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Our look at the SEC's most productive returning players in 2012 continues with a look at the league's top returning kickoff returners.

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The SEC returns seven of the top 10 kick returners from 2011. The top three returners are back, so kickers beware. However, the ball will now be moved forward five yards to the 35-yard line for kickoffs, meaning returns should occur less often. But that also means they'll now be more important. We're going by average per return. Note: To qualify, a player must have at least one return per team's games played. This is one of the most exciting plays in football and here's a look at the SEC's top returner:

Tre Mason, RB, Auburn: He returned 24 kicks for an average of 26.4 yards per return, had a long of 97 yards and recorded a touchdown. Mason dealt with being in a crowded backfield by making a name for himself in the return game during the first half of the season. He did most of his damage in the first two weeks, grabbing 10 returns for 348 yards and had a touchdown in the season opener against Utah State. He saw his production dip as the season went on because of injuries and his fumbling issues. He eventually lost his job, but could he make a comeback for his crown in 2012?

The SEC returns six more of the top kickoff returners in 2012:

Andre Debose, WR, Florida: He returned 19 kicks for an average of 26.1 yards per return, had a long of 99 yards and registered one touchdown.

Dennis Johnson, RB, Arkansas: He returned 18 kicks for an average of 25.6 yards per return, had a long of 98 yards and registered one touchdown.

Tobias Singleton, RB, Ole Miss: He returned 21 kicks for an average of 24.6 yards per return and had a long of 47 yards.

Andre Hal, CB, Vanderbilt: He returned 31 kicks for an average of 23.8 yards per return, had a long of 96 yards and registered one touchdown.

Devrin Young, RB, Tennessee: He returned 27 kicks for an average of 23.3 yards per return and had a long of 67 yards.

Bruce Ellington, WR, South Carolina: He returned 20 kicks for an average of 23.2 yards and had a long of 45 yards.

With kickoffs being moved up, we might see even less in the kick return game this fall. We could also see a new winner for this category if Mason doesn't get his job back. And with the amount of production he'll have on offense, his returns might get cut short anyway. Keep an eye on Mason's teammates, Onterio McCalebb and Quan Bray. McCalebb averaged 30.1 yards per return and had a touchdown on just 11 returns, while Bray averaged 24.2 on 10 returns.

Johnson has always been very dangerous in the return game. He entered the 2011 season as the SEC's active leader for career kickoff return yards and total return yards with 2,014 and he added 461 last fall. Johnson will likely have more steam to work with this fall with Knile Davis eating into his carries at running back. That will make him even tougher to stop in the return game and counting him out of the race for the return crown is just silly.

Debose was named the nation’s top kick returner by the College Football Performance Awards in 2010, but has always had some issues with his decision-making in the return game. Still, there's no doubting his speed when he finds a hole. When he's focused, he's exciting to watch, but he's yet to keep his focus for an entire season as a returner.

LaDarius Perkins will have more responsibility in Mississippi State's offense, but he was sometimes fun to watch in the return game.

Missouri receiver T.J. Moe averaged 23.3 yards on 26 kicks, but didn't return a kick longer than 49 yards. Still, he's shifty enough and has the vision to make a run at this thing.

Leaving one's job can be pretty awkward. For college football coaches, it usually is. Rarely do we see an amiable mutual parting in these situations.

As we continue to take a look at the coaches we love to hate this week, we're looking at SEC coaches who have left their respective schools in a lurch.

We already discussed Bobby Petrino's more than awkward departure at Arkansas, so we're going with three other recent departures that happened unexpectedly.

Let the bad memories return:

Lane Kiffin, Tennessee: He left for USC in 2010 after one season at Tennessee. Kiffin replaced longtime Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer in 2009 and was immediately confrontational with other SEC coaches, and that sort of arrogance was something that had to be a little attractive to Tennessee's fan base. However, his lack of production on the field made his pompous attitude laughable. Through all the chirping, he delivered a 7-6 season, which might go down as the most celebrated 7-6 season in SEC history. He talked so much about all the good things he'd do at Tennessee, but whined about not having enough talent. Then he built up his first signing class, but it eventually turned into nothing more than a paper tiger. Kiffin suddenly left Tennessee for USC just three weeks before national signing day in 2010. During his uncomfortable news conference, in which he announced his departure, Tennessee fans showed up in droves to wish him a not-so-safe trip to Cali. Kiffin left under the protection of police and left Tennessee with an NCAA cloud hanging over its head, which got the school a visit from the NCAA infractions committee. Kiffin and his staff's recruiting practices prompted an investigation that resulted in two years of probation for Tennessee. The NCAA found that Kiffin and his staff had committed 12 secondary violations, but Kiffin wasn't penalized. Derek Dooley took over for Kiffin in 2010 and has dealt with a laundry list of player and attrition issues. He has gone 11-14 in his two years.

Urban Meyer, Florida: He announced that he'd be stepping away from coaching in 2010, but is now coaching at Ohio State. There was no question that Meyer was one of the best coaches to swing through Gainesville. During his six-year tenure, he won two national championships and took the Gators to three SEC championship games. But it was the way he left that sent Gator Nation into a frenzy. First, he announced his retirement for health reasons a couple of weeks after the loss to Alabama in the 2009 SEC championship game. His retirement barely lasted 24 hours, but Meyer and Florida were never the same. The 2010 season was a major step back, as Florida went 8-5, and Meyer stepped away again after the regular season concluded. Meyer said he was taking time off because of his health and his desire to spend more time with his family. Then, he took over at Ohio State (one of his dream jobs) for the fired Jim Tressel. But it wasn't just leaving Florida for a Big Ten school barely a year later that upset Florida fans. It was the fact that he left new coach Will Muschamp with what Meyer himself deemed a broken program. Muschamp dealt with discipline and attrition issues during his first season, in which he went 7-6. While Meyer was the king of winning the recruiting ranking game, he too often missed on character.

Tommy Tuberville, Ole Miss: He left Ole Miss after the 1998 season for Auburn. Tuberville took over a struggling Ole Miss program in 1995 and helped the Rebels to three winning seasons in four years. But four years wasn't what the Ole Miss faithful expected to get from Tuberville; he made it seem that he would be there for much longer when he uttered those now-infamous words: "They’ll have to carry me out of here in a pine box." That pine box apparently had to be filled with money, as just a couple days after he emphatically stated that he wanted to stay in Oxford and be the Rebels' coach, he took a pay raise that doubled his salary and headed off to Auburn. Soon after Tuberville left without so much as telling his players, Ole Miss fans donned T-shirts inspired by the movie "Liar, Liar" with Tuberville's face on them instead of Jim Carrey's. Tuberville went 7-3 against his old team during his time at Auburn. David Cutcliffe, Tuberville's replacement, guided Ole Miss to five winning seasons in his six years, including a 10-win season that ended with a Cotton Bowl victory.

Nickolas Brassell was in a deep enough hole academically when Hugh Freeze took the Ole Miss job back in December that Freeze never counted on having Brassell on the field next season.

