ESPN College Football

We asked you on Tuesday to vote for the most hated coach in SEC history -- past or present.

We're all about the love here on the SEC blog, but this is after all "Hate Week" at ESPN.com. Seriously, this is all done in fun, and some of your responses were priceless.

Here's a sampling:

Drew in Greenville, S.C., writes: I don't think there is any doubt that Lane Kiffin is the clear winner (loser). The two glaring differences between Kiffin and all the other candidates is that he left the program in shambles and he didn't win anything. All the other coaches had success at their respective schools and Kiffin never sniffed success. With Kiffin at the helm, if felt like I was always having to defend my school's decision to hire that clown. Currently, Dooley may not be winning much, but at least I don't have to defend him for his lack of honor.

Darth Tripous writes: The most hated SEC coach has to be Lane Kiffin. My hope is that one day Alshon Jeffery will say to Kiffin, "Fill 'er up please."

Mike in Mandeville, La., writes: I'm down on Nick Saban, but not for the reasons most LSU dislike him. I just need to look at the last play of his tenure at LSU, the Iowa "Hail Mary." Saban was DB coach and that garbage could happen? Nicky was always pulling boneheaded stunts, only saved by the awesome talent he recruited. Anyone remember his annual inability to pick a starting QB? How about UAB 13 LSU 10? The 2000 Arkansas game he failed to use a time out to punt with the wind and ended up with a 3-yarder to start the 2nd quarter? How about 4th & inches at his own 27 during the 2001 SEC title game? The dog show from 2002 that started in Auburn and culminated in the Cotton Bowl loss to Texas? 2003 Florida? UGa 2004? Nick seems to have learned a great deal from the NFL, but the poor in-game calls that cost LSU from 2000-2004 will always have Lil' Nicky No. 1 on my dog list!

R.J. in Portland, Ore., writes: The biggest SEC villain is no doubt Nick (the dictator) Saban. He oversigns, ruthlessly cuts players, has hissy fits in front of the media and undermines them. Not to mention he compares losses to horrific tragedies such as Pearl Harbor and has a terrible personality. The guy is everything that is wrong with college football.

Jason in Athens, Ga., writes: By far, it's the "Evil Genius" now at South Carolina. Being a lifelong DAWG fan, I despised him when he was at Florida, when we could only pull out one win in the 90's (1997: behind Bobo and Edwards running the show). And now he has gotten the best of us the past few years for sure. But as much as I wish he would leave, I have respect for him because he is without a question one of the best college football coaches in history. Anyone who can win an ACC championship with Duke is a helluva ball coach.

Sam in Athens, Ga., writes: Spurrier is still the most hated coach in the SEC for his snide comments. Saban may be despised by Auburn fans, but the rest of the league recognizes he is simply the best coach in college football today.

Byrd in Houston, Texas writes: How can anyone beat out Tommy Tuberville for the most hated coach? Ole Miss hates him for leaving. Bama hates him for beating them more often than not. Auburn hates him for "losing" toward the end of his tenure. The rest of the SEC hates him. Close second: Jackie Sherrill.

Chris in Tampa, Fla., writes: It's Gene Chizik. He has a terrible record and a bought national title. But, somehow, he has the puppet Auburn fans dancing on his string.

Barry in Charleston, Tenn., writes: James Franklin is the coach I despise most. Dirty on the field and talks too much off it, especially for a program that has always been awful. I hope Candy's fans realize he won't be there once he gets a better offer from somewhere else.

Brian in Washington, D.C., writes: Saban. Period. Petrino would make the discussion if he still met the employment requirement. Without him, there is no argument.

Trevor writes: Gotta be Derek Dooley. He makes horrible remarks about Vanderbilt, has no originality, and let's face it, who really does like the orange pants? Even Johnny Majors still cringes at the thought of orange pants. Spurrier would be a close second.

Michael in Eden Prairie, Minn., writes: Pat Dye for sure. He was the one who turned my Gators into the NCAA in the early 1980s for paying players while the whole time doing it himself. Remember Eric Ramsey?

Realdawgsnocowbell writes: Does it have to be a head coach? How about Willie Martinez?

