2026 SEC Preseason Poll Results | Media Days Day 1 Rewind

Summary

That SEC Football Podcast — 2026 SEC Preseason Poll Results & Media Days Day 1 Rewind

Date: July 27, 2026
Hosts: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike) & Cousin Shane

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Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into the just-released 2026 SEC Preseason Poll, sparks reactions to the league’s official rankings versus the hosts’ personal takes, and rewinds to the highlights and revelations from Media Days Day 1. Mike and Shane share behind-the-scenes stories, break down tiered SEC expectations, and sprinkle in memorable soundbites from coaches and staff—including inside info on player health and candid coach moments. The chemistry between the cousins brings both insight and humor, making this a must-listen for SEC football fans eagerly awaiting the new season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media Days Recap & Behind-the-Scenes [02:11–04:11]

• Shane returns home and reflects on Media Days, giving shoutouts to sponsors and recounting travel tales (including a golf anecdote and family reunions).
• Mike and Shane joke about the chaos of podcast setup after the trip and recognize the grind it takes to cover “40-something total” interviews in one Media Days marathon.

Quote [05:10] — Mike:
“I’ll still be unplugging stuff just to mix it up, keep you on your toes.”

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2. 2026 SEC Preseason Poll Reaction [07:03–13:01]

• Mike introduces the new preseason poll, revealing Georgia at #1 and Texas at #2, with surprise and skepticism about how the media arrived at those picks.
• Shane speculates the poll might have swung more toward Texas had voting started earlier in the week, noting “Dog Nation” made a late campaign for Georgia.
• Breakdown of key tiers:
  • Top tier: Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU (“Ole Miss three, Texas A&M four, LSU five—you’re kind of putting those in your own tier.” [10:07])
  • Next grouping: Alabama (6), Oklahoma (7), Tennessee (8). Discussion about how tight this group is and why Tennessee’s #8 is impressive to Shane.
  • Mid-to-lower: Florida (9), Mizzou (10), South Carolina (11), Auburn (12). Surprise that Florida was rated ahead of Mizzou and SC.
  • Bottom four: Vandy (13), Kentucky (14), Mississippi State (15), Arkansas (16).
  • Echoes of disrespect for the bottom group—particularly Arkansas’ low vote total (“No respect. 262.” [17:58])

Quote [09:23] — Cousin Shane:
“If you took these picks when we checked in, Texas would be #1. But then you got Rusty handing out flyers and Dog Nation pushing Georgia… Georgia had to be a sexy pick.”

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3. SEC Champion Voting Breakdown [14:30–15:12]

• Votes to win SEC: Georgia (88), Texas (57), with a long drop-off to everyone else (e.g., Ole Miss 6, A&M 5, Bama 3, etc.).
• Humorous confusion and mock outrage about teams like Kentucky sneaking a championship vote.

Quote [15:12] — Cousin Shane:
“I feel like the coaches poll, they tell you who voted, right?… If you’re gonna call out Kentucky, you need to sign that shit.”

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4. All-SEC Teams Reaction [16:31–23:32]

• First-team All-SEC selections at QB: Trinidad (1st), Arch (2nd), Gunner (3rd); hosts approve.
• Running backs: Lacy & Hardy make first-team; questions about Hardy’s health and surprise at some inclusions.
• O-line: Notable that LSU’s Jordan Seaton, the first lineman with a Nike deal, made it (“How many people heard that and were like, ‘Oh, I’m voting for him.’” [20:02])
• Defensive standouts: Lots of transfer players represented; discussion of talent at DL and linebacker.
• Special teams: Voting gets fuzzy, with hosts noting few know more than two kicker names.

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5. The New Look, Transfers, and NIL [21:38–23:53]

• SEC is officially the land of high-profile transfers and NIL mega-deals.
• Debate about whether media All-SEC teams fairly reflect the incoming impact of big-money transfers.

Quote [21:38] — Mike:
“That’s what you want when you get a transfer and pay him all the big bucks, but it doesn’t always translate, Shane.”

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6. Media Days Reflections & Season Anticipation [24:09–25:33]

• Excitement mounts as the season draws near: “It just feels like the kids are going to be showing up. I mean, it’s almost August… it’s getting real.” [24:21]
• The hosts compare the feeling to the holidays and a roller coaster about to crest.

Quote [25:07] — Cousin Shane:
“It feels like a kid when you were a kid and they start putting Christmas lights up… you know it’s not Christmas, but it’s Christmas time to me.”

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7. Coach Highlights: Josh Heupel & Lane Kiffin [25:51–29:38]

• Entertaining soundbite from Tennessee’s Heupel about Lane Kiffin’s return to Knoxville and golf ball/mustard lore (“Hopefully Knoxville’s ready for his arrival.” [26:01])
• Honest QB room assessment: Despite turnover at QB, Heupel points to consistent offensive results.
• Mike & Shane praise Heupel for showing personality at Media Days.

Notable moment [26:12] — Coach Heupel:
“Seven out of the last nine years, we’ve had a new starting quarterback and seven out of the last nine years, we’ve been top ten in the country in scoring…”

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8. Player Health Update: Ahmad Hardy [39:52–45:29]

• Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy medically cleared after being shot, but recovery and return timeline uncertain (5–8 weeks).
• Medical staffer Drake analogizes Hardy’s toughness to John Wayne, noting optimism but keeping expectations guarded.

Quote [40:46] — Drake:
“We anticipate that this return to play protocol could take between 5 to 8 weeks… what his recovery will be, we still don’t know. My anticipation… He’s going to be a better Ahmad Hardy than before.”

• Debate on whether Hardy returning late in the year might actually help his durability for the SEC stretch run.

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9. Coaching Philosophy & SEC Challenges [36:13–39:46]

• Oklahoma’s Brent Venables is one of the only coaches not complaining about the 9-game SEC schedule.
• Venables says bring on the challenge, points to last year’s uphill playoff run, and emphasizes focus (“You can’t get to four until you get to one…” [37:15])
• Shane: “Day and age of going undefeated is behind us… This is a tougher conference.”

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10. The New Era: Transfers, NIL, and Rule Chaos [46:13–48:07]

• Mizzou’s Drake on the “three variables” that are destabilizing college football: unlimited cap, unlimited transfer, unlimited eligibility.
• Warns of a “continued inflation of liquidity” and the risks to athletes and programs.

Quote [47:00] — Drake:
“There has to be guardrails… There’s going to be long-term consequences… As long as there’s a continued three variables that are unsolvable, there is no solution.”

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11. Kentucky Rebrand with New Coach Will Stein [49:16–56:17]

• Will Stein, Kentucky’s new coach, asserts Kentucky can win “because of me… I know what it takes.”
• Outlines plan for culture change, recruiting, and energy; emphasizes he won’t just wait and see—he’ll attack.
• Also discusses the need to delegate play-calling to OC Joe Sloan so he can be the “best head coach.”

Quote [49:16] — Will Stein:
“This is going to sound like, really… I think because of me, to be honest. I know what it takes… You just gotta believe, man. You just gotta put the ball down and play.”

Quote [54:24] — Will Stein:
“My goal now isn’t to be the best play caller in the country… it’s to be the best head coach in the country.”

