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SEC MEDIA DAYS: Kirby Want Separation, Golesh Sets Standard, Beamer Sells Hope | Chewing Clock EXTRA
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Day number two of SEC media days in Tampa, Florida, officially in the books. We had four coaches, of course, take the podium. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, Auburn head coach Alex Goelish, Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lee, and South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer. Let's start with the beginning of the day. Kirby Smart, who has become really the dean of the sec. When you think about it, just how long he's been at Georgia and certainly the most successful with a pair of national championships. I think the big takeaway. Listen, guys, I like to keep things on the field. As y' all know, I'm not the person you go to for all the, the legislation and the SEC separation and what have you. But it is a big talking point. Kirby Smart talking about and the momentum continues. I think that is probably going to be one of the big overarching themes or one of the big story lines leaving SEC media days is it feels like love it or hate it, the SEC is not bluffing from the standpoint of, hey, yeah, we're thinking about the SEC branching off and leaving, which I don't think anybody realistically in college football or college sports wants that. Like, when you think about it, we all grew up on college football being like a national type of thing, right? We get these great out of conference matchups, SEC versus ACC, SEC, SEC for experts, Big Ten. I'm someone like, I miss the old PAC12. So as much as you might love your conference, as much as you might love the sec, I, I don't just want to see for the rest of time only SEC on SEC matchups. I mean, think about some of the rivalries we have that potentially could be lost. South Carolina, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Kentucky, Louisville, the list goes on and on. But it is interesting how this continues to carry momentum. Now, Kirby Smart also said, and I feel like he was speaking to me when he said this, and I'm paraphrasing, essentially saying, like, hey, this time of year everybody wants to talk about all the off field stuff, the legislation or what have you, some of this stuff that he ironically talked about later in the day. Nobody wants to really talk about how you win football games or just winning football games, what it takes to win football games. And that's what Kirby Smart wanted to focus on. And I can appreciate that as someone that again, we have reached this point in the summer, this point in the preseason, it's time to start talking about what's going to win football games because in about a week, week and a half, pads are going to be popping and all that other really isn't going to matter. We discussed Georgia about a week and a half or so ago on these airwaves, and the wide receiver position was a question mark for us. Kirby Smart, he was on one. He was very, very sharp today. I thought his answer about the wide receiver position specifically was really funny. It was really clever and I appreciated what he had to say. A confidence without being cocky, if you will. He had this direct quote, quote. I'm just thankful for people like you who keep questioning our wide receiver room. People say we don't listen to y', all, but our wide receivers are listening. So what what you'd expect from Kirby Smart from the standpoint of excited about the challenge, I think he feels he came off to me as a guy that feels really, really good about his football team. I mean, Kirby's always been a guy at the podium that. Every time I hear Kirby Smart talk about football guys, I want to run through a brick wall. Master motivator. He's one of those people. There are certain people, they don't have to be head football coaches, just people in life. They are so passionate about the thing that they are talking about. It oozes out of them to such a degree that they can inspire and excite others just by talking about it. Like, they talk about it in such a way that it brings a level of excitement and inspiration to those around them. That's how I feel when I listen to Kirby Smart talk football. I mean, it's just, you want to run through a brick wall and you can understand why his players do that for him on a week in, week out basis. The other big takeaway from me, obviously, the confidence around Gunner Stockton. Really, really confident about his quarterback. You know, talked about some of the questions and everything they had coming into this event last year and, and certainly it's now. He's a veteran, he's experienced, talked about his leadership and what he means to the University of Georgia and the type of guy he is. So, again, Kirby Smart, all in all, we did also get a really funny moment, of course, with the Lane Kiffin thing, saying that what is a troll? You know, how do you define a troll? Whatever. And he had some fun picking with Lane Kiffin. But I mean, all in all, Kirby Smart and extremely confident about his football team. And, you know, if you were on the fence about buying stock in Georgia, listen, games aren't won and lost in late July. They aren't one and loss at the podium. But boy, I tell you this, I. I feel even better than I felt about Georgia Going into this event, leaving this event, if you will. I, I mean, I, I just. Every team has questions to some degree, but I think Georgia's got a ton of answers as well and they're certainly going to be a factor. And why shouldn't Kirby be confident, right? With all he's got returning and he's won the conference back to back years. I think Kirby Smart and company are in a great position. So kind of what you'd expect from him. Then you went into Alex Goelish, Year 1 Auburn head coach, certainly, as you can imagine, talked about the year one expectations. I thought it was interesting. He mentioned standards over goals. I thought that was very interesting. And I understand where he's coming from. From the standpoint of you focus on the process and that will take care of the end result. I know a lot of fans and all don't like to hear that. It's sounds like coach speak, but heck, I implement that in my daily life. And if you do anything of, of, of significance or you have any goal or you strive for something, then you know that the only way you get to that bigger end goal is by tackling the minute details and the little things on a day in, day out basis, on an hourly basis. I mean, it comes down to those minute details. So talk more about process, talk standard over goals. And I understand where he's coming from. The