THE BIG STORY
Kentucky senior wide receiver Steve Johnson will play in Saturday’s season opener against Eastern Kentucky, despite being arrested and charged with resisting arrest and several misdemeanor traffic violations Wednesday night.
Johnson was charged with resisting arrest along with having no insurance, failure to have his driver’s license in his possession, not wearing a seat belt and having no registration plate. Kentucky coach Rich Brooks questioned the resisting-arrest charge and noted that Johnson was on his way to the hospital to visit teammate David Jones when he was pulled over. Jones underwent an emergency appendectomy Tuesday night.
“It’s interesting a young man would resist arrest on the way to see a teammate when he’s got his parents coming to town to see him play in a game,” Brooks told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “So we’ll just have to see how it all plays out. I’m very comfortable with playing him and dealing with the issues inside (internally) for not taking care of a ticket, and some of the other stuff may be a little exaggerated.”

A look at the league:

ALABAMA

First-year Tide coach Nick Saban said he would like one high-profile game outside the SEC each season. Home-and-home deals are already in place with Penn State for 2010-11 and Georgia Tech for 2012 and 2014, and now Alabama is in discussions with Clemson about playing one time at neutral site in 2008. Bama has the opening because UTEP, which backed out of an October 2008 date earlier this summer. Alabama athletic director Mal Moore said it’s likely ‘Bama and Clemson would choose a location like Atlanta for a single meeting. Western Kentucky, Tulane and Northern Illinois are the other anticipated non-conference schools on Alabama’s 2008 schedule, which has not been officially released by the school.

ARKANSAS

Finally, a diagnosis for injured tight Ben Cleveland. Assistant athletic trainer Eric Linson said Thursday that Cleveland was diagnosed earlier this week with nerve damage in his brachical plexus, which runs from the spine, through the neck and into the arm. Linson said he couldn’t give an accurate timetable on when the former Springdale High star might be able to return to the field, though it could be anywhere from a few weeks to several months. Linson said the tight end must get back his strength and range of motion in his arm, as well as show no symptoms. Cleveland has lost strength in his left arm. “His weakness is from the elbow up,” Linson said.

AUBURN

Wes Byrum will handle both kickoffs and field goals for Auburn in Saturday’s season opener vs. Kansas State, but walk-on Morgan Hull might be a kickoff specialist. “It’s Wesley right now,” Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville told the Mobile Register. “If we get out there and the other kid is booming them, we could change our minds. That’s a pretty easy changeover.”

FLORIDA

Southern Cal transfer Emmanuel Moody enrolled in classes at Florida on Thursday and will join the team at practice next week following a physical. Moody will split time this fall between the scout team and the varsity. Per NCAA transfer rules, he is ineligible this season. Last week, Moody said he left USC looking for an opportunity to be the featured back at another school. Florida coach Urban Meyer said he did his homework about Moody. “He’s a very high character guy and a decent student,” Meyer said. “This is not like he picks up and goes again somewhere else. He’s got three years and he’s got ambition. Either he does it or he doesn’t, it’s up to him.”

GEORGIA

The last time Georgia placekicker Brandon Coutu kicked in a game in Sanford Stadium, it was last Sept. 23 in a 14-13 victory over Colorado. He sustained a leg injury practicing an onsides kick two days before Georgia played an October home game against Tennessee and didn’t return until the bowl game.
“I couldn’t be more excited,” said Coutu, who converted 10 of 11 field goals last season. “The other years you kind of take it for granted and then all of a sudden it’s my last year. I missed half my junior year. You don’t expect something like that to happen and it did, but I’m really excited to get one more opportunity to play in Sanford Stadium.”

KENTUCKY

Sophomore linebacker Mikhail Mabry sustained a broken thumb in practice Thursday and will be out indefinitely. Mabry broke the thumb during a routine drill when his thumb jammed against another player’s knee. Mabry will undergo surgery today. He was working with the second team at middle linebacker. The 6-2, 235-pound sophomore from Mililani, Hawaii, was a redshirt last season. He played in seven games in 2005 as a true freshman with five tackles.

LSU

Senior safety Craig Steltz had three of LSU’s six interceptions in LSU’s 45-0 rout of Mississippi State on Thursday night. Steltz’s return yardage numbered an even 100. The only thing he didn’t do was get to the end zone. “I’m fightin’ for it,” Steltz said. Steltz became the seventh player in school history to pick off three passes in a game, the first since Corey Webster pestered Florida’s Rex Grossman with three swipes in 2002.“Any time you can give the ball back to the offense and give them a chance to score in short field position, our chances to win are pretty good,” Steltz said.

OLE MISS

Hook ‘em Horns and Hotty Toddy will hook up in 2012-2013. Ole Miss finalized a two-year contract with Texas on Thursday. The schools will play in Sept. 15, 2012 in Oxford and the following year in Austin.
The two-year series joins other high-profile, non-conference dates for the Rebels against Georgia Tech (2010 and 2011) and Clemson (2015 and 2016). The Texas-Ole Miss series will be the first time the teams have met since the 1966 Bluebonnet Bowl. . .Offensive lineman Rishaw Johnson was academically certified by the NCAA on Thursday.

MISS. STATE

As bad as State’s offense played in Thursday’s 45-0 loss to LSU and as gritty as State’s defense played, it would easy for the Bullies’ defense to point a finger. But it won’t, said defensive end Titus Brown, who tried to lift his teammates spirits in a postgame speech. “I talked about dealing with adversity,” Brown said. “I told them a good team comes together when something bad happens like happened to us tonight. I told them we’re going to have a good football team this season, and I don’t have any doubt about that. I specifically told them there would be no finger-pointing. Nobody gets the blame for this.”

SOUTH CAROLINA

USC hasn’t returned a punt or kickoff for a touchdown in four years. That was a 73-yard punt return by Chavez Donnings on Nov. 15, 2003, on the final play of the half of a 24-22 loss to Florida. The last touchdown on a kickoff return came in 2002, when Matthew Thomas returned one 95 yards against Virginia. This year the return duties have been turned full-time to Captain Munnerlyn, also a starting cornerback who may be the fastest player on the team. This spring he tied safety Stoney Woodson for the fastest 40-yard dash on the team, 4.35 seconds, and in high school Munnerlyn was fast enough to participate in the Junior Olympic. Last year, Munnerlyn averaged 23.2 yards on 12 kickoff returns last year. “I’m hoping to see (Munnerlyn) get loose, and hoping to see if we can block for him,” Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said.

TENNESSEE

Vols’ coach Phillip Fulmer isn’t worried about the quad injury of All-American punter Britton Colquitt heading into the season opener at Cal. Fulmer said he plans to use Colquitt for punting only. Daniel Lincoln will handle place-kicking duties, but Fulmer made sure Colquitt would be ready and willing in an emergency situation. “I asked him if we had to kick a field goal to win the game at the end,” Fulmer said, “and he said, ‘Coach, I’d kick it if I had to kick it left-footed.’ I believe him.”

VANDERBILT

Vanderbilt coach Bobby Johnson said this year’s team has the ability to get to the end zone quicker. “I think we’ve got some playmakers that help us not have to grind it 80 yards,” Johnson said. “I think we’re more talented than other teams I’ve had.”. . .Linebacker Patrick Benoist (foot) and tight end Brandon Barden (ankle) are doubtful for the Richmond game. . .Vanderbilt officials expect a crowd of about 30,000 for the game.