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12. Off-Field Stories & Podcast Energy [30:49–33:40; 57:11+]

• Lighthearted stories about steak searches, odd food orders, and avatar mishaps.
• Candid acknowledgments of the grind it takes to cover SEC Media Days and appreciation for fellow media “dogs.”
• Announcements of coming interviews with coaches and players for future episodes.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments

• [09:23] Cousin Shane: On Georgia’s late surge in Media Days votes:
  “Dog Nation… It almost became like Georgia had to be a sexy pick.”
• [14:52] Mike: On Georgia & Texas dominating championship votes:
  “Nobody else, nobody got more than six votes the rest of the way.”
• [18:41] Mike: On picking special teams for All-SEC:
  “How many people wrote him down because they were like, damn, they brought him. He must be good.”
• [26:01] Coach Heupel: On Lane Kiffin’s return:
  “Hopefully Knoxville’s ready for his arrival.”
• [37:15] Coach Venables:
  “You can’t get to four until you get to one. And I love the challenge of… your back against the wall.”
• [47:00] Drake:
  “There has to be guardrails… As long as there’s a continued three variables that are unsolvable, there is no solution.”
• [49:16] Will Stein:
  “I think because of me, to be honest. I know what it takes… You just gotta put the ball down and play.”

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• 02:11 — Return from Media Days & BEHIND THE SCENES
• 07:03 — Media Days Day 1 Rewind, Preseason Poll Reaction
• 14:30 — SEC Championship Voting Results
• 16:31 — All-SEC Team Breakdowns (Offense & Defense)
• 24:09 — Season Anticipation & Hype
• 25:51 — Tennessee's Josh Heupel: Memorable Quotes & QB Room
• 36:13 — Brent Venables on 9-Game SEC Schedule
• 39:52 — Ahmad Hardy Health & Recovery Update
• 46:13 — Mizzou’s Drake on NIL/Transfer/Eli Rules Chaos
• 49:16 — Kentucky Coach Will Stein’s Pitch
• 54:24 — Will Stein’s Coaching Philosophy
• 57:11 — Media Reflections & Interview Announcements

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Conclusion

Mike and Shane deliver a raucous, insightful recap of the 2026 SEC preseason landscape and bring all the passion, skepticism, and storytelling fans expect. They cover everything from the league’s shifting power structure, the high stakes of NIL, medical updates on key players, and the personality of new coaches to the rhythms of Media Days madness. For anyone who missed the chaos—or just wants to relive the energy—this episode encapsulates the state of the SEC as the season approaches, blending humor with valuable context on every key storyline.

Next episode will continue to break down SEC Media Days and feature even more interviews and inside anecdotes from around the league.

Transcript

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[Cousin Shane]

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Not valid for use within a combo or a combination with any other offer discount. Welcome in to the latest episode of that SEC podcast. I'm your on time cousin cousin Shane. Hey buddy, what's going on? Oh, we are back from media days. Mike is working. Here's what's happened.

[Coach or Interviewee]

I think.

[Cousin Shane]

I think he was the one that procrastinated put his camera on late. So instead of waiting any longer let's jump in to some action. Before we get started, I want to remind the cousins that we are brought to you by Tennessee Legend Distillery. Thank you so much for. For this company making us to have. I. I would say this. I think it was the most epic media days ever. I mean, Mike has been busy and he's going to continue to be busy because we have got tons and tons of actions heading your way. Awesome interviews already posted, but Mike is working diligently to make sure they all get out. I think we had 40 something total. So you're going to get all kinds of action around the league and we wouldn't have been able to do it without Tennessee Legend Distillery. So if you do get to the Smoky Mountains, be sure to stop off and see our family over there. They got two locations, one by Tarjay, the other one on the other side of Sevier County. They also got one in Nashville. And not only will you get a discount, but you will also get a bonus gift. So while Mike's trying to figure out his cameras, I figured we'd take this opportunity to. To answer some questions. Oh, somebody's on the stage. Come on now.

[Mike]

Hey, buddy.

[Cousin Shane]

What's going on, brother?

[Mike]

I've been working so hard to edit and get tonight's show ready.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Then I looked over and I forgot. Nothing set up from when I left. I had to build this set real quick.

[Cousin Shane]

Well, real quick. Check your mics. I think one of them's on a power. Power cord because you're getting some feedback from your mic there. But yeah, I. I figured you pulled a classic, Cousin Shane. Right? Honestly, I thought about this earlier. I was in this room getting everything set up and I was like, you know what? I should go ahead and set up my camera. And thank God I did because I lost a wire somehow and was able to figure it out right before jumping on, so. But I was just telling the cousins, I appreciate all the work you've been putting in Mike behind the scenes. I think Kyle said it best. We're almost there. We can get us an editor. And when that happens, Mike. Mike will completely be set. He won't have to unplug or replug any of this stuff.

[Mike]

I'll still do it, probably. I'll still be unplugging stuff just to. Just to mix it up, keep you on your toes.

[Cousin Shane]

His control freak. I'm telling you.

[Mike]

So what's it like when getting home, I mean, favorite thing about being home? Shane.

[Cousin Shane]

I mean, honestly, I thought it would be pretty and I could at least get one round of golf in has yet to happen. The best thing, honestly, was the wife and the dogs and then the kids that order. The, the, the dogs love me a lot more than my kids do, I feel like sometimes. But the wife, she made a home cooked meal today. And nothing against Media day hot dogs. What is that? Dr. Pepper Hot dogs or anything or even Tampa food. We had some really good food, but there's just something special about a home cooked meal from your beloved wife. So that has been the best part. Not to mention, I'm a routine guy. I, I, I, I, I mean, obviously I wear the same shirts I wear. I mean, I am just once I find something I like, I like to keep doing it. And when I'm out of that element, it's a little stressful. So I was happy to get back. The flight was good. Got to sit by Trey Wallace. Thank God nobody was on the other side. So whoever decided not to take that flight, good for you. But it was a smooth sailing ride back home. But I'm glad to be back in East Tennessee.

[Mike]

Mike, hey, Salvos wants to know, did you keep that fire extinguisher?

[Cousin Shane]

We don't, I don't know what she. What if you would have saw it on the shelf back here.

[Mike]

All right. Well, hey, I thought it would be kind of fun because we always miss every damn thing at Media Days when the coaches are talking.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

So I thought we'd just kind of do our own edition of the, of the Media days. Rewind. Break it down day by day. So this is like Media Days, day one.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I've gone back and listened to not be honest, Shane. Not a ton was said that was interesting.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I grabbed like two or three clips from each coach that went day one. So I could present it to you so I could present it to the cousins because I've, I, I'm sure most of them listen to their coach, but they probably have got better things to do with their time than sit around and listen to the other coaches. But there may be one segment here, one segment there that is noteworthy. So I've got that and I, of course, we got to talk about this. Shane, the Media day poll. Shane came out with his people didn't. I thought they liked my rankings. They didn't like your rankings either. But here's the official one from the media boys here, Shane, and you tell me what, you know, your honest reaction. Shane. Georgia won. Texas too. That stunned me because, yeah, I've, I've seen it from the media from, from I, well, I Don't know if I'd call them legit media, but Texas podcasters and things like that and Texas fans. Oh, I thought you guys said it was nothing Texas, but I mean, literally everybody we talk to, short of maybe a handful of people, everybody was that we spoke. And again, we did 40 plus interviews. They said Texas is the team to beat. So the fact that Georgia was the pick, that, that surprised the hell out of me.

[Cousin Shane]

I, it did be too. But I will say this, Mike, if this poll, because they do not collect the picks until Thursday, right? They don't open it up till Wednesday. So I'm telling you right now, brother, I feel like if you would have took these, like as we're checking into the hotel, they gave you a pick, I feel like Texas would have been one. But then you got Rusty handing out flyers and, you know, Dog Nation coming over, say, don't sleep on them dogs. And it almost became like Georgia had to be a sexy pick. Does that make sense? It was not for me. Week like day one. Texas won it, but I felt like the, the push for Georgia hit later in the week.

