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Tennessee coach Derek Dooley announced Friday that sophomore tight end Cameron Clear had been dismissed from the team.

Clear was arrested this week and charged with theft of a laptop from a Tennessee baseball player.

"It hurts anytime a player is dismissed from the program, but there comes a time when a player's actions dictate that his privilege of being a part of this team should be removed," Dooley said in a release. "We will continue to support Cam and his family to help him learn from his actions and become the person and player I believe he has the potential to be.”

Clear was expected to play a much larger role in the Vols' offense this season after catching just one pass as a freshman.

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.

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.

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

Just seeing No. 34 out there on the practice field this spring was a major pick-me-up for everybody associated with Tennessee’s football team.

And, yes, it had been a long time coming for Herman Lathers.

“It seemed like forever since I’d really played football,” said Lathers, the Vols’ fifth-year senior middle linebacker, who missed all of last season with a fractured ankle.

“When you go through some of the things I’ve gone through, you soak up every second you’re out there and make the most of it.”

Perhaps the most refreshing thing about Lathers, whose career has been riddled with injuries, is that he’s not a “Why me?” guy. Rather, he’s an “I’m going to persevere guy,” and it goes all the way back to his childhood.

Lathers was diagnosed with bone cancer when he was 10. While other kids were out playing football and basketball and just being normal kids, he was undergoing a painful treatment process that included a needle being stuck in his back once a month for five years.

“That’s a lot of shots, and I was really limited as a kid,” said Lathers, who didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year of high school. “I wasn’t’ able to go outside a lot and move around. Most of the time, I was in the house lying down with my feet propped up and heating pads on my back.”

Now cancer-free, Lathers has still had to fight through a litany of injuries.

Soon after arriving at Tennessee, Lathers had his spleen removed after tests revealed that he had a low platelet count. He redshirted in 2008, but bounced back to play some quality football over the next two seasons. He was an SEC All-Freshman performer in 2009, and finished second on the team with 75 total tackles in 2010.

Toward the end of the 2010 season, Lathers hurt his shoulder and played through the injury in the bowl game. But he had shoulder surgery in January following the bowl game and missed spring practice. The most crippling blow, though, came a few months later to open summer workouts when he collided with another teammate while breaking on a pass.

His left ankle was fractured, and doctors had to insert 11 screws to repair it. Lathers tried to come back and practice during the latter part of the 2011 season, but he simply couldn’t move well enough to play.

“It was my worst injury since I’ve been here, more mentally draining than anything else,” Lathers said. “It was hard to understand why all this was happening to me, but it’s like our chaplain used to always say, ‘God never puts more on you than you can bear.’ ”

Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said there’s no way to put a value on what having Lathers back means to the team.

“He’s not just an inspiration from a leadership standpoint, but he’s a really good football player,” Dooley said. “When we went into the spring, I was really nervous how much we were going to get out of him coming off the injuries that he’s had. When I saw him early on in the spring, it kind of hit us all that most of what he’s fighting really is clearing this mental hurdle, that he’s OK.

“I think he pulled the pin more than he ever dreamed that he would have in our scrimmages and in the spring game.”

Lathers admits that he didn’t have much confidence in his ankle to begin spring practice and was tentative.

“I just didn’t know how much it could withstand,” he said.

But each day, he played a little faster and a little more instinctively, and as his teammates were fond of saying, was back to the “old Herm.”

Dooley said it’s critical that Lathers stays healthy, too. The Vols aren’t very deep at linebacker, and with the transition to the 3-4 defense, they need somebody with Lathers’ experience patrolling the middle.

“I believe he came out of the spring with a lot of confidence that he’s ready to go and he can be a real difference-maker for us in the front seven, and we need him to be,” Dooley said.

Lathers feels like he will only get stronger this summer, and that his range of motion in the knee will only get better. He’s also going to make sure he doesn’t overdo it.

He doesn’t have to play a game in June. It’s September when he wants to be at full speed.

