College football fans, rejoice. As of this week, you can officially pronounce the 2011 season underway.
No, the actual games don’t kickoff for another six weeks. But the intriguing ritual of preseason propaganda and prognostication begins in earnest Wednesday in Hoover, Ala., as SEC Media Days get underway at the Wynfrey Hotel.
In preparation for this annual exchange between teams and the media, here are five things you’re likely to hear about after the event commences Wednesday afternoon.
Issues and investigations
The newly discovered coaching skill-set of “roster management” — aka over-signing — was the dominant topic at the SEC Meetings in Destin, Fla., in May and there surely will be some residual discussion this week. But the most prominent topic in Hoover likely will be the tarnished image of college football amid multiple scandals.
LSU heard from the NCAA infractions committee regarding the Akiem Hicks case Tuesday. Tennessee is up next with that group in August. South Carolina received a letter of inquiry this time last year, and we’ve heard little since. Georgia is in the midst of an internal inquiry. Add the nationally covered scandals at Ohio State, USC and Oregon, and it’s a good bet this will generate some substantial dialogue this week.
Pressure on Mark Richt
The Georgia Bulldogs are one of the first teams up Thursday and the topic of the day most assuredly will be, “Is Mark Richt on the hot seat and, if so, how hot is it?”
That question has been bandied about to varying degrees by fans and media alike hundreds of times since Georgia lost four of its first five games last season and finished 6-7.
For the record, the powers to be at UGA have shown nothing but support for the Bulldogs’ 11th-year coach — “He’s not in my hot seat; he’s still in my lap,” longtime executive board member Bob Bishop said recently. But what else are they going to say?
It’s unlikely Richt won’t encounter such compassionate understanding from the grizzled SEC media, who are doggedly determined to identify those best suited for their “Coaches on hot seat” lists. Richt won’t be alone in this distinction. Houston Nutt of Ole Miss will be right there with him.
Rock-star coaches
Speaking of Richt and his supposedly warm backside, it’s always about the coaches at SEC Media Days. The SEC is the indisputable powerhouse conference of college football, producing star players and NFL draft picks galore. But its status is never clearer than when the media assembles in the cavernous ballrooms of the Wynfrey Hotel and coaches show they are the ruling party of this kingdom.
Nick Saban, Steve Spurrier, Bobby Petrino and Les Miles are ushered about like movies stars complete with trailing paparazzi, fawning fans and curious, clamoring reporters. We’ll also hear about the new additions to this exclusive fraternity, Florida’s Will Muschamp and Vanderbilt’s James Franklin.
Mighty Gamecocks
South Carolina is in the extremely rare position of being the prohibitive favorite to win the East (it will be a close call between Alabama and LSU in the West). That’s a long-awaited and supremely coveted place to be for Spurrier.
And the ever-thirsty media will be primed to lap up Spurrier’s quip bombs on hot topics such as over-signing, paying players and how to suspend players without them actually having to miss games (see quarterback Stephen Garcia).
Great running backs
As usual, the league is loaded with elite running backs. Some of them you’ve heard a lot about — such as South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore, Auburn’s Michael Dyer and Alabama’s Trent Richardson — others not so much, such as Arkansas’ Knile Davis, the league’s leading returning rusher with 1,322 yards; Mississippi State bulldozer Vick Ballard; and Tennessee’s Tauren Poole, the senior from Toccoa who quietly surpassed a thousand yards last season.
Georgia’s Washaun Ealey and Caleb King would have been brought up in this conversation, but, of course, they’re gone.
