'Bama's Saban has conference call with NFL Commissioner, and members of the NFLPA

Alabama head coach Nick Saban addressed the media for the first time since word broke that he was banning NFL scouts from his school and, while he said a lot was being made out of nothing regarding the banishment, the coach did reveal the wheels are turning behind the scenes to address the concerns he and other college coaches have over agents.

According to Saban, he helped organize a conference call recently that was meant to address concerns over what's been a growing problem of illicit interaction between agents and student-athletes. Included on that call was NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, members of the NFLPA and other college coaches, who Saban declined to name.

Among the things discussed during the call were potential deterrents to whatever illegal activity is occurring, one of the possible penalties mentioned was punishing a player who's already used up his collegiate eligibility and is playing at the professional level.

"All we want is the opportunity so that it doesn't have to happen on a street corner," Saban said.

Saban added that the school "told the scouts that we would open it up and give them a schedule" for a return to campus sometime after Aug. 25.

Bobo 'a little disappointed' in UGA QB Murray's scrimmage

"Other than that one play, he made a lot of very good decisions and good throws," Mark Richt said Tuesday. "Definitely, he has a very good command in the huddle and of the system. He does a good job of getting us in the right plays. We've given him a lot of leeway in that regard."

The Bulldogs' offensive coordinator, however, begs to differ with those assessments.

Mike Bobo said his young quarterback still has a lot of work to do before the Bulldogs begin the 2010 season.

"I was a little disappointed," Bobo said after Wednesday's practice. "I thought we didn't trust the pocket. A bonehead decision in the red zone, throwing it up for grabs.

"We learned from it on tape today and he had an excellent practice today standing in the pocket, trusting the protection and cutting the ball loose. That was good to see. Tuesday wasn't particularly up to par of what we need at that position. To come out today and play well is encouraging."

Miss State's McPhee Named To Bednarik Award Watch List

The Maxwell Football Club announced Mississippi State senior defensive end Pernell McPhee has been named to the 2010 Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List. The award, which has been presented to the nation's top defensive player since 1995, will be presented as part of the Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards Show on December 9.

In his first season as a Bulldog, McPhee earned All-Southeastern Conference honors from both the coaches and the media. He twice earned SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week accolades, and finished the year with a team-leading 12.0 tackles for loss. Earlier this summer, McPhee was named to the Lombardi Award Watch List.

NCAA to Ex-Vols's coach Kiffin, What about those recruiting practices

Arthur Brown, father of the former Tennessee and future Kansas State running back, told ESPN.com's Joe Schad that NCAA investigators have asked to speak to his son regarding the way Kiffin handled recruiting while coaching the Vols.

"They said they want to talk about the recruiting practices of Tennessee under Kiffin," Arthur Brown said. "We have nothing to hide. We have no need to be deceptive. If we made a mistake I can say it would not have been intentional, but I think this is about more than Bryce."

The governing body of the NCAA's, interest is about more than Bryce.

Brown's father also said they had not yet talked to the NCAA because they were in the midst of preparing an appeal of UT head coach Derek Dooley's decision to deny Bryce a release from his scholarship. Regardless of the outcome, however, Bryce Brown will still enroll and attend classes at KSU later this month.

If Dooley's decision is not overturned on appeal, Brown would have to pay his way through school this year.

Elliot Porter learns tough lesson at LSU

Former LSU commit Elliot Porter was excited about playing for the Tigers and head coach Les Miles. That was, of course, until Porter was recently summoned into Miles' office and told he was no longer going to receive a scholarship to play football.
Miles informed the offensive lineman from Waggaman, LA, that he was chosen to be grayshirted, a process where he would be delayed from receiving his football scholarship. "He just told me that they didn't have room for me. I moved out of my dorm today and I am now back home trying to figure everything out. It's been a rough 24 hours," said Porter.
Twenty-seven players signed letters of intent to LSU for the 2010 recruiting class, but the NCAA only allows twenty-five scholarships to be given.
The NCAA constantly stresses the "student" in student-athlete, but college football has evolved into big business, where decisions are not always in the best interest of the student.
By taking no action the NCAA demonstrated that what happened to Porter is perfectly acceptable, leaving him hanging.
"I want to be somewhere that I am wanted," Porter said. "I understand how things are going at LSU, and they didn't have room. To me what happened today wasn't fair, but it's how things go. It's a business, and I fully understand that now."
It's a cruel lesson Elliot Porter shouldn't have had to learn.