John in Baton Rouge, La., writes: There have been many coaches in the SEC that are so much fun to hate. For me, though it's none other than Phil Fulmer. Of all his accomplishments and successes, the first thing that comes to my mind is a particular game played Sept. 26, 2005. It was an extremely hot Monday night after Hurricane Rita. It was my freshman year at LSU and my first time in the student section. With the community recently rocked by two hurricanes, everyone was excited to have a game to watch in Tiger Stadium. Sadly, we squandered a 21-point lead and fell in overtime. I remember clearly the sight of Gerald Riggs scoring the winning touchdown and the moment of dead silence that came over the crowd as we realized what had just happened. Tennessee then planted their flag at midfield and Coach Fulmer in his post game interview said that Rick Clausen was now the greatest story in America . It wasn't the greatest story in America. The greatest story in America at the moment had just been ruined. Ever since, Fulmer has been the coach that I loved to root against!

Jordan in Birmingham, Ala., writes: Without a doubt, the most hated coach to ever come through the SEC is Phillip Fulmer! Roll Tide!

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.

When you start selecting coaching villains, so much of it gets back to who's doing the selecting.

For instance, in the realm of the Alabama Football Nation, good luck in finding somebody who doesn't revere Nick Saban. Of course, the folks in and around the 334 area code in that state probably haven't spent a lot of time posing for pictures with Saban's statue at Bryant-Denny Stadium.

Steve Spurrier is one of the most refreshing and funny figures in all of college football. That is, unless your team has been on the wrong end of one of his zingers after he's beaten you a bunch of times in a row.

Something says Urban Meyer isn't as popular these days in Florida as he was in 2008 when he was putting the finishing touches on the Gators' second national championship in three years.

And would anybody in the SEC stop to lend a hand to Lane Kiffin if he were broken down on the side of the road? Alshon Jeffery might pump his gas for him, but that's a story for another day.

Anyway, you get the idea.

Now it's on you, the fans, to tell us via our SportsNation poll who gets the top prize as the SEC's most hated coach -- past or present.

We've come up with five choices.

We'll review the results later this week.

ESPN 150 defensive end Tashawn Bower stops by to update his recruiting, plus the latest on OU, why Lane Kiffin's back in Tennessee, how Hawaii is taking Florida prospects and much, much more.

The Pac-12 is the conference of quarterbacks. The SEC is all about defense.

Oh, and winning national championships.

But as good as the defenses are in the SEC, what role does poor-to-middling offense play in that perception? As in, what would happen if those defenses played against a series of future NFL quarterbacks, as Pac-12 (and Big 12) defenses do?

The question before us is this: How would USC quarterback Matt Barkley do against those rough-tough SEC defenses?

Ted Miller: It’s sort of a chicken and the egg question. Are SEC defenses so good because they rarely play against A-list quarterbacks? Or do Pac-12 quarterbacks pile up eye-popping numbers because they don’t play against SEC defenses?

Is it more notable that four of the top 11 quarterbacks in the nation in terms of passing efficiency in 2011 were from the Pac-12, compared to none in the top 20 from the SEC? Or is it more important that six SEC defenses ranked in the top 17 in pass efficiency defense compared to zero for the Pac-12?

It’s hard to say. It’s likely a person’s home -- Los Angeles or Baton Rouge -- has a large influence on his or her opinion.

Pac-12 fans would be prone to point out: In 2005, LSU ranked No. 3 in the nation in passing efficiency defense. But in the Tigers' trip to Tempe that season, Arizona State’s Sam Keller completed 35 of 56 passes for 461 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions in a 35-31 defeat.

Or this: LSU’s defense did a nice job against Oregon’s offense in the 2011 season opener. Of course, the Ducks scored more points on LSU than ANY OF THE OTHER 13 TEAMS LSU PLAYED.

Apologies for the caps lock. Reckless typing.

While we can all acknowledge the SEC -- at least the elite teams -- play better defense than the rest of the nation, it is also worth noting that when future first-round NFL draft picks played quarterback in the SEC, they put up good numbers, whether we’re talking about the Manning brothers, Matt Stafford or Cam Newton. And I’m sure, one day in the future --perhaps this decade! -- we’ll be able to add a name to that list.

