Will the 12th man at Texas A&M be a part of the 13th team in the SEC? (The Associated Press/David J. Phillip)
The SEC's initial teleconference of the 2011 season had barely begun Wednesday when news broke that Texas A&M had informed the Big 12 that it is seeking an invitation to another conference.
While the Aggies are reportedly hoping to join the SEC, most of the league's coaches on Wednesday reserved judgment on adding a new member.
"If that comes to fruition, that A&M joins the SEC , we'll certainly welcome them," South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. "They're a big-time institution with an excellent athletic department. All their sports are good. ... It'd be a huge addition to the SEC, to get into Texas. That just increases SEC TV markets and all that kind of stuff."
Adding new TV markets could also help recruiting, as many SEC programs already recruit extensively in football-mad Texas.
"We do it now, but we'll probably do it more," Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt said. "I can understand why anybody would want to come to our conference. The stadiums are full. You're on TV every game. It's just a competitive conference. I think it's the best conference in America."
QUARTERBACK QUANDARY: Second-ranked Alabama isn't the only SEC team that hasn't settled on a starting quarterback. Sophomore Connor Shaw continues to push returning starter Stephen Garcia at South Carolina, and Spurrier still has not named a starter for Saturday's opener against East Carolina.
"We're going to play both of them this week," Spurrier said. "Connor Shaw has performed a little bit better than Stephen in the scrimmages, so don't be surprised -- it could be Connor Shaw."
Spurrier said he also expects prized recruit Jadeveon Clowney to play a lot Saturday at defensive end.
"He may start or he may not," Spurrier said. "I'm not sure what our line coach wants to do right now. But he's certainly in the mix. We've just tried to let him earn his own way. He's gained about 10 pounds or so -- he's up to about 260, and he can use a power move also, which is obviously very good for defensive ends."
HOUSEMATES : When Florida and Florida State meet in November, it'll once again be for bragging rights in the state. This year, however, there's one particular house where those bragging rights might take on a new meaning.
New Florida coach Will Muschamp is co-owner of a beach house in the Florida Panhandle with Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher.
TWEET, TWEET: Georgia's Brandon Boykin, currently tied with former Arkansas back Felix Jones and former Tennessee great Willie Gault for the most kickoff returns for touchdowns in SEC history, reportedly sent a Twitter message last weekend daring Boise State coach Chris Peterson to kick to him. Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said Wednesday that Boykin informed him about the tweet.
"He must have called me the minute he pushed the button to tweet it," Richt said. "He's like, 'Coach, I hope you're not mad at me, but I just sent something out here daring them to kick the ball to me.' I said, 'Well, as we all know, you can't take it back, so you'd better back it up.'
"I'm not too worried about it, quite frankly," Richt added. "I'm sure Boise State doesn't need to have something like that to get them ready for a ballgame. I know they'll be ready whether he did that or not. It may be more incentive for him to play better. Hopefully, that'll be the case."
BACK TO THE BACKFIELD: Two former SEC running backs who had been moved to defense will be carrying the ball once again this weekend.
Georgia's Richard Samuel, who played linebacker last season, was moved back to running back after the departures of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King.
Arkansas' De'Anthony Curtis, who played cornerback last year, returned to the backfield after Knile Davis was lost for the year with an ankle injury.
"He was playing real well at corner; I was excited for him at corner," Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said of Curtis, now listed second on the depth chart behind Ronnie Wingo Jr. "I think that really helped him because he learned how to play physical. He was tackling well. Now he's come back over to running back, and his quickness really shows up, his toughness shows up.
"We're going to play him. He'll be in there carrying the ball, catching balls. He picked up the offense right where he left off."
YOUTH MOVEMENT: Tennessee coach Derek Dooley wants his team to be aggressive and physical but as young as the Vols are, that may be more of a mental challenge.
"One of the real keys of playing physical is knowing what to do and being confident so you can play fast," Dooley said. "That's my biggest concern heading into here.
"When you look at our roster, of our 24 starters, seven of them are juniors and seniors and 17 of them are freshmen and sophomores. So that's going to be our challenge. Can they go out there and play fast? Because they don't have a lot of experience."
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