College Football Live - CFB LIVE - SEC MEDIA DAY KICKOFF DAY 1 + BRENT VENABLES JOINS THE SHOW

Episode Date: July 20, 2026

On today's episode of CFB Live, Zubin Mehenti, Pete Thamel, Greg McElroy, and Benjamin Watson react to day 1 of the SEC Media Day Kickoff. Plus Brent Venables joins the show! All this and more on CFB Live! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The week on college football live starts with the start of SEC Media Days in Tampa, four schools a day. For four days are Ryan McGee with a wink and a nod to Coach Spurrier. Get it going. Questions. It's what every season starts with. And we have plenty of questions as talking season takes over Tampa. Which stars are ready to lead their teams? How will the six new head coaches transform their play?

programs. Which games are we circling on the calendar? And who will win the SEC its next CFP title? Today, questions await for Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Welcome to SEC Media Days, where it's time for answers. And as Ryan said, that quartet taking center stage, Brent Venables is going to go one-on-one with us. He's going to join us later in the show. Eli Drinkwitz of Missouri, one of those six first-year SEC head coaches, Will Stein of Kentucky, and Josh Heiple of Tennessee round out the quartet today. And with that, we welcome you inside college football live.

We're going to start with a theme you may have heard about, though. The Big Ten overshadowing the SEC. All the SEC coming from Tampa in just a second. But the biggest story in college football right now is emanating out of Ann Arbor, Michigan. That is where Michigan Athletic Director, Ward Manual, it was announced. We'll step down at the end of the calendar year. The university released a summary of an independent investigation into the culture of the scandal-ridden program. This goes across sports, but we're going to focus in just on football for the purposes of our show.

This is just here in the last three years. It all started in August of 23 with Michigan suspending Harbaugh. And then later that year, the sign-stealing scandal that caught the sport. by surprise. Late last year, Sharon Moore fired for an inappropriate relationship with the staffer. After all was said and done and the decision was made, Michigan, President Domenico Grasso weighed in. The broader culture review has identified serious concerns that require immediate action. These include failures in accountability, structural deficiencies, weaknesses in our reporting

and support systems and concerns about retaliation. This is unacceptable. We have significant work ahead to restore Michigan athletics to its standing as a model program not only on the field but also off the field. To take you behind the curtain a little bit this morning when we were planning our show, the news broke and our Pete Thamble informed us of it.

Everybody's been talking about it ever since. All right, so Pete, I just kind of gave the headlines. What more do we need to know here? Zubin, moving forward for Michigan here, it's a contradictory moment because President Grasso, you just heard, his whole speech today was filled with sort of loaded rhetoric with no specifics. Michigan declined to go into the very things they broadly discussed. So it leaves Ward Manual at this interesting crossroads. Here's this man who oversaw this athletic department. And there's quote from Grasso, poor oversight, failure of accountability, the highest levels of the university.

this must change. But at the same time, Ward Manual is going to stay for six more months. And really, when it comes down to it, Zuban, is this is just an accumulation of too many scandals, too many embarrassing headlines. Word Manual's own demise took eight days. It started to be reported last Sunday that they were in talks of this buyout that eventually happened. Michigan avoided addressing this in person so they could release that hostage video of President Grosso there so he could just not take questions about it. And that's a common tactic used in public relations when you don't want to have actual accountability to what's happening. So again, a $12 million report, very few specific findings said.

It allows Ward Manuel to leave with his head held high. He gets one more football season to go around the Big Ten and get the proverbial rocking chairs, if you will. They do not fire him for cause necessarily. So they will still pay him out a significant amount of money. We don't know what that is yet. But it allows him to at least exit with some dignity. He oversaw some championships. He played there, obviously. But look, this had been a long time coming.

The prevailing thought had been the previous presidential tenure change when Kent Severud came in briefly before an illness ended that before it started, that there would be a transition then. Word Manuel Zubin, when it comes down to it, likely lasted longer than most people thought. And that was because of the winning. But ultimately, the toll of the scandals came today. No doubt. Six days ago, he sat with Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider and said, I will be the AD today. I will be the AD tomorrow. but he didn't mention too much longer after that,

and that's probably part of the reason what happened today. He saw it coming. As promised, back to the SEC. A lot of new faces on the sideline. Lane Kiffin, of course, leading a group of six new head coaches, the most coaching changes from one season to the next in the history of the conference. In recent history, nobody's been better than Georgia. They've gone back-to-back SEC titles,

looking to be the first team since Bamba to three-peat from 14 to 16, when you know who was leading the charge. The SEC, though, is looking to end its three-season national title drought. The conference's longest since 2002, Greg Sanky, Chief Puba, not concerned. When you look at our schedule, no one has created the kind of weekly competition that exists in the Southeastern Conference. It's competition that our fans will experience every week because we believe we're, the best conference in college football. And if so, we should also embrace the challenges

with a difficult and challenging conference schedule, the best schedule in college football. I think Toti and Batiti might be giving that exact same speech starting July 28th, but that's just me. Let's bring in the fellas Greg McElroy, Benjamin Watson. You saw Pete join us earlier. We're all back. We're going four wide.

