Three takeaways from the third day of SEC Football Media Days
In addition to my column, three takeaways from the third day of SEC Football Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame.
1. No update on Chris Rodriguez’s status
Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops said that Chris Rodriguez is working out with the Wildcats in Lexington but there’s no update on his status. Rodriguez recently pleaded guilty to a DUI charge from a May arrest. He rushed for over 1,300 yards last season.
As for Stoops’ time at the podium, the coach was asked about a couple of newcomers to the roster — freshman wide receiver Barion Brown out of Nashville and Dee Beckwith, a transfer who spent two years at Tennessee.
“Barion has all the tools,” Stoops said. “Super excited about him. Was talking with (quarterback) Will (Levis) on the plane coming down here, discussing a little bit. Will mentioned it right away, how special Barion is with the ball in his hands. He can do some special things, has a lot of juice. We really got to get him caught up. He just got on campus a couple weeks ago. Need to get him plugged in, get the ball in his hands, because he’s a total play-maker. We’re very excited about that.”
Stoops indicated that Beckwith could be used at multiple positions. “Then with Dee, he is a large athlete. He’s a big boy. He’s a guy that can confuse you at times because he can play so many different positions. That’s the nice thing. That’s what (offensive coordinator) Rich (Scangarello) really liked about him and we liked about him as a staff, was we could be very multiple with him. If you watched the 49ers in the past, some of the creativity, different things we could use with a big guy like that, could play wide-out, H-back, different things. So we’ll move him around.”
Asked what was his biggest concern going into fall camp, Stoops pointed to one particular position group.
“I think it was brought up,” he said. “We have to have some play-makers step up at the wide receiver position because we have a beast of a quarterback. We have to get some play-makers to step up and compete. We’re going to have to depend on a few younger guys there. The older guys need to continue to step up.”
More of Stoops on the receivers: “We have some guys we have to push. We’re fortunate, one of the young guys came in spring so we had the opportunity to watch him, in Dane Key. He’s a special young man, definitely an impact player. You could see right away he has the mindset that he could pick things up.
“Tayvion Robinson from Virginia Tech, had a lot of experience. We needed that as well. We feel like we have young guys, guys like Christian Lewis that were out there last year, DeMarcus Harris has been waiting for his role. We feel as a group we’re probably as talented as we have been in a long time. There’s definitely some youth there that we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
2. Arkansas coach turns on the charm
It’s easy to see why Arkansas head coach Sam Pittman is an excellent recruiter. The third-year head coach of the Razorbacks was funny, charming and disarming during his time on the podium in the main room of the Hall of Fame.
In his introduction, SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey reported that Pittman has a jukebox in his office. When asked which tunes were played the most on the jukebox, Pittman replied, “Stevie Nicks. I love her. I hope Jamie (his wife) didn’t hear me say that.”
Pittman also reported that he has a giant hog sculpture in the yard of his Fayetteville home. When the Pittmans purchased the property, it featured sculptures of a fisherman catching a marlin by the lake. When a storm damaged the marlin, Pittman had it replaced by a “slobbering hog.”
And when Pittman was told that his team is 16-6 against the spread during his tenure, the coach shrugged and said, “Go Hogs.”
After going 9-4 with a win over Penn State in the Outback Bowl, Arkansas opens the 2022 season against Cincinnati, a semifinalist in last year’s College Football Playoff. The Razorbacks also play Bobby Petrino and Missouri State, BYU and Liberty as part of their non-conference schedule.
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3. Don’t mention complacency to Kirby Smart
As the defending national champions, Georgia Coach Kirby Smart knows people are wondering whether the Bulldogs will become complacent in 2022. He doesn’t want to hear it, however.
“That does not concern me in the least,” Smart said. “The men on this team haven’t done anything.”
Smart went on to say that Georgia will not be hunted this season, the Dawgs will continue to be the hunter. And to protect from a letdown, the coach said the program had done extensive studies on “how the mighty have fallen.”
The Bulldogs do return quarterback Stetson Bennett, whom Smart called, “the least-respected good player in the country.”
One other note: Georgia plays Samford in the second game of the season. Former Kentucky assistant coach Chris Hatcher is Samford’s head coach. Smart’s first coaching job came when Hatcher hired him at Valdosta State. “Hired me for $5,000,” said Muschamp.
Georgia opens the season Sept. 3 against Oregon at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
As for these Media Days, one more to go.
This story was originally published July 20, 2022 at 4:39 PM.
