Many college football coaches are control freaks, and many of those many will admit it. (Did you have to read that sentence twice?)When it comes to practice schedule, practice length, all that jazz – particularly in the spring – those coaches have to be uptight. The NCAA demands it.With spring football at Kansas starting next week, (and two practices, **March 14** and **April 4** open to the public) let’s start off this blog by reviewing all the rules coaches must follow just to get some work in during the spring. Links to other Big 12 football news follows:**- The obvious one,** only 15 practices are allowed in the spring time. They must be conducted within a 34-day window (Kansas goes from March 12 to April 12).**- Only 12 of those** 15 practices can involve contact. No contact is allowed until the third practice session.**- The practices** that are designated as “no contact” can involve no pads except for a helmet (or a “bucket”, as Keith Loneker calls it).**- Of the 12 contact practices,** only eight can involve tackling. Of those eight, only three can consist of 11-on-11 scrimmaging for more than 50 percent of the workout. One of those three usually is the spring game (KU’s is on April 12).**- Athletes are limited** to four hours of work per day and 20 hours per week.I haven’t had the chance to ask which coach got out the abacus, did the advanced calculations and came up with KU’s practice schedule this spring. But considering all the rules the NCAA expects its schools to follow, you can bet that someone had to. By the way: When’s the last time an abacus was used for practical reasons?Now, on to the links:**Mike Baldwin, The Oklahoman:** Great story here. Oklahoma State receiver Artrell Woods [is practicing again][1] after a weight-lifting injury last fall cast doubts as to whether he would walk again.**Kyle Ringo, Boulder Daily Camera:** Never a dull moment around Colorado coach Dan Hawkins. [Check out what his plans are][2] to deal with NCAA-induced boredom between April 15 and May 31.**Jerry Hill, Waco Tribune-Herald:** First-year Baylor coach Art Briles took over a team [“eager and hungry”][3] as spring practices get going. Also, backup quarterback John David Weed moved to wide receiver. [(Kerry Meier-esque)][4]**The Oklahoman:** Five key questions [ for Oklahoma and Oklahoma State][5] heading into the spring.**Jake Trotter, The Oklahoman:** Mike Reed, a ballyhooed juco recruit at Oklahoma, [no longer is on the roster][6] after failing to earn significant playing time at middle linebacker. [1]: http://newsok.com/article/3211661/ [2]: http://www.buffzone.com/news/2008/feb/29/hawkins-plans-road-trip/ [3]: http://www.wacotrib.com/sports/content/sports/college/2008/03/03/03032008wacbufootball.html [4]: http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/photos/2007/11/20/SICover_112607_Kansas.jpg [5]: http://newsok.com/article/3211221/1204547866 [6]: http://newsok.com/article/3211651