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When I was 16 years old, my Father decided to pursue his doctorate in journalism at the University of Florida. So, for the first time in my life, I moved out of the Great State of Texas for life in a new country.
I spent my junior and senior years of high school in Gainesville, Florida. I then spent four more years just up the road in Jacksonville, Florida while stationed at NAS Cecil Field while in the Navy.
There were many, many moments over the course of my time in the Sunshine State that my eyes were opened to the differences between Texas and Florida. One of the first differences that really stuck out to me was just how important college football was in that part of the country.
I was used to Texas where high school football was king (at least, that’s how I perceived it growing up). In Florida, high school football just didn’t matter that much. My school played for (and won) the 5A state championship my senior year and there wasn’t even so much as a pep rally ahead of time. I found it very strange.
However, perhaps because I lived in a college town, the high schools in Gainesville actually had the day off on the Friday ahead of homecoming for UF.
Really, what I am getting at is this; when they say ‘it just means more’ in the SEC, they mean it.
Now, Texans of nearly every stripe will get a first-hand look at how it ‘just means more’ when the SEC Media Days descend on Dallas beginning on Monday.
I got a first-hand look at the Media Days last summer when the event was held in Nashville and it lived up to expectations. The hordes of fans, media and coaches and players makes it a fun event. And of course, there’s the trash talk.
Sadly, I have some personal commitments this year which will prevent me from attending the media days. So, like many of you, I will be watching the events unfold on the SEC Network. But I still have questions I would like to ask the coaches and/or players of each SEC program if I were in attendance.
SEC MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE:
Monday, July 15
LSU -- Brian Kelly
Ole Miss -- Lane Kiffin
South Carolina -- Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt -- Clark Lea
LSU HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY:
QUESTION: “Coach Kelly, your defense finished 105th in the country in total defense last season. Where do you think you need to be in total defense rankings this year to be a legitimate contender for the SEC conference title?”
BACKGROUND:
LSU’s defense was, simply put, awful last year. The Tigers gave up 416 yards per game while conceding 34 points per game to the power five teams.
Naturally, after a season like that, there is a new defensive coordinator in Baton Rouge. Blake Baker comes to LSU after a two-year stint at Missouri.
Baker will lead an aggressive defense where his players are only responsible for one-gap, allowing them to play fast and try to create plays.
Last season, Missouri was fourth in the nation in forced fumbles (17) and 11th in sacks (39). Both of those stats are all about speed and effort.
“The number one goal is to play with energy and passion and effort,” Baker told the media following LSU’s spring game. “In defensive football, you can make up for a lot of mistakes with great energy and great effort and being good tacklers. The guys have really brought in. We’re a work in progress but we’re a lot further ahead than we were a week ago.”
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN:
QUESTION: “What is your favorite Tweet that you’ve ever sent?”
BACKGROUND:
Ole Miss has very few questions on the field. Hotty Toddy will be one of the favorites to win the league this year. So I chose to focus on Kiffin’s prolific use of Twitter. Just look at his profile banner pic on the social media site.
It’s not just that he tweets a lot (A LOT), it’s also what he says when he does it. Kiffin has a finely tuned sense of humor which sometimes gets him in trouble, but is nearly always entertaining. Like this well-deserved shot at LSU’s Brian Kelly and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz.
He uses Twitter pretty effectively in recruiting as well. But of course, there was that time that he unfollowed everyone on his timeline except for one player. I think we all remember how that went.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S SHANE BEAMER:
QUESTION: “Can you protect LaNorris Sellers well enough to give him a chance to succeed in his first season as the Gamecocks starter?”
BACKGROUND:
New starting QB LaNorris Sellers has a ton of potential and he could be really good. However, the Gamecocks had one of the worst offensive lines in the SEC last year. Thankfully for them, Spencer Rattler was experienced enough that he was able to overcome some of the sins up front.
Norris is a redshirt freshman with a total of four pass attempts last season (all against Furman). Sellers will be facing defensive fronts he’s never seen before and speed on defense that he’s never seen before either. That is tough for any new quarterback. It becomes damn near impossible if you don’t have good protection up front.
The Gamecocks gave up 41 sacks last season (118th out of 130 FBS teams). This season, in addition to a redshirt freshman at quarterback, they will have three freshman starters on the offensive line.
The young’uns will be thrown into the fire this year with South Carolina facing one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson are on the schedule and all expected to be top 25 teams. Their October slate alone is enough to put some coaches in the corner crying.
Ole Miss at home, Alabama in Tuscaloosa and OU in Norman.
Good luck with all that.
VANDERBILT’S CLARK LEA:
QUESTION: “What is it that you’ve enjoyed most about your time at Vanderbilt?”
BACKGROUND:
Clark Lea is now in his fourth season as Vanderbilt’s head coach where he has compiled a 9-27 record. Even at Vanderbilt, that’s not good enough.
