Brooks Austin The Film Guy SEC Media Days Interview

Summary

That SEC Football Podcast

Episode: Brooks Austin "The Film Guy" – SEC Media Days Interview

Date: August 1, 2026
Host: Michael Bratton (SEC Mike)
Guest: Brooks Austin (@BrooksAustinBA)
Special Guest Co-host: "Cousin Shane"

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Episode Overview

The show’s annual SEC Media Days sit-down with Brooks Austin, “The Film Guy,” covers the 2026 SEC landscape with a sharp focus on quarterback outlooks, offensive innovations, standout linemen, high-potential transfers, and coaching evaluations. The tone is lively, highly analytical, and loaded with film-room insights. Brooks, as always, offers bold takes and plenty of behind-the-scenes context, while also revealing which SEC programs and players have the most at stake this coming season.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

SEC Quarterback Room: Depth, Growth, and Potential Breakouts

• More Returning Starters, Less Projection

  • “It returns a whole hell of a lot more starters... there’s a lot of projection last year. So yeah, there’s a lot, a lot more consistency right there. We should expect a little bit more growth.”
    (Brooks Austin, 06:25)
  • Improvement expected from many returning QBs as they enter their second year as starters, leading to overall increased quality of play.

• Bullish on South Carolina’s Sellers Under Kendall Briles

  • Brooks sees strong potential for LaNorris Sellers to benefit from Briles’ system, particularly with its history of thriving when featuring a true dual-threat QB.
  • “Kendall hasn’t had a guy that can actually make plays with his legs since K.J. Jefferson... having a dual threat quarterback changes everything for them.”
    (Brooks Austin, 04:05)
  • Warns of transition challenges with frequent coordinator changes at South Carolina but sees optimism in the Briles/Sellers pairing.

• Transfers and Under-the-Radar Rising Stars

  • Aaron Filo (Florida, from Georgia Tech):
    Brooks is “a huge Aaron Filo guy,” impressed by his maturity, command in two-minute drills, and ability to process the field and click through reads efficiently.
    “He plays the position at a high level.”
    (Brooks Austin, 07:21)
  • Jared Curtis (Vanderbilt):
    Compared to Matt Stafford in talent; acknowledges coaching staff disappointment at Georgia in missing out.
    “That’s the best we’ve seen since [Stafford].”
    (Brooks Austin, 11:29) Not an immediate savior—success will depend on team support and infrastructure.

• Camario Taylor (Mississippi State):

  • “That is the traitsiest football player we’ve seen in the wide choice offense ever... this is the most traitsy football player we’ve ever had at this offense. 6'4", 230, runs like a deer, can make every throw.”
    (Brooks Austin, 21:20)
  • If it doesn’t work at State, he’ll be a top transfer portal target: “If it don’t work, it’s because everything around him’s not good enough... he’ll be a very rich man come January.”

QB Evaluations by Team (Selected Highlights)

• Mattier (Missouri):

  • Concerns about mechanics and processing but tough circumstances last year. “A lot of bad habits in our lower half... But I will give him the benefit: Three things he had to do or felt like all year last year. One, they’re not going to protect me. Two, we have no run game. Three, if anybody’s going to make a play, it’s going to be me. That’s a bad spot.”
    (Brooks Austin, 13:25)
  • Expecting improvement with team maturation and better supporting cast, particularly along the OL.

• Trinidad Chambliss (Ole Miss):

  • Noted for elite accuracy, efficiency, and mechanics.
  • “His accuracy, his efficiency as a quarterback, there are no bad mechanics in that kid—he is on it all the time.” (Brooks Austin, 16:52)

• Faison Brandon (Tennessee):

  • “I’m a big Faison Brandon believer. His ability to receive coaching and his body IQ—athleticism at the highest level.”
    (Brooks Austin, 25:42)

• Gunner Stockton (Georgia):

  • Not flashy but a “football meathead” who “finds ways to win... That’s the job.”
    (Brooks Austin, 28:30)

Offensive Lines & Team Trenches

• Georgia:

  • Despite boasting four future NFL players, struggled to effectively run the ball (“finished 103rd in rushing,” 24:28).
  • Center Drew Bobo’s intelligence and leadership highlighted as crucial.

• Missouri:

  • “Always good. I think that’s a lot to do with what Drink does offensively... hard to say something positive about Tennessee.” (25:16)

Coaching and Coordinator Takes

• Hype Meter: Who’s Overrated?

