College Football Live - CFB LIVE 7/16 - DAY 3 OF SEC MEDIA DAYS

Episode Date: July 16, 2025

The Crew Zubin Mehenti, Greg McElroy, Sam Acho, Heather Dinich and Pete Thamel continue their coverage of SEC Media Days. Day 3 covers the season expectations for the Alabama Crimson , Florida Gators, and Oklahoma Sooners . We also hear from Arch Manning when he took the podium on day 2 as he takes over as QB1 of the Texas Longhorns. Our analysts take you through their favorite non conference games this season and some funny moments during SEC Media Days. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

And we welcome you to college football live at the College Football Hall of Fame for the third of four days for the SEC Media Days, taking center stage. Alabama early this morning. Cail and DeBore, year two, he will join College Football Live later this hour. Many people didn't think Billy Napier would be walking in to SEC Media Days this year. But after a strong finish to the second half of last season, there he is. And speaking of a strong finish, a strong finish, a strong, beginning and finish is needed for Brent Venables entering a critical year at Oklahoma. This quartet taking center stage, you saw the head coaches of Alabama, Florida, and Oklahoma,

and Jeff Levy at year two at Mississippi State with a huge rebuild on his hands. Those are the schools in the spotlight today. It's a pleasure to be joined by Greg McElroy and Sam Acho. I'm Zubin Mahenty. Let's get right into it with, of course, the program. everybody's keeping their eye on. It's Alabama, year two, after Sabin, DeBoer, year number one, was a nine and four campaign.

This year, though, there's going to be all sorts of change. We're going to get into that here in just a moment. Many people will say you only go as far as your quarterback. You know, Jalen Milrow had a pretty successful run as the Tide starter. Now you got Ty Simpson in the mix. Austin Mack, who is with DeBore in Washington, Keelan Russell. highly-totted high school player in the mix. And of course, you're going to have Ryan Williams back.

He was 17, you may have heard, during last season, and he is now officially 18 years old. DeBoer knows out of the gate. Not what everybody was hoping for. If you internally ask us, no, like, we fell short of making the playoffs as simple as that, right, and give yourself a chance to compete for a championship. I'm proud of them, the way they responded to, you know, us, you know, not realizing the goals that we, you know, set out to have and getting back just to work, focus on the main thing. I feel that's always been the case, but sometimes there's just ups and downs you've got to go through, unfortunately, that we had to experience.

But in the end, you know, we're going to take advantage of the failures we've had and be better because of it. Good stuff there from DeBore. We welcome the fellas back in. Greg, obviously, let's start with you. Of course, you were Sabin's first national championship winning quarterback at Alabama. You understand the expectations better than anybody. You live in the state these days. Just help us understand at home what kind of pressure this guy is facing.

Well, tons of pressure. I mean, it's Alabama. You embrace the pressure. I mean, you don't go there if you want to just kind of fly under the radar. So I think he knew a little bit what he was getting into. what I appreciated most today, Zubin, about the way he approached the podium. He addressed last year's challenges head on. He said we weren't good on third down, at least early in the season defensively.

We weren't balanced enough at times throwing the ball down the field as often as we wanted to throw it down field. We weren't good on the road. We struggled to Norman. We struggled in Nashville. We didn't play very well in some places when we got outside of the friendly confines of Tuscaloosa. I think when you have that type of transparent.

and you are looking at your problems from a year ago and you are facing them head on, that's really, really strong. Because you know if that's what he's saying out here on the podium, Sam, that's likely what he's telling the guys back at home and they're taking all the necessary routes that they need to take in order to clean up what allowed them to go 9 and 4 last season. And it looks like Kalin DeBores taking the necessary routes to do that himself. He just added back Ryan Grub, who was his offensive coordinator back in Washington when they had one of the most prolific offenses in all of college football.

So that's a huge addition. The question still remains, though, what's going to happen at quarterback? Jalen Monroe has been outstanding the last several years. So Ryan Grubb joins the staff and he says, okay, is it going to be Ty Simpson, who has experience, but he hasn't necessarily proven it yet. Will it be one of the younger additions at quarterback? So I think the bigger deal for me is not necessarily who's going to be at quarterback, but who's calling the plays to get the offense back on track.

All right, Greg, I want your opinion on the quarterbacks here. You've got Ty Simpson, just a grand total of 50 passes. Sam said, we're waiting to see what exactly that's all going to manifest. You've got Austin Mack, who knows DeBoer from Washington, and Keelan Russell, who is a high school phenom, and that's the room right now. So how do you see it? Well, I think Ty Simpson right now is the guy going into fall camp

that is a little bit ahead of the other two. Now, does that mean he's going to be the starter? No, I don't think it does. I think it means that he right now has the pole position. They still have to race on Sunday, though, Because I look at what's going on and the development that you're going to get from Keel and Russell and how much you can improve from practice one to practice 15 in spring. But that improvement goes all throughout the summer and then through fall camp as well.

