It might be the middle of a hot-baked July, but our fall pigskin festival is right around the corner. We’re talking football. And this week, down in Music City, we’ll be talking a lot of football.
Starting Monday, the annual overkill that is SEC Football Media Days descends on the Grand Hyatt in Nashville. That means 14 head coaches, 42 players, multitudes of media, wall-to-wall SEC Network television coverage and an abundance of storylines for the upcoming 2023 campaign.
Here are five:
1. Georgia’s tumultuous offseason
With Georgia winning back-to-back national titles, you’d think it’s all sunshine and rainbows in Athens. Not so. The tragic deaths of a Georgia player and staff member in a January vehicle crash involving alcohol began a succession of traffic-related embarrassments for the Bulldogs.
Then came a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution alleging the football program had protected players facing sexual violence and misconduct accusations.
Despite building the sport’s best on-the-field product, Kirby Smart will get plenty of off-the-field questions this week.
2. Alabama’s starting quarterback battle
With 2021 Heisman Trophy winner and No. 1 overall NFL Draft choice Bryce Young now barking signals for the Carolina Panthers, Alabama Coach Nick Saban needs a No. 1 quarterback to emerge before the Crimson Tide’s September opener.
After unproven commodities Jalen Milroe and Ty Simpson went head-to-head in spring drills, Saban added Notre Dame transfer Tyler Buchner to the roster. A warning sign? Could be. Filling Young’s shoes will be difficult enough. That Bama lacks a clear-cut favorite for the game’s most important position isn’t an encouraging sign.
3. What will Shane Beamer do for attention this week?
At last year’s SEC Media Days in Atlanta, the South Carolina coach created a stir by dropping a viral video of himself dancing to Soulja Boy. Beamer’s acting skills might be debatable, but not his showmanship. And his Gamecocks finished 2022 strong, shocking No. 5-ranked Tennessee 63-38 and No. 8 Clemson 31-30 to close out the regular season.
What will Beamer do for an encore? Expectations have found Columbia, a double-edged sword for any program trying to climb the crowded conference ladder.
4. Intriguing SEC West coaching moves
With former bitter Big 12 rivals Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC in 2024, Texas A&M isn’t about to stomach another 5-7 season from Jimbo Fisher. This Jimbo clearly knows, which prompted the embattled head coach to poach play-caller Bobby Petrino from UNLV. The hope is the ex-Louisville (twice)/ex-Atlanta Falcons/ex-Arkansas/ex-Missouri State coach will inject some life into the Aggies’ moribund offense.
Can Fisher and Petrino work together in College Station? To survive, they’ll have to find a way.
Meanwhile, Auburn tabbed ex-Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze to rescue the Tigers from mediocrity. NCAA violations and personal problems sent Freeze to the exit in Oxford, where he was 39-25 in five seasons. He completed a four-year reclamation project at Liberty, going 34-15. How Freeze’s second SEC go-around fares will be worth watching.
And don’t forget LSU’s Brian Kelly. After a shaky start in Baton Rouge — who can forget Kelly’s abysmal attempt at using a Cajun accent while being introduced at an LSU basketball game — the former Notre Dame coach showed he can in fact compete with the big boys. That the Tigers wound up in last year’s SEC championship game might be just the start.
5. Will anyone be talking about Kentucky?
With everything else and more going on in the nation’s toughest college football conference, Kentucky has been flying under the radar this offseason. Sure, Liam Coen is back as offensive coordinator. And Mark Stoops added the nation’s top transfer quarterback in Devin Leary. But more attention has been paid to UK’s former quarterback, Will Levis, than the current Cats.
Here’s betting that doesn’t bother Stoops one little bit. Finally picked to finish second in the SEC East by the media last year, Kentucky slipped to 3-5 in the league and 7-6 overall. These Cats perform better as underdogs.
SEC Media Days
When:Monday through Thursday
Where: Grand Hyatt hotel in Nashville
TV:SEC Network
Order of team appearances
Monday: LSU, Texas A&M, Missouri
Tuesday: Vanderbilt, Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi State
Wednesday: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky
Thursday: Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee
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