  • Brooks avoids coordinator hype but isn’t high on South Carolina’s Shane Beamer:
    “Special teams can’t really be your specialty... it’s why he’s had such a tough go at it with offensive coordinators.”
    (Brooks Austin, 19:05)
  • Praises Brent Venables and Buster Faulkner as coaches with genuine impact.
  • On Steve Sarkisian: “Sark is supposed to be elite... there were a lot of times last year where it did not make sense... the hiring of Will Muschamp might alleviate some of those problems.”
    (Brooks Austin, 19:58)

• Play Calling at Ole Miss:

  • Raises questions about whether new OC John David Baker or “Head Coach of the Offense” Joe Judge will truly call plays.
  • On Lane Kiffin: “He’ll pull his headset down and give him the answer... Joe Judge standing right there with the play sheet in his hand, too.”
    (Brooks Austin, 16:52)

Bold Takes & Playoff Picks

• SEC Champion and Playoff Prediction

  • “Texas and Georgia... Georgia schedule is really, really favorable. I just picked Texas because I want the weight of the world to be on Steve Sarkisian’s shoulders.”
    (Brooks Austin, 30:11)
  • “Barring injury, if he [Sarkisian] doesn’t win this year, what do you need?”
    (Brooks Austin, 30:55)

• Boldest Take

  • “We will have a 9-3 playoff team, and it’ll be Texas if it is. That’s probably the boldest take I got.”
    (Brooks Austin, 31:23)
  • On Mike Bobo: “Bobo gets way too much crap.”
    (Brooks Austin, 31:58)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Two years ago I walked in circles around SEC media row just hoping that somebody’d be like, ‘Yeah dude, you’ve passed my table like 17 times… want to sit down and talk?’ And now. It’s a blessing I get to do.”
  (Brooks Austin on his rise in SEC media, 03:18)

• On Mattier’s viral quote:
  “He says there’s not really time to think. If someone is open, you just throw it to him... Well, last year he didn’t have time to think—he’s on his back quite often or running for his life.”
  (Brooks Austin, 13:25)

• On offensive linemen growth:
  “19-year-olds, when they go from 19 to 20, when they go from first year playing to second year playing, we should expect a pop, we should expect a leap. Especially if they are, like I said, NFL football players.”
  (Brooks Austin, 14:39)

• On Gunner Stockton:
  “It ain’t pretty, you know what I mean? It ain’t cool, it ain’t flashy, but, man, watching that guy as a football meathead, I’d die for that kid.”
  (Brooks Austin, 28:30)

• Elite 11 Importance:
  “People say ‘tape doesn’t lie’... it does about quarterbacks. It will straight up lie to you until you go see it come off the hands... you will not have a full evaluation on them.”
  (Brooks Austin, 21:20)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:04] – Brooks Austin joins, reflects on his SEC Media Days journey
• [04:05] – South Carolina/Sellers in Briles’ system
• [06:25] – Quarterback depth & returning starters
• [07:21] – Aaron Filo analysis
• [09:30] – Jared Curtis at Vanderbilt, UGA’s recruiting regret
• [13:25] – John Mattier’s development at Missouri
• [16:52] – Trinidad Chambliss & Ole Miss play-calling questions
• [18:42] – Coaching hype, Beamer skepticism, Saban/Sark/Muschamp
• [21:20] – Camario Taylor’s breakout potential
• [23:23] – Offensive line standouts: Georgia, Drew Bobo
• [25:42] – Tennessee QB room, Faison Brandon’s skillset
• [28:30] – Gunner Stockton analysis
• [30:11] – SEC title/picks: Texas & Georgia
• [31:23] – Boldest takes: 9-3 playoff team, Mike Bobo defense

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Final Thoughts & Recommendations

This episode is a must-listen for SEC diehards looking for more than just surface-level predictions. Brooks Austin brings deep knowledge, sharp wit, and strong opinions—especially about QBs, coaching hierarchies, and game management. If you want to know which teams might break through (or fall short), which quarterbacks have the intangible edge, and where the real improvement will come in 2026, this is essential media day analysis.

To follow Brooks Austin:
@BrooksAustinBA (all social)
YouTube: The Film Guy Network

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Transcript

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[Brooks Austin]

All right, we're here.

[Interviewer 1]

SEC Media Days tradition. Brooks Austin, the film guy.

[Brooks Austin]

Hi, that's me.

[Interviewer 1]

What, what is it like to be. I feel like you're famous here. Like, like next year you're gonna be like, dude, we're. I'm too big for you guys.

[Brooks Austin]

You know, to be honest with you, I think I did so many hits yesterday cuz he wasn't here. I'm pointing to Josh Bait off camera. He just showed up today, so now he gets to do the wash. Yeah. You know what I mean? Yeah. Dude, I was talking from 9 o' clock to 5 o' clock yesterday. But it's funny, two years ago I walked in circles around SEC media row just hoping that somebody be like, yeah, dude, you've passed my table like 17 times in the last hour. Do you want to sit down and talk? We got nothing to do. And now. Yeah, it's a blessing I get to do.