And we got a Heisman over the shoulder as well. The great Tim Tebow making a can. appearance as if Tebow needs more airtime. He dominated the sport for so long. All right. So Pete, let's start with you. They jokingly used to call the SEC the Strength Everywhere conference. But how can you call yourself the Strength Everywhere conference if I'm seeing Indiana, Michigan, Ohio State, raising the chip east of the last three years? Zubin, look, the SEC is in a high end slump. The league is very good. This is not some proclamation of some sort of impending disaster for the league.

But at the very highest levels of the sport, they simply haven't performed on the biggest stages. We're three straight seasons for the Big Ten champion. We're three straight seasons without an SEC participant in the national title game. And this is all indicative zoom into what I call the Panini effect. With NIL, the best team's got a little worse and the worst team's got a little better and they've all squeezed together. The concerns with the SEC can put to this.

The way they've performed in the playoff against the Big Ten has been poor. and also the middle class teams, the Iowa Vanderbilt type games. The SEC simply hasn't shown up in those, and that needs to change for the narrative to change. And I think a big part of it, Zubin, is really figuring out a way to weather the storm of that regular season. We know everyone that watches the sport acknowledges the depth and quality of the SEC. In some cases, depending on the year, you could have as many as nine teams that could theoretically win the league. After all, this is a league that sent five teams at the college football playoff last year and had two knocking on the door in Texas. and Vanderbilt that had really strong arguments to make.

The reality is this league has struggled to sustain excellence for 12 weeks and then carry over some of that momentum from the regular season into the postseason. Georgia has had one loss exits in the playoffs each of the last two years. That's the champion. Ole Miss got hot at the right time, but ran into a tough matchup against Miami. A lot of this is matchup driven. The top end is good, but can you survive the gauntlet that is the regular season SEC, Benjamin? and then live to tell the tale by having a good performance in the playoffs.

Yeah, the paradigm has totally changed. And three years ago, we were sitting here wondering what the result of NIL and Transfer Portal was going to be. I think now what you're seeing is the evening out of the talent, but also many schools in the Big Ten that are, quite frankly, taking talent from the Southeast and becoming more comparable and more competitive. I think Indiana winning the national championship last year puts more pressure, not only on the SEC, but also on other coaches around the country, because now you don't need multiple years in order to grow your program to recruit and all those sorts of things.

You can assemble a championship winning team in a matter of months. 24 months is what you need in order to assemble a championship winning team. And so for the SEC, I think the fire is up, the heat is up. We're looking forward to getting not only a team representing the SEC and the national championship, but actually getting a national champion from what we call the best conference in America, where it supposedly just means more. It's time for us to really prove that down here. We'll see what happens this fall.

And I thought for sure Pete was going to go with the Panetti trading card reference. Instead he goes, it's lunchtime. So he rolls that way. Speaking of cards, what will be in the cards this year for Oklahoma? They rebounded last season, made the CFP but lost to Alabama in that first round game, an electric environment at the Palace on the Prairie. You know, the big thing is they've never really won a CFP game. Think about it, even with Lincoln Riley and everything that they've had over the years.

They do have a very interesting. offensive system led by a couple of young dudes, Mateer and his O.C. Ben Arbuckle, who's really not that much older than Mateer, Isaiah Satania, is also back. Brett Venables, defense. Venables is going to join us in just a little bit. Venables' defense, that's what it's all about for him. But he wanted to let you know that the Oklahoma offense,

they got some dudes too. We've transformed really the wide receiver and the tight-in room. We got five really good backs. Up front, we probably have nine guys. it can play winning football for us right now, how that compares. There's probably a few teams that have, you know, better than that, and then there's probably more people that are like us or a little bit less when it comes to that. And I like where we're at at quarterback right now, both, you know, with John and certainly in the future. But I'm really excited about, you know,

what Jim Nagy, our front office have helped us do, transform that side of the football. We're going to be a lot better around our quarterback and, again, have a lot of experience coming back this year compared to where we were a year ago. It has not been linear for Brent Venables. This guy was a longtime assistant coveted by many out of the gate wasn't great. Then a 10-win season, then another regression. But last year, finally getting back to the playoff for the first time since 2019. So let's talk a little bit about where the Sooners are this go-around.

