Over 920 media members, some fully credentialed, others who weren't, were all present to grill 36 players and coaches who are all ready to hit the field for the upcoming season.
Below are all the important things, some more than others, to take away from the three days.
- The SEC made a better deal than Howie Mandel could cook up. The new deal that the SEC, CBS and ESPN have created could not have come at a better time. Just as the economy takes a down turn, the SEC will begin their 15-year deal with ESPN to create an SEC conglomerate. Starting this fall, SEC teams will have at least 11 of their 12 regular season games televised on ESPN, ESPN 2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, and the newly created SEC Network. The SEC Network will air at the same time as the old Jefferson Pilot/Lincoln Financial/Raycom Sports game and on the same channels. The SEC on ESPN will even have its own logo. Besides all the perks for football, a total of an average of 365 SEC sporting events will be on the ESPN family of networks each year for the next 15 years. On top of all this, the SEC Network will be shown to more than half of the country's households, including the cities of New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Pittsburgh and Phoenix.
- Ryan Mallett, the best QB in the country? According to Razorback Tight End DJ Williams, Ryan Mallett is the real deal. Mallett, the transfer from Michigan and projected starter for the Hogs, has shown out at practice and has the strongest arm in the country, says Williams. He "ripped the sticky stuff right off them (receiving gloves)." Coach Petrino adds support to Williams claim, saying the one thing that Mallett can do "is throw the deep ball."
- How far can Vandy really go? Says coach Bobby Johnson, "the sky is the limit." The Commodores are coming off a bowl victory and are looking to get to their second straight bowl game for the first time in school history. The 'Dores will have a chance to mirror their bowl trip from last season with Miss. St. and Kentucky at home as well as easy road games with Army and Rice. This is quite impressive for a school who nixed their Athletic Department within the last ten years.
- Dan Mullen has brought technology to central Mississippi!!! The self-proclaimed "only undefeated coach in the SEC" is a twitter fiend. Mullen was tweeting all around the Wynfrey, even updating his status as he got on stage and simply put, "I am on stage." "I am only going to answer questions through Twitter or Facebook so I can be the cutting-edge new coach." Mullen said to the media when he had his first chance. After my trip there last January where it seemed like religion was a foreign concept, technology is a welcomed site to Starkville, a destination Mullen wants to make "one of the hardest destinations in the league." Starkville has a 55,000-seat stadium, second smallest in the SEC, but they do have a gigantic video screen.
- Georgia: the only team who thinks the SEC isn't tough enough. The Bulldogs not only play in the SEC, but they decided to make the rounds in the non-conference this season. As always, the Dawgs have their Good Ol' Fashion Hate game with Georgia Tech, in Atlanta this year, but UGA also visits Stillwater to open the season and hosts Arizona State. Coach Mark Richt says the Bulldogs "may have bit off more than we should have," and also says the boys from Athens may look into using some Wildcat offensive plays. As for the schedule, don't worry, Georgia fans. The Bulldogs should have an easy time at Homecoming with Tennessee Tech.
- Only at Alabama can Saban think a top 5 defense sucks. No team draws a crowd at SEC Media Days like Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide, but the leading man in Crimson had something rather shocking to say about his top five defense from a year ago. Saban said of his defense that "those guys need to take it to another level." Another level? If the Crimson Tide defense does in fact have another level, what exactly would that be? Holding nine teams instead of seven to 10 points or fewer? Become the top team in every defensive category? Can they just start with improving the pass defense?
- I have a new found respect for Mr. Timothy Tebow. As it is obviously known by now, Tim Tebow was asked the question that most people wanted to know the answer to but were not going to pursue...until "that guy" came along. "That guy" was Clay Travis, a blogger for aol.com's FanHouse. Travis asked Tebow if he was saving himself for marriage as if he wrote for People magazine. Tebow laughed at the question and then, like a true professional, answered the question. Tebow then kept his cool as the rest of the media started to squirm in their seats. The fact that Clay Travis got credentials to SEC Media Days irks me. He is not associated with any newspaper, radio station or television outlet. He is a blogger...that's it. If that is all it takes to get credentials for SEC Media Days, why didn't I try to get some? Hell, I am at least associated with a newspaper. Nonetheless, the fact that Tim Tebow answered the question and kept his cool and laughed it off made me realize that it is not a front: Tim Tebow is the real deal. Sure, there is reason to despise him when he beats your team or for going to Florida (he admitted his second choice was Mike Shula and Alabama even without being asked about it). However, the way he can handle himself is definitely something to admire.
- When recruiting the "right guy" is masking why you can't get the best guy. Gene Chizik, the mayo jar of SEC coaches, explained his recruiting philosophy the same way in which Tommy Tuberville did near the end of his tenure: "When we go to recruit, we go to recruit the right guy for Auburn." That is one of those great coach speak lines, along with "we will evaluate him at game time" or "our off-season workouts have been the toughest during my time with ________." Saying you get the top guy for the school is a roundabout way of saying you can't really compete for the best. Chizik remained stone faced during his entire interview with the print media, and was not very happy over the Tebow-gate scandal. Gene eventually admitted he did vote for Tebow, but he was not happy about having to come out about his private vote.
- Steve Spurrier lost his spine around the 18th green, and apparently Jevan Snead really sucks. By the time Friday rolled around, many people had pegged The Ol' Ball Coach as the culprit for not voting for Tim Tebow. Speculation was, in fact, correct, but Spurrier went a different route than many people had expected from him. Instead of standing up for his vote, Spurrier buckled and threw his Director of Football Operations under the bus. Spurrier went as far to not only apologize, but also to change his vote within the SEC offices. That's right for people doing the math out there, there are now four unanimous 1st team All-SEC members. Spurrier apologized for three minutes at the podium for not actually casting the vote, opening a new can of worms about the coaches poll, 1/3 of the BCS formula. Also emerging from this fiasco is the idea that Jevan Snead is not worth the hype, apparently. This kid has surpassed Sam Bradford as the potential #1 pick in next April's draft (now starting on a Thursday night), but can't get a single vote for 1st team All-SEC. I think that might weigh on his mind for this season.
- Lester doesn't realize that LSU is often expected to finish second. As always, Les Miles is an interesting interview, and should be an interesting tweeter during the season. The Hat said that eight wins and a bowl was not enough for last season. He also said, we're never expected to be second. Not at LSU." Apparently he didn't see the media predictions for this year and last year. LSU was picked second in the SEC West both times. He is also forgetting that the Tigas did so bad that they were actually third in the West when the dust settled last year. Sure, LSU has come to be known as a sleeping giant over the past seven years, but as history goes, the Bayou Bengals from Baton Rouge are not that historical power. One name comes to mind: Gerry Dinardo.
- Ed Orgeron: the best recruiter in the land. That is what Lane Kiffin wants you to believe. Surprisingly, The Village Idiot was rather engaging during his time in front of the print media, but he also needs to learn that oxygen is necessary to life. "I can't imagine there is a better recruiter out there than Ed," said Kiffin of one of his high profile assistant coaches. Sure, Coach O did a great job to recruit in Oxford...and just flat fell on his face with all of the talent he had amassed. Off the field, though, I can see that recruiting promise Kiffin speaks of. I mean, who wouldn't want a Hummer after seeing this beauty?
SEC Media Predictions
East
- Florida
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
- Vanderbilt
- Kentucky
West
- Alabama
- LSU
- Ole Miss
- Arkansas
- Auburn
- Mississippi State
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