[Mike]

No, I think that's fair. And how about this, Shane? Ole Miss voted number three. How interesting is that?

[Cousin Shane]

I. I thought this was very interesting because there was a real big push for lsu. A lot of people liking lsu. So I honestly, I, I didn't see the, the, like how many points each team got, but I would imagine these next three were pretty damn close.

[Mike]

So A&M4. I'm not, I'm not stunned by that. Little bit higher, I think, than each of us have A and M. But again, we're, we're talking three of the top four last year, all playoff teams. The exception is Texas.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

LSU five. So Ole Miss three, Texas ain't in four. LSU five. You're kind of putting those in your. In their own tier.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, those are in their own tier right now. As far as voting, right. In my opinion, this next one is, is kind of in a group of their own. And that's six, seven and eight.

[Mike]

I felt like six, seven. Okay, so Bama six, Oklahoma seven. Yeah, I don't know what people are thinking that but, but again, that's, that's their, their call. Tennessee 8 thoughts on 6, 7, 8 here.

[Cousin Shane]

This is kind of that mix, you know, when you're looking at what, seven and five, eight and fives, you know, Vegas kind of where you're going to be sitting. I mean, from six to eight. Actually from five to eight, you're probably going to be anywhere from nine to eight wins. So again, I feel like it's a, a little bit of a grouping here, but let's not forget this is everyone's list. This isn't that SEC podcast. We've already done ours and most of you disagreed with it, but I felt like Tennessee making a push to 8 was pretty impressive.

[Mike]

And then we got Florida 9, Mizzou 10, Carolina 11, Auburn 12. Anything stand out to you with, with that little tear?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I think the Florida Gators ahead of Mizzou and South Carolina. Right. Because you're talking new coaches. When I look down here, I see Arkansas, I see Kentucky, I see Auburn. But then you got the Florida Gators ahead of Mizzou and South Carolina. So that one kind of a surprise. But you know, after you've talked to a couple of guests or after you fell in love with John Sumrall and his well manicured pedicure toes. Yeah, maybe he just started buying back in.

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[Mike]

And then rounded out. Vanderbilt 13, Kentucky 14. Mississippi State 15, Arkansas 16.

[Cousin Shane]

Disrespect row. Right. Well, I, I just.

[Mike]

Listen, I feel like that's a pretty consensus there. Bottom. Well, I know you got Auburn all the way down there, but everybody else, if you're, if you're going to put four teams at the bottom, I think these are the four.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I just, I, again, I feel like the fan base, I should say, feels disrespected, feels shorted here.

[Mike]

And gotcha.

[Cousin Shane]

You know, Vanderbilt, obviously a lot of question marks now that Pavia's gone. And I talked about the new coaches at Kentucky and Arkansas, but Mississippi State, man, I, I just. They were not sexy. Nobody talked about them a lot there at media days, but to sit below a couple of these teams, I think was offensive.

[Mike]

This is a little too much like what happened last year.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, that's exactly right.

[Mike]

I feel like a lot of people are not.

[Cousin Shane]

Except for Van.

[Mike]

I'm not, I'm, I'm not throwing shade at the media guys, but I'm just not a fan of this poll whatsoever. We were talking about it with somebody. I think it was Carter. Carl's, you know, like Rusty. He's in a league of his own. Knows everything about Georgia. Right?

[Cousin Shane]

Yes.

[Mike]

What could he tell you about Oklahoma's roster? I mean.

[Cousin Shane]

Right.

[Mike]

Probably not a whole lot. Right. Suitor Scoop guys, they do, they, they cover old club up amazingly well. What could they tell you about Vanderbilt's roster? You know, and we could literally just keep going on and on. And that doesn't mean they're not Doing a good job, they're doing their job. But why we have all these people vote for the entire sec? I don't know. It just doesn't make any sense to me.

[Cousin Shane]

Well, another thing too, Mike, is this is how they finish in the sec. Not power rankings, which I feel like a lot of people do. This list as you know. So there's, there's some teams in this conference I feel like has an easier road, some teams aren't going to play. Maybe some of those, you know, some of that you have together there, like a Florida and the Tennessee, they're not going to play each other this year.

[Mike]

So.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I, I feel like that's what happens. A lot of time it's a knee jerk reaction to just put who you are in love with. But yeah, that's why this list is wrong and mine was right.

[Mike]

And then how about this shade? So this is official. This is how it was voted who's going to win the league. And again, it wasn't even close. So Georgia got 88 votes to win the Southeastern Conference in the official media poll. Texas was second with 57. Nobody else, nobody got more than six votes the rest of the way.

[Cousin Shane]

So no, I just remember Nick Roush was there.

[Mike]

Yeah. Who the hell voted? Kentucky got a vote. That's pretty. Ole Miss six votes. A&M five, Baba, three. Oklahoma, two. LSU two.

[Cousin Shane]

I feel like the coaches poll, you know, they, they, they tell you who voted, right? I, I feel like that needs to happen. Media day. If you're gonna, if you're gonna call out Kentucky, you know what I'm saying? You need to, you need to sign that shit.

[Mike]

Hey, how about wild man Carl over here? Shane? He's, he's gearing up for the season. He's already firing coaches. Oh, falls by 50. Favor fired. Crazy season. I can agree with two of those.

[Cousin Shane]

You know what, Carl, Your thumbnail gets wilder every time I see you. You're just showing off now. I do.

[Mike]

How about Michael dunlap balls by 50, 63, 38.

[Cousin Shane]

I think that also you gotta, you gotta remember my first media day. There was one team that was selected as a SEC championship. That was Texas A M. And that was yours truly. So maybe it takes, maybe it was a first year guy. He's just gotta get his mistakes out of the way.

[Mike]

Yeah. For a guy that hates A and M. You were the only one that voted for him that year.

[Cousin Shane]

I know, I know. Even wide receivers getting arrested. I was like, I don't care. It's meant to happen, you know?

[Mike]

And so here's the, the breakdown of the voting just individually. So not first place votes, but just total votes. And this is again, this is how they come up with the poll itself. So again, not a huge separation. Georgia, Texas here, Ole Miss, you know, pretty good, not much separation. A and M, lsu, like you said. That's kind of a tier right there. Actually.

[Cousin Shane]

Bama, I think you could. That's a tier right there in itself. You look at, I'd say 2000. So Ole Miss, Texas A M, LSU, Alabama and Oklahoma. I mean we're talking less than 70 votes. Six. What is that, 50 votes between them. But then there is a noticeable drop off to Tennessee. So they're, they're making it sound like that's a whole different tier.

[Mike]

I think I skewed the Tennessee voting, I guess. You know What?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, yeah. 1320. Yeah, you, you did bring it up quite a bit and actually got me excited. Probably had them higher than they should. 1320, you got Tennessee, you got 1217. Florida Mizzou at 1105. So those are kind of in a grouping there. And then that's when you're going to drop below a thousand. And that's South Carolina 9:56, 9:36 to Auburn, then A. Another step down. Vanderbilt 7:50 and then Kentucky at 5, Mississippi State at 4 and Arkansas Razorbacks. No respect. 262.

[Mike]

Yeah, that. 262. That's rough. That's rough.

[Cousin Shane]

That's in Rhodes locker room right now. Locker. He's just, he's gonna kill some players this year.

[Mike]

And then here's how they voted for the, the all SEC offense. Shane, no surprise. Trinidad, first team quarterback. Arch, second team Gunner, third team. Kind of hard to. I mean there's a lot of great quarterbacks, but it's kind of hard to argue with that. Those are the, the three that I, I have at the top of my list.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, those are the three that keep coming up, honestly, in a, a lot of that order too. So. Yeah, no complaints there.