I think Ty Simpson is in a great position, though, to lock down the starting job. Now it's about just going out and doing it. He's a talented kid, highly regarded prospect. But now you have to develop that alpha dog mentality, that confidence in your own ability. because if you're not super confident in yourself, it's going to be tough for the guys to follow you. It's going to be tough for you to lead. So I think he has to go out and leave no doubt here in the first week or two of fall camp,

established dominance at the spot and lockdown that's starting job. But the longer this thing lingers, the more of a possibility it becomes, one of the other two guys could potentially jump him on the depth chart. Yeah, and when DeBore joins the show in just a little bit, I'll be sure to ask him about what's going on with the quarterback situation. Sam, let's move from offensive. to defense. It hasn't been talked about because this quarterback competition is just garnering all the headlines.

What are you seeing on the defensive side of the ball for the tide? Well, I'm not excited about quarterback on defense. I'm excited about the cornerbacks on defense. Zabian Brown and DeMani Jackson. Zabian Brown was a true freshman last year. You remember the name because he had the game-sealing interception versus Georgia. But also DeMani Jackson, he transferred in. Both of these corners are rangy. Both of them are ballhawks. Both of them are extremely great tacklers. That's the Monty Jackson with an interception against Georgia.

So for me, I get it. There are question marks at quarterback, but there are no questions when it comes to cornerback on the defensive side of the ball. I think that could be one of the stronger positions for this team, especially early on where there may be a quarterback battle. The defense may lead the way. Man, Saban never goes away.

What was his specialty? Cornerbacks. It's going to be a long time before the shadow goes away. Of course, Greg knows that better than anybody. So Florida also at the podium today, ready to go. Billy Napier is obviously a huge year for him. You got DJ Lagway. Man, DJ, watch that shoulder, man.

Don't sign that football too tight, right? Because everybody keeping an eye on that shoulder and how healthy DJ Lagway is going to be. Okay, so now this is a really interesting team. They're coming off an 85 record, and that's what they flourish at the end of the season, the big time wins over Ole Miss and LSU. There's a lot of question about whether Napier was going to make it back for 2025. Langway, six and one as a starter as a true freshman. We're going to talk about this in a couple minutes just with regards to what his pro potential might be.

But first he's got to fulfill it in Gainesville and then defensively 20 sacks in their last four games. We'll see if they can keep the momentum going. Billy Napier knows a fast finish. saved him last season. You spot the ball last year. At the end of the year, you could argue, we were playing as good football as anybody in the country. And I think that that's a result of our development process.

Our development process is working. As a competitor, you want to play against the best, the very best. There's an old saying to be the best, you've got to beat the best. And I think we get that opportunity. competing in this league. Expectations are high when you're talking about the Florida Gators. Our Pete Thamel joins us.

The expectations are not to be a 500 coach, Pete, which is what he is at this point. So what are the expectations heading into a critical season? Well, Zubin, remember last November, A.D. Scott Strickland gave Billy Napier a vote of confidence. Usually those are dreaded, but this one ended up being a catapult of confidence. Obviously, Florida won its final four games. Billy Napier finished the season 8 and 5 with a ton of momentum coming into this season. Look, you mentioned it. Florida is a place that wants to win national titles.

Steve Spurrier, Urban Meyer. They fired Dan Mullen, who had a generally successful tenure, and then he had one dip, and the university administration decided to make a change. So Billy Napier was on the hot seat last year. This year, he's got a hot schedule. They go to LSU, to Miami, two Texas A&M, all before. the middle of October. So we're going to know what we're getting from this Gators roster.

And look, Zuban, give Bill and Emperor credit, he has tried to build it slowly. He hasn't tried to flash fry this thing. It's been a slow boil, and it's gotten to this point where they feel good at Florida that they can make that next step to playoff contender. Feels like Spurrier again. You got like three guys behind you. We're going four wide. We're talking to Florida Gators like the old times.

So Spurrier, of course, Pete, always the number one thing he had, even though it was a quick hook. He always had great quarterbacks. This guy that he's got right now, you think he's got tremendous potential on Saturday. And there's a lot of people I know you talk to that think he's going to light it up eventually on Sunday as well. Zubin, the key to Florida's finishing kick last year was obviously DJ Lagway. He finished with a 6-1 record as a starting quarterback for the Gators last year. And he only rushed for 101 yards. He played most of the tail end of the season with a jammed up hamstring.

Remember it cost him that Texas game. He wasn't the full version of himself. that I mean six foot three, two hundred forty pounds. I talked to a scout today who said, look, when you look at the film, it's not hard to find the NFL throws in DJ Lagway. I wouldn't be surprised from talking to scout Zubin if in the 2027 draft we're talking about both Arch Manning and DJ Lagway as potential top five picks. They have the most raw talent of any young quarterbacks, uh, non-draft eligible in Langway's case in the country. It's all out there in front of them for DJ Lagway right now. He just has to navigate that difficult schedule that the Gators have this

year. It's a gauntlet. No doubt. And the fans behind you win once again over your right shoulder while you are talking about. Somebody's flashed up the U sign. Come on guys. Wrong Florida school. Hardest schedule in the country. You know, Pete kind of mentioned this. It's going to be difficult because look at the quality of competition, including the U, as I mentioned on the screen there. Just the first month, five, six weeks of the season is going to be an absolute gauntlet. We'll have Pete back a little bit later here on college football live. All right, let's have the guys we join this. Sam, I want to start with you here.

