Ali Groves could have gone to Florida. Or to Vanderbilt. Or to Missouri. But instead, the Stephenson High defensive back chose Steve Spurrier and the University of South Carolina for his football career.

The biggest issue for him may be a neck fracture, which kept him out for most of the 2011 season. Having said that, he was cleared to play in December – rather like a certain SEC alum we all know – so should be fine come September.

Palmetto Sports said that linebacker Brandon Golson of Georgia Military Junior College may also come to Columbia as soon as this week.

It must be noted that Groves wasn’t offered by his two homestate universities – UGA or Georgia Tech – perhaps the neck injury really is a worry.

Stats-wise, he’s run a 4.41 40, and jumped a 32 inch vertical (he’s already 5 ft 10), according to Rivals.

Star offensive linesman Ethan Pocic is moving out of Big Ten country and into the SEC, he told his Twitter followers today.

“Yo just commited to LSU!” said the 6 ft 7, 285 lb giant offensive tackle. This news was well-timed, as it gave a lot of journalists some time off the SEC Spring meetings, which started in Florida on Tuesday.

Pocic, a four-star recruit who’s ranked 36th in the country, will bring more solidity to Les Miles’ offensive line, also helping the running game as well as the future of quarterback Zach Mettenberger, who is almost certain to be playing two years behind the Tigers’ line this year (unless he’s flawless and will immediately start in the NFL, which he won’t!).

After rumours, more rumours, and even more rumours about what was going on in the SEC, CBS came out with the big news of the day (that everyone already really knew)…..the conference was close to releasing its 12-year schedules (just in case you were planning to visit your 6-year-old in college that date)…possibly as soon as Friday.

The biggest news amongst this is the confirmation of what will forever be known as the 6-1-1, which will see:

1) 6 intra-division games

2) 1 rotating cross-division match-up (meaning you’ll see Georgia vs LSU once every six years if they don’t play for the SEC Title)

3) 1 ‘permanent’ cross-division match-up.

The permanent match-up is the most interesting, as they’ll feature Georgia vs Auburn, Alabama vs Tennessee, LSU vs Florida, Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt, South Carolina vs Texas A&M,  Arkansas vs Missouri and…..(deep breath) Mississippi State vs Kentucky, according to CBS.

In order of excitement of the above, we’re now drooling over:

1) LSU vs Florida

2) Georgia vs Auburn

3) Arkansas vs Missouri

4) Alabama vs Tennessee

5) South Carolina vs Texas A&M

6) Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt

7) MSU vs Kentucky

Anyway, expect the announcement Friday.

It’s been a busy first day at the SEC Spring Meetings with everybody getting to find out how they felt about a play-off.

Everyone wants a four-team play-off, and in particular the four-best teams in the country.

But Steve Spurrier said that actually, the winners of the East and West should be decided ONLY on their records in their divisions.

He said: “We’ve lost seven games in the last two years, and five of them are to Auburn and Arkansas. We were pretty good against them other guys, I guess.” Nice way to talk about your divisional rivals, Steve.

In that world, LSU would have played South Carolina in Atlanta for the SEC Championship, by the way.

Mark Richt, Georgia’s coach told the Macon Telegraph: “I don’t know if he’d feel that way every year. I think this year he’d probably feel good about it. I don’t think it’s gonna change. … “I’m used to what we do. My mind’s ingrained that every game counts.”

He added: “The reality is that in our league play, and if you lose to somebody head-to-head or if you beat somebody head-to-head you’ve basically got a two-game lead on that team. So there is an advantage to that still. It’s not like there’s no advantage or no difference, there is a difference.”

But Spurrier’s rant did get backing from one Les Miles, who was his usual quotable self today.

Also, everyone’s getting asked about the new 6-1-1 schedule, which will see each SEC team play all six in-division opponents, one cemented ‘other division’ rival (ie Georgia vs Auburn, Tennessee vs Alabama, Ole Miss vs Vanderbilt etc etc) and one rotating rival (ie Georgia would play LSU one year, Alabama the next, Ole Miss the next). Most seemed to think it was a fair system.

Other things that happened: 

• Spurrier bated Florida State fans after they were voted No.1 by Phil Steele. His press conference was a writer’s dream. Tweets from his comments (and commentary on that) can be seen here. He was also quite happy not have Arkansas as a permanent cross-SEC rival.

• Nick Saban brought his team in two days after their National Championship to basically give them a kick in the ass for 2012. He used the word ‘entitlement’ a lot.

• Ladies, Vanderbilt’s James Franklin looked goooood in his white shirt and chinos at the SEC meetings today. He also said that thanks to the SEC and its in-conference schedule, he’s happy scheduling no-one particularly good in out-of-conference. Just can’t wait for Vandy vs Divison I-AA over and over again, folks.

• Apparently Spurrier got more people at his press conference than John Calipari got at his press conference. It’s probably because Spurrier’s more quotable than you, Coach Cal. And for the one journalist that WAS there, congrats! You had your own interview with one of the biggest coaches in college basketball.

