SEC Media Days: Five storylines for the week
The SEC’s annual Media Days kick off Monday in Hoover, Ala. All 14 of the league’s football coaches – along with three players from each school – will speak to nearly 1,000 members of the media. South Carolina will be represented Tuesday by coach Steve Spurrier, wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, linebacker Skai Moore and kicker Elliott Fry. Josh Kendall (@joshatthestate), David Cloninger (@dcthestate) and Dwayne McLemore (@gogamecocks) on Twitter and here on GoGamecocks.com for media days coverage, including live updates during USC’s appearance on Tuesday and video from the event.
Here are five storylines to watch in the next four days.
New Sheriff in Town
Greg Sankey officially took over for Mike Slive as the league’s commissioner early this summer, and this will be the first chance the league has to introduce Sankey to a wide audience. While the average SEC football fan doesn’t think too much about who’s running the show at the league office, expect the conference to put Sankey front and center as much as it can for four days.
Alabama’s Quarterback
Jake Coker transferred from Florida State last year and was expected to walk into the starting job. Instead, Blake Sims won the job. Coker again is the favorite to win the job, but redshirt freshman David Cornwell came on strong in spring practice. Whoever wins the job will be tasked with getting the Crimson Tide back to the national title game after two years without an appearance.
Ugly mess at Ole Miss
Instead of talking about how he looks poised to follow up on last year’s 9-4 season, Rebels coach Hugh Freeze will spend most of his time being asked about standout offensive lineman Laremy Tunsil. The All-American has been accused of assault by his stepfather, who also says Tunsil was with agents the night of the incident.
Florida’s Fiasco
Gators athletics director Jeremy Foley is due for a good hire. He struck out in replacing Steve Spurrier with Ron Zook, hit a home run with Urban Meyer and then whiffed again on Will Muschamp. The latest hire is Jim McElwain, who comes back to the SEC after three seasons at Colorado State. Before taking over the Rams, McElwain was Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator at Alabama.
Low wattage
Georgia is not bringing Nick Chubb, so the league’s best player won’t be in attendance. In fact, there’s not a lot of star power on the invite list. Mississippi State quarterback Dak Prescott might be the most recognizable player at the event. Prescott was a Heisman Trophy contender for a while last year, but when Starkville is bringing the most star power, it’s probably a down year for headliners.
▪ SEC Media Days schedule: Gamecocks are up Tuesday
▪ ESPN’s Joe Tessitore eager for SEC Media Days spectacle with SEC Network
This story was originally published July 12, 2015 at 10:01 PM.