Lea probably would have been canned last season after going 2-10. However, Vanderbilt (which is supposed to be a highly esteemed academic institution) gave Lea a contract extension after he rallied the troops for a 5-7 campaign in 2023.
The contract extension, plus the fact that they spent a lot of money upgrading the football stadium, means that they couldn’t afford to let him go.
The question then becomes, if the Commodores suffer another 2-10 type of season this year, can they afford NOT to fire him? It will be hard to sell tickets to Vanderbilt football games after another clunker of a year.
The offense should be more exciting this year. Lea brought in Tim Beck (not THAT Tim Beck) from New Mexico State to take over the play-calling duties and he brought with him quarterback Diego Pavia. Pavia is small but he is fun to watch and can be very productive.
Lea has decided the best way to right the ship (Commodore lingo) is for him to take over the defensive coordinator duties. That’s always a sure sign that a coach is in desperation mode. When coaches fire their coordinators after really bad seasons, they had better get things much better the next year or the administrators will be left to conclude that the problem is not the coordinators but the man in charge.
Tuesday, July 16
Georgia -- Kirby Smart
Missouri -- Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma -- Brent Venables
Tennessee -- Josh Heupel
GEORGIA’S KIRBY SMART:
QUESTION: “Will the move of Mykel Williams from defensive end to outside linebacker be enough to improve the defensive pressures on opposing quarterbacks?”
BACKGROUND:
Georgia’s defense in 2023 was, as usual, elite. The Bulldogs finished ninth in the country in total defense and fifth in points allowed per game. But when you dig a little deeper, you see they struggled to get upfield pressure. UGA finished 66th in sacks (30) and 96th in total tackles for loss (72).
Williams heads into this season as one of the top draft prospects in college football. In fact, ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid has Williams at number one on his big board.
The 6-5, 265-pound defender played more snaps at defensive tackle last season than he did at defensive end or outside linebacker. This year, he is expected to take more snaps at outside linebacker in an attempt to boost his pass-rushing ability.
The Bulldogs had him outside more during the bowl game against FSU and the results were four tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. He also recovered a fumble he forced during a strip sack.
Kelvin Banks and Cam Williams better be ready, come October 19th in Austin.
MISSOURI’S ELI DRINKWITZ:
QUESTION: “Is Brady Cook the most underrated quarterback in college football?”
BACKGROUND:
Take a look at these four quarterbacks and see if you know who is who?
Three of these quarterbacks are among the highest-rated draft prospects heading into this season and the other is Brady Cook. But if you just look at the stats, you’ll see that there’s not a whole lot separating any of them production-wise.
As you can see, Cook is right there with Carson Beck, Quinn Ewers and Shedeur Sanders in terms of production. Beck, Ewers and Sanders are all considered first-round draft picks heading into this season. Cook won’t be a first-round pick, but he is damn good.
Cook led Missouri to an 11-win season last year, including a big victory over a loaded Ohio State team in their bowl game. That’s an Ohio State team that lost very few players from last year so they didn’t have many opt-outs.
Of course, it helps that Cook has Luther Burden and Theo Wease in his receiving corps.
Still, Cook has more than held his own and it’s time we start putting some damn respect on his name.
OKLAHOMA’S BRENT VENABLES:
QUESTION: “Will adjusting to the SEC be like drinking out of a whole new firehose?”
BACKGROUND:
Venables rather famously talked about how much he had to take on in his first season as OU’s head coach during the Big 12 Media Days in 2022.
I also considered just asking:
“Do you have the time?”
TENNESSEE’S JOSH HEUPEL:
QUESTION: “Will the offense only go as far as Nico Iamaleava can take them in his first season as a starter?”
BACKGROUND:
Iamaleava was one of the nation’s biggest QB recruits coming out of high school, ranked only behind Arch Manning in the Rivals national recruiting rankings.
The redshirt freshman takes over the starting duties this year. He has one career start under his belt, but it was a doozy.
Iamaleava earned the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl MVP, completing 12-of-19 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 27 yards including three more touchdowns.
Heupel’s offense struggled some last year with Joe Milton at the helm. Iamaleava is much more talented than Milton, but there is sure to be a learning curve. If Iamaleava, who earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors last fall, can pick things up quickly then the Volunteers could be a handful on offense again. If, however, he struggles (as most freshmen do), then Tennessee will have more of an up-and-down type season.
Wednesday, July 17
Alabama -- Kalen DeBoer
Florida -- Billy Napier
Mississippi State -- Jeff Lebby
Texas -- Steve Sarkisian
ALABAMA’S KALEN DEBOER:
QUESTION: “Is Jalen Milroe an even better fit for your offense than you anticipated?”
BACKGROUND:
Jalen Milroe made his bones on the deep ball last season (passes over 20 yards), particularly over the middle.