[Interviewer 2]

We brought you in.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, that's right. That's right.

[Interviewer 2]

Absolutely.

[Brooks Austin]

You guys are one of my first ones. So.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

Appreciate you having me.

[Interviewer 1]

What is. So give us a big time take for the quarterbacks. I remember last year you were so high on Sellers, as were. We all were, you know, but that didn't work out. Let me, let me ask you about Sellers. Do you think playing for Kendall brows,

[Brooks Austin]

it could all click this year. So Kendall hasn't had a guy that can actually make plays with his legs since K.J. jefferson. Yeah, it's been a while since they've had like a dual threat, dude. And I think that offense even dating back to his dad's era at Baylor, like, that's when it thrives. Like they, they throw the ball pretty well in that system. But having a dual threat quarterback changes everything for them. And if you go back and remember like those offenses, Arkansas were never bad.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

Now Georgia put them in a box that one time. But Georgia's 20, 21, 22 defense would have done that to anybody. So yeah, I am bullish on that, like, because I think it's a good pairing. But this is coordinator number four for him, isn't it? Like they've had, they've had five coordinators in five years or something crazy like that At South Carolina. So it can't be much worse than it was last year. I should, I should have picked something up on that. Like, I probably should have tamed or tempered the takes a little bit considering Mike Shula hadn't called play since 2016 and he never once in his life called plays in college. Like, that's kind of damning information that I probably should have paid a little bit more attention to. But I just got, I got caught up in the idea of what he was and how rapidly he grew in his first year as a starter under Dow loggins out there, S.C. and I'm like, surely it's going to be even better. Surely we're going to continue to grow. I thought maybe they would keep terminology or maybe. But what I failed to realize again was like, okay, maybe Loggins was a little bit of a secret sauce too. And when you go back and study 2024 South Carolina, particularly the Alabama game, like, Buddy, they were dialing it up, they would set stuff up and then next thing you know, boom, Explosive. And it just gets you in a certain set and then they will hunt that set. And Kendall's pretty good at that too. But the, the pre snap motion and all the stuff that he can do with quarterback run, that's the stuff I'm going to be paying attention to this year with Kendall. But you hit the nail on the head. I am, I am bullish on the hire that is Kendall.

[Interviewer 1]

And one of our fans said he was into the shoeless Shackles last year,

[Brooks Austin]

so hopefully he breaks out, you know, big alliteration guys.

[Interviewer 2]

Shack. Well, speaking of quarterbacks, you know, because I, you are a trusted source for me and I feel like two parts. Do you feel like the quarterback room this year in the SEC is better than last year?

[Brooks Austin]

It returns a whole hell of a lot more starters, right? Like Arch Manning, first year, starting last year, whoever was going to end up winning the Ole Miss job, first year starter. Gunner Stockton, first year starter. There was a lot of like newness last year where I do believe, whether you're junior starting for the first time going into your senior year, starting the second time, that first year, into that second year of you being the guy, there should be a tremendous amount of growth. There should be some maturation unless you have the Shula Shackles put on you. So yeah, the room looks more known this year, right? Like when you look at all the bodies, you're like, there's a lot of projection last year with Matier too coming over from Wazoo. So yeah, there's A lot, a lot more consistency right there. We should expect a little bit more growth.

[Interviewer 2]

But you know, and in that same vein, some young quarterbacks and some transfers. Is there a quarterback that didn't play in the SEC last year that you're saying, hey man, keep your eyes on this dude?

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, I can't give the take enough. I'm a huge Aaron Filo guy. I loved what he did at Georgia Tech and it was tough doing what he was doing right where a we never know when we're going to play. We never know when Haynes shoulder's going to slip out of socket or he damn near down the field. And then we got to go out there and kind of run his offense and do it towards our skill sets and our skill sets could not be any further from one another. The what I really like watching was like going back and watching his one start he started against NC State. He was kind of the guy as a true freshman. And if you watch that fourth quarter they get in a two minute drill and he runs it like he'd been running two minute his whole life. And that is really impressive. A and then B he gets a start last year against one of the Sloppies early in the year and all of a sudden breaks a single game passing record at Georgia Tech. You know, I mean those 378I think it was and that's what I expect to see down there at Florida. Like yes, he is 6 foot 3, 220 pounds, he's good enough to do some design quarterback run but that's not, they're not, not going to be a 3 yard and cloud of dust football team. Like they're, you know, in fact when I saw the Jaden ball taking shotgun snaps, you'll see this clip in spring practice, Buster Faulkner sitting there throwing him shotgun snaps and he's taking. I was like, oh, they just replaced the Haynes King wildcat short yardage stuff with Jaden Ball. That's what that is like. So we're not going to be doing that all that much this year at Florida. I'm a big follow guy but I'm biased. Like I watched him way too much in high school compared to everybody else and I've had football conversations with that kid. He knows ball and some of the and I know it's like, oh, he plays quarterback. Of course he does. Well some of these guys are doing cone of vision football. You look right here and if this guy moves, we're going there. That's not what quarterback play is for most of these spots quarterback Play is like, hey, if they're playing this coverage, we're going to start on this side of the field with this smash concept. If we actually get something different, we're going to click through our reads and get to the backside. Wait a minute, I got to click through reads? Like some quarterbacks do. Like freak out when you do that. Not, not that kid. He plays the position at a high level.