“That’s when I want to put the kind of stamp on this team and my time here that I know I can,” said Lathers, who will explore the possibility of getting a sixth year of eligibility from the NCAA.

“This team has been through a lot. We’ve all been through a lot. Adversity is just something you have to fight through. I think all that’s behind us now, and that we’re going to go out and do some great things this year.”

Revving up the running game is a priority this spring for Tennessee, so it was encouraging for the Vols to have some success running the ball Friday in their first full scrimmage of the spring.

Junior Rajion Neal rushed for 100 yards on 15 carries and had several explosive plays. It's one of the reasons the Vols moved Neal back to running back from receiver, his ability to pick up yards in chunks.

"I felt like we really showed a lot of improvement running the ball, and that's been our emphasis," Tennessee coach Derek Dooley said. "The line was coming off (the ball), runners were running good and we generated a lot of run yards."

Last season, the Vols averaged just 90.1 rushing yards per game and were the only team in the SEC that averaged fewer than 100 yards per game.

Dooley said he was also pleased with the way quarterback Tyler Bray managed the offense in the closed scrimmage. Bray finished 13-of-32 for 142 yards with an interception and a 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mychal Rivera.

The defense, according to Dooley, was playing very aggressive, especially in the secondary. Sophomore cornerback Brian Randolph had an interception and also blocked an extra point.

"There weren't a lot of mental breakdowns, which allowed them to play fast," Dooley said. "We have got to do a better job of stopping the run, but we're playing a lot more aggressively, playing more physical and denying the ball in the back end a little bit better. As long as you're playing with that kind of aggressiveness and toughness, all the other stuff will come."

A complete report on the Vols' scrimmage can be found here on their official web site.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- James Franklin isn’t apologizing, not in the least bit.

He’s not celebrating, either.

It took him all of one season to steer Vanderbilt to only its fifth bowl appearance in school history, and that was on the heels of back-to-back 2-10 seasons.

And since his arrival in Nashville in December of 2010, he hasn’t been shy when it comes to stirring the pot, or perhaps better stated from the Vanderbilt side of things, making sure the days of treating the Commodores as a second-class citizen in the SEC were never coming back … ever.

Those were Franklin’s words last October after he and Georgia defensive coordinator Todd Grantham went nose-to-nose on the field following the Bulldogs’ hard-fought 33-28 victory over the Commodores.

Both coaches felt like they were sticking up for their players.

In Franklin’s mind, it was about time somebody stuck up for the Commodores -- period.

“Everything I do is calculated, but that’s also who I am. I’m a fighter,” Franklin said. “You’re talking about a blue-collar guy who’s worked his way up the ladder for everything he’s got. I understand that respect and all those things are earned. I do. But what I noticed right when I got here, and I don’t think people meant it, was that people talked down to us.

“It was almost as if, ‘This is where you’re supposed to be. You’ve always been there. How dare you try to improve your place? This is where you’re supposed to be?’ I think people were used to being able to put Vanderbilt in the “W” column before the season started, and how dare we try to fight back?”

Franklin was fighting back the moment he took what many consider to be one of the hardest jobs in all of college football. He still bristles when he hears about the supposed ceiling on Vanderbilt football and is so focused on making Vanderbilt a destination stop for top recruits that he frowns on his players even mentioning that they grew up a fan of somebody other than the Commodores.

“Between what we’ve done on the field and what we’ve done in recruiting, our pool has changed,” said Franklin, who signed the highest-rated class in Vanderbilt history this past February.

“The first year we got here, there were only certain kids willing to listen to us. Then after this first season and what we did on the field, there were a lot more kids interested. Now, it’s on a whole different level.

“We’ve taken steps, but we still have a long ways to go.”

Franklin is hell-bent to get there, and he doesn’t mind stepping on a few toes along the way.

"We're going to fight for each other, and that's something Coach (Franklin) brought to this program that we needed," said senior running back Zac Stacy, the SEC's leading returning rusher.

Franklin also has a renewed commitment, really an unprecedented commitment, from the Vanderbilt administration to make football a priority at one of America’s most prestigious universities.