Last season, Milroe had a 70 percent completion percentage on passes between the hashes and more than 20 yards down the field. He went 14 of 20 on those passes with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
But former Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and head coach Nick Saban always preferred a more conservative offense. DeBoer LOVES the deep ball.
Washington put the ball up deep more than any other team last season. While Milroe hit 51 pass plays of 20 yards or more, Michael Penix Jr. hit 74 of those passes, leading the nation.
Letting Milroe go deep even more often not only fits his skill set, but it opens up the other truly great part of his game … the run game.
DeBoer didn’t ask Penix to do much in the run game at Washington, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t know how to utilize a running quarterback.
DeBoer was Penix’s offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019 when Penix averaged 5.4 yards per carry – before suffering a season-ending injury in week six.
Milroe averaged a more pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry in 2023. However, if DeBoer is able to stretch the field more with the deep passes, then Milroe may find more open lanes to take advantage of defenses with his feet.
It is a very good matchup of quarterback and playcaller.
FLORIDA’S BILLY NAPIER:
QUESTION: “What is it you’ve enjoyed most about your time at Florida?”
BACKGROUND:
Much like Clark Lea at Vanderbilt, Billy Napier is definitely on the hot seat at UF.
Napier is 11-14 during his time at Florida in a place that doesn’t take kindly to losing records.
Complicating matters for Napier, he faces one of the toughest schedules in all of college football this season with Vegas putting the over/under win totals at 4.5. The Gators open the season with Miami and they close it with Florida State. In between, they’ll see Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, LSU & Ole Miss.
If Napier wins only four or five games this season, he almost assuredly will be gone. In fact, it is not hard at all to imagine Napier getting canned after the Georgia game (which happens to be the week UF comes to Austin).
If there is hope in Gainesville, it has to be that quarterback Graham Mertz is healthy and ready to play again. Mertz is an experienced quarterback who is now in his second season under Napier.
Mertz completed 72.9 percent of his passes last year for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions.
If he continues to perform at a high level like that, Mertz could be responsible for saving Napier’s job. If not (or he gets injured again), then Napier could be packing his bags and looking for a new job at some point this season.
MISSISSIPPI STATE’S JEFF LEBBY:
QUESTION: “What kind of problems have you noticed within the program that is now on its third head coach in three years – and how did you address them?”
BACKGROUND:
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have been through a lot. First, it was the tragic passing of head coach Mike Leach. The Pirate died during the 2022 season. RIP.
Then the Bulldogs looked to defensive coordinator Zach Arnett who took over the program. That venture lasted all of one season.
Now, it’s Jeff Lebby’s turn at the helm.
The former OU offensive coordinator is having to rebuild the Mississippi State offense with portal players. Blake Shapen left Baylor to move to Starkville. Shapen was reliably pedestrian during his time in Waco – but that’s what was asked of him. Now, he’ll have a more aggressive coach calling plays for him. Will he be up for it? Who the heck knows?
The Bulldogs also brought in three new offensive line starters via the portal.
They only wish they could have brought in more players on defense. That unit is completely devoid of proven talent – especially in the secondary.
Lebby’s first season in “Starkvegas” could see him crapping out.
TEXAS’ STEVE SARKISIAN:
QUESTION: “You’ve often cited T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn as examples of defensive tackle production during your time at Texas. But all four of those guys were guys you inherited. Even this year's projected starters, Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton came to Austin under the previous regime. To date, you have yet to recruit a defensive tackle out of high school who has made a significant impact on the field. Do you think this is a problem area, and if so, what can you do to address the issue?”
BACKGROUND:
The question itself is pretty self-explanatory. Texas’ defensive tackle recruiting has been well documented on this board and there is nobody coming through the pipeline that would give you hope for future classes.
I’m only highlighting this area for UT’s first SEC Media Days because SEC football is won and lost in the trenches. Even the mighty Georgia Bulldogs have fallen off at defensive tackle after losing several studs to the NFL. As a result, they have seen their ability to stop the run fall off and they missed the playoffs last year.
Simply put, having elite players on the defensive line is one of the most critical areas of importance when building a roster that’s capable of competing in the SEC and winning it all.
Sark needs to figure this out – and soon.
Thursday, July 18
Arkansas -- Sam Pittman
Auburn -- Hugh Freeze
Kentucky -- Mark Stoops
Texas A&M -- Mike Elko
ARKANSAS’ SAM PITTMAN:
QUESTION: “What is it you’ve enjoyed most about your time in Fayetteville?”
Nah, just kidding. We all know nobody has enjoyed their time in Fayetteville.
“Have you found it easy to merge your offensive philosophies with Bobby Petrino’s?”
BACKGROUND:
Sam Pittman is on the hottest of hot seats. Pittman is in year five at Arkansas and he is going to have to deal with a new offensive coordinator:
In addition to the now healed (physically) Petrino, Arkansas is going to be breaking in a new quarterback, five new starters on the offensive line and at least one or two new wide receivers.
