SEC Talk

SEC Football Media Days began on Wednesday, featuring Mississippi State, Arkansas, Vanderbilt and Kentucky. Here are some quick notes from the press conferences:

ARKANSAS: Bobby Petrino believes that this year will be much better than last (typical coach-speak, huh?).  And, of course, it all began in the winter workouts in the weight room. (Get ready, you are going to hear this from pretty much every coach).  Petrino will be in his second season with the Hogs, meaning his system should be pretty much in place, and personnel should be much more to his liking. Petrino emphasized that QB Ryan Mallett, who transfered from Michigan and red-shirted last season, has dropped 25 pounds, is more mobile, giving the Razorbacks more options offensively. Mallett is viewed by the Arkansas faithful as the answer to the offensive struggles the team has had. Finally, Petrino laid to rest that rumor his Hogs were becoming a spread offensive team. While there will be elements of the spread, Petrino is sticking with a multiple set.

VANDERBILT: Coach Bobby Johnson started off by alluding to the Vandy schedule, which runs 12 straight weeks with no off dates… OUCH! But all is not doom and gloom for the Commodores, because there is experience at QB… none that jumps up and says, “I’m your starter, coach” but guys that all saw action, giving Johnson some options at the position. Vandy features both  veteran offensive and defensive lines, after slogging through with a lot of newbies last year. VU is coming off it’s first bowl game since 1982, a 16-14 win in the Music City Bowl. It was amazingly only the fourth bowl game in history for Vandy (2-1-1 in bowl games, 1955, 1974, 1982, 2008). I say amazingly, because there was a time when Vandy was the class of the south… granted that was 90 or so years ago and there weren’t nearly as many bowls. I just had figured there were a few more in there than that. Finally, Johnson commented that while last year was strong, it wasn’t about garnering respect nationally or even within the conference, it’s about improving the program.

MISSISSIPPI STATE: Dan Mullen, entering his first season at MSU, got a laugh by telling the room of media that he was only going to Twitter or Facebook his answers, “so I can be the cutting edge young coach up here.” He talked about the excitement around the program, and how much he is enjoying his time there. He also mentioned that the team recorded one of it’s highest grade point averages recently… not sure that is a good sign, when a coach is talking about GPA’s instead of football… Anyway, Mullen says MSU will be running what he calls a “multiple” spread offense. He said it will be a spread option, spread passing, spread running… you get the idea.  Mullen installed Florida’s spread while the OC at UF. Still no word on who will be at QB for the Bulldogs (there’s a lot of that going on in the SEC this year). Mullen says he is waiting for a leader to step forward. It’s worth remembering that Mullen served as Urban Meyer’s assistant at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida, where he was the offensive coordinator for the Gators. He actually got quite emotional when speaking about his relationship with Tim Tebow.  Circle October 24 on your calendar. That’s when Mullen will take his Bulldogs into Gainesville to face the defending champs… and Tebow.

KENTUCKY: The last coach to appear on Wednesday was Kentucky’s Rich Brooks, who is riding a pretty popular tide of excitement in the Bluegrass State. Granted, no one will mistake him for John Calipari, but lots of Wildcat fans who have managed to avoid Commonwealth Stadium for years are now vying for tickets. I mean, face it. The Cats have won three bowl games in a row!  Brooks also opened on a lighter note, saying, “I’ll bet you’re glad this day is over. I’ll be last. That’s where we get picked every year, so kind of appropriate, I guess.”  While the Cats have lost a ton on defense, Brooks commented that the team’s recent successes have meant success in the recruiting wars, which has increased depth at every position. Randall Cobb will continue to keep defenses guessing by lining up at QB now and then, in what UK refers to as the “Wildcat” package (original, huh?). In the biggest surprise to me, turns out Brooks is quite the Twitterer. He says he loves it, uses it a lot, and his kids love it because they can keep track of him. Hmmm…

ONE FINAL NOTE: The hunt is on for the one coach in the SEC who did not vote for Tim Tebow as first team All-SEC. Each coach is being asked the same question, in the eternal search for the one who didn’t.

Wonder if all the coaches will be honest?