I love this event. There's excitement and electricity swirling around the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. Coaches are excited and relaxed, players are ready to go. It's time to get ready for the 2012 season. Here are some thoughts from each team from day 1.
South Carolina: Ball Coach was relaxed and entertaining as ever, but even a bit low key. One of the funner lines was when Coach Spurrier was asked whether he was getting impatient to win an SEC title before it's too late. He is 67-years old, but looks to have a good five years left in him if he has success."You don't think I'm patient?" he said. "You seen me the last four years?" He was talking about his struggle with Stephen Garcia, the embattled Gamecocks quarterback, who received six chances to remain eligible and be the starting quarterback for the Gamecocks, but just couldn't act right and was finally kicked off the team. Spurrier has a solid quarterback now in Connor Shaw. Shaw has a year of experience under his belt. Solid kid too. He was very focused in his interview with the media. Not a lot of wasted words. Really liked him. He completed close to 75 percent of his passes in the last four games of last season and had the highest quarterback rating in the nation in the last four games. Watched him in the spring game. He's throwing the ball very well. Runs it really well too. Receiver Ace Sanders says he runs it as well as any tailback in the SEC. May be a stretch, but Shaw can really motor. Shaw looks poised for a stellar 2012. Spurrier said Marcus Lattimore will be ready for the season opener against Vanderbilt on August 30. They're very confident in that assessment at SC, so maybe Lattimore will be back at full strength by August 3, the first day of fall workouts. Coach Spurrier is confident he will be. With the amazing rehab abilities today and the crack training staffs at these programs, it could be possible that Lattimore is a full go when fall workouts begin and he'll be back to being the same stellar back he had been the past year and a half before his knee injury. Should that happen this football team can excel possibly. Kenny Miles is a pretty solid backup for Lattimore too. Sanders and free safety D.J. Swearinger were impressive in their interviews as well. Sanders will be a deep threat at wide out and a possession receiver at times whom Shaw will rely on. It's going to be wide receiver by committee this season, but Sanders will be the leader. They may not have the explosive, big play guy that they had last year in Alshon Jeffrey, but they'll be solid and may be pretty explosive as the season progresses.
Both Sanders and Swearinger are solely focused on Vanderbilt Aug. 30. There is no other game that matters to them. Swearinger loves the starting defensive ends on this football team inJadeveon Clowney and Devin Taylor. They should be dominant players in the conference this season. Swearinger expects Clowney to play like an All-American this year. He was the number one player in the country in 2011 out of high school and he had a very fine season last year. He'll be even better this season and that's a scary thought for offensive tackles in the SEC. Taylor will cause problems also. He's underrated because of the hype for Clowney, but he is terrific and dominant. They're both tough, fast, strong and put people down when they get to'em. The interior dline looks pretty solid as well. Swearinger and Spurrier like the team's linebackers as well. Going to be a very good defense. New coordinator in Lorenzo Ward, but heard him after the spring game and he sounded good. It's now a matter of Lattimore being ready for the season. That will be the key to the Gamecocks' season. If Lattimore can play the way he has and even be better, SC will have a good shot at Atlanta. But listen to this gauntlet in October and November: vs. Georgia (Columbia, SC), on Oct. 6, @LSU, Oct. 13, @Florida, Oct. 20, vs. Tennessee (Columbia), October 27, and vs Arkansas at home, Nov. 10. If the Gamecocks can get through that 3-2 or better, they'll be in pretty good shape. The Vandy game will be very interesting on Aug. 30 (ESPN, 7 PM ET/6CT), and Missouri comes to Columbia on Sept. 21. Then the finale against rival Clemson at Clemson on Nov. 24. Wow, that's tough. But this is a good football team with an excellent head coach, so they are capable of making a run. Should be an exciting season in Columbia.
Texas A&M: Was highly impressed with new A&M coach Kevin Sumlin. Very smart. He says the entrance of A&M to the SEC has been a win-win for the football program. Recruiting has taken off. A&M is in the top 20 in the team rankings on both Rivals and 247 Sports for their 2013 class. They'll have a new quarterback this year as Ryan Tannehill left for the NFL last year and is now on the Miami Dolphins roster. There are three guys competing for the starting job and it's yet to be decided. Sumlin is going to get this program in the national spotlight. It's been there before. Sumlin was asked if he's gotten much advice upon joining the SEC, and he's says no one is advising him. He said it's just been figure it out yourself. He relies on former A&M Coach R.C. Slocum a lot. Slocum had good success at A&M. The players were impressive too. Sumlin said the difference in the SEC and the Big 12 ,or any other conference for that matter, is the defensive fronts of all the SEC teams. They're big, fast and there is depth. When you're talking Alabama, LSU, South Carolina, Georgia, Arkansas and Auburn you can see that. It's the whole defenses of these teams too. Very athletic, physical and fast. Sumlin feels good about where his program is heading beginning this year. They'll bring a little more wide open offensive attack to the conference like the other new member, Missouri.