standpoint, you handle the standard and you set the standard, the end goal is going to take care of itself. I think also for Alex Golich, very smart of him to maybe not lean into, hey, our goal is to set like a hard line in the sand, if you will, because I think he understands they got to rebuild at Auburn. I mean, it's, you know, there's reasons to be optimistic and excited for this year's team. I'm not saying there's not, but the last thing you want to do is go out there and say, you know, our goal is to win a national championship. Our goal is to be, you know, in the College Football Playoff or contending for an SEC title. And all of a sudden you're giving fans something to where it's like, hey, you said we'd do this. What happened? Right? If you don't reach those goals. So I think early on for Alex Golish and he made it clear it's about laying that foundation, setting that standard. He was very high on his quarterback, Byron Brown. I am very excited to see Byron Brown this season. Called him one of the best quarterbacks in, in college football. So high praise. But I Mean, certainly, man, he's been with him at South Florida. He knows him better than probably anybody else besides his family, maybe, but knows him as well as anybody. He knows what the kid is capable of. I'm excited to see it play out, and I think if you're an Auburn fan, you should be pretty excited about what Alex Golish had to say, Guys, moving to Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lee. As the afternoon session got underway. You know, Clark Lee is another one where you. You can love or hate Clark Lee does not matter. You really have to respect, though, Clark Lee and what he represents and how he represents Vanderbilt, right? Because he could have gone up there on the podium and said, man, we're so proud of what we did last year and it's such a great accomplishment. And he could have ranted and raved and kind of dwelled on what they were a season ago. And this could have been the first time that we heard Clark Lee, you know, go out there publicly and say, hey, like, our goal is to be the very best and compete at the highest level and be the best program in the country. He's been saying this for years, and I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but the quote that he had saying that, you know, talking about the players that were willing to stay and commit to Vanderbilt while others sat on the sidelines from the comfort of the sidelines and laughed. I thought that. I thought what Clark Lee had to say today was very, very powerful. Powerful is the way that I would describe it. He's a guy that, again, you can tell. And again, of course, Clark Lee cut his teeth here. He played at Vanderbilt. His greatest attribute, one of them, at least one of his greatest attributes, is that Clark Lee, he believes in what Vanderbilt can be and dismisses what it has always been. He does not let what it has always been deter him from his belief in what Vanderbilt can't be, which I believe genuinely, that Clark Lee believes that Vanderbilt can be the best football program in the country. Whether you want to laugh at that, you want to mock, you want to scoff, whatever. I respect the fact that he is willing to go out there and say that because his belief in that is so strong, he had this to say as well. Quote, let me be clear. Progress is not the destination. Last season was not an arrival. It was simply another step in the climb. Our objective remains what it's always been, to build the best football program in the country. I respect the hell out of Clark Lee. I think Clark Lee is the perfect fit for Vandy. Listen, may they Take a step back this year. They very well might. They probably will because Vandy, realistically, let's call it what it is, is probably not winning 10 games again. But I remember two years ago this time when our biggest question was is Clark Lee even the right guy for the job? I think they were coming off a 2 in 10 season. How much things can change from the standpoint of I don't think there's any question Clark Lee is the right man for the job. And I think Clark Lee should be at Vanderbilt probably as long as he wants. And I, I don't have an extensive, you know, I, I don't know Vanderbilt football history like I'm sure many of you out there do, but I have to imagine Clark Lee at some point will be knocking on the door of being the best coach in school history. I, I'd have to imagine that, you know, I, I just. What he's done, what he did last year and what I think he will continue to do, I think in a place like Vanderbilt is going to be really, really special now. Of course he did talk about Jared Curtis. Blake Berlowitz did not name a QB one as you would imagine. Nobody's probably going to do that this week left the door open for both guys. I think he did a really good job of, of acknowledging Diego Pavia for what he did last year. But also I, I think he did a good job of essentially saying, hey, this team is more than Diego Pavia, this program is more than Diego Pavia. This program is not just identified or just defined, I should say, by Diego Pavia. And what he did as proud of. Is it as proud of it as we are? We are more than Diego Pavia. I, I thought he did a pretty good job of making that very clear. I saw a guy in Clark Lee that strong foundation is strong. He's built a solid foundation in Nashville that he's really proud of. You know, Clark Lee's name is one that circulates around in coaching searches. We saw it at the end of last season. I see Clark Lee as a guy, guys. I, you know, to say Vandy lifer may be a bit extreme because he's got a lot of football in front of him and you just never know. But I think he's very happy where his feet are. That's kind of coach speak, if you will, coming from me, but I think it's true. I think he's very happy where his feet are. I think he's proud of what they built, but understands that he mentioned progress is not the destination. Again, I thought it was really powerful stuff from Clark Lee. And no matter what, how this season shakes out, which, there should be a lot of optimism and excitement for this season, but no matter how this season shakes out, you got to be really, really excited and really confident just from the standpoint of you have Clark Lee leading your football program. And finally, guys, South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer. I will start by saying this, and this is to no fault of Shane Beamer. I cannot stress this enough because people are going to take this as I am being critical somehow of Shane Beamer and that, no, this is not Shane Beamer's fault, but I left or I come to you after his