[Mike]

All right, man. And then Lacy and Hardy, first team running back, Ball Frazier, second team, Bishop and Smothers.

[Commercial Announcer]

Whoa.

[Mike]

What is Smothers done to get that? But he's third team.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I, here's, here's the thing, man. After half the running backs and maybe your favorite two receivers,

[Coach or Interviewee]

the.

[Cousin Shane]

This list gets a little rough. Right? You know, I mean, I, I'm not going to sit here and tell you I know all these players, but I was kind of surprised with the running, you know, because there's some dudes I like like you said, Bishop, Ball, Lacy. Nothing against Hardy, but we don't even know, right? I mean, he's. We're talking five to eight weeks. I kind of. When I was doing my list, I even threw Roberts in there just because. So somebody's going to tote the rock. Somebody will be a. A leading running back on that football team. We just got to see how that plays out. But how many. Hollywood.

[Mike]

Shane. We got Jordan Seaton here. He was voted first team lsu. Now he's their big left tackle. They paid a. I don't know what they paid, but I can't imagine it was cheap. And then Kiffin comes out here and is like, hey, he's the first lineman to ever have a Nike deal. How many people heard that? And they were like, oh, I'm voting for him. You know what?

[Cousin Shane]

Probably. Probably. I mean, but there is right before he jumped on a viral video of his. His girlfriend, Seaton's girlfriend, with like seven brand new purses, different colors and Stu. So there, there was a little bit of talk there. But you know, it's funny, there was an. A graphic floating around that showed LSU had two players, their quarterback and Corn both making more than LeBron James up there in. In Philly, which was surprising. Who got a better deal? Mike L.

[Mike]

All right, then, here's all the. The defensive voting.

[Cousin Shane]

Yes.

[Mike]

Again, not a ton of surprises here. Colin Simmons. He's elite. Will Echols, Dylan Stewart, Prince. Will, that's your first team. Defensive line, David Stone, Elijah Griffith, Taylor Wine. Quincy Road set. Good night. We got a lot of good linemen.

[Coach or Interviewee]

Shane.

[Cousin Shane]

Yes.

[Mike]

In the sec, Whit Week, Xavier Akis, Rashim Biles. Or are the first teamers at linebacker? Raylan Wilson, Suntouring Perkins, Kip Lewis. At second team, Ariane Carter, TJ Dougherty, Beyonce Pierre. Damn. The linebackers might be even better than the lineman. I. I mean, geez. And then defensive back. K.J. bolton, Xavian Brown, Bray Hubbard, Elias or Ella Ellis. Robinson. Excuse me. To Georgia to. To Bama secondary. First team. How about that, Shane? I mean, I've seen a lot of transfers on here.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Ooh, again. Yeah, that's. That's what you want for when you get a. A transfer and you pay him all the big bucks, but doesn't always translate Shane to immediate impact. So that's going to be kind of interesting in my opinion.

[Cousin Shane]

Absolutely. And it's. I. I feel like maybe that gives them a little bit of a leg up. Right. Because we're being told how good they are and how much a team should Pay to get them on their roster. So these. Now this one on the opposite you talked about at media days. I feel like should be more team oriented, right? Like you should put on there. Hey, this guy is a, a 10 out of, you know, 10. So. So I, I just. I don't know. At. At some point here you're just picking names.

[Mike]

Well, that's what we had to do. The special team. Now we know the kickers because they make some big kicks. We got short, Short State, Sandale, first team kicker, Lucas Canaro, awesome kicker for Ole Miss. One of them, the damn Sugar Bowl. And then our guy, Alex B. Fierce, the best kicker that's ever spoke to us. 13. How many people wrote him down because they were like, damn, they brought him. He must be good.

[Cousin Shane]

He must be. Yeah. Cause you know, probably two kickers. Names, right? Tate, the short shorts and then. Oh yeah, what' Auburn's guy. Alex.

[Mike]

Yeah, we gotta. Which. Which one of these long snappers you vote for? Do you remember?

[Cousin Shane]

No, he's not on here. Tennessee.

[Mike]

Look at. Well, they got kickoff specialist. They got Terry Bussy on there. I mean, I guess it counts. Kick. They got kickers and then they got a kicker.

[Cousin Shane]

That one confused me. That one. And I didn't want to ask because I was too. I mean we're at the tail end of this thing. So I think I did do both. Right? That may be my exact list right here. Damn, they just copied my list.

[Mike]

Hey, you know who, I hope you don't copy.

[Cousin Shane]

Who's that old.

[Mike]

Let's see. Crusty tip here's 19 months.

[Cousin Shane]

Crusty. Hell yeah.

[Mike]

Is that a crusty tip and been a member for 19 months. We appreciate you, old Crusty.

[Cousin Shane]

Thank you, Crusty. I appreciate you, cuz.

[Mike]

So anything else stand out to you about media days or just. Just anything in general?

[Cousin Shane]

Well, just. I can't stop thinking about it now. Right.

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

We.

[Cousin Shane]

We always talk about the upcoming season with the list and all that, but after media days, it's almost here. You know what I'm saying? It just feels like the kids are going to be showing up. I mean it's almost August. When August kicks at the end of the month, we're going to have some week zero action. So it's, it's getting real. Plans are being made, Mike, you know what I'm saying? We gotta, we gotta go see some of these games. So that, that's, that's the part for me. It feels like it's in the fast lane and I don't want to of it because it Feels like it's here, even though I know we got to wait a few a little bit longer.

[Mike]

Yeah. And I just love the optimism, you know?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Everybody's feeling good. We're all over achieve. All these lists are horse. My team's gonna do better.

[Cousin Shane]

This guy knows ball. This guy knows ball. That's my favorite. It feels like a kid. You know, when you were a kid and they start putting Christmas lights up, you know, it's not Christmas, but it's Christmas time

[Mike]

to me. It's like riding a roller coaster.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Like we're getting excited, you know, Then you get to the top, and a lot of us are just going to fall like an AM rock.

[Cousin Shane]

You know what I know. Not my team. Not my team.

[Mike]

Well, speaking of that, Shay, let's kick it to Josh Hypo now. Again, we. We referenced this, but we didn't play it. I thought this was his best comments from old media days.

[Cousin Shane]

Lane Kiffin made his return to Knoxville. In your first year as a head coach, things got a bit spicy. Do you think that fan base has

[Coach or Interviewee]

kind of cooled off and what do

[Cousin Shane]

you expect in November when LSU comes to town?

[Coach or Interviewee]

Certainly hope our fan base hasn't cooled off. So, you know, whether it's the grocery stores being fully stocked with mustard or, you know, our sports stores making sure that they got reinforcements on the golf balls, hopefully Knoxville's ready for. For his arrival.

[Mike]

You got your reinforced golf balls there, Shane?

[Cousin Shane]

Hell yeah, I got some right over here. Cuz if I aim's a little better this year. Coach,

[Mike]

Hard to believe that he actually said that. You know what?

[Cousin Shane]

Honestly, Mike, clearly he's kidding.

[Mike]

You know, he's, he's, he's not encouraging people to throw or. But I feel like some people got upset about it, allegedly. I, I feel like if Kiffin said this, they'd be like, ah, oh, yeah, Crazy Kiffin. You know what I mean? Like, some people get the benefit of the doubt, and some people don't just

[Cousin Shane]

stop, you know, I mean, don't. Don't be what they say. Don't be a Karen. Don't be a Karen.

[Mike]

All right?

