ATLANTA — Erik McCoy knew to expect different as the Texas A&M football program changed coaching hands from Kevin Sumlin to Jimbo Fisher, but what exactly to expect eluded him.
One expectation was made perfectly clear for him after nearly every practice of the spring. He said Fisher told the team it was soft.
Fisher wasted no time in setting the tone for his Aggies as he begins his first season there, as McCoy said at Southeastern Conference Media Days.
“He set the standard for us in the first meeting,” McCoy said. “It was eye-opening and it made me want to practice harder than I already was.”
McCoy, a junior offensive lineman that will start at either guard or center, admitted the talks were jarring, but they were easier to take considering the person they came from.
“That’s a blessing brought to our program and it makes us want to work even harder for him,” McCoy said. “It was new, but I was more than excited because I knew we had somebody that knew what it takes to win a national championship.
“You don’t really have an option besides to believe it. When he says something, he means it, so we had to buy into that and take that into our mind-sets. We had to want to be tougher.”
Sankey on gambling
The path to legalized sports gambling’s spread across America has become more clear in recent months, and the SEC is preparing for the possibility of legal sports gambling in its territory.
“Understand that since 2011, members of the SEC staff have been in communication with and learning with those who work in legalized sports gambling,” Sankey said, adding the league has been in contact with the NFL, NBA, MLB and PGA for more intel.
“The integrity of our games is of the utmost importance. While it may be preferred to have no expansion of gambling activity, what is needed now is for our state and federal legislative leaders to enact policies that properly support the integrity of our games and provide the necessary protections of our students and our student-athletes.
The primary insinuation when Sankey mentions integrity of the game is fixing outcomes, requiring the game’s integrity relative to gambling influences. But as gambling entities begin to contemplate legal sports betting in other states, they have proposed more transparency from the schools, such as the injury reports seen in the NFL.
Sankey referenced both HIPPA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) as reasons why a college injury report would look different from that of the NFL, but he suggested a possible compromise: an availability report.
“I do not believe this has to happen before the 2018 season, either on the part of this conference or the national level,” Sankey said. “I expect, however, the change in sports gambling could be and will likely be the impetus for the creation of such reports in our future.”
Kentucky’s quarterback options
Kentucky has done what many teams in need of a new starting quarterback do: it developed one they recruited from high school, then it secured a transfer to create a competition.
As the Wildcats go about replacing Stephen Johnson, they have the sophomore Gunnar Hoak, who has redshirted and been a Wildcat from the beginning. They also have Terry Wilson, the transfer from Garden City Community College that was one of the top junior college quarterbacks available.
“Gunner Hoak, he’s been in our system. He knows what we are doing,” Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said. “He’s poised, he has always been poised since he stepped on campus. He is accurate, he knows where to go with the football. He can make all the throws. I like what Gunnar’s doing.
“With Terry, he’s a dynamic guy. I don’t know if I’ve seen it all yet; until you get live, you really can’t see all of his skill set.”
Bulldogs on watch lists
Three Bulldogs found themselves on the list as award watch list season started Monday.
MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, given by the Maxwell Football Club to the player of the year as voted by the Maxwell Football Club members, coaches and media members. Fitzgerald is one of 84 players on the list, one of 41 quarterbacks and one of seven SEC quarterbacks.
The same organization runs then Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the nation’s best defensive player. MSU defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons and defensive end Montez Sweat were on the watch list; Simmons was a semifinalist for the award last season.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Brett Hudson on Twitter @Brett_Hudson
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