ESPN College Football

BATON ROUGE, La. -- People usually stress quality over quantity.

It’s tough to perfect that and it’s even harder to get both.

Well, that’s what LSU is working with in its backfield.

The top-ranked Tigers (8-0, 5-0) are putting a pounding on opposing front sevens with their stable of running backs.

First, there’s Spencer Ware, who is the leader of the pack and the battering ram. He runs with power and grace while continuing to get extra yardage with those fancy spin moves.

Next you have Michael Ford. He isn’t as big as Ware, but he still packs a punch. He has a little more speed and complements Ware well in the offense.

And don’t forget about Alfred Blue. Even at 6 feet 2 inches, he’s a versatile back who has as many yards for loss as touchdowns (4).

Together, these three have totaled 1,205 yards and 16 touchdowns on 264 carries this season. They are a major reason why LSU is fourth in the SEC in rushing (189 yards a game) and why the Tigers enter their showdown with No. 2 Alabama (8-0, 5-0) as the No. 1 team in the land.

“It’s nice to have a stable of running backs,” LSU offensive lineman Will Blackwell said.

“‘Fresh legs’ like I like to say. Guys don’t have to carry the ball 30 times a game. They can get 10 or 15 and run as hard as they can every time and you don’t have to worry about them wearing down or getting out of breathe or getting banged up.”

It’s LSU’s running backs who have done most of the roughing up this season.

Ford said he would love for he and his teammates to take the credit for a successful running game, but all of his praise was directed toward running backs coach Frank Wilson. Ford said he’s the one who comes up with the game plans and makes the decisions about who will play and when someone will play.

He keeps them fresh during games and hungry during practice.

“You might not know who it is, but Coach Frank gets us ready for anybody who goes in there during practice,” Ford said. “We just rotate, rotate, rotate.”

It’s that attitude that has this group excelling. Ware might be considered the No. 1, but all three think they’re starters.

“You never know who is going to start because practice won’t tell you,” he said. “We all have to go out there and play hard.

“It helps out a lot because when we get to the game, nobody misses a beat.”

It could get frustrating not knowing what your role will be in upcoming games, but this group doesn’t mind. Ford said any one of them could take the reins from beginning to end.

That was made pretty obvious when Ware was suspended for the Auburn game, leaving the other backs to shoulder the load. This time it was yet another running back who stepped up in during Ware’s absence. Ford gained 82 yards on 12 carries, but it was true freshman Kenny Hilliard who had a breakout game, gaining 85 yards and scoring two touchdowns.

Before the Auburn game, Hilliard had just five carries.

Having multiple backs carrying the rock during a game doesn’t mean changing offensive styles. Blackwell said that even though each back runs differently, the offense treats the running backs the same when they’re on the field and it’s all about creating holes.

“We block the same no matter who’s back there,” he said.

What can get lost in the rushing bundle is that these backs’ success helps open up the passing game. Quarterback Jarrett Lee said his job is much easier and the passing game is tougher to stop when he has the luxury of handing the ball off to a handful of running backs.

“It helps a lot. When you have a stable of backs like we do who can come in and make plays like that then it opens up the passing game,” Lee said. “It opens up the play-action passing game for us.”

Ware is back from suspension and LSU’s bye week has this group feeling better than ever. Ford said throwing multiple backs out and keeping these players vibrant can be hazardous for a defense.

“Definitely it wears them down because every time somebody goes in there, you know they’re fresh when the defense is tired,” he said.

We saved our links until the afternoon today. Hey, it's Friday:

• Rick Cleveland of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger remembers former Mississippi State coach Emory Bellard, who died Thursday.
• Cam Newton's personal workout has them raving.
• The NCAA is considering a 10-second runoff rule similar to the NFL if a team commits a penalty in the final minute of either half to stop the clock, although it comes a little late for Tennessee.
• Herschel Walker chimes in on Georgia's "Dream Team."
• LSU's Frank Wilson is getting it done on the recruiting trail, writes Scott Rabalais of The Baton Rouge Advocate.
• Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino will be a guest speaker at Lane Kiffin's coaching clinic later this month.
• Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan is open to Gators' quarterback signee Jacoby Brissett also playing basketball in college.
• The SEC leads the pack in college football attendance for the 13th straight season.

ESPN recruiting analysts Corey Long and Jamie Newberg have come up with their list of the 25 best recruiters in college football this year.

These are all assistant coaches, and eight SEC coaches made the cut -- Sal Sunseri of Alabama, Tim Horton of Arkansas, Trooper Taylor and Tommy Thigpen of Auburn, Mike Bobo of Georgia, Frank Wilson of LSU, G.A. Mangus of South Carolina and Charlie Baggett of Tennessee.