Good luck with all of that Pittman!
AUBURN’S HUGH FREEZE:
QUESTION: “Is Cam Coleman the real deal?”
BACKGROUND:
Auburn lacks a lot of firepower in the skill positions, but true freshman Cam Coleman appears to be a star in the making.
Coleman arrived on the plains of Auburn as a heralded recruit and then had a breakout game during the spring game, hauling in four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. He was named the offensive star for the “A-Day” game. Incidentally, former Texas safety Jerrin Thompson was the star player on defense.
Freeze has already compared his 6-3 freshman to other wide receivers who broke out in their first seasons under Freeze – Laquan Treadwell and AJ Brown.
If he comes even close to living up to those expectations then he won’t stay in Auburn for long before he’s off to the NFL.
KENTUCKY’S MARK STOOPS:
QUESTION: “Will the increased tempo on offense put any additional strain on your defense?”
BACKGROUND:
Kentucky brought in a new offensive coordinator, Bush Hamdan, to call plays. Hamdan has traditionally run up-tempo offenses. Hamdan says he wants to keep elements of UK’s pro style offense, but make it more “college friendly.” But Hamdan has already implemented elements of the up-tempo offense.
Up-tempo offenses are nothing new in college football and they have had a good deal of success. It’s entirely possible that under the leadership of Hamdan and new quarterback Blake Vandagriff that the Wildcats will be successful on offense this season as well.
But it is also possible that the new offense will put additional stress on UK’s defense.
Under Stoops, Kentucky has fielded some very tough defenses. They should be strong again this season with star defensive tackle Deone Walker.
Walker and the rest of the gang are going to end up playing more snaps on defense with Kentucky’s new offensive scheme. We’ll have to see if they can withstand the extra time out on the field.
TEXAS A&M’S MIKE ELKO:
QUESTION: “If you could trade places (including bank accounts) with Jimbo Fisher, would you take it?”
BACKGROUND:
Elko takes over as the new Aggie coach after they fired his former boss Fisher. Whoop!
Elko’s contract will pay him $42 million over the next six years. That’s almost half of what Fisher was still owed when he got fired ($77 million).
So which would you rather have, $77 million and you don’t have to live in College Station or deal with a bunch of Aggies? Or $42 million to be the head coach of an SEC program … but you have to do so at A&M?
Seems like a no-brainer to me, but it would probably be a good question to ask – if only I were able to go to the SEC Media Days this year.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
Steve Sarkisian is bringing an impressive lineup of players with him to Dallas for the SEC Media Days.
Quinn Ewers is the no-brainer. QB1 has gained a lot of experience talking with the press and his confidence in front of the cameras has grown just as much as his skills on the field. Truly, he seems like a different man from the reluctant and nervous player we saw in Arlington just last year. That comfort level should pay off in spades this year. I’m expecting a big, big jump in production on the field this year.
Kelvin Banks has always been impressive when dealing with the press. Banks always seems to give thoughtful answers to whatever questions are posed to him. Oh, and he also happens to be one of the best players in college football who, by this time next year, will be cashing big checks as one of the highest-drafted players in next spring’s NFL draft.
Jahdae Barron is another one with plenty of experience talking with the press and plenty of experience on the field. Sark always includes Barron in the list of players who have taken a leadership role with the team so his inclusion won’t come as a surprise to anyone.
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NFL Draft guru Daniel Jeremiah is pretty high already on Quinn Ewers. But the more exciting thing is that he still has a LOT of room for growth.
I’m telling you (and I’ve been telling you), we’re about to see a big, big season from Quinn Ewers.
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It’s not just football that is about to roll into the SEC like a boss.
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More proof of the excellence of the UT athletic department right now. It’s not just the Director’s Cup Trophy.
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Mike Gundy at the Big 12 Media Days …
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Whereas the Pac-12 is doing it right … there’s no reason to drive when you have an open bar at the Bellagio for your media day.
Good for Oregon State and Washington State for not just going meekly into that good night … and I’ll bet it was a VERY good night with an open bar at Bellagio.
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I know some of you are loathe to ever express anything positive about OU, but this seems pretty smart of them to me.
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Schools are having to dramatically adjust how they operate in this new NIL era.
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I assure you that Clemson and Florida State will not end up in the Big XII. But this definitely shows that they are definitely agitating to get out of the ACC.
It also shows that it is only a matter of time before private equity money is a big part of college sports.
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Ok, State Fair of Texas, the bar has been raised.
But personally, this sounds absolutely disgusting.
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Finally, just a little love from Tom Jones and Janis Joplin. I never, ever, would have paired those two together.
When I was 16 years old, my Father decided to pursue his doctorate in journalism at the University of Florida. So, for the first time in my life, I moved out of the Great State of Texas for life in a new country.
