SEC Notebook: Florida RB Matt Jones emerging as a potential star

Florida freshman RB Matt Jones came on strong at the end of the season. (US Presswire)

A look at what's making headlines in SEC country on Tuesday:

• Tennessee coach Butch Jones is close to completing his first staff in Knoxville, but he reportedly won't be adding Tee Martin, a National Championship winning QB (1998) for the Vols who currently is the wide receivers coach at Southern California. Martin was in Knoxville on Monday to talk to Jones but reportedly turned down an offer to join Tennessee's staff. "I think football-wise we know what that is all about and we know what Tennessee is all about and how I feel about Tennessee, and all the other things," Martin told WATE.com on Monday. "We're just trying to get to know each other."
  
  
• Florida freshman RB Matt Jones is bringing the Gators hope for the present and the future. The 6-2, 226-pounder had 16 carries for 146 yards in the last two games for the Gators this season. He's also the biggest back Florida has had on its roster in the last six seasons. He'll be an important part of Florida's plan when the Gators play Louisville in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1. He's also first in line to take over for senior RB Mike Gillislee in 2013. “He's practiced better,” coach Will Muschamp told the Florida Times-Union. “He's just done a better job of preparing himself throughout the week and understanding what it took to be successful. He's got a great role model in Mike Gillislee, as good as you'll ever find.”
  
  
• Arkansas' hiring of former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema caught many off guard. Perhaps there were some clues to the connection during the season, though. A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) revealed that Bielema sent a hand-written letter to Arkansas AD Jeff Long expressing support for how he handled the Bobby Petrino matter in the spring of 2012. "Just wanted to say that this note is long past due," Bielema wrote. "As I watched your press conference this past spring I wanted to reach out and say how much I respected your actions but more importantly your words."
  
  
• Neal Brown, who last worked as the offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, has been hired to the same position at Kentucky. Brown, 32, is a former Kentucky WR. He runs an "Air Raid" offense that relies heavily on the pass and uses four and five wide receivers regularly. “I want a style of offense that puts defenses in difficult situations," coach Mark Stoops told the Courier-Journal. "Also important to me was Neal's familiarity with the people of Kentucky and the university. When you put together the football and the relationships, it was a no-brainer.”

For more up-to-the minute news and analysis from SEC bloggers Larry Hartstein and Daniel Lewis, follow @CBSSportsSEC.