Greg, I want to start with you. It's been proven time and again that when a program that's legendary gets back to the playoff. They get that organic bump that can really fuel them forward. How do you see Oklahoma manifesting what happened last year with a fully healthy Mateer heading into 26? Well, Zubin, that's a big part of it. I mean,

Mature has to stay healthy. And there were times last year, too, early in the season, particularly against Michigan. I mean, he was lights out. But I think the thumb injury that he experienced against Auburn really held him out for about 17 days, came back probably a little too soon. I think he learned a lot about himself last.

year. And if you talk to John Matier throughout the off season, he has spent less time focused so much on the physical parts of playing the quarterback spot and more on the mental part of playing the quarterback spot. When do I need to try to be a hero and when do I need to just stay within the offense? Last year, played a little too much hero ball. It led to mistakes. It led to huge issues, turnovers, things that were catastrophic for his team. This year, I think he's going to be more willing to take what the defense gives them. And still, while harnessing that playmaking ability, not relying on that playmaking. ability too often. So I think this offense, without a real clear identity last year, they have their guy, they have good quality pieces around them. And the offense, not the defense, that's going to be the group that could take this entire program to the next level. Yeah, as John Matia earlier about what he learned about himself last year, going through the turmoil of having the great success in the early, the four no start, then having the injury, then coming back and not performing as well as he would have liked. And he learned a lot about his leadership. He learned about what it meant to push through difficult things.

He said that he didn't know if he could push through the thumb injury and still perform. And I think what he saw was that he has the ability not only on the field, but also in the locker room to have those intangibles to lead his football team. But Coach Venable says something as well. He said that Oklahoma's best when they can run the football. They averts 3.5 yards per carry last year. And that's simply not good enough. They went out and hired Coach Jason Whitten, the Hall of Fame tied in to come in and coached

tight ends to really help boost that running game because what's going to help them as they go on the road to Michigan and go on the road to Athens and play Texas, is having that great defense, but also having a run game that they can rely on. Well, guys, if you want to go inside John Mateer's offseason, you need to go inside his garage. I was told this week that John Mateer ordered online and hand-built a sauna, and on Facebook marketplace for a local rancher, he brought a freezer for his steaks.

So he has basically put together an off-season of sweating things out and then adding meat and muscle through the steak. When he pulled up at the rancher's house, they did not believe it was John Mateer, who was actually purchasing the freezer off of Facebook marketplace. So, Matier, as we saw at Manning Academy, is buff and ready to go, and he is certainly happy. That hand is healthy. Pete, rib-eye or t-bone?

Any idea? Rib-eye. Got to go. Got to get the fatteness. You're going to work it out throughout the course of the season, no question. When college football live continues, Brent Venables is going to join us. I asked him, finish this sentence, if Matier's stays healthy, the Sooners Will, will have his answer.

And just a reminder, first year head coaches. We know the deal. Golding, though, goes from the magic carpet ride to actually taking over. And of course, the lane train. Quick reminder, SEC Media Days airing every morning at 9 a.m. Eastern with, yes, Tebow, as if he needs more airtime, on the SEC Network and on ESPN plus. We're back with more next.

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Among the fastest growing sports in the country all over ABC and ESPN Network's NFL Flagg. for more. It's coming later this month. We take a look back at one of the most horrible headlines of the offseason. Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy is All-American. Shot May 10th while at a concert back in his home state of Mississippi had surgery shortly thereafter. There was no timetable on the rehabilitation back then. His coach providing one today. Ahmaud has been medically cleared from the bullet that struck him, and he is on the road to recovery. We anticipate that he will make a recovery.

We do not know exactly what the return to play progression is, but we do anticipate that this return to play protocol could take anywhere between five to eight weeks. Certainly hoping for the best there. Pete, what have you been able to glean here? now that we are a few months past this horrible incident. Well, Zubin, since the shooting of Ahmad Hardy, Eli Drinkwitz, when he's spoken publicly about it, has been very judicious in setting a timeline and setting expectations. There's really no playbook for a return from injury like this, obviously, from a gunshot wound. And what Eli Drinkwitz indicated today, if you read between the lines, is an uncertain timeline to return. And he mentioned it taking up to two months.

Now he's medically cleared. That could be a little bit of a tricky statement because medically cleared basically to then start building his body back to football shape. You know, it's hard to overstate the significance of the injury. Do we see Amad Hardy opening day for Missouri? It seems like if you look at the two-month timeline that he laid out there and some of the ambiguity, that could seem like that's a bit of a reach. We will likely see Amad Hardy this season. He said we'll see the best version of Amarad Hardy at some point.

But he's still in the throws of. recovery right now and the timetable remains ambiguous. Yeah, we should mention I interviewed him on our show last year. He was quiet, humble, grateful, and we are obviously hoping for the best in his recovery. When he does rejoin the Missouri football program, this is going to be quite the program. He's rejoining, especially since Drink has taken over 46 wins, including 29 over the last three years. To put that in context, Missouri had just 30 wins in the five seasons prior to his arrival. And they also have the arrival of a quarterback named Austin Simmons. Very excited.

I think the best thing about Austin is his communication skills. He can communicate at a high level about what he's seeing, what he understands, how routes are similar to what he's done in the past that he really liked. You know, I think that the thing that's really been cool to watch on our offensive side of the ball is we've got a lot of flexibility and scheme. And now it's about, okay, we can take this concept and this concept and this concept. and marry it to what Austin really likes. And I think that's what great coaches do.

Austin has all the motivation in the world. I think we know that. Benjamin, I want to start with you. Last year, it was Pribula, Horn, Zollars. They never really got their footing. And now they have Austin Simmons. With him at quarterback as the A number one guy, what are you expecting out of Missouri this season?

