest expansion to be done.

Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson (16- of- 28 for 243 yards) started the spring game in front of 5,000 fans by falling down then throwing two picks in the first five plays. Receiver Keenan Burton caught five passes for 104 yards. Woodson and the Blue team regained their composure and beat the White team, 65-50. The Blue team won the second half, 35-6. Backup quarterback Mike Hartline was 14- of- 23 for 100 yards and a touchdown. Tony Dixon led the running backs with 59 yards on 11 carries. Safety Marcus McClinton returned a pick 75 yards for a score. It was one of four picks on the day. Linebacker Johnnie Williams had a game-high seven tackles. Freshman safety Jordan Nevels had five tackles and a pick. Defensive end Josh Minton tore an ACL in the spring game and surgery will cost him part of the upcoming season. Minton joins freshmen linebackers Chris Cessna and Brandon Thurmond as players who have had knee injuries that could potentially end their seasons.

LSU defensive lineman Tim Washington is transferring to Appalachian State. He played in only nine games in two years and was buried on the depth chart. ASU has won the last two Division I-AA championships. Coach Les Miles dismissed reserves Troy Giddens, Zhamal Thomas and Kyle Anderson from the team after recent arrests. Giddens and Thomas were charged with identity theft and Anderson was arrested for second-degree battery after being involved in a bar fight.

The Tigers have moved its final game of the season against Arkansas to the Friday after Thanksgiving for a 2:30 pm CBS kickoff. This is the 12th straight year the game has been played on the same day.

Mississippi State has finalized its 2007 schedule. The Egg Bowl against Ole Miss has been moved to the Friday after Thanksgiving for a noon kickoff on Lincoln Financial Sports. State has little experience at quarterback behind Michael Henig. Josh Riddell showed some promise after transferring in from a junior college this spring.

South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier celebrated his 62nd birthday last Friday. Linebacker Marvin Sapp will have surgery soon to insert to screws in his broken ankle. Sapp, who was the second leading tackler last year with 51, will return in August. Spurrier said Chris Smelley is the backup behind Blake Mitchell, but that could change this summer.

In a Gamecock Club meeting this week, Spurrier talked about FSU saying, “Back then FSU was pretty good. Almost everybody’s beating them now. But they were pretty tough in the early 90s, mid 90s and so forth.” He has said little about an investigation involving gunfire associated with tailback Cory Boyd and safety Brandon Isaac. Spurrier is not pleased with the offensive line except for center William Brown.

Auburn defensive end Alonzo Horton has transferred to Jackson State. He didn’t participate in spring practice. Horton played nine games last season and made three tackles. Sophomore Sen’Derrick Marks was moved to defensive end in order to get the four best players on the defensive line. The other starters are senior Quentin Groves at end, senior Josh Thompson at nose guard, junior Pat Sims at defensive tackles and Marks at strongside end. Thearon Collier (5-9, 165), a Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington chose Auburn over Florida, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech. He is commitment No. 4 for the Tigers.

Georgia’s Akeem Dent might have been the biggest surprise of the spring at linebacker. He jumped Darius Dewberry in the starting lineup early in spring due to his speed and agility. Dewberry then bumped Dannell Ellerbe from a starting role. Ellerbe has great talent, but has yet to be the total package. At defensive end, Michael Lemon was the surprise of spring. He is the main competition for Marcus Howard. The South Carolina at Georgia game is likely to be picked up by ESPN on Sept. 8. Akeem Hebron was charged early Friday morning with underage possession of alcohol. This is his second similar offense since the first of the year. Hebron, who was expected to be in the two deep chart at outside linebacker, has already been suspended for the first two games of the season for original offense.

Tennessee coaches are depending on improvement from the receivers. The returning receivers have a combined 27 catches for 252 yards. Quinton Hancock is the most productive receiver. Lucas Taylor had potential to be a playmaker, but he still struggles on the field. Josh Briscoe lacks consistency. Slick Shelley caught five passes for 33 yards in the spring game, but he has to stay healthy.

Junior Ramon Foster was the bright spot on the Vol offensive line this spring. Foster was more dedicated and disciplined than the previous season. Josh McNeil has an important offseason as the starting center. He battled an ankle injury and a suspension.

Florida coach Urban Meyer has hired Troy Starr as his director of football operations. Starr comes from Taft High in Woodland Hills, Calif. Coach Urban Meyer said he has tried to hire Starr on several different occasions. He is very pleased with team except for the defensive line, which is one recruiting class behind. Meyer admitted that he tried to get linebacker Brandon Siler to return for another year. Receivers Percy Harvin and Bubba Caldwell are running track this spring. Meyer’s biggest concern on the offensive line is right guard where the Pouncey twins and Maurice Hurt are in the mix. He singled out Clint McMillan, Javier Estopinan and Terron Sanders as the defensive tackles. Jarrod Fayson had bone chips removed from his knee this week. He should be recovered in three to five weeks.

Ole Miss is counting on several freshmen to play early such as linebacker Anthony Fein, who is 25 years old and had a stint in the Army, 6-foot-6, 220 pound receiver A J Jackson, who played with Brent Schaeffer at junior college in 2005 and receiver Lionel Breux, who may be the fastest of the recruits.

The ACC title game will start at 1 pm on ABC and the Big 12 at 7 pm later that night on ABC.

Maryland’s scrimmage on Saturday saw quarterback Jordan Steffy come closer to being named the starter after completing 13- of- 21 for 182 yards. Terp quarterbacks threw the ball 51 times on 104 offensive plays. Josh Portis, who fumbled twice and threw a pick, was 8- of- 13 for 113 yards. Chris Turner was 6- of- 8 for 86 yards.

Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden was the special guest of the Seminole Club of Clay County Monday night. Bowden, who is starting his 32nd year of coaching, lavished praise on his five new coaches. He said he had tried to hire Rick Trickett three times, but the school never had enough money to match his salary until now. Bowden said the quarterback race between Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee has yet to be decided. He mentioned the development of reserve quarterbacks D’vontrey Richardson and Christian Ponder, who is a freshman in eligibility but a junior academically. He called nose tackle Andre Fluellen the No. 1 leader of the team. Bowden said cornerback Tony Carter would be an exceptional player if he could stay healthy.

Bowden said Boston College turned down an opportunity to play FSU on Labor Day night, but Clemson didn’t. He is excited about the Alabama game in September being in Jacksonville. Bowden reminded the audience that when he was on the West Virginia staff that he had a chance to take the Marshall head coaching job a year before the plane crash that killed most of the team and staff.

FSU picked up its seventh verbal commitment from Jermaine Thomas (6-190), a running back from First Coast (Fla.) High. He decided between FSU, Tennessee and Miami.

Miami fullback James Bryant is transferring. He switched positions several times and had some discipline issues. Safety Anthony Reddick could be sidelined for several months after tearing his ACL playing basketball. He tore his right knee in the first game of his sophomore season and sat out the rest of the season. Last season he had one tackle in six games. Joe Wylie (6-2, 191), a defensive back from Fort Lauderdale Boyd Anderson (Fla.) High, is expected to choose Miami today in an afternoon news conference. Ole Miss, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Georgia have offered him.

Clemson’s secondary is trying to rebound after losing C J Gaddis and Duane Coleman at cornerback. Tiger freshman DeAndre McDaniel, who is from Tallahassee, earned the No. 3 spot at the safety position after he had a great spring. Byron Maxwell is finally healthy after missing the past two seasons with injuries.

Boston College coach Jeff Jagodzinski said offensive assistant Steve Logan wants to throw the ball down the field more than on the past. Logan will use speedy Jeff Smith more in an effort to get the ball in his hands often. Jagodzinski said quarterback Matt Ryan would have the freedom to audible more often. He didn’t bite when asked to reply about former B.C. coach Tom O’Brien, who is now with N C State, saying the most a coach could do at BC was to win 9- or- 10 games.

Notre Dame had a record crowd of 51, 852 for its spring game last Saturday. Tailback Junior Jabbie, a converted defensive back, had 13 carries for 87 yards to lead the Gold team over the Blue team, 10-6. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen was 3- of- 7 passing. In all four Irish quarterbacks threw for only 77 yards. Coach Charlie Weis wants his offense to be more physical so the Irish ran the ball twice more than they threw it. Clausen, sophomores Zach Frazer and Demetrius Jones and junior Evan Sharpley have thrown a total of two regular season passes. The receivers have just about as much experience with the loss of Jeff Samardzija and Rhema McKnight. They may rely more on tight end John Carlson who is an All-American candidate. Darius Walker’s departure for the NFL draft left the Irish with no back who has gained more than 351 yards. Jabbie is the only offensive player from the 2004 recruiting class. The only four-star prospect from the 2005 class is receiver D J Hord who missed all of last year with a ruptured Achilles tendon. Notre Dame’s offensive line returns John Sullivan and Florida product Sam Young, a sophomore. Travis Thomas, who was a linebacker last year, returns to halfback. The backfield also has sophomore James Aldridge and freshman Armando Allen. Former Irish head man Lou Holtz served as honorary coach in the game.

Ohio State had its annual spring game in front of 75,031. The Scarlet team blew a 9-0 lead as the Gray team won, 17-9. The Buckeye defense had six sacks and picked off three passes. Linebacker Larry Grant had two. Cornerback Malcolm Jenkins and Jamario O’Neal return in the secondary, but three starters are gone from the defensive line. Quarterback is still up for grabs between Todd Boeckman, Robbie Schoenhoft and Antonio Henton. The quarterbacks combined were 21- of- 45 for 231 yards with six sacks, three picks and two fumbles. Buckeye coach Jim Tressel has to replace Troy Smith at quarterback, receivers Ted Ginn, Jr. and Anthony Gonzalez, running back Antonio Pittman, guard T J Downing and center Doug Datish. Receivers Brian Robiskie and Brian Hartline and tailback Chris Wells must progress. Maurice Wells has a strong spring at running back gaining 48 yards in the spring game. Sophomore receiver Ray Small could be their big play threat. The offensive line will be a strength with tackles Alex Boone and guard Steve Rehring, both 6-foot-8 and tackle Kirk Barton. Ohio State’s non-conference schedule the next four years includes games with Washington (2007), at USC (2008), USC at home in 2009 and Miami at home in 2010.

Text messages from coaches to prospects have been banned by the NCAA board of directors. However, the board, in an unusual move, could take another look at the situation as early as next year.

BSC commissioners met this week in New Orleans simply for maintenance issues. There was discussion of having only conference champs involved in BCS bowls, but there was no support for approval.

BRENT BEAIRD IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR MYCLAYSUN IN ORANGE PARK, FLA. HE ALSO WRITES FOR RIVALS.COM, SAMSPORTSLINE.COM AND GATOR BAIT MAGAZINE. HE CAN BE HEARD ON SPORTS RADIO 1010 XL.