College Football Live - CFB LIVE 7/15 - SEC Media Day Continues...

Episode Date: July 15, 2025

Our crew Zubin Mehenti, Greg McElroy, Jordan Rodgers, Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel continued our coverage of SEC Media Day. We were joined by Texas head coach Steve Sarksian and Georgia's Kirby Smart. Both broke down key elements needed for a successful season and Smart had some eye raising comments you don't want to miss. All that and more on our College Football Live coverage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And after today, we'll be at halftime. Two days down, two to go at the College Football Hall of Fame, Georgia World Congress Center for SCC Media Days. Kirby Smart walked to that podium and gave some eyebrow raising comments. We'll talk to Kirby in just a little bit. You're looking at the best era of Tennessee football in nearly a quarter century. 30 wins in the last three years. Josh Heipel taking the podium. Auburn has had four straight seven lost seasons.

They're not all on Hugh Freeze, but there's no doubt the pressure. is on. And speaking of pressure, anybody facing more than the kid on your left? Arch Manning, along with his teammates, Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taff, the Longhorns, have landed in the ATL on day two of SEC Media Days. It's the all-quarterback edition with Greg McElroy and Jordan Rogers. I'm Zubin Mahenty, and there is no team that exemplifies the quarterback that revolves more around the quarterback, of course, than the Longhorns. Let's get into it, and then the fellows will have a discussion. Some storylines about heading into the 2025 season.

They lost in the CFP each of the last two years in the same round. They're the only team that's made the CFP each of the last two seasons. They need that missing puzzle. He starts going to join us in just a bit. And we're going to talk about Arch and how different the offense is going to be after three years of mostly having Quinn Ewers in there. Of course, Arch did make some spot starts, as you know. And this will be a rematch.

Their last game, they lost to Ohio State. in the playoff semi-final and Texas is going to get OSU at the shoe in 46 days. But who's really counting? That's going to be an explosive start to the season. Greg, I want to start with you. At the end of yesterday's show, I said to you, what are you most looking forward to seeing today? And you said, duh, arch. Fair enough, I should have asked a stronger question.

That said, what specifically, now that he's here, now that the horns are here, what specifically really caught your eye today? You know, I think I'm most curious, Zubin. What are the question marks? When you look at all the rosters in the SEC, there's a handful of question marks on just about every team. But when you look at Texas's, I guess, issues,

there aren't very many. One of the biggest question marks is actually Arch himself. He's never been a full-time starting quarterback. He's never had to go against some of the best defenses that he's going to see on a week-to-week basis. He lit it up last year in what was very limited action as a starting quarterback.

I am so bullish on his potential, Jordan. I know you love him as well. But he might be the biggest question mark. And yet he comes into the season as the Heisman frontrunner. Yeah, and I think the hype is what warrants everybody talking about Texas, getting back to the national championship. Again, I think the question mark for me with Arch is his ceiling. I don't really question his floor.

I think he's going to be a really solid quarterback. He's accurate. He's cerebral. When he gets through his reeds, like there's nobody better in a clean pocket. It's can he make the plays that aren't there? Can he be a game changer? And that's why I look at the pieces of, around them. I'm more concerned for Texas. In fact, they're replacing four offensive linemen up front.

On the defensive side, they had three guys drafted in the first four rounds from the defensive line in the NFL this past April. The difference for Texas the last couple years has been the line of scrimmage. That to me is a big question mark. The guys around Arch. Can they be that physical up front like we've seen the last couple years? Yeah, coming up on college football live, the guys are actually going to rank their top five quarterbacks in the league. I'll be interested to see where Arch lands for either of them. Greg, real quick to you on this, I mean, everybody in college football from commissioners to fans. want to see more games like Texas and Ohio State to start this season.

It's good for everybody. 46 days away, just give us your big macro thoughts on what that's going to be. It's not quite an entrance for Arch, but it's sort of an entrance. Well, it's a big stage. A rise of the occasion young fella because you're going to need it. Look, Ohio State, fresh off a national championship last year, they have massive question marks all over the roster as well. One thing we do know, though, for sure is they have arguably,

the best player in college football returning in Jeremiah Smith at wide receivers. So in all likelihood, that's going to be a team that can score some points. Granted, Texas on defense, fantastic. They have great star power at all three levels defensively, but they'll have their work cut out for them week one. So it might require Arch, hey, you got to go get us 30 in the horseshoe because that might be what it takes to be able to get a win against the defending champion. You remember when Arch came in when they benched Uers at home, he had to quiet his own crowd. Everybody was anticipating. This was the moment.

Okay, this is Arch taking over. It obviously didn't go that direction, right? He only had a couple drives there. This is going to be insane. The environment on the road is going to be bananas. The hype around Arch is so big that the opposing team wants to see him fail. The fan base wants to see him be a superstar. It's going to be unreal that environment, week one.

Yeah, just a reminder, Sark on the way here to talk a little bit about Arch in just a little bit. As for Georgia, we know this. story with them. The back-to-back national championships in 21 and 22, but they didn't meet their lofty, very lofty standards each of the last two years, missed out entirely on the CFP in 23 and then losing early for them in 2024. Remember all the teams that got the buys weren't able to get it done. It's Gunter Stockton's team now, which is what I'm going to discuss with the guys, right? He took over for Carson Beck famously in that SEC championship game. Beck came back for the handoff, but now he's in Coral Gables.