[Interviewer 1]

I feel like, hey, I was talking to someone that covers Georgia yesterday. I asked him about Jared Curtis and how upset Kirby was to lose that kid. And he said, buddy, remember when Georgia. I remember the final score. It was like 66, nothing. Vanderbilt. He said, they're gonna beat the shit out of Vanderbilt. You haven't seen nothing. Would you agree with that? And what's your thoughts on Jared Curtis?

[Brooks Austin]

So did y' all see that on three predicted the other kid to win the job?

[Interviewer 1]

No.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah. I don't know if it's a foregone conclusion that Jared Curtis is going to win that job off RIP now midway through the year, I would imagine he's probably getting rolled out there. But you are right in the sense. And I would imagine that was rusty. Maybe I don't know who it was. Whoever the Georgia guy was is right in that sense that I, I don't think they were all happy about that. I, I. Kirby's not an emotional dude, but I think he does have bits of like, maybe some outrage every once in a while.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

And Jared Curtis was one of those because, man, it was, it was slow played so long towards the end of that cycle. And I don't, I don't know if he enjoyed that. And, and it's happened to him twice, really, where they kind of like fully commit to a five star quarterback in terms of like, we're going to recruit you and we're only going to recruit you. And it's come back to bottom of the ass twice. It was Jared Curtis and it was Arch Manning. And if you, nowadays, if you take a gap year on quarterback, you're, you're missing a lottery ticket because that's what these guys are like. We, we can sit here and evaluate them all we want, but whether or not they're actually going to work out in college is a coin flip. I would say maybe even worse than a coin flip. It ain't 50, 50 odds for five star quarterbacks. I mean, look at their history, you know, I mean, just because you're highly touted at Nashville Christian doesn't mean you're automatically guaranteed to work. But when you miss out on a guy. Like I said, you're missing an opportunity to pull a lottery ticket down and one with, with good odds, it seems like in Curtis. But no, I, I saw him in the spring game, he's all that happy.

[Interviewer 1]

He looked pretty legit.

[Brooks Austin]

Oh, no, he is, he is. He is the closest thing. And I believe coaches more than my own evaluation sometimes because A, they get to talk to these kids a lot better. They get the full deep dive on who they are, they get the actual game footage, whereas I'm watching a damn highlight, you know what I mean? It's like totally different. And every coach to a man was like, that's Matt Stafford. That, that's the best we've seen since that. You know what I mean? So I believe it. I believe in the talents. Now what I don't know about Vanderbilt is Diego Pavi was a great equalizer and that system was a great equalizer for the disparity in talent that they had, you know, because they're not the best roster in the sport. And when you have a quarterback that can manipulate our way into a bunch of third and twos, we're going to be all right, you know what I mean? But if they think they're going to design quarterback, run Jared Curtis 14 times a game, they're just flat wrong. That's not what it needs to be. Pro style quarterbacks and guys that are really great passers, they kind of need some help around them. They need protection, they need weaponry, they need guys to get open. Now, he's a good athlete, he'll make some plays off script. I think you saw a lot of that in the clips we saw the spring game, but I think it's a year two, year three pop for Jared Curtis because I'm not all that high on what Vanderbilt has around him this year.

[Interviewer 2]

Well, you know, John Matiere was in here yesterday and.

[Brooks Austin]

Soldier.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah. I'm just saying, have we, I wonder if, in your opinion, we've seen his ceiling. Now I know in the off season they talked about he's worked on his throwing motions, but then he makes a comment. I don't know if you saw it. John Mattier was asked about defenses in the SEC and he says there's not really time to think. If someone is open, you just throw it to him. And that one kind of went viral. And I was just curious your thoughts on John Mattier.