There are some nice quartebacks in the SEC: Tyler Wilson, AJ McCarron and Aaron Murray. All three seem like they’d have a good chance of winning the backup job at USC. Maybe.

Chris Low: No way am I going to argue that Barkley wouldn't have success in the SEC.

He's a future pro and probably the front-runner to win the Heisman Trophy in 2012.

The question is: How much success would he have, and would he hit the proverbial wall going against SEC defenses on a weekly basis?

My feeling is that all quarterbacks hit that wall. Any coach will tell you (ask your buddy Lane Kiffin) that what separates SEC defenses is the speed in the front seven, particularly in the defensive line. There are fast players all over the country in college football, but the SEC has cornered the market on fast, explosive defensive linemen and pass-rushers who also have the size and strength to overpower people.

That's the difference, and that's where Barkley would notice the greatest difference.

It wasn't a banner year for quarterbacks in the SEC last season. And, yes, I realize that's an understatement. But it was a banner year for premier defensive players. That's why the first round of the NFL draft next month is going to look like an SEC who's who. As many as 10 SEC defensive players could go in the first round.

Don't sleep on the SEC's quarterback class this coming season, either. Wilson may be a future first-rounder. Murray has thrown nearly 60 touchdown passes in his first two seasons, and we all saw what McCarron did in the BCS title game against an LSU defense that was outstanding.

Barkley's a big-time talent, no question. But it's a different game when you're trying to throw from your back.

And in this league, ALL QUARTERBACKS (sorry, my caps tend to lock up, too) encounter that problem.

Ted Miller: Truth is, Wilson, Murray and McCarron are good quarterbacks who look like guys with NFL futures. Loved how McCarron handled the pressure of the title game, and Murray has Pac-12-type talent.

We're trash talking here, but if you can't acknowledge what is real, well, then it's just noise.

And the reality of this debate is this: Barkley would be more challenged on a weekly basis by SEC defenses than by Pac-12 defenses -- which I believe are underrated but still a step behind the SEC for the reasons the Inimitable Low mentioned above. If Barkley played at Vanderbilt, Mississippi State or Kentucky, he'd just be the best quarterback in the history of those programs while leading those teams to "historic" seasons. Like a third-place finish in their divisions.

Yet what makes Barkley, Barkley is not just Barkley. It's USC. It's his supporting cast. It's receivers Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, who will both have NFL careers. And two tight ends who will also. And a good offensive line, and a 1,000-yard rusher who averaged 6.9 yards per carry in 2011 (Curtis McNeal).

By the way, if you wonder where USC's true potential Achilles heel is this year, it's the defensive line. The Trojans have three A-listers -- guys who would be touted in the SEC -- but are thin thereafter. That's a problem for a team that views itself as a national title contender.

That's ultimately the rub here, too. If all goes according to plan, Barkley and USC should be in position to play for the national title. It's hard to imagine that wouldn't be against another SEC team.

Now, Chris, wouldn't it be fun if it were USC and LSU? Recall that in 2003, LSU won 1/16 of the national title when no one in the entire world thought LSU was better than USC, other than computers obviously loaded with all sorts of viruses.

Or USC-Alabama? Great history, and Saban versus Barkley & Co. would certainly attract plenty of eyeballs.

Chris Low: One of the most compelling things that could happen to college football next season would be for USC and Barkley to take their shot at an SEC defense in the money game.

Then, we could quit debating and let it play out on the field. As much as I knew that Alabama and LSU were the two best teams in the country last season, there was a part of me that wanted to see Oklahoma State against either the Alabama or LSU defense in the BCS title game.

It's the matchup we all want to see: A high-powered offense versus a suffocating defense.

Maybe that's what we'll be treated to this fall.

Of course, I go back to the 2010 national title game, and Oregon had been short-circuiting scoreboards all season long. The Ducks go up against an Auburn defense that had been opportunistic, but wasn't one of the best in the SEC that season statistically. But in that game, Auburn put the clamps on Oregon and won 22-19.

The Tigers won because the Ducks couldn't block Nick Fairley.

And that's what the Trojans would run into if they find themselves up against an SEC team next January in Miami.

