Hey kids! The 4th and final day of SEC Media Days has come and gone. Let’s dive in.
Derek Mason, Vanderbilt
The Vanderbilt Commodores are represented by players WR Kalija Lipscomb, TE Jared Pinkney, and RB Ke’Shawn Vaughn.
Coach Mason starts by saying that we’ll be looking at a much different Vanderbilt team this year, characterized by leadership, maturity, athleticism, and depth.
They know the challenge they face by starting against Georgia at home, but are looking forward to the competition.
Mason is excited to start fall camp because this is the deepest roster he’s ever had at Vanderbilt.
New OC Gerry Gdowski is an ideal fit for the system and has inherited some explosive players in Lipscomb, Pinkney, and Vaughn.
The QB competition is between Deuce Wallace (great name) and Riley Neal. Both are skilled players with different strengths. Riley has more experience coming from Ball State where he started for 32 games.
Mason expects the defense to be faster and more explosive than last season. They have more players than usual returning on that side of the ball.
They’ve added a lot of veteran players this season, which has been essential to add maturity and depth.
Beating Tennessee the last 3 years has made Vanderbilt relevant in the SEC East conversation, but Mason doesn’t want to get caught up in things that happened years ago.
There was no animosity when Ke’Shawn Vaughn left Vanderbilt for Illinois, but the continued relationship Mason kept with him helped him come back.
Vanderbilt has hired Tim Horton to leave his fast food chain in Canada to come coach RBs. No, I won’t apologize for that joke.
Mason likes the transfer portal and has been aggressive with is, but knows that the academic standards at Vanderbilt make some transfers difficult.
“The Vandy whistler is everywhere. Sometimes I think I hear him outside my window. I mean that’s one thing about the Vandy whistler, you can count on him being consistent. So expect to see him at bowl games. I know he’s annoying to y’all, but to us, in Vanderbilt there on West End, he’s the man.” Well, that seals it. I’m against Vanderbilt now. I hate that guy.
The biggest challenge on the offensive line is replacing the center. Vanderbilt has THREE centers battling for the starting job.
Mason attributes his tenure at Vanderbilt to the administration seeing growth in the football program.
Starting with Georgia, Purdue, and LSU: Mason loves the schedule. He wants to be tested early to see what kind of football team he has.
Mason knows that Georgia fans travel well, but hopes to see a lot of Vanderbilt fans at the opening night game. He’s a big fan of Kirby Smart and considers him a good friend.
Mason has relinquished his grip on the defense a bit and is letting DC Jason Tarver do his job. Mason is trying to spend even time with all sides of the ball.
Mark Stoops, Kentucky
Kentucky Wildcat players present included ATH Lynn Bowden Jr., LB Kash Daniel, and OL Logan Stenberg.
Coach Stoops is starting his seventh season at Kentucky and I would never have guessed that. Seriously. Seven years already?
Stoops is excited to have his entire offensive staff back this season, with Eddie Gran still at OC.
New DC Brad White is coming in to make some small changes to the defense, which is good news for Wildcat fans.
The ten-win season was a major milestone for Stoops and Kentucky, but he doesn’t want to get complacent. He’s motivating his team to build from that success.
Stoops talked about the culture of the team, and since he said the word culture, everyone take a drink.
Terry Wilson is back at QB for the Wildcats and has improved a lot in the off-season. A year of experience should help him with his decision making.
The OL should be very physical this year with some experienced players returning.
There are 3 solid RBs competing to replace Benny Snell, but how do you replace a player like that?
There were a lot of departures on the defensive side of the ball, (like Josh Allen) but the interior has the depth to rebuild. There’s a lot of inexperience in the secondary.
They’ve focused in the spring on helping Terry Wilson have better fundamentals and a deeper understanding of the system.
LB Kash Daniel is a really passionate player that puts the team before himself.
How big would it be to start a winning streak against the Gators? Stoops: “I’m just going to avoid that question.”
Getting Sawyer Smith as a grad transfer from Troy was a major addition to the offense, but he’s not sure how much he’ll use him yet.
Stoops has not been in any conversations about alcohol sales at football games. He’s only concerned with winning the football games.
