Hogs not last pick this time

HOOVER, Ala. -- Arkansas was picked to finish fourth in the SEC West in voting by media members at SEC football media days Thursday.

The Razorbacks, coming off a 7-6 season that included a 2-6 record in SEC games, were picked last by the media in each of Coach Bret Bielema's previous two seasons.

Auburn was the choice of media members to win the SEC title with 96 first-place votes to 80 for Alabama and 28 for Georgia. However, Alabama was picked to win the SEC West, marking the first time in SEC history a team not picked to win its division was chosen to win the overall championship.

Alabama had 1,405 points to out-pace Auburn (1,362) atop the projected SEC West standings. That duo was followed by LSU (870), Arkansas (821), Ole Miss (732), Texas A&M (628) and Mississippi State (482).

Georgia, with 1,498 points, was the media choice to win the East over Tennessee (1,231) and two-time defending East champion Missouri (1,196). South Carolina was picked to finish fourth with 830 points, followed by Florida (768), Kentucky (534) and Vanderbilt (243).

Every Western Division team received at least two first-place votes, including six for the Razorbacks. Vanderbilt was the only SEC East school not to receive a first-place vote, though South Carolina, Florida and Kentucky received one each.

The media's selection for the preseason All-SEC teams will be released today.

Short on Chavis

LSU Coach Les Miles kept his comments brief when asked is he still had an amicable relationship with defensive coordinator John Chavis, who left the Tigers' staff to take the same position at Texas A&M.

"John has been a great guy for us and I have great respect for him," Miles said. "Just a tremendous person. You suspect that he will coach great defense at A&M."

Short cut

Georgia Coach Mark Richt was sporting an extremely short hair cut, nearly a bald head, during his stint.

Richt explained the shortest cut he has ever worn to media days as "a summer cut that got a little out of hand."

Richt added, "It feels good. Not sure I'll keep it."

LSU discipline

LSU Coach Les Miles said he has dismissed two of his players during the offseason and that he is uncertain of the status of a few others who are facing legal issues.

The Tigers booted redshirt freshman defensive tackle Trey Lealaimatafao in June after his arrest on allegations of hitting a woman outside a bar as she was trying to prevent him from robbing her unconscious boyfriend. Last year Lealaimatafao pushed his arm through a glass window and suffered a severe cut.

LSU also dismissed defensive tackle Travonte Valentine, also a redshirt freshman, this week after media reports that he failed multiple drug tests and missed classes.

The Tigers have three players -- quarterback Anthony Jennings, cornerback Dwayne Thomas and defensive tackle Maquedius Bain -- who are currently on indefinite suspension. They were arrested in late June and charged with unauthorized entry into an inhabited dwelling. Thomas had an additional charge of simple burglary.

Media reports in Louisiana indicate the players were trying to receive items believed to be stolen from Jennings' apartment earlier in the month. Jennings filed a police report claiming a MacBook Air, a PlayStation 4 and three pairs of shoes were taken from his apartment.

"The other guys are going through a legal process and that legal process will take time," Miles said.

"When we get information, we'll make a decision then. I'm very optimistic that a number of those guys will return, only because I know the information."

Excuse me?

Ed Orgeron, the former Ole Miss coach who began his career as a graduate assistant for Arkansas, is making himself heard as LSU's new defensive line coach even if the Tigers have trouble understanding his thick Cajun accent.

"He's got that crazy voice," linebacker Kendell Beckwith said. "I thought, 'He can't really talk like that 100 percent of the time. That's not normal.' But that's really him. That's his voice."

Shoe wars

Missouri Coach Gary Pinkel said if he had known Arkansas' Bret Bielema would kick off a Nike vs. adidas shoe war by touting his sparkly Nike Air Force 1s over Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen's shoes, he would have worn his LeBron James gold shoes from Nike.

"They would outdo the ones Bret has on and I told him that, too," Pinkel told CBSsports.com. But the whole ado over shoes isn't Pinkel's bag.

"Vince Lombardi would be flipping in his grave," he told CBSsports.com.

Bielema said up front he was simply having fun with the shoe chatter, and he later referenced one of his coaching mentors, Hayden Fry, when talking about social media recruiting meetings.

"[They] drive me nuts, but it's been very successful," he said. "If Coach Fry heard that he'd probably slap me."

Product placement

A pair of purple and gold Converse high-top shoes were positioned next to the LSU helmet on the podium during Les Miles' appearance in the main media room Thursday.

Miles said the shoes were placed there by a member of the LSU sports information department "who knows I have an attachment to those shoes."

Miles added he was "wearing regular shoes and regular socks," a reference to the faux footwear battle begun by Mississippi State Coach Dan Mullen and Arkansas Coach Bret Bielema earlier at media days.

Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze got in on the act later, saying he was wearing a pair of Johnston & Murphys from Williams Brothers General Store in Philadelphia, Miss.

"You should try the baloney and bacon down there, too," Freeze said. "It's quite fine."

Miles on Guice

LSU Coach Les Miles said he would visit immediately with running back Derrius Guice after he returned to Baton Rouge from media days. Guice has been released from the hospital after he passed out during a workout Wednesday.

Hogs on list

Arkansas tailbacks Alex Collins and Jonathan Williams were among 10 SEC players on the preseason watch list for the Doak Walker Award, which is given to the nation's top running back.

Williams and Collins were the only tandem in the FBS to rush for 1,000 yards last season, with Williams running for 1,190 yards and 12 touchdowns and Collins adding 1,100 yards and 12 touchdowns.

The other SEC players on the list are Texas A&M's Tra Carson, Georgia's Nick Chubb, LSU's Leonard Fournette, Missouri's Russell Hansbrough, Alabama's Derrick Henry, Mississippi State's Ashton Shumpert, Vanderbilt's Ralph Webb and South Carolina's Brandon Wilds.

Arkansas State senior Michael Gordon also was included on the 69-man watch list.

Worn down

Alabama Coach Nick Saban lamented the big plays his defense allowed, particularly late in the year, and he thinks he knows why they increased.

"We played 170 more plays on defense, which is like three more games, and at the end of the season it showed," he said. "We turned the ball over a lot at the end of the season. We gave up too many big plays and too many points."

Drake back

Alabama tailback Kenyan Drake said he's fully recovered from a broken left leg he suffered at Ole Miss on Oct. 4.

"It was definitely very difficult," Drake said. "It took a lot initially to overcome that, because I'd never been injured to such an extent. But we have the best coaching staff, the best rehab staff, the best players to help with that type of situation."

Drake, who in the spring ran the 40-yard dash in 4.4 seconds, rushed 22 times for 112 yards and had 5 receptions for 159 yards last season before he was injured.

Sports on 07/17/2015