Every coach has their reasons for why certain players attend SEC Media Days and certain players don’t.
Plenty of coaches only bring seniors. I get it. Bringing a sophomore who doesn’t have that experience speaking in front of a microphone could perhaps lead to a misstep.
Plenty of coaches don’t want to bring a quarterback who is engaged in a battle. I get that, too. Bringing a guy who doesn’t even have a starting job yet can sometimes feel like a coach is tipping his hand.
Plenty of coaches simply elect to bring the 3 contributing players who are most comfortable in front of a crowd. Obviously, that makes sense. After all, these are player representatives who will speak on behalf of their teammates, program and university.
While I can understand the thought process behind each decision, I also have a handful of guys that I wish we could speak to in Atlanta (SEC Media Days kick off on Monday, July 18 at the College Football Hall of Fame).
These are the 5 players that I wish were going to be in Atlanta:
Spencer Rattler, South Carolina QB
Why I think he wasn’t picked — Shane Beamer elected to only bring seniors to Atlanta. Jovaughn Gwyn, Dak Joyner and Zacch Pickens are representing the Gamecocks. Rattler also is a senior (redshirt junior, technically), but obviously, he has yet to play a game in Columbia. That’s an easy way for Beamer to justify not bringing his QB1. There’s also the notion that anything he can do to quiet the noise around the polarizing signal-caller is probably to Rattler’s benefit after his 2021 roller coaster. It’s one thing to use him in promotional videos, but it’s another to have him take part in a 20-minute session in front of national media.
Why I wish he was going to be in Atlanta — Well, it’s pretty obvious. Rattler is on the short list of most polarizing players in the country. His maturation on and off the field is a juicy storyline. From an on-field perspective, I would’ve loved to have discussed his development in Marcus Satterfield’s offense and how he’s handling his intentional 12-pound weight gain to be a bit more durable. It would’ve been nice to see Rattler’s personality come out a bit. While he understandably has a bit of a guard up, we also saw that confidence come out after South Carolina’s spring game when he referred to one of his passes as a “dime” (it was):
Spencer Rattler with some tongue-in-cheek about that toe-tap catch by Juice Wells and whether it was a sack:
“I would’ve gotten hit…but I thought it was a dime.”
— Ben Portnoy (@bportnoy15) April 17, 2022
If Rattler has a bounce-back season, we’ll hear plenty more from him in 2022.
Will Rogers, Mississippi State QB
Why I think he wasn’t picked — This is another case in which a coach picked the elder statesmen over his top players. That’s understandable. Austin Williams, Nathaniel Watson and Jaden Crumedy are all graduate seniors. Rogers is entering Year 3 in Starkville, so defaulting to that makes sense. Mike Leach actually hasn’t brought a quarterback with him to media days since he brought Connor Halliday to Pac-12 Media Days in 2014. Of course, Halliday was a 5th-year senior. Leach is always really protective of having his quarterbacks speak to the media, as if they’re holding his secrets … even though we’ve got 25 years worth of data on his offense.
Why I wish he was going to be in Atlanta — I want as much insight as possible about what it’s like to be a Leach quarterback. Does Leach give halftime speeches citing the American Revolution? Does he compare leading a locker room to marriage? Does he give theories on why pulling off a road comeback is the most pirate thing a quarterback can do? These are all questions, not answers. Rogers is entering Year 3 as Leach’s starter, so I’d tend to think that the MSU quarterback has an in-depth understanding of his coach. The good news? Rogers technically has 3 years of eligibility left (2020 didn’t count against anyone), so there’s a chance that we speak to him once or twice at Media Days before his college career ends.
Brock Bowers, Georgia TE
Why I think he wasn’t picked — The shoulder injury that forced Bowers out of action in spring is probably a good reason as to why he won’t be representing Georgia, even though he’s clearly the best returning tight end in the country. What about the fact that he’s only a sophomore, you ask? Well, technically Sedrick Van Pran is only a sophomore, yet he’ll be representing the Dawgs in Atlanta. Of course, Van Pran is a Year 3 player as opposed to Bowers, who is only entering Year 2 of college. Age and injury probably prevented Bowers from making the trip.
Why I wish he was going to be in Atlanta — For starters, it would be nice to confirm that he’s a human being (that’s a running joke after what he did as a true freshman). But Bowers’ skill set is extremely rare. I’d always like to talk with the best offensive player on a team that just won a national title. Insights on the rest of Georgia’s decorated tight end room would’ve been welcomed, too. What has he seen from Arik Gilbert in his return to action? Could Oscar Delp surprise us all and do some Bowers-like things? How does he see this playing out in Todd Monken’s offense, which utilizes the tight end a ton, but has never had this much talent at the position? Or perhaps the better question for Bowers was obvious … how awesome was growing up in wine country? In all likelihood, we’ll have to wait until 2023 to ask Bowers the pressing questions at SEC Media Days.
Kayshon Boutte, LSU WR
Why I think he wasn’t picked — Um, you know. The transfer portal rumors, the 2 ankle surgeries and the whole thing about Brian Kelly learning his last name probably prevented Boutte from making the cut. Just a hunch. That’s not a tough one to figure out. It definitely wasn’t an age thing because Jack Bech, a receiver a year younger than Boutte, will be in Atlanta as the lone true sophomore. Nobody expected Boutte to be in Atlanta even though he’s getting preseason All-America love.
Why I wish he was going to be in Atlanta — Um, you know. The transfer portal rumors, the 2 ankle surgeries and the whole thing about Brian Kelly learning his last name … Boutte has become polarizing in a pretty short period of time in Baton Rouge. Clearly, he and Kelly are still figuring out each other. Hearing some real talk about that dynamic and what these past 9 months have been like since his season-ending ankle injury would’ve been fascinating. I wouldn’t expect to hear from Boutte anytime soon, no matter how good he is at the start of the season.
Dallas Turner, Alabama LB
Why I think he wasn’t picked — Well, think about it. Alabama is bringing 3 first-team All-Americans to Atlanta. They’re all draft-eligible guys who are older than Turner. Need I say more? Turner’s exclusion was the byproduct of the likely preseason No. 1 team having more established stars. Nick Saban tends to default to putting his best players at SEC Media Days, and this year is no different. For now, Turner just misses the cut.
Why I wish he was going to be in Atlanta — I just want to know the experience of looking across the field and realizing that Will Anderson is your tag team partner. That has to be incredible. Turner is going to be a star in his own right. Shoot, you could argue he already is. I actually think that he’ll end up with more sacks than Anderson, thanks in large part to how much attention the junior attracts every time he steps on the field. You can’t double-team both guys. We’ll eventually get to hear more from Turner if and when he’s projected as a top-5 pick in all the way-too-early mock drafts at this time next year.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