The ACC was second with five assistant coaches on the list.

I put together my own list earlier this month of the SEC's top 25 recruiters among assistant coaches, and six of the eight SEC guys on the national list were also on my list. The two I didn't have on my list (Mangus and Thigpen) should have been.

Bottom line: If you can't recruit in the SEC, you're probably not going to be around very long -- or you better be one of the best position coaches in the business.

Thanks to Ryan McGee, we took a look at the best recruiting head coaches in the SEC on Monday.

But what about the assistants?

They’re the ones who lay the groundwork, and in most cases, establish the relationships with prospects and their families so the head coach can get in the door and close the deal.

Having conferred with several in and around the league, not to mention talking with players who've gone through the the process, here are the 25 best recruiters in the SEC among assistant coaches. They’re listed alphabetically:

• Charlie Baggett, Tennessee's assistant head coach/wide receivers coach
• Shane Beamer, South Carolina’s special teams coordinator/recruiting coordinator
• Mike Bobo, Georgia’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
• Burton Burns, Alabama’s associate head coach/running backs coach
• Steve Caldwell, Arkansas’ defensive ends coach
• Rodney Garner, Georgia’s assistant head coach/recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach
• Billy Gonzales, LSU’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach
• Aubrey Hill, Florida’s wide receivers coach
• Tim Horton, Arkansas' recruiting coordinator/running backs coach
• Tony Hughes, Mississippi State’s recruiting coordinator/safeties coach
• Ellis Johnson, South Carolina’s assistant head coach for the defense
• John Lilly, Georgia's tight ends coach
• Gus Malzahn, Auburn's offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
• Tee Martin, Kentucky’s passing game coordinator/wide receivers coach
• Garrick McGee, Arkansas’s offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach
• Wesley McGriff, Vanderbilt’s defensive recruiting coordinator/defensive backs coach
• Curtis Luper, Auburn’s recruiting coordinator/running backs coach
• Chris Rumph, Alabama's defensive line coach
• Kirby Smart, Alabama’s defensive coordinator
• Trooper Taylor, Auburn’s assistant head coach/wide receivers coach
• Lance Thompson, Tennessee’s linebackers coach
• Sal Sunseri, Alabama’s assistant head coach/linebackers coach
• Chris Vaughn, Ole Miss’ recruiting coordinator/cornerbacks coach
• Brian White, Florida's tight ends coach
• Frank Wilson, LSU’s recruiting coordinator/running backs coach

Here’s a Western Division breakdown of who’s out and who’s in for the 2010 season. Auburn was the only team in the league without any turnover:

ALABAMA

Who’s out: Associate head coach/linebackers coach James Willis

Who’s in: Alabama coach Nick Saban promoted Jeremy Pruitt from director of player development to fill the vacancy left by Willis, who went to Texas Tech to be Tommy Tuberville’s defensive coordinator. Pruitt had been Alabama’s director of player development for the last three seasons and coached at Hoover High School just outside Birmingham prior to that.

ARKANSAS

Who’s out: Offensive coordinator/receivers coach Paul Petrino, assistant head coach/offensive line coach Mike Summers and defensive ends coach Kirk Botkin.

Who’s in: Garrick McGee was promoted to offensive coordinator after Paul Petrino left to take the Illinois offensive coordinator’s job. Kris Cinkovich will coach receivers after spending the last six seasons coaching receivers at UNLV. Steve Caldwell, who was out of coaching last season, will coach ends. Caldwell was on Phillip Fulmer’s staff at Tennessee for 14 seasons. Chris Klenakis will coach offensive line after coming over from Nevada.

LSU

Who’s out: Assistant head coach/running backs coach Larry Porter, receivers coach D.J. McCarthy and tight ends/recruiting coordinator Don Yanowsky.

Who’s in: Frank Wilson, who was at Tennessee last season, will coach the running backs and serve as recruiting coordinator. Billy Gonzales will coach receivers and serve as the passing game coordinator. Gonzales spent the last five seasons at Florida. Steve Ensminger, a former quarterback at LSU, will coach tight ends. He spent last season coaching high school football, but was at Auburn the six seasons prior to that and has also coached at Georgia, Clemson and Texas A&M.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Who’s out: Defensive coordinator Carl Torbush and defensive line coach David Turner.

Who’s in: Manny Diaz will be the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator and also coach linebackers. He was the defensive coordinator at Middle Tennessee State the previous four seasons. Chris Wilson will serve as co-defensive coordinator and coach the defensive line. He spent the last five seasons coaching the defensive line at Oklahoma.

