ESPN College Football

Friday means the weekend is almost here. Let's check out a few links:

• Tennessee coach Derek Dooley knows the Vols' quarterback situation this season will be a work in progress with nobody on campus who's ever taken a snap in an SEC game.
• Jeremiah Masoli still faces a few obstacles if he's going to be playing at Ole Miss this season, writes David Brandt of The Jackson Clarion-Ledger.
• Raymond Cotton gets his release from Ole Miss and plans to transfer to South Alabama.
• All those opponents' open dates aren't enough to shut down Alabama, writes Kevin Scarbinsky of The Birmingham News.
• South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier isn't letting go of the Connecticut loss in last season's bowl game.
• LSU running back Richard Murphy is looking for a big senior season after watching from the sideline last season with a torn ACL.
• Auburn sets its August practice schedule.

Not that Ole Miss' Houston Nutt necessarily needs my advice, but he might want to tread lightly as he scrambles to find a quarterback.

The Rebels are down to just two scholarship quarterbacks after backup Raymond Cotton left the team this past Saturday. Cotton was granted his release and plans to transfer after apparently convincing himself that he wasn’t going to get much of a chance to play behind Nathan Stanley.

Now, all of a sudden, former Oregon quarterback Jeremiah Masoli is back on Nutt’s radar, about a week after Nutt said the Rebels had no interest in pursuing Masoli, who was kicked off Oregon’s team after two run-ins with the law, including a second-degree burglary charge.

Nutt has been down this road before. He took a chance on former Florida safety Jamar Hornsby last year, and it blew up in the Rebels’ faces.

Hornsby was booted from the Gators’ team after being charged with the fraudulent use of a dead Florida student’s credit card. She was killed in a motorcycle accident and just happened to be the girlfriend of Hornsby’s then-teammate, Joe Haden.

The Rebels took a chance and signed the troubled Hornsby after a stopover at junior college, and he was in trouble again not even a month later. He was indicted on a felony assault charge, and Nutt had no choice but to dismiss him from the team.

In Nutt’s defense, he’s not the first coach, nor will he be the last coach, to take a chance on a talented player with a troubled past.

But to do it two years in a row is tempting fate.

Make no mistake: Nutt has to have another quarterback. The Rebels’ backup right now is junior college transfer Randall Mackey, who wasn’t in Oxford for spring practice and was probably going to factor in as a specialty player this season.

An injury to Stanley could be disastrous, which is why Nutt is exploring every avenue.

It doesn’t sound as if Masoli is necessarily at the top of his list, but he’s certainly on the list.

Is he worth the risk?

Well, he only has one year of eligibility remaining, and you can’t help but wonder what effect the addition of Masoli would have on Ole Miss’ team chemistry.

I can’t imagine Masoli would come to Ole Miss for a season and be content with being the backup. Likewise, I can’t imagine Stanley and the guys on the team who’ve lined up behind him would be enamored with Masoli popping in and taking over the starting spot.

What’s more, this isn’t going to be a decision Nutt makes on his own. The Ole Miss administration, including the chancellor, would likely have to sign off on bringing Masoli aboard.

There’s the risk/reward factor here for everybody.

Where does it leave Nutt in the eyes of his bosses if he gets the clearance to bring Masoli aboard and he gets in trouble again?

Either way, it’s a tough call for Nutt, who already had to kick off one of his more promising younger players (receiver Patrick Patterson) earlier this year for violating team rules.

The other thing is that Nutt doesn’t have much time to look elsewhere, and the pickings are slim this close to the start of preseason practice.

Is gambling on Masoli worth it?

We’re going to find out.

Everybody has wrapped up spring practice in the SEC, and it's time to look at some of the superlatives of the last two months:

Best spring game performance: It's hard to pick just one. Alabama defensive end Marcell Dareus had two tackles for loss, including a sack, and two quarterback hurries. Florida quarterback John Brantley was 15-of-19 for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Arkansas receiver Jarius Wright had seven catches for 118 yards, including a 47-yard touchdown. Ole Miss backup quarterback Raymond Cotton was 5-of-7 for 178 yards with touchdown passes of 80 and 61 yards, while LSU running back Stevan Ridley rushed for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Best performance by a freshman: Florida went all the way out to California to land prized cornerback Joshua Shaw, and he didn't wait long to make his presence felt. Staking a claim to the starting job opposite Janoris Jenkins, Shaw had a team-high eight tackles in the spring game to go along with an interception.

