1. Tennessee running back Marlin Lane is still suspended but on the path to returning, according to coach Butch Jones. “He knows what he has to do to be reinstated at this time.”

2. Missouri quarterback James Franklin is No. 1 on the depth chart according to coach Gary Pinkel.  He’s followed by redshirt freshman Maty Mauk and redshirt sophomore Corbin Berkstresser.

3. Ole Miss quarterback Bo Wallace, recovering from shoulder surgery, is ahead of schedule.  Wallace will begin throwing in 10 days.“We’re real excited to get him out there and do it,” said Ole Miss coach  Hugh Freeze on today’s SEC teleconference.

4. Alabama will investigate a tweet sent from the account of former lineman D.J. Fluker.  Fluker’s agent says the account had been hacked when a tweet appeared with the words, “Yea I took $ n college so wat.”   Said Alabama coach Nick Saban, ““We’re trying to do things the right way.”

5. Multiple stories today out on the Internet about Steve Spurrier saying he voted for Jadeveon Clowney on his Heisman ballot last year. Spurrier admitted this months ago – here’s a story from December where it’s mentioned.

Pssst.

Got 55 seconds?  If so, the University of South Carolina athletic department has posted a quickie video of All-American defensive end Jadeveon Clowney’s greatest hits.  As in literally… hits:

One word: Beast.

If Johnny Manziel is college football’s must-watch player on offense in 2013, then South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney is college football’s must-watch player on defense.  But he himself will likely do nothing more than watch for the rest of USC’s spring practice.

Last week, Clowney suffered a minor neck sprain when he collided with one of his defensive teammates during a practice drill.  He was still sore yesterday and team doctors decided not to clear him for Tuesday’s work.

According to GamecockCentral.com — the Rivals site covering USC — Clowney “will probably remain in street clothes for the final three workouts, including Saturday afternoon’s spring game.”

“My back and neck are hurting me, but I should be ok coming out of spring ball and should come around,” Clowney said.  “We’ll have to see (about practice).  That’s up to the coaches.  It’s not really about being out here.  It’s about learning the playbook.  We put in some new stuff, so all I have to do is learn the play calls.  The rest of it, I’ll catch up on.”

Defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward added: “His neck and back is still stiff.  Whether he goes another snap (this spring), I don’t care.”

It’s expected Carolina will use its veterans only briefly during Saturday’s spring game, seizing the opportunity to focus on younger players instead.

Clowney’s profile was lifted into the stratosphere thanks in part to a remarkable play against Michigan in last year’s Outback Bowl.  The play was subsequently featured on ESPN somewhere north of a million times.

Clowney was an All-American last year and is expected to be the top pick in the NFL draft next spring.  There has even been talk of him being a Heisman Trophy candidate.

Earlier this year some debated whether the junior should even play this fall and risk injury.  Well, sure enough, he didn’t make it through spring practice without an injury.  But at least the injury is not believed to be a serious one.

Saturday SEC Basketball Schedule…
Florida at Kentucky…South Carolina at Vanderbilt…Ole Miss at LSU…Texas A&M at Arkansas…
Georgia at Alabama…Missouri at Tennessee…Auburn at Mississippi State
Heading into final regular season weekend, FLA and MO look like NCAA Tournament locks, TN and KY on bubble
Jadeveon Clowney has taken out $5 million insurance policy – will only payout in case of career-ending injury
Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron played final six games of season with injured ribs
SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC discussing a multisite, rotational bowl partnership.
Follow SEC football, basketball and recruiting at MrSEC.com every single day

South Carolina added 21 players from 7 different states on Wednesday and Thursday.  A breakdown of the Gamecocks’ “target zone” is below:

Georgia = 7 recruits

Florida = 4

North Carolina = 4

South Carolina = 3

Alabama = 1

Maryland = 1

Pennsylvania = 1

In-State Signees = 14.2%

Out-Of-State Signees = 85.7%

Observation:

With greater success the past three seasons, Carolina has been able to branch out and bring in more out-of-state recruits the past two offseasons.  But Steve Spurrier turned things around in Columbia by taking the lead in homegrown products.  The Gamecocks signed 17 in-state recruits (including Marcus Lattimore and Jadeveon Clowney) in 2010 and 2011.  The last two years they’ve signed just seven in-state players.  The state wasn’t as rich this year as it has been recently, but Clemson signed two more in-state players and wound up ranked slightly ahead of Carolina in several post-signing day polls.  Not a huge worry, but a trend to watch nonetheless.

Looking at Wednesday’s signees — including junior college and prep school athletes — here’s a snapshot of the talent produced by the state of South Carolina in 2013 (as graded by Rivals.com):

5-stars = 0

4-stars = 5

3- stars = 15

Total 3+ stars = 20

Here’s where the state’s 10 highest-ranked players are headed:

Clemson = 3

South Carolina = 3

Georgia = 1

Marshall = 1

Ohio State = 1

Tennessee = 1

Loyalty:  It wasn’t a great year for prospects in the Palmetto State, but with two top 10 programs you expect more than six of the state’s 10 best players to stay at home.  Steve Spurrier has built up the Gamecock program by catching and passing Clemson on the homestate recruiting trail (Jadeveon Clowney, Marcus Lattimore).  Gotta keep that going.  And one sidenote: Is there an SEC state that Urban Meyer didn’t invade on Wednesday?

Yesterday’s Outback Bowl featured a head-to-head matchup of two future first-round draft picks: Michigan offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney.  Each had his share of successes on the day.  And according to Lewan, each earned the respect of the other:

“It’s one of those things where he and I earned respect for each other.  I said, ‘You’re the best defensive end I’ve ever played against.’  He looked right back in my eyes and said, ‘You’re the best tackle I’ve ever played against.’”

According to The Charleston Post & Courier, the two players shook hands as Lewan briefly left the field with cramps in the third quarter.

While Taylor won most of the head-to-head matchups on the day, Clowney recorded the highlight play of the day with a game-changing, helmet-crushing, fumble-causing hit on Michigan running back Vincent Smith.

Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones has been named the AP’s SEC Defensive Player of the Year.  The junior led the conference with 22.5 tackles-for-loss and he was second in the league in sacks with 12.5.

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney — who leads the SEC in sacks — finished a close second in the voting.

Jones tallied 77 tackles total on the year, seven forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and in interception despite missing two games.

Two years ago, Jadeveon Clowney was the top high school prospect in the country.  Last year, he made an impression as a freshman defensive end for South Carolina.  This year, Steve Spurrier says you can expect to see more of Clowney… in a variety of places:

“We’re going to move him all over the place.  I think our opponents know that.  We’ve got to put him where, hopefully, most of the time he’s one-on-one with somebody.  We did that somewhat with Melvin (Ingram).  Maybe could have done it even a little be more with Melvin inside because he’s very quick, like Jadeveon, certainly. 

Yeah, we’re going to team him some middle linebacker.  There’s all kinds of things you can do, as long as you’v got 11 of them out there.  It’s a pass-rush game almost now, as everybody knows.”

If Spurrier makes good on his promise, opposing quarterbacks will have to worry about Clowney’s pass-rush game coming from all angles.