STARKVILLE – Southeastern Conference Media Days officially marks the beginning of football season.
Although it’s in July and a month and a half ahead of the first college football game, it’s the turning point for most fans and media.
This year’s event was filled with all sorts of excitement and gave us a preview of what’s to come this fall. Hoover, Alabama, was packed with media and fans alike all four days.
All 14 SEC teams took their turns and were all asked about the upcoming season. It seems that all 14 teams are ready for this season and they are excited to see what happens.
At the end of the year, only one team will win the SEC Championship.
For now, here are some things we learned at Media Day:
1. The SEC West will be hard to conquer.
This was probably already known before this week, but as we heard the coaches from those schools speak, it wouldn’t be a surprise if any of them won the SEC West.
The media picked Alabama to win the West, but Auburn had more votes to win the league outright. All seven teams received votes to win the SEC Championship.
Alabama and Auburn are the favorites with LSU and Arkansas in the middle of the pack. The Crimson Tide and the Tigers have won the last three SEC West titles.
LSU won the league in 2011 and Arkansas is on the rise in Bret Bielema’s third year.
Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and Mississippi State have the talent to compete.
Each SEC West team also has its eyes on a national championship. That’s not surprising as many of the West teams will be ranked and if they can survive the brutality of the division, they can compete with anyone.
2. Dak Prescott not enough to get MSU much credit.
The Bulldogs were picked to finish last in the SEC West.
That might be strange as MSU returns the best starting quarterback in the league. The media even selected Prescott as the preseason All-SEC first team signal caller. The Haughton, Louisiana, native was a big reason the Bulldogs started last season 9-0 and spent five weeks at No. 1.
He was a Heisman Trophy frontrunner for a good bit of the year, but finished eighth in the voting.
When the predicted order of finish was released, Prescott found it amusing and voiced his opinion on Twitter.
But the Bulldogs have been in the underdog role before, as they were picked to finish fifth last season. MSU finished second just behind Alabama.
3. There’s no confidence in Missouri three-peating.
Missouri has won the SEC East the last three seasons, but not many media members think it will happen for a third time.
The Tigers were picked to finish third in the SEC East, just behind Georgia and Tennessee. The Tigers are in their fourth year in the SEC, and struggled in the initial season. Since then, Missouri has adapted and won.
Like MSU, Missouri returns its starting quarterback from a year ago in Maty Mauk. Missouri has flown under the radar the last two seasons and they’ll do it again this year. Just where the Tigers want to be.
4. Steve Spurrier is still funny.
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier has a knack for giving the media some good quotes.
He lived up to the hype again.
Spurrier opened his press conference by saying, “I figured a bunch of you guys would have retired by now.” That was followed by laughter and summed up Spurrier.
He needled Tennessee and Arkansas for celebrating 7-6 seasons. His team finished 7-6 as well and that led to some celebrations.
“We were doing some cartwheels and high fiving after that Independence Bowl,” Spurrier said.
His Gamecocks were picked to finish fourth in the SEC East.
5. The league is in good hands.
Greg Sankey’s first event as commissioner of the league came this week. He took over for Mike Slive at the beginning of this month.
When Slive announced his retirement, many people believed it should be Sankey to get the job.
Sankey spoke to the media on the first day and showed that he is ready to lead the league into the next phase.
It will start with football this fall.
Ben Wait is a sports writer for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @bcwait
Ben Wait reports on Mississippi State University sports for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