[Brooks Austin]

Well, last year he didn't have time to think last year, he's on his back quite often or running for his life. I said this about Him. And there's a lot of things that I don't like. Right. There's a lot of things that I don't think he processes all that well. I don't think he ties his feet to his eyes all that well. I think a lot of the times his lower half is directly at a 45 and he's trying to hit something directly at a 45 over here. And that is a bad place to be. It's why we're a sub 67% completion percentage guy. Like, he's never going to have games back to back weeks where we're like 21 for 24. This is not going to happen because we do a lot of bad. We have a lot of bad habits in our lower half. But I will give him the benefit of the doubt in this sense. There were three things that he had to do or felt like all year last year. One, they're not going to protect me. Two, we have no run game. Three, if anybody's going to make a play today, it's going to be me. That's a bad spot to be in as a quarterback man. Like, that creates a lot of pressing and when we're pressing at the position, we're going to make a lot of bad mistakes. And that's what happened quite often last year. So I do believe Venables when he says we're going to be a lot better around him this year. And I think there's reasons to believe that, right, Like Fazousi is going to be an NFL football player. He didn't look like one last year because he's a true freshman. Eddie Pierre Louis going to play in the NFL. He didn't look like one at times last year because he was a red shirt freshman. The right guard was a true freshman last year. He got his face ran through quite often. It's probably going to happen when you're a true freshman. You know, I know we're at SEC media days, but I got into a little tizzy with Ohio State fans the other day because I was like, hey, the office line is not good enough. Offensive line was not good enough last year. Y' all allowed five sacks to Miami, five sacks to Indiana. Okay. Couldn't move the ball hardly against Texas earlier in the year. Got held under 100 yards rushing. I think three times last year at Ohio State. And Ohio State fans are like, we're returning the whole entire offensive line. This guy acts like we can't get better. And I'm like, well, yeah, you're returning redshirt Seniors, you're returning guys that have been playing for three years, they're not going to take some magical leap. They're 24 years old. They're not going to wake up tomorrow anew, right? Like, but 19 year olds, when they go from 19 to 20, when they go from first year playing to second year playing, we should expect a pop, we should expect a leap. Especially if they are, like I said, NFL football players. So I do think they're going to get better. And by the way, like, they didn't have a tight end last year. They had a former linebacker, slash scat back, slash cannon guy that's just out there running around. He's a great weapon, you know, he's great after the catch. He moved better than most tight ends, but had no earthly idea how to block. And now they got cousin Shane's number one name in Rocky Beers. How about that? Rocky Beers, I love that name is an elite name in college football. They brought two of them over to play traditional. I'm on block, tight end guys, that should spoiler alert. Should help your own game out a little bit.

[Interviewer 1]

Hey, I'm a huge believer in the players matter more than the coaches. It doesn't mean the coaches don't matter.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, but the one guy that I

[Interviewer 1]

think will prove it this year if he can duplicate it, is Trinidad Chambliss at Ole Miss. Again, the offensive staff gone. Do you think he can duplicate a lot of that with John David Baker coming in, offensive coordinator who's been there before. They return the entire interior on the offensive line, but the tackles are going to be replaced, so I don't know where, where to put Trinidad. I think he's awesome. Where do you have him going into the year?

[Brooks Austin]

Are we sure John David Baker is going to call place because Joe Judge got. Have y' all heard this title, head coach of the offense. Have you all heard that? That's a new to me. I think people forget that, like Joe Judge climbed to the pinnacle of this profession as a football coach. He kind of knows ball, you know what I mean? He's pretty good at what he does. And I can't tell you how many times last year I would watch tape and you see Lane over there standing on the sticks and he's staring at the defense, seeing what they're doing, and he'll pull his headset down and he'll give him the answer. And Joe Judge is standing right there with the play sheet in his hand too, you know what I mean? And one clip sticks out in my mind like Crazy. I think they're playing at LSU or somebody last year, and Trinidad Chambliss runs around the corner for a touchdown, and Lane Kiffin's running down the sideline, throwing the clipboard up, doing all kinds of shit. And then you look over on the sideline into all 22, and you can see Joe Judge turning around and putting up the one finger, actually telling guys what we're doing next instead of doing the celebrations, you know what I mean? Like, I think there's a lot more rapport there than people realize is what I'm trying to get at. But I'm with you. I'm a huge Trinidad Chambers believer. His accuracy, his efficiency as a quarterback, there are no bad mechanics in that kid like he is. He is on it all the time. And obviously the elusiveness. I'm also a huge Kewan Lacy guy, too. But returning the interior offensive line is great. They lost five of their top six pass catchers from a year ago, too, and they replaced them with Syracuse wide receivers. So is there any.

[Interviewer 2]

Well, speaking of coaches, is there any coordinators in this conference you feel like is getting too much hype?

[Brooks Austin]

No, I don't think anybody's getting too much hype. I always get asked, like, who? Who? Guys I like. So I don't even. I don't even do the hype.