NCAA to pay second visit to Gamecocks

The latest update on various NCAA probes concerns South Carolina and their tight end, Weslye Saunders.

Saunders was interviewed by NCAA investigators last month and, according to The State's Joseph Person, is preparing for another sit-down. Person reports that investigators will be in Columbia again this week, and are expected to question the senior for a second time.

The investigation into Saunders is one of the many extensions of the NCAA's probe into the North Carolina football program, and concerns the various relationships players may or may not have had with agents and/or their associates.

In a statement, USC athletic director Eric Hyman, as he has in the past, said the school would continue to work in tandem with the NCAA. "Upon any request from the NCAA, we will continue to cooperate and assist in any way we can."

Kentucky Wildcats Go Full Pads in Steamy Lexington Heat

Facing tremendous heat for most of the afternoon, the University of Kentucky football team, clad in full pads, held its first joint practice session of fall camp at the Nutter Training Facility practice fields Tuesday.
"Every coach would say, ‘In my day, we had practice in 2,000 degree weather and we had to walk 100 miles to practice and we didn’t have shoes," head coach Joker Phillips said to a laughing media contingent. "It was a hot one, but we had no complaining. The guys practiced hard and there was a lot of enthusiasm."
The practice was one of many firsts for Kentucky, as the Wildcats held their first joint practice after four days of split-squad workouts and went with full pads on for the first time this fall. With all the changes coming together in one day, Phillips said that the players had to practice smarter in order to make sure that no one got hurt.
"As we practice faster, we have guys that tend to lose their feet and not run through tackles and we are not trying to do that now," Phillips said. "We are trying to practice smarter and staying off the ground to try to get nobody hurt."
Phillips was especially pleased Tuesday with the practice intensity of senior wide receiver Chris Matthews. Matthews had a good season as a junior-college transfer last year. He was the team’s No. 2 receiver, making 32 receptions for 354 yards and three touchdowns.
"He does all that he is supposed to do in the blocking area, his routes had intensity in them and he attacks the football," Phillips said.

Gators CB Brown returns after 2 year recovery

There were times when Florida Gators cornerback Jeremy Brown couldn't bend his neck to wash his face. This was the player Florida coach Urban Meyer once said had the talent to be just as good or better than current Gators' starting cornerback Janoris Jenkins. For the better part of the past two years, Brown has endured the pain of two herniated disks in his back. "F4 and F5,'' he calls them. Finally, after months and months of pain and fear and doubt and grueling rehabilitation, Brown has returned to the practice field. It has been a long and gradual recovery, but Wednesday marks a monumental day of that process perhaps more important than any other. Wednesday is the Gators' first day of fall camp in full pads. It's the day when players begin slamming into each other at full speed and holding nothing back. It's the day when players begin earning starting positions. Brown, a redshirt sophomore, injured his back on this day two years ago. He says it just "gave out.''
"I'd be lying if I said mentally I'm just ready,'' Brown said. "There are certain things I second-guess, like should I really just, throw myself in there? In the back of my head I'm just thinking, "Man, this might be my back again.' ''

Arkansas' Childs named to Biletnikoff Award watch list

University of Arkansas junior wide receiver Greg Childs was named to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List on Tuesday. The award is presented annually by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club to the top receiver in college football. Childs, who was one of 51 student-athletes nationwide named to the watch list, led the country last season with 402 yards against top 25 opponents and he led the SEC with 13 receptions of 25-or-more yards and 16 receptions in the fourth quarter. He has 66 receptions for 1,167 yards and nine touchdowns in his career. In 2009, he played in all 13 games with eight starts and led the team with 48 catches, 894 yards, seven touchdowns, 68.8 yards per game and three 100-yard games. He led all receivers in SEC play only with six receiving touchdowns, 737 yards, 92.1 yards per game and 23.0 yards per catch.