It won't come down to Barkley. Sure, he'll make a few plays. He's legit. But what it will come down to is the group of guys blocking for Barkley, and that's where it always gets ugly against SEC defenses.

In the meantime, just make sure the Trojans get there. They've been known to stumble along the way, and what we're left with is a bunch of hollow chatter about what they would have done (or could have done) had they made it to the party.

We'll check the guest list in December and chat again then.

A check of what's shaking in the SEC:

USC's Lane Kiffin jokes concerning Tennessee's struggles: "Are you sure I didn't get blamed for the Kentucky game."

Former LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson will get a chance to show what he can do at the NFL combine.

Former Tennessee running back Tauren Poole is acting on the feedback of the scouts.

Auburn is reportedly pursuing former Maryland offensive lineman Max Garcia.

Georgia intends to offer multi-year scholarships in time for the spring signing period.

There's some chatter that Georgia's Ray Drew could be moving to defensive end.

New Ole Miss offensive line coach Matt Luke is ready to do some experimenting.

Pat Washington, who previously coached in the SEC at Tennessee and played at Auburn, is reportedly Tee Martin's replacement at Kentucky.

Florida's Will Muschamp hosts a Texas-style roundup.

Urban Meyer's old home in Gainesville, Fla., is on the market for $1.7 million.

Lane Kiffin left the SEC a few years ago, but he still goes head-to-head with some of the SEC schools for recruits ... and coaches.

His latest acquisition was prying Tee Martin away from Kentucky to be the Trojans' receivers coach.

It's a big loss for Kentucky, where Martin had been promoted to passing game coordinator prior to the 2011 season. Martin was one of the Wildcats' most dynamic recruiters, and his success on the recruiting trail was one of the main reasons Kiffin came calling.

Martin, who quarterbacked Tennessee to the 1998 national championship, has made a rapid ascent through the coaching ranks. Prior to his two seasons at Kentucky, Martin had spent just one season coaching at an FBS program when he was the quarterbacks coach at New Mexico in 2009.

Interestingly enough, Martin was never a serious candidate for any of his alma mater's six assistant coaching positions this year. Tennessee coach Derek Dooley made six coaching hires since the end of the 2011 season, and Martin said he didn't receive a call or an offer from Tennessee at any point.

One of the new hires Dooley did bring in was former Tennessee star running back Jay Graham, who will coach the Vols' running backs.

Talk about the irony of all ironies.

Urban Meyer is being called out again by one of the rival coaches in his league about recruiting tactics.

Remember the firestorm Lane Kiffin started almost three years ago to the date when he accused Meyer of cheating, albeit wrongly, during a post-signing day celebration?

That was an SEC tussle. Meyer was at Florida at the time and Kiffin at Tennessee for his 14 months of scorched earth detail.

It made for some pretty captivating theatre, as Kiffin was clearly doing anything and everything he could to get under Meyer’s skin. What ended up happening was that Kiffin got under SEC commissioner Mike Slive’s skin more than anybody, which led to Kiffin being officially reprimanded by the SEC and landing a permanent spot in Slive’s doghouse.

Now, here we are three years later, and Kiffin is at USC, where he’s toned it down considerably and done a terrific job coaching the Trojans despite severe NCAA sanctions, and Meyer is just wrapping up his first recruiting class, a star-studded one, at Ohio State.

This time, it’s Wisconsin’s Bret Bielema accusing Meyer of “illegal” recruiting tactics, although Bielema declined to be specific. One of the things that apparently irked Bielema was Meyer taking offensive lineman Kyle Dodson away from Wisconsin when Dodson had been committed to the Badgers.

That doesn’t exactly qualify as illegal, but it does qualify as being funny, especially to those of us in SEC locales.

Come on, they’re squabbling in the Big Ten about one school stealing another school’s recruits?

In the SEC, that’s a pre-requisite for recruiting. They give courses in this league on how to flip players and how to make your school look really good and the school(s) you’re recruiting against look really bad.

Some call it negative recruiting. Others call it surviving in the dog-eat-dog world of the SEC.

It’s a big-boy league, and that’s not changing any time soon.

Meyer knows that better than anyone. The pressure to win in this league is mind-numbing and never subsides. It’s one of the main reasons he’s no longer coaching in the SEC, although the football games on Saturdays at Ohio State generally rise above the level of just another extracurricular activity.