Sure, Freeze was always hopeful and did all he could to help Brassell, one of the most dynamic freshmen in the SEC last season, but the official word came down Friday. Ole Miss announced that Brassell was academically ineligible and would transfer.

Brassell, who became the first Ole Miss player since 1988 to start on both offense and defense, missed all but a few practices this spring to try and get his academics in order. Ultimately, he didn't pass the required 18 credit hours over the last two semesters.

It's always tough to lose a player of his ability. Again, though, Freeze knew it was going to be a long shot for Brassell to be eligible.

The plan was to use him at cornerback and then play him situationally at receiver. The good news for the Rebels is that both Wesley Pendleton and Dehendret Collins had big springs, and there's also some depth at cornerback. Senquez Golson will be back from baseball in the fall after starting four games as true freshman at cornerback last season. Also, heralded signee Trae Elston will be on campus this summer.

The Rebels are still looking for more playmakers on offense, and Brassell would have certainly helped there. He also returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown last season.

The days of the Rose Bowl being the bowl of bowls could soon be coming to an end now that the SEC and the Big 12 have agreed on a five-year bowl partnership.

The new deal, announced Friday, will have the champions of the Big 12 and SEC meet in a New Year's Day bowl game annually beginning with the 2014 season. So while it won’t have the tradition of the Rose Bowl, it’ll have the viewers and it’ll have the popularity.

We’re seeing more and more how power is truly the most important component in college football, and this is a great example. Soon, we’ll have the two best BCS conferences going at it in their own special bowl competing with the beloved Rose Bowl.

We’re joined on the SEC blog by Big 12 blogger David Ubben to get his thoughts on what this means for the Big 12. We’re gentlemen down here in SEC country, so we’ll let him go first:

David Ubben: Rose Bowl, we love you. Not as much as Jim Delany does, but I'm not sure anyone can stake that claim. Anyway, it's time to face an unfortunate truth: You've been one-upped. The unnamed, unplaced bowl partnership between the Big 12 and SEC won't have the same level of tradition, but it will feature better teams. That's a powerful draw.
The BCS has played 14 national title games since its birth. The Big 12 or SEC have participated in 12 of them. Teams from the league have met in the game twice.

Now, they'll have another big stage to showcase their top teams. If a Big 12 or SEC champion is in the four-team playoff that will likely begin in the 2014 season, the next-best team will fill their place in the annual game. Deciding who plays in that game is up to each conference. The nation's two best conferences will get a much-needed opportunity to face one another on the field and test the hotly debated offense vs. defense theories on the field annually. The nation's college football fans were robbed of that when Oklahoma State was squeezed out of the national title game for SEC West second-place finisher Alabama. This year, the SEC and Big 12 only play once, when eight-win Texas travels to face two-win Ole Miss in September. Not exactly must-see TV.

This will be.

It assures the Big 12 a place at the adults' table of college football, further extending the distance between college football's top four leagues -- the SEC, Big 12, Pac-12 and Big Ten, in that order -- and the ACC and Big East. The ACC and Big East have the Orange Bowl, but any game like the SEC and Big 12 put together will pale in comparison when it comes to TV ratings and more importantly, TV money.

Only a few months ago, the Big 12 had eight teams, with half the league considering a move to the Pac-12 and the conference on life support. Things are looking very different now. It's about to sign a giant television deal, likely extending the grant of rights into the next decade and assuring stability at least through then, and probably beyond.

Tired of getting stuck playing Boise State and UConn in everything to lose, nothing to gain BCS bowl matchups? Seven-time Big 12 champion Oklahoma won't have to worry about that anymore, and even if the Sooners are in the forthcoming national championship playoff, the next-best Big 12 team will have a quality opponent to prove itself against.

Another plus for the Big 12? The Cotton Bowl's odds of getting into the BCS as it stood were minimal. Now? It's still in flux, but does anyone want to bet against Jerry Jones and his wallet to get this game in his Dallas palace at some point? That's a big game in the Big 12 footprint, something that's never happened on the BCS bowl stage.

How will this affect Florida State, too? News has surely reached Tallahassee by now, and the Florida State spear-toting brass have to be wondering how much this factors into their wandering eye toward the Big 12. Is the ACC the place to be?

We'll find out soon, but on Jan. 1, 2015, there will be only one place to be.

This game.

Edward Aschoff: I couldn’t agree more with pretty much everything you said. There’s no question that both of these leagues have dominated the BCS since its first year in 1998. The conferences have been left out of the national championship just twice in the last 14 years and the SEC has participated in -- and won -- eight. The Big 12 has won two of its seven appearances.

SEC commissioner Mike Slive has just about everything he wants in his conference, but he hasn’t had the Rose Bowl. Sure, all those national championship trophies are nice, but an annual game like the Rose Bowl commands respect. The game that the Big Ten and Pac-12 covet so much, and is watched by millions annually, will now get a major run for its money. While they’ll be played in different time slots, there’s no question that this will turn into the ultimate popularity contest. If you could sense that Big Ten-SEC tension before, just wait. Now, the SEC will be looking down on the Big Ten and picking at the game it holds so dear. Don’t think that didn’t cross the commissioner’s mind when he was thinking about this deal.

The SEC has truly been front and center in the college football world for the past six years with its 6-0 record in BCS championships, and now it will pursue a game it thinks can have the gusto of the Rose. This is a great opportunity for the SEC to build another fine tradition for the country’s top college football conference. And fans/the media want to see more of these matchups. For the most part, we're all deprived of them during the regular season, so here's a chance for us to win something as well. These two conferences need to play more. The best should always play the best, and as David said, we can finally settle the whole offense-defense debate.

This also means that more SEC teams have the chance to play in a primetime, marquee matchup in January. If this had been in place last season, Arkansas, which certainly had a BCS-caliber team, would have played in a BCS-like bowl, since Alabama and LSU met in the title game. The Cotton Bowl got the matchup this game would have received, but it would have been on a much grander scale and much more attention would have been paid to it. Oh, and much more money would have come out of it.

It would likely help the SEC this year too, as there could be as many as five teams jockeying for BCS position. Imagine if the four-team playoff took place this season? You might have two more SEC teams fighting for a chance at a national championship, meaning this game would give No. 3 a chance strut its stuff in front of its own grand audience.

There’s no question that with a four-team playoff, the SEC will have more opportunities to put teams in the national championship, continuing its dominance. Now, Slive has helped to ensure that a high-caliber team left out of the championship hunt will still play in a game that will command the type of attention that comes with a BCS bowl.

We're putting spring behind us and looking toward the fall with our post-spring power rankings:

1. LSU: The Tigers had one of the best springs around. Things were quiet off the field, and the offense rallied behind quarterback Zach Mettenberger. Coach Les Miles was very impressed with Mettenberger's play and maturity, and expects LSU's offense to be more balanced with him under center. LSU can still use four or five running backs, as well. Defensively, the Tigers are stacked once again, especially up front with two potential first-rounders in ends Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo. Questions surround the inexperienced linebackers, but Kevin Minter had a tremendous spring in the middle. On paper, LSU is equipped with the talent to make another title run, and gets Alabama at home this year.