Well, I'm expecting a lot of growth. Last year, he played a couple of games at Ole Miss, and he struggled a bit. turn the ball over a couple of times, didn't score very often. It was pulled, obviously, for Trinidad, Chambliss, and we know the story of Chambliss. So Austin Simmons coming into this kind of second opportunity to prove himself, I think it's very, very motivated.

Insert, offense coordinator Chip Lindsay from Michigan. The key for this offense at Missouri is to get explosive plays. While they were fantastic in the run game, the stretch zone, they lacked explosive plays on the passing game, so they were unable to really stretch defenses, and defenses were able to kind of crunch down on that run game. For Austin Simmons, look, it's really about playing within the system. It's about letting it go, being on time with the football, and he brings over, or Missouri brings over,

Caden Lee, a wide receiver from Ole Miss. They already have a relationship there, Greg, and you know as a quarterback, when you have a relationship with the receiver, especially a slot receiver, or even tight ends like Brett North Fleet, it will help accelerate Austin Simmons getting comfortable in this offense. Yeah, the lack of explosiveness is pretty jarring, too. When you take into account, this is a group that rushed for about 230 yards to game last year. without really the threat of the quarterback run for most of the year. So this is a group that could really run the football and pose their will at the line of scrimmage.

If anything, you should be able to hit some big time play action passes downfield. The problem is they have not been very consistent at the quarterback spot. They've had some ups. They've had some downs. They've had some steady. They've never quite had a guy like Austin Simmons with a ceiling this high. And this guy can really throw the football in a beautiful way. I think they'll stretch the defense vertically.

They'll marry up the run game. And I think this offense in general will be much more. difficult to defend, assuming there isn't massive drop off in their rushing production, because I think their passing production is going to go up tremendously, which will help when trying to knock off some of the best teams in the league, which they've struggled to do the last couple of years. That they have, Greg. Keep October 17th handy. We just put it on the screen.

Missouri at Ole Miss, a little homecoming for Austin Simmons and Lee, as Benjamin mentioned. Still to come here on College Football Live. Brent Venables, putting the ear in. I will grill Venables on everything. Oklahoma accomplished last year and what it might mean this year. A big leap forward. A lot of the people are expecting it. The fellas talked about it.

We're back with Coach next. Across Canada in a Volvo. Destination. Vancouver. Turn left to leave. Travel west through. Approaching. Continue toward you've arrived. Adventure in.

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It's defense. It's pressure. The sooner defense, a lot of the best in the country for sure. Good as any two-freshment corner in the country. It's a blitzing linebacker. There's an interception. Down the sideline, he may go.

Simpson throws. You said it, Sean McDunner. Brent Venable's called defensive plays for the first time since becoming Oklahoma head coach in 2022. The result? Pretty massive. The Sooners led the SEC in a slew of categories, including points for game, yards per play in sacks,

and it resulted in Oklahoma reaching the playoff for the first time since 2019. And that's where I want to begin with Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, who joins us from SEC Media Days in Tampa. Coach, first things first, what do you think the bounce was for the program by qualifying for the first time to the playoff in your tenure as head coach? Well, I think it validates, you know, all the hard work, you know, what we ask from our guys day in and day out, what it takes to get to that point. And then the other, you know, it creates a great level of confidence in our guys and knowing they have what it takes. And then, you know, lastly, you know, through some disappointment in the result of that game, I think our guys are more determined.

I think that they are motivated. I think that has fueled them in the offseason to be a part of the conversation again next year. I think anybody watching that game in Norman could feel the electricity coming through the television and now you want more. So that's the deal on the defense. Let's talk about your offense. I want you to finish this sentence

and then you can expound any way you want. You ready? Here we go. If John Mateer stays healthy, Oklahoma will? Play further into the playoffs. Why do you think he can make such a big difference if 100 100% healthy. Well, I think it's a combination of being healthy and then us being much better around him.

I think, you know, it goes without saying we've got four returning starters. Three of them were freshmen a year ago. We got the most experienced tackle in the portal in a Marion Harris from Arkansas to go along with the four returning starters. And then it tied in. I think we've transformed that tight in group. We've got the most experienced tied in in the country in Hayden Hansen to go along with Rocky Beers, Jack Bandorsler, and a host of others.

And then we've got, again, some of the most experienced at wide receiver in the country. And got Isaiah Satangia, one of the most dynamic and explosive playmakers in all of college football, receiver and a return man to go along with Trell Harris and all-ACC performer in Parker Livingston and start receiver at Texas a year ago, led the Texas Longhorns in yards per catch. So that group of players were going to be a much better around him, healthier. And then again, we've attacked everything. It's not just having better players. I think that's a cop-out.