And there are plenty of new weapons. Zachariah Branch comes over from USC, you have an opportunity to play with his brother there. Kirby Smart at the podium with some eyebrow raising comments moments ago. There's people more in college football today, especially in the SEC, that are comfortable with where they are. This is a pretty good life.

I'm earning 200K a year. I'm very comfortable. And you don't reach your goals being comfortable. You don't attain great success. None of those people I mentioned before were ever comfortable. They were aiming at something. They had a goal. They wanted to go achieve it.

What you see now is like where's the drive and energy and enthusiasm? Well, we want people that have it. We're going to seek it. We're going to try to go find it. And if we can just do that 1% better than everybody else gives us an opportunity to be ahead. Jordan Boy, doesn't that sound like a guy that was around Nixon? for a long time. That could be something copy and paste from Saban. What really caught me there, Jordan, is the coaches are getting a lot more loose. Before it was just money. He dropped the 200K.

It just feels like this is just part of life. Whether you like it or not, you're just going to have to deal with it. Yeah, and one of the things we've heard Nick Sabin for decades talk about it, even Kirby Smart now, is fighting complacency. There's a lot of complacency because these kids, whether you're a starter or not, are making hundreds of thousands of dollars. And that's what Kirby Smart is mentioning. I thought it was interesting. We heard him, earlier talk about 54% of this roster is first or second year players. He's had the luxury of having a lot of veterans on both sides of the football the last couple of years.

I think he relishes the opportunity to instill that attitude, right? I don't think, I think they're a little overlooked right now for being SEC champs. I think there's a little bit of a chip on the shoulder for Kirby Smart. Knowing he's got a young, talented football team that he can mold this into one of those teams that ain't going to be hunted, they're going to go hunt, like he likes to say. I also like to, with the transition now, from, From Carson Beck, who was the quarterback last year to Gunner Stockton, I'm really excited about the philosophical change that might come with that shift. Now, Gunner Stockton is a guy that can absolutely throw the football.

You don't get recruited to Georgia if you can't make all the throws. But there is a certain level of toughness that surrounds Gunner Stockton. All you have to do is watch his performance against Texas in the SEC championship game. The guy's lower in his shoulder. The guy will put his body on the line. and the mobility aspect of watching him play is going to make Georgia, I think, very difficult to defend. Now, we don't know yet what this offense could develop into,

but I'm anticipating this offense being a little bit more grounded, pound and a little less pass happy, which will help the defense and will help the offensive line because they're not going to be in drop back pass mode all the time. So I really like where this could be going because of who the quarterback's going to be on this year's team. Think about this. What do we always know about Georgia,

Georgia have passed. They run the football well and they play great defense. Last year, they were 15th in the SEC in rushing offense. They couldn't run the ball. They weren't built that. The Gunner stocked in effect most immediately, like you mentioned, for this offense will be the fact that he's a dual threat guy. So the defense has to account for an extra hat at the line of scrimmage. This running game, now they're going to be healthier. Nate Frazier, they got McCrae, the back from Illinois, who is a bruiser, a guy that can be a workhorse for them. They're going to run the football so much better. They can be more balanced on offense, which is going to bode well for this team as a whole. Yeah, Kirby's going to

join us a little bit later in the show as well. Greg, to you, help me understand, TIGB has had the mind of a quarterback when it's your team and the offensive line, the whole offensive unit, it's his team from day one as opposed to last year coming in in the biggest of stakes and just hoping that things would work out. What's the philosophical, you mentioned that word, what's the philosophical shift that QB has knowing it's his team from day one? Well, it's strange. Oftentimes the team is going to take on the identity of the head coach, but the quarterback should be the ultimate extension. of the head coach. No one's going to be confused by what Kirby Smart cares about. He wants to be the toughest team on the field. He wants to be rugged. He wants to be a group that will physically hurt you both along the lines of scrimmage and with their run game and some of those other aspects defensively. I think Gunner Stockton fits that mold, Zubin. He's a guy that the guys rally around. Small town kid grew up in North Georgia, drives a truck with 150,000 miles on it. He's a blue collar.

guy. And I think this program feels like it's going to get back to being a little bit more blue collar when compared to the teams we saw the last two years. Named after his grandfather, who was a gunner in the World War. It's a great family, great lineage, great story. On the way here on college football

live, this had to be the story of the offseason. Joey Aguilar replacing Nico. We'll take a look back at all the drama and look ahead to what the Valls might have. And we look forward to having Steve Sarkisian join us to talk about Arch, of course, and that big opener at the shoe when college football

live continues. That's what everybody will be playing for, hoping to hoist on a Monday night in Miami Gardens in January of 2026. It's the college football playoff national championship trophy presented by Dr. Pepper. Certainly one of the leaders at this juncture, many believe, to hoist it of the Texas Longhorn. Steve Sarkeesian joins us on College. football live. Coach, you're the only program in America to make the playoff each of the last two

