Howling in Hoover

HOOVER, Ala. — The best part about the Southeastern Conference Football Media Days is that the league’s coaches can’t duck you.
They all have to stand at the podium at some point, front and center in a second floor ballroom at the Wynfrey Hotel.
Arkansas' Houston Nutt, the first coach to speak in the three-day football bender, just stepped down from the stage and I’m sure he’s glad to be done.
Most of the questions centered around a tumultuous spring that saw a faction of the Razorback fan base turn on him after a 10-4 season. During the spring, he was forced to respond to a flurry of Internet critics who accused him of driving away prized quarterback recruit Mitch Mustain and of having an extramarital affair.
One enterprising fan (or bored and voyueristic, depending on your point of view) received copies of Nutt's cell phone records through a Freedom of Information Act request and posted the contents on the Web. The records showed an exchange of 1,063 text messages between Nutt and local TV anchor Donna Bragg from Nov. 30 to Jan. 11.
Nutt sent a letter denying the rumors last April, but they remain a topic of discussion around the league. He said Wednesday that his family and team have remained staunch in their support of him.
‘‘To have someone get so personal, to have so many things written and starting in your home state, sending things to an editor, things are starting to spread and it kept going and going,’’ Nutt said. ‘‘The toughest thing is your family. It's your family. One of the reasons why you're able to go home at night ... they know the truth.’’