I think that philosophically, fundamentally, drill work, styles of run, you know, making better decisions, helping John continue to grow and mature. He's no different than any other player, a cornerback, a wide receiver, an offensive guard, a middle linebacker. This is a developmental game. I think there's a transition going from Washington State to the SEC. He faced eight defenses that were in the top 30 in the country. and so the margins are very small

and how do I become a great quarterback? Sometimes it's not the spectacular plays that you make. It's the disastrous plays that you avoid by making good decisions. So that's part of the maturation and the growth process as well. Yeah, you know, as you talked about the quarterbacks, there's a few guys out there with statues in front of the palace on the prairie there that have taken it to the ultimate level at the QB position.

But all of them have to go through a gauntlet to get there. You have a three-game stretch here, three opponents in four games, Michigan, Georgia, Texas. You're going to play them all within a span of about a month. How do you sort of ramp up the intensity, knowing that stretch could either likely decide whether you return to the playoff or you miss it? Well, look, you got 12 games. Our job as a coaching staff and the players' responsibilities to get us to play our best,

you know, football, all 12 games, you know. Obviously, I think if we learned anything last year, you don't have to be perfect. You know, you have to learn, you have to improve, you have to get better. You have to learn the value of punching back. And our guys certainly have done that. You know, the passion, the energy, the intensity, that's what winning requires. It doesn't matter who you're playing.

You play UTEP, you know, things should not be negotiable. You know, the standards are the standards. Every single week we play to a nameless face as opponent. Focus on, again, how we do what we do, not who we do it against. Are the challenge is real? U-Tang right, man, going to Ann Arbor. They've got a fantastic record there at home. Kirby Smart's been the gold standard in college football for a long time.

And what they have done in Athens is very real. And then the challenge of playing Texas with a lot of people have them as their preseason number one team in the country. So that's what you do when you come to Oklahoma. You play on the biggest stage and the biggest games with the highest expectations. Our job is to meet those expectations and then some. All right. Last thing. One thing I know I'm dang right about because I've heard everybody say it

is for your essential, your career as an assistant for 26 years. You always had great defenses, but it was really hard to pry you out of Norman the first time or out of Clemson. You were super selective before you decided to jump in and become a head coach. What do you think that journey has been like? Because people were waiting a quarter century, Brent, to see you take over a program. Yeah, it's been fantastic. I've been blessed beyond what I deserve. Incredible success along the way.

I coached with three Hall of Fame coaches. in coach Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops, and soon-to-be Dabo Sweeney, learned so much from so many of those coaches. I've had this an ordinate amount of success. I've coached in eight national championships, countless conference championship games, and coached some of the best of the best players in college football the last 30 years.

I've coached for 33 years. This is a game that has really just impacted my life in so many positive ways. But Oklahoma is special. I left home, Kansas State, to go to Oklahoma because that was Oklahoma. And when the opportunity came back to come back to Oklahoma as the head football coach, my wife and I, Julie, man, we were ready to run to Norman.

I'll tell you this as you run out the door. Your record is 32 and 20 through 52 games. Another guy that was 32 and 20 through 52 games was a guy you referenced, Nabo Sweeney. And we know what happened right after game 52. The after burners were turned on and they changed the way college football is playing. I hope you have that same level of success, and it was great to catch up with you today.

Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate. Thanks for having me on. Boomer Sooner. Al Dabba is waiting to get back to the national title game. So is the SEC. As we've referenced a couple times this hour, they haven't even made it to the national title game, much less win the darn thing in the last three years. We look at the national title odds,

per the Draft King's sports book. That might be changing. Texas looks to be the frontrunner, the familiar foes, Georgia, LSU, Texas, A&M, right there with decent shots to win it as well. So you've got to run through your league before you take it. But as our Ryan McGee explains,

there are some key non-conference games that might prove to be the overall difference. The SEC is built on conference rivalries, seething passion that has separated schools for a century or more. Then there is the challenge of colossal non-conference games when a league can make a statement about their strength as a group versus that of others.

That rarest of occasions. When you find yourself sort of kind of rooting for your rival as you cut loose with a chant of SEC, SEC. SEC. That receiver's glove of a gauntlet will be thrown down week one. A lot. Clemson and LSU renew the Battle of the Death Ballas as the orange and purple tigers

travel to face to purple and gold tigers for a sequel to last year's dramatic night clash. Baylor faces New Look Auburn in Atlanta, while Louisville and Ole Miss will dance in a Music City Sunday night hodeown. What you're going to do with it? Week two is even better. How about the sooner schooner rolling into the big house for the first time? Or the sun devils in the high noon heat of College Station, Arkansas,

hoping to live high off the hog in the high altitude of Utah. Tennessee and Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium, a place named for the tech coach who was first a Tennessee player. And does it get any more big brand, big name, big box, big time than Ohio State at Texas? Week three brings a revenge match for Bama, seeking to undo having their crimson hearts broken by what turned out to be a so-so-simonel squad.