[Cousin Shane]

We're just having some fun. Coach ain't telling you go buy some golf ball. Even though if Coach told me to go buy golf balls and throw it, I'm still not going to do that, Mike, you know what I'm saying? Golf balls are expensive. Leave my Amazon balls. But I'm just saying I like that he said it because so many times we come to media days and it's. I mean, we, we had to dig deep to find coach Clips. Right. Because it got so boring. Coach speak over and over again. We're, we're turning over a new leaf here and these guys are lightening up and you want to criticize him. So what he comes out next time and says boring the whole time. Come on, get out of here.

[Mike]

Well, I'll be honest, most of the other stuff he said was pretty damn boring shape. But I know you got one other one from Coach Hype. He, you know, I can a million times got asked about the quarterbacks. Yeah, I just like the fact he says hell, we, we just roll out a different one every year and we got a top offense. Hey, coach.

[Cousin Shane]

Steve Moulton 97.7espn the zone in Huntsville, Alabama. I hope you're doing well.

[Coach or Interviewee]

I am, thank you.

[Cousin Shane]

I, one of the bigger questions I had this time last year was your question quarterback room and Joey answered that in a big, big way.

[Coach or Interviewee]

And you have the same question.

[Cousin Shane]

I had the same questions, coach. So tell me about your quarterback room and what do you like about it?

[Coach or Interviewee]

Yeah, there's going to come a day where I come back in here and we got a return starter. It's been been five years here and I was talking with Bill Martin, our sports information director and you know, seven out of the last nine years we've had a new starting quarterback in our history with our staff and seven out of the last nine years we've been top 10 in the country and scoring too. So we have two young guys that are competing at a really high level. They've continued to grow, there's a lot on their plate. Look forward to seeing them learn it, earn it and take a job during the course of training camp. I think that's important for his teammates to see that garner that trust and respect from the other guys that you're going to be on the field with. But excited about who we have and I think it's really important. I mentioned the offensive line earlier. It's important that those guys play at a high level. We have a lot of experience coming back at our skilled positions on the offensive side of the football. Going to be important that they're doing their job at a really high level and ultimately when you have a young quarterback, you got to tie everything together. We got to play really good defense and special teams got to be on point.

[Mike]

Well, Shane's good thing. They got one hell of an offensive line. You know what. But, but he's 100% right. If they, if they. A lot of times we go into the Season being like, hey, this is going to be a strength here. Yeah. And then it turns out to not be the case. And then if Tennessee doesn't have good offensive line play that I don't think they got a prayer this year.

[Cousin Shane]

I think that's why most Tennessee fans aren't worried. You know, he made, he made the comment five years in a row. We've, we've. This, this is something Josh Hoppo has proved he can do. So I have full confidence in Josh and also to say this man, a lot of pep in the step. Now this granite was before the DGG news, so I don't know if that's related, but I'll tell you the, the, this is out of Every time I've seen him down at one of these things was the was the most hype pun intended he's ever been.

[Mike]

I don't know if those coaches get too confident during a recruitment until it's, I mean, hell, it's still not until they sign. You know what I mean? But how many times you think they go into a commitment and then they think they got them and then midnight, you know, 11th hour, they switch, you know.

[Cousin Shane]

Oh, I know. I, I, in fact, on the way back, that's the one question I had for Trey. I was like, yeah, if they sign these contracts, does can he get out?

[Mike]

Hey, shout out Car gave us another donation and he updated you, Shane. He updated. Updated thumbnail. Favorite meal from media day.

[Cousin Shane]

Me. Oh, favorite meal. I would say the steak we ate with Paul, that was delicious. That was pricey too. Thanks for picking up the bill, espn.

[Mike]

Yeah, a lot of, lot of steaks. I've noticed you're big steak band hunt these days, huh?

[Cousin Shane]

Well, just getting the protein, you know, and it's, it's tough to do it sometimes, you know. That was good. Plus that place you took me, that last one was really good. I've never had the avocado thing like that before. And brother, I'd eat that every day.

[Mike]

I, I had to drag you there. You're glad you.

[Cousin Shane]

I know I, I was, I was very. The meal process was tough to order. You know, I kept trying to say, yeah, but can you see Mike got this mushroom steak thing, right? And I thought it was.

[Mike]

Everybody's heard of a Philly Cheeseste. So it's shaved beef, cheese and onions. And Shane said, oh, that sounds good. He ordered one. No mushrooms, please. So there's three things here. He didn't want one of them. And he said, can you, can you throw a hamburger patty? And I Told him. I was like, I don't think you could do that. He's like, just watch me. And the waiter. I think I thought the waiver waiter was going to fall over.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I. I don't. I misread it. The way it looked, though, was like it was a mushroom steak. So I was thinking, you know, don't they make steaks that are like big mushrooms or mushrooms? They call them steaks or something? So that's what I thought. I was like, damn, Mike's getting healthy. I said, get that mushroom out of there and put a hamburger in there. And then I thought it would be kind of like a patty melt. And so when I'm explaining this guy and he's like, yeah, I guess we could do that. He goes, so, do you want the steak? I was like, wait, is there real steak in it? He said, yeah. I was like, well, just do that, you know? So he's like, all right. I hope you never come back to Tampa.

[Mike]

Well, now that Shane only eats prime rib steaks, we gotta help pay for those bad boys. Head on over to SeatGeek.com use that promo code SEC TED. Football season right around the corner. Shane, if you're gonna go to these games, you might as well save yourself 10%. Doesn't cost you a thing. Se completely free. They've got millions and millions and millions of users for concerts and sports. Of course, if you want, maybe you want to go see a music act. Why you can't? I mean, we ain't going to do that during football, but we still got some time. That's a good way to burn up some a night before college football gets here. So go check them out. Seag.com and don't forget, most importantly, that promo code SEC10. That's how you get 10 off your full order. I'll put a link in the show notes. Go check them out. Seatgeek.com we need to be able to pay for Shane Stakes his football season. So go check them out. Seageek.com promo code sect.

[Cousin Shane]

Can't go wrong with it because get. Get the. You said don't do a concert now. I told my wife. I said, listen, I'm off this weekend. Whatever you want to do, it's your weekend. Because I need football.

[Mike]

Don't. Don't get the car.

[Cousin Shane]

No, no, no, I'm getting the deposits in now, man, because it's like, hey, because I ain't gonna see you, but for about 15 weeks. I mean, I could. If she wants to be a part of this, awesome. Football action.

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[Cousin Shane]

happens for a reason. But maybe everything happens for a reason.

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[Mike]

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[Mike]

Well, speaking of awesome football action, Shane, I love this from Brent Venables. Everybody's like nine game. Oh my God. How are we going to survive? You know, is SEC even going to get a playoff team in? Well here's what Brett Venable says about the damn nine game SEC schedule, WBZ

[Cousin Shane]

TV and Baton Rouge. Just curious your experiences with the playoff scenario as it unfolds now and has it affected your feelings towards the nine game conference schedule?

[Coach Brent Venables]

Listen, I, I like a challenge. You know, we've got tremendous challenges, league top to bottom. We know that. I don't, I don't need to stand out in front and be a, you know, a sovereign for, for, you know, the league, it speaks for itself. You know, we were a great example of, look, man, just focus and control what you can control. You know, last year we needed, I think going into November, I think this ESPN statistic, we know it's not really right, but at the end of the day, I think there was a less than 2% chance that Oklahoma is going to go 4 0, Tennessee at Tennessee at Alabama and then with Missouri and LSU to finish things up. But if we went 4 0, on the same graphic, it said we had a 98.9% chance of going to the playoffs. So, you know, you can't get to four until you get to one. And I love the, the challenge of, you know, you're back against the wall and you gotta, this is a game of doing. It's a game of performance. It's a game of, you know, earning your way. And certainly our guys did. That was our experience a year ago. And so I'm all for that. You know, I don't, I don't think that whether you expand it, keep it where it is, it's still gonna be awesome. You know, people are gonna, they're gonna buy the tickets. The passion, the enthusiasm. The game of football has never been greater and it won't be diminished whatsoever. No matter what happens with the playoff system.