press conference, media availability, extremely disappointed with the media. I mean, what are we doing from a question standpoint? And I understand everybody's got to ask questions, that everybody's in there trying to write a story, right? Everybody wants a question for an answer for their story. Hey, if you're an A and M writer, hey, you play A and M, give me something there. Hey, you play Tennessee, give me something there. This, that, whatever. But Shane Beamer is arguably on the hottest seat in the conference. They have a brand new offensive coordinator in Kendall Briles, and they've had offensive line issues essentially since he's gotten there. And there's not a single question about that, Not a single one. I, I just feel like Shane Beamer leaves that podium. There was so much missed opportunity to ask questions. Now we got some things out of it, but I, there were some very obvious things that did not get addressed. And I'm not sitting there saying, go say, hey, coach, you're on the hot seat. How does that make you feel? I think there's a way to craft the question where it says, hey, you know, you, you face a certain level of pressure heading into year six. How does that impact the way you're preparing for this season, if at all? What's the energy like in the building? There's a way to soften the blow of that question. Hey, how about a question about the comments Shane Beamer made after the Clemson game last year when he essentially said, we expect to be sitting here next year talking about College Football Playoff. How is that not brought up in conversation? I just feel like there was so much missed by the media in the big room. I digress, though. Shane Beamer's emphasis on finishing, I mean, it, it was, you know, his first question of the day comes about the Texas A and M last game last year, and he is very quickly. His response can we not, can we not talk about it? But I mean, he went on record and talked about how many games and how close they were and their inability to finish a season ago and how, how much that's bothered him. And I, I would agree. Listen, that's going to go a long way in determining who they are as a football team because this is the sec. You're going to be in close games and if you're trying to overachieve, well, what does that mean? You're going to be trying to pull upsets. So those games are probably going to be close. You're going to have to come up big in the fourth quarter. Beamer pointed out, quote, we had six losses last season that were one score games going into the fourth quarter. Six losses that were one score games. He, he continued, we certainly have to play better in the fourth quarter, end quote. So, and I would agree with him. I mean, it's, they should have had A and M beat. They had Alabama beat. There were so many others. You keep going down the list of games where South Carolina had a great opportunity and fell completely flat on their faces. You know, I did think it was interesting. While he wasn't asked specifically about Kendall Briles and didn't go into crazy detail in depth about the offense, there was a good question asked by, I don't know who it was, but about the running game and specifically the utilization of Lenora Sellers. And he was very quick to, to embrace the fact that they're going to have to run the football with Lenora Sellers. He said, quote, I think we'd be crazy not to use Lenores his legs. Will there be some design runs for Lenores? Absolutely. I mean, and I don't think that should come as a surprise, but he certainly leaned into the idea of like, hey, the offense was too bland last year. They did what they could to keep him in the pocket. And I think they took away a lot of what made Lenora Sellers really dangerous, which is his, his ability to improvise, his ability to get outside the pocket, make big things happen, make big plays. Like, you got to live with some of the, the risk that is involved with that to get the good. You cannot take away one of his assets and strengths. You're not helping him, you're hurting him. And obviously that's why Mike Shula is not in Columbia, South Carolina anymore. So, you know, he did also kind of allude to tampering, which I thought was interesting when talking about, you know, after a tough season, guys had the opportunity to go elsewhere. And he was like, you know, we had guys that were contacted to go elsewhere that weren't in the portal. So not that that's big news that's happening everywhere. And it is what it is. You can love that, hate that, but I think it's the reality. Until we get some legend, we get some guard rails and get some. Some actual rules enforced, we can enforce these things. But outside of that, I mean, Shane Beamer seemed like himself crazy to think it's his sixth SEC media days, you know, continue. He's a great salesman, you know, I think sold the fact that he believes that, you know, they can get back. Also, Shane Beamer is one of the most. How do I want to phrase this? Socially aware coaches or aware of what people are saying about him, I wouldn't doubt it. In his office, he's probably got one tab pulled up that's on Twitter where he knows everything everybody's saying about him. He did mention, hey, y' all picked us here after 2024. You picked us here last year. Y' all aren't going to pick us very high this year. We got a lot of those same players coming back from a 4 and 8 team, a team that y' all picked to finish very, very highly. I don't know if he necessarily did a good job of selling, why they'd be better on that standpoint. But either way, Shane Beamer is always very entertaining from the standpoint of he knows everything that everyone is saying about him, good, bad or indifferent. So that leads to a very fiery press conference and a guy that's fired up and inspired and excited and, you know, also talked about Clayton White, the takeaways, how good they've been on defense. And so, yeah, I mean, again, I, I thought overall, great day at SEC media days. Very four. Four coaches, I'll say this. Four coaches in very different positions. You got Kirby Smart, who is the leader of a perennial power in the sport, Alex Goish, who's in year one of a rebuild. Clark Lee, who is following up the greatest season in his program's history, essentially. And Shane Beamer, who I think is on the hottest seat in the SEC and one of the hottest seats in all of college football. So certainly it made for. For interesting commentary, to say the very least. And guys, I'd love to hear from you as day two of SEC football media days in Tampa's wrapped up. Your thoughts, your takeaways, and what your. What you were most excited to hear from Tampa, Florida. Sa. Sam.