Ole Miss' Randall Mackey overshadowed but not forgotten for QB

Lost in all the excitement surrounding Masoli, who transferred from Oregon last week amid national hoopla, is the arrival of Mackey, who was a junior college All-American at East Mississippi Community College last season. Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, though, hasn't forgotten about Mackey at all. Mackey, Masoli and sophomore Nathan Stanley are in a three-way battle for the starting quarterback job as the season opener against Jacksonville State approaches on Sept. 4. "I'm so glad Randall Mackey's here," Nutt said. "He can really throw the football and has a really quick release - one of the quickest I've seen in a long time."

LSU's Russell Shepard ready to be a major playmaker

He will be on the football field for LSU in 2010. That was not the case through most of his true freshman season in 2009 as he usually made only cameo appearances and did not touch the ball in two of the Tigers' biggest games, losses to No. 1 Florida and to Penn State in the Capital One Bowl. Still, he led LSU in yards per carry with 6.2 and was the team's No. 3 rusher with 277 yards on 45 carries as a quarterback, tailback and receiver. He also led LSU in yards per catch with 16.4, but he had only five receptions for 34 yards. That was then, and this is now, a full-time slot receiver with just bit parts expected at quarterback and tailback ."Now that he is in the receiving corps, it allows him to be on the field routinely," LSU coach Les Miles said. "He still goes through a throwing regiment, still has the ability to learn to throw. But now he will be on the field the entire time. I think it's better than what we had. Frankly, had we used a different approach to him right away, it may well have gotten him to the field quicker. That was really the mistake, giving him a lot of time at quarterback last year. We should well have put him at receiver first."

UGA Bulldog's quarterback Aaron Murray impresses in debut scrimmage

It was Aaron Murray’s first real action as Georgia’s starting quarterback inside Sanford Stadium.

Murray, a redshirt freshman, threw two touchdowns to Green, highlighting his first preseason scrimmage. “I felt more comfortable in the pocket today,” said Murray, who, according to the team, was 12-of-21 for 237 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. “That’s been my biggest thing, just relaxing and trusting the offensive line, so that’s what I did today. Trust them a lot today, and when there was pressure, just let those guys make the necessary blocks.” Murray admitted that much of his strategy simply was getting the ball to Green. Both touchdowns were more than 60 yards, one a route on which Green took the rest of the way, another when Green beat the coverage downfield. “It’s pretty nice, the plays he makes,” Murray said. “It definitely makes things easier.” Green returned the praise, saying he liked Murray’s presence on the field. “He was very confident, real poised,” Green said. “He went through his reads pretty good. The balls he threw to me were just really good.” The interception was by freshman safety Alec Ogletree in a red-zone situation. The decision to throw the pass fell under what coach Mark Richt called the “foolish” category. “Other than that play, he made a lot of very good decisions and good throws,” Richt said. “Definitely, he has a very good command in the huddle and of the system. He does a good job of getting us in the right plays. We’ve given him a lot of leeway in that regard.”

Alabama makes another Sports Illustrated cover as the mag's preseason No. 1 pick

Another national voice has joined the chorus proclaiming Alabama as the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. In the latest in a continuing series, Sports Illustrated has put No. 1 Alabama on its cover on the Southeast edition of its college football preview, which will be on newsstands Wednesday. The crimson cover boys this time are linebacker Dont'a Hightower, safety Mark Barron and defensive end Marcell Dareus. Which is interesting because the SI email quotes Saban as saying: "We lost a lot of good players on defense, but our offense should be more explosive this year."

Gamecock's Jeffery Named to Biletnikoff Watch List

University of South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is one of 51 players named to the preseason watch list for the 2010 Biletnikoff Award, it was announced today.The Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc., the creator and sponsor of the Biletnikoff Award, presents its trophy annual to the nation's outstanding college football receiver. Jeffery, a 6-4, 233-pound sophomore, looks to build upon an outstanding rookie campaign in which he earned consensus Freshman All-America honors. He is a preseason second-team All-SEC pick by the league's 12 coaches and is a preseason third-team All-SEC selection by Phil Steele and Athlon Sports. Jeffery played in all 13 games during the 2009 season, starting the final seven. He led the squad with 46 catches for 763 yards, an average of 16.6 yards per catch. He was second on the team with six touchdowns. He averaged 58.7 yards and 3.54 catches per game, the eighth and 10th best marks respectively in the SEC, and was the only freshman in the top 10 in either category. In addition, he logged three 100-yard receiving games.

