FanHouse Greg Mcelroy

Okay, Greg McElroy admits he overreacted and his feelings were hurt.

It was two Saturdays ago, following Alabama's dramatic victory over LSU, when McElroy vented that people, including teammates, had lost faith in him as the Crimson Tide's starting quarterback. Two days later, McElroy apologized if his postgame comments offended anyone and he further explained that getting mad was not the way to getting better.

McElroy was certainly better in Alabama's 31-3 victory over Mississippi State last Saturday, silencing critics with a solid performance he intends to build on as the undefeated Crimson Tide (10-0, 7-0 SEC) continues its march towards the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta.

Crazy as it sounded but a few weeks ago, there is a chance neither Tim Tebow, Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford will win the 2009 Heisman Trophy. Maybe that's a good thing. Their journey of inevitability has taken on some water surprisingly early this year.

When BYU's Coleby Clawson slammed Bradford to the turf causing a shoulder injury, Bradford's repeat hopes were finished. He has still yet to play a down since then. Last Saturday against Kentucky, Tebow also sustained a concussion injury while being driven to the ground. It is unclear whether he will play Saturday against LSU in Florida's first real test this season.

Meanwhile, Colt McCoy already has five interceptions although he completed 80 percent of his passes Saturday against UTEP as the Longhorns appear to have turned a corner offensively in pouring 64 points on the Miners.

Alabama's defense is getting all the love, and rightfully so. The Crimson Tide ranks second in the nation in rushing defense and third in the country in total defense. The unit expects to be thoroughly tested in its SEC opener on Saturday by Arkansas' prolific offense, directed by the hammer, Ryan Mallett.

Psstt, keep an eye on Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy, too.

"He's a real good football player," FIU coach Mario Cristobal said. "He really is."

Week 1 was the flu. Week 2 was shoulder soreness. OK, what's going on in Week 3?

The health of Georgia quarterback Joe Cox has been discussed, dissected and debated so much this young season that he could be a regular on General Hospital. Despite a jammed finger on his left non-throwing hand this week, Cox is in one piece -- and in good spirits. The rumors were so rampant last week that some believed Cox wouldn't start against South Carolina.

"It's definitely been interesting to see how crazy it can get just based off of what somebody says, but it hasn't been something that has been a distraction," said Cox, who injured his finger on an attempted tackle following an interception in the Bulldogs' win over South Carolina last Saturday.

"It's honestly something that we've all kind of laughed about."

Today the SEC released the Coaches' Preseason Football Team. There were three unanimous selections: Tennessee safety Eric Berry, LSU offensive lineman Ciron Black, and Alabama wide receiver Julio Jones. Noticing something surprising? Yep, someone didn't vote for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. And before you throw Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt under the bus, assuming he voted for his player, Jevan Snead, over Tebow, keep this in mind, coaches weren't allowed to vote for their own players. So presumably someone other than Nutt left Tebow off the first team.

Wow.

But that's not even the most surprising detail.

College Football Spring Storylines 2009 looks at the key developments and big news from spring ball.

Spring has begun for college football's mightiest conference, the SEC. The Florida Gators are the defending BCS champions and could field one of the best teams of the era next year. Several new faces have arrived elsewhere, from head coaches to quarterbacks. Some teams are tinkering, others facing wholesale changes. Others like Georgia and LSU can finally begin to implement fixes to what ailed them in a puzzling 2008.

Our SEC Spring Storyline will look like a countdown, beginning with the number four, same as the total number of BCS championships claimed by the SEC since 2004.