SEC Notebook: LSU looking for a way to stop Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel

News and notes from around the SEC on Thursday.

By Daniel Lewis

Oct 18, 2012 at 12:27 pm ET • 2 min read

LSU could use LB Kevin Minter as a spy against Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel, but coach Les Miles said they will use multiple strategies to stop the dual-threat QB. (US Presswire)

News and notes from around the SEC:

The Alabama-Tennessee rivalry is deep in tradition, but it's also loaded with connections this season. Tennessee coach Derek Dooley worked for Nick Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins, assistant coaches on both sides have worked for the other team and Tennessee defensive coordinator Sal Sunseri will be coaching against his son, Alabama S Vinnie Sunseri.
While South Carolina has received a lot of bad injury news this week, Florida is getting healthier. LB Jelani Jenkins , DE Dominique Easley and T Xavier Nixon are among the players who have been banged up, but are looking better in practice, the Florida Times-Union reports.
Vanderbilt coach James Franklin banned his QBs from speaking to the media for the last six weeks in an effort to help them focus. He lifted the ban this week, and this is what QB Jordan Rodgers had to say, via the Tennessean: “I need to help this team make plays. I really just need to get the ball out of my hands and make smart decisions, whether that’s in the checks before the play or whether that’s in my reads. We’re taking good strides to get to where we need to be.”
LSU is formulating a plan to stop Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel, who is a threat running and throwing. Coach Les Miles doesn't think that using a "spy" on defense is the only answer. "You want to contain, mix strategies, come get him, keep him in the pocket, cover his routes, make pressure of coverage ... it's going to take all of the strategy and all of the calls to defend a guy like that," Miles told the Times-Picayune.
With Georgia star LB Jarvis Jones (ankle) questionable for Saturday's game at Kentucky, freshman LB Jordan Jenkins is ready to step in. He sees it as an opportunity to catch Jones in sacks if he plays. “If (Jones) doesn’t play or plays hurt a little -- I don’t know which it’s going to be -- I’m going to try to hurry up and get some sacks," Jenkins told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I want to get up to his level or get past him before he gets back.” Jones has 5.5 sacks, while Jenkins has three.