According to a tweet by his agent Chad Speck, the Dolphins are signing former Falcons right tackle Tyson Clabo today.

That means last year’s second-rounder Jonathan Martin will be playing left tackle this season, and presumably kills the possibility of a Branden Albert trade.

The Dolphins invested heavily in receiving targets for Ryan Tannehill this year, and now they’ve stabilized his protection a bit.

via Dolphins to sign Clabo, signaling Martin move | ProFootballTalk.

Harris was arrested on Monday in New Jersey for allegedly possessing marijuana and the Jets didn’t take the arrest lightly, as they cut him the next day. Harris then flew home to Oregon where he was arrested again on Friday, this time on a domestic harassment charge, according to KGW-TV in Portland, Ore.

According to eyewitness reports, Harris got in an argument with his girlfriend outside of a Buffalo Wild Wings. Here’s the story from KGW.com:

Harris was arrested at 10:05 p.m. after he was seen and heard arguing with his girlfriend in the restaurant, said Lt. Henry Reimann with the Hillsboro Police Department.

Harris and his girlfriend went out to the parking lot where Harris was reportedly seen pushing her around, Reimann said.

Harris was also arrested in August 2011 while attending Oregon. In that incident, when an officer asked Harris if there was any marijuana in the car, Harris famously said, “We smoked it all.”

via Cliff Harris arrested again after being cut by Jets for being arrested – CBSSports.com.

After Locke was drafted, Kluwe was told by Minnesota management that the move was made for competition purposes. But Kluwe — who has been outspoken about a number of issues, including his pro-marriage equality views — feared there was another reason.

“It’s a shame that in a league with players given multiple second chances after arrests, including felony arrests, that speaking out on human rights has a chance of getting you cut,” Kluwe told Pro Football Talk recently.

Here’s what Vikings general manager Rick Spielman recently told Sports Illustrated’s Peter King: “Locke was the top punter in this draft. Some people are trying to play the other angle [the Kluwe-as-distraction angle], but that is totally off-base. That is off the radar. I want Chris, and all of our players, to have freedom of speech. This has nothing to do with Chris’ political views.”

via Outspoken Vikings punter Chris Kluwe implies that he’s been cut – CBSSports.com.

Baton Rouge police Lt. Don Kelly says the second suspect is Robert Bayardo, who has no connection to LSU football. Kelly says the 20-year-old Bayardo has been booked with felony second-degree battery following his arrest Friday morning.

Police say he was caught on a mobile phone video knocking out another man early last Saturday.

Hill was booked last Saturday with misdemeanor simple battery, but could wind up in jail because he was already on probation stemming from his guilty plea to a misdemeanor when he was in high school.

via Second man arrested in Hill altercation – College Football – SI.com.

Here are 10 lessons we learned from spring football across the country:

1. The Jameis Winston era is beginning at FSU

The search for a new starting quarterback was primed to be the major storyline at Florida State, as EJ Manuel, who threw for 7,736 career yards and 47 touchdowns in four years with the Seminoles, was selected in the first round of last month’s NFL draft. But while Jameis Winston and Clint Trickett originally appeared set for a lengthy position battle, Trickett’s recent transfer to West Virginia leaves the door wide open for Winston, a redshirt freshman who wowed coaches during workouts.

2. Oregon’s offense shouldn’t miss a beat

Chip who? Even without its old coach roaming the sidelines, the Ducks’ offense looked just as potent as ever in its first spring game under new coach Mark Helfrich. The high-flying attack reeled off 65 points, 802 yards and nine touchdowns on April 27. Fresh off a breakout freshman season, quarterback Marcus Mariota appeared ready to avoid a sophomore slump; he finished 13-of-15 for 169 yards and two scores in only four series of action.

