SEC links for Friday:
- Tom Murphy of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette is reporting that ex-U of L coach John L. Smith is headed to Arkansas to work for his old offensive coordinator, Bobby Petrino.
- Robbie Andreu of the Gainesville Sun reports that Florida loses Percy Harvin, but keeps Brandon Spikes.
- David Brandt of the Clarion-Ledger reports on decision of Ole Miss’ Greg Hardy to stay in Oxford.
- Maurice Patton of the Tennessean writes that the nation is ignoring SEC basketball.
- But in the Knoxville News-Sentinel, Mike Strange writes that the league is full of surprises.
- Peter Cox of the AJC reports on Georgia women’s coach Andy Landers picking up his 800th win.
- Jon Solomon reports in the Birmigham News that proposed early signing period in college football is likely to fail.
- Ray Melick of the News writes that it’s time to save college football coaches from their own madness.
- Gentry Estes of the Mobile Press-Register reports that another Alabama assistant is leaving, this time for Tennessee.
- Dan Fleser of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports on the Lady Vols win over Mississippi State.
- In the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Wally Hall writes that Arkansas must strike a balance to succeed.
John Clay is a sports columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader. A native of Central Kentucky and graduate of UK, he covered UK football for 13 seasons before being promoted to columnist in 2000. Born in Paris, he graduated from George Rogers Clark High School in Winchester in 1977. He lives in Lexington with his wife and two sons. You can e-mail him at jclay@herald-leader.com.