SEC Media Days
Back from 3 days in Birmingham. This event is just a little bit crazy. 700 media members swarming 12 head coaches and 24 players. Mix in a couple hundred passionate fans hanging out in the Wynfrey Hotel lobby and what you've got is an event.
Saban, Spurrier, Richt, Miles, Tuberville, and Meyer worked the scene. That's enough to cause a big buzz. But this year, we were treated to two over the top stories, involving Fulmer and Petrino.
On Day 2 of SEC Media Days, Coach Fulmer was served with a subpoena out in the front parking lot, prior to meeting with the media. By the time the word got out on the subpoena, he had already worked radio row. Coach Fulmer played it off pretty cool. It was impressive. Like it never happened. Phil must have hit 40 radio shows like it was no problem. The AP got a "B.S." out of him later in the day and Commissioner Mike Slive was ticked off too.
The other big story was Bobby Petrino hitting the scene on Friday and getting surrounded by the Atlanta TV cameras. Recording his every move. The buzz was 8 on a scale of 1-10. After he did his time with the sportswriters, Petrino made his way to the meeting room where the Atlanta media was waiting. They peppered him with questions about walking out on the Falcons. He danced. He talked about his love for college football. He danced some more. And then he dropped his best line on'm...
"My goal is to get back to the Georgia Dome," Petrino said, as he exited the room.
Two Arkansas representatives hugged him as he left the cameras behind, telling him what a great job he had done. "You were great." "Great job Bobby."
You would have thought Petrino had just led the Hogs to a big win over Ole Miss and Coach Nutt.
Saban was impressive. He can turn on the charm when he needs to. Nick told me his team needs to do a couple of things to have a big season. Finish games off. And two, playing at a high level more consistently. Last season, they would play up to the good teams and down to the bad teams. Alabama also needs some of those fab freshmen to come in and provide some depth.
Richt believes that this Georgia team won't be able to feed off last seasons strong finish. New team, new leadership, new chemistry. He's right. Stafford has taken over the leadership role and is comfortable with that. It's a normal progression. Survive as a freshman. Gain confidence by making some plays in year two. And lead as a junior. Matt has everything he needs to have a great season. All the pieces are in place.
Spurrier doesn't do radio row, but I caught up with him by hanging out at the CSS TV spot. The big story with Steve is his new plan. Nobody is believing it though. The Ole Ball Coach says he'll let Steve Spurrier Jr. be the play-caller this season. I asked him about that and Coach Spurrier didn't mind explaining what he was thinking.
"Jr. has been with me (on the sideline) 11 years now, so he knows how I want it called. I'll still gameplan during the week and during the game I'll step in there and call a few too. I won't be as removed as Coach Richt," Spurrier told me.
The Gamecocks middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley looks like a defensive tackle. Georgia d-tackle Geno Atkins didn't get any love in those preseason All-SEC teams, but he's the best tackle in the conference. Go figure. Coach Nutt has a talented QB at Ole Miss. Jevan Snead is a complete player. Nutt is all smiles.
More later.
Saban, Spurrier, Richt, Miles, Tuberville, and Meyer worked the scene. That's enough to cause a big buzz. But this year, we were treated to two over the top stories, involving Fulmer and Petrino.
On Day 2 of SEC Media Days, Coach Fulmer was served with a subpoena out in the front parking lot, prior to meeting with the media. By the time the word got out on the subpoena, he had already worked radio row. Coach Fulmer played it off pretty cool. It was impressive. Like it never happened. Phil must have hit 40 radio shows like it was no problem. The AP got a "B.S." out of him later in the day and Commissioner Mike Slive was ticked off too.
The other big story was Bobby Petrino hitting the scene on Friday and getting surrounded by the Atlanta TV cameras. Recording his every move. The buzz was 8 on a scale of 1-10. After he did his time with the sportswriters, Petrino made his way to the meeting room where the Atlanta media was waiting. They peppered him with questions about walking out on the Falcons. He danced. He talked about his love for college football. He danced some more. And then he dropped his best line on'm...
"My goal is to get back to the Georgia Dome," Petrino said, as he exited the room.
Two Arkansas representatives hugged him as he left the cameras behind, telling him what a great job he had done. "You were great." "Great job Bobby."
You would have thought Petrino had just led the Hogs to a big win over Ole Miss and Coach Nutt.
Saban was impressive. He can turn on the charm when he needs to. Nick told me his team needs to do a couple of things to have a big season. Finish games off. And two, playing at a high level more consistently. Last season, they would play up to the good teams and down to the bad teams. Alabama also needs some of those fab freshmen to come in and provide some depth.
Richt believes that this Georgia team won't be able to feed off last seasons strong finish. New team, new leadership, new chemistry. He's right. Stafford has taken over the leadership role and is comfortable with that. It's a normal progression. Survive as a freshman. Gain confidence by making some plays in year two. And lead as a junior. Matt has everything he needs to have a great season. All the pieces are in place.
Spurrier doesn't do radio row, but I caught up with him by hanging out at the CSS TV spot. The big story with Steve is his new plan. Nobody is believing it though. The Ole Ball Coach says he'll let Steve Spurrier Jr. be the play-caller this season. I asked him about that and Coach Spurrier didn't mind explaining what he was thinking.
"Jr. has been with me (on the sideline) 11 years now, so he knows how I want it called. I'll still gameplan during the week and during the game I'll step in there and call a few too. I won't be as removed as Coach Richt," Spurrier told me.
The Gamecocks middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley looks like a defensive tackle. Georgia d-tackle Geno Atkins didn't get any love in those preseason All-SEC teams, but he's the best tackle in the conference. Go figure. Coach Nutt has a talented QB at Ole Miss. Jevan Snead is a complete player. Nutt is all smiles.
More later.
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