I spent my junior and senior years of high school in Gainesville, Florida. I then spent four more years just up the road in Jacksonville, Florida while stationed at NAS Cecil Field while in the Navy.
There were many, many moments over the course of my time in the Sunshine State that my eyes were opened to the differences between Texas and Florida. One of the first differences that really stuck out to me was just how important college football was in that part of the country.
I was used to Texas where high school football was king (at least, that’s how I perceived it growing up). In Florida, high school football just didn’t matter that much. My school played for (and won) the 5A state championship my senior year and there wasn’t even so much as a pep rally ahead of time. I found it very strange.
However, perhaps because I lived in a college town, the high schools in Gainesville actually had the day off on the Friday ahead of homecoming for UF.
Really, what I am getting at is this; when they say ‘it just means more’ in the SEC, they mean it.
Now, Texans of nearly every stripe will get a first-hand look at how it ‘just means more’ when the SEC Media Days descend on Dallas beginning on Monday.
I got a first-hand look at the Media Days last summer when the event was held in Nashville and it lived up to expectations. The hordes of fans, media and coaches and players makes it a fun event. And of course, there’s the trash talk.
Sadly, I have some personal commitments this year which will prevent me from attending the media days. So, like many of you, I will be watching the events unfold on the SEC Network. But I still have questions I would like to ask the coaches and/or players of each SEC program if I were in attendance.
SEC MEDIA DAYS SCHEDULE:
Monday, July 15
LSU -- Brian Kelly
Ole Miss -- Lane Kiffin
South Carolina -- Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt -- Clark Lea
LSU HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY:
QUESTION: “Coach Kelly, your defense finished 105th in the country in total defense last season. Where do you think you need to be in total defense rankings this year to be a legitimate contender for the SEC conference title?”
BACKGROUND:
LSU’s defense was, simply put, awful last year. The Tigers gave up 416 yards per game while conceding 34 points per game to the power five teams.
Naturally, after a season like that, there is a new defensive coordinator in Baton Rouge. Blake Baker comes to LSU after a two-year stint at Missouri.
Baker will lead an aggressive defense where his players are only responsible for one-gap, allowing them to play fast and try to create plays.
Last season, Missouri was fourth in the nation in forced fumbles (17) and 11th in sacks (39). Both of those stats are all about speed and effort.
“The number one goal is to play with energy and passion and effort,” Baker told the media following LSU’s spring game. “In defensive football, you can make up for a lot of mistakes with great energy and great effort and being good tacklers. The guys have really brought in. We’re a work in progress but we’re a lot further ahead than we were a week ago.”
OLE MISS HEAD COACH LANE KIFFIN:
QUESTION: “What is your favorite Tweet that you’ve ever sent?”
BACKGROUND:
Ole Miss has very few questions on the field. Hotty Toddy will be one of the favorites to win the league this year. So I chose to focus on Kiffin’s prolific use of Twitter. Just look at his profile banner pic on the social media site.
It’s not just that he tweets a lot (A LOT), it’s also what he says when he does it. Kiffin has a finely tuned sense of humor which sometimes gets him in trouble, but is nearly always entertaining. Like this well-deserved shot at LSU’s Brian Kelly and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz.
He uses Twitter pretty effectively in recruiting as well. But of course, there was that time that he unfollowed everyone on his timeline except for one player. I think we all remember how that went.
SOUTH CAROLINA’S SHANE BEAMER:
QUESTION: “Can you protect LaNorris Sellers well enough to give him a chance to succeed in his first season as the Gamecocks starter?”
BACKGROUND:
New starting QB LaNorris Sellers has a ton of potential and he could be really good. However, the Gamecocks had one of the worst offensive lines in the SEC last year. Thankfully for them, Spencer Rattler was experienced enough that he was able to overcome some of the sins up front.
Norris is a redshirt freshman with a total of four pass attempts last season (all against Furman). Sellers will be facing defensive fronts he’s never seen before and speed on defense that he’s never seen before either. That is tough for any new quarterback. It becomes damn near impossible if you don’t have good protection up front.
The Gamecocks gave up 41 sacks last season (118th out of 130 FBS teams). This season, in addition to a redshirt freshman at quarterback, they will have three freshman starters on the offensive line.
The young’uns will be thrown into the fire this year with South Carolina facing one of the toughest schedules in the country.
Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Missouri and Clemson are on the schedule and all expected to be top 25 teams. Their October slate alone is enough to put some coaches in the corner crying.
Ole Miss at home, Alabama in Tuscaloosa and OU in Norman.
Good luck with all that.
VANDERBILT’S CLARK LEA:
QUESTION: “What is it that you’ve enjoyed most about your time at Vanderbilt?”
BACKGROUND:
Clark Lea is now in his fourth season as Vanderbilt’s head coach where he has compiled a 9-27 record. Even at Vanderbilt, that’s not good enough.