3. Kentucky fans are ready … for football?

The hoops heads in the Bluegrass State certainly looked like football fans during Kentucky’s spring practice. Thanks to the spark provided by new head coach Mark Stoops, Big Blue faithful put together a massive turnout at the Wildcats’ spring game, with 50,831 fans venturing to Commonwealth Stadium to watch a team that finished 0-8 in SEC play last season. Only 4,500 fans witnessed Kentucky’s spring scrimmage in 2012. This year’s attendance number amounted to the largest spring crowd in program history, a testament to Stoops’ effect on the program in only a few short months.

4. Lane Kiffin is still trying to replace Matt Barkley

USC fell well short of expectations last season, when then team with a preseason No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll limped to an underwhelming 7-6 campaign. But while Barkley didn’t look his sharpest during that run, the four-year starting quarterback’s departure still leaves a gaping hole for Kiffin to fill. The Trojans have plenty of questions to answer to put last season’s disappointment behind them, but perhaps none is more pressing than the one under center.

5. Ohio State is ready, and eligible

The undefeated Buckeyes had to sit and watch other teams jostle for BCS position in 2012 while dealing with self-imposed sanctions. But this year, Urban Meyer’s program is once again eligible for the postseason, and, like other teams that didn’t earn bowl berths, it practiced for the first time this spring since late November. So the focus was on making up for lost time.

6. Alabama’s offense is still finding its footing

Nick Saban’s program is known for its routinely dominant defense, but its offense played a crucial role in Alabama’s third BCS title run in four seasons. The Crimson Tide averaged 445.5 yards per game in 2012, a total that ranked fourth in the SEC and 31^st in the country, respectively. If the team’s spring game was any indication, though, there’s still some fine-tuning left to do in Tuscaloosa.

7. UCLA’s future looks bright

The Bruins won their most games since 2005 (nine) in Jim Mora Jr.’s first season at the helm in 2012, and that momentum carried over to spring practice, where there was a palpable feeling of optimism. UCLA returns a proven quarterback in Brett Hundley, who threw for 3,740 yards and 29 touchdowns in 14 starts last year. And he performed well in the spring scrimmage; he passed for 179 yards and two scores.

8. Jadeveon Clowney should be ready to dominate

South Carolina’s monster defensive end might have been the top overall pick in last month’s NFL draft had he been eligible to leave the Gamecocks after his sophomore season. In fact, that’s why many analysts questioned whether or not Clowney would even play in 2013 to avoid risking injury. Clowney was limited in spring practice, and aside from a 54-yard touchdown grab from the sidelines in the spring game, he didn’t suit up for the scrimmage. But missing the entire season reportedly never crossed the junior’s mind. Now, there’s no reason to think he won’t continue his defensive dominance come fall.

9. Gus Malzahn’s return has Auburn fans giddy

After suffering through a dismal 2012 season in which the Tigers finished 3-9 and 0-8 in the SEC, Auburn fans breathed a sigh of relief when the school lured Gus Malzahn back after just one season at Arkansas State. And in a relatively short amount of time, the new coach has managed to inject life into the program he helped guide to the BCS title three seasons ago; an Auburn-record 83,401 fans showed up to the annual A-Day spring game, the biggest turnout of any spring game in the country. The offense showed signs of life in the scrimmage, scoring six total touchdowns — four more than last spring’s mark. Juco tailback Cameron Artis-Payne was the star, racking up 117 rushing yards and 47 receiving yards.

10. We have a playoff!

It’s finally official. As spring practice wound to a close, conference commissioners announced some of the details surrounding the upcoming college football playoff, which is named, well, the College Football Playoff. Following two semifinal bowls, the first College Football Championship Game will kick off on Jan. 12, 2015 at Cowboys Stadium, ending the 15-year run of the oft-criticized BCS.

via Florida State’s Jameis Winston, Oregon’s offense headline 10 things we learned during college football spring practice | Campus Union – SI.com.

From his seat, Alvarez can also visualize how the Big Ten will look in 2014 after a geographic realignment will separate the conference into seven-team divisions. The Badgers will be in the West along with Nebraska, Iowa, Northwestern, Minnesota, Illinois and Purdue.