[Interviewer 1]

Shade wants negative stuff.

[Interviewer 2]

Who do you think should.

[Brooks Austin]

I mean, I'm. I'm not the biggest. I know he's not a coordinator. I'm not the biggest Shane Beamer believer. I don't think he has a specialty. I think that, you know, specialty.

[Interviewer 1]

Energy, energy.

[Brooks Austin]

Special teams can't really be your specialty, you know what I mean? I think it's why he's had such a tough go at it with offensive coordinators. Like, how do you. How do you know what's good? You know what I mean? It's one of the only questions I've ever asked him at SEC media days a couple years ago, I was like, hey, you've never been an offensive defense coordinator. When things go wrong, do you feel like that might be a limitation to you? And he was like, well, unlike most of these guys, I've been a special teams coordinator, which means I've led the whole entire roster. You know, I've set up in rooms in front of the whole time. Great coach speak. Great answer on the spot. Elite agility in that moment, but kind of a facade, to be honest with you, because I've set in those special teams meetings as a position player, and guess what? I ain't listening. I'm the starting center, buddy. I don't give a damn what we're doing on punt block, you know what I mean? Like, I'm blocking you out. Like, what are you talking about? I'm sitting over here twiddling my thumbs. So I was a little bit of a different answer. I'm. I'm a big Brent Venables guy. I'm a big Buster Faulkner guy, like on both sides of the football. I thought Sark was bad last year for what Sark is like. Sark is supposed to be one of these guys, you know, he's supposed to be like elite of elite as a play caller. There's a lot of times last year where I turned the film on and it just did not make sense. Like we all knew they couldn't protect. Sometimes they didn't call plays like they couldn't protect. You know what I mean? No hots, no checkdowns, no no nows, you know what I mean? Like, where are the answers for the quarterback when y' all inevitably let a blow through through? So I. But the hiring of Will Muschamp I think might alleviate some of those problems and giving him that head coach of the defense role. It was very clear to me when they announced Will Musk champion. I listened to Steve Sarkeesian's press conference that he felt like he had to oversee his defense last year. So wait a minute, coach, you're the head coach, you're the offensive play caller and you feel like you got to oversee the defense some. Oh, now wonder. You're not normal. You're not normal. No, no way. You're not the same guy as an offensive play caller, you know, So I expect some improvements there.

[Interviewer 1]

Hey, going back to the state of Mississippi, what's your thoughts on Camario Taylor? Could he be the breakout quarterback in the sec?

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, I was watching his game against Ole Miss the other day and I came away thinking that is the traitsiest football player we've seen in the wide choice offense ever. You know, like Hinden Hooker was really good, but Hinden Hooker ain't this, you know, I mean, Byron Brown is big, he's athletic, but he can't throw like that kid Dylan Gabriel was awesome, but he ain't this, you know what I mean? Like, this is the most traitsy football player we've ever had at this offense. Six, four, 230 pounds, runs like a deer, can make every throw that there is. I'm bullish on it. And if it don't work, it's because everything else around him's not good enough. And if that's the case, he'll be a very rich man come January 16th when he's in the portal. Honestly, I don't mean to do that to Mississippi State fans, but if that doesn't work at a high rate, somebody else will look at that tape and go, I've got to pay him whatever it takes to get him here, because we will win with that. That kid is. And look, it's all byproduct of his work, too. I'm a big believer in the lead 11 finals. Going out there and watching that event every single year in person. And I'm a big film guy, right? Like. And people will say, tape doesn't lie. You've probably heard that before. It does about quarterbacks. It will straight up lie to you until you go see it, see it come off the hands to see what that ball feels like. You will not have a full evaluation on them. So I go to the lead 11 finals every year, and I remember seeing him in high school thinking, great athlete. Don't know if we're going to be a great thrower. It looked rough, you know what I mean? But it looks beautiful now. It looks so good. That's all work. That's 10,000 hours of grinding your butt off to get better at that.

[Interviewer 2]

You know, you talk about film going back to high school, man, we get done. That's what coach would work on all weekend. We come down and each play a grade on us. And. And obviously, I probably hang around that C area, but if you were looking at an offensive line in our conference, is there one that kind of stands out over the others?