Already, renovations are underway at the McGugin Center that will include a new locker room, team meeting rooms and a 140-seat theatre-style classroom. Vanderbilt Stadium is also being spruced up and will get new playing turf as well as a JumboTron.

And by 2014, a new indoor practice facility will be in place on campus.

Franklin had all of these improvements written into his new contract, which was announced last December.

And speaking of commitment, Franklin’s new deal, according to sources, is paying him right around $2.5 million per year.

So the head football coach at Vanderbilt is making more than the head football coach at Tennessee. Derek Dooley is set to earn just over $2 million in 2012.

“The important thing is that the commitment is in place here, and everybody is on board,” Franklin said.

There’s also an energy and a charisma surrounding the program that Franklin has worked tirelessly to create. The Vanderbilt players say they feed off Franklin’s intensity and the way he’s gone to bat for them.

“Any man who will fight for you like that, you’re going to give your all to have his back, especially when he’s willing to put himself in the crosshairs for the team,” senior cornerback Trey Wilson said. “We can look to that and say, ‘That’s somebody I can go out there and give my all for.’”

Don’t expect much to change during Franklin’s second tour through the league.

“People might get upset or frustrated or taken aback, but I’m like, ‘We’re just doing what everybody else in this league has been doing for a long time. You just don’t expect it from us,’” Franklin said. “A lot of it’s my personality, but it’s magnified because people aren’t used to that at Vanderbilt.”

They’re also not used to the Commodores taking the SEC’s big boys to the wire, either. Their losses to Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and Tennessee last season were by a combined 19 points, and the loss to the Vols came in overtime.

“That’s the next step, making sure we finish those games,” Wilson said. “Going to a bowl was just one of our goals, so there’s no complacency. We have the underdog mentality. Nobody wants to give us the respect we feel like we deserve, so we go out there and do whatever we have to do to take it.”

That lack of respect was never more apparent than the Tennessee game last season. Following the Vols’ 27-21 overtime win in Knoxville, a video surfaced of Dooley telling his players while they celebrated in the locker room, “The one thing Tennessee always does is kick the (expletive) out of Vanderbilt.”

At the time, Franklin said it was a wound that he would leave open and wouldn’t heal any time soon.

Well, it’s obvious that it still hasn’t healed, although Franklin warns that placing too much importance on one game in the SEC is foolish.

“There are situations that happen that are personal,” Franklin conceded. “I really don’t want it to be personal, because what happens is that your team and your coaches can sense that this game is more important than another, and the most important game for us is the next game on the schedule.

“Now, do things happen that get your juices flowing and make it a little personal? Yes. We don’t talk about those things a whole lot, but it’s more symbolic that our team understands that we’re not going to let other people define who and what we’re going to be.”

Tennessee junior receiver Da’Rick Rogers was seemingly at the edge of that proverbial plank a long time ago.

Some players insist on living there, even the ones as talented as Rogers.

You watch him pull in a touchdown pass one-handed and physically manhandle the cornerback trying to cover him and remind yourself that he’s an NFL talent that any coach would fight to keep on his team.

But then you hear how much Rogers is into himself – and apparently oblivious that football is a team game that demands genuine respect for your coaches and teammates – and you’re at a loss as to how Tennessee coach Derek Dooley could put up with Rogers’ nonsense as long as he has.

The latest on Rogers is that he didn’t practice Thursday and won’t return to the team until he does a few things internally required of him. Earlier this offseason, Rogers also wasn't allowed to work out with the team for a couple of weeks.

Dooley refused to call this latest deal a suspension. He rarely uses that word when talking about managing players.

“He's got some things he's got to do internally, and when he does them, he'll be back," Dooley told reporters following practice Thursday. "It's kind of an internal, team issue, and it's something he's just got to finish doing some stuff, and when he does, he'll be back. I wouldn't call it anything other than he's got to do some things, and when he does, he can come back. And (if) he doesn't, he's not going to be here."