“I like the grouping because it protects all of our natural rivalries, our border battles,” Alvarez said. “It will make it a lot easier for our fans to travel. That was not the case the last time.”

When the Big Ten expanded to 12 schools with the addition of Nebraska, the Badgers were placed in the Leaders Division, which also included Ohio State, Penn State, Purdue, Illinois and Indiana. Although Minnesota was a protected rival each season, Iowa was not.

Alvarez pointed out that there were much different criteria for that realignment. The three main considerations, in order, were competitive balance, maintaining natural rivalries and geography. “And there were six teams that clearly separated themselves,” he said.

Dating back to when Penn State entered the conference in 1993, the six winningest programs were Ohio State, Michigan, Penn State, Wisconsin, Iowa and Michigan State. So there was an equal divisional split along those competitive lines: three in the Leaders and three in the Legends.

Alvarez agreed that competitive balance is subject to cycles. The Spartans are 18-9 over the last two seasons, while the Hawkeyes are 11-14. “But if you take a look at that 20-year stretch,” he said of the Hawks, “they’ve been pretty good during Kirk’s (Ferentz) tenure.”

In-season competitive balance is also impacted by injuries to impact players; difference-makers on either side of the ball. When the league goes from eight to nine conference games in 2016, Alvarez feels that there will be an urgency to develop better depth because the schedules will be strengthened.

Not only will there be fewer nonconference games – three instead of four – but there will be fewer overmatched opponents and less potential for mismatches. The Big Ten is phasing out games against FCS schools. Wisconsin has two remaining: Tennessee Tech in 2013 and Western Illinois in 2014.

“I just think it makes you better when you play a tougher schedule,” said Alvarez, noting that at least one of those future nonconference slots each year will be filled by a BCS program. “Overall, I think it will help everyone; I know that it will help our league. We’ll all have to recruit better.”

via Alvarez at the forefront of changing college football landscape – UWBadgers.com – The Official Web Site of The Wisconsin Badgers Athletics.

Milan Richard, a 4-star tight end from Savannah, announced on Sunday that he will pick between Clemson, South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss on June 4.

UGA was also considered one of Richard’s frontrunners until the Bulldogs got a commitment last month from another highly-regarded tight end, Jeb Blazevich of Charlotte. Blazevich picked UGA over Clemson and Ole Miss.

“They (Georgia) are only going to take one guy,” Richard told the AJC on Sunday night. “Me and Jeb are very close. And I think a lot of people forget the fact that even though we were both recruited by the same schools at the same position, we’re still good (friends). I have nothing against Jeb. We’re really close. (Georgia) got a great guy with Jeb.

“It’s nothing bad against Georgia but they’re only taking one kid (at tight end). So that door has closed.”

Richard’s high school coach at Calvary Day told the AJC after Blazevich’s commitment that he was contacted by UGA officials, which said they were “still very interested” and going to “actively recruit” Richard. However, UGA could not promise a scholarship, at this point, in its 2014 recruiting class.

“The whole time, Georgia had been saying that they were only going to take one guy at tight end,” Richard said Sunday. “I don’t know if anything has changed. If anything has changed, I’m sure they will let me know. As of right now, I only know that they are only going to take one guy. So that door has been closed.”

via Herschel Walker’s nephew headed out of state for college football | College Recruiting | www.ajc.com.

The Crimson Tide will enter the fall as one of the favorites to take home the final BCS title. That would be three straight for Nick Saban & Co. and the fourth in the past five years.

Its gaudy. Its greedy. Its Alabama.

The Tide are equipped with an elite quarterback in two-time BCS championAJ McCarron, who will have plenty of offensive toys around him. Potential All-American Amari Cooper leads what should be an explosive receiving corps, while T.J. Yeldon appears more than ready to be the go-to back in the offense. Saban was also pleased with an offensive line that replaced three NFL draft picks this spring.

As usual, the defense has elite talent sprinkled around, but it’s still “a work in progress,” as Saban puts it. Something tells me it’ll be just fine come Aug. 31.