2. Alabama: While the defending national champs saw a lot of "new" faces on defense this spring, coach Nick Saban left happy with where his players were -- but not satisfied. There is still work to be done, especially in the secondary, where the Tide must replace three starters. Dont'a Hightower and Courtney Upshaw are gone at linebacker, but the coaches were impressed with how Nico Johnson, C.J. Mosley and Adrian Hubbard played this spring. Some think Hubbard, a redshirt sophomore, could be Bama's top pass-rusher. Offensively, quarterback AJ McCarron is back, more mature and surrounded by a very veteran line. He has a group of younger receivers to throw to, but has at least four quality running backs. Alabama's road to repeating is tougher, with games at Arkansas and LSU.

3. South Carolina: A healthy Marcus Lattimore (knee) at RB makes South Carolina an even better contender for the SEC East crown. His status is uncertain, but the pieces around him are pretty impressive. Quarterback Connor Shaw had an impressive spring, and looks ready to be the passer coach Steve Spurrier wants him to be. The defense is once again stacked, especially up front with ends Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor. There are questions in the secondary, with two new, young starters in Victor Hampton (cornerback) and Brison Williams (safety), while senior Akeem Auguste returns after missing last season with a foot injury. Still, Spurrier is chirping about his SEC counterparts, so you know he thinks he's got a good team this year.

4. Georgia: The Bulldogs should be higher on this list, but when you take into account the suspensions of four defensive starters at the beginning of the season, they slide a little. Georgia returns nine defensive starters, including one of the nation's best linebackers in Jarvis Jones, and some firepower on offense, led by veteran quarterback Aaron Murray, who could get some early Heisman love. It also sounds like enigmatic running back Isaiah Crowell is slowly turning things around. Yet again, the Bulldogs have a favorable SEC schedule, with no games against Alabama, Arkansas or LSU, so their road to the SEC championship is easier than South Carolina's, but keep an eye on that inexperienced offensive line.

5. Arkansas: If not for Bobby Petrino's embarrassing dismissal, the Razorbacks might be ranked higher. Offensively, it doesn't get much better than what Arkansas has. Tyler Wilson returns as arguably the league's best quarterback, and he'll get to work with one of the most complete backs around, Knile Davis, who is returning from a devastating ankle injury. An older and more improved offensive line returns, and so does a talented receiving corps led by Cobi Hamilton. But there are questions. How effective will interim coach John L. Smith be, especially if something goes wrong? Will Marquel Wade's suspension leak into the fall after his spring arrest? And will the defense improve and be more aggressive under new coordinator Paul Haynes? The good news is that Alabama and LSU play in Fayetteville this fall.

6. Florida: The chemistry is much better in Gainesville. Florida returns 10 starters from a defense that ranked eighth nationally in 2011. Matt Elam looks like a budding star at safety, and Florida's linebacking group is solid. Buck/defensive end Ronald Powell could be out after tearing his ACL this spring, but coach Will Muschamp recently said Powell is off crutches. Stud defensive tackle Dominique Easley is also walking fine after tearing his ACL in last year's season finale. The Gators have their third offensive coordinator in three years, and unproven sophomore quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Jeff Driskel are still battling. Florida has unproven running backs and receivers, but the offensive line toughened up tremendously.

7. Auburn: The Tigers welcomed two new coordinators, Scot Loeffler and Brian VanGorder, this spring, and by all accounts players were very receptive. Coach Gene Chizik is still dealing with a lot of youth, as close to 70 percent of his roster is made up of underclassmen. One of those underclassmen is quarterback Kiehl Frazier, who made strides as a passer this spring and seems to have the edge in the quarterback race with Clint Moseley, who missed some of the spring with a sore shoulder. The defensive line will be the team's strength, with end Dee Ford exploding this spring and Corey Lemonier returning. There is a lot of depth up front on defense, which will go a long way for the Tigers.

8. Missouri: Coach Gary Pinkel and his players have made it clear they aren't intimidated by the move to the SEC. These new Tigers return solid offensive firepower, but there has to be some concern about quarterback James Franklin, who missed most of the spring after having surgery on his throwing shoulder. Plus, Mizzou's backup QB could miss games this fall after his recent arrest, so the Tigers' offensive success will be riding on Franklin's health. The Tigers are replacing a few starters on both lines, but feel confident about both areas. Mizzou will face a Georgia team down a few defensive players in Week 2, but must travel to South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

9. Tennessee: A lot is different in Knoxville, as the Vols welcomed seven new assistant coaches. Coach Derek Dooley insists the changes were for the best, but there's still going to be some adjusting to do this fall. The good news is that Tennessee returns a lot on both sides of the ball, starting with quarterback Tyler Bray and receivers Justin Hunter and Da'Rick Rogers. A healthy trio there makes Tennessee's passing game one of the best in the league. Questions remain on the offensive line and at running back, but improvements were made this spring. New defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri would like to run more 3-4 this fall, but players aren't totally comfortable, leaving some concerns.

10. Mississippi State: Quarterback Tyler Russell finally looks ready to take over as the guy in Starkville, and he'll have a veteran receiving corps to work with. However, that group still has a lot to prove, especially senior Chad Bumphis. The running game looks solid with LaDarius Perkins and Nick Griffin, and the offensive line got help from the junior college ranks. Defensively, there are a few holes to fill up front and in the secondary, but Johnthan Banks and Corey Broomfield are a solid cornerback tandem and linebacker is set with a few vets back, including stud Cameron Lawrence. Junior college defensive end Denico Autry has to perform early to help a line with a couple of holes.

11. Texas A&M: The Aggies have some holes to fill this year, but the offensive line will be a strength. Left tackle Luke Joeckel, a future first-rounder, leads a line that returns four starters. Star wide receiver Ryan Swope is back, and running back Christine Michael should be healthy (knee) this fall, but quarterback is an issue. Sophomore Jameill Showers has the edge right now, but like all of his competitors, he lacks experience. The defense will lean on linebackers Sean Porter, Steven Jenkins, Jonathan Stewart and converted end Damontre Moore, but the secondary has depth and experience issues, and the team will still be adjusting to a new staff led by coach Kevin Sumlin.

12. Vanderbilt: There is some solid offensive talent in Nashville, starting with running back Zac Stacy and receivers Jordan Matthews and Chris Boyd, but coach James Franklin is still waiting for quarterback Jordan Rodgers to be more consistent. The offensive line is very thin and could barely get through spring. The defense must replace a handful of starters and leaders, but Franklin felt better about guys like linebacker Chase Garnham, defensive end Walker May and cornerback Trey Wilson. Vandy's schedule will be tough this fall, and if that offensive line doesn't hold up, getting back to a bowl will be tough.

13. Kentucky: Coach Joker Phillips was pleased with how spring practice ended, especially when it came to finding offensive playmakers, like receivers Demarco Robinson and Daryl Collins. Quarterback Maxwell Smith had a solid spring, but struggled during the spring game, meaning the battle with Morgan Newton and freshman Patrick Towles should go into the fall. The offensive line is still trying to get by after losing three starters, and the Wildcats must replace six starters at linebacker and in the secondary. Given the Wildcats' schedule, they will need to sweep their nonconference games to be in bowl shape.