OLE MISS

Who’s out: Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Kent Austin.

Who’s in: Dave Rader will coach quarterbacks and take over as co-offensive coordinator for Austin, who left to take the head-coaching job at Cornell. Rader was out of coaching the last three seasons, but was the offensive coordinator at Alabama under Mike Shula from 2003 to 2006. He was also the head coach at Tulsa from 1988 to 1999. Rader will share the coordinator duties with Mike Markuson, who was promoted by Houston Nutt and will also continue to coach the offensive line.

With LSU opening spring practice Monday, I thought it might be wise to go over all the coaching changes in the SEC this year.

As usual, it was a revolving door this past offseason. In fact, Auburn was the only school in the league that didn’t have any staff turnover. The final number of head coaches or assistants departing for various reasons was 31.

Some were fired. Others got better gigs, while there were a few that were swayed elsewhere (within the conference) for more money.

Here’s an Eastern Division breakdown of who’s out and who’s in for the 2010 season. We'll do the Western Division a little bit later:

FLORIDA

Who’s out: Associate head coach/defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, defensive coordinator George Edwards, recruiting coordinator/receivers coach Billy Gonzales, cornerbacks coach Vance Bedford and running backs coach Kenny Carter.

Who’s in: Teryl Austin, who spent the last seven seasons as the Arizona Cardinals’ defensive backs coach, is Florida’s new defensive coordinator. He replaces George Edwards, who held the job for less than a month before going back to the NFL with the Buffalo Bills. Edwards replaced Charlie Strong, who left following the season to take the Louisville head job. Stan Drayton returns to coach running backs. He was at Florida earlier this decade before moving on to Tennessee and most recently Syracuse. D.J. Durkin will coach defensive ends and special teams after spending the last three seasons at Stanford. Zach Azzanni will coach receivers. He was previously the assistant head coach/receivers coach at Central Michigan.

GEORGIA

Who’s out: Defensive coordinator/secondary coach Willie Martinez, co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach John Jancek and defensive ends coach Jon Fabris.

Who’s in: Former Cleveland Browns defensive coordinator Todd Grantham takes over as Georgia’s defensive coordinator. He was the Dallas Cowboys’ defensive line coach the last two seasons. Scott Lakatos will coach the defensive backs after spending the last six seasons on the Connecticut staff, and Warren Belin will coach linebackers after spending the last eight seasons on the Vanderbilt staff.

KENTUCKY

Who’s out: Head coach Rich Brooks, offensive line coach Jimmy Heggins and defensive line coach Rick Petri.

Who’s in: Joker Phillips, who was already the Wildcats’ coach in waiting, takes over the head coaching reins. Mike Summers will coach the offensive line after serving as assistant head coach/offensive line coach at Arkansas the last two seasons. Former Tennessee quarterback Tee Martin will coach the receivers. Martin was the quarterbacks coach at New Mexico last season. David Turner, who has coached at four different SEC schools, will coach the defensive line. Turner was at Mississippi State the last three seasons.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Who’s out: Offensive line coach/running game coordinator Eric Wolford.

Who’s in: Shawn Elliott replaces Wolford, who left to take the head coaching job at Youngstown State. Elliott has spent his entire coaching career at Appalachian State, including the last nine seasons as offensive line coach.

TENNESSEE

Who’s out: Head coach Lane Kiffin, defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, recruiting coordinator/defensive line coach Ed Orgeron, quarterbacks coach David Reaves, receivers coach Frank Wilson, offensive line coach James Cregg, running backs coach/special teams coordinator Eddie Gran and defensive backs coach Willie Mack Garza.

Who’s in: Derek Dooley was hired as the Vols’ head coach after Lane Kiffin left to take the Southern California head job. Justin Wilcox comes over from Boise State to be the defensive coordinator. Charlie Baggett will serve as assistant head coach and coach the receivers. He has 11 years of NFL experience and was on the St. Louis Rams’ staff last season. Harry Hiestand will coach the offensive line. He was the offensive line coach for the Chicago Bears the past five seasons. Darin Hinshaw will coach quarterbacks. He was the receivers coach at Memphis the past three seasons. Terry Joseph will coach the secondary and special tams. He was with Dooley at Louisiana Tech. Eric Russell will coach tight ends and coordinate special teams. He was also at Louisiana Tech with Dooley. Former Tennessee All-SEC performer Chuck Smith will coach the defensive line. He worked as an assistant defensive line coach with the New York Jets last season and has also tutored several defensive linemen over the years. He played professionally for the Atlanta Falcons.