While Nick : and Les Miles were expected to battle it out for a National Championship in 2011, Mark Richt and Steve Spurrier were expected to battle it out for the SEC East, James Franklin and his Vanderbilt team were expected to be their inspiring, yet toothless selves.

But the Commodores had a sensational season by their standards, finishing 6-6 and getting bowl eligible (they lost 31-24 in a heartbreaker in the Liberty Bowl).

Franklin, looking resplendent in white shirt and chinos (he looked like one of the cast of the OC), took the interview with the SEC’s Buzz Baker:

The 2011 season: The UConn win at the start of the season was critical to us – UConn were a team who had just gone to a BCS Bowl, and we needed to start building success from the start.

Selling Vanderbilt to recruits: We sell Vanderbilt on education, the SEC, playing time and finally Nashville, because the culture of a town is as important as the college education.

Upgrades to the Sports Facilities: We are having a brand new field turf put in that might allow us to try and host the State high school Championship game, brand new lights and a $31m indoor facility.

The schedule: Having 8 games on our schedule in a conference as tough as the SEC allows the flexibility with the other games. You can schedule an out-of-conference schedule in the way that you need to be successful, and that’s really helpful.

I’m very supportive of a 6-1-1 schedule. Having Ole Miss as our season’s competitor makes sense, and I’m excited about these discussions.

Hugh Freeze isn’t new to the SEC but he’s new to the head coaching business. But he’s come to familiar waters – Oxford, Mississippi – to take over the new head coaching job.

Anyway, he talked to SEC TV’s Buzz Baker.

Here are some good excerpts of his conversation:

On coming back to Ole Miss: It’s been an exciting ride for my family. I feel honored and blessed to be a part of Rebel Nation.

The Blind Side (Freeze was the high school coach of one Michael Oher, Baltimore Ravens offensive linesman and big-time recruit who eventually came to Ole Miss): Our recruiting team has really used the film to recruit. It’s a great thing to have behind us. Michael Oher has also helped us with recruiting to the university, too.

Scholarships: I don’t know how many scholarships we’ve given out at the moment. Under Ed Orgeron we did a great job of recruiting – we had 20 players drafted to the NFL in the three years he was in charge. The campus sells itself through its beauty. If we can just get the kids to the campus, we should have a chance of competing for them. But we’ve also got to improve the talent pool.

On coaching: We need to install a competitive spirit, but also reasonable expectations for Rebel fans. But what I’ll be expecting from my first game at Ole Miss is that we keep playing for 60 minutes. The fans won’t mind losing so much as the team’s making an effort.

Style: A lot of people have labelled me as a spread offensive coach. I do believe in running the football, but I don’t mind throwing it, either.

The SEC: I’ve said that the two best teams in the SEC West were going to move to the NFC East – and they could’ve done – they were that good!

Nick Saban sat down with Buzz Baker to talk about things at the University of Alabama, and he made sure that he delivered more than just an interview…

Here are some of his best quotes:

On Entitlement: There was a lot of entitlement in 2010 after we won in 2009 and we played badly. In 2012, the team we have now the entitlement is less but the schedule is tougher.

But entitlement is a human condition. With it, you focus on what you’ve done and the holiday that you’re entitled to rather than focus on what makes you successful.

The LSU game: I’m proud of the way they managed losing the first LSU game. We knew that we didn’t execute properly, and we felt that if we did, we could give ourselves the chance to play again.

The 2012 team: I met the team two days after the National Championship and said: “You haven’t done anything. That team’s gone. You are going to be the target for the other teams out there. They are going to count down to when they play you. You’d better get ready”. People will want us to play like the 2011 team. But this team’s lost 23 seniors, 8 of those to the NFL. We lost some really good players on offense and defense. The role of these guys on the teams change. The guy standing next to Dont’a Hightower is suddenly going to have to take his role. That’s what people don’t understand. People don’t understand is that the team isn’t going to look a lot like the 2011-2 team.

Play-off: People want to see the best teams play. And when the leagues get bigger the better the teams will become. I think that people want to see the best four teams play in the play-offs. There is no equal parity in the leagues. There will be a time when other leagues are stronger than the SEC. You will get a lot of complaining if the No.1, 3, 7 and 11 sides get into a play-off just because they happen to be conference champions. There will be a mutiny.

Wanting something other than a play-off is about self-absorbed people who care only about their own team and not about college football or its fans.

On the BCS: I’m a BCS supporter. If we have a four-team play-off we’ll debate who the fifth team should be. They have two-hour shows for that in basketball in March for the 65th team. That’s OK. That’s just interest for our game. The media creates it.

The league schedule: There are so  many natural rivalries in the SEC and some people want rotating scheduling. It’s important to fix rivalry games and important for our team and our fans to play the other division games, too. They look forward to it. What I don’t want is another game in the SEC schedule. That would just create another headache.