[Cousin Shane]

Just spot the damn ball. Spot the ball.

[Mike]

I said, we did have a shot last year and we ran through all those bass. I didn't think they had a shot either once they lost Ole Miss, but they did it, Shane. And that's what they're saying now.

[Commercial Announcer]

Oh, God.

[Mike]

At Michigan, at Georgia, Texas. Oh, my Lord. That's before you get to Ole Miss and A and M, you know, but I, I like this message from Brett Venables. So there's, and, and we'll get to some of these other coaches later, but I think Venables and maybe John Somer, about the only ones that I don't hear bitching about this nine game SEC schedule.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, because they're going to be dishing out some losses. Right. You know, so, Mike, the day and age of going undefeated is behind us. This is a tougher conference. We've got, you know, an additional SEC game, which means, you know, eight more losses are going to be handed out in this conference, Mike. So, yeah, I, I do not feel like that Venables is worried and and roughly. So it's. It's July. He's got a good football team. I felt the confidence in the air. Right. John Mateer came. Came over our table. I was like, dude, this guy's winning a Heisman, you know.

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

Yeah.

[Cousin Shane]

That's just the kind of attitude they had coming into this thing.

[Mike]

And.

[Cousin Shane]

And that's the kind of attitude you have to have. If you're so worried about what the end of the season looks like, you're going to overlook what the start of the season looks like. And. And that's where the mistakes are made. That's where teams ultimately get left out. So Oklahoma can't afford to do that. You've already said it yourself. This is a daunting schedule, especially the first six games. So they've got to hit the ground running, man.

[Mike]

Well, who. It sounds like Shane will be hitting the ground running before long.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Is old Ahmad Hardy. So here's the official update from Drake. Let's get it straight from the horse's mouth here.

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

Shane Ahmad has been medically cleared from the bullet that struck him, and he is on the road to recovery. He did have the bone. The bullet did strike a bone in his body, and that has been fully healed and cleared. And today was his first day back towards a full recovery. We anticipate that he will make a recovery. What that recovery will look like after having a bullet, you know, strike you is still to be determined. We do not know exactly what the return to play progression is because there's not a lot of literature and data on that.

[Coach Brent Venables]

This.

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

But we are utilizing our medical team, along with our athletic performance team and nutrition to approach this at. At a very good pace. We do anticipate that this return to play protocol could take anywhere between five to eight weeks. And at the end of the eight weeks, we still don't know what his recovery will be. From a. Is he the same Ahmad Hardy that was last year? My anticipation and what I've seen, the way he's attacked his rehab. He's going to be a better Ahmad Hardy than when he was before. And I'm very proud of the way that he's approached his recovery. I'm not sure that his riding horses was part of the recovery protocol that his surgeon had in place, but, hell, John Wayne wrote after he'd been shot, he turned out all right. So Mod Hardy's trying the same approach.

[Mike]

He's already back on the saddle.

[Cousin Shane]

Shane, was he there? Drink? I didn't know if he. I didn't even know if he was still There or, you know, so. No, I was looking.

[Mike]

So I saw him in the gym. Shane, you should have been down there with me.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah. Yeah. I ain't got time for that. September 20th is eight weeks. So if that were the case, you're looking at potential worst case scenario, a Mississippi State game on the road, which I would imagine they would hold him until October 3rd. Florida Gators home. But what do I know? That's just worst case scenario. Best case scenario, he may be there week one. You know, I would imagine Hardy wants to get out there. He's got a lot to prove. He. He chose to come back, Mike. Right. He chose to be here. And I think he has some special things he wants to do over in Columbia. Yeah.

[Mike]

So I don't know. It's interesting and I. I understand now why I was so confused just reading it back because he's. It sounds promising. It kind of sounds like we don't know when he's going to be back.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Okay. I mean, it's. Again, it. He could have said a lot worse. You know, he could have been like, well, we'll see. But at least he's given some kind of update.

[Cousin Shane]

The. I don't like the 5 to 8 and this, blah, blah, blah. Right. Give me 5 to 8. All right. If it's 5 to 10, tell me 5 to 10, you know, so what does the blah, blah, blah look like? So we don't know. And we don't know how his body's going to react and what kind of shape he's in. So I would imagine that. That he'll. He'll be fine. But, you know, they did bring the other running back, you know,

[Mike]

but don't you think, Shane, that again, I don't know if you remember from the, The Athlon, they were like, yeah, this. This a mod already.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Best back in the SEC in five, 10 years, something like that. So, again, he's got a. An incredible, incredible reputation, and it's well earned. It's. It's not like, no offense to any of these recruits, you know, that come in and they're like, oh, buddy is the next Herschel Walker? And then. Then he can't play a lick. Like, we've already seen this guy.

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

We've.

[Mike]

He's led the SEC in Russia. We know he could play. To me, football's the ultimate team game. And I know running backs.

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

You could.

[Mike]

You know, I think Jamal Roberts, I've already predicted this. If he has to play the whole year, he's going to be a top five rusher in this conference. I think he's that good. So they've got a hell of an option too. But if he is back for, let's just say the majority of the SEC season, which based on what Drink just said, I have no reason to believe he will not be. If he's back for the majority of the SEC season, whatever that technically means to you, I think Missouri probably wins a game or two more than I anticipated. Would you agree with that?

[Cousin Shane]

I would agree. I would agree. And a little bit of a spin zone here, Mike, is what if, what if he does set out for September? I mean, Ahmad Hardy is a bail cow. He said 30 carry back per. Per Saturday. And you're telling me he's going to rest a month before he has to come out there and actually do anything?

[Mike]

I'm just saying, you know, like you worried Henry 2.0.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

When he just went wild on everybody.

[Cousin Shane]

Well, we were like Hardy maybe wore down at the end of the season last year, but you'll be just warming up when they finally get to see him. And then the, the tail back half of that, that, that schedule, Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma, arguably three of the top five defenses in this conference, they about to get a whole bit of Hardy here, you know, a healthy guy.

[Mike]

Shane, if this dam works, we're going to see next year, Texas and Georgia and all, they're going to get this million dollar running back and be like, yeah, he's sitting the first month.

[Cousin Shane]

You know, that's the, maybe that's the move. They're always afraid, like what happens if they sit at the end. It's like, hey, a little reverse. What if we sit him at the beginning? Don't, don't get your guy shot for this, you know.

[Mike]

No, I've just talked about the rest. And then one other thing from Drake. I thought it was pretty interesting. You know, he's, you could tell, he's kind of always biting his tongue to a degree. Yeah, they asked him, Shane, they asked him, what would you change? And he was like, all right, if it. I gotta say my piece on this 1.

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

Travis Tindall, ESPN Austin Coach, if you

[Cousin Shane]

could change one thing in college football

[Mike]

in today's climate, what would that be?

