SEC Media Days Notebook: Sankey, Fisher highlight Day One

ATLANTA — Southeastern Conference commissioner Greg Sankey said Monday the league will actively work to come up with a plan to react to legislation in states, including Mississippi, to legalize sports gambling.

Sankey said said the conference is likely to create a player “availability” report, though he cautioned whether it could be in place for the 2018 season.

“If this is to happen, we have one shot to get it right,” Sankey said.

Sankey also said the SEC is considering subscribing to a service to analyze games to see if anything unusual happened in games as it relates to the betting line.

“Part of our education in 2011 is should we subscribe and find out what's happening around gambling,” Sankey said. “Part of the positive step with legalized gambling is there's a lot more sunshine on what is happening.

“And one of the lessons is those involved in legalized gambling are the best at knowing what's happened. I think some of the state laws include expectations for communication around transparency. If there are oddities, I think that's one much those elements that we would encourage.

“I think there are two parts really to the question; monitoring what's happening at a state and national level from a policy standpoint. That's the communication with other leagues both at the college and professional level and then the discussion of should we be in the habit of subscribing to a service that analyzes our games. Is there strange things that might happen around the line? We've not done that yet, but certainly a topic of conversation.”

Division format not going away

Sankey said the league will stick with the 6-1-1 scheduling format that it has used since expansion.

“I think the divisional structure has supported a number of really healthy, really important rivalries, or sectional games that have great meaning,” Sankey said. "And when you start developing different formats, remember, I said back in 2014, we work through a lot.

“You end up interrupting some things that right now is not a priority for us. We want to maintain those types of scheduling rivalries. Could that change? That's why we have conversations every year. But those rivalries are really healthy and I think really unique, particularly in the number of those that exist in this conference.”

Fisher not shying away from title talk

Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher was hired to bring a national title to College Station, and he did nothing Monday to shy away from that championship talk. Asked what his timetable is for winning college football’s ultimate prize at Texas A&M, Fisher didn’t hesitate.

“I think your timetable is as quick as you can put things in place and everyone buys into what you're trying to do,” Fisher said. “You have a timetable, your timetable is now. You want to win immediately and that's your place, but is that realistic? I don't know. Could it be? Yes. Could it not be? Yes. It's all about the process of putting things in place. Because you want to build a program the right way up and get kids to understand and buy in.

“I will say this: Our attitude of our players has been tremendous. I've been very proud of that. They've come in, there's a lot of change, we do things differently. Not that the other side was right, just a philosophical difference. The way they've handled it has been tremendous. You'll never know. When we went to Auburn that year in 1993 and Alabama was defending national champs of '92 and they came off 5-16, we went undefeated. It can happen quickly. At LSU it took three or four years. At Florida State it took us I think four years to do it. I don't know.

“You never put a timetable on things because you can't judge people. You don't know how each guy's going to respond and what's going to happen and the chemistry of your unit, the camaraderie of the unit and your coaching staff. Hopefully we'll do it as quickly as we possibly can.”

Fisher emphasizing toughness.

Fisher has talked about making the Aggies tougher since he arrived in College Station in early December. Some have taken his comments as a slight at former Texas A&M coach Kevin Sumlin, but Fisher said Monday that wasn’t his point.

“I just said we're going to play tough,” Fisher said. “How they played, I have no idea. I have no idea and again did not refer to anything back. And it's hard to _ the way a coach plays his team until you understand and been in his shoes and understand that team _ I think it's very hard to say anything about him.

"I just say we have to play with great toughness. We have to play with tremendous physicality. I think the teams in this league that win, the teams that win national championships, and the success we had at Florida State, that's how we played.

“I think there's got to be a certain level -- you got to be able to run the football in this league, and you got to be able to stop the run. You have to be able to create big plays. You have to be tough and skilled. Because you're tough don't mean you can't be skilled. Because you're skilled doesn't mean you can't be tough. I think there's a great combination there to be able to learn and be able to do that. …I think there's a toughness factor that you have to have and a level that we have to get to.”

Snell’s role to increase?

Stephen Johnson is gone from Kentucky, and that could mean a bigger role for running back Benny Snell in Lexington. However, Kentucky coach Mark Stoops said Monday he wants to be careful not to over-extend his star tailback.

“It would be hard to increase. You know he has been a big focus for us, and he's been a work horse. You have to admire his ability to go back day after day and run after run in his consistency. He gets tough yards. You know how tough they are in this league. And Benny's been extremely consistent.

“I think what is most impressive about him is that attitude, that chip on his shoulder, playing the game the way it's supposed to be done, it's like that every day. Whether it's in the weight room, the training session in the summer, every practice, every scrimmage, he goes hard. He's very physical. Our local media certainly talk about that a lot. I would rather say whoa than giddyap.

“He is one of those guys that once in a while in practice, he's so playing physical when we're not totally live, but you'd rather have it that way. He's been very consistent. I think it will help us with the new quarterback situation that needs to be resolved. It's nice to have an offensive line with some experience. It's nice to have some tight ends that can play, that can block, be physical and catch the ball. And certainly with Benny, that will help.”

Orgeron more comfortable with new staff

LSU coach Ed Orgeron hired Matt Canada to be his offensive coordinator last season and Orgeron admitted Monday that was a mistake.

This past offseason, Orgeron hired a familiar face, Steve Ensminer, to run the Tigers' offense, and that familiarity has Orgeron feeling optimistic heading into the 2018 season.

"We have the staff that we'll go to battle with," Orgeron said. " I trust these guys. I've known Steve Ensminger since 1979. Obviously Dave Aranda is very well proven, can be a coach at any level. And Greg McMahon is one of my best friends in coaching.

"Along with them and the great assistants we've had, one guy I didn't mention on defense is Bill Busch. He's been a five-star coach for us. He's done a tremendous job of recruiting and allows Corey to coach the quarterbacks, and those guys can share the nickel position.

"So we're more equipped to be able to compete in the SEC. We have ten analysts this year as opposed to five. We're giving our coaches more information, our players more information earlier in the week. So, yes, I feel more comfortable, and I love coaching at LSU"

Orgeron promoted Ensminger to offensive coordinator in 2016 when he replaced Les Miles on an interim basis. Canada was hired to open up the Tigers' offense, but the two men lacked chemistry from the beginning.

"Circumstances were different when I got the job," Orgeron said. "I went out and tried to get the best coordinator in the league, and possible for our football team it didn't work. And all the while I was saying: You know what? Steve Ensminger is the guy, and if I have a chance, I'm going to hire him.

"I have complete confidence in the direction that he's going to lead this offense. He and I are on the same page."