The 2022 NFL Draft kicks off in less than a week, with the first round taking place in Las Vegas on Thursday, April 28!

The draft is one of my favorite events of the year that isn’t an actual game. I actually got to cover the draft when it was in Philadelphia (in 2017, the year Myles Garrett went No. 1 and Leonard Fournette and Jamal Adams also went in the top 6).

I can’t wait to watch this year’s draft, and if it goes well, maybe the league should consider making Las Vegas the permanent draft site. The city is great at hosting big events.

We’ll have some draft talk in this week’s Mailbag. So, without further ado, let’s dive into your questions!

Shane:

With spring practices wrapping up, who do you think will win some of the key QB battles across the SEC?

Well, a big spring game takes place on Saturday in Baton Rouge. I want to see who gets more reps between Myles Brennan and Jayden Daniels, but I’m leaning a certain way right now, so I’ll go with that.

Here’s who I have winning each SEC QB battle at the moment (based on my level of confidence):

  • Ole Miss: Jaxson Dart
  • Mizzou: Brady Cook
  • Vanderbilt: Ken Seals
  • Texas A&M: Max Johnson
  • Auburn: TJ Finley
  • LSU: Myles Brennan

We’ll see if I’m proven right on those. The last 3 could honestly go either way. I wouldn’t be surprised if Haynes King was the guy at Texas A&M, Zach Calzada or Robby Ashford won the Auburn job and Jayden Daniels got the QB1 slot at LSU.

But, there are still a few months to go before the start of the 2022 season, so we’ll see how these battles progress during fall camp.

Michael:

With Coach K and Jay Wright both retiring, who is the best current men’s college basketball coach?

It hurts that those guys are leaving the coaching ranks, along with Roy Williams, who retired following the 2020-21 season. But, the sport is still loaded with talented coaches who are ready to take over where Wright, Williams and Krzyzewski left off.

There’s the old guard, including guys like Jim Boeheim (the new active wins leader), Jim Larranaga, Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Leonard Hamilton and Kelvin Sampson. There are the established elite guys in Scott Drew, Mark Few, John Calipari, Tony Bennett and Rick Barnes, among others. And then there are the up-and-comers, guys like Eric Musselman, Juwan Howard, Nate Oats and more.

But, if I had to rank a top 5, I’d rank them based on who I’d most want leading my team the next 3 years. And that list would look like this:

  1. Kelvin Sampson
  2. Mark Few
  3. Scott Drew
  4. Eric Musselman
  5. Tom Izzo

Everyone on that list except Musselman has at least 1 Final Four appearance, but Musselman will get there in the next 3 years. I really do believe that. Can’t go wrong with any of those guys (or any of the guys I mentioned earlier in the response, either).

Jacob:

Who are the top 5 defenders from the SEC in the 2022 NFL Draft class?

The SEC is sure to have double-digit first-round picks once again this year, and it could be a fairly even split between offensive players and defensive players. Georgia is sending pretty much its entire defense to the draft. Then there’s Derek Stingley Jr. out of LSU and some other talented guys in the class, too.

Here are my top 5 SEC defenders in this draft class:

  1. Travon Walker, Georgia – I’m buying the hype. His stock is skyrocketing.
  2. Derek Stingley Jr., LSU – Been down the past 2 years, but when healthy, he’s a special player still.
  3. Jordan Davis, Georgia – Won’t put up many numbers, but frees everyone else on the field to make plays. Absolute monster in the middle of a defense.
  4. Nakobe Dean, Georgia – Benefitted from Davis, just like the rest of Georgia’s defenders, but can get sideline-to-sideline and play every down.
  5. Roger McCreary, Auburn – He might not go in the first round, but if I were an NFL GM and had a late first-round pick, I’d make the call to McCreary.

We’ll see if NFL GMs agree with my rankings. If they do, maybe I should be a draft consultant.

@Dobbe8:

Would you rather get ejected as a college baseball coach or get 2 technical fouls as a college basketball coach?

There have been some great rants from college hoops coaches over the years. The Bob Knight chair toss is the all-time greatest, though. John Calipari gets ejected on almost a yearly basis to fire up his team. Nate Oats got his money’s worth this past year.

But, nothing beats getting ejected as a baseball manager. I won’t advocate making contact with an umpire. That’s off-limits. That’s why no one wants to be an umpire (or ref) at the youth sports levels anymore.

However, getting to kick dirt on the ump’s shins is a great move. Throwing your hat in the dirt is also a solid antic. Just the presence of the dirt, I guess, is what makes it fun.

I wouldn’t want to get ejected on a rainy, muddy day. Give me all the dust.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.