SEC Football
1. South Carolina defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward is getting a $100,000 raise and a three-year contract. Steve Spurrier’s other eight assistants get two-year deals – total payout to assistants next season will be more than $2.3 million.
2. Season ticket prices at South Carolina going up as the Board of Trustees approve $53 million in athletic facilities improvements.
3. With four players dismissed and the future of two players in doubt, looks like Alabama has dropped from 95 players to 91 and perhaps down to 89. Scholarship limit is 85.
4. With Tim Brewster gone to Florida State, Dan Mullen is looking for an assistant coach at Mississippi State. Coordinator of scouting Scott Sallach a potential candidate.
5. Mississippi State’s pass defense struggled in 2012 - what’s the outlook for this year?
6. Based on a details numbers breakdown, Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace should either throw only bubble screens or deep balls.
7. For these 10 Georgia players, spring practice could be make-or-break time. With quarterback Aaron Murray, “the Bulldogs are a national title contender.”
8. Athlon Sports breaks down the spring story lines at Texas A&M.
9. Auburn’s homecoming will be October 12th against Western Carolina.
10. Does Arkansas have the toughest schedule in the country this fall?
NFL Draft Prospects
11. Expect former Arkansas players Knile Davis and Chris Gragg to be asked repeatedly by the NFL if they quit on the 2012 Razorbacks team.
12. Looking for information on former Tennessee wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson? Here’s the most detailed scouting report you’ll find anywhere (11 pages long).
13. Ryan Swope’s 4.34 forty-yard dash time at the NFL Combine has boosted the draft stock of the former Texas A&M wide receiver. ”If I had been in the 4.4s at the combine I would have left disappointed. I wanted to go there and turn heads.”
14. This mock draft has Florida defensive tackle Shariff Floyd going No. 1 overall while this ranking puts Texas A&M’s Luke Joeckel in the top slot.
SEC Basketball
15. Missouri’s game plan last night against South Carolina – attack the basket. Tigers ended the game with more dunks than three-point shots.
16. After missing six games, Florida forward Will Yeguete went through a full-contact practice on Thursday – his first since undergoing surgery on his right knee. Expected to play Saturday against Alabama: ”If I only get five or 10 minutes, I’m going to be happy with it and hopefully get better.”
17. Breaking down what Florida’s defense does so well: “It limits easy shots, prevents threes as much as possible, and forces turnovers that short-circuit offense.” With one-more win, Florida clinches a top-four seed in the conference tourney.
18. If Alabama keeps it close Saturday against Florida, track records suggest they have a good shot at winning the game. But in order to win, “Alabama must play its best game of the season.”
19. Six of Alabama’s 13 nonconference opponents could make the NCAA Tournament.
20. Ole Miss forward Anthony Perez has a sprained MCL – hurt his knee Wednesday night against Texas A&M.
21. Arkansas guard BJ Young is struggling as Razorbacks prepare to play Kentucky.
22. This writer puts Ole Miss, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas and Tennessee on the bubble. About the Vols – “they’ve moved from the fringe of bubble consideration all the way to serious at-large consideration.”
23. What about LSU? “Aside from Tennessee, which has won six in a row, no SEC team is hotter than LSU.”
24. In the 12 games since their blowout loss to Kentucky, Auburn is averaging just 57.8 points per game.
25. John Calipari’s long-term goals from 1985.
SEC/College News
26. Defending the NCAA: “Look, somebody has to be in charge of writing and policing the rules.”
27. NCAA official on new recruiting rules: ”I expect… we’re going to end up at the next board meeting trying to assess that information and probably modify the legislation accordingly.”
28. South Carolina becomes the first SEC school to add sand volleyball.
29. Ready for the AdvocareV100 Bowl?
30. How does budget sequestration impact the sports world? Flyovers at sporting events may be eliminated.
31. Joe Paterno’s letter to a former player - who owed $12.99.
Extra
32. A national sports channel for high school athletics.
Nick Saban has built something we’ve never seen before in the BCS era — a year-in, year-out juggernaut. No other school has collected three national titles in four years or back-to-back titles under the current system. And Alabama appears to be ready to roll again in 2013.
Former LSU star Sam Montgomery might have been a little too honest for his own good during an NFL combine interview. The big defensive end freely admitted that 
When star South Carolina tailback Marcus Lattimore took a blow to his knee during a game last October, the injury looked so bad that it was wondered by many whether or not the junior would ever play football again. When word came that he would return, most assumed that meant a year away from the game and then a return, a la Willis McGahee.
