Notes from around the country as spring football starts to heat up.

Miami
'Canes thinking about another national title
The message Miami coach Larry Coker has for his players is short and to the point.

"It's time to put the national championship trophy on the shelf a little bit and start working on next year's trophy," Coker told the Palm Beach Post.

Starting Monday, the 'Canes open spring practice with a few holes to fill if they want to defend their national title. Among the most pressing are offensive line, where three starters from a dominating unit are gone. Making it a little more difficult is the fact Sherko Haji-Rasouli and Ed Wilkins, who combined to start all 12 games last season at left tackle, will miss spring practice while they recover from surgery.

Coker has a couple of options to solidify the line, including moving starting center Brett Romberg and replace him with Joel Rodriguez. Sophomore Carlos Joseph seemingly has the inside track to replace McKinnie at left tackle, but if he's not ready Hajo-Rasouli could take over there.

Other areas of concern are defensive back, where Miami lost its entire starting secondary as well as nickel back Markese Fitzgerald. Translated, that means 20 of the 23 interceptions Miami had last season were by players who won't return.

Look for Al Marshall, Sean Taylor, Antrel Rolle and Maurice Sikes to get first chance at the starting jobs with James Scott and Kelly Jennings in the mix as well. The catch -- not one of the six has started a game.

The final area of concern is who will replace Jeremy Shockey. David Williams -- the better blocker -- will battle Kellen Winslow -- the better and faster receiver -- for the spot.

But still, to Coker, this is good. Two months of celebrating the national title is enough.

"I'm very anxious to get started because that does turn the page," Coker told the Post. "We enjoyed the celebration, but that's over."

Florida State
Seminoles anxious to put last season behind them
Was it a one-year blip on the screen or could it be that Florida State has slipped?

Fresh off a season which saw its unbelievable run of 14 straight seasons of 10 win seasons and Top 5 finishes end, the Seminoles open spring football practice Monday. Offseason condition workouts have been encouraging to the coaches and FSU returns 22 players with starting experience, but there are still some lingering questions.

The Seminole defense must improve after allowing 356 yards and 26 points a game during last year's 8-4 season. The greatest battle will come at defensive end and in the secondary. Last year, the Seminoles recorded just 14 sacks. This lack of pressure made it difficult for the secondary, which allowed 230 yards passing per game.

Offensively, the 'Noles return their offensive line as well as QB Chris Rix and RBs Nick Maddox and Greg Jones. But Rix will receive competition from sophomores Adrian McPherson and Fabian Walker.

More importantly, the unit as a whole will have increased expectations.

"We made a few big plays last year, but skill-wise we weren't at the level that Florida State was accustomed to, as far as guys making plays with the ball once they had it," quarterbacks coach Daryl Dickey told the Florida Union-Tribune.

Boldin back on the field
Wide receiver Anquan Boldin is back running pass patterns and will take part in non-contact drills.

Boldin, who battled Rix for the starting QB job before moving back to receiver in August, tore the ACL in his left knee in a preseason scrimmage last fall. Boldin was the 'Noles' leading receiver in 2000 with 41 receptions for 664 yards and six TDs.

Georgia
'Dawgs focusing on defense
Sure, there aren't as many questions for Georgia coach Mark Richt, but that doesn't mean there aren't concerns as the Bulldogs open spring practice Monday.

The Bulldogs return just five starters on defense and must rebuild the line and the secondary.

"We need to build depth; we need to create better morale," Richt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "We need to see what these guys can do under fire."

Only one starter -- CB Bruce Thornton -- returns from the secondary. Decory Bryant should battle for the other starting CB spot. Sean Jones and Kentrell Curry are the favorites to start at safety, but watch freshmen Greg Blue and Thomas Davis.

On the defensive line, the 'Dawgs get several players back from injuries, including DT Gerald Anderson and Darrell Holmes as well as DE Nic Clemons. DT Johnathon Sullivan returns, but he may be better suited to end. Sophomore David Pollack and Ken Veal are battling for a starting DT spot while sophomore Robert Geathers and Sullivan are the best bets at end.

Arizona
Arizona practices in pads
Simple math: Football pads on equals greater intensity.

Arizona wore pads for the first time this spring and the practice soared to a new level. While no tackling was allowed, defenders were allowed to lower shoulders and meet the ball carrier head-on. Half of the practice was devoted to scrimmages -- both 7-on-7 and 11-on-11.

"The valuable thing about being able to wear the shoulder pads is you can run into each other a little bit without everybody bruising and possibly injuring their shoulders," Arizona coach John Mackovic told the Arizona Daily-Star.

While LB Lance Briggs provided the loudest hit of the day -- a slam that sent FB Sean Jones' mouthpiece flying, the offense seems to be ahead on the defense.

Freshman quarterback Nic Costa kept pace with returning starter Jason Johnson, completing 12 of 16 throws for 160 yards in 7-on-7 work, but was just 3 for 6 for 60 yards on 11-on-11 exercises.

"In three days, Nic is significantly better than when he started," Mackovic told the Daily-Star. "We're throwing so much at him with different coverages."

Johnson ended up 11 of 15 for 136 yards in 7-on-7 drills and 4 of 9 for 44 yards in the 11-on-11 work.

Other standouts include interceptions of Costa by LB Joe Siofele and walk-on CB Marcus Green and sophomore WR Ricky Williams who had five catches for 98 yards, including three leaping grabs on deep-middle routes.

"Ricky looks like he's a little faster than last year, and if he is, I think that will give him a chance to play some," Mackovic told the Daily-Star.

Auburn
Tigers get new look on defense
With a new defensive coordinator at Auburn, things are looking a little different. Gene Chizik is putting his stamp on the Tigers defense and most notable is Auburn will often keep two safeties back, instead of one creeping closer to the line.

"We've gone to more of a free safety-strong safety scheme," Chizik told the Anniston Star. "That's where we're going to start. There'll still be a lot of eight-man front football, but it'll be just a little bit different.?

So instead, of focusing more on the run, the Tigers will surrender some run support to avoid giving up the big play. It's one Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville is happy to have back.

"The defense is a lot more of what I used to run," Tuberville, who was defensive coordinator at Miami and Texas A&M, said in the Star. "Once we got here, we decided to go to an eight-man front, and that was my call, because I felt we needed to be stronger against the run.

" We're still going to run a lot of eight-man front, but what I felt uncomfortable with from my philosophy was, we were kind of getting away from more of a two-deep scheme in the secondary, and you can't run it from an eight-man front.

"We?re still going to run the eight-man front, but we?re going to base more out of what I had done for 15 years."

Last season, while the base defense was often a 4-3, it looked more like a 4-4 under former coordinator John Lovett. But the change means players like Karlos Dansby, who played safety last season, will be in the mix for a linebacker spot.

Also up for grabs are the safety spots. Auburn returns starter Donnay Young and backup Stanford Simmons, but Chizik is moving CBs Horace Willis and Travaris Robinson to safety.

"I've got to find some safeties that I feel comfortable with," Chizik told the Star.