College football season is still more than a month away.
But the unofficial start of college football season feels like this week a little bit, doesn’t it?
There won’t be actual games, but for the first time in over a decade, this Tuesday, EA Sports is giving us a NEW version of their college football game (EA SPORTS™ College Football 25 – EA SPORTS Official Site – Electronic Arts).
And more to the point, even though the Big 12 Conference was actually first on the calendar, the Southeastern Conference Media Days is the bulk of this week at The Omni, a plush hotel in Dallas where SEC coaches will address the who’s who in college football media.
It begins Monday, as in TODAY, and continues through Thursday, and for the first time includes Texas and Oklahoma.
We’ll be there, too, and you guys can see it all unfold live on ESPN2 – every bit of it, all 16 coaches, as well as players they bring along with them to meet the media.
Yes, it’s going to be a new SEC, starting right at the top. Defending champion Alabama won’t have head coach Nick Saban at the helm for the first time since the 2007 season, with Saban having headed into retirement after ending Georgia’s stay at the top last year.
That’s the major change, and the addition, of course, of the Longhorns and Sooners, after so many years in the Southwest Conference and Big 12 Conference, bringing all of their traditions over with them to the already tradition-rich SEC.
And no more divisions! That’s right, for the first time since 1992, and the very first year of the SEC Championship Game, there won’t be an SEC West Division Champion facing an SEC East Division Champion in the conference title game.
The 16 coaches will each address the media, and here’s the schedule (in Central time, because that’s Dallas time).
Monday
- 9 a.m.: SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey, and then between 9 a.m. and 1:05 p.m., he’ll be followed by LSU head coach Brian Kelly and South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer. Kelly will be joined by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, tight end Mason Taylor and linebacker Harold Perkins; Beamer will have with him defensive tackle Alex Huntley, athlete Luke Doty, and linebacker Debo Williams.
- 1:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.: Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin hits the stage and brings with him quarterback Jaxson Dart, wide receiver Tre Harris and defensive end Jared Ivey. After the Ole Miss contingent, it’ll be Vanderbilt, led by coach Clark Lea. Joining coach Lea will be offensive lineman Gunnar Hansen, linebacker Langston Patterson and safety C.J. Taylor.
Tuesday
- 8:30 a.m.: John McDaid, SEC coordinator of football officials.
- 9 a.m. through noon: Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel are the first two up. Smart will hit the podium first, and after him, Bulldogs players quarterback Carson Beck, defensive lineman Mykel Williams and safety Malaki Starks. Heupel will have center Cooper Mays, linebacker Keenan Pili, and defensive lineman Omari Thomas.
- 12:35 through 3:45: It’s the debut of Oklahoma coach Brent Venables – well, heck, ANY OU coach, for that matter – and then Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz. Joining Venables will be presumptive new Sooners starter at quarterback, Jackson Arnold, as well as linebacker Danny Stutsman and defensive back Billy Bowman, Jr. Coming along with Drinkwitz are Tigers Luther Burden III, the wide receiver, as well as quarterback Brady Cook and defensive lineman Kristian Williams.
Wednesday
- 8:45 a.m.: A Football Writers Association of America representative addresses the media.
- 9 a.m. through noon: Coaches addresses will start with a highly-anticipated one: first-year (that sounds weird) Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer, followed by three of his players: quarterback Jalen Milroe, offensive lineman Tyler Booker and defensive back Malachi Moore. And then it’s another first-year head coach, Jeff Lebby, of Mississippi State. Lebby will have with him quarterback Blake Shapen, offensive lineman Albert Reese IV, and linebacker John Lewis.
- 12:45-3:45: Florida coach Billy Napier will start the post-lunch addresses, along with his trio of players – quarterback Graham Mertz, inside linebacker Shemar James and running back Montrell Johnson Jr. – and then, after an address by Dr. Katie O’Neal (the conference’s chief medical advisor), Texas joins the party, as coach Steve Sarkisian will address the crowd. Sark will have with him quarterback Quinn Ewers, offensive lineman Kevlin Banks Jr., and defensive back Jahdae Barron.
Thursday
- 8 a.m. until 9 a.m.: The final day of SEC Media Days begins with an AI Panel (yeah, you read that right), and then the coaches addresses resume.
- 9 a.m. through 12:30 p.m.: Arkansas coach Sam Pittman starts things off, followed by his players wide receiver Andrew Armstrong, quarterback Taylen Green and defensive end Landon Jackson. After the ‘Hogs, Texas A&M and another first-year coach, Mike Elko. Defensive lineman Shemar Turner will be with him, as will linebacker Taurean York and offensive lineman Trey Zuhn III.
- 1 p.m. through 4 p.m.: The final trio of speakers of the week are Auburn coach Hugh Freeze, a representative from the National Football Foundation, and then Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops. Joining Freeze from Auburn are quarterback Payton Thorne, linebacker Eugene Asante and defensive end Keldric Faulk. And from Kentucky: offensive lineman Marques Cox, linebacker D’Eryk Jackson and defensive lineman Deone Walker.