years. Tough semifinal defeats, valiant efforts. In your estimation, what will it take to get the final piece of the puzzle in and get over the top? Well, you know, I think at the end of the day, you know, with college football now, it's a grind. And I think we learned that last year, having played 16 games, you know, well into January with a conference championship game, playing in the first round. I think one thing is one, you need health. You can. You can. You got to try to stay healthy. And two, you want to try to be playing your best football in December and January when you're playing against the best teams. And so I think that this idea that we've got to kind of ramp up and build towards that is going to be one of the keys to our

success. You know, knock on wood, hopefully we can stay healthy. But I also think that we need to play to the depth that we have on a roster. We've got a good roster. We've got to play to the depth that we have. You talked about the health, not so much a quarterback the last three years. Quinn was great and valiant when he was in there. And now it's Arch's team. firmly, how is the quarterback position in the offense going to look different with him at the helm? Well, I think systematically, it's going to look very similar. For us, I think the key is we've had two years now with Arch and really understanding his strengths, the things that he does well, and we can kind of build the offense around the strengths that he has,

but also tap into some different areas. Maybe we didn't do as much of with Quinn and maybe pull off of some of the things that we did do with Quinn that fit him more. And so that's the beauty year and year out, especially when you have a new quarterback, is evolving offensively and making sure that you're taking advantage of the skill set of the player. Quinn was one of 12 players drafted, which is the most ever by Texas in a single year. You get 11 the year before. Five of the guys this year, five of the dozen were on defense. So much talk about your offense.

How do you square up what your defense looks like right now? Yeah, I like our defensive football team. We've got obviously highlighted by some really good players. You know, you have All-American Safety and Michael Taft, All-American linebacker and Anthony Hill. We've got a great pass rusher in Colin Simmons, Ethan Burke. But I think we're good at all three levels. Like I said, I think that we've got good depth.

You know, we really attack the portal hard on the interior defensive line to really sure that up. But we're fortunate. You know, we've recruited well credit to our coaches, to our strength staff, and to the players. I think guys have developed in their time in the program. right now. But ultimately now it's about this defense playing as one. And that's the key component to any great defense is playing as one. And I think that we've got the leadership to do that. Now

we've got to put all those things into play here when August rolls around. All right. You mentioned the number one there. Game one at Ohio State. What do you think playing a game like that that early in that environment will tell you about your team? Well, I think it's good for us all offseason and in training camp, you know, getting prepared for a game like that. We played in big games the last three years. You know, we had Alabama at home three years ago. We went to Alabama in week two, two years ago. We went to Michigan last year in week two.

And so to go to Ohio State this year defending national champs is exciting for us. I think that's why players come to University of Texas is to playing games like this. I think the key component here is, you know, for both schools. You know, somebody's going to win, somebody's going to lose. I hope the committee doesn't punt. the loser of that game too much. It's too good for college football. It's going to make for great TV. But I do think it's going to serve as a really good barometer for us of where we're at and what we need to work on for the latter part of the season. But it won't be the end-all,

be all for us. We've got a lot of football to be played after that. In this crazy era of realignment, it has seen that every team that's gone into a new league with the exception of one has struggled. Your ascension and smoothness into the SEC has been incredible. Coach, thanks very much. Best of luck this season. Thank you. Well, from the burn orange to the big orange, you know the offseason story with the balls. ESPN has confirmed that Tennessee quarterback Nico E. Amaliava did not attend spring practice today as he renegotiates his NIL deal. The latest here in Knoxville with the Nico E.A. Maliava situation is that we're going to find out pretty soon whether or not he's still going to continue to be a Tennessee ball. We're moving

forward as a program without him. There's no one that's bigger than the power tea. He was expected to make about two and a half million dollars. He wanted more than that, reportedly as much as four million dollars. And Tennessee finally said, you know what, we're done. The spring transfer portal window is open. The highest profile player available is, is of course, Nico I amalia. We still hear that UCLA might be involved. So there's a chance. I mean, that's a Big Ten school. If that's still an option, it sounds like it is, that might be the most attractive one right now. Nico Iomaleava has joined a new team.

He's going to be going back to Southern California and playing for UCLA. Congratulations. We've been watching this story for a couple of days now, and it does continue to get wilder. So tell us today about Aguilar heading to Big Orange Country. Josh Heifle said that they had to have another quarterback, and I don't think at the time he was thinking we would necessarily be getting Joey Aguilar, but here they are. Nico will go down as changing college football for the way business works. in college sports. Some good and some bad.

That's well said. So essentially, Nico from Knoxville to Westwood, Joey Aguilar from App State to fill his job in Knoxville. Jordan, I want to start with you here. The announcement that he was gone and Hippel's announcement reacting to it came during their spring game. The morning of their spring game with two untested guys left in the room before they got Aguilar. Just take me through as a former player, what a disruption like that can mean for a team?

Oh, it's crazy, right? I mean, you can't call Nico Iamaleava anything but a businessman. He tried to leverage the situation as much as he could, whether you like it or not. That was his plan. But as a team, it kind of fractures you. You're a team that was one or two games away from making a national championship run. You made it to the playoffs, and he was a critical part of that, albeit maybe not the best version of Nico that we saw towards the end of the year. But now you've got a big question mark at quarterback. And look, Joey Aguilar at App State through for 6,000 yards, 56 touch. touchdowns 24 interception, so his game is very risky. The highs are highs, the lows or lows.