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, Georgia was really good last year, but I thought. I thought it was because of Drew Bobo. I think Drew Bobo is one of the more underrated football players in this conference just because he's so damn smart. Defenses are twisting, stunt and rapping, creating so much chaos nowadays that if you don't have a center that can get all five guys, and I know we say that all the time, five guys on the same page, but it's the center's job to kind of predict what's about to happen based off film, study, analysis and knowledge, right? Like, if I can sense what's about to happen, we can. And we can get ready for it, and then we can execute and smack it in the face. And they were abhorrent in 2024, running the football at Georgia. They were awful. Now, a lot of that is because Carson Beck can't run. A lot of that's because people were just teeing off. They see the ball in the belly of the back. We're just sprinting right to the ball. Carry the quarterback ain't keeping the rock. So that kind of limits your run game, particularly in college football nowadays. But they have four NFL football players on that offensive line, and five, if you include Drew. They have four NFL football players on the offensive line. At 20, 24. They finished 103rd in rushing. That don't make no sense. You know what I mean?

[Interviewer 2]

But math ain't math. No, it ain't.

[Brooks Austin]

But now, like, with Drew, and you saw it like the Ole Miss. The Ole Miss game in the Sugar Bowl, I thought was lost for a lot of reasons, but offensively, it was lost second through the third quarter in stretches where Will Echols and Hezekiah Harris were creating havoc on the interior, and that was because Malachi Tolliver is making his second career start. It didn't show its ugly head against Alabama because Alabama could have had 17 quarters, they wouldn't have scored. You know, so, you know, that was a whole thing. But no, I. I think Georgia's office line was really, really good last year, and everybody else has kind of churned it over. Missouri's always good. They always find it like. I think that's a lot to do with what drink does offensively, though, with. With wide zone, because it's hard to

[Interviewer 2]

say something positive about Tennessee.

[Interviewer 1]

I was gonna ask you. So a year ago, you sat here and you sold us on a guy named Joey Aguilar. I was like, who the hell is this guy? And. And you nailed it.

[Brooks Austin]

Deep ball.

[Interviewer 1]

He's a passer. He's best. I think he said best deep thrower that the hypo is going to have at this point. Yeah. And you. You were 100% on. So I don't know how much information you have on the Tennessee quarterbacks, because we haven't seen much of them, but do you have any thoughts on them?

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, I'm a big Faison Brandon believer. And by the way, like, we can talk about quarterback at Tennessee all we want. They run the damn ball. That's what they do. And they're going to continue to run the dang ball, and they're going to run it really, really well. The math and the spacing creates that.

[Interviewer 1]

Desean Bishop came with us yesterday. Yeah. He said his goal is to shatter the Tennessee rushing record. This.

[Brooks Austin]

He might have a chance. He might have a chance. But, no, I'm a big Faison Brandon guy, and here's why. Elite 11 going out there. His ability to receive coaching and his. It's an athletic thing to have a coach tell you, hey, we need to fix this one little thing and not take a thousand reps to figure it out and implement it into your system, into your body, into your mechanics. Right. And his ability to hear coach say, hey, this needs to get corrected. And then it be corrected immediately. That's high levels of athleticism. That's high levels. High levels of, like, body iq. I understand what's going on. So, yeah, I like what he is going to be. Obviously, he's like, extremely physically gifted, right?

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

And not to do this, but, like, he played. He played high school football in an elite area of Carolina high school football. That Grimsley High School region is elite. Okay. It's like Gwinnett County. Good in Georgia where, like, everybody spends their entire spring recruiting. Whereas, like, George played at Baylor and you go have the best 11 every time you go out there and play and you're gonna be 20 points. No, hold on. I'm wrong. George played at a different high school because they weren't all that great in Nashville. Yeah, they weren't all that great. Not. Not in Chattanooga. So I'm wrong, but George did turn it over a lot in high school. That scared.

[Interviewer 1]

I think you're confusing with the next Tennessee five star.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's where Manning's at, right?

[Interviewer 1]

No, the running back.

[Brooks Austin]

Oh, David.

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[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

Where's. Where's. Where's Payton's son?

[Interviewer 1]

I think he's at Baylor, too.

[Brooks Austin]

He's at Bayer, too.

[Interviewer 1]

He's Baylor.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

He'll be the one after tomorrow.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

But no, the. The Jim Knowles hire was important, right? They were. They were so bad at tackling the football last year, I think they had 98 missed tackles. Feel like, what's the fun?

[Interviewer 2]

98.

[Brooks Austin]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer 1]

Hey, so we've asked a lot about quarterbacks, and you go around here, you ask everybody who's the best quarterback? Who's the best quarterback? Who's the one guy that never even gets mentioned is Gunner Stockton. Why do you think that is? And again, I'm not saying he's the best, but I think he belongs in the conversation. Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

It ain't pretty, you know what I mean? It ain't cool, it ain't flashy, but, man, watching that guy as a football meathead. I'd die for that kid. That's what I'm saying, man. That dude absolutely plays his backside off.

[Interviewer 2]

Balding up top already.