This will be the first time that Stoops will go against Arkansas, and he’s excited to play in an offense that moves the ball well.
He’s already having conversations with his players about the impact of legalized sports gambling. You know, don’t shave points. And if you do, let the SoBros know.
Stoops is in favor of giving waivers to athletes that transfer for good reason, but doesn’t like the idea of a college “free agency.”
He’s not surprised that the East is starting to strengthen, particularly with the amount of really good QBs starting in the East.
Mark Stoops played golf with John Daly, which is awesome, even though Daly is an Arkansas fan.
Terry Wilson will wear the number of Jared Lorenzen in the season opener as a tribute.
Gus Malzahn, Auburn
The Auburn Tigers brought players DT Derrick Brown, DE Marlon Davidson, and OL Prince Tega Wanogho.
Coach Malzahn starts by discussing some of the juniors that decided to come back for another year of football at Auburn.
DT Derrick Brown making the choice to stay for his senior year started a domino effect that brought several others players back as well.
Two freshman (Bo Nix and Joey Gatewood) are currently competing for the starting QB position. They’ll figure out the starter in fall camp.
Auburn brings back their entire OL and all of their RBs, which should really help take the stress from the freshman QB.
WRs Will Hastings and Eli Stove are veteran players back from injury.
The defensive front is really stacked with returning players, but they did lose four senior LBs. Malzahn is confident in the guys stepping into those roles and doesn’t think they’ll miss a beat.
Auburn knows they have a tough schedule, but they’re used to it. They open against Oregon and College Gameday will be there. (Damn good game to choose for the first Gameday of the season.)
They have Oregon, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama this year, with the last two being home games. Malzahn notes how those two games went well 2 years ago.
The very first question out of the box is about Malzahn’s perceived hot seat at Auburn. “I got a job that expects to win championships and I expect to win championships. I knew that when I signed up. In the years that we win championships, it’s good. The years we don’t, its hot seat this and hot seat that. And I think out of the six years four have been this same rodeo. It’s just part of the job description.”
Austin Troxwell was the 6th offensive lineman, but went down in spring practice with an ACL injury.
Malzahn thinks the OL will be a strength for the team this year. They struggled last season, but have matured into a solid group.
Auburn wants to focus on converting more third downs, and will have a run threat QB that will help boost that conversion rate.
He’s really focusing on making the defense a more formidable group, while also making sure the offense is in the best shape to help a young QB.
This year’s team motto is “Ride For the Brand” and now all I can see is Malzahn in a biker gang. The least scary biker gang ever.
Malzahn is friends with Chad Morris and knows he’ll succeed at Arkansas.
WR Will Hastings walked on as a kicker and wasn’t very good, so he was “fired” by Malzahn. Hastings then got a chance at WR because of a lack of depth. Now, Malzhan things he could make it to the NFL. If terrible kickers make good WRs, Alabama’s going to be SWIMMING in elite WR talent.
Malzahn is really happy to be back calling plays for the offense. He didn’t like sitting back and he’s a very offensive minded guy. Kenny Dillingham and Kodi Burns help him a lot during practice and games. Also, Cadillac Williams is coaching RBs, and everyone can be happy for ol Cadillac.
“Our philosophy is run the football and throw it deep. And whatever the defense gives us that’s what we should be able to do. We’re getting back to really playing fast.”
The transfer portal is here to stay and Malzhan knows that you have to take advantage of it, but still rely on the relationships you make in recruiting to decide if a player is a right fit.
That’s all folks! If you missed any coverage, feel free to head back to Day 1, Day 2, and Day 3. Thanks for following along this week. Now that Media Days is officially in the books, our next stop is opening weekend in a few short weeks. Make sure you follow along with all of our college football coverage here at SoBros Network as the season inches closer. Feel free to shoot us any questions on twitter, or just hop on to chat.
See you in a few weeks. Poppa Bear Loves you.
Poppa Bear is the Lead SEC Analyst for the SoBros Network, and serves as our resident expert on the human anatomy, fixin’ stuff, and tomatoes. Follow on Twitter:@SoBroPoppaBear
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