Best performance by an offensive newcomer: Quarterback Cameron Newton arrived at Auburn with a lot of hype. But he was all substance during the spring in playing his way to the top of the depth chart.

Best performance by a defensive newcomer: Ole Miss defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix can't wait to turn safety Damien Jackson loose in the Rebels' defense. Jackson was everywhere this spring after coming over from junior college.

Best position battle: The race to fill Joe Haden's vacated spot at cornerback will extend into the preseason at Florida. Senior Moses Jenkins got most of the first-team work in the spring, but sophomore Jeremy Brown would probably get the nod at this point, assuming his back problems don't flare up in the fall. Shaw may have the most upside. He just needs experience. Sophomore Adrian Bushell also remains a possibility if he can get everything squared away off the field.

Best position move: LSU's Russell Shepard has given up the quarterback thing and is now concentrating fully on receiver. The Tigers need to be concentrating on getting him the ball.

Best spring game atmosphere: Maybe there will come a day again when Alabama doesn't draw 90,000-plus to Bryant-Denny Stadium for an A-Day spring game. But that day doesn't figure to be anytime soon.

Best blowup: The runaway winner was Urban Meyer's "You're a bad guy" lambasting of Orlando Sentinel beat reporter Jeremy Fowler, whose "crime" was correctly quoting receiver Deonte Thompson concerning the differences between Tim Tebow and John Brantley as quarterbacks. Meyer later apologized and said he was simply protecting one of his players.

Best swan song: Georgia redshirt freshman Zach Mettenberger threw a pair of touchdown passes in the Bulldogs' spring game and looked good doing it, but was gone eight days later when coach Mark Richt dismissed him from the team.

Best camera work: Thanks to all of my volunteers on the road this spring who did a little camera work for the video interviews of players and coaches. Showing what a Renaissance man he truly is, even Julio Jones got into the act in Tuscaloosa.

Best quote: "You look at coach [Nick] Saban's first year at Alabama, and he didn't win against us, and now all of a sudden, they've won two years against us, and you hear all sorts of things, like they're going to own Auburn the next couple of years. I'm telling you … that's not going to be the case." -- Auburn linebacker Josh Bynes

Nathan Stanley says he was as surprised as anyone when he got the news in January that Jevan Snead was turning pro.

He knew Snead was thinking about it, but like most people, felt like Snead would return to Ole Miss for his senior season.

“I found out when I got back from Christmas break,” Stanley said. “The first thing that goes through your mind is that you didn’t really see it coming. Then you think, ‘Wow, he’s leaving. This is my shot, my chance. I’m going to have to buckle down.’ ”

Stanley, a 6-foot-5, 215-pound sophomore, did just that for much of the spring and established himself as the clear-cut starter at quarterback. Redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton also played well, particularly in the spring game, but he’s got a lingering shoulder problem.

The Rebels are hopeful that Cotton will be able to make it through the season before having surgery, but there are no guarantees.

For now, Stanley is the only sure thing, although junior college newcomer Randall Mackey is set to arrive this summer.

“The main thing for me this spring was getting out there and earning everyone’s trust,” Stanley said. “Everyone looks to the quarterback to be the leader of the offense, and I knew I had to step up and prove that I was that guy.”

Snead threw 20 touchdown passes last season, but he also threw 20 interceptions. And 15 of those interceptions came in SEC contests.

When the Rebels got in trouble last season, they turned around and handed the ball to Dexter McCluster. They won’t have that luxury next season with McCluster gone.

That means Stanley will have to walk that fine line of producing enough big plays to jump-start the Rebels’ offense, while not trying to do too much and turning the ball over.

He feels like his strength is decision-making.

“I want to be real level-headed and real calm,” Stanley said. “My job is to put the team in a position to be successful.”

Not only is McCluster gone, but so is leading receiver Shay Hodge. Stanley thinks the Rebels will spread it around more next season and be even more diverse on offense.

“Dexter will be hard to replace, but we have guys who played behind him last year like Jesse Grandy, who’s definitely a game-breaker,” Stanley said. “All he needs is the ball. He’s got the speed, got the hands. He’s got it all. I feel like he will sort of take Dexter’s place.”

