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SEC TV GAMES:
SEC MEDIA DAYS LINEUP: Wednesday afternoon-Urban Meyer, Sly Croom, Les Miles and Bobby Johnson; Thursday morning-Nick Saban, Mark Richt, Houston Nutt and Phil Fulmer; Friday morning-Tommy Tuberville, Rich Brooks, Bobby Petrino and Steve Spurrier SPRING GAME ATTENDANCE SUPERLATIVES: Nebraska 80,149; Alabama 78,200, Ohio State 76,346, Penn State 73,000, Florida 61,000, Texas 43,000, Arkansas 40,200, Auburn 35,000, LSU 33,624, Texas A & M 32,000 and South Carolina 31,125 APR RATINGS: UAB, one of Tennessee’s opponent this season, lost nine football scholarships due to its Academic Progress Ranking (APR). Tennessee lost a scholarship in men’s football and swimming. LSU lost a half scholarship in baseball. The standard that schools must meet is 925, which means around a 60% graduation rate. MORE BCS STUFF: Matt Hayes of the Sporting News wrote a piece on possible changes coming in the next few years that would help fans wanting a playoff: Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen, 70, retiring before 2013. Any new commissioner would be more proactive in trying to improve the conference’s national standing. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany possibly taking the athletic director’s job at North Carolina, his alma mater after athletic director Dick Baddour retires. During the previous meetings, the Big East was not in a position of power since it only had its automatic qualifier status renewed five months ago after being raided by the ACC. New leadership at the commissioner level and the TV networks driving up the price could be major issues. LSU: Quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been permanently kicked off the team. Several reports have stated that he failed a recent drug test. He had been suspended three times over the past year. Perrilloux showed little or no leadership during the offseason by missing several meetings. He will have two years of eligibility left if he transfers to a Division I-AA school and only one at a I-A school. Larry Dauterive, Perrilloux’s high school coach, said he had already received 15 phone calls from I-AA coaches. Jacksonville State coach Jack Crowe has had contact with Perrilloux. Alabama A & M coach are also considering getting involved in his recruiting. Jackson State in Mississippi is another possible location. Either Andrew Hatch or Jarrett Lee will take the reins at quarterback. Redshirt freshman walk-on T. C. McCartney and incoming freshman Jordan Jefferson will also compete. Hatch is the quarterback who knows offensive coordinator Gary Crowton’s system the best. ARKANSAS: The NCAA has ruled that quarterback Ryan Mallet must sit out this season after transferring from Michigan. Mallet, who is 6-foot-7, was 61- of- 141 for 892 yards with seven touchdowns and five picks last year at Michigan. Cornerback Jerrell Norton underwent surgery to correct a hamstring problem. He should be ready for fall drills. Coach Bobby Petrino’s first depth chart released Wednesday showed the Hogs have plenty of inexperience at receiver. Two of the starters are Marques Wade and Carlton Salters, both redshirt sophomores. London Crawford, who caught eight passes last year, is listed as another starter. Casey Dick is the No. 1 quarterback. His brother, Nathan, is No. 2. Tight end D. J. Williams drew praise from Petrino for his spring efforts. Two surprises on defense are redshirt freshman defensive end Jake Bequette and sophomore Darrell Glasper at right cornerback holding down starting positions. TENNESSEE: Redshirt freshman offensive lineman William Brimfield has had ankle surgery. He should be ready for the season. Quarterback Jonathan Crompton is expected to start light throwing this week after recently having his shoulder scoped. He should be fully recovered by June. GEORGIA: The Arizona State game has been selected by ABC for an 8 p.m. kickoff. Georgia is 40-24-2 all time on the network. Last year, ASU opened the season with four home games. The temperature for the games was 101, 102, 93 and 82 degrees. The Bulldogs have filled out the 2009 non-conference schedule adding Tennessee Tech coached by Watson Brown, the former UAB and Vandy coach. Also on the 2009 schedule are Arizona State, Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech. Rowdy Francis, a special team standout and reserve defensive back, has given up football to concentrate on ROTC. He played in six games last year and nine the year before during his sophomore season. AUBURN: The Tiger athletic complex is being renovated. Locker rooms, coaches’ offices and meeting rooms