Here's what I'm interested, Greg, is really the fit because the fit of the quarterback in this Josh Hypo system is so important. You have to be able to be laser accurate at the perimeter. If you're throwing a little bubble screen, that needs to be right on the money so the receiver can catch and run after. And when I turn on Joey's tape, I see the easy throws not looking super easy. I see the accuracy, not that he's missing throws, but it's not laser pinpoint accuracy. that you really need in this system to allow your receivers to catch and run.

So I'm interested to see how he develops in the fit for this system. Yeah, I think we're all fascinated by Tennessee this year, even beyond the quarterback, and that's where most of our attention will lie. You lose great players defensively, especially along the defensive line. You had one of the strongest offensive lines in the country at the midway point last year, and then maybe not quite as good down the stretch, but still a group that could play with just about anybody. This was a team that grounded and pounded last year, and they lose their best player offensive.

and Dylan Sampson, they're running back. I think Tennessee is among a small handful of teams here at SEC Media Days that we know the least about. Not because we haven't studied, but because they might have as many questions as just about everybody. Everyone wants to talk about the quarterback, but there are questions at receiver. There are questions along the offensive line. There's questions on the defensive side of the ball, including what's going on with their best player defensively in their corner, Jermad McCoy, who got hurt in spring practice. So I think there's just a lot of question marks, but it's not a team that.

I'd be willing to bet against because they have acquired a lot of talent over the last few years in Knoxville. Yeah, keep an eye on young quarterback, George McIntyre. You've got a huge pop at the spring game. He is from the state of Tennessee, and a lot of their fans are really rooting hard for him, just to name to know down the stretch. Coming up next year on college football live. I mentioned this earlier. The guys are going to rank their top five quarterbacks in the SEC.

Where is Arch? And who's number one? And speaking of Arch, we get ready. for Arch Madness. It's been 46 days when they open at Ohio State. Enter Arch Manning, the quarterback born and raised for this moment. One play, the Fidom makes a big impact. I love Archmanich skill set.

I love his pedigree. Open, lobs, and in-zone, it is 27-yard strike. Because I think Arch Manning could absolutely be the high triple winner. Manning, taking a shot on the post. Room service wide open. Touchdown. The more I watch him, the more I have huge expectations for Arch Manning. I think he's in for a huge season.

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their best gift, our lowest price. 50% off Ancestry DNA only until December 2nd. Visit Ancestry.ca for more details. Terms apply. Back on college football live flag football, one of the fastest growing sports in our country. The championships, July 18th, the 20th, where else? You think of football. Canton, Ohio, ESP and ESPN 2, ABC,

and streaming on Disney. Plus, we're back on college football live. I mentioned this earlier in the program, and ESB and research has always mentioned that people love lists. That's the one thing people absolutely love. So we're going to have a QB list in the SEC, top five from each fellow. Jordan, let's start with your five. We're going to put them on the screen.

We'll think about it here for a second, and then you're going to have to back it all up. You've got Nussmeyer, Lagway, Sellers, Matier, and Arch at 5. Why do you think Nussmeyer's in the poll position for you? Yeah, I think Nussmeyer is the best quarterback in the entire country, and it's twofold. It's really the elite armed talent that he has mixed with the gunslinger mentality. Now, that'll get him in trouble every now and then he'll throw some interceptions, but the amount of plays that he can make because of the mentality and the talent that he has is special. I think the weapons around him are only getting better as well.

But let's address the elephant in the room. I have Archmanning at fifth in the SEC when it comes to quarterbacks. when a lot of the media and a lot of the landscape of college football is talking about him being a top 10 or a number one overall draft pick next year, I think that is insane. And I love Arch. The reason I love him, because I think he's got a really high floor. You know what you got with him. He's mechanically sound. He's accurate. He's cerebral. When there's a clean pocket and he's got to work through reeds, there's not many that are better at getting the ball where it's supposed to go. The question I have is the limitations of his talent and where that puts his ceiling. Because I think Quinn Ewer is from an armed talent perspective, much more talent. Quint could throw in a phone boost. Off platform, side arm. Arch, I think when he's in rhythm and on platform, I think he's really good. I worry about when there's noise going on around him.

He struggled against Georgia when there was guys in his face. I get it. First year, you're gonna struggle against Georgia. I'm not putting it all on that. I just think the good we saw were against really bad defenses last year. And there's still a lot of question marks about how good he can be. The good thing, his floor is really high. He's gonna be solid no matter what, but I haven't met five.

I love the list. I think it's great. And honestly, I think five is 100% appropriate. There we go. And partly because we don't subject ourselves to clickbait culture. Like we're not doing it. Absolutely not. We don't listen to Paul Fine. No, no, no, absolutely not.

Never. But I'll say this. I think Arch has probably the most upward trajectory of everyone on that list, but it's in large part due to his supporting cast. He's got great pieces around him. You can't play quarterback by yourself. I think it's a great system for quarterbacks as well. Simplifies the reads.