You heard what Pete said about Lagway, but you just saw the schedule. How do you think it all shakes out? I don't think it shakes out very well for Florida, if I'm just being honest. I think DJ Lagway is outstanding. He's phenomenal. The ball jumps out of his arm, but you start going down that schedule. You talked about the teams that you play away. He didn't mention they play Texas and they play Georgia.

And so I understand the talent and I understand the excitement. But I'm looking at that schedule and I have a lot of concerns when it comes to the middle of the schedule. I see a couple wins early, but I see a couple losses as it goes on. We talked about it. LSU and Miami, home at Texas, A&M, if they end up being better this year than they were last year. Georgia, Kentucky, Ole Miss Tennessee, Florida State. There are so many potholes, places that you can miss if you're not playing your best ball and so I see some concern for Florida.

I actually have taken the other side, Zuban. I really like Florida this year. I think the way Billy Napier has built this roster, he's got great familiarity with the league, spent time in the league prior to that Alabama. He understands that the best teams in the SEC are built from the inside out and they're extremely strong up the middle.

They were playing fantastic football along the defensive line in the final four games of the season. I'm hoping that momentum can carry over. The offensive line is deep, it's experienced, and they should be extremely physical. They also have a 230-pound running back. Everyone wants to talk about Lagway, Jaden Baugh, and really they have two running backs, maybe three running backs that can all get it. So this is a group that can really marry up the run game to play action. I think they're going to be very difficult to defend. I think they're going to be bruisers. And in this league, if you're a bruiser that could throw absolute

haymakers, you have a chance every single week, regardless of how tough that schedule is. It's not a team you're going to want to play. I think they are going to be in the mix. I really believe this. I think they're going to be in the mix come November 1st for conference championship discussion. They have that type of potential. And it does stand to reason. It's something that Pete said. I mean, you know, in the quick hook of college football today, not just in the SEC, the fact that he got that vote of confidence that meant something. Obviously, bringing Lagway back was a big part of that. I mean, you were an SEC quarterback that reached the ultimate goal, winning it all? I mean,

how do you see this guy in this system playing in a pressure-packed environment really no different than the one you played it. I think the biggest thing with DJ Lagwood when you watch him is just how strong he is. I mean, he is really, really strong. Defenders might just have him dead to rights, like tackled, wrapped up, and somehow he's able to maintain a passing posture

and still deliver the ball down field. Think about that as a true freshman being that strong, just how much stronger he's likely to be in year number two with a whole another year in the weight room and the training and eating and all the nutrition and things like that. He's going to be a better player and he's going to have a better understanding of what he needs to do situationally. That's the next step of growth.

Physical talent is not a problem. You know he's got that big time. But now it's about situational football, Sam, and taking the next step on third down in the red zone and then got to have it situations at the end of the game. Well, he's the guy that you want. I have a better understanding of DJ Lagway now because I just got a chance to walk by DJ Lagway. Better yet, he walked by me. And I was looking up at him. My jump out 6-2-250.

He's at least six, three and a half, maybe six four. It looks like he's about 240. He has broad shoulders. So when you watch the tape, there's no wonder why he's so strong in the pocket. That's what stands out to me. Yes, the ball jumps out of his arm, but he is fearless. He is courageous in the pocket. So the talent is absolutely there.

There's a level of experience he had last season, but I still go back to the schedule week in and week out with all the talent that you do have in the running game. The receivers, I get that. But will you be able to perform at that high level against that high of competition? He's big. He's broad. He's strong. He's athletic.

He's courageous. But every other team has film on him now as well. And they're going to bring their best. I'm 511, 140. Not that anybody cares about that, but just to throw that out there. Still to come here on college football left. Strapping 140. There's a guy that everybody's talking about.

Pete's back with more after meeting with Arch, some inside details as all the media surrounding them. And Kael and DeBore joins College Football Live. We asked him about a trip he took less than a week ago. Wait until you see where he was with the season fast approaching. We're back on college football live. He may have spoke yesterday, but the story of the entire four days is going to be Arch Manning,

arriving at the SEC media days in Atlanta. That's like a Mansell-type crowd around him. You ever think about leaving, Arch? That never really crossed the mind. I knew Texas was a place I wanted to be. It was a city I wanted to be in. the great education and I had friends there and I was still developing and growing as a football player as a person so I never really wanted to leave if there were somewhere else I wanted to

go on I learned so much from Quinn my two years behind him I think he handled it like a pro it's definitely not easy having me as the backup of all the media but he's always been nice to me and good to me and I'm proud grateful for him class all the way no surprise considering the guys that are kind of leading him on this journey pitham will rejoins this I know you had an extensive profile on ESPN.com today where you got some great alone time with them. What were some of the big takeaways there in your piece you could share? Yeah, Zuban, I felt like Archmanning handled it all really well. Like you mentioned, he had a Mansell crowd around him. He had a Tebow level crowd around him. And I thought he had a nice mix of sort of Southern Awshucks Manning combined with an

edge of confidence that he was ready for the moment. He did say to me, quote, I really haven't deserved any of this. He acknowledged that his production hasn't met the outsized expectations that he's going to face. There was also Zubin a clear appreciation for the moment from Arch. He could have filmed the commercial for Greg Sanky and Company here. I asked him what it was like to, what it meant him to be at Media Day, consider his grandfather and his uncle's in the league. He said it means everything to be here. Kind of sounds familiar to a catchphrase we hear a lot around here. He also finished by saying it's going to be a hell of a challenge in Columbus week one. What an unbelievable setting for the arch opener.

