The Second Day of Media Days

HOT POINTS:
*Nick Saban says he'll deal with three recently arrested players internally.
*SEC's top official clarifies rules changes.
*Coaches Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt), Sly Croom (Miss. State) and Urban Meyer (Florida) also take their turn in the spotlight.

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Hey everyone. Media Days is rolling again this morning. I'm going to work through the day in chronological order, highlighting the comments and developments you need to know about.

FIRST UP: Rogers Redding, SEC Director of Officials
Redding (pictured at right) discussed seven major rules changes for the 07 season. He's a pretty cool guy. I figured head officials would be a pious group of snobs, but Rogers definitely isn't that guy. He reminds me of Hal Baird, actually.

a.) Game clock starts when the kicked ball is touched legally in the field of play.
IN 06: Clock started when ball was kicked.

b.) Following a change of possession, the clock starts on the snap.
IN 06: Clock started on ready-for-play signal.

c.) The kickoff is at the 30.
IN 06: 35.

d.) During televised games only, charge team (not accompanied by a TV timeout) timeouts are one minutes.
06: 90 seconds.

e.) Following a TV timeout, the ready-for-play interval is 15 seconds rather than 25. The exception is for kickoffs, which stays at 25.
06: Always 25.

f.) On punts and kickoffs, penalty yardage for fouls against the kicking team may be tacked on at the spot where the ball becomes dead. The option to re-kick is still available.
IN 06: Re-kick was the only option.

g.) No defensive player, in an attempt to block, bat or catch a kick, may be picked up, elevated, propelled or pushed by a teammate.
IN 06: Rules did not cover elevating, propelling or pushing by teammates.


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UPDATE @ 10 a.m.
**Nick Saban arrived for his meeting with reporters around 8 a.m. The scene was nutty -- fans lined up through the lobby of the hotel, The Wynfrey, that plays host to Media Days. He was surrounded by his Alabama SID posse as fans basically shouted their adoration as Saban passed by. One lady got a high-five from Saban and was soooo happy about it. I was happy for her.

Television crews lined up outside the main ballroom for shots of Saban's arrival there. Instead, he was ushered through the kitchen and into the ballroom's rear entrance. That made me laugh. Gotta know the system.

**Also, Bobby Johnson (Vanderbilt) spoke earlier. He said Vandy would be better.

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UPDATE @ 10:30 a.m.
**Saban said the three players recently arrested will be disciplined internally. He said stuff like this isn't going to be discussed publicly during his tenure.

``These players have been given things they need to do and they are doing them," Saban said. ``If they do them properly and learn from their mistakes and improve as people, then they won't face any suspensions or anything that will affect their ability to perform on the field."

**A reporter asked how Saban justified his $4 million salary. "I actually took a pay cut," he said. Great answer.

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UPDATE @ 11 a.m.
**A reporter asked Nick Saban about the biggest misconception about Nick Saban. He responded this way: ``The biggest misconception about me is I've never adapted very well to the position that I'm in. I'm a country boy who grew up in West Virginia and pumped gas from the time he was 10 years old until he graduated from high school.

``To me, I'm still that way but maybe sometimes I don't realize that. Sometimes the things I say mean a lot more than I would intend them to be. Sometimes, because I'm a little bit shy, maybe that's misinterpreted as not being very outgoing."

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UPDATE @ 11:25 a.m.
**Sly Croom, Mississippi State's head coach (pictured at right), is at the podium right now. A few things struck me.

Mississippi State opens the season with LSU. Tough.

Croom is 9-25 in three seasons at MSU. Didn't you think he'd accomplished more? People talk about Vanderbilt being the doormat, but that's no longer fair to Vanderbilt. This is the doormat. The thing is that coaches don't come more principled that Croom, so it's becoming obvious that cheating is the only way to win in Starkville. Being a good coach and handling business the right way isn't working.

A reporter asked Croom if the state of Mississippi has enough high-school football talent to support two major college programs. Croom said: ``I'm not worried about supporting two. I just need one." These coaches are good.

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UPDATE @12:15 p.m. Florida coach Urban Meyer was behind schedule, so we got a late start there. A big surprise was Meyer saying he's excited about the new kickoff placement, which puts more emphasis on the return game.

Considering he has the best returner I've ever seen, Percy Harvin, I'm sure Meyer is salivating over this development.

Meyer was asked about the upcoming text-messaging ban for recruiting, which goes into effect on Aug. 1. "I disagree with it. In my opinion, it's wrong. I mean, that's how you communicate nowadays. If you want to go back and use the rotary phone, too, say coaches can only use a rotary phone."


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UPDATE @ 2:30 p.m.
All interviews have ended for the day. I'll be adding some notable quotes as I pore through the mound of information generated this morning. Look for major coverage in the Advertiser's Friday editions: Alabama story on the front page, Florida story on the sports front, column from Josh Moon describing Saban-mania in Hoover and all the notes you could want.

Well, aside from the notes you die-hards will read later today.