Lea probably would have been canned last season after going 2-10. However, Vanderbilt (which is supposed to be a highly esteemed academic institution) gave Lea a contract extension after he rallied the troops for a 5-7 campaign in 2023.
The contract extension, plus the fact that they spent a lot of money upgrading the football stadium, means that they couldn’t afford to let him go.
The question then becomes, if the Commodores suffer another 2-10 type of season this year, can they afford NOT to fire him? It will be hard to sell tickets to Vanderbilt football games after another clunker of a year.
The offense should be more exciting this year. Lea brought in Tim Beck (not THAT Tim Beck) from New Mexico State to take over the play-calling duties and he brought with him quarterback Diego Pavia. Pavia is small but he is fun to watch and can be very productive.
Lea has decided the best way to right the ship (Commodore lingo) is for him to take over the defensive coordinator duties. That’s always a sure sign that a coach is in desperation mode. When coaches fire their coordinators after really bad seasons, they had better get things much better the next year or the administrators will be left to conclude that the problem is not the coordinators but the man in charge.
Tuesday, July 16
Georgia -- Kirby Smart
Missouri -- Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma -- Brent Venables
Tennessee -- Josh Heupel
GEORGIA’S KIRBY SMART:
QUESTION: “Will the move of Mykel Williams from defensive end to outside linebacker be enough to improve the defensive pressures on opposing quarterbacks?”
BACKGROUND:
Georgia’s defense in 2023 was, as usual, elite. The Bulldogs finished ninth in the country in total defense and fifth in points allowed per game. But when you dig a little deeper, you see they struggled to get upfield pressure. UGA finished 66th in sacks (30) and 96th in total tackles for loss (72).
Williams heads into this season as one of the top draft prospects in college football. In fact, ESPN draft analyst Jordan Reid has Williams at number one on his big board.
The 6-5, 265-pound defender played more snaps at defensive tackle last season than he did at defensive end or outside linebacker. This year, he is expected to take more snaps at outside linebacker in an attempt to boost his pass-rushing ability.
The Bulldogs had him outside more during the bowl game against FSU and the results were four tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. He also recovered a fumble he forced during a strip sack.
Kelvin Banks and Cam Williams better be ready, come October 19th in Austin.
MISSOURI’S ELI DRINKWITZ:
QUESTION: “Is Brady Cook the most underrated quarterback in college football?”
BACKGROUND:
Take a look at these four quarterbacks and see if you know who is who?
Three of these quarterbacks are among the highest-rated draft prospects heading into this season and the other is Brady Cook. But if you just look at the stats, you’ll see that there’s not a whole lot separating any of them production-wise.
As you can see, Cook is right there with Carson Beck, Quinn Ewers and Shedeur Sanders in terms of production. Beck, Ewers and Sanders are all considered first-round draft picks heading into this season. Cook won’t be a first-round pick, but he is damn good.
Cook led Missouri to an 11-win season last year, including a big victory over a loaded Ohio State team in their bowl game. That’s an Ohio State team that lost very few players from last year so they didn’t have many opt-outs.
Of course, it helps that Cook has Luther Burden and Theo Wease in his receiving corps.
Still, Cook has more than held his own and it’s time we start putting some damn respect on his name.
OKLAHOMA’S BRENT VENABLES:
QUESTION: “Will adjusting to the SEC be like drinking out of a whole new firehose?”
BACKGROUND:
Venables rather famously talked about how much he had to take on in his first season as OU’s head coach during the Big 12 Media Days in 2022.
I also considered just asking:
“Do you have the time?”
TENNESSEE’S JOSH HEUPEL:
QUESTION: “Will the offense only go as far as Nico Iamaleava can take them in his first season as a starter?”
BACKGROUND:
Iamaleava was one of the nation’s biggest QB recruits coming out of high school, ranked only behind Arch Manning in the Rivals national recruiting rankings.
The redshirt freshman takes over the starting duties this year. He has one career start under his belt, but it was a doozy.
Iamaleava earned the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl MVP, completing 12-of-19 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 27 yards including three more touchdowns.
Heupel’s offense struggled some last year with Joe Milton at the helm. Iamaleava is much more talented than Milton, but there is sure to be a learning curve. If Iamaleava, who earned SEC Academic Honor Roll honors last fall, can pick things up quickly then the Volunteers could be a handful on offense again. If, however, he struggles (as most freshmen do), then Tennessee will have more of an up-and-down type season.
Wednesday, July 17
Alabama -- Kalen DeBoer
Florida -- Billy Napier
Mississippi State -- Jeff Lebby
Texas -- Steve Sarkisian
ALABAMA’S KALEN DEBOER:
QUESTION: “Is Jalen Milroe an even better fit for your offense than you anticipated?”
BACKGROUND:
Jalen Milroe made his bones on the deep ball last season (passes over 20 yards), particularly over the middle.
Last season, Milroe had a 70 percent completion percentage on passes between the hashes and more than 20 yards down the field. He went 14 of 20 on those passes with seven touchdowns and no interceptions.
