ALABAMA

Alabama coach Nick Saban is relatively happy with his team’s work ethic. “I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with where we are, but that’s not to say I am disappointed at all with where we are and the progress that we have made. They have worked extremely hard and it has been difficult, and part of it is because of circumstance, not because we created it.”. . .Saban also said that redshirt freshman defensive lineman Brian Motley (Autaugaville) suffered a hand injury that does not appear to be serious, and should not keep him out of action for more than a week. . .Alabama players love the karate classes that Saban had them take this summer as part of their workouts. He did the same thing when he coached LSU.

ARKANSAS

Defensive end Chris Wade returned to practice on Thursday after a concussion had sidelined him most of the week. Trainers held the senior out of live work, but he did get a lot of reps and fundamental time. . .Fullback Peyton Hillis was held out of practice again on Thursday with a tweaked hamstring. The senior is close to returning and anxious to get on the practice field. But the coaching staff wants to play it safe to make sure Hillis is around for the opener against Troy. . .H-back/tight end D.J. Williams earned praise from Hogs’ coach Houston Nutt. The freshman from Little Rock’s Central Arkansas Christian has picked up the slack with Hillis and Ben Cleveland out with injuries. “D.J. is a mature guy that is going to help our football team this year, you can book that,” Nutt said. “I am proud of what he has done so far. I think he is a key ingredient that can pick up the slack in both the passing game and the run game.” Cleveland was able to run some routes on Thursday, catching passes from offensive coordinator David Lee.

AUBURN

Junior offensive guard Nathan Farrow has given up football because of problems with concussions. Farrow, a former Clay-Chalkville High School standout, was a walk-on who played in two games in 2005 and four games in 2006. . .Auburn wide receivers coach Greg Knox is noncommittal on whether freshman Chris Slaughter will play or redshirt. Slaughter arrived Aug. 7 after finally being cleared by the NCAA. “He’s still trying to learn the offense and has to play catch-up,” Knox said. . .Redshirt freshman quarterback Steven Ensminger hasn’t practiced full speed since suffering a bruised shoulder in last Saturday’s scrimmage. Offensive coordinator Al Borges hopes Ensminger will be back for tonight’s scrimmage.

FLORIDA

Florida coach Urban Meyer knows when to push his team and went to pull back. On Thursday morning, he surprised his team by taking them to the Wild Waters water park in Silver Springs. “We got them up and got them all dressed up like they were going to practice, drove right by those practice fields,” Meyer said. “They had a good time.”. . Then on Thursday night, Meyer worked on his team mentally with the team’s second annual champions nights. He showed them a 20-minute highlight video that featured various champions such as Tiger Woods and the Indianapolis Colts. Then for the second straight year, Florida basketball coach Billy Donovan spoke to the players. Donovan stressed the importance of his returning team not to focus on repeating as national champions last year, though Meyer said nobody on his team is thinking repeat because of the team’s inexperience.

GEORGIA

Starting right offensive tackle Chester Adams won’t be moving. Georgia coaches had been considering whether to move Adams to his old position of guard. But coach Mark Richt doesn’t think that will happen. “It’s such a tough position out there and you need to have some maturity out there,” Richt said. “We feel a little uneasy putting two true freshmen out there.” Freshman Trinton Sturdivant is the starting left tackle. . .Freshman tight end/receiver Aron White is a “bubble guy” on whether he plays this season. “He might be one of the tougher calls,” Richt said. . .Georgia signed four junior college players this season, the first time since 2001 that the Bulldogs went the JUCO route. Scott Haverkamp from Butler (Kan.) Community College is starting spot at offensive guard. Vince Vance is a backup offensive tackle and Corvey Irvin and Jarius Wynn are providing depth on the defensive line. All three played last year at Georgia Military College.

KENTUCKY

Kentucky coach Rich Brooks wanted his team to chill, so he treated his players to a Thursday morning swim session before allowing them to practice in helmets in the afternoon. When asked if anybody tried to throw him in the pool, Brooks replied, “I don’t have to be thrown in. I go in,” Brooks said. “I go off the diving board, go off the slide.”. . Freshman running back Moncell Allen had two pins placed in his broken thumb. Brooks said Allen will have the pins removed in three weeks and is uncertain as to whether he’d be able to play in a cast.