are being upgraded. The coaches are getting more technology improvements. Also, rehab pools are being redone. Tiger quarterback signee Brandon Smith will begin his college career at Jones Community (Ms.) College. Another signee, tight end/defensive end Ken Adams has also been placed at Copiah-Lincoln (Ms.) CC. OLE MISS: Defensive back Jamariey Atterberry, who was redshirted last season, has been dismissed from the team for a DUI. He has a team high five tackles for the Red team in the Grove Bowl. Linebacker Allen Walker was also charged with a DUI on April 19, but he was “indefinitely suspended” and remains on the team. ALABAMA: Charlie Hoke, an offensive lineman, will spend his senior season on a medical hardship due to persistent shoulder problems. A J McCarron (6-4, 189), a four-star quarterback from St. Paul’s Episcopal in Mobile, committed to the Tide. Miami, Georgia and Oklahoma were in his final four. Coach Nick Saban has been using video conferencing to talk to recruits. Saban recently talked to a recruit in Mobile in his high school’s computer lab. The practice is legal and considered a phone call. Georgia Tech tight end transfer Colin Peek, who is a graduate of The Bolles School in Jacksonville, Fla., will not be able to play this season. Peek tried to get an NCAA hardship waiver that would allow him to play immediately. His family has appealed. KENTUCKY: The Wildcat Associate Board of Directors has agreed to lease a private plane for recruiting purpose instead of flying football and basketball coaches commercially. FLORIDA: Linebacker Jerimy Finch is transferring, probably to Indiana. Finch looked impressive in the first three games then sustained a major leg injury and never returned. Finch also has two children back in Indiana. Kicker Jonathan Phillips’ future will be determined if he gets into law school. GatorBait.com has a list of the top 16 players that Florida is recruiting. Offensive coordinator Dan Mullen has recruiting responsibilities from Ocala to Jacksonville SOUTH CAROLINA: Coach Steve Spurrier expects several fierce position battles during fall drills. He said Captain Munnerlyn and Carlos Thomas will have fight off freshman Akeem Auguste. He also expects freshman offensive lineman T. J. Johnson to compete for playing time. Spurrier said for the first time since spring practice ended that senior Mike Davis is the No. 1 running back ahead of Brian Maddox and Eric Baker. The spring roster listed 21 seniors. Spurrier told a group of boosters this week that the home schedule of N. C. State, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and Arkansas might be the toughest in the nation. He also sent to offensive staff to Wake Forest before the start of spring practice. MISSISSIPPI STATE: Former State player defensive lineman Quinton Wesley is considering transferring to Jackson State. Wesley and former Bulldog offensive lineman Michael Brown were dismissed from school after firing a gun. Brown can’t transfer to a I-AA school because of the NCAA rule passed in 2006 that states a player must have at least two years of eligibility remaining. He could transfer to a Division II or III school. ACC NOTES ACC SPRING MEETINGS: The ACC begins its annual spring meetings Sunday at Amelia Island. One of the topics is playing an additional conference game. The league currently plays eight conference games and officials will discuss adding an additional league game. If an additional game is added, then every team would play four teams from the other division. FLORIDA STATE: Freshman linebacker Nigel Bradham weighed 226 on signing day and currently weighs 240 pounds with 7% body fat. The coaches want him between 238-245 pounds. Offensive lineman Will Furlong needs to add 15 pounds to his 260 pound frame after bouts of the flu and mono. Next Monday starts the period where the Strength & Conditioning staff can supervise players in the weight room. Junior linebacker Marcus Ball, who has been suspended twice, recovered slowly from knee surgery and struggled academically, has asked for and been granted his release. The Noles have young linebackers such as Bradham and Maurice Harris even though Dakoda Watson will not be playing in the first three games. Of the 19 players involved in the December suspensions only 10 including five projected starters and three reserves are still on the team due to graduation, transfers or academic ineligibility. Former FSU receiver Damon McDaniel, the former teammate of Florida’s Percy Harvin, is transferring to West Virginia. He played little as a freshman and personal issues prevented him from playing last year. McDaniel wanted to be