14. Ole Miss: The arrival of coach Hugh Freeze brought a lot of positive change to Ole Miss, especially off the field, but there are still a lot of concerns. There are depth issues at just about every position, especially running back and defensive tackle. Even one of the most experienced groups, the offensive line, has struggled mightily with picking up Freeze's spread offense and is the team's biggest weakness. Academic issues are also worrying Ole Miss' staff, and top running back Jeff Scott and cornerback/receiver Nickolas Brassell are in that group. Quarterback is still up for grabs, but progress was made on defense, especially in the secondary.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss’ football program is stuck in the wilderness -- a scary place, filled with a plethora of overgrown obstacles.

When coach Hugh Freeze arrived last December, he says the jungle was as thick as ever and it didn’t look like his new team was ready to cut its way out.

That was until Freeze offered a solution: his “Journey.” He told players that he didn’t know how long it would take for them to make it out or find some sort of salvation, but if they followed him, they’d find the light.

“The reasonable expectation for us in Year 1 is for us to compete passionately for this university for 60 minutes,” Freeze said. “And whatever that scoreboard says at the end of that 60 minutes we’ll have to live with.”

The Rebels will have to plod through this quagmire, but Freeze insists patience is the key to turning around a program that is less than three years removed from a second straight Cotton Bowl victory.

“It’s well-documented that we don’t have the talent level that people in the SEC West have right now at a lot of spots, at least not the depth,” Freeze said. “That’s not fixed overnight.”

And it’s just one of the handful of problems Freeze is looking to fix, as he replaces Houston Nutt, who was once heralded as Ole Miss' greatest hire. Academic and discipline issues are also on the agenda. As Freeze puts it, he has “a few mountains to climb” before he can shape things up, but since the journey began in December, progress has been made.

Freeze said probably 65-70 percent of the players have bought in, which might be a conservative number. It’s better than what he expected, considering the trust issues and players being set in their old ways of doing “what they’ve wanted to do for themselves for so long.”

“They think they like it the way they had it, even though, if they’re intelligent enough, they look at the results,” he said. “You’re will is something that’s hard to change once you get set.”

Freeze put the Rebels’ abysmal 6-18 two-year record and 14 straight SEC losses front and center as motivation, he made academics more of a priority, looked to adjust Ole Miss’ lenient drug policy, and created accountability groups.

Everything has helped, but the accountability groups really took off.

They were created to show players how much their actions affected everyone. Miss class? Your group runs at 5 a.m. Miss tutoring? Group run; 5 a.m. Late for anything? Welcome the sun with some running.

Rising junior linebacker Mike Marry said his group never ran – he made sure of it – but he saw other groups running as much as five times during a two-week span. The running cut down as the spring went on and there was hardly any toward the end.

“That’s what I like about him,” Marry said of Freeze, “he doesn’t let little things slide.

“The last coaches, they let certain things slide. Certain things were small, but eventually they start building up and turn into big things and people started feeling like they could get away with more and more things. Since he’s not letting little things slide, you’re seeing the team come together closer and closer and there are fewer problems.”

Freeze said eliminating off-field trouble is top priority. That’s why he’s so nervous about leaving his players in their own hands during the true offseason. Progress was made, but he worries guys will fall back on old habits when less supervised.

To ease his mind, Freeze turns to recruiting. With Ole Miss so thin at defensive tackle, offensive line, running back and safety, and needing walk-ons to fill three full teams in practice (on both sides), Freeze is stacking recruiting on recruiting.

He had some early success in his first class, grabbing three Under Armour All-Americans – DT Issac Gross, DE Channing Ware and DB Trae Elston -- and two junior college All-Americans – QB Bo Wallace and OT Pierce Burton – and his roll has continued with nine commitments in hand for 2013.

Recruiting at Ole Miss has hardly ever been easy with schools like Alabama, LSU, Auburn and Georgia in such close proximity, but Freeze believes he’ll make it work. And he’ll do it by going after the top prospects, not by getting lax and offering whomever to fill space.

“We can make it easy in recruiting, now, and I think that’s what’s happened,” he said.

“I know you can recruit here. I’ve been here before when we did it and when we had 20 kids drafted in the NFL in those three classes that we brought in.

“Is it easy? No, but it is doable.”

Fixing Ole Miss is also doable, he said. It’s going to take a lot of work and a lot of time, but it requires patience. Freeze’s mantra is “Winning the day,” not winning the week.

“The one thing that we have that’s constant and equal [to opponents] is time,” Freeze said. “So, what are we doing to prepare for that end goal -- whatever that is -- today?

“We’re a fragile state of mind right now and when you start talking about things that are so far out there, I don’t think that will be beneficial to us. Let’s just talk about today.”

Freeze might be preaching about today, but you can sense the confidence growing inside players, especially wide receiver Donte Moncrief, who took things a step further.

“Everybody keeps putting us under the radar, but once we learn this offense and the defense keeps playing like it’s playing, we’re going to shock a lot of teams,” he said.

What a journey that’d be.

With two new teams added to the mix, let’s take a look at what we learned in the SEC this spring:

1. Quarterback Central: The SEC gets a bad rap for not piling up Xbox-like passing yards, and granted, it wasn’t a great year for quarterbacks in the league last season. But did you know that an SEC quarterback has been taken in the first round of the NFL draft eight of the last 10 years? And that includes four quarterbacks taken No. 1 overall. The 2012 season has a chance to be one of the best in recent memory for SEC quarterbacks, especially if Missouri’s James Franklin returns to form after undergoing surgery in the spring to repair a torn labrum. Arkansas’ Tyler Wilson and Georgia’s Aaron Murray are the two most established quarterbacks. Wilson likely would have gone in the first round had he come out this year. Murray has thrown 59 touchdown passes in his first two seasons, and he also has one of the more talented backups in the league in sophomore Hutson Mason, who shared Offensive MVP honors with Murray in the spring. Some early mock drafts have Tennessee’s Tyler Bray going in the first round, and Bray has one of the strongest arms in the league. Alabama’s AJ McCarron demonstrated in the BCS National Championship Game what he’s capable of and is poised to have a big junior season. South Carolina’s Connor Shaw is one of the more improved quarterbacks in the league, and the new guy on the block to watch is LSU’s Zach Mettenberger.

2. Lining up at LSU: How many defenses out there could lose a pair of first-rounders and come back the next season and potentially be even better? LSU’s defense certainly had that look to it this spring despite the loss of cornerback Morris Claiborne and defensive tackle Michael Brockers, both of whom declared early for the NFL draft and were taken in the first round. It starts up front for the Tigers, who have the best pair of bookend defensive ends in the country in Sam Montgomery and Barkevious Mingo. Both are potential top 10 picks in the 2013 NFL draft. In the middle of that LSU defensive line is tackle Bennie Logan, who also has a chance to be a first-rounder. And from a pure talent standpoint, sophomore tackle Anthony “Freak” Johnson is exactly what his nickname suggests. Kevin Minter was one of the Tigers’ most improved players this spring at middle linebacker, and in the secondary, Tyrann Mathieu, Eric Reid and Tharold Simon are all future pros. It’s obviously a defense that’s oozing with talent, but it’s also a defense that still has a chip on its shoulder with the way last season ended.