Oh, and you think this team is worried about complacency? It’s not even a word in Tuscaloosa.

“We don’t have that situation at our place,” Saban said. “Last year, the team had to make a decision of what the legacy of that team wanted to be, and they sort of took that challenge and did a nice job with it. This team is going to have to do the same thing.”

via SEC spring wrap — college football – ESPN.

Whatever the selection committee’s makeup, the Southeastern Conference commissioner is aiming for a process the fans will buy into when the new system takes effect in two seasons.

“We want football expertise,” Slive said on Monday. “We want integrity, and we want transparency, because this is our opportunity to make sure that not only are we comfortable but you’re (the media) comfortable and all the fans are comfortable that this process is the way it should be. It’s not going to be easy.”

Slive isn’t predicting when that final, big piece of the playoff puzzle will be put in place but is hoping it will be in the next several months.

Speaking at the Associated Press Sports Editors Southeast regional meeting across from the SEC’s downtown headquarters, Slive spoke on the playoff system and the potentially stabilized conference alignment among other issues.

The Atlantic Coast Conference last week joined the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Big 12 when its members agreed to a grant of rights handing over their television rights to the league. The legally binding deal runs through 2027 and makes conference-jumping nearly impossible. Slive and ESPN are expected to announce a new SEC Network Thursday in Atlanta – minus the grant of rights.

“Looking at it from the outside looking in, it looks like it may create some stability,” Slive said. “And I do think that at this stage of where we are stability will be constructive so we can move ahead in some other ways.”

As for the playoffs, the commissioners decided last week that Cowboys Stadium will host the first championship game in the new postseason system. The Cotton Bowl, Fiesta Bowl and Chick-fil-A bowls joined the Rose, Orange and Sugar bowls in the semifinal rotation.

The next hurdle is settling on a committee that Slive expects to include from 14 to 20 members, plus the criteria for picking the four semifinal teams.

Slive has some experience on selection committees since he is a former chair of the panel that picks the NCAA men’s basketball tournament field.

“You’re there to represent football and what’s in the best interest of football, what’s in the best interest of the playoffs,” Slive said. “There’s a foundational culture from which we can work. Now we need to adjust it to football and the fact that we’re not picking 68 teams, we’re picking four.”

For the conference that has claimed the last seven BCS titles, making sure the teams weren’t restricted to conference champions was a big factor. It helped spark a push for change when Alabama and LSU met in the championship game two years ago in an SEC Western Division rematch.

If two SEC teams are deemed among the top four in the new system, both will get their shot.

“It was an important piece,” Slive said. “It took us about a year to put all this together, and one of the foundational pieces of it was that there wouldn’t be a limit. We’re looking for the best teams to play in the playoff. We didn’t want to create artificial limit. That was basically an artificial limit in the old system.”

via Mike Slive wants football experts picking playoff field – College Football – SI.com.

The Big Ten Conference office announced football division alignments set to begin in 2014 and nine-game conference schedules set to start in 2016. [...] The new division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. [...]

Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. [...]

With the start of the nine-game conference schedule in 2016, teams from the East Division will host five conference home games during even-numbered years, while teams from the West Division will host five conference home games during odd-numbered years. As a result of the nine-game conference schedule and the Big Ten’s schedule rotation, every student-athlete will have the opportunity to play against every other team in the conference at least once during a four-year period.

via Big Ten announces new divisions, nine-game conference schedule | Campus Union – SI.com.

The polarizing 25-year-old has been released just days after the Jets drafted quarterback Geno Smith in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Tebow’s turbulent Jets career began with a large press conference but never truly got off the ground. Tebow attempted just eight passes while paired with New York’s other embattled quarterback, Mark Sanchez.

“We have a great deal of respect for Tim Tebow,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said in a statement released on the team’s website. “Unfortunately, things did not work out the way we all had hoped. Tim is an extremely hard worker, evident by the shape he came back in this offseason. We wish him the best moving forward.”

via Tim Tebow Cut: Jets Release Quarterback After One Season In New York.