Every SEC team held a final scrimmage on Friday or Saturday, with the opening game of the season a couple of weekends away.

ALABAMA

‘Bama found its starting tailback in Terry Grant. He ran for 68 yards on six carries and scored on a 71-yard screen pass from John Parker Wilson. Wilson completed 18-of-32 passes for three touchdowns and a pair of interceptions. “I thought he had a good day, he did a nice job on managing the offense,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said of Wilson. . .Placekicker Jamie Christensen missed Saturday’s scrimmage with a strained quadriceps muscle. Saban said Leigh Tiffin has done a good job in replacing Christensen. Tiffin hit 5-of-7 field goals on Saturday. . .First-string nose tackle Brian Motley underwent surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand. He’ll be available Sept. 1 against Western Carolina.

ARKANSAS

Two freshmen may have cracked the Hogs’ starting lineup — placekicker Alex Tejada and wide receiver Crosby Tuck. Tejada hit 8-of-9 field-goal attempts in Saturday’s scrimmage, including two from 50 plus yards. Also, Crosby Tuck caught four passes for 93 yards and a TD. “I think we found a split end tonight,” Arkansas offensive coordinator David Lee said. Casey Dick and his younger brother, freshman Nathan Dick, split reps at quarterback and combined to complete 14-of-27 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. Kicker Jeremy Davis, tight end Ben Cleveland, fullback Peyton Hillis and offensive tackle Nate Garner missed the scrimmage because of injuries.

AUBURN

Starting quarterback Brandon Cox stood out in Auburn’s scrimmage when Tigers’ coach Tommy Tuberville said he turned loose his defense. “We let them (the defense) do everything they wanted to do on the first, second and third teams, and it put the second and third teams quarterbacks at a little bit of a disadvantage,” Tuberville said. . .Junior Blake Field is the likely No. 2 quarterback. “The team has gained confidence in him because he’s performing pretty well,” Auburn offensive coordinator Al Borges said. . .Running backs Ben Tate and Brad Lester had good scrimmages, as did true freshman receiver Chris Slaughter.

FLORIDA

Despite the fact true freshman Cameron Newton battled a back injury all summer, and then missed the first week of practice, he’s the likely No. 2 quarterback behind starter Tim Tebow. Newton played well all last week. “He looks really good and then really bad, which is typical of youth,” Florida coach Urban Meyer said. . .Meyer also said that freshman running back Chris Rainey will play this season, but it won’t be as an every down back. Rainey is listed at 156 pounds. “He’s at 150, 160 pounds and you’ve got to block linebackers,” Meyer said. “You’re going to lose a lot of those battles.”

GEORGIA

The Bulldogs still have questions at tailback, wide receiver and cornerback. Thomas Brown, Kregg Lumpkin and Knowshon Moreno all will play at tailback, Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson and Michael Moore are the top three receivers and cornerbacks Bryan Evans and Thomas Flowers are being challenged by Prince Miller and Asher Allen. “How important is that starting lineup?” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “There’s definitely prestige to it. You get your picture on the big scoreboard and I know that guys are fighting for that. But they’re all talented and they all are going to play.”. . .Freshman linebacker Rennie Curran had nine tackles in a scrimmage, and Richt said Curran will play this season.

KENTUCKY

Freshmen running backs Derrick Locke and Brandon Jackson got a a chance to shine in the scrimmage when senior starter Rafael Little (strained groin) and backup Tony Dixon (personal issues) were missing in action. The offensive line allowed just one sack in the scrimmage. . .True freshman offensive guard Stuart Hines will likely play this year. The 6-5, 275-pound Hines is working at both left and right guard. . .UK offensive coordinator Joker Phillips, an assistant coach for 19 years, told the Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader that the offensive personnel he has this year at Kentucky represents the best group of skill people he’s had. “No question about that,” Phillips said. “You talk about the six skill positions. The quarterback (Andre Woodson), he’s by far the best I’ve ever been around. I think we’ve got two or three receivers who can be as good as any I’ve ever been around. I think (Rafael Little) is the best all-around back I’ve ever been around. I think Jacob (Tamme) could be as good as any receiving tight end I’ve ever been around.”

LSU

Starting quarterback Matt Flynn, after missing some practice time last week with a sore arm, looked sharp in Saturday’s scrimmage when he threw two touchdown passes. LSU’s report credited Flynn with 7-for-14 passing for 90 yards and touchdown passes of 18 yards to Brandon LaFell and, in a red-zone drill, 20 yards to Early Doucet. The pass to LaFell ended an eight-play, 70-yard drive for Flynn, who worked exclusively with the first-team offense, according to LSU’s report. “Matt looked very sharp today,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “He made good decisions and had command of the offense.” Miles said the scrimmage featured 37 plays for first-team vs. first-team work and 37 more for first-team vs. second-team work. He said there were “probably 25 special-teams situations and snaps.”