Florida Gators WR Chris Rainey: 'We got rid of the prima donnas'

"I guess we got rid of the prima donnas -- all the selfish cats,'' said Rainey, who has moved from running back to receiver for his final season in Gainesville. "That's probably it right there. Guys who were worried about themselves or worried about trying to get to the NFL.'' UF coach Urban Meyer laughed off Rainey's pointed words, just Rainey being Rainey." I can name some other things he said to the media that were absolutely inappropriate, and that goes in the same category, believe it or not,'' Meyer deadpanned. "So, take that for nothing. Inappropriate, wrong, non-thought out, which he does quite often. I love Chris Rainey, but when I ask him a question, I give him a whole day to think about it and write it down 100 times.'' Rainey's choice words stem from the Gators' loss to Alabama in the 2009 Southeastern Conference championship game. Days before the game, star defensive end Carlos Dunlap was arrested for driving drunk. After a frustrating week of practice, the defense played lethargically against Alabama's potent rushing attack and gave up 490 yards of total offense.

"I can't stop thinking about it,'' Rainey said. "I think about it every day. We got embarrassed. We looked like a high school team out there, and every time they show the video, it's like, `Dang, was that us for real?' ''

Miss State Bulldogs Begin Two-A-Day Work

After beginning the fall practice with the customary five-day, NCAA mandated acclimation period, head coach Dan Mullen put his team through its first two-a-day on Monday.
The Bulldogs began the day with an early morning workout down on the farm, working in full pads and focusing mainly on first down situations. The head coach declared the defense victorious during the first session of the day.
"We have a real heavy emphasis on the run game in the morning with first down and play action work," Mullen said. "I'd give the defense the edge in this morning's practice."
The second session of the day saw the Bulldogs in half pads, shoulder pads and helmets only, and a focus more on the passing game. Each side provided some big plays throughout the workout, and the head coach seemed pleased with the effort from all involved as the pace of practice was noticeably accelerated compared to last week.
State returns to a one-practice schedule on Tuesday, with a morning workout and meetings in the afternoon. The next scheduled two-a-day is on Wednesday.

Commodores start strong, struggle late in stifling heat

After watching his Commodores struggle with mental miscues and missed assignments in late segments of a stifling practice Monday, Vanderbilt Head Coach Robbie Caldwell said his squad needed to do a better job of keeping its focus as they head to their first workout in full gear.

Working in front of several hundred fans, the Commodores practiced more than two hours in the humid conditions. By the time the offense and defense faced off in 11-on-11 drills late in the session, the oppressive weather combined with on-field mistakes led to frustration from members of both units.

"We didn't handle the heat real well today, but we'll learn from it and come back and do a better job the next time out," Caldwell said. 

When the team returns to the John Rich Practice Facility Tuesday, they will be practicing for the first time in full pads. The Monday workout was staged in shoulder pads and did not feature full contact.

"We'll do a little bit of real football for sure, I just don't know how much," Caldwell said. "It's awfully hard on guys playing positions where we're a little thin. We just have to be real smart with how we go about practice."


Former Tide DB Rod Woodson transfers to North Alabama

UNA coach Terry Bowden spoke about the news Monday at his team's Media Day in Florence. "We're very pleased that Rod Woodson has chosen to come to UNA," Bowden said, according to this report in the TimesDaily. "He was a four-star recruit out of high school and played as a freshman at Alabama, so that says a lot about his ability. "Rod comes highly recommended from the Alabama defensive coaches. He wanted to play right away and should provide instant help to our secondary. The great thing about him is that he has three years of eligibility remaining." Saban said last week that he and Woodson decided mutually that it would be best for the player to continue his college football career elsewhere. He saw limited action as a freshman last season, primarily on special teams.