As day three of 2023 SEC Media Days have come and gone, we dive
into a quick recap. Coaches who took the podium were Nick
Saban (Alabama), Sam Pittman (Arkansas), Billy Napier (Florida),
and Mark Stoops (Kentucky).
1. Alabama
Ole Saban was back for his 16th time to start day
three of the 2023 SEC media days. Like all of the head coaches, he was asked
about many different topics, but the overwhelming favorite was about the
QB battle in Tuscaloosa. Coming into spring ball many had Jalen Milroe as the projected starter with Ty Simpson fighting for the job. Unfortunately coming out of spring ball
neither Milroe nor Simpson took control of the situation, which led Saban to go out looking for another QB to compete.
That led them to former Notre Dame starter Tyler Buchner, who also played under Alabama’s new offensive coordinator Tommy Rees.
When asked about the battle, Saban said, “Let the cake bake until someone separates themselves.” Speaking of new coordinators, Saban also found one on the other side of the ball, with veteran Kevin Steele taking over the
defense.
2. Arkansas
Coming off of an underwhelming 7-6 season for the Hogs, they look to bounce back and possibly get over the hump with a ten-win season. That would be lovely for the Arkansas faithful
and something that hasn’t been done since 2011. I too believe they can reach that if KJ Jefferson goes crazy and the pass defense improves under defensive coordinator Travis Williams.
On another note, Pittman also had a few words to say about
reducing the transfer portal window. When asked he went on to say, “Now on Twitter, it’s: I’m getting ready to go in the transfer portal. Because rules say you can’t talk to them, all this, so they are letting the world know they are getting ready to. I think they already know (they’re entering the portal). I think a week is plenty of time.”
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3. Florida
Billy Napier and the Gators had a disappointing end to 2022, especially for Florida standards.
Granted, it was Napier’s first season at the helm and in the SEC, so a little adjustment period was expected. Even though that
may be true, Florida is never without talent and 6-7 will never cut it
no matter the situation.
This year though Napier feels completely
different. Even with top-five draft pick Anthony Richardson gone to
the NFL, he loves the makeup of the team, which has a nice mixture
of veterans & young guys. When talking about the portal he went on
to say, “We added 10,000 snaps and 123 starts to that group, and I am excited about the compound effect of year two.” The only thing he has to do now is find a QB, which is no small task. Florida is expected to start Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz, and while he wasn’t good with the Badgers, a change of scenery may do him well.
4. Kentucky
After having two 10-win seasons out of the previous four, last season brought very high expectations in Lexington.
Especially with quarterback Will Levis receiving potential #1 overall pick hype. Unfortunately
for the Wildcats, things certainly did not go as planned as they
finished the season with a 7-6 record and a shutout 21-0 loss to Iowa in the
Music City Bowl.
This year should look a lot different and in a
good way.
First off, Stoops brought back offensive coordinator Liam Coen,
who left for the NFL. He also brought impact transfers in veteran QB Devin Leary from NC State
and a tough all-around running back in Ray Davis from Vanderbilt.
When talking about
Leary Stoops said, “I love the way he goes to work. He has a lot of confidence. He has a chip on his shoulder, which I like.” After talking to Davis meanwhile, Stoops said: “It didn’t take you five to ten minutes to spend with a young man like that-that you knew he was the type of player that you wanted on your team.”