3. Fighting back: A long list of marquee players in this league missed the spring with injuries and still have to prove they’re all the way back in the fall. Franklin’s surgically repaired shoulder will be a huge key for Missouri in its first season in the SEC, and a lot of eyes will be on the two best running backs in the league. South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore missed the second half of last season after tearing knee ligaments, while Arkansas’ Knile Davis missed the entire season after fracturing his ankle in the preseason. At Ole Miss, they’re keeping their fingers crossed that linebacker D.T. Shackelford can return after he underwent a second knee surgery in March. He missed all of last season after tearing his ACL in the spring. Texas A&M running back Christine Michael is also coming back from an ACL tear. Tennessee receiver Justin Hunter went down in the third game last season with a torn ACL, and Florida defensive tackle Dominique Easley is trying to work his way back from a torn ACL suffered in the regular-season finale against Florida State last season.

4. Hogs hanging tough: Sure, the whole Bobby Petrino scandal was embarrassing to the entire state of Arkansas. But the players and coaches on the team didn’t lose focus this spring, and the leadership really came to the forefront. Quarterback Tyler Wilson, running back Knile Davis and linebacker Tenarius Wright picked the team up and made sure that nobody was feeling sorry for themselves, and in the process, reminded everyone that all of their goals were still intact. Credit also goes to the Arkansas coaching staff for handing a very difficult matter about as well as it could be handled. There are more tests to come, but now that John L. Smith is in place as the interim head coach, the program has a clear leader for these next eight months. Nothing is more valuable than strong player leadership, though, and the Hogs proved during that turbulent month of April that they’re made of the right stuff.

5. Getting physical: It was obvious that Florida coach Will Muschamp never felt good about his team’s ability to line up and be physical last season in his first year on the job. There were times that the Gators were downright soft on their way to going 0-6 against FBS teams that finished the season with a winning record. So this spring, just about everything they did was directed at being a more physical football team, a football team committed to running the ball and a football team determined to finish games. Muschamp has repeated several times since the end of spring practice that the Gators are a better team right now than at any point last season, and a lot of that goes back to this team adopting the kind of blue-collar, hit-you-in-the-mouth approach that has defined Muschamp’s coaching career. Clearly, he’s excited about where the program is headed, and he’s equally excited that he’ll be better equipped to play the way he wants to during the 2012 season.

The 2012 nonconference slate involving SEC teams isn't as attractive as a year ago.

There just aren't as many marquee matchups with schools from other BCS conferences. That's something that will change if strength of schedule is given more weight in the selection process for the teams participating in the proposed national playoff.

Here's a look at our top five nonconference games involving SEC teams for the 2012 season:

1. Alabama vs. Michigan, in Arlington, Texas, Sept. 1: Nick Saban likes the idea of playing a big-name opponent at a neutral site. The Crimson Tide get the Wolverines in Cowboys Stadium to open the season in what will likely be a matchup of preseason top-10 teams. Alabama will be somewhere in the top 5 after winning its second national championship in three seasons a year ago, and Michigan appears to be on the move after Brady Hoke led the Wolverines to 11 wins, including a victory over Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, in his debut season a year ago.

2. South Carolina at Clemson, Nov. 24: The Gamecocks have won three in a row over the Tigers, the first time that's happened since 1968-70, and South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier has made sure everybody is well aware of the Gamecocks' current winning streak in a rivalry that has historically been dominated by the Tigers. The game is in Death Valley this season, and the last thing Dabo Swinney and Co. want to endure is another loss to South Carolina. The Gamecocks haven't won four in a row in this series since 1951-54.

3. Auburn vs. Clemson, in Atlanta, Sept. 1: The second part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game weekend, the Auburn-Clemson tilt will mark the third straight year that these two teams have met. Auburn has a new offensive coordinator and new defensive coordinator, and Clemson has a new defensive coordinator. The winner of this game the last two years has gone on to play in a BCS bowl. The game will be played on Saturday in the Georgia Dome. NC State and Tennessee will meet the day before in the Georgia Dome.

4. Florida at Florida State, Nov. 24: Yes, these two teams play every year. But, yes, it's still one of the best rivalries in college football, especially now that Jimbo Fisher has the Seminoles back in the national spotlight. It's a big second season for Florida coach Will Muschamp, and one of the things he's going to be judged on is how he does against Florida's two biggest rivals. The Gators lost to both Georgia and Florida State a year ago, which hadn't happened since 1989. Look for this rivalry to get really spicy again.

5. Washington at LSU, Sept. 8: LSU has scaled back this season after facing Oregon at a neutral site and West Virginia on the road a year ago. The Huskies venture into Tiger Stadium the second week of the season, which should give us some early answers about this LSU defense. Can the Tigers be even better on that side of the ball than they were last season? Washington quarterback Keith Price will put them to the test. He threw 31 touchdown passes last season as a sophomore and completed 67 percent of his passes.

A few others to watch:

• Louisiana Tech vs. Texas A&M, in Shreveport, La., Aug. 30
• North Carolina State vs. Tennessee, in Atlanta, Aug. 31
• Kentucky at Louisville, Sept. 2
• Vanderbilt at Northwestern, Sept. 8
• Texas at Ole Miss, Sept. 15
• Arizona State at Missouri, Sept. 15
• Rutgers at Arkansas, Sept. 22
• Georgia Tech at Georgia, Nov. 24
• Vanderbilt at Wake Forest, Nov. 24

The good folks over at the SEC office delivered a plethora of post-spring notes for us to dive into as summer creeps closer and closer.

I've split it up by division, so you all aren't overwhelmed. We'll start with the SEC West:

ALABAMA

• The attendance for A-Day was 78,526 (1st in the SEC and 2nd nationally this year to Ohio State) which was the fifth-largest in school history. Each spring game under coach Nick Saban has had an attendance of 78,200 (2008) or higher.
• As an SEC head coach (beginning in 2001 at LSU and 2007 at Alabama), Saban has totaled 73 NFL draft picks with 20 first-round selections and 10 among the top 10 overall.
• During the last academic year, Alabama’s football program led the SEC (in what is believed to be a conference record) with a total of 38 student-athletes on the Academic All-SEC Honor Roll. A total of 22 players were on the bowl roster who had already earned their degrees, which was tied for first nationally in terms of graduates on bowl rosters.
• Of Alabama’s 13 starters lost, all were either drafted or signed free -agent contracts with the NFL. Included among those 13 were the four first-rounders along with LB Courtney Upshaw (2nd round), NG Josh Chapman (5th round), DB DeQuan Menzie (5th round) and TE Brad Smelley (7th round). OG Alfred McCullough, WR Marquis Maze, WR Darius Hanks, C William Vlachos and LB Jerrell Harris each signed as free agents following the draft.