Part of an ACC versus SEC doubleheader that also sees NC State visiting post-Povia Vanderbilt. How the nation perceives your league is how that league fares against those from other leagues. The SEC has a chance to set that tone early and often. And here are some of the games that Ryan just ran through, just kind of feast your eyes on them because here in the first couple weeks of the season

when we get down to late December you never know if any of these can end up be the siding factor of who gets into the playoff and who doesn't. And if you don't believe me, asked Texas a year ago after what happened during the first couple weeks of the season and whether that held them out of the playoff. We're back inside. Greg is rejoined.

Benjamin is here. It's great to be joined by the playoff insider Heather Dinnich who at any moment might have her job literally double if we go to 24 teams. If that happens, we'll let you go. But it's great to have you all here. Let's run through one at a time. Your biggest, most interesting, non-conference game,

the SEC will be taking part in. Heather, let's begin with you. I'm going to go with Oklahoma at Michigan, which might be a surprise to some people, but I'm so interested in it. I'm going to go see it, Zubin, because I think this is a fascinating storyline. I talked to John Mateer earlier today

about his grip strength, that broken bone in his hand last year. And when he had his most recent grip strength, it was 150. When it was weak last year, in October, when he came back, his grip strength was 90. He told me he's ready to play. He's throwing the ball the way he used to before he was injured. He could be a Heisman contender. You got Kyle winning him at Michigan.

I mean, this is going to be a great game. And the winner of that game is going to have a piece on its resume that the selection committee is going to use to help separate it from another playoff contender that didn't play as challenging. of a non-conference schedule. And if Oklahoma does this on the road, that's also something those selection committee members pay attention to. It's a great one, Heather. I mean, you can't really get away from Big Ten SEC.

Anytime you get the two big conferences playing against each other, it's understandable. So I'll take another one in week two. That's Ohio State at Texas. If you look at Ohio State, they've beaten Texas two times in a row. Once in the playoff a couple years ago, last year, of course, in week one there in Columbus. Now the Longhorns get them in Austin early in the season.

season where they have to take advantage. Let's be real, the top of college football the last three years has belonged to the Big Ten. Going into the season, I'd have a very difficult time making a case for any other teams being one or two outside of Texas and Ohio State. Yeah, Notre Dame might join that conversation, but still, these are probably the two best teams from a talent standpoint in America and they're facing off. If Ohio State can go to Austin and knock off the Longhorns in their house that only further cements the big 10's hold as arguably the top league in college football. I'm going to go ACC SEC SEC where the tigers from Death Valley go to the Tigers from Death Valley. That's Clemson going on the road to Louisiana to Baton Rouge. This game, if you remember

last year, this game had all the hype two top 10 preseason opponents. After that game, both teams had a season that they would probably rather forget, both finishing about seven and six with seven wins, but this will be the first time we get an opportunity to see the new Lane Kiffin era. 41 new transfers come in. Sam Levitt comes over from Arizona State to play quarterback there. A couple of impact transfers come with Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss. But you've got a bunch of storylines here. You've got the way Lane Kiffin does it with the transfer portal.

You've got the way Davoswini does it trying to build through recruiting the old school way. You've got that class, but also two teams, Greg, that really want to prove that they're going to have a different season than they did last year. This will be our first glimpse, and I know Baton Rouge is going to be rocking to see Lane Kiffen come on the field for the first time with Purple and Gold. I will co-sign that, Benjamin. I should mention all three games that Heather, Greg, and Benjamin picked are all rematches from last season. Just going to show that home and home really does still mean something in college football. On the way, Home Sweet Home, Year 1 for six new guys.

Who has the most success in the league? Out of the gate. That's next. We're back on college football live. Just a note to pass along. You may not think this is a big deal, but if you were down there, you would know it's a big deal. Next year, SEC Media Days in Nashville. We'll see you in 2027.

Let's just get through 2026 first, okay? Now, six new coaches across the SEC. We know the deal. Will Stein, we're going to hear from him in just a moment. And if you can hang with this, he is going to provide a dose of, let's just say, arrogance. Hang tight for that. Alex Golish coming over from the amazing. American, as is John Somerall, fresh off a playoff appearance, now in charge of Florida,

who's desperately looking to turn the corner. Pete Golden goes from being the guy that replaced Lane and everybody loved to now being in his first overall season as a head coach. Ryan Silverfield also comes over from the American at Memphis, where lots of guys have won over the years. And Lane Kiffin, obviously, the big one that everybody is talking about going from Ole Miss to LSU, the biggest story that dominated all of last season. All right. So Pete's back. Benjamin's back. Greg is back. Benjamin, let's start with you of the guys I just named those half dozen guys. The guy that is primed for the most success in his first year out of the gate in this league.

Well, Zuban, I think it's the guy that got the most practice, and that will be Pete Golding. He's already 2 and O. And mind you, those are playoff games. One of them against Tulane in Oxford, then the other against my alma model, the Georgia Bulldogs. But you look at this roster and what they were able to do last year. Chambliss comes in in about week three, has a tremendous year, leads the team to the playoff, but also Kiwan Lacey, the running back. Between any team in the nation, that's probably the most dynamic one-two combo, a quarterback and running back, a guy at running back there who had seven 100-yard games. And so we've seen this team, Greg, ignore the noise. They've ignored the noise. And there's a lot of noise whenever there's a new coach. One thing I learned about this team in hearing from them, interviewing them, talking to them, and just watching them is that they know how to weather the storm. with all that was happening with Lane Kiffin, for Pete Golden coming in as the quote-unquote new head coach, he understands the team, he knows what they can do.