It gives you answers. And he, I think, because he is a cerebral. player. He's a guy that's been in the same system now for three years. I think he knows exactly where he needs to go with the football based on what the defense is going to be presenting to him. So I am really bullish on his upside because you'll see my list in a second. I might have him in the same spot, but I would be surprised if it's season's end. He's still sitting there at number five. All right, why wait another second. Let's put it up. Greg's top five. John Mateer, of course, the transfer from Washington State at one with

Nuss Sellers Lagway and just like Jordan. Arch comes in at five. All right, Greg, I'm sure a lot of people want to know why you have Mateer, the Texas prep like yourself, at the number one spot. Well, because he's a Texas high school football player. That's the only reason why. All joking aside, I think John Mateer is electric. I really do.

The way he can adjust his arm, the way he threatens defenders, there's always when he drops back and the play's broken. That's when you make hay. as a quarterback. Look, a lot of guys can stay in rhythm. A lot of guys can win from the pocket when everything's perfect. But when things are going haywire and a offensive coordinator, believe it or not, it does happen. They may call a bad play that's not scripted for success based on what the defense is doing. He can make you right. And I love, too, his instincts. When he's on the move, he always seems to draw defenders close to line scrimmits because he's a guy that can rush for a thousand

yards if given the opportunity. The one question people have about John Mateer is he did it at State against subpar competition. That's the one thing people are saying. Then people say, well, Cam Ward did the same thing. Cam Ward played in the Pack 12. Last year, John Mateer played mostly against Mountain West teams and a few power fives. Those games were not quite as good as some of the stat padding games that he had in other areas.

But I would also say the team that he played with last year at Washington State was nowhere near as talent ridden as the team that he will take the field with at Oklahoma. So Mateer's at number one. It's a bit of a dice roll. but I'm so bullish on his up. Can I tell you when I saw your list, we didn't make these lists together, we didn't talk before it.

I had so much FOMO that you put John Matera at 1 because I freaking love him, right? I mean, I just, I wanted to put him higher, but I was a little scared. You know, I totally should have. Here's what I love.

The questions I had about Arch, about his ability to turn or to make something out of nothing Mateer has in spades. I mean, he's at his best, like you said, when the play breaks down, he's off platform. He'll throw it submarine style sometimes.

It factor is something. that gets thrown around a lot. He has that like no other. There's a moxie. There's an it factor that he has. I think he's going to elevate Oklahoma. The confidence bringing his office coordinator to Oklahoma as well is going to be huge. The Diego Pavia effect, right?

They're going to hit the ground running. I love that one. And we have the same five. So great minds think alike. Pretty close. Love it. Moving them around a little bit. No doubt.

You both had Manning at number five. You obviously want to see a little bit more out of it. And of course, all eyes on arch. He's got the two fingers. Not to hook him there, but a little piece sign. And he's ready to go. The weight of the world has been on his shoulders with his famous uncles, famous grandfather. Heather Dinnich is here.

Heather, I know you had some quality time to speak with Steve Sarkesian, his head coach, in a one-on-one environment where you can really dig in. I'm sure Arch was one of the topics of conversation. What did you take away from your convo with coach? Well, one of the questions I asked him was how he might be able to use Arch differently than he used Quinn Ewers. I love that Jordan mentioned Ewer's arm because Sark and I think. talked mainly about Manning's legs and his athleticism and speed as a different component. They might be able to do some things differently in those short yardage situations. Sark told me that Manning is a speedy quarterback and he's also a very physical runner.

And that's going to change some things for him too if he can use his legs on third down when they're in man cover, when they're blitzing. And so for him to be able to do that, also ask him just about Manning in this spotlight. And he said they have gradually put him into this position. And I'm sure you've all watched the Mannings on TV. They're pretty darn good at it. So there's a bit of that gene in the family, too, in terms of handling the spotlight. He has grown up with this in his family.

But this is certainly the brightest lights that he's been in since the Sugar Bowl. And that was one of the first time that he was, the curtain was really pulled back and he was exposed to the media. But this here is really the start of it. Yeah, one thing Heather I loved is he said part of the reason he chose Austin is because you can go around different parts of Austin and actually not be recognized, which shows you how much attention has been on him. Last thing, you had 20 minutes with Sark. I know there's a lot of arts conversation. What else sort of caught your eye there? Well, we were talking about the college football playoff, and we obviously talked about the season opener against Ohio State.

And he said he loves those games, and he hopes that the selection committee for the college football playoff does not punish teams for playing. those kinds of games because they like it. The fans like it. I asked him what his preference is for the college football playoff future format in 26 and beyond. He said, whatever gets the best team in there. He joked, asked chat GPI to figure it out, and I said

I still need a job, so we'll see how that works out. But he's all for the best teams in the college football playoff, and he is looking forward to that Ohio State game in large part because both teams are so different than they were a year ago. And you're right. The loser shouldn't have to pay the price,

but we'll see what happens. We're 46 days away from that game. That is our Heather Dinnich, Heather. Thank you very much. Another team that took the podium. Today, of course, would be the Georgia Bulldogs, and Kirby Smart has had about a good of a start to his coaching career as almost anyone we've seen

in major college football. And on that note, it's a pleasure to be joined by Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. Coach, you said in the off season, passion, energy, fire. Those were the three terms you used. What was the impetus behind those three words and this message to your team? Well, I think it's what's missing.