It's his third start, but really his first one as a full-time starter. Yeah, Pete, as we say goodbye to you here, I would just say one of the things I've most taken away was he said, part of the reason he chose Austin is because he can walk around parts of Austin and people won't recognize him. It shows you how much attention's been on him his entire life. That's our Pete Thamble. So let's keep the discussion going here on Arch Manning as we bring the fellas back in. And Greg, here, let's start with you. Simply put, all right, he had the spot starts.

now it's his team. He said all the right things. What do you say about the way he'll perform? And he's going to have a huge test out of the gate. Yeah, I don't think I could think of a better place to kick off my career as a starting quarterback. They're going to the defending national champ of the team that beat you in the playoffs last year. I mean, it's an amazing opportunity. And I love so much how he's handled all of this.

And I'll echo exactly what Pete just said. he has really tried to go out of his way to stay under the radar. And that's a hard thing to do. He just wanted to focus on what was important. If this guy wanted to go do commercials and cash checks in NIL, he could have done whatever he wanted. And yet he really resisted those opportunities because he wanted to focus on the main thing.

And the main thing is maximizing his potential as a player, which is remarkable. He's got a really, really high floor, great mechanics, tremendous pedigree, of course. And he's got great resources that he can lean on. There will not be a moment that occurs in his career at this level or the next where he can't reach out to his uncles or reach out to his grandfather and ask him how to navigate a certain situation.

That is something that cannot be overstated, is knowing that those guys have his back and knowing he's been taught the right way to handle it the right way when the big moments come. And he doesn't only have to reach out. He'll have opportunities to reach in. He talked about the experience he garnered over the last two years watching Quinn Ewers be the starting quarterback.

Not only did he watch Quinn Ewers, but he also learned the offense in those two years as well. We always talk about quarterback development. We always talk about how it's important to get those mental reps. And that's what Archmany was able to do. And I got a chance to meet him a couple years ago, maybe a year ago in person. You talk about the humility. That's real.

That's not fake. Number one, number two, you talk about the experience. There's a level of fear that certain defensive coordinators or defensive staffs have when it comes to Arch Manning. I talked to a coach on the Arizona State defensive side of the ball a few weeks ago. And Arizona State played Texas. And his comment was, man, we weren't really worried about Quinn Ewers. We just didn't want to see the other guy getting to the game. And so that athleticism, that unknown, I think, is going to surprise a lot of people when Arch Manning steps into his starting spotlight. Well, you played for a really good signal caller in Austin yourself, Sam. So you know the pressure

that's going to be on. You played with Colton. We'll see what happens here with Arch Manning. All right, speaking of Arch, we know all the family ties. It was, you know, more than 50 years ago where his grandfather, Archie Manning, wore number 18 when he played for Ole Miss. And how about that? Then he got Peyton at Tennessee, Eli at Ole Miss, and now Arch at Texas. Caleb DeBore is going to join us next and answer the simple question. Who's his starting quarterback?

Who's got the leg up at this point? He's got that answer on the way. And we know who the quarterback's going to be at Oklahoma. But John Mateer had one major concern before he got to SEC Media Days. He'll tell us what that is. Next. Get you and your crew to the big shows with Go Transit. Go connects to all the main concert venues like TD Coliseum in Hamilton and Scotia Bank Arena in Toronto.

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Hang tight. Friday to Sunday on ESPN, ESPN 2, ABC. Streaming on Disney. Plus, there he is. All eyes on Kail and DeBoer. After that opening season, didn't get the way they wanted to. But as Ryan McGee says,

He's just getting started, but still comes. Okay, Coach DeBoer, that was a nice little introduction. Nine and four. A perfect seven-o home. Not so perfect two and four on the road. But that's all of us. An introduction. Honeymoons don't last long in Tuscaloosa.

Pressure does. This 2025 schedule feels like it was hunged up in a pressure cooking. Week one. A Florida state team in search of a record. This hunt. A trip to Athens, where revenge matches with a family into the sea. Oh, and that little holiday party knows the iron. The good news is that the Ryan was back.

Ryan Grub returns after a year to lead, and Ryan Williams is finally old enough to vote. Now, the RTR crowd is going to cash their vote over the Boers' second Crimson season. And it's a pleasure to have Cailen join us here on College Football Live. Coach, how would you describe it? the difference in mentality and feel for you personally at this year's media days as opposed to last year now that you've got a year under your belt. Well, I think the media itself is what it is. I think it's more about just, you know, how you feel about the team and, you know, I understand that, you know, what the makeup is and that every day you know what you're going to get.