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

So I'm a math person. At any time you have more than one variable in an equation, there's no solution to it. And right now we currently have three variables in any type of solution. And that's an unlimited cap, that's an unlimited transfer and unlimited eligibility. And before anybody tells me that we have eligibility Rules, I think they need to look within the league and see that we've had multiple years where multiple people have sued and won multiple years of eligibility. So anytime you have those three variables, you have no solution and you're going to have a continued inflation of liquidity within the the market and that's unsustainable. I think our job is to protect and advocate for our student athletes to become the best version of themselves. And in doing that, there has to be guardrails in what they're given. And right now there are no guardrails. And instead of there being people who can help guide them along the way, we've allowed a lot of unintended consequences and bad actors into athletics and into the people, into players lives. And I think that's an unfortunate thing. There's going to be long term consequences for these student athletes as well as college universities, and we don't see those right now. But it doesn't mean they're not coming. And so I'm a proponent for getting some sort of solutions to those variables. But as long as there's a continued three variables that are unsolvable, there is no solution to the problem. And we can talk about media rights and lawsuits and all the different things at a macro level that we want, but at a micro level, those are the three biggest issues.

[Mike]

That's exactly what Shane sounds like after you give him a bourbon or two.

[Cousin Shane]

Here's, here's where they messed up on that guy, right? You know, just solving the world's problems at the 11th hour. But what do you think comes up

[Mike]

with the brilliant idea of using straws as a toothpick?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, yeah. What? What, is that it? I just made a deal like with my brain cells. I can only use one of you today. Which one is it? I think we go with the straw.

[Mike]

Well, speaking of someone that may be turning the narrative, Shane. Mm. Oh, Will Stein. He's trying to turn the narrative in old Lexington.

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

Hey, Will. Adam Luckett, Kentucky Sports Radio said you

[Cousin Shane]

came here because you can believe you can win here. Why is that?

[Drake (Medical/Team Staff)]

Kentucky historically has fought against the narrative, against perception.

[Cousin Shane]

Why do you think you can win big here?

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

This is going to sound like really. I think because of me, to be honest. Think as of me. I think I know what it takes. I've 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. The best determination of if what you're doing is working is putting the ball down and playing football. And so there's going to be bumps and roads. I mentioned it in the speech. Like, I'm prepared for tough moments and tough times. I've succumbed to that in our process. Right. I already do self talk myself about, all right, how can I stay neutral when stuff's bad? I can stay as neutral as possible and be very diplomatic in my approach. So that's why, I mean, growing up a fan is great. It is one thing, but I know the players that we can get here. I know that we can recruit north, south, and east. People come to Lexington and love it. I mean, the longer I live there, the longer I'm like, wow, this place is incredible. It's got everything that you want. Great food, great nightlife, great community, great, great university. It's safe. Got big blue nation. It just. It takes some TLC and you got to go attack. You can't sit back and wait. That's one thing I refuse to do at Kentucky is the wait. And so I'm really excited about our administration, the direction that it's going. Again, I said I was so fired up that Mitch brought me here. I'm also excited about what the future holds. And so that's why I'm excited. That's why I believe or else I wouldn't have taken the job. I would have stayed out of Oregon and. And Coach Dante and. And stayed out there.

[Mike]

Shane, is that you on the golf course? You got your ball. You're like, why is this going in the damn hole?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, because of me. Yeah, I talked to it. Yeah, it's like, I don't know if you watch that new Will Ferrell golf show, but that's me talking to my golf ball. I just. Two things that stood out now that I've re. Listened to this was the north, south, and east. So apparently you can't recruit west of Lexington. And Luck, it asked this question so that, I mean, if you got your tinfoil hat. Was this all a setup, Mike? You know, was this a setup?

[Mike]

Well, I think out west of Kentucky is. We all know that's our farm boys. And yeah, you know, they're not. They're not many good football players out there other than some Iowa linemen.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, they need them. The big blue wall

[Mike]

that they do. They. They gonna need Them to navigate this schedule.

[Cousin Shane]

I, I joke, I listen, I like it. I mean, this is what you have. We were talking about Kentucky this week, you know.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Cousin Shane]

There's a few teams. We weren't talking about Vanderbilt, we weren't talking about Mississippi State. And it's not that we should be Arkansas. Right. I just, we're talking about Kentucky because he won the podium. You gotta win. You gotta win the media over, you gotta win the fans over. You gotta, your name's got to get out there or kids aren't going to want to come play with you. So I like this approach. Right. It's better than Stoops giving you the same old every time.

[Mike]

Right. Well. And you know what's same old? I do like Carl giving, giving us money. Shout out, Carl.

[Cousin Shane]

Thank you, Carl.

[Mike]

Drake and Mizzou the first to pay high school kids? I believe so. I mean that was kind of interesting how that all. It's my understanding. And again, California was first. But, but I remembered, see, Missouri changed the law where if you're from the state and you sign with Missouri,

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

even

[Mike]

if you're still in high school, you could start getting the payments.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Mike]

It wasn't like they were just paying kids and then go to Missouri. It was, it was, you know, you get your money six months early is essentially, is my understanding.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

And I guess technically that's paying them,

[Cousin Shane]

but we talked about it.

[Mike]

I would say that's smart governing.

[Cousin Shane]

But then they all follow suit, right? Saving. Got on the phone real quick, hey, we gotta, we gotta get this figured out in Alabama.

[Mike]

Yeah. Oh yeah. It was a, it was an issue once, once Missouri started doing it. You know what?

[Cousin Shane]

Absolutely. It's one thing to be California, it's another when it's in your conference.

[Mike]

All right. And then one final one again. So this is the biggest issue I have with old Will Stein. Why the hell did you hire Joe Sloan? I actually like this answer, Shane, considering

[Cousin Shane]

you're an offensive minded coach. What is that sharing of responsibilities, if

[Mike]

that makes sense between you and Joe son.

[Cousin Shane]

Like what will he be doing to contribute in terms of game planning and stuff like that?

[Will Stein (Kentucky Coach)]

Well, my goal now isn't to be the best play caller in the country and all that. It really is. And my job and my goal is to be the best head coach in the country. So, you know, Joe's having the play calling ability on Saturday, Saturdays we'll build the game plan up together. But I have to be involved in all facets of our program. There's just too much going on to only Worry about the offense. You know, I think the last guy to win a national championship call in place was Jimbo in 2013 or whenever that was. So try to be, have a holistic approach to our program. Trust my guys that I hired that are high iq, high character people that know what it takes to win at this level in this league specifically. I obviously will have my hand in the offense and making sure that it is running the way that I want it to. But there's also about freedom of thought. You know, the best staffs I've been on, it wasn't just me. You know, I think that's the misconception around college football. It's one person. It can't just be one person. It takes a village. It takes your coordinators, your passing game coordinators, your offensive line coach. Everybody in our organization has freedom of thought and has the ability to speak up and add to the pot of, of ideas. And it's ultimately my decision and Joe's decision of what we're actually going to call on Saturdays. So. But no, Joe's, he's elite and I'm glad he's a wildcat.

[Mike]

Yeah, I like that. Shane again, he realized first time job. Yeah. He's an elite play caller. But if you put that on his plate too, which damn near all these guys want to do when they're a play caller. That's, that's what got me here. That's what they say, you know, but he's recognizing that he's got to be responsible for everything now. And it seems like a lot of these guys don't recognize that right off the bat for whatever reason.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Coach or Interviewee]

And.

[Cousin Shane]

But with all those new coaches. Right. There's going to be some growing pains and I do wonder a little bit because sometimes with those new coaches, I, they give a little too much leash. Does that make sense? And then all of a sudden you say, hey, I'm taking over this. Or I'm. We're, we're, we got a head coach of this now, you know, so. Right. So keep your, keep your eyes peeled. Hopefully everything works out. We never give Stein this opportunity. Maybe he just created the perfect coaching family here. But if he missed, we're gonna judge accordingly.

[Mike]

Well, that's a beautiful thing. He could just take it at any point. You know what? Yeah, I don't know that you can assign an offensive coordinator in the middle of the year. No, you could, you could remove one.

