Burns in tight race at Auburn Auburn will go into fall practice with Kodi Burns and Chris Todd listed as co-starters at quarterback.
Burns, a sophomore from Fort Smith Northside, was a backup last season to thensenior Brandon Cox and also started one game.
Todd, a junior, went through spring practice with the Tigers after transferring from Hutchinson (Kan. ) Community College. As a freshman two years ago, he played in three games for Texas Tech.
Auburn Coach Tommy Tuberville said the Spread offense the Tigers began installing for their bowl practices is well suited for Burns’ running skills and strong passing arm. “I thought [Burns ] was probably one of our more improved players in the spring,”
Tuberville said. “He’s got a great work ethic, and he comes from a good high school and the coaches there did a good job. As they told us when we recruited him, he’s got a lot of upside in terms of improvement, a lot of potential.
” In Auburn’s final two spring scrimmages, Burns completed 26 of 36 passes for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns. “I don’t know if he’s going to be the starter, but he’ll play a lot,”
Tuberville said. “He’s been a big part of our team so far, and he’s going to be a huge part of it the next few years.”
WildRebel Ole Miss used a WildRebel formation, with junior wide receiver Dexter McCluster taking direct snaps at quarterback in the Shotgun formation, during its spring game.
It’s the same formation made famous by running back Darren McFadden the past two seasons at Arkansas — known first as the Wildcat and then the WildHog.
No one is expecting McCluster to be as good as McFadden, the No. 4 overall pick in the NFL Draft by Oakland after he was a twotime Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy runner-up for the Razorbacks.
But having McCluster play at quarterback offers a new dimension for Ole Miss’ offense.
“We’ve got a fast guy that can run and keep people off balance,”
Nutt told reporters after the spring game. “When you put the ball in his hands, he’s dangerous.”
McCluster didn’t attempt any passes from the WildRebel but rushed five times for 35 yards, including a 21-yard touchdown. He also caught eight passes for 106 yards when lining up at receiver. Campbell good fit Louis Campbell, a former Razorbacks defensive back who worked at Arkansas as an assistant football coach or administrator for the past 18 years, went through his first spring as Mississippi State’s linebackers coach.
“Louis is doing an excellent job for us. He fits in well with our staff. He’s an excellent teacher, an excellent recruiter,”
Mississippi State Coach Sylvester Croom said. “And he has done a good job of establishing a relationship with our players."
“ The guys have really made a connection with him. That was one of the positives I thought he would bring to us, his relationship with the players.”
Croom and Campbell have known each other since 1973, when Croom was a center at Alabama and Campbell was a graduate assistant for the Crimson Tide. They coached together as Alabama assistants in the 1980 s.
“I’ve got a great deal of respect for him as a teacher, but more so as a human being,”
Croom said. “I knew exactly what we were getting when he decided to come be a part of our staff.”
More competition The Ole Miss-Mississippi State rivalry should be more interesting with Houston Nutt taking over as the Rebels ’ coach.
Nutt’s Arkansas teams were 9-1 against Mississippi State the past 10 years, including a nineyear winning streak after a 22-21 loss in 1998.
“They’ve got a lot of enthusiasm going up there now [at Ole Miss ],”
Mississippi State Coach Sylvester Croom said. “We know Houston’s track record as a coach... so it just intensifies the work we have to do here in the state. But it really doesn’t really change anything we’re doing. We just take care of our business. I’ve always felt like you take care of the things you can control, and what we do control is doing our job. I know Houston is going to compete very intensely, but we’re up to the challenge.”
Honduras trip Georgia Coach Mark Richt and about 20 of his players went on a five-day missionary trip to Honduras earlier this spring. The players voluntarily signed up for the trip, which was affiliated with the World Baptist Missions and helps local hospitals and daycare centers along with some pastor-training programs.
“We’ll spend time building things or painting or working with the patients,”
Richt said before the trip. “In the afternoon, we’ll play soccer and after the game spread the gospel a little bit.”
Richt also made the trip last year with his family.
“I thought it would really be awesome of our guys to experience it,”
Richt said.
Georgia’s compliance office signed off on the trip to make sure the players weren’t getting any extra benefits.
Richt noted that where the players stayed has no television, telephones or air-conditioning.
“It’s not like they’re going on some plush trip,”
Richt said.
Being honest Give Florida Coach Urban Meyer credit for speaking the truth about spring football games. “Spring games are awful,”
Meyer said. “I shouldn’t say that, but it’s not the best vs. the best.
“ A lot of times you’re just trying to find out what young players can do. So if you came out to see a well-executed SEC football game in the spring, you’re not going to see that.” But 65, 000 fans attended Florida’s spring game, which also was televised live on ESPN. “We tried to get the student body involved, we tried to make it as much fun as we can for a our players, our families,”
Meyer said. “We had a cookout afterwards. We did a lot of stuff to make it a celebration of Florida football and not just a 40-minute rag-tag looking spring football game.”