Perhaps the most telling thing to come out of this whole ordeal was Bielema’s quote to Matt Hayes of The Sporting News.

“I can tell you this: We at the Big Ten don’t want to be like the SEC -- in any way, shape or form,” Bielema said.

As Hayes points out in his piece, Bielema was referring to recruiting tactics and not necessarily the success the SEC has had on the field, specifically winning six straight BCS national championships.

Hey, Bielema is truly one of the good guys in the coaching profession and has done a bang-up job at Wisconsin.

But the truth is that until the Big Ten quits worrying so much about how the SEC goes about its business and instead gets down to the business of winning some games that count, any comparison of the two leagues is pointless.

And that’s in any way, shape or form.

Lane Kiffin's battles with Florida were pretty entertaining when he was at Tennessee. Now, thousands of miles away, Kiffin is still frustrating the Gators.

Wednesday, Kiffin and his USC Trojans staff nabbed two top Florida prospects from the Gators when No. 5 defensive tackle Leonard Williams (Daytona Beach, Fla./Mainland) and No. 6 wide receiver Nelson Agholor (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley) both signed with USC. Each was thought to have Florida and USC as their final two schools.

Kiffin certainly isn't a stranger to recruiting in this part of the country and he hit the Gators at two positions of need, especially with Agholor, who might have competed for immediate playing time with all of Florida's unproven wide receivers.

Now, Florida will hold out a lot of hope for No. 3 athlete Stefon Diggs (Olney, Md./Our Lady of Good Counsel), who will make his college decision on Feb. 10. Diggs is expected to play wide receiver in college, and Florida needs a top-flight receiver in this class. The Gators only have two wide receivers in their 2012 class, in No. 24 WR Latroy Pittman (Citra, Fla./North Marion) and No. 152 Raphael Andrades (Tallahassee, Fla./Lincoln).

Making the rounds in the SEC on a Monday:

• Lane Kiffin's celebrated 2009 recruiting class at Tennessee proves to be a bust.
• The SEC is learning to live with the new 25-player signing cap.
• The recruitment of former Georgia commitment Chester Brown is "still open."
• Ole Miss landed five commitments over the weekend.
• Quay Evans, one of the most coveted defensive linemen in the country, is already enrolled in school at Mississippi State and will participate in spring practice.
• Quarterback Patrick Towles, Mr. Football in the state of Kentucky, headlines the Wildcats' 2012 recruiting class.
• Vanderbilt is attempting to play prevent defense on the recruiting front.
• Auburn is still chasing several recruits as national signing day nears.
• Arkansas' brand and success on the field have helped the Hogs' recruiting.

One thing's for sure about Alabama coach Nick Saban when it comes to hiring assistant coaches: He's flexible.

Look at his last two hires.

New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier comes to Alabama after spending the last three seasons as Washington's offensive coordinator. Nussmeier has never previously worked under Saban, although Nussmeier has worked with people Saban has worked with, including former Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain, the man Nussmeier is replacing.

Nussmeier and McElwain also previously worked as offensive coordinators at Fresno State under former Fresno State coach Pat Hill, who told The Birmingham News that Nussmeier had a lot of the same qualities as McElwain. Hill and Saban worked together as assistants with the Cleveland Browns in the early 1990s.

Then there's new outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson, who's embarking on his third different stint under Saban. Not only that, but Thompson left Alabama following the 2008 season for a job on Tennessee's staff when Lane Kiffin assembled the highest-paid collection of assistant coaches in the country.

Thompson worked for Saban at LSU in 2002 and 2003 before rejoining him at Alabama in 2007. Thompson spent the last three seasons on the Vols' staff, but wasn't considered by Derek Dooley for the defensive coordinator's job and was looking to get out. It just so happened that Alabama had an opening after Sal Sunseri was hired as the Vols' new defensive coordinator.

So, in essence, the Crimson Tide and Vols swapped.

There's also a back story here that will no doubt be downplayed at Alabama now that Thompson is back with the Crimson Tide.

But remember Kiffin's loudmouthed tour around the state of Tennessee following national signing day in 2009?

