Quotes from today's SEC Coaches Press Conference

Tommy Tuberville, Auburn: "I thought we had a real good spring practice. We had great weather and went a little earlier this year in the month of March to beat finals. Offensively we seem to still have a race at quarterback with no clear cut starter after spring drills and it was nice to have Carnell Williams back on the field. Our offensive line is young, but I thought offensively we had a good spring. We picked up the new offensive scheme pretty well considering we didn't have much time to practice. We have a chance to be a pretty good defense. We have a few defensive changes but most of it stayed the same. I think we have a good chance to be pretty good this upcoming season. The biggest change is we are going to be a little more physical this season and we worked all spring long on that."

Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee: "I thought spring practice was very productive for us. We had some issues coming in with the graduation losses we had, especially on the offensive line, and I think we made some real progress.Replacing all four defensive lineman is a challenge, but I think we are going to be fine. Losing Dante Stallworth was a big loss and we still need to address the wide receiver situation, but overall I think we had a good spring. Casey Clausen performed very well and we are going to have good competition for some positions."

Ron Zook, Florida: "I think spring drills went well. With just 15 practices, it's hard to install a new offense and defense, but things went very well. At the end of spring ball we went over everything and had some objectives we wanted to accomplish. I just can't say enough about how everyone has be responsive to the changes and have done all the things we have asked them to do. Offensively, I'm excited about the way they started to pick things up, especially towards the end of spring drills. It's been a long time since they've put a new system in at Florida so naturally it will take a little longer. Defensively, we've added some things I did while I was with the New Orleans Saints. I think the defensive was a little ahead of the offense, but it will take some time and we'll be fine."

David Cutcliffe, Ole Miss: "I thought we had good work during the spring. 15 days is not enough time for any football coach, but I though our attitude was outstanding. We had a new defense installed and it is going to take a little more time to adjust to that, but we had a very physical spring and I think everything will be fine. We are going to a 4-2-5 scheme on defense which very few teams run. Our personal here fit very well into this scheme. I like the system, I like the philosophy and I think we are going to be a good defensive football team."

Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State: "Spring practice, as always, everyone's mind-set is what kind of football team we have. We also re-evaluate and see if the kids you have coming in early have and get them ready to play and see what kind of talent is on your team. The thing the I've said is all of us football coaches is here temporarily and we are in the business called survival. This is my last ride and hopefully I will be here for a while. The league is strong because of the leadership it has had and it will continue to have. It is a league that really works together and they don't restrict some of the people in the conference."

Mark Richt, Georgia: "We had a good spring. The big thing for us in the spring is continue to teach these kids to compete hard. We want them to compete for playing time, starting jobs and offense versus defense. When I first came here, the kids never competed hard and now they love the competition. Just like everybody else, we are waiting on 25 freshman so we were missing some guys in that spring game that we'll have when the season starts. We really have high expectations for ourselves - I didn't come to Georgia to just be in the Top 25. I want Georgia to be one of the best teams in the country. A lot of winning has to do with how you believe in yourself and part of our job is to get that installed into our kids' heads."

Nick Saban, LSU: "We were pleased with the way our spring went. We had a lot of players make good progress. The expectations are going to be higher than they ever have been which is going to make it a much more treacherous track. I asked our guys are we going to be a one year 10-win team or are we going to do this on a consistent basis. We don't have a lot of options right now with Marcus Randall out, we have the players that are on our team and that's it. Marcus was having an outstanding spring and it's unfortunate he tore his ACL. He is going to need surgery and will be out a minimum of four months."

Lou Holtz, South Carolina: "I think we had a descent spring, I don't know if anyone ever feels they had a bad spring. We had some difficulties with all the athletes we lost, many of which went to the NFL. I'm not concerned about the image of this conference. I think with two schools being put on probation speaks well of the conference. The conference dealt with the school's actions. The playing field is never going to be level, but yet we think we have a program that is going to win here. I was informed late last night the Ryan Brewer is going to have surgery on his ankle and won't be back until the beginning of fall practice. To lose Brewer at this time is devastating and I have no idea what we are going to do at the running back position."

Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt: "I thought spring practice was pretty good. We had a lot of work to do and I was pleased with the guys' attitude's because they came out and worked really hard. We came out and basically evaluated the talent. We still have a lot of work to do but we should be fine. We came here knowing it will be a tough situation for the first couple of years and we were brought in here expecting that. We are going to have a hard road next year and we are going to have to play our very best because there is a lot of talent in this conference."

Guy Morriss, Kentucky: "We felt like we had a good spring and accomplished most of our goals coming into spring training. I thought offensively and defensively we got to take a good look at some kids who red-shirted last year and I felt like we had a good spring practice. I think it will be 2004 or 2005 before we get back to 85 players. We feel like we have a good plan and we are going to execute that plan. All we are going to ask for is some time and patience because there is not much you can do when every other team is getting 25 scholarships and we're getting about 16 or so. We are going to make a concerted effort to red-shirt players. I think it's important for kids to have that extra year of experience."

Dennis Franchione, Alabama: "We were able to build on some of things we put in place last fall and getting things put in offensively and defensively. I feel this spring we had better productivity compared to last spring. I think our strongest position right now is running back and we want to create a way to use two running backs in the offense."

Houston Nutt, Arkansas: "I felt like we had a good spring and we had some guys who showed up with good attitudes and work ethic. Like almost every other coach, I wish we had a few more days, but overall I think we had a good practice. I was really hurt by Nolan Richardson's comments and I hope we are past that."

Format: Following introduction each coach will issue an opening statement followed by questions from the media for seven minutes.

Order of Appearance

Time	Coach
11:00 a.m. ET (10:00 a.m. CT)	Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
11:07 a.m. ET (10:07 a.m. CT)	Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee
11:14 a.m. ET (10:14 a.m. CT)	Ron Zook, Florida
11:21 a.m. ET (10:21 a.m. CT)	David Cutcliffe, Ole Miss
11:28 a.m. ET (10:28 a.m. CT)	Jackie Sherrill, Mississippi State
11:35 a.m. ET (10:35 a.m. CT)	Mark Richt, Georgia
11:42 a.m. ET (10:42 a.m. CT)	Nick Saban, LSU
11:49 a.m. ET (10:49 a.m. CT)	Lou Holtz, South Carolina
11:56 a.m. ET (10:56 a.m. CT)	Bobby Johnson, Vanderbilt
12:03 p.m. ET (11:03 a.m. CT)	Guy Morriss, Kentucky
12:10 p.m. ET (11:10 a.m. CT)	Dennis Franchione, Alabama
12:17 p.m. ET (11:17 a.m. CT)	Houston Nutt, Arkansas