In his chat with the SEC’s Buzz Baker, Les Miles – wearing a rather loud yellow shirt – and not with all his children (they are on camp, apparently!) – had some soundbytes.

Sorry if the quotes aren’t exact:

The season: We played three 2nd ranked teams and beat them all. We played 13 great teams, and the one we didn’t so well in was the National Championship game, unfortunately. Our team understands they were in the SEC West and now they have a Championship banner that no-one else hangs.

Motivation for the future?: They are excited with playing and they are looking forward to it.

The team for 2012: Good on defense, and the offense will be much better. I like the way that Zach Mettenberger has approached the Spring. I like our running game and offensive line, too. And our special teams are all back. Our return games’s back.

Play-Off: Everyone wants some style of play-off. The college football fans want four more games, but we have to include the bowl system. I don’t believe that you can reasonably have a system without those factors. And I think that including the best-ranked and highest-ranked teams is more important than a conference championship winner. The Conference Champion denotes a geographic bias. But teams are NOT equal and you have to get a team into that play-off even if it has one loss. If a conference non-champions which has one loss is on the outside looking in that would be miserable.

Scheduling [Upon being asked that it would be 6-1-1 system]: I want to understand the format more. There should be more emphasis put on the divisional rivals. You can’t decide the fate of one division based on one match between the West and East. You have to decide it by match-ups within the division [ie. West vs West// East vs East].

Missouri: Plays great defence, and has a quality coach in Pinkel and had a quality spread offence.

Texas A&M: Another Texas team, which is quality and great competition.

Here are the SEC Spring Meetings schedule for the SEC Digital Network.

The ones highlighted are the football head coaches.

10:40-10.50                     Gary Pinkel, Mizzou

11:00 – 11:10                      Les Miles, LSU         

11:20 – 11:30                      Hugh Freeze, Ole Miss 
12:00 – 12:10                      James Franklin, Vanderbilt
12:30 – 12:40                      Nick Saban, Alabama
12:50 – 1:00                        Commissioner Slive

Don’t worry, we’ll be writing each of the press conferences up on SECFootballBlog.net!

Expect:

• Gary Pinkel to talk about new, big wide receivers, and the challenge of SEC Football after the joke that was the Big XII North.
• Les Miles to talk about quarterbacks
• Hugh Freeze to talk about life after Houston Nutt
• James Franklin on Vanderbilt’s continuing improvement and change in reputation.
• Nick Saban on recruiting, oversigning, world dominance, and his defensive line
• Commissioner Silve on just about everything else.

We love the SEC Spring Meetings. Whether it’s coaches ranting on about whether student-athletes should be paid to others talking about oversigning, they are generally the first smell of powder, and the first sound of war. The only thing it is missing is fans tailgating before, during and after it in the car park, and a live animal in parking lot.

Anyway, from Tuesday to Thursday it’s the Spring Meeting from Florida, which is going to mean potential RSI for this blog and a lot of information from you guys. Seriously – if you want to find out how Wil Muschamp plans to exorcise last year’s demon in the State of Florida, you’ve come to the right place. Heck, we’ll even have James Franklin’s pep talk  ‘State of The Nation’ about Vanderbilt’s improvement, and Mike Silve’s speech that gets more attention around college football land than Roger Goodell’s in NFL land come Super Bowl time.

Here are some things to watch out for/ bet on:

1) The over/under for the amount of times oversigning is mentioned. We’re going 5, but we might be a little high.

2) Whether anyone mentions Gary Pinkel’s drink driving episode at Missouri. Sorry Gary – did you think we’d forgotten?

3) Mentions that Mike Silve makes about the SEC beating everyone ass-handed at sports this year….extra points for a mention of Georgia’s Phillips Phillips winning American Idol.

4) Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin mentioning the words: “12th Man”. Extra points for the words “national recognition”. Extra extra points if he looks aghast when someone mentions the goddawful Aggies defense last year, that managed to blow more positions than…..[add your own comparison here].

5) Derek Dooley getting asked if he’s nervous about his job.

6) Mark Richt getting asked if he’s nervous about his job.

7) Nick Saban being asked what it’s like to be cloned from Darth Vader. Then Saban popping the reporter a look, and the reporter falling over, clutching his throat.

8) Les Miles getting asked if he actually has a quarterbacking plan this year. Because he didn’t seem to have one at the National Championship Game.

9) Every coach getting asked if they’d welcome more teams into the fray should the conference expand with ReAlignmentGeddon II.

10) Steve Spurrier offering to pay players $500 per match out of his own pocket to play for South Carolina. Extra points if he explains now departed Gamecocks quarterbacks Stephen Garcia’s personal problems in graphic detail. 

11) Joker Phillips and James Franklin saying: “Yes. We believe we can contend for a SEC title this year.”

12) Wil Muschamp simply looking angry about something. He usually does. Don’t mention Charlie Weis.

13) The amount of times people mention Bobby Petrino. We’re going for 10.

Tell us what you think’s going to be mentioned!!