Stanley said sophomore Melvin Harris and redshirt freshman Ja-Mes Logan also made big strides this spring, and that junior running back Brandon Bolden looked like his old self now that he’s about 10 pounds lighter.

Senior receivers Markeith Summers and Lionel Breaux helped set the tone for the offense with their consistent play, and the most pleasant surprise was junior running back Enrique Davis, who looked like it was finally clicking for him.

“He makes us a whole different offense,” Stanley said. “He really seemed to perfect his craft. He’s big and fast and is really going to help us out.”

Stanley will take all of the options he can get on offense in 2010. The more, the better.

“We’ll all lean on each other,” Stanley said. “It’s going to take more than just one guy anyway, but I feel like we’re on the right track and have the time to get there.”

Ole Miss' Grove Bowl spring game was a best-against-the-rest format, and the first-team offense (Blue team) put up big numbers in a 49-35 win over the Red team.

The Red team was given seven points every quarter. What's more, it's worth noting that several of Ole Miss' top defensive players sat out the scrimmage.

Still, Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt liked what he saw from his quarterbacks. Sophomore Nathan Stanley was 11-of-16 for 166 yards and two touchdowns and put together consecutive scoring drives to open each half. Redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton was 5-of-7 for 178 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown to Jesse Grandy and a 61-yard touchdown to Melvin Harris.

The quarterbacks took snaps for both teams, and Cotton threw touchdowns for both the Red and the Blue. Stanley attempted two passes for the Red team, both interceptions.

The key for Cotton is that a partially torn labrum in his throwing shoulder gets better this summer. The plan is to put off surgery until after the season if he can stand the pain. And if he can, the Rebels may use both quarterbacks next season. Cotton is the more athletic of the two and can hurt teams rolling out, while Stanley is more of a pocket passer.

The other promising development offensively this spring for the Rebels was how well junior Enrique Davis ran the ball. He came to Ole Miss with all kinds of hype. Maybe he's poised to live up to it in 2010.

With Dexter McCluster gone, the Rebels could sure use another explosive threat out of the backfield.

All in all, there are a lot of promising second-year players in this program. How big they play next season will go a long way toward determining whether or not the Rebels can make a run at three straight nine-win seasons.

The strength of this team, though, will again be a front seven on defense that has a chance to be as good as any in the SEC.

Today, we take a look at what should be the strongest and weakest positions for Ole Miss entering the 2010 season:

Strongest position: Defensive line

Key returnees: Kentrell Lockett, Jerrell Powe, Ted Laurent, Lawon Scott, LaMark Armour, Justin Smith

Key departures: Marcus Tillman, Greg Hardy, Emmanuel Stephens

The skinny: If junior college newcomer Wayne Dorsey is as good as the Rebels think he is, then they have a chance to be even better than they were last season in the defensive line. The 6-6, 255-pound Dorsey will step in at the end opposite Lockett and has all the tools to be a dominant pass-rusher. There’s not much proven depth behind him at end, but Ole Miss will again be one of the deepest teams in the country at tackle. Powe returns as one of best interior linemen in the league. Lockett and Powe combined for 22 tackles for loss last season, including eight sacks. The good news for the Rebels is that they have enough quality interior defensive linemen that they should always have a fresh guy in the game. You win with muscle up front in the SEC, and the Rebels have plenty of it.

Weakest position: Quarterback

Key returnees: Nathan Stanley, Raymond Cotton

Key departures: Jevan Snead

The skinny: The silver lining to Snead’s disappointing season last year was that he would at least have his senior season to put everything together. He was brilliant as a sophomore, but threw an SEC-high 20 interceptions last season as a junior. But after the season, he surprised most people by announcing he was turning pro, which leaves sophomore Nathan Stanley and redshirt freshman Raymond Cotton to duke it out for the starting job this spring. Neither has any meaningful experience, and Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said this week that getting them ready to play in the SEC next season would be the biggest challenge of their coaching careers. Stanley has at least played some in a mop-up role and probably has the advantage, but Nutt said it would be an open competition. When junior college transfer Randall Mackey arrives this May, he will also get a shot. Mackey is more of an athlete and should fit nicely into the Wild Rebel package.