VANDERBILT

Who’s out: Linebackers coach/special teams coordinator Warren Belin.

Who’s in: Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson is still working to replace Belin, who left to join the Georgia staff. Johnson promoted Jimmy Kiser to offensive coordinator, and Kiser will call all of the Commodores’ plays this season. Ted Cain remains on staff as the tight ends coach and special teams coordinator.

Some SEC links for your Friday reading pleasure:

• Florida fans aren't exactly gobbling up Allstate Sugar Bowl tickets. The Gators still have about 5,000 of their allotment remaining, and the game's only two weeks away.

• Defensive back Ryan White of Tallahassee, Fla., says he will sign with Auburn in February. He's the Tigers' 23rd commitment.

• South Carolina quarterback Stephen Garcia is more focused for this year's bowl game, writes Joe Person of The State newspaper.

• The numbers add up for Auburn receiver Darvin Adams, writes Charles Goldberg of The Birmingham News.

• Billy Gonzales and Frank Wilson are cleared to coach for LSU, and Larry Porter will not be coaching in the bowl game.

• Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin dismisses junior defensive back Brent Vinson from the team.

• Chip Towers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution takes a look at how Georgia's 10 graduating seniors rate as recruits.

• Ole Miss signs safety Damien Jackson from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, reports David Brandt of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.

Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin put together what he called a dream coaching staff last year and boasted about being able to lure top coaches from other staffs.

It looks like the same thing could be happening to him this year.

Receivers coach Frank Wilson left the Vols on Saturday to take a job on the LSU staff as running backs coach and recruiting coordinator. Wilson, who's from New Orleans and has strong ties to that area, will replace Larry Porter, who was named the Memphis head coach earlier this week.

Wilson received a big pay raise to go to LSU and will make more than $300,000 per year with the Tigers. He was one of the Vols' lowest paid assistants at $150,000 per year.

Tennessee running backs coach and special-teams coach Eddie Gran could be next. He has a chance to join Jimbo Fisher at Florida State in a similar capacity and would also be in line for a big raise. The Seminoles are prepared to pay him $300,000-plus. Gran made $190,000 last year at Tennessee and has been one of the Vols' most valuable recruiters in the state of Florida.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

One of the top players in the 2011 signing class has committed to Tennessee. Now the real fun begins for the Vols -- holding onto him.

Defensive lineman Anthony Johnson of O. Perry Walker High School in New Orleans informed Tennessee assistant Frank Wilson last Friday that he had committed to the Vols. There's a pretty strong tie there, and there was also a caveat to the 6-foot-4, 295-pound Johnson's commitment.

Wilson, a New Orleans native, was the head coach at O. Perry Walker from 2000 through 2002, and Tennessee recruiting coordinator and defensive line coach Ed Orgeron has extensive ties throughout the state of Louisiana.

That said, Johnson doesn't plan to end the recruiting process. He will continue to take visits and see what other schools have to offer. He mentioned Alabama and UCLA as two schools that would remain on his list.

Johnson has started since he was a freshman and already has 34 sacks entering his junior season. 

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Selecting the best recruiters in the SEC is like selecting your favorite golf holes at Augusta National.

There are so many. How do you choose?

After talking to coaches around the league, recruiting analysts, recruiting buffs and doing our own research on who's recruited who over the years, we've come up with a Top 25 list.

Keep in mind that these are assistants only. Head coaches are not included in this list, although Alabama's Nick Saban and Florida's Urban Meyer would be the top two if we did include head coaches.

The most underrated recruiter as a head coach in the SEC has to be LSU's Les Miles. The Tigers are well on their way to the No. 1 recruiting class in the country this year.

And in each of the past three years, LSU has finished 11th or higher nationally in the rankings compiled by ESPN's Scouts Inc. The only other SEC school that can claim that distinction is Florida.

We'll start the countdown with Nos. 11-25. Check back Wednesday morning, and we'll unveil Nos. 1-10 of the best recruiters in the SEC:

• 25. Jon Fabris, Georgia defensive ends coach

• 24. Shane Beamer, South Carolina recruiting coordinator, special teams coordinator and safeties coach

• 23. Curtis Luper, Auburn running backs coach

• 22. Charlie Fisher, Vanderbilt passing game co-coordinator and receivers coach

• 21. Paul Petrino, Arkansas offensive coordinator and receivers coach

• 20. Chris Vaughn, Ole Miss recruiting coordinator and running backs coach

• 19. Mike Bobo, Georgia offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach

• 18. Robbie Caldwell, Vanderbilt assistant head coach and offensive line coach

• 17. Kirby Smart, Alabama defensive coordinator and secondary coach

• 16. Eddie Gran, Tennessee special teams coordinator and running backs coach

• 15. Tony Hughes, Mississippi State defensive assistant

• 14. Frank Wilson, Tennessee receivers coach

• 13. Billy Gonzales, Florida recruiting coordinator and receivers coach

• 12. D.J. McCarthy, LSU receivers coach

• 11. Lorenzo Ward, South Carolina defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

Lane Kiffin has built a coaching staff the Tennessee fans are giddy about -- and with good reason.