But former Alabama offensive coordinator Tommy Rees and head coach Nick Saban always preferred a more conservative offense. DeBoer LOVES the deep ball.
Washington put the ball up deep more than any other team last season. While Milroe hit 51 pass plays of 20 yards or more, Michael Penix Jr. hit 74 of those passes, leading the nation.
Letting Milroe go deep even more often not only fits his skill set, but it opens up the other truly great part of his game … the run game.
DeBoer didn’t ask Penix to do much in the run game at Washington, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t know how to utilize a running quarterback.
DeBoer was Penix’s offensive coordinator at Indiana in 2019 when Penix averaged 5.4 yards per carry – before suffering a season-ending injury in week six.
Milroe averaged a more pedestrian 3.3 yards per carry in 2023. However, if DeBoer is able to stretch the field more with the deep passes, then Milroe may find more open lanes to take advantage of defenses with his feet.
It is a very good matchup of quarterback and playcaller.
FLORIDA’S BILLY NAPIER:
QUESTION: “What is it you’ve enjoyed most about your time at Florida?”
BACKGROUND:
Much like Clark Lea at Vanderbilt, Billy Napier is definitely on the hot seat at UF.
Napier is 11-14 during his time at Florida in a place that doesn’t take kindly to losing records.
Complicating matters for Napier, he faces one of the toughest schedules in all of college football this season with Vegas putting the over/under win totals at 4.5. The Gators open the season with Miami and they close it with Florida State. In between, they’ll see Texas A&M, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, LSU & Ole Miss.
If Napier wins only four or five games this season, he almost assuredly will be gone. In fact, it is not hard at all to imagine Napier getting canned after the Georgia game (which happens to be the week UF comes to Austin).
If there is hope in Gainesville, it has to be that quarterback Graham Mertz is healthy and ready to play again. Mertz is an experienced quarterback who is now in his second season under Napier.
Mertz completed 72.9 percent of his passes last year for 2,903 yards, 20 touchdowns and three interceptions.
If he continues to perform at a high level like that, Mertz could be responsible for saving Napier’s job. If not (or he gets injured again), then Napier could be packing his bags and looking for a new job at some point this season.
MISSISSIPPI STATE’S JEFF LEBBY:
QUESTION: “What kind of problems have you noticed within the program that is now on its third head coach in three years – and how did you address them?”
BACKGROUND:
The Mississippi State Bulldogs have been through a lot. First, it was the tragic passing of head coach Mike Leach. The Pirate died during the 2022 season. RIP.
Then the Bulldogs looked to defensive coordinator Zach Arnett who took over the program. That venture lasted all of one season.
Now, it’s Jeff Lebby’s turn at the helm.
The former OU offensive coordinator is having to rebuild the Mississippi State offense with portal players. Blake Shapen left Baylor to move to Starkville. Shapen was reliably pedestrian during his time in Waco – but that’s what was asked of him. Now, he’ll have a more aggressive coach calling plays for him. Will he be up for it? Who the heck knows?
The Bulldogs also brought in three new offensive line starters via the portal.
They only wish they could have brought in more players on defense. That unit is completely devoid of proven talent – especially in the secondary.
Lebby’s first season in “Starkvegas” could see him crapping out.
TEXAS’ STEVE SARKISIAN:
QUESTION: “You’ve often cited T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn as examples of defensive tackle production during your time at Texas. But all four of those guys were guys you inherited. Even this year's projected starters, Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton came to Austin under the previous regime. To date, you have yet to recruit a defensive tackle out of high school who has made a significant impact on the field. Do you think this is a problem area, and if so, what can you do to address the issue?”
BACKGROUND:
The question itself is pretty self-explanatory. Texas’ defensive tackle recruiting has been well documented on this board and there is nobody coming through the pipeline that would give you hope for future classes.
I’m only highlighting this area for UT’s first SEC Media Days because SEC football is won and lost in the trenches. Even the mighty Georgia Bulldogs have fallen off at defensive tackle after losing several studs to the NFL. As a result, they have seen their ability to stop the run fall off and they missed the playoffs last year.
Simply put, having elite players on the defensive line is one of the most critical areas of importance when building a roster that’s capable of competing in the SEC and winning it all.
Sark needs to figure this out – and soon.
Thursday, July 18
Arkansas -- Sam Pittman
Auburn -- Hugh Freeze
Kentucky -- Mark Stoops
Texas A&M -- Mike Elko
ARKANSAS’ SAM PITTMAN:
QUESTION: “What is it you’ve enjoyed most about your time in Fayetteville?”
Nah, just kidding. We all know nobody has enjoyed their time in Fayetteville.
“Have you found it easy to merge your offensive philosophies with Bobby Petrino’s?”
