Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens both made the watch list for the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the top linebacker in the country.

Of the 51 players were on the list, 11 were from the SEC. The others include Alabama's Dont'a Hightower and Nico Johnson, Mississippi State's K.J. Wright and Chris White, Ole Miss' Jonathan Cornell, Arkansas' Jerry Franklin, Georgia's Justin Houston, Vanderbilt's Chris Marve and LSU's Kelvin Sheppard.

Bynes led Auburn and was sixth in the SEC with 104 tackles last year. He had six tackles for a loss.

Stevens made 95 tackles, eight of which were for a loss.

With a scrimmage planned for tonight, we had limited availability to players this afternoon. Three showed up, so there aren't many notes (or we had to stretch a few to make a blog post). Nevertheless, let's commence bullet points:

• Left guard Mike Berry thinks it'll be nice to have a starting five in place on the offensive line soon, just for communication. The Tigers are rotating four different guys in at right tackle trying to find the right fit. "It's very important because it's the only position where you need all five guys on the same page," Berry said. "If one of us doesn't do our job, then we all haven't done our job. We all have to be up there and we all have to be on the same page, I got to know that you see the twist when I see it and we've got to be able to switch stuff off. Got to see blitzes and stuff. Communication is key."

• That said, Berry said the four senior starters are so tight up front that adding someone new won't be a problem.

• Berry on tonight's scrimmage: "Anytime we enter Jordan-Hare as an offensive line, I know that our thing is to be the toughest O-line in the nation." (But what about road games?)

• Berry said he had shoulder problems all of last year, something that was corrected after the season (not knee surgery as has been previously reported by numerous outlets, this blog included). That's why he missed the spring. "It was kind of tough but we found a way and I know I could correct it after the season," he said of playing through some pain. "I knew I was going to have to sit out the spring so it kind of hurt me but it was for the best."

• Freshman safety Ryan Smith got some praise from older players after the last scrimmage, so we requested him today. He was a late commitment from Cordova High to last year's signing class but reported the first day he could in May. He's apparently adjusted well. Right now, he's working on the punt return and kickoff units, but he doesn't know if he'll be asked to play right away. "Just whatever the coaches decide," he said. "We just want to play our roles."

• Sophomore T'Sharvan Bell sounds like he feels right at home back at cornerback. "I got recruited as cornerback/athlete, so I feel like that’s where I need to be," he said. He's working as a backup on both sides to starters Neiko Thorpe and Demond Washington, plus he's doing all sorts of special teams, which he seems to embrace. "It gives fans a chance to know guys who don’t quite play as much, and gives fans a chance to know who you are," he said.

• Bell on freshman Jonathon Mincy, who is one of the few cornerbacks to actually have played cornerback in high school. "I think it gives him some upside," Bell said. "He has a good feel for where he is out there. He lines up and he’s kind of bouncing around. Coach says, 'Hey, you’re kind of bouncing here, you need to play more technique,' but he has a better feel than most guys. He’s been there a whole lot."

• Count Bell as one of the many impressed by Cam Newton, who is apparently hard to pick off. "Cam always jokes with me, like `I’m going to give you one today. I’m going to give you one today,’" Bell said. "But he never gives me one. He never gives me one."

• On tackling Cam: "I know we’re not supposed to hit him, but he lowers the shoulder on me and kind of just looked at me. He’s a beast. You don’t want to hit him up high, you want to tackle him low."

• Interesting quote by Bell about the defense: "The way coach (Gene) Chizik has it now it’s really simple," he said. "If you can’t pick up the schemes of what we’re doing, it doesn’t make any sense if you can’t pick it up. He’s broken it down. We don’t have many languages, it’s one language we’re all playing. It’s very simple now."