[Cousin Shane]

Yes, you can.

[Mike]

You know, you know what we can't remove?

[Cousin Shane]

Rotad showing up for them boys in Tuscaloosa. It's Stephen up. Roll Tide.

[Mike]

Shout out. Stephen. Thanks for all the content. Y' all represented the cousins well in Old Tampa.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah. When they trying. They said a bamer got dragged out. I was like, damn it. Stephen got caught. He got caught in the lobby.

[Mike]

Yeah. I'm glad that wasn't Steve it up. You know what?

[Cousin Shane]

Oh, me too, man. It was a great. I mean, it was. I'm still unfolding everything, and I'm glad that we're kind of doing this rewind so that there was some conversations that would happen that you wouldn't catch till the next day. I'd go to reply to a tweet, and then it says, 19 hours ago. It's like, oh, you know, that was a day ago. So I appreciate that, man. Some good content here.

[Mike]

Yeah. And I feel. I also, you know, I don't know. Similar point. I feel bad because, like, I would do interviews with people, and I'd be like, make sure to tag me on it. But. And, you know, I help them out, tweet it and stuff. I was too busy working. I didn't catch any of that. And I'd say, I'll see a. I'll see a video. I'm in the video. And it was like, three days ago. They're probably like, thanks for the retweet, you know?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I know. I know. And I got hit with quite a bit myself, man, on a smaller scale, but. But I do appreciate all the media down there. There was. There was some grinders, man, some dogs that were. That. I mean, they working just as hard as we were, man. And. And I appreciate all the work they did because, honestly, if it weren't for them, I would know less about these football teams. I learned so much this week, and. And I think my perception of this league is that this is our year, man. Southeastern Conference is getting back on top, and we got some dudes. We got some. We got some real contenders in the. In the SEC this year.

[Mike]

Yeah. For anybody that missed it, I threw this on the. All the social channels, but these are all the interviews we got coming. So we are. We're about one row down.

[Cousin Shane]

Did anybody get mad that they were a smaller picture, like. Like Hayes down here? Did he. If he would have said somebody got fired, we would have moved him up. Right? We would have.

[Mike]

See. See the top row?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I tried to get them all be that size, and then I was like, oh, I gotta make them smaller. So then the second row is a little bit smaller. And then I was like, oh, I'm gonna make the third. Each row gets progressively smaller because I had to fit everybody in there.

[Cousin Shane]

And that's what I was worried. If they, like, damn, how do I get to tier one or tier two? You know?

[Mike]

And I did this, believe it or not, I did this on my cell phone, which is even harder.

[Cousin Shane]

No, it's great. It's great. So you've got out of this list now you've got. You just put. Paid up. Coach Beamer, of course, Paul. Fine. Bombs up. John Matier's up. Who else am I missing? I put Rusty first, you put Rhodes up, Rusty's up.

[Mike]

That's it right now.

[Cousin Shane]

So be sure after this to go over there and. And give it a thumbs up. You ain't gotta listen the whole thing. I mean, you may not be a. You know, you may have some beef with John material. Hell, seven minutes long. It can't be that bad. Actually, I thought we had a great time. So please, check them out. Give them a thumbs up. Share them with your friends, especially the ones that don't like those guys, you know.

[Mike]

And the number one comment, Shane, Everybody's. They're like, what the hell's the matter with Pete? That. That was the. That was the photo he wanted. Can you confirm or deny?

[Cousin Shane]

I can't confirm that he was disappointed or he wanted to look disappointed, but then he followed up with his. One of his favorite shows or favorite guys to hang out with. And I appreciate Peyton taking the time. Not all the bald guys had an opportunity to come to our table, so I was very grateful that. That the best ones did. Not the losers. Not those loser bald ones. You know who you are.

[Mike]

All right, buddy. Anything else before we hop off?

[Cousin Shane]

No. It's so good to be back on. So good to see the cousins. It's time, baby. It's football. Football. Lots are in the tree. So I am ready for some action. And we're going to continue to break down SEC media days and. And, man, we got some great news. Man, we got some great news coming. We're just not able to release it yet. So just. You'll. You'll love it. I. I really do think the fans are going to think this is the best year of that SEC podcast. I promise you. Wait, maybe we should.

[Mike]

Maybe we should do something like that. Like a football tree. What. What is. You know.

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah, maybe not a tree, but maybe something else. What could we do?

[Cousin Shane]

Yeah, I don't know. I like the Christmas lights thing. Well, we'll think about it. We'll think about. Maybe we yeah, we'll think about it. That's off season. Excited? Yeah.

[Mike]

All right. Shout out to cousin Jared. Shane, he gifted a membership too.

[Cousin Shane]

Thank you, cuz.

[Mike]

I had it screenshot.

[Cousin Shane]

It's like Christmas. Look at all the gifts that we got going on right here.

[Mike]

Yeah, these, these grateful cousins. He gifted his membership. Shane too. By hidden. By hidden. Welcome.

[Cousin Shane]

Welcome to the family courtesy Jared.

[Mike]

And hey, we didn't lose Jared, even though I put Gifford on the spot. I told you he'd be fine.

[Cousin Shane]

Shane, he don't care. Jared knows what he's got down there. He's got a national title contender year one with a 75.8 million dollar roster.

[Mike]

Wouldn't that be nice, Shane? Year one title contender. Who else can say that?

[Cousin Shane]

I feel like Mike, I will say we discussed a potential salary cap. Right? It's. I feel like it's going to happen at some point. Until then, it's by your team and if you could buy it, if you got the money for it, do it. Do it. I feel like Indiana, they're, they're reaping the benefits right now, but they will come a point when the money tree. I don't know why we're talking about trees so much stops or at least slows down and they're going to come back down to earth. But hey, if you can do it right now, do it. So who knows? LSU may be breaking the mold here.

[Mike]

You know why I think Alabama's going broke?

[Cousin Shane]

Why is that?

[Mike]

I assume Stephen up stopped giving them nil money. He's giving it to us.

[Cousin Shane]

Showing up in Tuscaloosa. It's Stephen Up Roll Tide.

[Mike]

If I had been there, y' all know, everyone would have interviewed me. Yeah, that, that's one of the favorite. Our favorite things about those interviews is getting stories from people. It's just. Yeah, I don't know. I especially like Paul Fine Bomb jvion Clowny story. I mean, who, who else was getting that type of stuff? You know, we could all talk. Who do you like in escc? Who's getting fired? I mean, literally everybody's talking about that stuff. Give us a good story. You know what?

[Cousin Shane]

We got one that, that's coming up. Neil, one of my favorite ones from Memphis. He tells a fun story about Reggie White in Memphis showboats. So I, I just, I could sit around a campfire, listen to that all night long. Man. That's, that's what I love.

[Mike]

Well, I love the cousin shade and I love you. And we'll see you Tuesday. We'll. I'll be back with Stephen tomorrow. Maybe Marler never in it quite know with that crazy animal. But until then, Shane, we appreciate each and every one of them and we'll catch them on the next one. Stay locked in. Lots of interviews coming.

[Cousin Shane]

All right, see you guys. Go Balls. Hey, buddy, this beer's for you, Mike and cousin Shane. That SEC podcast loves the pirate and the pirate loves that SEC podcast. Hail State.

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[Cousin Shane]

They say everything happens for a reason. But I suspect everything happens for a Reese's.

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[Cousin Shane]

Did you need 15 seconds away from

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Cousin Shane]

Perhaps it's true. Everything happens for a Reese's.

[Mike]

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[Cousin Shane]

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[Cousin Shane]

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