OLE MISS

Despite some late success by starting quarterback Seth Adams in Saturday’s scrimmage, Ole Miss coach Ed Orgeron said the quarterback position has had ups and downs over the course of camp.
“There have been good days and bad days,” said Orgeron. “It has been very inconsistent. It’s a little disappointing that we’re not a little further along with our quarterback, but that’s what we have. Hopefully we can find a guy that can be consistent.”. . .Orgeron also noted that the offense was lacking some key personnel. “I think we’re really missing Reid Neely, John Jerry, Corey Actis, Robert Lane and Shay Hodge,” Orgeron said. “I expect most of those guys for the opener. You could see that the offense was stalling a little bit, partly because of those guys not being there.”

MISS. STATE

Injuries, injuries, injuries. State lost true freshman kicker/punter Eric Richards of Vicksburg in Saturday’s scrimmage. Richards broke bones in his right foot when a punt protection scheme fell apart and Richards had a punt block. Richards had figured to be State’s kickoff kicker. “That’s my mistake,” State coach Sylvester Croom said. “I shouldn’t have had him in there punting in that situation.”. .
The statistics bear out his point: Jamar Chaney returned an interception 30 yards for a touchdown, Jamon Hughes had 13 tackles and Titus Brown had four sacks. . .Quarterback Michael Hening completed 11-for-25 for four TDs and one interception, but Croom wasn’t happy. “I was disappointed with the way he threw the ball today,” Croom said.

SOUTH CAROLINA

The Gamecocks may have found a big play receiver in Mark Barnes. A day after moving from free safety to receiver, Barnes had four catches for 80 yards, including a 36-yard TD catch. “Good to see Mark Barnes come in there and catch everything he touched,” Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. Barnes said he hopes to be starting. “Hopefully, I’ll be starting,” he said. “If not starting, seeing the field real soon. I love to be on the field. I just try to make it look easy and have fun.”. . .Spurrier wasn’t thrilled with his offensive line, particularly with the redshirt freshmen. “They need to compete harder,” Spurrier said. “They just sort of stand around, let guys run around them, don’t get mad.”

TENNESSEE

Tennessee freshman defensive end Ben Martin sustained a torn knee ligament in his left knee that will sideline him for at least several weeks and possibly the entire 2007 season. Martin suffered the non-contact injury when he jumped, then landed awkwardly during Saturday night’s scrimmage. Martin fell to the turf and had to be helped off the field, putting little, if any, weight on the injured leg. The complete extent of Martin’s injury is not known. If he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament, he’ll be out for the season. If it’s the medial collateral ligament that’s torn, Martin’s absence wouldn’t be as long, but still could be season ending.. . .Vols coach Phillip Fulmer liked his team’s running game in Saturday’s scrimmage. There were some exciting things that happened for the offense,” Fulmer said. “Those young running backs certainly looked good. I thought Arian (Foster) and Montario (Hardesty) ran with authority.
True freshmen Lennon Creer and Daryl Vereen led all rushers, Creer carrying 11 times for 57 yards and Vereen 13 times for 47 yards. Foster ran for 41 yards on eight carries and Hardesty gained 30 yards on five attempts. . .True freshman Eric Berry had his second interception in as many scrimmages to go with five tackles. “Eric is a football player and a darn good football player, “Fulmer said of Berry. “He’s way ahead of his years.”

VANDERBILT

True freshman John Stokes, a former Memphis University School standout, is making a move up the depth chart. Not only has he played well at defensive end, but he worked as the No. 2 snapper for both punts and placement kicks during Saturday’s scrimmage. . .Several top Commodores, including tailbacks Cassen Jackson-Garrison and Jeff Jennings, defensive end Curtis Gatewood and safety Reshard Langford, were held out of the scrimmage. Several others saw limited action, including quarterback Chris Nickson, receiver Earl Bennett, linebackers Jonathan Goff and Marcus Buggs, and defensive tackle Theo Horrocks.
“We wanted to take a close look for a lot of guys and we accomplished that,” Vandy coach Bobby Johnson said. “We were mixing and matching the guys pretty good, trying to get different combinations on the field. We wanted to put some guys under the pressure of really having to perform.”