[Brooks Austin]

Hey, I love it, hey, and boy, hey, I'm there, I'm there. I'm worried about it every day. Every morning I just wake up and like, it's going, oh, yeah. All God gave me was my hair and my voice, man, what am I gonna have when it goes? Start working on that. Drink something, something. I'm gonna be first class flight to Turkey, brother. I'm gonna plug that thing. I ain't going that way. It ain't happening.

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[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, I'll go with you. We'll come back.

[Interviewer 2]

That's right.

[Brooks Austin]

But no, I think a lot of it is because it doesn't look all that sexy, you know? And there is some. It takes a while, you know what I mean? Not the greatest layer of the ball, but finds ways to win. And that's the job. The job is to find ways to win. And I think we get so enamored with. With elite, quote, unquote talents at the quarterback position. But we've been covering this for a long time. You don't need a first round draft pick, a quarterback to win a national title. I know the last one, Fernando, was. But, like, you don't need that, right? Like, Will Howard was not the best quarterback in college football. His team was. And he didn't put them in positions to lose football games. That's the job. First and foremost, get us in the right position to win. And he does that at a high rate.

[Interviewer 2]

Last. Last thing I've got for you, man. Do you have. Have you already put in your.

[Brooks Austin]

Your final.

[Interviewer 2]

Who's going to be in the SEC championship?

[Brooks Austin]

No, not yet, but Texas and Georgia. Just off the top of my head, Georgia schedule is really, really favorable. Four true road games and one neutral site game. That ain't really a neutral site game. That game's in Atlanta between them and Florida. They're playing a Mercedes Benz. Might as well be your second home. So really favorable schedule for them. I like the roster as well, like Kirby Smart. And I just picked Texas because I want the weight of the world to be on Steve Sarkeesian shoulders. Not. Not that my opinion matters. It doesn't. But anybody who listens to me is going to leave going, dang, he thinks Texas is really good. Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And I think Steve Sarkeesian should be demanded to win.

[Interviewer 2]

Right?

[Brooks Austin]

Barring injury if he doesn't win this year. What do you need? Yeah, you need the Dallas Cowboys. Like, what do you. What do you need, dude? Because there ain't a better roster in the college football world than what he's got. Going on.

[Interviewer 1]

All right, so all our media days coverage is brought to you by Tennessee legend. The best Tennessee whiskey you could buy. So we're asking everybody, their Tennessee legend. Boldest take heading into the season. Could be anything. SEC related. What do you got for us?

[Brooks Austin]

I should have been prepared. I should have been prepared for something like this. Boldest take. Will Stein. Sneaky. Kentucky sneaky, maybe. No, I. I think the boldest take is probably we will have a 9 and 3 playoff team, and it'll be Texas if it is, and it'll only be Texas. I don't think anybody else in the conference has the ability to go nine and three and get in, but it will probably be them if it is. And that's not very bold. I'm sorry. I'm on the clock right now. Mike Bobo.

[Interviewer 1]

Good.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, Michael, good. Is that a bold take nowadays? Like, people are so down on him.

[Interviewer 2]

Everybody outside of Georgia thinks that's what's holding you back.

[Brooks Austin]

Honestly, people inside Georgia, dude.

[Interviewer 2]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

Check my mentions.

[Interviewer 2]

Then we're looking at the. The wide receiver room, and I'm like, this is. This is who Bobo wanted. Yeah, he can't blame anybody else.

[Brooks Austin]

I was on you guys. Friend of the show. Fine. Bomb. I was on Firebomb last year at NFL Combine, of all places, and he's just absolutely pooping on Mike Bobo. And I had to go into Bobo defense mode. And I'm listening to the show after I leave, and I'm walking back to my hotel, and this guy calls in from South Georgia, and he's like, you got that dagum. Bobo the Bozo defender calling in on your show, Paul. You don't know nothing. Nothing. And I'm like, bobo the Bozo. I hope that don't stick for his purposes, brother. But no, I think that's my hot take. Bobo gets way too much crap. Yeah. All right.

[Interviewer 1]

We appreciate your books. Before you go, tell the audience where to follow you and where to find the show.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah. On all social medias@brooksaustin ba. And check us out on YouTube when you're done watching this one. The film guy Network. Like, my man in the gym. I told y' all that story. The other day, my man in the gym was watching the SEC podcasts on his treadmill. I come walking by him. He's like, hey, I think I know that guy. And then he starts watching my show just to confirm that it was me. But you guys were first. You guys were first. So good on y'.

[Interviewer 2]

All.

[Interviewer 1]

Yeah.

[Brooks Austin]

Yeah, man. Appreciate y'.

[Dave Farenthold]

All.

[Interviewer 2]

Thank you, brother. Let me get.

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