So much more comfortable with that. have a good understanding that the guys are just going to work, that, you know, they're very motivated, determined to go, you know, have a great season this fall, and they're going to do, you know, what it takes of them each and every day. You lost basically nobody to the transfer portal scholarship-wise, which is basically unheard of, considering the era of college football we're in. Why do you think your attention rate was so high? I think our staff did an amazing job, building relationships. I think they do a really good. good job of developing guys and I think our guys see that and feel that. And I also think that,

you know, our players appreciate the experience that they're going through. They appreciate the resources, the things that they have. And it's going to help them be the best they can be. So it takes all those things. It really starts with our coaching staff, just day to day, being diligent and build those deep relationships and showing what the future can look like. What would you say to Alabama fans that say, you know, Ty Simpson in three years, he's only throwing 50 passes, what would he say to fans that are concerned about his ability to elevate the program? Yeah, a valid question. Just, you know, experience is important.

But I also know that Ty has taken it all in every step of the way. Everything he's seen and observed over the course of his time here, you know, you're going to learn from. And he's a coach's kid. He's got a great football IQ, and now it's a matter just getting those reps getting out there. And he's been able to do that here this spring, this summer, making great strides. He'll doing a great job being a leader as well. You're back with Ryan Grub, which is another big storyline, but I want to ask you something different about that. You guys have been together since 2007.

This is 18 years together at various stops, at various levels, winning essentially at every stop of the way. why do you think you guys have mesh so well together for nearly two decades? I think there's first of all an appreciation for who you have as a person that you're working with and I just know that he's got driven, he's always looking to find ways to make things better.

Extremely, extremely intelligent. You know, I just appreciate the people who work hard and he's, you know, obviously now I've got those years of calm plays and putting an offense together under his belt, which, you know, he continues to get better and better as he gets even more reps. And so that trust, and I think it all goes back to just who you're working with as a person. Last thing, this is a big moment for you heading in a year or two, but less than a week ago,

I saw you back home in South Dakota. And I know a ton of people were thrilled to see you. Why is it important for you to keep those roots deep and intact with everything swirling around you right now? yeah that was a lot of fun and uh hadn't been back really probably since 2018 uh so it's been a long time and uh just such a thrill to be around so many friends and family uh people who were influences on me even when i started my coaching career former players teammates uh it was it was a blast and uh that's that's always going to be home and proud of where i come came from and uh it's you know helped shaping me

today. No doubt about it. From the Cougars and all that success to Fresno to 25 and 3 in Washington and now looking to take Alabama back to where Alabama looks to be. Coach thanks very much. Best of luck this season. Thank you. Roll tide. Well that guy's under a lot of pressure and the coach of this team is certainly under a lot of pressure as well but brand Benneville's is going into year four. DeBoer's just going of course into year two as you run down the storylines for the sooner this upcoming fall. Again, six and seven last season. He's actually had two six-win seasons.

There is a 10-win season in there, but again, much like Alabama, the expectations that Oklahoma tend to be a little bit different. The defensive success has been there. It's really where they've struggled on the offensive side of the football and gaining some consistency. It's worth noting eventables on defense. That's his specialty. Offense coordinator, Ben Arbuckle and John Deere both came in from Washington State

with the latter learning to earn the trust of his teammates and lay in the foundation for what he hopes will be a great fault. I want to make sure I didn't come off as like too cocky, too confident. I didn't want to say too much and I wanted to build relationships, but I didn't want to, you know, make it all. I'm this guy. I wanted my work to show that I could be a leader. And knowing the offense as I came in, I helped me be able to build a relationship. instead of sitting room and learn in offense.

And I spend a lot of time with the O-line. I believe that, you know, you got to spend it. I'm taking them out to dinner tomorrow night. I'm not saying that's a brag, but I'm saying. Like, you know, they got to love me because they don't love me, you know. Who are they going to play for? You know, and I play for them, and they'll play for me, and it's going to be a lot of fun. From when I understand, he can afford to splurge after the offseason he had.

Okay, let's talk to the guys a little bit again. Once again, Greg, I want to talk with you here again, critical fourth season. Two six-win seasons, a 10-win seasons, a 10-week. win season, what kind of a difference can Metteer really make if the program has kind of been just nothing but up and down? Massive. I mean, stability of quarterback is enormous. I mean, it doesn't matter what level of football. It could be pee-wee all the way up through the NFL. If you don't have a dude at quarterback, you can't win. I mean, it's as simple as that. And Meteer, I think, does such a great job of making everyone else around him better. The way he can

threaten with his legs, the way he can really impact. defenders by think he's going to run. Then last second, he pulls the trigger and throws a big play down field. I think he has a great feel for the position, a little bit unorthodox with his throwing motion, a little bit unorthodox with some of the things he does on the football field. But you can't stop the guy. He is electric. And I think he breathes life and not just an offense that has struggled, but an offense

that really in the last couple of years hasn't really had much of an identity. Now the identity runs through the quarterback situation. a playmaker at quarterback and a guy that's going to bring the most out of what should be a much improved supporting cast. Yeah. I don't like John Mateer. And I'm not going to say I don't like him. I don't like him. I dislike him.