ARKANSAS

• Arkansas is the only team in the SEC to return a quarterback (Tyler Wilson) with a 3,000-yard passing season in his career and a running back (Knile Davis) with a 1,000-yard rushing season.
• Arkansas has been ranked in 32 straight Associated Press polls, tied for the seventh-longest active streak in the nation, and in the top 10 for nine straight polls, which also ranks seventh among active streaks in the country.
• Arkansas finished the 2011 season undefeated at home for the first time since 1999. With seven home victories in 2011, the Razorbacks have 19 wins at home in the past three years, which is tied for the fourth-highest total in the NCAA. Arkansas enters the 2012 season with an 11-game home winning streak, the fifth-longest active streak in the country.
• Kicker Zach Hocker enters his junior season as Arkansas' record holder for career field goal percentage with his success rate of 80.4 percent. He also ranks in the top 10 in school history in six other categories and finished the 2011 season second in the SEC in points per game, field goals made per game and touchback percentage.

AUBURN

• Auburn returns 48 lettermen (20 offense, 26 defense, 2 specialists). Of the 68 scholarship players who participated in spring drills, 61 percent (38) were underclassmen.
• The Tigers start the 2012 season in the same location as they finished the 2011 campaign, playing in Atlanta’s Georgia Dome. On Sept. 1, Auburn opens with Clemson in the Chick-fil-a Kickoff Game. The Tigers completed the 2011 season with a 43-24 victory over Virginia in the Chick-fil-a Bowl on Dec. 31. Auburn’s 2012 schedule features eight games against bowl participants from a year ago, including five that played in traditional New Year’s games.
• Junior punter Steven Clark, one of three finalists for last year’s Ray Guy Award, is one of two returning first team All-SEC honorees for Auburn, along with junior defensive end Corey Lemonier. Returnees Philip Lutzenkirchen (senior tight end) and Onterio McCalebb (senior all-purpose back) were second team all-SEC selections in 2011.

LSU

• The Tigers have four running backs coming back who had seven or more rushing touchdowns (Spencer Ware 8, Kenny Hilliard 8, Michael Ford, Alfred Blue 7).
• LSU has five returning offensive linemen with starts to their credit, led by C P.J. Lonergan with 26 and OG Josh Dworczyk with 26. Other linemen with career starts to their credit include LT Chris Faulk (13), RT Alex Hurst (23) and RG Josh Williford (9). A sixth offensive lineman – La’el Collins – came out of spring practice as possibly the starter at left guard.
• Defensively, LSU returns its top two tacklers (Tyrann Mathieu 76, Eric Reid 76) and its top two leaders in both tackles for loss (Barkevious Mingo 15.0, Sam Montgomery 13.5) and sacks (Montgomery 9.0, Mingo 8.0).
• LSU returns 11 players on defense that started at least one game a year ago, including five defensive linemen.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

• Mississippi State is one of only two SEC teams to bring back all 10 on-field coaches from last season. The entire staff continuity is a first in more than a decade (1999-2000) for the Bulldogs.
• Dan Mullen enters the 2012 campaign with 21 wins in his first three seasons, the second most in school history (Alllyn McKeen, 26, 1939-41). Mississippi State had only won 21 games over any three-year stretch eight times prior to Mullen’s arrival.
• Wide receiver Chad Bumphis enters the season with 101 career receptions, good for eighth in school history and 61 shy of David Smith’s (1968-70) record of 162. The Tupelo native needs five touchdowns to reach the school record of 17 held by Eric Moulds (1993-95) and Justin Jenkins (2000-03).

OLE MISS

• Five returning offensive linemen have each started five or more games in their career, including junior starting center Evan Swindall. Senior A.J. Hawkins and sophomore Aaron Morris settled in at the guards during the spring, while a pair of potential first-time starters, junior Emmanuel McCray and mid-year JUCO transfer Pierce Burton, have taken the lead at the tackles.
• Special teams remains a strength of the Rebels, led by 2010 NCAA punting champion and two-time All-SEC senior Tyler Campbell. In addition, senior K Bryson Rose has made 25 of 29 career field goals and 65-of-67 PATs.
• In the return game, junior running back Jeff Scott has established himself as a weapon during his career, ranking 20th in the country in kickoff returns in 2010 and helping Ole Miss finish third as a team nationally in punt returns in 2011.

TEXAS A&M

• Senior Dustin Harris enters the 2012 football season as the reigning punt return average statistical champion. The cornerback from Livingston, Texas, led the NCAA with a 18.9 average on 18 returns in 2011, with a 72-yard touchdown return against Kansas. Against the Jayhawks, Harris set a school record with 162 punt return yards.
• Senior Ryan Swope, from Austin, Texas, has career numbers of 180 catches for 2,204 yards and is chasing Jeff Fuller’s school records of 233 catches for 3,092 yards. Fuller’s records would appear to be within range after Swope’s record-setting junior season that saw him set school standards with 89 catches for 1,207 yards.
• The Aggies led the nation with 51 sacks in 2011 (six more than the second-best team), and A&M’s top two pass-rushing threats return in 2012. In fact, Texas A&M is the only team in the nation with two returnees that posted 8.5 or more sacks in 2011. Senior Sean Porter led the Big 12 with .73 sacks per game (No. 19 nationally), while junior Damontre Moore chipped in .71 per game (No. 21 nationally).
• Despite attempting the ninth most pass attempts in the NCAA FBS, the Aggies did a remarkable job of protecting their quarterback in 2011. In 13 games, A&M allowed just nine sacks for a NCAA-low 44 lost yards. Four of five starters return from the 2011 offensive front, including juniors-to-be OTs Luke Joeckel and Jake Matthews, who have been mentioned as first-round draft picks in several early 2013 mock drafts.
• The offensive line was penalized for holding just twice in 2011 and enters 2012 with a streak of 11 straight games without a holding call against a lineman.

We all know that defense wins championships and the SEC is very much a testament to that. Alabama possessed the nation's No. 1 defense last season and now possesses another national championship. Runner-up LSU ranked second nationally.

Alabama ran away with the crown as the nation's and the SEC's best defense, but that title is for the taking in 2012. Alabama is down key players from last year's squad, like linebackers Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower, defensive tackle Josh Chapman, and defensive backs Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, and DeQuan Menzie.

Alabama's defense isn't as green as the 2010 group, but it's still drawing some comparisons to it. That's exactly what the Tide wants to hear. Nico Johnson seems primed to be a true leader at linebacker, while Adrian Hubbard could be a budding star at Upshaw's old position. Defensive backs Robert Lester and Dee Milliner are back and will be joined by a couple of JUCO standouts and talented sophomores Vinnie Sunseri and Ha'Sean Clinton-Dix. Jesse Williams could be a real force at defensive tackle along with end Damion Square.

