First Down Kentucky: Exhaling from SEC Media Days Marathon
What was once a two-day sprint has transformed into a 16-team, four-day marathon. SEC Media Days concluded on Thursday and we’re just now catching our breath. Allow me to spend some time rehashing an eventful week in Dallas with the KSR crew.
Embrace the Hog
If there’s only one thing you remember from the 2024 edition of SEC Media Days, let it be this: Embrace the Hog. How will John Calipari embrace the hog in Fayetteville? It’s an excellent question, one that I don’t have an answer to.
Everything is Bigger in Texas
That saying is actually not full of crap. The main media room was larger. The space between bars and restaurants in downtown Dallas required extra leg work. If you wanted to make the trek to Arlington for All-Star Game activities, you needed an hour to get there from downtown. Even though in the SEC it just means more, we didn’t need this much more.
The KSR crew got a taste of the scope and size of the state during our drive to Texas. Shenanigans started early when I cut open my foot and bled all over the carpet at the Luckett household. They continued a day later when we took an enormous freeway overpass to the wrong Commerce Street, the one in Garland, Tx. If you thought the construction was bad at I-64 and the Gene Snyder, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
Dallas was a fine host for the event, but just fine. The barbecue was excellent but I will not be scratching and clawing to get back into the 100-degree weather in mid-July anytime soon.
Stoops Finds Comfort at SEC Media Days
Mark Stoops is not at his most comfortable behind a microphone. He does not try to put on a show like Eli Drinkwitz or Shane Beamer. The Kentucky head coach is pretty straightforward and sometimes that can be boring. The Stoops we saw in Dallas looked much different than the one we saw a decade ago in Hoover at SEC Media Days.
Stoops cracked jokes, ones that actually landed. More importantly, he found the right balance in his tone while speaking directly to Big Blue Nation. Stoops made it abundantly clear that he wants more, without diminishing his program’s recent accomplishments. I don’t know if he would’ve been confident enough to come to his own defense — “That’s not nothing” — while still portraying that his program is on solid footing and moving in the right direction.
Mark Stoops has been doing this for 12 years now. They saved the longest-tenured for last and he certainly sounded the part.
Nick Saban Steals SEC Media Days Show
Even though Nick Saban was no longer taking over the stage, his presence could be felt throughout SEC Media Days. Most coaches thanked him for his contributions to the league, all while he sat on the other side of the room as a member of the media. Now on the other side of the mic, he’s dishing out rat poison to his former team.
“He always said don’t let some guy who lives in his mom’s basement determine how you feel,” said OL Tyler Booker. “I’m not going to let a guy who plays golf all day determine how I feel.”
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Contentious Moments at SEC Media Days
If you tuned in to see what folks were saying on the SEC Network set, you received quite a treat. Lane Kiffin and Paul Finebaum have gone back and forth over the years. This time Kiffin refused to pull any punches, creating an uncomfortable moment on the stage.
Somehow that wasn’t the most uncomfortable moment of the week. The league welcomed a few newcomers this year, combining media personalities on the same set that rarely spend time together. Many of the arguments you heard on television continued off-camera. That was the case when former Texas Longhorn Sam Acho said the Iron Bowl doesn’t have national appeal. Somehow, Cole Cubelic maintained his composure, but for a moment it looked like the former Auburn Tiger was going to flip the desk and take out Acho.
“I don’t want a rivalry split down the middle,” said Cubelic. “I don’t want a rivalry fair. And if you need trinkets, and you need fairs, and you need rides and food to make your football game great, that is not a football game for me that I’m gonna place on an all-time rivalry list.”
The Real UT
The addition of Oklahoma and Texas stirred things up around the SEC. One silly debate among fans is, “Who is the real UT?” Well, the league handed out a verdict following SEC Media Days in the official release announcing the preseason all-conference teams. Players from Tennessee were followed by the UT abbreviation, whereas Texas players were accompanied by a Tex. You can’t spell Longhorns without a Big L.
Video Hits and More from SEC Media Days
SEC Media Days holds a near and dear place to my heart for a myriad of reasons, but one aspect stands out above the rest. There are many perks of working on the internet. One big downside is the lack of personal interactions. It’s one thing to send a Tweet to a colleague. It’s incomparable to chopping it up in person.
Last week I got to spend time with friends from across the internet and radio land and had an absolute ball. Here’s a rundown of some of the videos we made for KSR with friends of the program and hits with other shows about the Wildcats.
- SECMD Wrap-Up with Cousin Shane and SEC Mike
- 11 Personnel on That SEC Podcast
- Nick de la Torre talks Florida Gators
- Andy Staples with 11 Personnel
- Burning Questions with JD PicKell
There are still a few more interviews coming to the KSR YouTube Channel from Radio Row. Until then, enjoy this chat with Andy Staples.
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