Notes: Oklahoma eager to see how it handles SEC challenge
DALLAS — Oklahoma made its Southeastern Conference Football Media Days debut Tuesday at the Omni Hotel in Downtown Dallas.
The Sooners, predictably, faced a myriad of questions regarding their transition to the SEC and the challenges that accompany that move.
“It goes without saying, the SEC is a deep, incredibly competitive league, unlike any other in college football, and everything, everything, again, about this league is about parity,” Oklahoma coach Brent Venables said. “It’s about competitive depth. And it's a one-possession league, as we've looked at it outside-in. You've got incredibly challenging venues. Every member of this conference, top to bottom, is committed to the excellence that this conference represents. And so as a football program, being in our first year, we are really looking forward to the challenge.
“How ready we are, we're excited for the challenge. I think you have to go through it. I think it's probably -- as a coach, I think going through it gives you the best litmus test. There's nothing that you can read about or even watch on tape, to be honest with you. We know the challenges from a roster standpoint, you know. The trenches is where this conference is decided usually year in and year out, incredibly challenging from that standpoint. The length, the speed, the play at quarterback, the coaching acumen from top to bottom. Again, you're not going to sneak up anywhere, any week in any venue and show up and luck up and win. And so it's a conference that's about earning what you get, and I think going through it a season you'll figure that out. You'll figure out what was good, what wasn't good, the areas of your program, your roster that need improvement so that you can match up and have an opportunity to compete for championships.”
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Catching up with the times: The new EA Sports College Football game was released Monday, and it’s been a hot topic with most of the players who have made the media rounds in Dallas.
That was the case with Georgia’s players as well, so Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart tried to inject himself into the conversation.
“I'm old,” Smart said. “I’m riding in the car yesterday with Mykel (Williams), Malachi (Starks), and Carson Beck. We are coming from the airport to the hotel. I am sharing conversation with Mykel and Malachi. Of course, what's everybody talking about yesterday? What is all college football players talking about? The NCAA football game, right, the new game that's out.
“I'm just trying to get in the conversation and talk to them about it. I said, ‘Man, that game is pretty awesome.’ They are like, ‘Yeah, I can't wait to get to the hotel and I'm going to play it tonight. Everybody is talking about it. It's trending all over everything.’ I was like, ‘How do they keep that thing in stores? It's got to sell out. How do they keep it in stores?’
“Mykel and Malachi just fell out laughing. They're like, ‘Coach, they don't sell those things in stores anymore. They're not in the stores.’ I was so embarrassed, but I was glad they got a kick out of that. It made me realize how out of touch I actually am with how far things have come. You can just download it and go play. It's that simple. So the stores don't have to keep it.”
UGA has rough road: Georgia is widely considered the best team in the nation entering this season. However, the Bulldogs’ road slate is daunting. Georgia plays at Alabama, at Texas, at Ole Miss and at Kentucky this fall, and Smart knows that’s a serious challenge to his team.
“Yeah, initially I was wondering how I got that draw, but we're not one to complain,” Smart said. “We’re one to be excited. I think when you step into the shoes of a University of Georgia football player, you accept that challenge is going to be there.
“I mean, we kind of embrace that and we love it. I mean, what you didn't get to mention is we open with Clemson, too, one of the top programs in the country. So we're really excited about that. I think that motivates our off-season so that we have the right kind of approach to the off-season.
“You know, our guys embrace that. As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you've spent time in the NFL, every week was like that. So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder. We embrace that. We look forward to it. We are excited for the challenge to go to some really tough places.”
Beck proud of growth: Beck is a leading candidate to be the top pick in next spring’s NFL Draft, but he said Tuesday he still has plenty of room for improvement at Georgia.
“I think over the course of last year, if you go look at game 1 and then you look at game 14, it's not even the same quarterback,” Beck said. “Making the decision to come back this year, I'm excited to see what the progression from game 15 to whatever X amount of games we might play this year is going to look like.
“Each game more confidence gets built, and that repetition continues to happen, you just become more comfortable within your offense and with your teammates and during the game. Very excited to see that progression continue to unfold.”
South Dakota flavor: Tennessee coach Josh Heupel and Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer both come from the SEC stronghold of South Dakota. Heupel is from Aberdeen, while DeBoer is from Milbank.
“I'm not sure anybody pictured two South Dakotans being in the SEC a few years ago,” Heupel said. “Kalen is somebody that I've known for a long time. I was a little bit younger, watched him as an athlete and then through our coaching paths have crossed and stayed in contact at different times. Excited to have him in the league, great person, great coach, and we'll be ready for Saturday in October.”
Homecoming for Heupel: Tennessee plays at Oklahoma this season. It’s a game Heupel, who was the Heisman runner-up at Oklahoma in 2000 and then was on the Sooners’ staff from 2006 through 2014, knows will stir up some emotions.
“I think it's an exciting time to be in this league and really unique that I'll have an opportunity to go back to Oklahoma,” Heupel said. “It’ll be a completely different viewpoint on that Saturday afternoon or evening, whenever the game is. But it'll be unique for me. Got family that still lives back there. A lot of friends, teammates, coaches that I stay in contact that coached me while I was there, and obviously administration, too. So it'll be a unique Saturday.”
Something still to prove: Missouri went 11-2 last season, beating Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl to cap an historic season. A year later, the Tigers are getting some College Football Playoff buzz, but complacency isn’t making a home in Columbia.
“Last year our motto formed into something to prove,” Missouri quarterback Brady Cook said. “I’m sure you guys have heard it. We lived by it, and we still do. Although we had a good year last year and accomplished a few things, we still have to go out and prove it this year. For the guys that came back, for the team we have now, 2024 is all that matters. That's the record that's going to be talked about. These are the games that's going to be talked about. No one is going to talk about the Cotton Bowl versus Ohio State moving forward. It's in the past. It's in the history books.
“We have to go out and prove it every single week. No one's going to hand it to us. No one's going to give us any free handouts. Us, Mizzou, we have to go earn it, we have to go prove it.”
“With social media and phones and technology, it's obviously difficult to be able to block anything out,” Missouri defensive lineman Khristian Williams said. “But for the most part, we just try to stay present and lock in on what we've got to do and lock in on the adversities as a team we've got to go through. Just being able to come out of that with our brotherhood and our bond with one another. So we're not too focused on that.”