And the reason why, as a defender, he makes me mad. He plays, he's such a confident quarterback. I don't like, I wouldn't want to play against him, put it that way. He plays with such, it's not even poise. It's such a confidence. You watch him run the ball as a quarterback. He's not trying to run around you. He's trying to run over you.

He's trying to embarrass you. He's going to stiff arm you and talk to you about it. And oh, by the way, he can throw the ball. as well. So I don't, I was literally watching him. I was like, but I don't like this guy. I can't stand this guy. The level of confidence that he plays with is to me talking as a defensive guy. He's going to elevate that football team. And oh, by the way, it's not just him. He's got a friend in the backfield named Jade Knott, who transferred from Cal. Jay, not in 20203, led the Pack 12 in rushing yards. Last year he was injured, but he's electric and elite out of the

backfield. Great as a receiver out of the backfield. He had a kickoff return for a touchdown in 2023. So we asked first. If Jay Not as healthy, that backfield will be extremely. extremely dynamic. It's a great point, Sam. They got him there from Cal, who was shedding a lot of players. And like you said, Greg said, you got a quarterback. You got something at that quarterback can handoff to something. You got something.

Guys, hang tight, college football live, rolling on. We're not going to wait to get any big time action with SEC and non-conference play. Wait until you see some of the teams. The teams in the SEC are going to see out of the gate. We'll run down all the big ones. Coming up next. We're back. to ESPN and media reports. Pete Famill is a popular man.

Make sure the news desk doesn't get all over me for this. Look at this guy. He's got the tie off. He's got the glasses in hand. He's like, peace. I am out of here. I don't blame me. We still got one more day to go, though, Pete. Don't go anywhere. Notable week one SEC non-con game. So obviously you're going to want to be able to test yourself out of league. I think we know how big of a game this is for Auburn. And really, Baylor was in the position last year that Alburn.

is in this year. And Dave Miranda certainly turned it around thanks to that guy. Sawyer Robertson will wait to see of Auburn can pull a bailout. That's kind of an interesting story. A lot of orange here between Syracuse and Tennessee. Fran Brown's just done a great job at Syracuse. Obviously the story with Tennessee is losing Nico and what they're going to do at quarterback as he transferred to UCLA in the wildest story of the offseason. We mentioned this earlier. Archmanning and Texas are going to open at Ohio State. It's a rematch of the college football playoff semifinal, which was won by Ohio State. This is the site of college game day week one and a fond farewell to the legendary Lee

Corso. It'll be much more than just a TV show that day, I'm sure. Alabama's going to play Florida State. Obviously, you know what's going on with Florida State coming off the two-win season, in absolute calamity. And now they open against Alabama, who you may have heard, needs to get out to a great start themselves. And then the Tigers and the Tigers.

On ABC in primetime, LSU and Clemson ready to go. Our Ryan McGee knows getting through the SEC, that's one thing. But getting through the non-SEC teams this year apparently is going to be another. In this still new expanded CFP era, there is still much debate around how a team should construct its non-conference schedule. Well, best I can tell, a lot of the SEC are using old-fashioned brick and steel. Week one, the horns in the horseshoe for a CFP semi-final rematch. War Eagle flies into Waco, the tide rolls in the Tallahassee for the first time ever.

The Death Valley Tigers from Bat Rouge visit the Death Valley Tigers of Clemson, while Atlanta hosts a de facto orange ball between the Syracuse Orange and the Big Orange of Tennessee and the Beamer Ball, as Shane's Gamecock. faced a program built by his father Frank, Virginia Tech. Week two, the Hokies host a human in him all and his Vainty Que Diego Pobby. Missouu and Kansas resurrect the border war, while Oklahoma faces a mission for only the second time

and the first since Bo and Barry were the head coaches. And then, week three, the Badgers wobble into Tuscaloose, and the 12th man will try to give him some revenge in South Bend After losing to the Notre Dame College Station one year ago, if the SEC wants to send a message, this September schedule is packed with the cross-companced states for the making. Can't wait. Sam, I want to start with you on the non-con game you're most looking forward to.

And from what I get the impression, not every great non-con game comes in week one. Some of them come in November. Oh, correct. This is the last game of the regular season. Clemson at South Carolina. Why does this game matter so much? Because, number one, South Carolina went into Death Valley last year and beat Clemson. But number two, you're playing with two elite-level quarterbacks,

Cade Clubnick, and then on the other side, you have Lenore Sellers. So Cade Clubnick, we talk about him in the offense, Brian Westgo, T.J. Moore, two elite-level young receivers. They were fresh from last year. They're older this year. But then Lenore Sellers, the hype around this team is real. It's not just hype. Lenore Sellers put the team on his back and led the team to victory.

He would have started the way he finished the last six games. he'd have been in the Hizmann Trophy conversation. And so it's going to be an unbelievable matchup to watch that game at the end of the season. Yeah, I just, I love that matchup. It's always so much fun. I'm going to go to one we don't see very often. That's the Michigan Wolverines, two years removed from a national championship, going to Oklahoma in week two.