Vanderbilt: James Franklin wears his heart on his sleeve in everything he does. That's just who he is. It works with his football teams and the Vanderbilt fans. He's one of the finest young football coaches in the country. Passionate is the best word to describe Franklin. He loves the game, he loves the university, he loves the fans, and he really loves his football players. Just a total players' coach. I don't know when the guy sleeps. He said he's texting his assistants at 3 or 4 AM with ideas. He's just obsessed with the game. That's what you need if you're going to be successful in this conference. He has changed the perception of Vanderbilt football. People are excited, the players, according to Franklin, now know they're going to be successful. Last year they thought they would be. This year they know they will be. They are working harder than they ever have. Senior cornerback Trey Wilson, a fine player who looks like an NFL-caliber guy, said the first year they thought Franklin was crazy and there was no way he would survive going at the pace he was going at. But they learned to love him. Quarterback Jordan Rodgers said the players love the guy because they know he has their back. He is dedicated to his football team. Rodgers looks like he'll be a fine SEC quarterback this year. He has the tools. He has a year of experience under his belt. He's certainly got the genes with his brother, Aaron, a Super Bowl winning quarterback for the Packers. There are some pieces in place to have a successful football season. Tailback Zac Stacy, another solid kid from Bibb County High School just south of B'ham, who was at Media Days, will come back after rushing for 1,193 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2011. He averaged 5.9 yards per carry. Warren Norman is back from injury that kept him out last year and he'll be a dual starter with Stacy. Norman has great speed and burstability. Excellent football player. The Commodores have some good defensive players led by linebackers Archibald Barnes and Chase Garnham, and defensive end Walker May from Briarwood Christian School in Birmingham. Should have a stellar defensive backfield led by Wilson and junior safety Kenny Ladler. Defensive line looks pretty solid with some good depth. Oline will be good, but not real deep and will need some help from the six incoming freshman, who were all high, three-star players coming out of high school last year. Linebacker a little thin as well. But this team has the makings for another successful season as Franklin will keep driving to put Vanderbilt football on the national radar.
Lastly, Franklin was asked about his comments about having assistant coaches with "D-1," wives which he was criticized heavily for by the media. He called it a mistake and he had moved on. I heard the interview and he was talking to a radio guy from Nashville whom he was very comfortable with. The radio guy, unintentionally, asked him a question that pretty much led him to that response. Franklin was in Florida and was relaxed and just having fun with the guy. He's young and energetic, very personable, but sometimes can be honest to a fault. His passion for football and life can cause him to say things that may offend some people. But, so what. It happens. He's an excellent football coach who thinks the sky is the limit for his football program. He's also a great guy and a terrific representative for Vanderbilt. The future is bright there.
Missouri: Gary Pinkel sounded very solid. He said the transition from the BIg 12 to the SEC has required a heavy workload, but he said that was his duty as head football coach. When asked how Missouri could handle the talent of the SEC a while back, Pinkel said that his team hadn't been playing high school teams. He said yesterday that he meant he played in the Big 12 against some very good football teams. Texas won the national championship in 2005 and Oklahoma won it in 2000. Both are very solid football programs. Baylor became a force and Oklahoma State was very close to playing for the national title last year. So they weren't playing chopped liver. But this will be an adjustment for the Tigers. James Franklin, their stellar quarterback, has been hurt with a torn labrum, a lesser injury than Drew Brees had before he went to the Saints, but similar to it. But Pinkel expects him to be back for the opening game. He did say it may take Franklin time to get his timing and accuracy back. Pinkel said star tailback Henry Josey will probably not be available this season. But there is talent. The No.1 high school player in the country in 2012, according to Rivals, Dorial Green-Beckham, has adjusted well to college football according to his teammates. Offensive tackle Elvis Fisher says Green-Beckham has NFL-talent and an NFL-work ethic and attitude. He's humble and hard working. He's also 6'6", 220 and can run a high 4.4,4o. Has all the tools to be a terrific football player. He'll work in well with Missouri's wide open passing game. But Missouri can run it as well. They play some power football which is a must in this conference.
Fisher loves the game. He has fun playing it. It's not a job for him; it's a passion. He says the senior leaders on this team know when to kid around and when to get serious. Fisher said this year's teams' cohesiveness is exceptional. Should be exciting with Missouri and A&M in the conference. Only makes this phenomenal conference even better.
Will have more from Day 2 tomorrow morning. Tennessee Spring write up coming up later today and the 141st British Open preview and predictions coming up later today also.
Steve Spurrier (left) and James Franklin are ready to get started in anticipation of their kickoff Aug. 30 at Vanderbilt.