COLLEGE REPORT: Tide running back Coffee opts for draft

Alabama running back Glen Coffee will skip his senior season to enter the NFL draft.

The All-SEC performer told the Mobile Press-Register on Friday that he’s “gone.” He told the newspaper the NFL draft advisory board projected him as a mid-round pick.

Coffee is the second Crimson Tide offensive star to announce he’s turning pro a year early. All-America left tackle Andre Smith has also entered the draft.

> FLORIDA STATE: Bobby Bowden, 79, says he’ll be back for a 34th season as coach. He said that details of his new contract are being finalized. He also said his longtime defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews will return. Bowden earns slightly more than $2 million a year. Bowden’s 382 career wins are one fewer than Penn State’s 82-year-old Joe Paterno, who is the winningest coach in major college football.

> CLEMSON: The Tigers hired Alabama’s Kevin Steele as defensive coordinator under coach Dabo Swinney. Steele served as coach of the defense for the Crimson Tide, who were ranked No. 1 for much of the season and finished 12-2.

> SOUTH CAROLINA: Coach Steve Spurrier hired offensive coordinator G.A. Mangus. He held the same position and was quarterbacks coach at Middle Tennessee State the past three seasons. He was a quarterback at Florida from 1988 to 1991 and part of Spurrier’s first SEC championship team. Also, quarterback Chris Smelley is leaving the Gamecocks to play baseball at another school. Smelley played in 21 games at S.C., going 5-4 as a starter.

> KENTUCKY: Linebacker Micah Johnson will return to the Wildcats for his senior season rather than enter the draft. Johnson said NFL evaluators ranked him a third-, fourth- or fifth-round selection. Johnson made 93 tackles, including a team-high 13 tackles for loss, and had 2.5 sacks.

> MARYLAND: Massa-chusetts coach Don Brown has resigned to become the defensive coordinator for the Terrapins. In his five seasons as UMass’ coach, Brown went 43-19, leading the Minutemen to two NCAA tournaments, including the 2006 NCAA title game. In 2006 and 2007, Brown led UMass to a 23-5 overall record with a 14-0 mark at home.

> MISSOURI: All-American Jeremy Maclin has decided to turn pro. The two-time All-American wide receiver and return specialist led the nation in all-purpose yardage as a sophomore. His 2,833 all-purpose yards were the fifth-most in NCAA history. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Maclin scored 17 TDs and caught 102 passes.