1. What’s the status of Tennessee running back Marlin Lane?  ”That’s up to Coach Jones.” Wide receiver injuries piling up for the Vols.

2. Peyton Manning on why he recruited Butch Jones…to Colorado. Impressed with coach – “I like his slogans and philosophies.”

3. Former coach on running back Braylon Heard, who’s transferring from Nebraska to Kentucky.  “He can change the game at the blink of an eye. He can go 80, 90 yards in a heartbeat.”

4. Kentucky preparing for a crowd as large as 50,000 for this Saturdays’ spring game. They won’t see any kickoffs or kick returns.

5. With Marcus Lattimore gone, a focus on running backs Mike Davis and Brandon Wilds at South Carolina.

6. Texas A&M’s spring game on Saturday will be carried live on ESPN for the first time in school history. Aggies overhauling linebacking corp.  ”“There’s a big hole to fill.”

7. Aggies coach Kevin Sumlin will serve as NFL Network analyst on the opening day of the NFL draft.

8. The first team will scrimmage the second team at Vanderbilt’s spring game on Saturday.

9. With the exception of Zach Mettenberger, LSU defenders had the go-ahead to hit all other LSU quarterbacks in practice the past few days.

10. With recruiting deregulation on hold, job responsibilities of support staff are up in the air at Auburn.  Gus Malzahn: “Right now, we’re just going day by day.”

11. Georgia’s spring practice is over but the competition for starting spots is just beginning. Coach Mark Richt: “If you’re working out this summer thinking you’ve got something nailed down, you better re-check your thinking.”

12. Hey Georgia fans, who do you want on the cover of Athlon’s preseason college football magazine?  You can vote for either Aaron Murray or Todd Gurley here.

13. With his Bulldogs team getting ready for its second spring scrimmage, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is looking for leaders.

14. With defensive tackle Sheldon Richardson gone to an NFL as a likely first-round pick, Missouri needs someone to step up in the middle of the defensive line.

15. Arkansas defensive coordinator Chris Ash on safety Eric Bennett: “He’s been a great player. He’s been a great student of the game.”

16. With a year under his belt, expect even bigger things from Alabama wide receiver Amari Cooper.  ”Everything is easier. “When I first came in, I didn’t know a lot of plays.” Dee Hart may return punts or kicks for Alabama this fall.

17. A profile of Alabama A.D. Bill Battle and his business career.  What if he hadn’t gone to Selma?

SEC Basketball

18. Billy Donovan’s wish for his Gators next year.  ”We have to get more competitive. Nastier.”

19. They may not think it now – but Missouri fans will miss Phil Pressey - “the Jerry Lewis of point guards..”

20.  Garry Parrish on why Kentucky deserves to be ranked No. 1 heading into next season.

Extras

21. When Eli and Peyton Manning need a tune-up, they turn to Duke coach David Cutcliffe.

22. The NBA’s early entry deadline has some issues.  The case of Louisville’s Russ Smith is a perfect example.

23. “Louisville faced the easiest path, seed-wise, of any national champion since UNLV in 1990.”

SEC Football

1. The nation’s number one recruit is at LSU this weekend.  Robert Nkemdiche met Shaq during the visit.  Here’s the picture.  

2. It’s official at LSU. The university’s board of supervisors approves Les Miles’ new pay package - $4.3 million annual salary represents a 15% increase.  He’s signed through 2019.

3. Not everyone is happy about the raise.  LSU associate librarian: ”LSU is known nationally as a football team, not as an institution of higher learning.”

4. Texas A&M made the hire of linebackers coach Mark Hagen official on Friday.

5. South Carolina defensive lineman Jadeveon Clowney tweeted a few weeks ago “two more years of college” - but it’s not fooling coach Steve Spurrier. ” I think he’s just trying to get the fans to love him a little bit more. That’s not the smart thing for him to do. He knows that.”

6. Tennessee’s 2012 recruiting class is known for its attrition.  But what’s left could have a big impact on 2013.

7. Mississippi State guard Tobias Smith granted sixth year of eligibility by NCAA.  Hasn’t decided if he’ll come back in the fall.

8. What Gus Malzahn should be selling at Auburn.

9. When you rank the SEC signing classes by NFL draftees - here’s your top 10 of the past ten years.

SEC Basketball

10. On the eve of the Super Bowl, Georgia coach Mark Fox recalls his time at Nevada with quarterback Colin Kaepernick and why he wants running back Todd Gurley at practice.  ” I told Gurley: ‘You run over people for a living, you need to come over here and go practice the charge drill.’ ”

11, The SEC used to be an up-tempo run-and-gun league.  No more.  “A 54-53 game was once unthinkable. Now, it’s routine.”

12. SEC winning percentage against non-conference opponents is 66.6 percent – the worst since the league started tracking it.

13. Kentucky’s Archie Goodwin on Texas A&M’s Elston Turner’s performance at Rupp: “(A) guy that scores 40 on a team as good as we are, that’s just an embarrassment to our team. We shouldn’t let that happen. I can’t wait to play him because I know that I’m not going to let it happen again.”