It's when he made his infamous comments about Urban Meyer allegedly cheating in an attempt to get Nu'Keese Richardson. Of course, Kiffin was dead wrong in his understanding of the NCAA rules (imagine that) and wound up being reprimanded by the SEC.

During that same "signing day celebration" tour, Thompson also reportedly popped off about Saban and referred to Saban as the "other guy."

And according to the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Thompson boasted to a crowd in Knoxville of Saban: "He ain't getting any more of my (recruits)."

Kiffin added: "Nick Saban should have started his (signing day) press conference by saying, 'Our great class that we signed ... I'd really like to thank Lance (Thompson) because Lance signed eight of those guys.' "

It's merely a guess, but something says Saban and Thompson won't be doing any signing day tours around the state of Alabama this February.

But Thompson's return to the Capstone is proof that Saban can forgive and forget, and it's also worth noting that Thompson's reasons for leaving Alabama the first time weren't all football-related.

Either way, he's back and has a clean slate, and if he recruits the way he did the last time he was at Alabama, nobody in that state will even remember his time in orange.

It's the middle of the week, so games are only days away. Check out some links while you wait.

• The grand jury will decide on the next step for LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson and linebacker Josh Johns in the bar fight case later today.
• Now that the SEC has its 13th member, the conference enters a whole new world with unanswered questions about expansion.
• Mike Herndon of The Mobile Press-Register writes that Alabama is just as impressive as LSU after the first four weeks of the season.
• Vanderbilt starting outside linebacker Tristan Strong is out for the season after suffering a knee injury against South Carolina over the weekend.
• Former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin claims to have no knowledge of alleged violation of former Vols assistant Willie Mack Garza.
• True freshman Quan Bray will get his shot at receiver with Trovon Reed out with an injury.
• Despite the weapons Arkansas has on offense, it is still searching for answers on that side of the ball.
• Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen is keeping things fresh with his team heading into the Georgia game.
• Even with all the on-field troubles quarterback Stephen Garcia has had this season, his South Carolina teammates are still supporting him.
• Struggling Ole Miss is having to rely heavily on junior punter Tyler Campbell this season.
• Florida center Jonotthan Harrison is confident Florida will be able to run the ball against Alabama this weekend.
• The future of sophomore cornerback Derek Owens with Georgia's football program is uncertain.
• Despite some offensive struggles, Kentucky's offensive line is starting to come together.

Lane Kiffin’s tenure at Tennessee is a lot like that wet dog smell in your basement.

Even though the dog might be long gone, the stench remains.

You clean, get new carpet, get new furniture, disinfect the place and essentially do everything you can to get rid of the smell.

And while it’s not nearly as pungent, the smell never completely goes away.

Even worse, it’s on those days when your family members and closest friends are over to celebrate some special occasion that the smell drifts back around and hovers.

Given Tennessee’s latest NCAA troubles, who could blame second-year coach Derek Dooley and the Vols’ beleaguered fan base for wondering if there will ever be any true closure to Kiffin’s short, but turbulent, stay on Rocky Top?

He was in Knoxville for 14 months. But to those who came in behind him and those orange-hearted souls who’ve weathered the embarrassing fallout since his departure, it probably seems more like 14 years.

With this latest news first reported by Yahoo! Sports, it sounds like another official letter of inquiry from the NCAA is headed Tennessee’s way. Consider it Kiffin's latest gift to the Vols' program.

The NCAA has already been in touch with Tennessee after talent scout Will Lyles told the NCAA that he received a $1,500 wire transfer from former Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Mack Garza in 2009 for recruit Lache Seastrunk and his mother to make an unofficial recruiting trip to Tennessee.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Lyles told NCAA investigators about the payment in August, and Tennessee spokesman Jimmy Stanton confirmed that Tennessee had been notified verbally about an issue involving the former staff member and a recruit that never attended Tennessee.

Tennessee officials were just in Indianapolis in June appearing before the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions, wrapping up a two-year investigation into recruiting practices by former basketball coach Bruce Pearl as well as Kiffin and his staff.

The university self-imposed two years of probation, although the NCAA decided not to levy any additional penalties on the football program.

There was a collective sigh of relief on the banks of the Tennessee River when that ruling came down earlier this month.