And this team believes in their coach and their quarterback. They're poised to have a big year simply because they're able to have the maturity to ignore what's going on on the outside. I think you can't really get a lot of different directions here. If you want to go with Pete Golding, totally get it. If you want to go with Lane Kiffin, totally get. I however heard an analyst that I have great admiration for say, you know, it's kind of championship or bust for Lane Kiffin. It's like, wait, what? In year one?

Like, to me, evaluating successful first year is evaluating what the expectations are when you walk in and take over that head coach job. So I'm going to go to a place in Florida that's talent was very, very different from that of what their final record was last year. If you look at the Florida Gators, they go four and eight. They hire John Sumerall from Tulane, just took Tulane to the college football playoff. He hasn't been a head coach very long, just four years. However, in all four years, he's taken his team. to that conference championship. He's won that conference championship three times.

This guy knows how to get the job done. He coaches toughness. He coaches edge. And yet he can also make sure that he motivates the players with the level of energy and enthusiasm and charisma that was lacking from the previous staff. They had the talent last year. They just couldn't get the most out of them. I think John Summerall, Pete, is well equipped to actually break the Florida Gators through

and have a surprisingly good year one in Gainesville. Greg, it pains me, but I'm not. I'm going to agree with you on John Somerall in Florida. Simply put, the sum was not greater than the parts under Billy Napier. And as much as the on-field disappointments mounted during his tenure, Florida simply put was boring. They were boring on the field and the way they played. Billy Napier was kind of defiantly low-key.

And John Sumerall has brought swagger back to Florida this off season, reminiscent of Steve Spurrier, reminiscent of Urban Meyer. Florida is the best when it has some swag. Here's a name to watch, guys. Jaden Woods. Defensive End had three and a half sacks last year. I was at a spring practice earlier this season. A few people there thought he was the best player in the program.

Look for him to be a breakout SEC player this year. That is a name to know we will file it away. We should also mention that people have been chasing Somerall for a long time. Let's see how he does now that he has finally landed in the SEC this time as a coach instead of a player. I mentioned one of those other six first time coaches, Kentucky's Will Stein. And I mentioned he might be a little full of himself right here. He was asked just moments ago why he thinks Kentucky can finally turn it around and look like it looked for most of the stoop's town. I think because of me, to be honest, I think because of me.

I think I know what it takes. I have seen it at the highest levels. I know what it takes to recruit at this level. And you just got to believe, man. you just got to put the ball down and play. There's not really else to be said. Is it going to happen overnight? I don't know.

I really don't. If I had a crystal ball, everybody in this room would be really, really rich right now. I don't. And so the best determination of if what you're doing is working is putting the ball down and playing football. He's great. He wants everybody to be rich.

Who wouldn't like this guy? So, Pete, in all seriousness here, what are reasonable year-one expectations if he's setting the bar there. Reasonable year one expectations will be to get the offense right, Zubin, get an offensive identity. They have a really intriguing quarterback in Kenny Minchie. I saw him throw down at the Manning Passing Academy about two weeks ago.

He has a live arm. And look, he was at Notre Dame. He just got beat out by C.J. Carr. There is no sin in that. Minci, I will say this. Amongst 45 Alpha quarterbacks at the Manning Academy may have popped most personally. He really has an aura. around him in a juice that it's going to give Kentucky an early offensive identity.

The most interesting thing is that Will Stein comes from a quarterback background. If you look at the success he had at Oregon, coaching Bo Nix, Dylan Gabriel, the high-flying attacks that he had, well, he gets to Kentucky, says, you know what, guys, yep, I like our quarterback, I like Kenny Minchie, we're going to get him. And then we're going to go all in on the offensive line. That's where he really attributed most of his portal resources, too. He goes and gets a multi-year starter from Ohio State. Goes to get a multi-year starter from Tennessee.

Goes against a multi-year starter for Baylor. He went out and got the best available along the offensive line to protect his quarterback, whereas most teams in the portal the last few years, they've highlighted the importance of wide receiver and explosive personnel to make their game, quote-unquote, exciting. He highlighted the line of scrimmage importance in this league. And if he can get it right, Benjamin, they got a chance to surprise to people this year. Well, in order to be exciting, you've got to have protection up front. You're a quarterback.

you know that. So going on in on the offensive line, assembling those, those guys from the transfer portals, guys like Lance Hurd that you mentioned is pivotal, vital for Kenny Minci's success. But this is about scoring points. And the athletic director for Kentucky came out, quite frankly, several months ago and said, we need to score a point. So you go out and get a guy who, you know what, scores a lot of points at Oregon. You also have an officer coordinator in Joe Sloan, who has been someone who has developed quarterbacks. I'm thinking about guys like Jaden Daniels. And so the pieces are there up front offensively. with the offensive line, receivers, quarterback, but it's yet to be proven.

