Cody's Top 10 Teams, 21 Things, and 32 All-Conference Players from SEC Media Days

CodyCarpentier · Jul 20, 2024

During this week's 4-day SEC Media event, the Orangebloods team was consuming as much information as possible, attending 16 head coach press conferences and several player breakout sessions, while also interviewing and chatting with some greats in the industry. Later on, I will attach my personal ballot for the 2024 Pre-Season All-SEC Team.

My Top 10 Teams in the SEC Ballot (Predicted Order of Finish)

Ole Miss (11-1, Loss at LSU)
Texas (11-1, Loss A&M)
Alabama (10-2, Loss at Tennessee, Loss at Oklahoma)
Georgia (9-3, Loss at Alabama, at Texas and at Ole Miss)
Missouri (9-3, Loss at Alabama, Oklahoma, at South Carolina)
Tennessee (9-3, Loss at NC State, Florida, at Georgia)
Oklahoma (9-3, Loss Texas, at Ole Miss, at LSU)
LSU (9-3, Loss at USC, Alabama, at Florida)
South Carolina (8-4, Loss LSU, at Alabama, Ole Miss, at Oklahoma)
Kentucky (7-5, Loss at Texas, at Tennessee, at Ole Miss, Georgia, South Carolina)

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH by the Overall SEC Media in Attendance

School	Points
Georgia	3330
Texas	3041
Alabama	2891
Ole Miss	2783
LSU	2322
Missouri	2240
Tennessee	2168
Oklahoma	2022
Texas A&M	1684
Auburn	1382
Kentucky	1371
Florida	1146
South Carolina	923
Arkansas	749
Mississippi State	623
Vanderbilt	293

21 Things from 2024 SEC Media Days

Bo Davis returned to LSU because he wanted to "Be the Architect" and "Rebuild the Pride and Tradition of the LSU Defensive Line."
South Carolina HC Shane Beamer explains adjustment to the SEC for Texas and Oklahoma: "On the field - Size and the depth and athleticism on the line of scrimmage in the SEC. Maybe 1 or 2 guys on the opposing team that you need to pay attention to, now in the SEC it’s like 6 or 7 every single Saturday."
"Free Agency, Trade, and Salary Cap" were all terms used multiple times by different coaches, predominantly led by Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin
Mississippi State returns just 2 starters on defense and Zero on Offense. Coach Lebby mentioned, "We have a lot of dudes that have played, just not at Davis-Wade."
A&M HC Mike Elko on QB Conner Weigman "he needs to stay focused on the day-to-day of being a great quarterback - injury, injury, injury - now he is back and healthy, I just think he needs to take the next step. It's his third year of college football and he's only played 6 games. He's got to pack experience into his brain that he needs to earn off the field."
Tennessee HC Josh Heupel was asked what he saw while recruiting Nico Iamaleava: “Athletic Traits, ability to throw football sideline to sideline and vertically. Accurate, loose, quick trigger, extends and makes plays with his feet. Evading and making plays downfield. When he came into the building he wanted to earn the respect from his teammates, takes great ownership in his abilities to learn, and take ownership of understanding our playbook.”
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier gives off a professional attitude and understanding of what he is walking into, Coach Brian Kelly mentioned, "If you talk about just the neck up, the ability to translate, take the offense from the classroom & translate that to the field. Jayden Daniels had great recall, he could memorize & do it on the field. That ability is what makes the great QBs great. Garrett has done that, too. Now he's got to go apply that to the game & I believe he will as well."
Longhorns HC Steve Sarkisian mentioned having "7 quality options at Wide Receiver to evaluate during fall camp." and it's "Fair to say Ryan Wingo is a really good player for us."
Ole Miss HC Lane Kiffin explained his team's issue the last few seasons: "There was a length and size issue. Both Kirby (Smart) and Coach (Nick) Saban have an exact profile that they recruit to. ... We're going to look better coming off the bus, this year."
Texas DB Jahdae Barron on his decision to stay one more year at Texas: "I had a lot of decisions to make, but any decision I made was going to be the right choice - me staying, was the right choice, I'm where my feet are and I'm ready to get it rolling. - I just want to be able to ball and benefit my team in any way possible. The sky is the limit, I'm trying to go as far as NASA, I'm going to the moon to the top."
With Nick Saban no longer coaching at Alabama, it felt like the big dog in the room was clearly Kirby Smart, as he is the second longest-tenured coach in the SEC, behind Mark Stoops at Kentucky.
Oklahoma HC Brent Venables on QB Jackson Arnold: "His ability to handle the highs and lows, the challenges and success that the season brings. Nobody is more competent or ready despite his lack of starts.
Auburn HC Hugh Freeze's opening statement lasted 3 minutes 55 seconds, nearly 10 minutes shorter than the longest, coming from Texas HC Steve Sarkisian at 13 minutes.
Arkansas HC Sam Pittman on recruiting goals: "Our goal is to try to get to 20 out of HS" - This year Arkansas got 17 High Schoolers and 22 Portal Guys. - "We try to put a 6-hour radius around Fayetteville in recruiting. And Dallas is in that radius and we drop down to Houston as well. We have less than a dozen D1 kids in our state in our opinion and in Dallas, there is what, 50?"
Kentucky HC Mark Stoops on if he was pursued by Texas A&M this year. "I was pursued pretty aggressively by them, and we'll just leave it at that out of respect for everyone involved." - "Another stat I was given on the way here, is there are only 19 coaches in SEC history that have Coached for 12+ seasons at the same school, I take a lot of pride in being one of them."
Alabama HC Kalen DeBoer on one similarity between him and Nick Saban: "Coach Saban poured into the guys and loved them and wanted the best. Holding them accountable."
“When this all lands, there will be some sort of a Salary Cap" - Oklahoma HC Brent Venables
Florida HC Bill Napier feels like his program is "close", "just in January-April, we gained 500lbs in lean muscle, our team looks different, all the number, metrics and speeds, not to mention the culture. - It's going to be a huge part of our success this year."
Former Baylor QB Blake Shapen is now at Mississippi State, he mentioned Coach Lebby as the main reason, "I knew his offense from seeing it at OU and I knew I wanted to play in the SEC.", Lebby also mentioned "We got our guy" when asked about Shapen.
For my money, there is no better-run Media Event in the Football Industry than SEC Media Days, It felt like each day got better, and @Alex Dunlap and I found ourselves comparing it to the NFL while leaning towards the SEC as our favorite. All the way down to the Sweet Piquante Peppers in some lunch side dishes... I guess #ItJustMeansMore
Arkansas DL Landon Jackson on his younger brother and Texas Commit Lance Jackson: "Really talented player, I feel that I have helped him in a way that only a player with an older brother that's been through the process can help. - A lot of reasons freshmen can't play as freshman is that they don't know certain drills, how to read certain plays, and stuff like that - every time I go back home, I take him to the facility, breaking the film down, and showing him drills, putting him in a position that I wasn't fortunate enough to be in, so when he can go to Texas his freshman year and if he doesn't start, play as a freshman. - He holds weigh real well, he weighs about 265 now, I think he can get up to 290lbs and on passing downs be a guy that can move inside to rush the passer as a 3-tech."