Then you have LSU. The Tigers lost All-World cornerback Morris Claiborne to the NFL draft and two starting linebackers. Michael Brockers is gone at defensive tackle as well. But LSU is still loaded. The Tigers return Heisman finalist Tyrann Mathieu and Tharold Simon, who should be fine with an expanded role at cornerback. Junior Kevin Minter really stepped up at linebacker last year and should pick up right where he left off. Even without Brockers, the line is solid with future first-rounder Sam Montgomery at one end position and the underrated Barkevious Mingo at the other. The two combined for 17 sacks last season.

Bennie Logan and Anthony Johnson should provide some meat nastiness in the interior, while the very talented Eric Reid is back at free safety.

Georgia and South Carolina both finished the 2011 season ranked in the top five nationally in total defense. South Carolina was third, while Georgia was fifth, respectively. The Gamecocks lost first-round defensive end Melvin Ingram, but return freshman standout Jadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor, who many thought would be better than Ingram last season. Kelcy Quarles is back at defensive tackle and the coaches think he'll be even better in his second year.

Shaq Wilson and Reginald Bowens, who combined for 96 tackles last year, will grab time at linebacker again, while the very athletic DeVonte Holloman returns to the Spur for his senior year. There are questions in the secondary, but seniors D.J. Swearinger (safety) and Akeem Auguste (cornerback) return.

Georgia returns nine defensive starters. Brandon Boykin is gone at corner, and the Bulldogs will enter the fall with a lot questions in the secondary, especially with starters Branden Smith, Sanders Commings and Bacarri Rambo suspended to start the season. Star freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell moved to corner this spring and fits right in, but there are depth issues at the position.

Other than that, the Bulldogs are still pretty stacked. Inside linebacker Alec Ogletree will serve a suspension to start the year, but Georgia will fill his spot by committee. Mike Gilliard, Cornelius Washington, Christian Robinson, Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson provide Georgia with a very solid linebacking unit alongside star Jarvis Jones, who racked up 19.5 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. Georgia's defensive line should also be pretty stout with the massive John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers battling in the middle. Abry Jones really progressed at end as well this spring.

Or maybe someone else will step up and take the crown ...

Academic change is coming to college sports. And if you ask me, it's the good kind of change.

Starting in 2016, the toughest initial-eligibility requirements ever for student-athletes will be hitting a college campus near you, ESPN's Mitch Sherman writes. Under the 2016 mandate, incoming freshmen will have to graduate from high school with 16 core classes passed, 10 of which must be completed by the start of their senior year. They must pass those core classes within four years and their minimum GPA must by 2.3.

The current mandate requires incoming freshmen to pass the 16 core classes, but 10 don't have to be completed before their senior year and the 16 don't have to be finished within four years. The minimum GPA is also 2.0 matched with an ACT or SAT score on a sliding scale.

A survey conducted by the NCAA indicated that approximately 40 percent of all freshmen football players that enrolled at Division I schools last fall would have failed to meet the 2016 requirements. Under the new rule, that 40 percent would receive an academic redshirt, which means those players would still receive their scholarships and could practice with their teams, but they wouldn't be able to play in games during the season.

Academic redshirt players wouldn't lose a year of eligibility.

Some might think that this new rule could be asking too much from high schools and it could put a limit on recruiting for college coaches, but that's just silly. This rule is being put in place to make sure that student-athletes are better prepared academically for college. Asking kids to hit the books harder and study a little longer is far from a crime and chances are the higher standards will encourage schools to take the academic side of high school sports life more seriously.

This isn't the first time we've heard of upping the academic requirements for incoming student-athletes. At last summer's SEC media days, SEC commissioner Mike Slive discussed increasing the GPA requirements for incoming freshmen from 2.0 to 2.5 in 16 core classes and the restoration of partial qualifiers. Like the new mandate, athletes who meet the old criteria but fall short of the new standards would keep their scholarships and practice, but couldn't play during their first year. Partial qualifiers lose a year of eligibility.

Would this require students and schools to work harder? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Absolutely, because it really isn't too much to ask of anyone involved. It's merely helping the educational process.

There are too many instances of players arriving on campus unprepared for the academic side of college athletics. Although football might be the first reason someone is at a university, we often forget that these individuals are students first, even though that part of "student-athlete" gets lost more and more these days.

This obviously won't come without some struggle on the part of many aspiring high school athletes, but it's certainly worth the fight.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Donte Moncrief isn't afraid to be your typical wide receiver.

Ole Miss' sophomore-to-be craves glory like the next self-assured wideout, and he shouldn't be ashamed of it. Quarterbacks get all the love, but they'd be nothing without their receivers, and the good ones know that.

So, it's no shocker that Moncrief is enjoying coach Hugh Freeze's spread offense. While it took some time to adjust from last season's more pro-style attack, Moncrief said he's having more fun in a more wide open scheme because, well, he has the opportunity to get more touches.

"This offense is kind of better for a receiver, because you can get the ball a lot," said Moncrief, who, as a freshman, led the Rebels with 31 catches for 454 yards and four touchdowns in 2011.

Regardless of the type of offense Ole Miss runs, there aren't many scenarios where Moncrief isn't the focal point of the passing game. He's easily Ole Miss' most talented receiving target, and at 6-foot-2 and 214 pounds, he isn't afraid to get physical and make the tougher catches.

Moncrief, the leader of a pretty raw and inexperienced receiving group, wants to be the star, and might have to be. However, for an Ole Miss team that ranked 11th in both passing and total offense in the SEC last season, there's still work to be done before fall arrives.

"Everybody expects me to be the big playmaker when we need a play," he said, "so I'm going to have to try a little harder this summer, get stronger, faster and catch more balls, and be ready to help my team.

"That's the stuff I'm going to work on and get better at so I can become one of the best to come through [Ole Miss' program]."

By try harder, Moncrief means studying his playbook a little more so he can memorize his routes better this season. It was easier to get away with freshman mistakes and botched routes at times in last season's offense, but Moncrief said that with so much going on in the spread, those mistakes won't fly.

Outside of learning new terminology, Moncrief said the toughest thing for him was memorization. Instead of always looking to the quarterback, hand signals from the sidelines, especially when the Rebels crank up the tempo, dictate plays.

He also has to get used to the quickness of this offense. Freeze and offensive coordinator Dan Werner want plays to operate as quickly as possible. Five-step quarterback drops are a thing of the past for the Rebels. As soon as the quarterback has the ball, Moncrief said the play is nearly over.

"It's some fast plays, so you want to get the defense on its heels so you can score real quick," he said.

Outside of the mental part, Moncrief still has some fine-tuning to do physically. He shed some pounds to get faster, but is putting in more time with strength coach Paul Jackson to up his on-field physicality. Fortunately for Moncrief, he craves physical play and actually likes to block, so taking on defenders is rewarding. He thinks it'll benefit him more, because he believes defenders grow weary of seeing receivers that can deliver a bone-rattling block out of nowhere to spring a running back.

"I like it. I love contact," Moncrief said with a sinister smile beaming off his face.

While Moncrief's rambunctious demeanor toward opposing defenders is probably adored by his coaches, Moncrief knows that his first job is to catch passes -- lots of them. Even though he's improving his blocking ability, Moncrief still says he's still the most dangerous in-stride, and he believes he'll be even tougher for defenders to keep up with in 2012.

