What do SEC Media Days and the College Football Playoffs have in common? No one from the Big Ten is there.
Yes, Media Days have concluded and that means football season is starting now. But before we get to training camps and preseason rankings, let’s take a look back at this past week in Hoover and check in on the state of every fan base after SEC Media Days:
Alabama
Much of the national conversation around Alabama this week was about if Nick Saban was a bad boss, but Bama used Media Days to pick up another stash of blue chip recruits and set the record for preseason All-SEC selections. There’s no doubt that this Alabama team is motivated to make every team on its schedule miserable this season, just like Nick Saban will do to his assistants.
Arkansas
Arkansas was picked to finish last in the division this year, which seems a little harsh considering the very solid recruiting class Chad Morris just hauled in. But that shouldn’t distract you from the fact that Arkansas just unveiled the cleanest uniforms in the league. It’s known as the “Kliff Kingsbury Theory.” If you’re going to lose, you might as well look better than everyone else while doing so.
Auburn
Just another Media Day full of national media folks criticizing Gus and saying this is the year he’ll finally crash and burn, which is ridiculous and completely unfair. Only Auburn fans are allowed to say that.
Florida
The Gators are officially competitive again, which is super unfortunate for any UGA fan with a twitter account. For Florida fans though, it’s so nice having a coach that’s not a national laughing stock. As long as Dan Mullen isn’t on the recruiting trail, or trying to convince one of his recently signed players not to transfer, or trying to make sure his freshmen aren’t suspended or sent to JUCO, he’s really one of the best coaches around.
Georgia
The Bulldogs got picked to win the East again and Kirby Smart stirred the pot a bit by talking about the benefits of potentially moving the Florida/Georgia game away from Jacksonville. But that’s all a distraction from Kirby’s real plan: moving next year’s inevitable Georgia/Alabama SEC title game to only 3 quarters.
Kentucky
The mainstream media seem to think last year was an anomaly, and picked UK to finish 6th in the East. But while the disrespect might be real, at least the entire nation got a glimpse of the glory that is Kash Daniel.
As you'd expect Kash Daniel had fun with reporters at SEC Media Days. Here's a mash up of him talking fishing, wrestling, hair and fashion. pic.twitter.com/Fql7EPln4w
— Curtis Burch (@curtisburch) July 18, 2019
LSU
The bond between Ed Orgeron and LSU fans is growing stronger, which is a very dangerous thing for the rest of the SEC, which was sure Coach O would be the laughing stock of the league. But who’s laughing now? Oh, everyone still laughs at Coach O even when he’s winning? OK then.
Mississippi State
Who cares about football when we can talk about all the weight that Joe Moorhead lost? The upcoming MSU season definitely took a backseat for the rest of the SEC media who were far more interested in Moorhead’s weight loss regimen, which he attributed to intermittent fasting and an intermittent offense.
Missouri
Mizzou finished third in the East in the media preseason rankings. That might have surprised some opposing fan bases, but those who saw Kelly Bryant up close know he’s the real deal. In fact, Kelly Bryant has more in common with Tua than any other quarterback in the SEC, because they both got beat by Trevor Lawrence.
Ole Miss
The Rebs finally have a meaningful reason to play this season, and it’s not just to fight Mississippi State again. Ole Miss can make a bowl game this year, and all they have to do is finish with a winning record while playing in the toughest division in all of sports. Easy.
South Carolina
Death, taxes, and Jake Bentley returning as South Carolina’s starter. Bentley has been around longer than most coaches he’ll be up against next year, and will either have the chance to leave a great legacy in Columbia, or get everyone very familiar with the name Ryan Hilinski.
Tennessee
Jeremy Pruitt opened his 30-minute press conference with a 22-minute monologue about, well, everyone kind of lost track, but it was certainly a power move. And with the very real possibility that Neyland Stadium will be selling alcohol this season, it was smart for Pruitt to begin the season on the most sober note possible.
Texas A&M
Once again, Jimbo Fisher lapped the field in his press conference in terms of words per minute and even snagged a 4-star QB commitment in the midst of Media Days just to show off. He also pulled off the strangest move of the week by bringing his punter to speak with the media. It was either a very kind gesture to a deserving kid, or a signal to the media of how he’ll answer any questions about FSU.
Vanderbilt
Derek Mason represented Vandy well as always, and even managed to remind more than a few people of a certain multi-game winning streak against its most competitive in-state rival, Tennessee State. The 3-game streak over Tennessee is also somewhat notable.
Houston lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football for Saturday Down South. You can follow him on twitter @hbarber17 or reach out at hbarber17@gmail.com