Dooley said Rogers could be back as early as today or Friday.

But at this point: Does anybody on the team really want him back?

Is his baggage worth it in what's clearly a pivotal year for Dooley in his third season on the job?

Yes, Justin Hunter is coming off a serious knee injury, and heralded junior college receiver Cordarrelle Patterson is still not on campus. But at some point, Rogers has to start pulling in the same direction as the rest of his teammates and quit being such a distraction, or it's not going to matter what he does on the field.

Given how disconnected the Vols were as a team at the end of last season, Dooley's playing with fire. The last thing he wants to do is give the impression that one player is getting special treatment or playing by his own set of rules.

There was an Internet report Thursday that Rogers was leaving Tennessee and transferring to Georgia State. He's from Calhoun, Ga. Dooley said that nobody had said anything to him about Rogers wanting to leave.

"He's never told me that or indicated that to me or anybody else," Dooley said.

Either way, Rogers is dangerously close to wearing out his welcome on Rocky Top, and some might say that he wore out that welcome a long time ago.

1. Be still my heart. The 11 BCS commissioners and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick released a statement Monday saying that discussions about the postseason format beginning in 2014 had gotten down to “brass tacks,” including looking anew at ditching the rankings formula and replacing it with a committee, which is the way every other NCAA sport in all divisions picks its postseason. The BCS rating is an annual embarrassment. They can’t replace it soon enough.

2. Alabama coach Nick Saban's new eight-year, $45 million contract will pay him $5.97 million in 2019, the final season. More important, a coach who came to Tuscaloosa in 2007 with the reputation of always having his eye on the next job is starting his sixth season with the Crimson Tide. In a 39-year coaching career that has included 13 stops, Saban has never stayed anywhere for six seasons. When he says Alabama is his last stop, he’s not kidding.

3. Injuries exposed Tennessee’s lack of offensive depth in 2011, when the Vols scored seven points or fewer in five SEC losses and finished 5-7. As spring football began Monday, however, the curiosity shifted to the 3-4 defense that new coordinator Sal Sunseri brought from Alabama. Safety Brent Brewer and fullback Channing Fugate have moved to linebacker to bolster the new heart of the defense. After two mediocre seasons, coach Derek Dooley needs to give Tennessee fans reasons for optimism.

According to an NCAA document obtained by The Chronicle of Higher Education, four SEC schools opposed the new policy allowing major college programs to award athletes with multiyear scholarships.

Those four schools were Alabama, LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

In the past, scholarships were renewable on a year-to-year basis, and Tennessee coach Derek Dooley was among a handful of SEC coaches who felt strongly that scholarships should continue to be awarded on a year-to-year basis.

"We forget this is a contract, a two-way street," Dooley said right after national signing day. "I think it's humorous that the academic institution can give an academic scholarship and take it away when a student doesn't perform at a certain GPA-level, but it's absolutely the worst thing you can do as a coach. It's so wrong what you do to these young people ... when he doesn't do what he's supposed to do.

"I'm still trying to figure out what I'm missing."

SEC commissioner Mike Slive has been a proponent of multiyear scholarships. In fact, it's one of the things he proposed last year at the SEC media days when outlining his agenda for change in college athletics.

Terry Joseph, who coached the Tennessee defensive backs and also served as the Vols' recruiting coordinator the last two seasons, has taken a job on the Nebraska staff.

Joseph informed Tennessee coach Derek Dooley of his decision on Friday. Joseph had coached with Dooley at Louisiana Tech and came with him to Tennessee.

With Joseph leaving, that means the Vols will have an entirely new defensive staff next season. He's also the seventh assistant coach to leave Tennessee's staff since the end of the 2011 season.

Sal Sunseri is the Vols' new defensive coordinator after coming over from Alabama. Derrick Ansley, who was a graduate assistant at Alabama and worked with the Crimson Tide's secondary, was hired in February to coach the Vols' cornerbacks. John Palermo is the Vols' new defensive line coach after spending the last two seasons at Middle Tennessee. Palermo also coached on the Washington Redskins' staff and spent 15 years coaching at Wisconsin.