You know, we talked long and hard last season about things that are missing in college football today. And we feel like that's a big part of it. It's not, you know, who you are, what they say about you, what you were rated coming in. It's literally how you play the game. We want to find more guys playing with those three qualities. You mentioned earlier today in your first. comments that players are becoming in the SEC, in your words, quote unquote, too comfortable with their financial situation. What concerns you the most about a predicament like that?

Well, what's your motivation? Is it to get a degree or to go to the National Football League? They're both fine and they're both good. You should want both. But if you're not actually passionate and have fire and energy to do either, you're just treading water. You're comfortable because, you know, the NIL success is not sustainable forever. Like the kid's not going to stay on a roster and keep making money forever. He eventually has to go get a job or he has to go to the National Football League. And we want our kids to stay hungry and be in pursuit of both those two things, a career off the field and a career on the field.

And that's what we see that in kids that have fire, passion, energy. And sometimes we don't get it. Fire passion and energy is a great way to describe the one and only one. only Gunner Stockton. He's now taking the reins from day one as opposed to the way he was thrust in there last season with so much at stake. What's the difference been having him

now from the beginning? Well, I think it's different for him because he's learned a lot. He's sat in the wings behind Carson. He learned a lot of football. Took a lot of reps. And now he and Ryan are both getting reps with the ones. They're growing. They're becoming better players. They're working out every day. I mean,

I'm excited to see what he does with more experience. What was the moment where you said, because your quarterback room has always been loaded, you've used the portal, you've been great in high school, what was the moment you said, this is our guy? Well, I think when he took over for Texas and did a great job, he came in the second half, and guys really played inspired football behind him, and he took care of the ball for the most part outside of really one play.

He did a lot of good things, but it's something that he's going to earn day to day. You know, at no position that Georgia is granted or given, you've got to go out and earn it. And he knows that. He's going to go out and compete and do the things he's got to do to keep getting better. Last thing for you, you're entering your 10th season on the job in this pressure cooker. At your alma mater, you are a Georgia kid to boot. In all, what is being the head football coach of Georgia personally meant to you with that backstory? Well, self-gratifying.

Georgia got me where I am today, so this is my opportunity to get back. Both my wife and I played college athletics, amateur athletes there at Georgia. It meant a ton to us to be from Georgia. And now we're giving back to Georgia. And that's the day. Every day I wake up, I get a chance to better the community I grew up in. Yeah, you referenced in your comments earlier today, the nine great years you spent at Alabama. It's been nine great years in Georgia.

Best of luck as you begin that 10th year. Kirby, thank you. Thank you. Go, dogs. Of course, some of the greatest games Georgia's played over the last decade have come against. Auburn. who needs a huge season. We'll hear from the Tigers and discuss the Tigers.

Now, we're back on college football live. Josh Heipel is done talking about Nico. It's never about who's not in your building. It's about who is in your building. And for us, you can lose a quarterback at a lot of different times, right? December transfer portal, spring transfer portal. You can lose one week one, first quarter of a ball game in your opener. and now you're on to number two, you know, through injury, right?

And so you've got to have a next guy up mentality. At the end of the day, having the right guys that want to be there, want to compete with their brothers that are inside of that lockering, building that connection, but also having the right guys. We're joined by our Pete Thammell. Obviously, Pete, you were all over this. This was the biggest story of the offseason. It takes a new iteration here today.

What do you have on the old Nico's Gone? and Joey's In story. Well, Zuban, we didn't actually hear the name Nico IMALEAava from Josh Heipel's mouth. I think he's well ready to move on from that saga. And what he pushed forward to is the quarterback competition that's going to happen at Tennessee this year. He was very clear.

It's an open competition. Obviously, Joey Aguilar comes over from UCLA where he only spent the spring and he spent two years as the starter at App State, where he started 24 games over two years. He was very good. Two years ago in 2023, last year, after state coach Sean Clark got fired.

He struggled a bit. They're going to want to see that 23 version of Aguilar in Josh Heifle's offense. As for Tennessee's week three opponent, Georgia, Kirby Smart was a bit rueful today as he discussed the changing culture in college football. And it's why he's doubled down on why he loves quarterback Gunner Stockton, who obviously came in at half time of the SEC title game last year. He said Gunner Stockton loves Georgia's. so much even as a sister named Georgia

and he's a winner and that's what Kirby Smart wants in his offense and obviously finally we have Hugh Freeze and Auburn. Hugh Freeze and Auburn are last in the SEC and the recruiting rankings right now. Hugh Freeze is very clear today it's not Zubin because he's playing too much golf

it's because he said Auburn has been very conservative in putting out offers to high school recruits. He said they're only giving rev share offers. They're not giving NIL offers and he basically said Other schools are playing by a different set of rules, and that's impacted Auburs recruiting. He's hopeful Zoom in August 1st.