But now this.

You can bet that Dooley is done with all of it, the fact that he’s having to deal with all this scrutiny and negative attention on the recruiting front when he had nothing to do with any of it.

It’s hard enough to recruit in the SEC, but try recruiting when you’ve got another NCAA investigation hanging over your head.

In this case, Tennessee isn’t subject to repeat violator status because this infraction would have occurred before the Vols were placed on their current probation.

But this is also a major violation, which means Tennessee could easily be looking at a loss of scholarships.

The NCAA has been more prone lately to go after the coaches who are committing these violations, which means Kiffin could also face some recruiting restrictions at USC.

Garza went with Kiffin from Tennessee to USC, but was sent packing by the Trojans earlier this month after Lyles told his story to the NCAA.

It’s understandable that Tennessee fans would suggest that they’ve already been punished enough, and that Kiffin, who is long gone, is the one who brought on all this scrutiny to the Vols’ program.

That’s true, but Tennessee also hired Kiffin and bears a certain responsibility for doing so, which includes paying the price for any improprieties that might have occurred on his watch in Knoxville.

The interesting question now is what all will Garza have to say, especially since he’s no longer at USC.

We know Lyles is singing pretty loudly to the NCAA, which can’t be too comforting for some of the other schools he’s been connected to such as Oregon and LSU.

And to cap it all, what about the comments of Seastrunk’s mother to Yahoo! Sports?

She said publicly what a lot of people have been saying privately for a long time.

“Whatever undercover dirty stuff that they're doing, I'm pretty sure that Willie Lyles is not the only person. He's just the only one that's been caught," Evelyn Seastrunk told Yahoo! Sports. "This is something that they've been doing forever."

Tennessee hopes to settle this latest issue through summary disposition, which means the Vols wouldn’t have to face the NCAA’s Committee on Infractions again.

Whatever happens, Kiffin has certainly left his mark on Tennessee.

And it’s one the Vols are having a dastardly time getting rid of.

Former Tennessee assistant Willie Mack Garza paid for former top recruit -- and Oregon running back -- Lache Seastrunk and his mother to fly to Knoxville for an unofficial recruiting trip during Lane Kiffin's tenure at the school, Yahoo! Sports reported Monday night.

Yahoo! Sports reported that Garza wired $1,500 to now infamous recruiting scout Will Lyles in July 2009, and the money was used for plane tickets for Seastrunk and his mother, Evelyn.

Garza followed Kiffin when he took over at Southern California, but the secondary coach resigned on Sept. 1, citing "personal issues unrelated to USC."

Here is what Tennessee spokesman Jimmy Stanton told Yahoo! Sports about the incident:

"We are aware of the situation as is the conference office. We've been verbally contacted by the NCAA enforcement staff regarding a recruiting issue in 2009 related to the former coaching staff and a student-athlete who never attended Tennessee.

"We believe, as does the conference office, that this matter is not subject to the repeat offender provision."

Making the rounds on a Thursday:

• Baton Rouge police took shoes from Jordan Jefferson's apartment and are trying to match a footprint on the shirt of one of the four alleged victims.
• It's been a rocky offseason for LSU heading into the 2011 season, writes Glenn Guilbeau of Gannett Louisiana News.
• What can't South Carolina junior defensive end Devin Taylor do?
• South Carolina senior cornerback Akeem Auguste returns for his first action of the preseason.
• Young guys are answering the call on Auburn's defensive line.
• David Climer of The Tennessean writes that Tennessee escaped the worst from the NCAA.
• Former All-SEC safety Janzen Jackson runs out of chances at Tennessee.
• Ole Miss' offensive line is drawing some high praise, but still has a lot to prove.
• Filling the hole at left offensive tackle won't be easy for Mississippi State.
• Trent Richardson embraces the leadership role this season at Alabama.
• Georgia wraps up preseason camp with a "practice game."
• Kentucky's Joker Phillips and Louisville's Charlie Strong are friendly rivals, writes John Clay of The Lexington Herald-Leader.
• Florida coach Will Muschamp doesn't hide his disappointment with the Gators' scrimmage on Wednesday.
• Arkansas' defenders are anxious to hit the quarterback.