A spring football tour around the Southeastern Conference:

Alabama

Practice start date: Started Friday

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Hawaii

The rundown: Tide coach Mike Shula now becomes judge for "Alabama Idol," also known as the starting quarterback competition. Starter Brodie Croyle has graduated, but his leadership and dimples live on. It looks like sophomore John Parker Wilson gets first shot at the job. Shula said that Wilson, at 6-2, 215, "is thicker than Brodie ever was."

Also, 'Bama has to place three four-year starters at linebacker, including all-American DeMeco Ryans, and find three new secondary starters.

Arkansas

Practice start date: March 27

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Southern Cal

The rundown: The real excitement in Fayetteville may not start until August when hotshot quarterback signee Mitch Mustain arrives to battle incumbent starter Casey Dick for the job.

But in the spring, it will be a transition period for Arkansas coach Houston Nutt. He's letting go of his duties as offensive coordinator, having hired Gus Malzahn from Springdale (Ark.) High. Malzahn has spent every waking minute working on schemes that combine his fast-tempo, no-huddle spread offense with Nutt's love of a power running game.

"Our goal is to be balanced," Nutt said. "But one reason I hired Gus is because we need to stretch the field vertically."

Auburn

Practice start date: Started Tuesday.

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Washington State

The rundown: Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has a bit of SEC old school in him. He believes playing physical wins games, and that will be the point of emphasis this spring.

"We need to get back to being a physical, hard-nosed and tough football team," Tuberville said. "This is going to be a very physical spring. You have to do that on the practice field."

One move guaranteed to make the Tigers' defense even more hard-hitting is shifting safety Will Herring to linebacker. Herring's move is one of many as 14 players slide into new spring starting spots, either because of injuries or graduation.

Florida

Practice start date: March 29

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Southern Miss

The rundown: This sounds funny to write or even say out loud. But for a senior quarterback who ought to be kickin' back through his final spring practice, this is a huge spring for Chris Leak.

He was never really comfortable all last season in first year coach Urban Meyer's spread option offense. But since Florida didn't have a dynamic backup QB, there wasn't a viable alternative. This fall, Meyer will have the option of incoming frosh Tim Tebow, touted as one of the nation's top QBs.

Georgia

Practice start date: Saturday

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Western Kentucky

The rundown: Yes, another quarterback battle, since D.J. Shockley has graduated. The only returning QB with any experience is Joe Tershinski, an average Joe by any stretch. Recent signee Matthew Stafford has already enrolled, so the battle will be on, with Joe Cox and Blake Barnes also in the QB hunt.

The Bulldogs also have to perform major renovations along the offensive and defensive lines, and in the secondary. Georgia lost five starters to graduation and one (tight end Leonard Pope) to the NFL a year early.

"We're losing a lot of good players and a lot more seniors than we lost last year, but we have talented guys who are excited about their opportunity," Georgia coach Mark Richt said.

Kentucky

Practice start date: March 29

First game: Sept. 2 at Louisville

The rundown: The big news in Kentucky is people might take notice of spring football since men's basketball has been a major disappointment so far. Embattled head coach Rich Brooks is hoping his new hire, former Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders, can give his offense an injection as quarterbacks coach.

Brooks said his starting QB job is open among returning starter Andre Woodson, Curtis Pulley, Will Fidler and Michael Hartline. Sanders recently said he felt Kentucky wasn't that far away from having a winning season "The difference may be some key injuries, a few key plays in games and scheduling."

LSU

Practice start date: Saturday

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette

The rundown: LSU has to replace six starters on both offense and defense. Three key offensive players starting quarterback JaMarcus Russell (wrist surgery) and running backs Alley Broussard (knee surgery) and Justin Vincent (knee surgery) will see limited or no practice.

With no Russell, this is redshirt freshman QB Ryan Perrilloux's chance to gain ground on Matt Flynn. Flynn earned offensive MVP honors in LSU's 40-3 Peach Bowl drubbing of Miami, completing 13-of-22 passes for 196 yards and two touchdowns, as the Tigers scored on eight straight possessions. Perrilloux was touted as the nation's best high school QB in 2004, but was redshirted last year behind Russell and Flynn.

Ole Miss

Practice start date: Monday

First game: Sept. 2 vs. Memphis

The rundown: The second spring under second-year coach Ed Orgeron might in some ways be as unsettled as the first.

A prime example is the Rebels' projected starting quarterback, junior college transfer Brent Schaeffer, who won't be on campus until June and summer school. So it means that new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Dan Werner will be teaching his schemes to a QB who probably won't start in the fall.

Mississippi State

Practice start date: Monday

First game: Aug. 31 vs. South Carolina

The rundown: State has 13 returning starters, which may or may not be a good thing considering last year's 3-8 record. The biggest thing is replacing three starters in the secondary, and finding more playmakers, especially since running back Jerious Norwood has graduated.

State coach Sylvester Croom is eager to see wide receiver Tony Burks of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. The 6-4, 215-pound Burks is on campus and already listed as a starter.

South Carolina

Practice start date: March 14

First game: Aug. 31 at Mississippi State

The rundown: Fundamentals will be the order of the day in the spring, especially on defense. Gamecocks coach Steve Spurrier went 7-5 in his first season last year, but losing the last two games, especially the 38-31 loss to Missouri in the Independence Bowl, still bothers him.

"I think we will be a better team," Spurrier said. "I don't know if we will win more games but hopefully we can act like we can block and tackle better. Certainly we weren't very good at that. I'm still very irritated at the way we played in the bowl game (squandering a 21-0 lead). It was sort of pathetic to watch some of our guys try to tackle in the second half. It was pretty pathetic watching our guys try to block some."

Tennessee

Practice start date: Thursday

First game: Sept. 2 vs. California

The rundown: After a 5-6 season in a year when Tennessee was picked to win the SEC, screws will be tightened on both sides of the ball for the Vols.

Most eyes will be on former Vols' offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe, back after six seasons as Ole Miss' head coach and a year away from the game this past season while recovering from heart surgery.

Cutcliffe promises to drop the hammer on Tennessee's constant offensive sloppiness that plagued the Vols. His greatest challenge is restore the fundamentals and confidence of junior quarterback Erik Ainge, who was awful last season.

Vanderbilt

Practice start date: March 14

First game: Sept. 2 at Michigan

The rundown: The obvious challenge for the Commodores is to find the next Jay Cutler, and that won't be easy. Next in line at quarterback is Chris Nickson, a redshirt freshman last season.

While most of Vandy's team was young last season, Commodores' coach Bobby Johnson has to replace seven players who started all 12 games last season. The good news for Johnson is that sophomore wide receiver Earl Bennett, one of the nation's best receivers a year ago, is bigger and faster.

(Contact Ron Higgins of The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn., at www.commercialappeal.com.)