The growing presence of ESPN has taken some luster out of SEC Media Days for certain media members. (Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports)
Two game-changers came out of SEC Media Days that drew little attention.
The first was a scheduling fact that has escaped many media members. Because of the way the calendar falls this year and next season, every team in the nation this coming season has not one, but two off weeks. This is huge because it gives teams extra time to prepare and rest. I asked Vanderbilt coach James Franklin what he thought of the additional off week. He said the biggest plus for him was another opportunity for his staff to recruit.
How does the extra time come into play? Alabama, for instance, has off weeks before Texas A&M and LSU — its two biggest games. Part of Alabama’s difficulty in the loss to the Aggies last year was overcoming the emotional and physical toll from the last minute win over LSU the week before. It was obvious the game took its toll.
The second game-changer is the additional penalties to the targeting rule. SEC director of officials Steve Shaw explained to the media that in 2013 not only will players be penalized for hitting a defenseless player above the shoulders (not just helmet-to-helmet), but they will also be thrown out of the game unless the replay shows the play was unintentional.
Consider this: If a player is ejected for targeting in the first half then he is out for the reminder of the game. What creates further distress for a coach is that a player ejected in the second half of a game will miss the first half of the following game.
For example, just pretend that South Carolina superstar defensive player Jadeveon Clowney is thrown out of the second half of the North Carolina opener for targeting a defenseless player. He is out for the rest of the Tar Heels game and the first half of the following week in the SEC opener against Georgia.
This has the potential to be the biggest rule change we have seen in college football in years, and it will certainly be the most controversial.
NEWBIES PASS THE TEST: The four first-year coaches– Auburn’s Gus Malzahn, Kentucky’s Mark Stoops, Arkansas’ Brett Bielema and Tennessee’s Butch Jones were pretty solid in their first meeting with the media.
It was easy to tell that both Jones and Bielema had previous experience in dealing with the media. Stoops was not as forceful as he will be in coming years. Malzahn, who has had a meteoric rise since being a high school coach just a few years ago, was rather polished for his first meeting.
I WANNA PLAY FOR YOU: Vandy’s Franklin did it again. Even though he was the last coach in the print room with a group of tired writers, Franklin held court. He makes people want to play for him.
If middle- aged media members get excited listening to Franklin, imagine how he affects teenagers. Franklin no longer typifies the previous poor mouthing Commodore coaches who knew they had no chance to win games.
Instead, Franklin believes his team can win. The Vandy coach is excited about hosting Ole Miss in the ESPN Thursday night opener. This is a huge game for both teams that could be the difference in a winning season or a better bowl game.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION: One of the questions asked every year is whether SEC Media Days stays in Birmingham. It seems to grow every year.
Again over 1,200 media members convened for the meeting. Speculation from the media centered on the possibility of the event moving to another city such as Atlanta. The guess here is that will not happen, especially with the SEC headquarters being housed in Birmingham.
THE PRESENCE OF ESPN: The biggest change in SEC Media Days was the presence of ESPN. The network was omnipresent. The set for College Football Live, which was located outside the print room, took up a great deal of room in the lobby. There was a different ESPN personality at every turn. Kudos to Joe Tessitore and ESPNU’s Dari Nowkhah for being so accessible to other media members.
ESPN’s presence caused a problem on radio row. For years radio stations from all over the South pay to set up downstairs in the Wynfrey Hotel to broadcast their various shows. This year several radio hosts complained that there were fewer players and coaches who made the trek to radio row because ESPN took up so much interview time. This is inexcusable.
Radio stations have been a presence at SEC Media Days for years and they deserve equal time. The name of the event is Media Days and coaches and players are there to meet with the media, including sports radio. There needs to be a better understanding next year that radio stations have the same access to the school coaches and players that ESPN does.