Everyone has to show their cards with written offers to recruits, and he's hopeful that will change the dynamic a little bit of those who've been pushing the envelope. Yes, this is a big year, so pardon the pun here. I don't think Hugh Freeze is going to get a mulligan if things don't work out. Speaking of Hugh Freeze at the podium at SEC Media Days. What happened? Why the lack of success, you know, and you really have to say. study that and you find out, you know, that they had a ton of injuries and three different coordinators for whatever reason. That's not for me to say he's right or wrong, but that's,

that rattled his confidence. I think that's what he needed was just a confidence, rebuild and a reset. I even went another step and I did a psychological profile on him and me. It really helped me a lot on communicating with Jackson. I think Jackson has, has every reason to have great expectations for himself and thus for us. Psychological profile. All right. So you know the deal, Jackson Arnold coming over from Oklahoma,

Jordan. I want to start with you because I think the one thing that isn't being talked about is this is sort of like a prove it year for Coach Freeze, but this is also kind of a prove it year for Jackson Arnold.

Yeah, prove it year for Coach Freeze and he chooses a quarterback that when he played that team last year was benched for a guy that's not a starter now. So it's a bold move by Hugh Freeze, but he has loved Jackson Arnold. since high school. Texas high school football. He's been in an RPO spread type offense since that point. And he was right. There was no help for Jackson Arnold last year. All new starting

offensive line. They started seven different combinations through their first nine games. Top five wide receivers were out. They couldn't run the football. So it's not all on Jackson Arnold, but to his point about the psychological evaluation, the first thing he had to do was rebuild the confidence. Because Jackson Arnold has all the physical talent in the world. He has a huge arm. He can process. You just saw him as a shell of himself last year because he launched confidence in what he was seeing, in the coaching staff, in the offense, in the scheme, everything around him. Freeze is trying to build that back up and get the best version of Arnold. I'm glad they don't do a psychological profile on us.

I'll be a nightmare. Figure out that we're both psychos, and that's just kind of the way it works. But I digress. I'm looking at this Auburn team. I really believe this, Zub, I think they're a dark horse to win the league. I think they have that type of upside. If you look at last year, very circumstantial five and seven. Yeah.

I hate to say that because it's, you are what your record says you are, but they're a bad bounce against Oklahoma. They're one bad decision against Cal or two. One or two bad decisions against Arkansas away from potentially winning those three games. Now they're at eight wins. They also had a fourth and one that they got stopped on against Georgia when it was a one possession game in the fourth quarter. So they had four games that were right there on their racket and they just couldn't hold serve.

I think this team is improved by leaps and bounds. The offensive line is solidified. They have improved their wide receiver core with the addition of Eric Singleton from Georgia Tech. And then defensively, there are some new faces. But for the most part, continuity with the coordinator, DJ Durkin, it shouldn't be too seamless to fit some new pieces into those departed places.

So I think Auburn's one of those teams right now that's probably not getting enough love because they just aren't paying close enough attention to just how improved they are year over year and how close they might have been just a year ago. I agree. Pete said their high school recruiting a struggle, but the previous two years, it's been really good. And those are the guys that are on campus now that absolutely have to make a difference

for the Tigers. Guys, hang tight. When college football live continues, he had so much swagger last. Look at Pavia rolling in like it's the high school prom. He's ready to go. Wait till you see what he thinks about taking Vandy all the way. That, when college football live, rolls on from the Georgia World Congress Center at the College Football Hall of Fame, right in their story.

We are back on college football live. Just a quick reminder, Holloway Poirier 3, Saturday 10 Eastern, all part of UFC 318 on pay per view. Bandy at the mic earlier this week, Diego Pavia on the reason he came back to National. Well, we left a lot on the table this year going seven and six. And so obviously our goal is to win the national championship. And so I'm super glad, super thankful, super blessed to be here for the last ride. Jordan, I mean, you know that position in that school better than anybody. Your quick thoughts on his return.

Well, look, Diego Pavia is exactly what Vanderbilt needed last year and what they continue to need. When you're at Vanderbilt, you're always at somewhat of a disadvantage. You're always going to line up against an SEC team. They're probably going to have a little more size, a little more talent than you. But you've got to have a locker room and a quarterback and a leader that is confident. Nobody is more confident dripping with confidence than Diego Pavia. It's unbelievable, the swagger that he plays.

with and that's why they were able to compete and knock off like in Alabama and an Auburn last year. He's also got one of the best and most underrated tight ends in the country and Eli Stowers. Here's what I want to see from Vandy. You see Diego Pavia running the football there, 800 yards on the ground. He's so dangerous. But I talked to him yesterday. He was really banged up at the end of the year. He had 192 carries in the SEC. That was third of anybody. You cannot run the football that much as a quarterback and expect to be healthy and expect to perform at the top level. They need some more help from the running back group, not just Pavia next year or this year. Yeah, no, I know what you mean.

Glad to mention Stowers, though. That's a guy that's first team all conference for sure. All right, moving ahead here, South Carolina, Lenora Sellers with our Alyssa Lang on what could have been. Had a couple things gone differently last year. It just shows us a little bit of success. We were a couple plays off. It wasn't like a big difference of being in the playoffs versus not. So just giving us confidence to know that we can do it and it's something that we plan on doing.

