We’re getting closer and closer to the 2022 college football season folks, and the arrival of the annual SEC media days is the first sign that the best months of the year are on the horizon.
Aside from Aggies head coach Jimbo Fisher and Alabama head coach Nick Saban’s mid-May verbal battle royale based on Saban’s comments regarding A&M’s NIL usage in recruiting methods for their 2022 class, much of the college football landscape has been digesting the news of future conference realignments and expansions for nearly every power 5 conference in the country. With moves already being made, including UCLA and USC leaving the Pac-12 for the Big 10, and most notably, Texas And Oklahoma making the move to the SEC from the Big 12, which could happen as soon as the 2024 season.
The first day of SEC media days kicked off with the panel featuring Commissioner Greg Sankey, LSU head coach Brian Kelly, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, and Missouri head coach Eliah Drinkwitz, all bringing three players each to discuss the upcoming season in detail.
Leading off the day at the podium, Sankey answered questions regarding NIL regulation, SEC’s standing in college football, and of course, conference realignment and expansion, stating “The Southeastern Conference is stronger now than ever before in our history” and adding that “The best days of the Southeastern Conference still remain ahead”. In his most definitive quote of the day, Sankey opined “We are a super league, this is a super league” and noted that the future of additions of Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC “trumps” the additions of UCLA and USC to the Big Ten, exuding tremendous confidence for the future of the conference with so many questions still to be answered. As the three coaches began answering questions of their own throughout the day, here are the most quotes:
Brian Kelly on his thoughts on conference realignment: "Musical chairs and the music is going to stop here, and you won't have a place at the table. I think that's scary for a lot of institutions."
"There are not enough chairs for everybody. That's the current state of CFB."
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) July 18, 2022
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin: "I don't know if there is a huge jump into the Big Ten. The SEC is a whole different animal."
On Texas and Oklahoma: "They're coming to the SEC. That's a big challenge… The coaches have to deal with it and get ready for a different world"
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) July 18, 2022
Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin on USC and UCLA joining the Big Ten: "The SEC is the top of everything. People are always trying to chase the SEC and figure it out. I don't know the history behind that, but I would guess the SEC starting those unique moves is what started it."
— TexAgs (@TexAgs) July 18, 2022
For Texas A&M, Head coach Jimbo Fisher, Demani Richardson, Layden Robinson, and Ainias Smith are set to speak at 11:30 AM on Thursday, July 21st on the SEC Network.
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