Kenny Minchin, we haven't seen a lot from him. We know he came from Notre Dame. He lost the CJ Carr, but it's going to be time tested to see if he's going to be able to do what we think he can do in and at SEC basis every single week, weekend, and week out. He looks like he's going to be a great storyline with the way he talks. And the one storyline nobody's talking about is his Louisville background. I mean, in coaching Kentucky now, I think that's something to really keep an eye on as well. It should be a good year one.

On the way here on college football live. It was a little rocky on Rocky Top last year. That's because of the whole Nico off-season drama. Now the things have settled a little bit. What should we expect from the balls? The guys weigh in. Next. We're back on college football live.

That is Josh Heiple walking into the hotel at SEC Media Days. He's going to be walking straight to the podium. And we'll get straight to the point here on Tennessee. This just feels like a little bit of a different tenor, right? The Nico situation last year, Aguilar comes in. He does as well as he can do. This kid Brandon, though, is a guy you really need to know. Tennessee fans are really excited about him at quarterback,

and as you know, they've had some really good ones over the years. Jim Knowles is their defensive coordinator. As you know, he has sort of meandered a bit over the last few years. Benjamin, I want to start with you. Look, it's just a different feeling here for Tennessee. They're not coming in under a cloud of controversy with Nico and all. How do you see the balls this year as they start fresh? Well, the biggest controversy, though, was that,

defense last year. And while they were still able to move the football as usual, they weren't able to stop anybody. They were second in total defense in 2024 and then dropped to 14th in total defense in 2025. So as you show, they hired Jim Knowles as a defensive coordinator to show up that defense, but also they went out and got a new strength coach from Indiana who has, according to Tennessee's own public relations, put on about 10 pounds of muscle per guy. So not only are they focusing on the defense or trying to get bigger and faster and stronger. on Rocky Top. The funny thing about it is Jim Noel is going to be very responsible defensively. Last year, I feel like they were a little bit too emotional. Like after a big play, they'd blitz

and it became predictable and they give up big plays as a result. I think the one missing piece here for Tennessee is quarterback. If they can get quarterback right, whether it's McIntyre or Faison Brandon, I think they have a chance to be a real sneaky team in the SEC. No one's really talking about them, but you look at their personnel wide receiver, very good. One of the best offensive lines in the SEC, one of the best running backs in the SEC. If they can figure out quarterback, they should be really, really good because Josh Heipel's offense, Zubin, they're always going to score points, but you've got to have the right guy making the right decision at the right time for that offense to actually reach their ceiling. No doubt, because, of course, Heepel himself is a pretty darn good quarterback. Greg, of course, you would know the position better than anybody.

Here's what's coming up tomorrow here at SEC Media Days. Let's kind of run through if we can. Who will be taking a look at and who will be speaking at the mic? These are the times on your screen. 9.45 a.m. Eastern. Kirby Smart. Again, SEC Network will have this live. If you're at work or on the go, ESPN Plus. It's on your phone.

11.35 a.m. Eastern. Alex Golish is going to try to turn it at Auburn. Clark Leoff Vandis, I guess, most successful season ever. It's going to be hard to argue at 1.30 p.m. Eastern Time. Beamer ball at 255 p.m. Eastern time. I want to talk about one of those teams here with each of you. Greg, I want to start with you and Georgia after back to back to back SEC titles. What are we thinking about maybe taking that next step one more time?

Well, the foundation's there, Zubin. They have everything you want. I think they're going to take a step defensively, especially when it comes to affecting the opposing quarterback. The pass rush was a little bit mixed last year. So defense not worried about offensively, though. If a game becomes a track meet, can they go out and get it? Can they win a game that travels north of the 40s?

They did it against Tennessee. They couldn't do it in the playoffs against the Ole Miss Rebels. So how explosive will they be offensively? How aggressive will they be offensively for Gunner Stockton, who's heading into his second full year as a starting quarterback, but of course got some time before that as well. And real quick, while we have some time, Benjamin, give me your thoughts on the Auburn Tigers year one under Golish.

Well, it's kind of like grab it, put it in and play it. When you look at what Alice Goalish has done offensively, bringing in Byron Brown, his quarterback. Now, if you watch this guy play, he's an athlete, he's big, he's strong, He's fast at his former school. He threw for 3,000 yards, rushed for another 1,000. But also two key names I want you to remember. Wild receivers, Kishon Singleton, and Jeremiah Coger.

Those are wide receivers from USF that have come over. The biggest thing, again, having that rapport between quarterback and wide receiver, it's going to make a big deal for all of them. All right, Benjamin. They have had five straight, seven lost seasons. Nowhere to go, but up. We'll see you tomorrow. Hey y'all. It's Kelly Clarkson with Wayfair. Ever order furniture online and wonder what if? Like, what if it doesn't hold up?

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