SEC Media Days: Tuesday highlights from Atlanta and a pair of lowlights

SEC Media Days reached the halfway point, late Tuesday afternoon in Atlanta. Check out some highlights and a pair of what can only be called lowlights.

Day two of SEC Media Days followed a standard pattern. Seven teams have now been reviewed by their head coaches. All seven are purported to be better in the upcoming season. The newbies, from Jimbo to Mullen, to Luke and Morris all believe their teams will be “tougher” than last season.

There should be a count about which of the 14 head coaches spouts the most clichés at SEC Media Days. Butch Jones would have been the hands-down winner in past seasons. The most common response, when asked about a player is “He’s a football player.” Almost equal in using words to say nothing is “you got to make plays to win games.”

When asked about team prospects for the coming season, one of these responses bubble up – “we are going to take them a game at a time” and “in this league, there are no easy games.” Thinking back, Butch Jones was adept at getting both those phrases into one sentence.

In fairness to the coaches, it was others saying the most stupid things on Tuesday. Listen to this question posed to Kirby Smart.

A Pair of Lowlights

Kirby actually handled the response to an ill-informed media member quite well. Another media exchange from a former Georgia QB cannot be called smooth. Check out the tweet below.

Aaron Murray is certainly entitled to his opinion. Still, there is not much difference in the tracks of Kirby Smart and Jeremy Pruitt becoming head coaches. There is also doubt Kirby is up to a CEO task for the long haul.

Highlights from the Coaches

Matt Luke

Ole Miss is still hoping an appeal to the NCAA will allow them to play in a bowl game this season. The school is also appealing recruiting restrictions for the current recruiting cycle. In fairness to Luke, he inherited a poor a situation, not of his own doing.

The greatest impact of the NCAA penalties will be in the 2019 and 2020 recruiting class. The 2018 roster has not been seriously depleted. Luke returns 15 starters. A late-season run that earned three wins, including an Egg Bowl win over Mississippi State, has Luke optimistic for the coming season. He much prefers to talk about his football team than the continuing NCAA slog.

Every media member in Atlanta knows Ole Miss has been terrible at stopping the run. Instead of discussing run-stuffing as a top priority, Matt Luke was more interested in talking continuity.

"I think continuity is huge. I think that’s a big advantage we have coming back, is having the same coordinators on offense and defense, being able to keep that continuity and getting one year better.”"

Continuity or not, Ole Miss has a long road back to SEC respectability.

Dan Mullen

Mullen had some spiffy new Gator shoes as he gleefully paraded around the College Football Hall of Fame. He seems genuinely ecstatic about being the Florida headman. Maybe it is just the relief of not having Alabama on the schedule.

After his prepared comments, Mullen was asked about the Gators bouncing back from last season’s 4-7 record.

"One of the things that having been in this conference for quite a long time that I’ve learned is the margin for error is very small. The margin for error from having a bad season to an average season, an average season to a good season, a good season to a great season, a great season to a special season is very, very small."

Dan is looking to mold consistency into a program that has not had it since before Urban’s Florida melt-down. He will say all the right things. He wants the Gators to contend for a championship this season. Even for Mullen, that is a bold goal.

Chad Morris

Morris is taking a roster built to play power football and turning it into what Nick Saban calls a fastball team. Morris and Malzahn share a passion for hurry-up that goes back many years. The transition in Fayetteville can best be described as abrupt.

Morris is understandably upbeat about the Razorbacks’ future. He needs all the upbeat he can muster. There is no indication he has a QB who can run his offense. The most positive Morris could be on the QB situation was,

"I know we’ll have a great (QB) competition going on, and once we do name one, it doesn’t mean you sign a lifetime contract. There is no lifetime contract at the quarterback position. It’s a continuous battle every day."

Morris has said he will run the same offensive system he used at Houston. It will take a near miracle for the Razorbacks to pull off the revamp in one season.

New defensive coordinator, John Chavis will also be challenged. The Razorbacks were not very successful stopping opponents last season.

Kirby Smart

Kirby’s ease in fielding the out-dated QB roster question may indicate a guy becoming more comfortable in his head coach role. The remaining dialog coming from Kirby and his players may suggest something else. The Dawg headman and his players talked a lot about “moving on” from the overtime loss in the national championship game.

Has Kirby learned another lesson from Nick Saban? As in how to not waste a failure – perhaps so. On the other hand, bouncing back from a devastating loss takes more than talk.

Give Kirby credit for one strong line, “In the SEC, humility is a week away. Every team you play has a chance to beat you.” He turned an old cliché around.

Next: What CNS will and will not say at SEC Media Days

There is no truth to the rumor SEC Media Days will shut down after Nick finishes Wednesday afternoon. After Saban, four more, lesser programs will be included late Wednesday and Thursday.