Dooley said last month that he felt the program had been energized by all the new coaching blood. The only two coaches remaining from his original staff are offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and receivers coach Darin Hinshaw, who's moving over to receivers after coaching the Vols' quarterbacks the past two seasons.

Tennessee could be on the verge of losing its seventh assistant coach since the end of last season.

Defensive backs coach Terry Joseph was mulling an offer from Nebraska on Thursday to coach the Huskers' secondary. Joseph was scheduled to meet with Tennessee coach Derek Dooley on Thursday night and is expected to finalize his decision on Friday.

The Huskers' secondary job came open after Corey Raymond left earlier in the week to take the LSU secondary job. Ironically enough, Joseph's name had also been mentioned in connection with the LSU job. Joseph is from the New Orleans area and was a graduate assistant at LSU in 2006 when he worked under Bo Pelini, who was the LSU defensive coordinator at the time before being hired as Nebraska's head coach following the 2007 season.

Joseph came to Tennessee with Dooley from Louisiana Tech and has also served as the Vols' recruiting coordinator. Joseph and new Tennessee assistant coach Derrick Ansley were scheduled to divide the secondary coaching duties next season. Joseph was going to coach the safeties and Ansley the cornerbacks.

Already, Dooley has had to replace six assistant coaches since the Vols' 10-7 loss to Kentucky to end the 2011 season. If Joseph bolts for Nebraska, that would mean Tennessee would have an entirely new defensive staff next season and only offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and receivers coach Darin Hinshaw would remain from Dooley's original staff when he took the job in 2010. Chaney was a holdover from Lane Kiffin's staff.

Penn State fans were getting a bit antsy about the fact new coach Bill O'Brien hadn't landed a verbal commit for 2013.

The wait is over, and Nittany Nation is celebrating.

Quarterback Christian Hackenberg committed to Penn State on Wednesday, becoming the first verbal for an all-important 2013 class. Lions247.com first reported Hackenberg's commitment, and colleague Jamie Newberg confirmed it with Hackenberg's father.

Hackenberg, a member of the ESPNU 150 Watch List, is a 6-foot-3, 210-pound signal-caller for Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia. He had received offers from Alabama, Florida, Miami, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, among others.

This is a big get for Penn State, which needs quarterback help in the 2013 class. Penn State lost out on one-time verbal Skyler Morningweg, and while new quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher loves incoming recruit Steven Bench, the team needs more options. It's also significant for O'Brien, whose background as a quarterback guru should help Penn State upgrade the position. Hackenberg recently cited O'Brien's work with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady as a big selling point. Hackenberg's father, Erick, played football at Virginia with Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, so Penn State certainly had some competition for Christian's services.

Two positions where O'Brien could make a major impact are quarterback and tight end, given the Patriots' success last season with tight end Rob Gronkowski. Penn State is in the mix for tight end recruit Adam Breneman, who grew up a Lions fans and recently took an unofficial visit to the school.

Penn State has a long way to go in 2013 recruiting, but Hackenberg's pledge is an excellent start.

As disappointing as last season was for Tennessee, particularly the way it ended with the loss to Kentucky, it wasn’t a total loss for Volunteers coach Derek Dooley.

He learned a lot about himself, learned some hard lessons along the way and also feels like he goes into the 2012 season with a much clearer picture of what has to happen if the Vols are going to make a move in the Eastern Division.

“The number one thing is that we have to do a much better job of coaching at all levels,” said Dooley, whose Vols have suffered through back-to-back losing seasons.

“I watch these cut-ups of what we’re doing. What we were doing schematically was good. How we were doing it was not good. Where I think I failed more than anything, and I told the team this, was making too many excuses for our players. It’s so important as coaches that you set a standard and demand it and hold everybody accountable to it. That’s what the players ultimately want.”

The Vols’ players will have a lot of new faces to learn from going into next season. Six of the nine assistant coaches are new, including defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri.