14. Turner: “I know I’m not going to have 40 again. But it’s going to be a great game.”

15. Florida guard Kenny Boynton on facing Ole Miss guard Marshall Henderson: I heard he’s a good scorer. I’m not worried. We’re going to come ready to play.” Keep your eye on the Scott Wilkebin-Marshall matchup.

16. Auburn coach Tony Barbee on Missouri: “They’re probably the most complete team in the league.”

Running back Jalen Hurd from Beech Senior High School in Hendersonville, Tenn., is one of the nation’s top prospects in the class of 2014.

So it’s no surprise that he favors three of the nation’s top programs: Florida, Georgia and Ohio State. Hurd spoke to ESPN RecruitingNation recently after visiting Florida.

“Florida is great,” Hurd said. “I love the atmosphere and I love the weather. The coaches are also great. They’re very successful right now. Coach (Will) Muschamp is doing a great job with the program and I think they’ll be successful.”

Hurd is familiar with Georgia’s history of producing successful running backs, including current freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall. That’s one reason the Bulldogs remain high on Hurd’s list.

“Georgia is great,” said Hurd, who plans to visit Athens, Ga., this fall. “I know they have a history of great running backs.”

Tennessee has a successful history but has struggled on the field in recent years. Those issues have appeared to hurt the Vols in their pursuit of one of the state’s top prospects in the 2014 class.

“As an athlete, you want a program that’s successful and has it all together,” Hurd told ESPN. “UT isn’t doing as well as they want to right now. If they start to do well, then they might be more with me but right now, UT is not the highest on my list.”

Ken “Boo” Malcome will likely be Georgia’s first tailback onto the field when Buffalo visits Athens next weekend.  According to Mark Richt, he’s “pretty sure” Malcome will get the start, but he also told reporters yesterday that “something could change between now and then.”

After briefly considering a transfer last September, Malcome worked his way into the #1 tailback slot for UGA’s spring game in April.  He’d come to split time with the mercurial Isaiah Crowell by 2011′s end, so it’s no surprise that he’ll be the likely starter to open 2012.  Especially since Crowell was booted from Richt’s squad in June.

How long Malcome remains the starter remains a question.  For that matter, if the Dawgs rotate their tailbacks, starting might not mean much anyway.

Currently Malcome is competing with senior Richard Samuel as well as freshmen Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall.  Marshall was the top tailback signee in February, but Gurley has led Georgia in rushing in its three fall scrimmages.

Malcome — a redshirt sophomore — says he won’t let Richt’s hint about starting slow him down.  According to The Athens Banner-Herald:

“It’s a relief.  I came from the bottom, and it’s just hard work.  It tells people hard work matters, it gets you where you want to go.  I’m not gonna take it for granted.  Because he said that, I’m not gonna let up.  It’s still gonna be all me on the field, telling the freshmen what to do.

I’m gonna be a leader.  I feel like I’ve been a leader the last couple weeks.”

Richt refuses to provide a definitive depth chart for his tailbacks saying that he doesn’t “even want the guys to know” so they will “keep fighting, keep competing.”  The coach said, “We’ll tell them the night before the game maybe.”

So there you have it.  Malcome will start.  Maybe.  How much he’ll play and who’ll be in line behind him if he does get the start won’t be known until the Dawgs step on the field for their opener.

Clear as mud.

Georgia tailback Carlton Thomas announced on Tuesday he plans to transfer and will look to play at another school next season.

Thomas, who rushed for 361 yards and and two touchdowns as a junior in 2011, has one season of eligibility remaining. Thomas said in a statement:

“This decision was based solely on the fact that this is my last year to play, and my parents and I felt like it was the right move to make. I want to make more of an impact on the field.  I didn’t want to disrupt Georgia’s team and preparation for next season so I made the final decision to leave earlier rather than later in the year.”

It’s certainly questionable how much of an impact Thomas would have been able to make at Georgia in 2012. The Bulldogs return standout sophomore Isaiah Crowell and welcome highly-touted freshmen Keith Marshall, who enrolled in school in January, and Todd Gurley.

Ken Malcome, Richard Samuel and Brandon Horton will also return and compete for playing time in a crowded Georgia backfield.

Tarboro, North Carolina running back Todd Gurley has committed to the Georgia Bulldogs.  The four-star recruit made the announcement today.  ”I’m going to the University of Georgia,” Gurley said.  ”Go Dawgs.”

Gurley is Georgia’s 17th commitment for the class of 2012. He chose Georgia over Alabama, Auburn and Florida.

1. Athlete Channing Ward put on a show last week for Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen.

2. Offensive tackle Avery Young will take his first official visit to Auburn on Oct. 29.

3. Auburn commit Josh Holsey is planning to visit other schools.

4. Vanderbilt recruits weighed in on the confrontation between Commodores coach James Franklin and Georgia assistant Todd Grantham.

5. 2013 Orlando linebacker Ryan Rankin is headed to Tennessee if the Vols offer him a scholarship.

6. Clemson is back in the picture for running back Todd Gurley of Tarboro, N.C.

7. Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman discusses the school’s move to the SEC and the impact on recruiting.

8. Alabama could receive a visit from a former Southern Cal commit.