In particular, he was able to raid a few SEC rival staffs of their best recruiters.

Doing that is one thing. But gloating about it after you do it tends to have a lasting effect, especially in this league.

Listen to what Kiffin had to say after luring Lance Thompson away from the Alabama staff and Frank Wilson from the Mississippi State staff. Kiffin also hired former Auburn coach Eddie Gran and former South Carolina recruiting coordinator David Reaves, who's Kiffin's brother-in-law.

"To be able to take South Carolina's recruiting coordinator, Mississippi State's recruiting coordinator, Alabama's best recruiter and Auburn's best recruiter over the past 10 years was a great accomplishment for us," Kiffin said after completing his staff. "Once again, I would like to thank (athletic director) Mike Hamilton, the athletic department and our donors for making this possible."

The salaries for Tennessee's new coaching staff are expected to exceed $3 million, which doesn't count Kiffin's $2 million salary.

Who says these are tough economic times? Obviously, they're not at Tennessee.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

New Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin said he was going to take his time hiring his coaching staff, and he did.

But on Friday, Kiffin put the finishing touches on that staff, reaching agreements with Frank Wilson to coach receivers and Willie Garza to coach the secondary. Wilson had recently been hired at Mississippi State, but chose to reunite with Ed Orgeron at Tennessee. Wilson worked under Orgeron all three seasons at Ole Miss from 2005-07.

Garza was the defensive coordinator at North Dakota State last season and appeared to be headed to New Mexico before latching on with the Vols.

Earlier on Friday, Kiffin reached an agreement with former Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran to coach running backs at Tennessee. Gran also coached special teams at Auburn.

Kiffin's staff is laden with guys who've had success on the recruiting trail in the SEC. He also declined to keep anyone on Phillip Fulmer's previous staff at Tennessee. There was some thought that running backs coach Stan Drayton might be retained, but it appears now that he may end up at Syracuse.

The Vols are expected to pay more than $3 million in salaries for their staff, which doesn't include Kiffin's $2 million salary.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

It has taken Lane Kiffin a while, but he's close to completing his staff at Tennessee. His latest hire is former Auburn running backs coach Eddie Gran, another guy with strong recruiting ties.

That's been a recurring theme with just about everybody Kiffin has hired, starting with his recruiting coordinator, former Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron, who's one of the most renowned recruiters in the country.

Gran was with Tommy Tuberville at Ole Miss and Auburn. In addition to coaching the running backs, he was Auburn's special teams coordinator from 2000 through this past season.

Kiffin is also making a run at Frank Wilson, who was recently hired at Mississippi State by Dan Mullen. Wilson was the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator at Southern Miss last season, but was with Orgeron all three seasons at Ole Miss as the running backs coach and assistant special teams coach.

Wilson has deep recruiting ties in the New Orleans area as well as the Gulf Coast area in the state of Mississippi. Wilson would coach receivers at Tennessee.

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

New Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen has added another former head coach to his staff.

Carl Torbush, North Carolina's head coach from 1998-2000, was announced by the school Tuesday as one of three new assistants on Mullen's staff. Torbush is expected to be the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator, although Mullen has yet to announce specific duties.

Torbush has been assistant head coach for the past three seasons at Division II power Carson-Newman, his alma mater. He was also the defensive coordinator at Alabama and Texas A&M under Dennis Franchione, who fired Torbush at Texas A&M following the 2005 season.

Earlier this month, Mullen announced former North Alabama head coach Mark Hudspeth, who's expected to be the Bulldogs' passing game coordinator.

Mullen doesn't have any head coaching experience, so he's obviously making a concerted effort to surround himself with guys who've been down that road.

Torbush also knows his way around the SEC. In addition to spending a couple of years at Alabama, he was the defensive coordinator at Ole Miss in the 1980s. He put together defenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina and Alabama that ranked at the top of their respective conferences in total defense.

Southern Miss co-recruiting coordinator Frank Wilson was also named to the Mississippi State staff on Tuesday. Matt Balis will be the Bulldogs' strength and conditioning coach. He comes to Mississippi State from Virginia.