“We have to do a better job of teaching and holding our players accountable to what we’re teaching, and we have to improve our teaching,” Dooley said. “Look, I put it on us as coaches and me as the head coach. Sometimes, I used the youth and inexperience as too much of an excuse for allowing things to happen we shouldn’t have allowed to happen.”

Dooley thinks the Vols have the talent and the experience to compete now on a consistent basis in the SEC. He’s equally convinced that the staff dynamic is also in place now with the six new assistants and thinks the coaching turnover was actually an energizer for the program.

“I think it’s going to be very healthy,” Dooley said.

That said, he concedes there may be some early growing pains with the Vols moving to a base 3-4 defense under Sunseri.

“It will be an adjustment. It always is,” Dooley said. “But at the end of last season, I felt we were going to need to do more of that anyway [the 3-4 defense] even if we didn’t have a change at coordinator.”

The reason being is that the Vols’ defensive tackles are more in the 275-pound range, and now those guys will become defensive ends in the 3-4 scheme.

“Our defensive ends were 245 pounds, and when you’re playing a 4-3, those are two undersized positions,” Dooley explained. “When you stand the defensive end up and he becomes an outside linebacker, he’s a perfect size, and you move that 3 technique out to a 5 technique, and he’s the perfect size.

“What’s the challenge? You’ve got to find a noseguard in the middle who has some mass, and your inside linebacker’s got to be a little more physical.”

The Vols hope they’ve found that mass in 6-foot-6, 380-pound junior college transfer Daniel McCullers. Maurice Couch is another bigger junior college product who played last season for the Vols and should be even better his second year in the program.

Former Alabama defensive end Darrington Sentimore is already on campus and will go through spring practice after spending last season in junior college. He’s played end in the 3-4 before when he was at Alabama, and Dooley thinks rising sophomore A.J. Johnson will be a perfect fit inside at linebacker and rising sophomore Curt Maggitt a perfect fit as a stand-up outside linebacker.

“I felt our personnel was more suited for the 3-4 on base downs, but we’re still going to run some four-man front stuff,” Dooley said.

Now that we’ve gone through our position rankings in the SEC for the 2011 season, the only thing left is the coaches.

The head coach is obviously a big part of these rankings, but we’re taking into account the total staff and the job all of the coaches did this season in developing players, developing the team and getting the team to play its best in the biggest moments.

Here goes:

1. Alabama: The only blemish for the national champions was the LSU game in the regular season, and that was an overtime loss. Offensive coordinator Jim McElwain did an excellent job bringing along quarterback AJ McCarron, and it was hard to beat the Tide’s balance on offense. What more can you say about Kirby Smart and the defense? It’s a group that rates up there among the best in Alabama history, and when Nick Saban gets to the title game, he’s money. Alabama was easily the most prepared team on Jan. 9 in the Big Easy.

2. LSU: For 13 games, Les Miles and his entire staff did as good a job as any staff in America. There were several off-the-field issues that Miles handled well, and through it all, he kept his team on point against a killer schedule. Defensive coordinator John Chavis did a masterful job all season and won the Broyles Award as the top assistant coach in the country. But in the end, the Tigers were poorly prepared offensively in the title game and never made any significant adjustments. Miles’ refusal to at least try another quarterback remains a mystery.

3. South Carolina: It’s been a while since Steve Spurrier has been this happy about a football season. The Head Ball Coach and his staff have a lot to be happy about. The Gamecocks won 11 games for the first time ever, beat rival Clemson for the third straight season and did so despite their best player, running back Marcus Lattimore, going down with a knee injury during the middle of the season. It was one of Ellis Johnson’ best defenses at South Carolina, and after he left to take the Southern Miss head job, Lorenzo Ward saw to it that the Gamecocks didn’t miss a beat defensively in their Capital Bowl win over Nebraska.

