We have frequently characterized SEC Media Days as a circus. That is not to be disrespectful to the conference, teams, coaches, or the media that covers it with the soberness of a presidential campaign. It’s just that, typical of the SEC, it is over the top compared to the other conferences across the country. Fans waiting in the hotel lobby for a glimpse of their favorite coach or player as they dart from the valet parking area to the ballroom; four days of every question imaginable being vainly asked of the coaches no matter how big or how obscure, many times the same question being asked of every coach. It is an event that the SEC makes sure is unlike any other pre-season event. So were there any actual takeaways from Day 1 of SEC Media Days?
SEC Media Days, Day 1; What Did We Learn?
Greg Sankey
SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey opened the festivities by addressing the assembled masses.
- Sankey paid tribute to the late Tennessee Women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt. He also acknowledged that this event would not be as lively without the improv-style musings of Steve Spurrier, so he gave a quote from the former Florida and South Carolina coach; but frankly it was one of the more mundane quotes to ever come out of Spurrier’s mouth, so no one even remembers it.
- The commissioner was asked if the SEC has an image problem based on off-the-field issues with player arrests, NCAA investigations and sexual assault claims in a few schools. Sankey referred back to his opening statements where he noted that 125 current and former SEC athletes had qualified for the Rio Olympics. He also referred back to where he had opined about the off-field achievements. Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly spent some of the off-season doing relief work in Haiti. Georgia offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow is getting a degree in commercial real estate and Sankey says he is, “probably the only notary on a Division 1 football program.” Sankey also noted that Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett likes to read one book every two weeks, write poetry and has left social media behind. I would congratulate Garrett, but apparently he’s not likely to see this anyway, so…
- One issue, which clearly remains high on the list of “must address,” is players being accused of sexual assaults and their role in the conference. Currently the SEC has a policy that no player who has been kicked off their team for sexual assault issues is allowed to transfer to a SEC school. The conference does still allow, however, incoming freshman who have faced those charges to enroll at a member institution.
Gus Malzahn
Bringing on Auburn coach Gus Malzahn after Sankey is a little like bringing on a test proctor after you just listened to the guy explain the rules for being a notary. Malzahn is nothing if not straight to the point.
- Malzahn said the four players arrested in the Spring for misdemeanor marijuana charges will not miss any playing time this season. He said they had been punished within the system, but would not specify what that was. Not coincidentally, the conversation turned to Auburn playing last year’s national runner up in the season opener.
- He said he spent too much time last season being the CEO of the Auburn football program. He will be spending more time at the ground level X’s and O’s this year.
- Malzahn also gave Commissioner Sankey another headache with an unresolved topic to tackle. He said that he was open to finding a plan that would allow undrafted underclassmen a way to come back to school and play football.
Jim McElwain
Florida’s Jim McElwain seemed to enjoy himself in his second SEC Media Days as the Gators head coach. Of course it helps when you are only the third head coach to win your division in your first year.
- McElwain was asked to comment on how Florida State gave its players state championship rings for having beaten Florida and Miami last year, something the program has been openly mocked for recently. “I don’t know if our administration has it in our budget to do that even if we did beat those teams.”
- There was a conversation about players so freely using social media outlets and whether that is a good thing. “I read a history book a long time ago and it talked about the First Amendment, so we live that. I am not going to censor our players, but I will remind them that there are no do-overs on social media so we educate them.”
- Florida had its share of placekicking woes last season. Now the Gators have internet phenom Eddy Pineiro. He is a junior college kicker from North Miami Beach, for which there is virtually no game film. However, video of him kicking a 77 yard field goal in practice went viral and all of a sudden, SEC schools were hovering. “I’m not sure how much he has kicked in live games,” McElwain said. “I was happy to see he buckled his chin strap properly (at Spring practice). That was awesome.” Just a reminder that Myles Garrett has never seen Pineiro kick because the only video is on social media.
Derek Mason
These media sessions cannot be easy for Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason; not when you have a 7-17 record after two seasons at the helm. Mason, to his credit has not lost of his confidence or vision.
- “We are not about competing anymore. It’s now about winning,” Mason said in the context of being close in many games last year only to have it slip away at the end. “That’s about focus.”
- Mason was asked if there was extra pressure being one of the few African American head coaches in Division 1 football. “I don’t wear that as a cape. My ethnicity has nothing to do with my position. There is a reason why Vanderbilt hired me. They felt like I was the best coach. They didn’t feel like I was just African American. They didn’t feel like I was anything but the best coach.”
Media
One last thing we learned from Day 1 of SEC Media Days. Apparently not all of the assembled media is aware that the event is broadcast live on national television. That explains the all too many reporters adorned in trucker caps and sun glasses in a hotel ballroom for the big gathering. There was one youngster from Sports Illustrated for Kids who was credentialed for the event. Take comfort in the future because the young man was well attired and prepared with good questions. Now we just have to get him to teach Myles Garrett about social media.
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