My 32 First Team Pre-Season All-Conference Player Ballot

QB1(Team 1) - Jalen Milroe, Alabama
QB(Team 2) - Quinn Ewers, Texas

RB1(Team 1) - Trevor Etienne, Georgia
RB2(Team 1) - Jaydon Blue, Texas
RB3(Team 2) - Josh Williams, LSU
RB4(Team 2) - Raheim Sanders, Arkansas

WR1(Team 1) - Luther Burden III, Missouri
WR2(Team 1) - Deion Burks, Oklahoma
WR3(Team 2) - Tre Harris, Ole Miss
WR4(Team 2) - Cam Coleman, Auburn

TE1(Team 1) - Mason Taylor, LSU
TE2(Team 2) - Oscar Delp, Georgia

G/T(Team 1) - Will Campbell, LSU
G/T(Team 1) - Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
G/T(Team 1) - Kadyn Proctor, Alabama
G/T(Team 1) - Tyler Booker, Alabama

C(Team 1) - Parker Brailsford, Alabama

DL(Team 1) - Deone Walker, Kentucky
DL(Team 1) - James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
DL(Team 1) - Alfred Collins, Texas
DL(Team 1) - Walter Nolen, Ole Miss

LB(Team 1) - Anthony Hill Jr., Texas
LB(Team 1) - Harold Perkins, LSU
LB(Team 1) - Mykel Williams, Georgia*
LB(Team 1) - Debo Williams, South Carolina*

DB(Team 1) - Billy Bowman, Oklahoma
DB(Team 1) - Malaki Starks, Georgia
DB(Team 1) - Malachi Moore, Alabama
DB(Team 1) - Jahdae Barron, Texas

PK(Team 1) - Bert Auburn, Texas
P(Team 1) - Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
Returner(Team 1) - Zavion Thomas, LSU
KOS(Team 1) - Trey Smack, Florida
LS(Team 1) - Lance St. Louis, Texas

Ballot Results of 2024 PRESEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM by the Overall SEC Media in Attendance

First-Team Offense

QB – Carson Beck, UGA

RB - Trevor Etienne, UGA

RB – Jarquez Hunter, AU

WR - Luther Burden III, MIZ

WR - Tre Harris, UM

TE - Caden Prieskorn, UM

OL - Tyler Booker, UA

OL - Will Campbell, LSU

OL - Kelvin Banks Jr., TEX

OL - Tate Ratledge, UGA

C - Cooper Mays, UT

First-Team Defense

DL - James Pearce Jr., UT

DL - Walter Nolen, UM

DL - Deone Walker, UK

DL - Nazir Stackhouse, UGA

LB - Harold Perkins, LSU

LB - Danny Stutsman, OU

*LB - Deontae Lawson, UA

*LB - Mykel Williams, UGA

DB - Malaki Starks, UGA

DB - Malachi Moore, UA

DB - Billy Bowman, OU

DB - Maxwell Hairston, UK

60 · Jul 20, 2024