This is the announcement to the world that Oklahoma could be back. Now, I am expecting a big bounce back from Michigan. Last year, felt a little out of character. They lost so many pieces off the national championship. run two years ago, so it was tough to rebuild. But Oklahoma kind of been a similar spot, underachieved relative to expectations last year. I think this game could serve as a launch pad for one of these two teams.

Not a ton of people right now with Oklahoma and with Michigan in the playoff conversation. They all are probably around third, fourth, fifth, sixth in their own league. But the winner of this one carries a ton of momentum into conference play and probably a big boost because I think everybody I know will be watching that ball game week too. It's not just that, I want to just add quickly. It's the confidence as well. It adds like either one of those teams, whether you're Michigan or Oklahoma, you're trying

to search for something. And so the confidence that you get from an early season win could boost your season later on. It's a great point, guys. And let me just add Michigan head coach Jerome Moore played at Oklahoma. So it's a little angle to keep in mind. Look at this. It's been a whole two years. How did they even handle it down there? It's been a whole two years since the SEC has won the national title. And of course,

I'm sure it sticks in their craw that the Big Ten has won each of the last two. So beyond this season, what is the format? Nobody knows. A 5 plus 11 has been proposed. That would be five automatic qualifiers in 11 at large. It's as simple as that. Kirby Smart saying on that, quote, I think the best representative model of the best teams is probably the 5 plus 11 model.

But I don't think that's a consensus in the SEC. You're sitting at a mid-tier SEC program. and you need to have a reason for your fan base to be excited, and that's hard in some of the models. Now, if some of the media wanted to get real brave, they would ask Kirby, hey, give me an example of the mid-tier SEC. No, I'm not going to do that. We're going to bring in our Heather Dinnage here.

Heather, you are the playoff reporter. I mean, you've been studying all these things. Why exactly do you think the SEC coaches have sort of gotten behind this Big 12 proposed five-plus-old? 11 format. He saw in Destin, Florida, or heard to help answer your question. And he and Kirby Smart both told me that the SEC provided a bunch of different scenarios of what the playoffs would look like in various models. And what they learned was why cable in some years to get seven or eight teams from the SEC in. And so I think they came away saying, hey, we don't want to limit ourselves with

automatic qualifiers, which is why Greg Sankey came out in Dustin, Florida, and said, our coaches are saying, why wouldn't we do it this way? Now, like Herbie Smart said, it's not a consensus, it's not unanimous. Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss sat there yesterday and said to us that it should be the 16 best, something that he said before, and that metrics should play a role in it. But look, all of this comes down to the Big Ten and the SEC coming to an agreement on what it should look like. Why? Because those two conferences, have the bulk of control over what the format will look like in 2026 and beyond. And the reality is if they can't agree, Greg Sankey has said that's a model that works and we can keep it that way.

No doubt. And we're looking at a December 1 deadline to figure out what is going to happen. So deadlines make deal, so I'm sure you'll be all over this, but I think you'll be working this story down to the very last hours. Heather, thank you very much. Wait a minute. It says here in my rundown, Sabin's return? Wait a minute. If that was true, that would be in the A block. What is going on? Is he not at ESPN anymore? This is a funny story. We'll have more on today. Back on college football live, any truth to the rumor, Kirby smart-ass Nick Sabin to return to the staff? I called him an offer a much-champ job, but he was overqualified, so he wasn't interested.

Greg, I know we always talk about the assistant coaching pool salary. If that were to happen, I mean, look out. What do you think? I think that'd be a little unfair. That might be like the first thing. It's like, all right, NIL, all this other stuff, putting a cap on it. I think at that point, I think would really do some stuff to make sure that you can level the playing field a little bit better. I don't think that'd be very fair to the college football world to put those two together. Yeah, speaking of fair or not, you're the coach of the Longhorn.

You don't come up to music composed by the Aggies. Got to give credit to Sark there because if he had any idea it was wrong, he played it off. Before we hear from you guys, the commission had to weigh in when A&M in Texas were in a tusset like this, and he used a little football parliens to clean it up. In football, we evaluate

turnovers after a game, right, or during a game. We had a little fumble yesterday. I don't acknowledge we had the wrong music played after I introduced Steve Sarkisian, so mistakes happen. No intent there. And we'll make sure we

do better in possessing our responsibilities. Right. Sammy, you buying that? I'm not buying it at all. I was sitting in the room and I'm over here like, hold on, what is going on? If the words actually say goodbye to Texas University, I'm like, hold on, this is not right. So whether we believe Greg Sanky or not, you better believe that Steve Sarkesian and his team are going to take that and to use that as motivation. The best coaches I've been around will use anything possible as motivation.

And I know Steve Sarkisian played it off, but I went to Texas. I was sitting in the room while the song came on. And I was, in my mind, I'm like, hold on, this is familiar. This is not the one they should be singing. And so, anyways, there's a high level of disrespect, whether it was intended or not. And just, I mean, it might be able to take. It's a mistake. It's a, I did.