closer to home to care for his infant son who was recently born. The Tampa Tribune reports that Geno Hayes played in last year’s bowl game without being enrolled in school. Offensive lineman Daron Rose will attend a junior college in order to get his academics together. Rose, who started 11 games last year, was already going to be suspended for the first three games. Freshman Antwan Greenlee will come in as the first team tackle in place of Rose, who was the No. 2 OT by Rivals.com in 2006. He is also recovering from a neck injury that caused him to miss most of spring. The first team offensive line this season could have three sophomores and two freshmen. A total of 33 signees (40%) from the 2004-06 classes are no longer on the team. Of the six five-star players signed during that three- year period four have left school early. Three of those four never played beyond their freshman season. Of the 33 players that left early, 22 were rated a four-star prospect or higher. Also, of the 33 players-six were linebacker and six were offensive linemen. All three of those classes were ranked in the top three by Rivals.com. A total of 25 players on the 2007 roster will not play in 2008. Former Nole signee Callahan Bright has landed at Division II Shaw University in Raleigh, N.C. Bright was the best defensive player of the 2005 signing class which also included Antone Smith and Fred Rouse. The Philadelphia Daily News has an interesting story on Bright’s life. MIAMI: Booker T Washington High football coach Tim Harris accepted an administrative position with Coach Randy Shannon. His son, Brandon, is a freshman linebacker this season. Defensive coordinator Bill Young said in an interview with the Miami Herald that there is enough talent to use his multiple blitz package schemes. Young is expecting tackles Jeremy Lewis and Micanor Regis and end Allen Bailey to contribute immediately. He also believes Eric Moncur can be one of the best ends in the nation. Signee Raymond Buchanan will start at linebacker instead of safety. Young values linebacker Glenn Cook’s intangibles such as knowledge and experience as coach Randy Shannon does. He also believes freshmen linebackers Sean Spence and Arthur Brown will play. ACC QUARTERBACKS: Few of the ACC schools have their quarterback situations decided. Chris Crane is the replacement for Matt Ryan at BC. Cullen Harper is clearly the quarterback at Clemson as is Riley Skinner at Wake Forest. Josh Nesbitt and Calvin Booker are battling at Georgia Tech. Jordan Steffy, Chris Turner and Josh Portis are the trio of quarterbacks competing at Maryland. Robert Marve and Jacory Harris will likely play at Miami. Virginia Tech also had two quarterbacks in Sean Glennon and Tyrod Taylor. T. J. Yates will be pushed by Mike Paulus and Cam Sexton at North Carolina. Daniel Evans (shoulder surgery) is trying to hold off Justin Burke, Russell Wilson and Harrison Beck at N C State. Peter Lalich is the starter by a hair over Scott Deke and Marc Verica at Virginia. OTHER SCHOOLS UCF: Latavius Murray, a freshman tailback, should see ample playing time this season with Kevin Smith in the NFL and his backup out until August with a leg injury. SEC HOOPS TENNESSEE: Junior guard Ramar Smith, who averaged seven points per game and committed 77 turnovers, and junior forward Duke Crews, who averaged five points and four rebounds per game, have been dismissed from the team for failing multiple drug tests. Junior college All-American Bobby Maze signed a letter of intent to play with Tennessee. ALABAMA: Alabama senior forward/guard Alonzo Gee has declared for the NBA draft, but he has yet to sign with an agent. The Tide leads the SEC with three players declaring for the draft-Ron Steele, Richard Hendrix and Gee. The father of Hendrix said this week that it was likely his son was turning pro. LSU’s Anthony Randolph, Florida’s Marreese Speights and Mississippi State’s Jamont Gordon have also declared. Last year, 72 players took part in the pre-draft camp and only three were selected in the first round. The NBA’s official list of early entrants has 91 names-69 from the U.S. and 22 international players. Former Alabama player Rico Pickett has transferred to Miami Dade CC. FLORIDA: Vernon Macklin, a 6-9 forward, plans on transferring from Georgetown to Florida. He played little at Georgetown. He was a McDonald’s All-American out of Hargrave Military. JU: Jason Bennett has put his name in the NBA draft list. Bennett, who played at Kansas State, has been rumored to be interested in JU.
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.
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