SEC notes: Masoli part of three-way QB battle

By Andy Johnston

For the AJC

Randall Mackey and Nathan Stanley aren’t exactly caught up in the Jeremiah Masoli craze at Mississippi.

Mackey, a junior, and Stanley, a sophomore, are too busy battling Masoli for the starting quarterback job for the Rebels. Stanley is No. 1 on the depth chart and Mackey, a junior college transfer, is behind Masoli at No. 3 in the first week of practice.

Hype has revolved around Masoli, who led Oregon to the Rose Bowl last season by throwing for 2,147 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushing for 668 yards and 13 more scores. He was kicked off the team after pleading guilty to burglary and for marijuana possession and took up coach Houston Nutt’s offer to walk-on at Ole Miss.

Masoli certainly has more experience than Mackey, who threw for 3,122 yards at East Mississippi Community College last year, or Stanley, who has 23 career attempts.

Nutt insists the depth chart isn’t set, but Stanley has been taking the first snap during practices.

“It's even," Nutt told the Jackson (Miss.) Clarion-Ledger. "We're evenly dividing the plays. When we get closer to that first scrimmage, we'll know more.”

The Rebels open against Jacksonville State on Sept. 4.

The next Tebow?

The similarities are remarkable.

At 6 feet 3 and 225 pounds, Florida freshman quarterback Trey Burton is built like Tim Tebow.

Like Tebow, Burton went to a Florida high school. Burton graduated from Venice. Tebow went to Nease in Ponte Vedra.

Like Tebow, Burton entered Florida early, arriving on campus in January.

Like Tebow, his running skills are his strength. Burton rushed for 123 yards and two TDs on 10 carries in the Gators’ spring game.

Like Tebow, he’s spending his freshman year as a backup.

And like Tebow, Burton has a strong Christian faith.

“I just want to do whatever I possibly can to get this team to [the SEC Championship game],” Burton told the Sarasota (Fla.) Herald-Tribune. “I don’t care if it is washing people’s shoes or carrying water bottles. I am not really trying to prove anything to anyone. I am just going to go out there and try to make plays.”

Simms in front

Junior Matt Simms is the frontrunner for the starting quarterback job at Tennessee, coach Derek Dooley said, despite a poor performance in the team’s first scrimmage.

Simms was 9-for-21 for 80 yards and a TD while Tyler Bray was 11-for-22 for 153 yards and a TD.

Simms transferred to Tennessee after playing two games at Louisville in 2008 and throwing for 2,204 yards and 17 TDs at El Camino (Calif.) Community College last year.

Bray is a freshman from Kingsburg, Calif., who enrolled in January.

Moving around

Alabama appears to be trying to find the best position for Gainesville’s Blake Sims.

Sims, who quarterbacked the Red Elephants to the Class AAA championship game last year, practiced at safety on the first day of camp and spent the next four days at quarterback before moving to running back on Tuesday.

Sims (6-0, 180) had to be approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse before he could practice. He was cleared last week.

Around the conference

Tennessee freshman wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers (Calhoun), who committed to Georgia and then signed with the Volunteers, had three catches for 18 yards in UT’s first scrimmage. ... RB Josh Haden will be the third Haden brother to play for Florida when he transfers in January. Haden, who rushed for 692 yards in two seasons at Boston College, will join current safety Jordan and former cornerback Joe to play for coach Urban Meyer. ... South Carolina cornerback Stephon Gilmore said the Gamecocks are dusting off their Wildcat formation with him at quarterback. Gilmore helped South Carolina defeat Clemson 34-17 on Nov. 28 with his running and throwing out of the formation. ... Richard Murphy and Stevan Ridley are trying to hold off redshirt freshman Michael Ford for the starting tailback spot at LSU. ... Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb added about 15 pounds in the offseason, reporting to camp at 180. ... Auburn quarterback Cameron Newton (Westlake) connected with wide receiver Kodi Burns on a 60-yard pass at practice earlier this week. ... Meyer, Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen, Arkansas’ Bobby Petrino, Georgia’s Mark Richt, Alabama’s Nick Saban and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier are on the voting panel for the USA Today coaches’ poll, according to ESPN.com.