4. Arkansas: With Tyler Wilson taking over for Ryan Mallett at quarterback, the Hogs were as potent as ever offensively, and that’s a credit to both Bobby Petrino and his right-hand man, Garrick McGee, who left at season’s end to take the UAB head job. Special teams were very good all season, although the Hogs gave up punt returns for touchdowns in their two biggest games of the season against Alabama and LSU. The disappointment was on defense, where Arkansas took a step backward from 2011, which is why Petrino parted ways with Willy Robinson and brought in Paul Haynes.

5. Georgia: Mark Richt and his staff get serious props for recovering from an 0-2 start and steering the Bulldogs to the SEC championship game. A lot of teams would have folded after that South Carolina loss. In particular, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham was invaluable with the mental toughness he brought to a unit that finished fifth nationally in total defense. The only real disappointment for the Bulldogs was how poorly they played on special teams, and the way Richt managed that first overtime in the Outback Bowl loss to Michigan State is another reason Georgia’s staff isn’t ranked a little higher.

6. Vanderbilt: The Commodores’ best win came in the regular-season finale when they routed Wake Forest on the road to qualify for a bowl game. And even though they lost their bowl game and wound up with a losing record, first-year coach James Franklin and his staff breathed new life into a program that had only gone to four bowl games previously in school history. The Commodores lost four of their six SEC games by a total of 19 points, and they improved dramatically on offense, especially in the offensive line. As much as anything, Franklin brought an edge to the program that it had been lacking.

7. Auburn: It’s never easy to go from a 14-0 national championship season to a ho-hum season where you lose three of your last four SEC games by a total of 101 points. The Tigers’ defense was dreadful for most of the season, and other than former tailback Michael Dyer, there wasn’t a lot to get excited about on offense, either. Nonetheless, Gene Chizik and his staff still found a way to carve out eight victories, including wins over five teams that finished the season with winning records.

8. Mississippi State: Maybe the expectations for Mississippi State at the start of the season were a tad unrealistic, but Dan Mullen helped create those expectations by winning nine games in his second season and spanking Michigan in the bowl game. Chris Wilson’s defense came around the second half of the season, but the Bulldogs didn’t take the step most thought they would on offense. They were a couple of plays away from winning nine games again, and it’s the first time Mississippi State has put together back-to-back winning seasons since Jackie Sherrill had four in a row from 1997-2000.

9. Florida: The first year was a mulligan of sorts for Will Muschamp, who inherited some issues off the field he needed to solve. He made a tough (and the right) decision by kicking off his best player, cornerback Janoris Jenkins, after multiple drug arrests. The Gators also held their ground defensively. But the Charlie Weis experiment as offensive coordinator wasn’t a good fit, and the Gators were as bad offensively as they were the year before during Urban Meyer’s last season.

10. Kentucky: Had the Wildcats played just 11 games in 2011, Joker Phillips and his staff might have been ranked even lower. But then came the finale against Tennessee and the end of the 26-game losing streak to the Vols. Not only that, but the Wildcats figured out a way to win with receiver Matt Roark playing quarterback. It was a struggle the whole way offensively during the season, but first-year defensive coordinator Rick Minter deserves credit for bringing a more aggressive approach to the defense and forcing more turnovers.

11. Tennessee: A very average season for the Vols turned into a forgettable season thanks to their lackluster 10-7 loss to Kentucky. The Vols were slowed by key injuries to Justin Hunter and Tyler Bray and were playing a lot of younger players, but Derek Dooley has been the first to say that they also need to coach better going forward. The running game was a no-show in 2011, and there was a serious problem with team chemistry as the season wore on, something Dooley must correct if he’s going to be around long-term on Rocky Top.

12. Ole Miss: It was a tough end to a 14-year SEC coaching run for Houston Nutt. Some poor recruiting classes at the start of his Ole Miss tenure caught up to him, and so did some crippling injuries. There were no answers at quarterback, and even though the numbers were ugly on defense, defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix is a much better football coach than the numbers would suggest. The reality is that when you lose 14 straight conference games over two seasons, you’re not going to be ranked very high in any rankings.