TAMPA – It is the pinnacle event of the college football talking season. Four head coaches and some of their players were on full display on day one of SEC Media Days Monday at the J.W. Marriott. Here are a few excerpts of things said from Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky and Missouri. OKLAHOMA Brent Venables, Oklahoma head coach On the difference in this year’s team: “A year ago on offense, we had nine first-year starters. This year we've got several returning starters, give

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey addresses the media (SEC Photo) TAMPA – The college sports version of the most interesting man in the world took to the podium Monday morning to open Southeastern Conference Media Days at the J.W. Marriott Hotel with his annual state of the SEC address. Greg Sankey is without question the single most powerful man in all of college sports. He doesn’t speak with chest-thumping arrogance but rather with words that begin as a ripple in the water only

There’s a different hum in the air around Gainesville this summer, and it’s got nothing to do with the heat index. It’s the sound of a program waking up. Apparently some of the media outside the Orange & Blue hemisphere are waking up, too.

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey A few thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning: SEC Media Days can trace its roots to the days of the Sky Writers, where the best sports columnists and writers in the south flew to all 10 Southeastern Conference schools for the stories that would hype the upcoming football season. Along the way some genius came up with the idea of bringing coaches and a few players from each school to a central location. Instead of the 30 or so writers who went

“Get in line in that processional, step into that small confessional, there the guy who’s got religion’ll tell you if your sins original” – From “The Vatican Rag” by Tom Lehrer It is July 18, 2026, a good day for a soul-cleansing slate of true confessions about sports and other things. Confession No. 1: I think it is already next year Both my grandfather and father died believing every new season would be the one in which the Florida Gators finally won the Southeastern Co

So will the media downgrade the Dawgs when they gather in Tampa? A little — and it’s already starting.

A few thoughts to jump start your Thursday morning:At Atlantic Coast Conference Media Days in Charlotte Wednesday, Ashton Daniels, whose quarterback journey has taken him from Stanford to Auburn to Florida State, said, “We’re going to get this place (FSU) back to where it needs to be. It’s just going to take time.” Time is precious and in short supply in Tallahassee where FSU has posted six losing seasons in the last eight and is 7-17 in the last two. Another losing season in

In his first statement since being appointed UF’s 14th president, Bell said he’s preparing to “take the state’s flagship university to new heights.” He laid out a 100-day plan to fill vacant leadership and listen to campus stakeholders. And he set the bar where Gator fans want it — Top 3, not just Top 5

(Photo by Chris Spears) It’s Florida and then there is everybody else. That’s the mid-summer assessment for basketball in the Southeastern Conference. With nearly every roster complete, the Gators have five experienced starters ready to go for the 2026-27 season and more experienced, quality depth than any team in the country. Todd Golden has assembled a roster capable of playing any style and withstanding a bad day at the office by a whistle-happy zebra crew. ESPN bracketo

Once upon a time, it was the most beloved cheer in The Swamp — a call-and-response war chant that rattled visiting teams and rallied the home crowd.

(Photo by Chris Spears) A few thoughts to jump start your Monday morning: “I win. Google it.” Those are the words of Curt Cignetti, whose two seasons as the head coach at Indiana have produced 27 wins, two losses and the 2025 national championship. Cignetti doesn’t do it with magic woofie dust. He wins, in large part because he dominates on the money down. Win on third down consistently and it tends to show in the won-lost record. Cignetti and Indiana went 16-0 last year, c

A few thoughts to jump start your Sunday morning: The talking season is upon us and will be in full gear in another week when SEC Media Days kicks off in Tampa. Nobody will be surprised when media gathered from all over the nation predicts a 1-2 SEC finish with Texas and Georgia occupying the top two spots. The real questions will be teams three through 12, all of whom are capable of finding the consistency it will take to win anywhere from eight to ten games. Here is early