"Hopefully, there will be a lot of deep balls this year," he said.

OXFORD, Miss. -- Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze knew things weren’t going to be easy in Oxford. He returned to the town and program he loved, but he did so knowing he’d be inheriting a slew of issues, both on and off the field.

However, he didn’t know that the biggest would be in the academic world.

With final exams only days away, Freeze is still concerned about the academic standing of a few players, including key starters Jeff Scott (running back) and Nickolas Brassell (cornerback/receiver).

“I knew that there were some issues, but probably found out it was a little tougher than what I thought it was when I got here,” Freeze said about Ole Miss’ academic issues.

“We’ve made some headway, but we inherited such a mountain to climb that I think it would be presumptuous for me to believe we’re going to climb every single mountain. I don’t think that’s going to be reality.”

The reality of losing those players makes Freeze nervous heading into summer workouts. While he’s seen improvement from them throughout the spring, he’s not ready to say they’ll be academically eligible once the spring semester finishes.

“I feel better because I see improvement, but if you’re asking me do I feel confident at this point to say that they’re going to make it, no, I don’t feel confident to say that,” Freeze said.

“When you start out at nearly zero, it’s a tall task to climb in one semester.”

Although the next few days will be nerve-racking for Freeze and his coaching staff, he is very proud of the way some players improved their classroom habits, especially Scott. The struggles Scott was going through when Freeze first arrived seemed to dissipate as spring progressed.

“I’m extremely proud of Jeff Scott. He has bought in,” Freeze said. “Couldn’t be more pleased with what we’re getting from him right now, as far as effort in the classroom. I’m [hopeful] that he has a good chance of making it. He didn’t have as far to come as some others.”

Having Scott in Ole Miss’ starting lineup this fall will be huge for the Rebels. Last season, Scott was eighth in the SEC in all-purpose yardage, averaging 101.4 yards per game. He also led the Rebels with 529 rushing yards and six touchdowns in his nine starts.

Scott, who will be a junior this fall, entered spring as Ole Miss’ top playmaker, but there isn’t much depth at all behind him at running back. He’s one of three scholarship running backs that include senior Devin Thomas (20 career carries) and Nicholas Parker, who has spent two years on the scout team. Freeze said those two will have to compete with the four incoming freshmen due in this summer if Scott can't go.

“We’re so thin there,” Freeze said. “I’ve never inherited any team that’s as thin at running back as we are here.”

Ole Miss would benefit from Brassell’s athleticism, no matter where he lines up, but the Rebels do have pretty good depth in the secondary and Freeze said cornerback was the most productive unit for the team this spring. Wesley Pendleton and Dehendret Collins, who grabbed two interceptions in Ole Miss’ spring game, made the most progress this spring and the former junior college teammates should be pretty solid players this fall.

Standout Senquez Golson will be back after baseball and the Rebels will welcome talented incoming freshmen Trae Elston and Anthony Standifer.

Freeze will sweat out the next few days as he awaits the fate of some of his players, but he’s pleased with how his team responded to the new coaching staff this spring. It was tough to get players on board at first, and he still thinks less than 80 percent of the team has bought in, but it’s certainly higher than when he first arrived.

This would be a tough job for any coach and Freeze knows that patience will be key to getting this program back on track.

“It won’t be an overnight fix,” he said. “It probably won’t be a one-year fix. It’s a process. I call it the ‘Journey.’”

The sixth annual Chick-fil-A Bowl Challenge golf tournament is being played today at Reynolds Plantation outside Atlanta, and five SEC head coaches are part of the event.

The tournament consists of a 16-team field of NCAA head coaches and celebrity alumni. They compete in a two-man scramble format over 18 holes, vying for a first-place prize of $125,000 in scholarship funds. All participating teams will receive a portion of the $520,000 total scholarship purse.

The five SEC coaches playing are Alabama's Nick Saban, Mississippi State's Dan Mullen, Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze, South Carolina's Steve Spurrier and Tennessee's Derek Dooley. Spurrier and his playing partner, former South Carolina and Green Bay Packers star receiver Sterling Sharpe, won the event in 2008 and 2009. The defending champions are Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson and former Georgia Tech basketball star Jon Barry.

This year, the Ole Miss and Mississippi State teams are paired together, which makes you wonder if there will be many "school up north" references from Mullen.

Also, the North Carolina State and Tennessee teams are paired together. The Wolfpack and Vols will meet again in the 2012 football season opener in Atlanta.

Ohio State's Urban Meyer is the lone coach from outside the ACC or SEC playing. His team is paired with Georgia Tech. If the Chick-fil-A Bowl organizers really wanted to be creative, they would have put Meyer and Spurrier in the same pairing. Now, that would have been pure entertainment.

The tournament is being taped by ESPN and will be broadcast in August.

Here's a look at the pairings:

GROUP ONE	COACH/CELEBRITY
Tennessee	Derek Dooley / Stanley Morgan
NC State	Tom O'Brien / Tom Gugliotta
GROUP TWO
Alabama	Nick Saban / Johnny Musso
Virginia Tech ('07 champions)	Frank Beamer / Dell Curry
GROUP THREE
Florida State ('10 Champions)	Jimbo Fisher / Terrell Buckley
Miami	Al Golden / Gino Torretta
GROUP FOUR
Maryland	Randy Edsall / Stan Gelbaugh
Virginia	Mike London / Jim Dombrowski
GROUP FIVE
Wake Forest	Jim Grobe / Riley Skinner
Clemson	Dabo Swinney / Steve Fuller
GROUP SIX
Georgia Tech ('11 Champions)	Paul Johnson / Jon Barry
Ohio State	Urban Meyer / Jeff Logan
GROUP SEVEN
North Carolina	Larry Fedora / Roy Williams
South Carolina ('08, '09 Champions)	Steve Spurrier / Sterling Sharpe
GROUP EIGHT
Mississippi State	Dan Mullen / Fred McCrary
Mississippi	Hugh Freeze / Sean Tuohy

Over the past 10 years, Georgia has produced 57 total NFL draft picks, which leads the SEC.

But over the past five years, LSU leads the way with 30 total draft picks.

And over the past two years, Alabama and LSU are tied for the lead with 12 draft picks. In fact, Alabama has produced six first-rounders over the last two years.

Here's a look at the total number of draft picks produced by SEC teams over the past 10 years, and we've included Missouri and Texas A&M:

Georgia: 57
LSU: 56
Florida: 54
Tennessee: 48
Alabama: 41
Auburn: 35
South Carolina: 30
Arkansas: 26
Ole Miss: 21
Texas A&M: 21
Missouri: 20
Kentucky: 14
Mississippi State: 14
Vanderbilt: 10

Now, here's a rundown over the past five years:

LSU: 30
Florida: 27
Georgia: 25
Alabama: 19
Auburn: 19
Tennessee: 18
Arkansas: 15
South Carolina: 14
Missouri: 13
Ole Miss: 11
Kentucky: 9
Texas A&M: 9
Mississippi State: 7
Vanderbilt: 6