KSR Today: SEC Media Days and Peach Jam Week

Today begins maybe the busiest week of the offseason for your friends here at KSR HQ as SEC Media Days and Nike Peach Jam collide on the summer schedule. Over the next four days, all 14 of the SEC’s head football coaches and three players from each team will speak in their mandatory appearances at SEC Media Days’ new location at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, the biggest week in college basketball recruiting is already underway two hours east of SEC Media Days in North Augusta, South Carolina; where college basketball coaches surround the courts of Riverview Park Activities Center to scout the basketball stars of the future at Peach Jam, the final event of the Nike EYBL circuit.

Collectively, the two concurrent events will provide more than enough content to keep your reading list full for the foreseeable future.

So let’s get right to it.

SEC Media Days takes over Atlanta

Making its return to Atlanta this year, SEC Media Days is outside the state of Alabama for only the second time since 1985 with a bigger and brighter venue at the College Football Hall of Fame. The four-day event begins today to officially kick off college football’s 2022 talking season with conversations about NIL, collectives, realignment, the upcoming season, and lots more.

Also ahead at Media Days, this year’s preseason All-SEC teams will reveal if Will Levis’ preseason hype is enough to earn him a preseason All-SEC selection in a league full of good QBs. (My guess is no, unfortunately.) We’ll also see where Kentucky falls behind Georgia in the SEC East’s preseason poll. Second? Third? Way back at fourth or fifth?

Stay tuned.

Today’s SEC Media Days schedule

Day 1 in Atlanta will give us two of Kentucky’s 2022 opponents in Ole Miss and Missouri, plus Chip Kelly’s SEC Media Days debut and opening remarks from the commish.

• Sankey | 11:45 AM | SEC commissioner Greg Sankey
• LSU | 12:35 PM | Brian Kelly, Jack Bech (WR), Mike Jones, Jr. (LB), BJ Ojulari (DE)
• Ole Miss | 2:30 PM | Lane Kiffin, Jonathan Mingo (WR), Cedric Johnson (DE), Nick Broeker (OL)
• Missouri | 3:55 PM | Eli Drinkwitz, Barrett Banister (WR), Martez Manuel (DB), Isaiah McGuire (DL)

You can watch live on SEC Network+ beginning with comments from SEC commissioner Greg Sankey at 11:45 AM.

Here on Kentucky-Sports-Radio-dot-com, Nick Roush and Freddie Maggard will have plenty of blogs, podcasts, and videos from the scene sponsored by Morgan & Morgan, for the people. They’re on site all week.

Kentucky scheduled for Wednesday interviews

For Kentucky Football’s purposes, you will have to wait until Wednesday to hear from Mark Stoops, Will Levis, Kenneth Horsey, and DeAndre Square. Stoops will be at the podium at 2:25 PM that afternoon.

Until then, read the storylines you can expect around the Wildcats in Atlanta.

Day 2 of the Nike EYBL Peach Jam

In its 26th year, Peach Jam welcomes fans back inside Riverview Park Activities Center for the first time since 2019 to crown this summer’s Nike EYBL champion. Among those fans in attendance are KSR’s own Jack Pilgrim and Zack Geoghegan, who will keep a watchful eye on all Peach Jam participants on Kentucky Basketball’s recruiting board; guys like DJ Wagner, Aaron Brashaw, Justin Edwards, Ron Holland, and current commit Robert Dillingham in the Class of 2023, and a long list of 2024 prospects for the future.

For a thorough list of Peach Jam players to watch, read KSR’s Kentucky fan’s guide to the 2022 Nike Peach Jam.

Today’s Nike EYBL Peach Jam schedule

If you’re interested in following Kentucky’s targets at Peach Jam, here’s when they are scheduled to play today:

• 12:30 PM | UPlay Canada vs. Drive Nation (Holland)
• 3:30 PM (16U) | PSA Cardinals (Fland, Missi) vs. NY Rens
• 3:30 PM (16U) | Florida Rebels (Knox) vs. Team Takeover
• 5:00 PM | Team CP3 (Dillingham) vs. Team Final (Edwards)
• 5:00 PM | NH Lightning (Cadeau, Pettiford) vs. LivOn-Fleur De Lis
• 6:30 PM | Team Griffin (Johnson) vs. Expressions Elite (Buzelis)
• 6:30 PM | Team Melo/Brad Beal Elite winner vs. NJ Scholars (Bradshaw, Wagner)
• 8:00 PM | PSA Cardinals vs. Houston Hoops (Ali)
• 8:00 PM | Mokan Elite (Bol) vs. NY Rens (Cunningham)
• 8:00 PM | Team Durant (Evans, Flowers) vs. JL3 Elite

A recommendation, Robert Dillingham versus Justin Edwards should be one of the more entertaining games of the day. Dillingham is a future Wildcat and Edwards could be soon with plans to announce his decision one week from today.

All Peach Jam games will be streamed on the EYBL’s website.

Kentucky Sports Radio is back from Pennsylvania

Coming up at 10 AM, the Kentucky Sports Radio radio show will return to the airwaves following the cliffhanger ending to last week’s road trip throughout Pennsylvania. We’re back safely, well-rested, and ready to tell the final ending of the story on today’s show from KSBar and Grille in Lexington. We have lots of Kentucky sports news to review, too.

The Open delivered

From the world of golf, Sunday’s final round of the 150th Open Championship ended with Cameron Smith’s come-from-behind upset of Rory McIlroy, the fan and betting favorite at the Old Course. Smith began the day four strokes behind McIlroy and Viktor Hovland but birdied a record six holes on the back nine to take the Claret Jug in the end, his first major victory.

Afterward, Smith revealed his celebration will include filling the jug with beers. A true champion.

NBA Summer League concluded on Sunday

Though Sunday was all about the Open, out in Las Vegas the NBA Summer League named its 2022 champion.

Congratulations to Shaedon Sharpe’s Portland Trail Blazers and league MVP Trendon Watford.

John Legend coming to Lexington?

Following Anthony Brown’s commitment to Kentucky Football on Saturday, Brown’s famous uncle, John Legend, retweeted his four-star wide receiver nephew’s commitment graphic to his 14 million Twitter followers.

He also liked my tweet to him saying, “See you at a Cats game,” which pretty much confirms he will attend a game at Kroger Field.

See you at a Cats game @johnlegend

— Drew Franklin (@DrewFranklinKSR) July 16, 2022

Go Cats.