Greg, to you here, talent is one thing, but talent plus expectation is not something South Carolina's bad had to deal with lately. And I think, too, look, Lenora Sellar is going to be amazing. I have zero doubts about what he's capable of. He did more with less last year than just about anybody. I do think his receiver core will improve. And I'm hopeful that the run game can evolve beyond him just breaking tackles and somehow finding. finding a way to turn a sack into a 12-yard game. I'm most interested with South Carolina on the defensive side of the football.

They lost so many key pieces of while Dylan Stewart, their outstanding defense event returns, they're probably not going to be able to win games 17-13 like they did a year ago. That defense, all three levels, was fantastic. And so many veterans that will depart off that group that need to be replaced. They've done a decent job in the portal. But Lenoris, more might be on his shoulder. this year because they might have to score 30 to win as opposed to scoring 20. Speaking of plenty of pressure on the shoulders, obviously Gunner Stockton is stepping into a big time moment here.

In Athens, Alyssa Lang caught up with him and he's ready for all that entails being a Georgia quarterback. You got some big games coming up this year. Alabama and Texas both come to Athens. What do you think it's going to sound like between the hedges and how excited are you for those games? I think it should be awesome. I mean, in Georgia, it's the best home stadium, I think. Best atmosphere. So it'll be rocking and the dog walk and everything will be going crazy. So I can't wait.

It'd be awesome. Gunner, best of luck this season. I can. Thank you. All right, guys. Let's do a little over under wind total. Why don't we start with Gunner Stockton and the dogs? That number on your screen is correct.

It's been a long time since Georgia hasn't had a double digit over under, but it's at nine and a half, Greg. What do you think? I like the over. I love what this team could develop into. Are there some possible landmines? Absolutely. At Tennessee, week three, better ready to roll.

Bama comes to you. You're on the road at Auburn. We know that place can be extremely hostile. Florida had a real chance to knock off the dogs last year if Lagway doesn't get hurt. And then Georgia Tech, that was a massive game last year against the yellow jackets that they survived, but it was not very comfortable.

I still love the dogs, though, both sides of the ball to be one of the best teams. very simply the schedule lays out perfectly their three hardest games are all at home they've won 31 straight between the hedges there bama old miss and texas all have to come there they only have three true cc road games yeah like like georgia doesn't have to be great i don't think to win 10 games i think they're capable of and i think they will but the schedule lays out really good for the dogs ls u sitting there at eight and a half last year they won nine games and everybody was really disappointed gregg that can't bode well yeah i mean naturally lsue

has high expectations and should. I think they should be really high again this year. I'll take the over. I just look at this team. I think the schedule's brutal. At Oklahoma's tough. At Bama's tough. I think that A&M game at home is really tough.

You get Florida week three, you start the season at Clemson in week one. But offensively, they're going to be great. We know that. Defensively, I will be fascinating to see how much they can grow from where they were last year. And Blake Baker's year two there as the defensive coordinator. And lastly, Ole Miss at 8 and a half,

They've been easily getting over that the last couple of years, Jordan. Yeah, as much as I love Austin Simmons, I think he's so talented. Replacing Jackson Dart is no easy task. I worry about the defense. That was their identity. They were so good on the defensive front. Walter Nolan, Jared Ivy, Prince William Mieland, J.J. Pagis, they were dominant. They're all gone.

It's going to be a completely different defense. I think if the offense takes a step back and the defense isn't elite, I think it's going to be under. All right. We'll see what happens. On the way, speaking of under. Under pressure and something to prove. I think that guy certainly qualifies the team with the most to prove in the SEC this fall. Fellows with the answers when we come back.

Back on college football live Wednesday at the mic. You can see all these coaches on the SEC network. DeBauer's going to join us on college football live. He'll start it in the morning. Nobody's got a tougher lift than Jeff Levy at Mississippi State. Big year for Billy Napier and DJ Lagway. and coming off the six-win season, Brent Venable. Again, you can see all of these press conferences live on the SEC Network.

We kind of understand the situation in Starkville is what it is. But Greg, if you're Venables, if you're Napier, if you're Kalin-Dibor, the team that's got the most approve of those three is. It's Oklahoma. It's Brent Venables. This is a team that I think actually has the pieces to be very, very dangerous in this league. I think they have the best quarterback at John Mateer. You can make a case they might have as good a defensive line as anybody in the league.

If they can just stay healthy, this team can be a legitimate contender. To me, it's Alabama and Caitlin DeBoer. You won nine games last year, and it's not just that you won nine. It's that you lost to Vanderbilt at Vanderbilt. You lost to a not very good Oklahoma team. You've got to get to 10 wins. I think it's college football playoff or bust for DeBoer. I think it's extremely important.

They start Faskins, Florida State. That could be a maker break week one. And it's important that this team bounces back to the standard that we're used to team and you're used to seeing at Bama. There's no doubt about it because obviously, as everybody would say, in a 12-team playoff, Sabin would virtually never miss it and DeBore missed it in his first year. As for Brent Venables, three years on the job, two six-win seasons in Norman. Not exactly what they were hoping for when he took over for Lincoln Riley.

It was great to have Greg and Jordan here. We're back with more college football live tomorrow for another hour at 2 Eastern, and we'll see you then.