The Wiz of Odds

SEC Speed, Baby

The promotional push has started with the start of the season only five months away. SEC Junky found this video titled, "This is the SEC"

A Recruiting Capper

Deep South Sports emerges from its offseason hibernation with a story involving Bobby Massie, an offensive lineman from Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

Massie infuriated Alabama fans in February when at a signing news conference, he faked putting on a Crimson Tide cap, only to toss it aside. Then he  grabbed a Mississippi cap and slapped it on his head.

Massie made an appearance at Mississippi's practice on Saturday and was badgered with questions. Deep South picks it up from here:

"He was asked to give a good Nick Saban recruiting story, and he had a pretty good one to say the least. Bobby said he called Coach Saban the night before signing day to let him know that he was going to sign with Ole Miss. Bobby did not even inform the Ole Miss staff that he was going to be a Rebel until the night before signing day, per Bobby, but he did say, 'I had a pretty good idea where I was going in December.'

Spring Reports

Some teams are just starting spring practice, while others are wrapping it up. Our first look at spring scrimmages across the country.

Miami: Running back Damien Berry was impressive, scoring on a 54-yard run that he finished with a backflip into the end zone. Quarterback Taylor Cook could have solidified his hold on the No. 2 spot behind Jacory Harris. Cook completed nine passes in a row and 11 of 14 overall.

North Carolina: The Tar Heels, trying to replace Hakeem Nicks, had 12 players catch at least one pass. Sophomore Dwight Jones had a diving, 46-yard grab. Only 2,000 attended, and Butch Davis said he will move next year's scrimmage to April to avoid a conflict with basketball-crazy fans.

Rice: Nick Fanuzzi, a transfer from Alabama, is battling John Thomas Shepherd and Ryan Lewis for the starting quarterback job. Fanuzzi was sharp, completing six of eight passes for 136 yards and three touchdowns.

Reporters Notebooks

Rachel Bachman, Oregonian: Oregon's athletic department would have been $800,000 in the hole if it didn't receive $1.2 million from the state lottery in the 2007-08 fiscal year. The state schools were given 1% of total lottery proceeds in 2005, with the money going toward college athletic departments (88%) and need- and merit-based scholarships (12%).

Paul Gattis, Huntsville Times: How is Houston Nutt trimming that recruiting class of 37 players? "It's going real smooth right now because you've got about seven guys right now that we know for sure aren't going to make it academically. However, they love Ole Miss and so what we're doing, to help out Mississippi junior colleges, is we are going to place them in the schools."

Gary Klein, Los Angeles Times: Heisman Trophy winner Matt Leinart was among the hundreds of onlookers at USC's first spring workout. Aaron Corp, Mitch Mustain, Matt Barkley and Garrett Green are battling to become the Trojans' starting quarterback.

Eleven Warriors: If you're in Columbus on Thursday night, Kirk Herbstreit will be serving adult beverages for a good cause.

David Goricki, Detroit News: Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier saw time with the first unit during Michigan's first full scrimmage.

Montana Spending the Weekend in the Southeast

Nick Montana, a quarterback recruit from Thousand Oaks High in California, is touring the campuses of Alabama and Georgia this weekend. He's drawing a lot of attention, but that's to be expected when you are the son of NFL Hall of Famer Joe Montana.

The young Montana told Michael Carvell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he has scholarship offers from South Carolina, Stanford, Louisiana State, Ohio State, Florida State, Nebraska, Notre Dame, North Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Alabama and Arizona. Tennessee, USC and Oklahoma have expressed interest.

Reporters Notebooks

Jeff McLane, Philadelphia Inquirer: Joe Paterno continues to recover from hip replacement surgery but expects to be coaching from the sideline in the fall. On Florida State's Bobby Bowden, who may lose 14 wins over academic fraud penalties, he said: "Nobody wants to win by default or anything like that." The 82-year-old Paterno has 383 career wins to the 79-year-old Bowden's 382.

Iliana Limón, Orlando Sentinel: A review of Central Florida's training program, ordered by university president John Hitt after the death of receiver Ereck Plancher last spring and the collapse of running back Brandon Davis in December, determined conditions were "rigorous but within the range normal to other Division I football programs."

Wendy Hundley, Dallas Morning News: Former North Texas linebacker/defensive back Germaine Dawson, who completed his eligibility last season, was found dead in a white SUV near an auto repair business in Lewisville, Texas. He suffered a single gunshot wound to the head.

Bobbi Roquemore, Dallas Morning News: Three of the five players who appealed decisions by Southern Methodist to release them from their scholarships have won their appeals. Defensive end Jordan Johnson, linebacker Taylor Bon and defensive end Anthony Sowe will have their athletics aid continued for 2009-10. Running back Ben Goldthorpe and linebacker Alex Odiari did not win their appeals.

Brian Dohn, Los Angeles Daily News: Jerry Rice Jr., the son of the most decorated receiver in NFL history, said he will walk-on this fall at UCLA.