All the fight songs you could have. I understand. I did have to go check and see who was selecting the music just to make sure there was no Aggie Ring. You know what I just want to make sure that wasn't like a little shot across the I didn't see one. But all jokes aside, you've been around coaches. Because Steve Sarkeesian is going to use this as motivation.

If there wasn't motivation before, oh, yeah, we're preseasoned favorites. They don't even know our fight song, the disrespect. It's disrespect. Got to find an angle anywhere you can. DJ Lagway is hoping for some sweet music, provided he can stay healthy this fall. Last year, it was a lot of things I did. I was just out there, you know, and I feel like, and just, I was just thankful to be out there. I was heard and I was playing through a lot of injury and university.

early on even before Miami game you know so just being out there that's all that matter to me but I'm excited just to continue to get better like that's all I'm focused on and improving because last year what I did was it was okay in my standards you know I hear all that outside noise and all that but to me I feel like I have a lot more to prove to myself and a lot more things that need to come this year I'm so excited to be able to have my legs back and then be able to add the arm piece with it too so it's going to be amazing excited We needed that 44 seconds to calm Sam down over that.

All right, so let's go to over under wind totals on Florida. Greg, seven and a half. That seems a little tricky if Napier wants to hang around if that's the number. I'm so tempted to take the over. I think the schedule's so tough. I'll take the under for now. But at this point, man, you kind of go through it. Would it surprise you if they went on the road in week three to LSU get a win?

Would it surprise you if they went to Miami got a win, got Texas at home? Like none of that would surprise me. I take the under, but I don't feel confident about it. about it at all. I'll take the under and I do feel confident about it. It's not a knock on DJ Lagway, Billy Napier, the offense. It's just looking at that schedule. LSU, Miami, Texas, Texas, Sanem, all in a row, Mississippi State. There you go Georgia. Then you end the season. Ole Miss, Tennessee. I mean, you start to pick them. Okay, I see them beating Long Island, beating South Florida. But it starts getting questionable as the season goes on. So extremely talented

team, but their schedule is a gauntlet. All right. So obviously we saw there on the screen, Florida is going to play Texas. Texas is over under wind total. Greg, looking at this is a, This is a pretty big one. 10 and a half. How do you see it? I'm going to go under. I think 10 and 2 is about right. At week one game against Ohio State is brutal.

You lose that one, which I don't think would surprise that many folks. Now you have to run the gauntlet to hit the over at that point with a road trip in Georgia looming on November 15th. I think the game against Oklahoma is challenging. The game against Florida is challenging. So I'm going to take the under. I think of two for the Longhorn feels about right. I'm going under as well. I think about that Ohio State game.

It's a game where you have a quarterback who's just a lot. going to be getting really his first real start as the guy. That could be a loss. So you talk about the Georgia game. But before that, Oklahoma, that's a rivalry game. I don't care how good or bad Oklahoma is. The Red River rivalry is a huge opportunity where you don't know who's going to win. And so I'm going under as well.

I think 10 and a half is high for Texas. I think it's closer to that 10 and 2 range. All right. Just a reminder, one last thing on the horns. I think there is a reason, according to one of Texas, preseason all Americans, that I am not wearing a tie. and we'll hear from him right now. That would be Mr. Taff.

Here with Michael Taff with the Texas Longworns, and each year at SEC media days, everybody has kind of like their fashion moment, but yours carries a very serious message. Tell me a little bit about the time this week. Yeah, so these are initials of girls that, victims that passed away in the Texas floods this past week, the girls that camp mystic,

the all-girl church camp that, you know, Most of these girls were eight years old fighting for their lives. And two of the initials on this tire counselors that were 18 years old that were going to attend the University of Texas next year. And they had to turn from counselors that were 18 years old to heroes and to saviors for eight-year-old girls. And so I just wanted to share light on something that's way more important than football because the game of football we always think is cool. But this is way more important and this is talking about people's lives.

And I just wanted to share a light on something that's way more important. And I wanted to make sure that these girls were remembered for heroes. Because that's who they are. They should be remembered as heroes. And it's not just Taff remembering them, those people that have been impacted by the massive floods in the hill country in Curville, Texas, as the memorials continue to sprout in the Texas Hill country to remember all those victims, the lives lost, and those still waiting to be recovered. We're back on college football. live. Just a reminder coming up on the final day of SEC

media days, Eli Drinkwitz. We will talk to him tomorrow on the show. Mark Stoop's coming off a really tough season. Sam Pittman, also entering a real critical season for him. And we'll see if Mike Elko comes out to the Texas fight song tomorrow. All right, guys, real quick. Real quick thoughts on the thing you're most excited to see tomorrow. We've got about a half minute. Really kind of looking forward to hear from Mike Elko. I mean, what did he learn on the job year one?

And I think Texas A&M's a team that not enough people are talking about. Yeah, Missouri and Eli is Drinkowitz. I want to see how they do and how they improve off of last season. I want to hear his sound and what he believes about his team. All those press conferences will air live on the SEC network and we'll have them in a condensed form for you. Right back here tomorrow at Tuesday.