BACKGROUND:
Sam Pittman is on the hottest of hot seats. Pittman is in year five at Arkansas and he is going to have to deal with a new offensive coordinator:
In addition to the now healed (physically) Petrino, Arkansas is going to be breaking in a new quarterback, five new starters on the offensive line and at least one or two new wide receivers.
Good luck with all of that Pittman!
AUBURN’S HUGH FREEZE:
QUESTION: “Is Cam Coleman the real deal?”
BACKGROUND:
Auburn lacks a lot of firepower in the skill positions, but true freshman Cam Coleman appears to be a star in the making.
Coleman arrived on the plains of Auburn as a heralded recruit and then had a breakout game during the spring game, hauling in four catches for 92 yards and a touchdown. He was named the offensive star for the “A-Day” game. Incidentally, former Texas safety Jerrin Thompson was the star player on defense.
Freeze has already compared his 6-3 freshman to other wide receivers who broke out in their first seasons under Freeze – Laquan Treadwell and AJ Brown.
If he comes even close to living up to those expectations then he won’t stay in Auburn for long before he’s off to the NFL.
KENTUCKY’S MARK STOOPS:
QUESTION: “Will the increased tempo on offense put any additional strain on your defense?”
BACKGROUND:
Kentucky brought in a new offensive coordinator, Bush Hamdan, to call plays. Hamdan has traditionally run up-tempo offenses. Hamdan says he wants to keep elements of UK’s pro style offense, but make it more “college friendly.” But Hamdan has already implemented elements of the up-tempo offense.
Up-tempo offenses are nothing new in college football and they have had a good deal of success. It’s entirely possible that under the leadership of Hamdan and new quarterback Blake Vandagriff that the Wildcats will be successful on offense this season as well.
But it is also possible that the new offense will put additional stress on UK’s defense.
Under Stoops, Kentucky has fielded some very tough defenses. They should be strong again this season with star defensive tackle Deone Walker.
Walker and the rest of the gang are going to end up playing more snaps on defense with Kentucky’s new offensive scheme. We’ll have to see if they can withstand the extra time out on the field.
TEXAS A&M’S MIKE ELKO:
QUESTION: “If you could trade places (including bank accounts) with Jimbo Fisher, would you take it?”
BACKGROUND:
Elko takes over as the new Aggie coach after they fired his former boss Fisher. Whoop!
Elko’s contract will pay him $42 million over the next six years. That’s almost half of what Fisher was still owed when he got fired ($77 million).
So which would you rather have, $77 million and you don’t have to live in College Station or deal with a bunch of Aggies? Or $42 million to be the head coach of an SEC program … but you have to do so at A&M?
Seems like a no-brainer to me, but it would probably be a good question to ask – if only I were able to go to the SEC Media Days this year.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
Steve Sarkisian is bringing an impressive lineup of players with him to Dallas for the SEC Media Days.
Quinn Ewers is the no-brainer. QB1 has gained a lot of experience talking with the press and his confidence in front of the cameras has grown just as much as his skills on the field. Truly, he seems like a different man from the reluctant and nervous player we saw in Arlington just last year. That comfort level should pay off in spades this year. I’m expecting a big, big jump in production on the field this year.
Kelvin Banks has always been impressive when dealing with the press. Banks always seems to give thoughtful answers to whatever questions are posed to him. Oh, and he also happens to be one of the best players in college football who, by this time next year, will be cashing big checks as one of the highest-drafted players in next spring’s NFL draft.
Jahdae Barron is another one with plenty of experience talking with the press and plenty of experience on the field. Sark always includes Barron in the list of players who have taken a leadership role with the team so his inclusion won’t come as a surprise to anyone.
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NFL Draft guru Daniel Jeremiah is pretty high already on Quinn Ewers. But the more exciting thing is that he still has a LOT of room for growth.
I’m telling you (and I’ve been telling you), we’re about to see a big, big season from Quinn Ewers.
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It’s not just football that is about to roll into the SEC like a boss.
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More proof of the excellence of the UT athletic department right now. It’s not just the Director’s Cup Trophy.
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Mike Gundy at the Big 12 Media Days …
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Whereas the Pac-12 is doing it right … there’s no reason to drive when you have an open bar at the Bellagio for your media day.
Good for Oregon State and Washington State for not just going meekly into that good night … and I’ll bet it was a VERY good night with an open bar at Bellagio.
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I know some of you are loathe to ever express anything positive about OU, but this seems pretty smart of them to me.
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Schools are having to dramatically adjust how they operate in this new NIL era.
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I assure you that Clemson and Florida State will not end up in the Big XII. But this definitely shows that they are definitely agitating to get out of the ACC.
It also shows that it is only a matter of time before private equity money is a big part of college sports.
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Ok, State Fair of Texas, the bar has been raised.
But personally, this sounds absolutely disgusting.
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Finally, just a little love from Tom Jones and Janis Joplin. I never, ever, would have paired those two together.
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