LSU

Freshman safety Chad Jones did not come to contractual terms with the Houston Astros on Wednesday, assuring that he will be in an LSU football uniform this season. Reached just past the 11 p.m. Wednesday deadline for drafted players to sign with major-league teams, Jones said he wasn’t disappointed at not agreeing to terms with the Astros and was “ready to see if (he) can help LSU do something special.” Jones, who will also play baseball for LSU in the spring, was off limits to the media Thursday. He spent time at strong safety on Thursday in his first practice with the top two rotations of defensive backs and worked as a nickel and dime back with the first group. . .For the second consecutive practice, quarterback Matt Flynn (sore arm) didn’t throw. Defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey (tender hamstring) missed another practice. He said his absence is a precaution. If it were game week, he’d be playing.

OLE MISS

Rebels’ coach Ed Orgeron likes the competition at linebacker. “Tony Fein’s been coming along a little bit. I think his conditioning is getting better. He’s made some plays and is making a push there. Chris Strong is an outstanding Mike linebacker. He brings it downhill. There are obviously some things that a new guy has to learn, but those guys are battling there (at Mike linebacker). Jonathan Cornell is practicing sparingly. Ashlee Palmer is coming along. I think he’s earned himself a starting role for right now at the outside linebacker spot. We’ll play our best guys out there, but it all starts with the Mike and what he’s able to do within our defense. There are still a lot of options available.”

MISS. STATE

State coach Sylvester Croom likes only part of his goal line defense. “We didn’t do quite as well on offense down there,” Croom said of the work in the red zone. “It gets a little tougher to throw the football down there. That’s where your playmakers have to step up.”. . .One player who drew Croom’s praise Wednesday was returning all-SEC defensive end Titus Brown, who has been hampered at times during pre-season camp by a groin pull. “We still can’t block him,” Croom said. “I hope he’s as good as I think he is.”. . .Croom said he wants to expand, but be smart with his offense. “We’re going to do a lot more things than we’ve done in the past,” Croom said. “I just have to be careful that we don’t try to do too much. I want to attack people in a lot more ways, but I also only want us to do what we can teach, learn and perform well.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

Steve Spurrier was a little more calm on Thursday after ripping his team on Wednesday following a scrimmage. “I watched the film today (from Wednesday’s night’s scrimmage) and it wasn’t as bad as I thought,” Spurrier said. “They’re usually not as bad as you think. Sometimes they’re not as good as you think also. Our tight ends and backs caught most of the passes last night. The defense did a good job of playing some good solid zones and forcing us to throw underneath a lot. The defense had a good night as far as dropping in their zones.”. . .Star linebacker Jasper Brinkley sat out Thursday’s practice after spraining his ankle on Wednesday prior to the scrimmage. “Jasper sort of twisted his ankle a little bit,” said Spurrier. “I think somebody fell into him in inside drill. He actually scrimmaged a little bit (last night), but it was hurting today. We’ll hold him out two to three days. He actually scrimmaged 10-12 plays before he went out last night, so it shouldn’t be too severe.”. . .Spurrier said backup quarterbacks Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher have been the most pleasant surprises so far. “They’re ready to play,” he said. “If Blake (Mitchell) goes bad, which I don’t expect him to do, they’re ready to play. I have confidence Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley can both go in there and play and play very well.”

TENNESSEE
The Vols concluded the last of its double-practice sessions with two workouts on Thursday. “I think we’re tired,” Vols’ coach Phillip Fulmer said. “The older guys knew how to fight through it, and the younger guys, we’ll see on the tape.”. . .The first-team defense impressed Fulmer by creating turnovers and delivering several big hits. The second-team defense did not play to expectations. “Our second-team defensive front was soft today,” Fulmer said. “I challenged them after practice.”. . .In the afternoon practice, the UT band showed up to play and fire up the team. “I was glad to see it.” Fulmer said. “I thought it picked the kids up a little bit. It broke up practice.”

VANDERBILT
Some standouts from Vandy’s first scrimmage were redshirt freshman tailback Kennard Reeves (two TDs), cornerback Myron Lewis (an interception), cornerback Josh Allen (pass deflection, linebacker Brandon Bryant and freshman linebacker John Stokes of Memphis. “We had a mixture in there and a lot of those guys haven’t played together, so one mistake here or there has an impact,” Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. “But I thought our guys were competing out there, trying to get better. We’re just trying to get them more experience.”