Three takeaways from the final day of SEC Football Media Days
.JPG "Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher speaks during SEC Media Days on Thursday. Fisher addressed his summer feud with Alabama Coach Nick Saban, among other topics.")
In addition to my column, three takeaways from the fourth and final day of SEC Football Media Days at the College Football Hall of Fame.
1. Jimbo Fisher addresses the elephant in the room
It didn’t take long for Texas A&M Coach Jimbo Fisher to be asked about his summer feud with Alabama Coach Nick Saban. Fisher fired back at Saban after the Alabama coach said that Fisher’s Aggies had “bought” their No. 1-ranked recruiting class.
Saban later said he should not single out Texas A&M and he never said that the Aggies broke the rules, that he was just pointing out what was going on with NIL in college football. That was after Fisher blasted his (former) friend — the two worked together at LSU — insinuating that Saban had not always been above board.
“Listen, we’re great,” Fisher said Thursday. “Two competitive guys that go at it. We all learn from things we do in our business. Two competitive guys on a topic that is very — everywhere, as they say. There’s no rules in this thing, where it goes. Each state has different laws and everything.
“And like he said, I heard a statement he made, the arguments we had in the staff room and on the basketball court and all those things. But on the basketball court, we didn’t have them. We were always on the same team. So we usually had them against other people. I have great respect for Nick. Unfortunately, our thing went public. Sometimes that happens in this world. Nothing is private anymore, is it?”
As for the NIL issues, Fisher said, “Like I say, guys, there’s no rules. Each state has its own rules. I mean, it’s not just an NCAA thing or a national thing. Each state. For instance, in Texas, we cannot bring up NIL to a recruit. We can’t say it, we can’t promise. All we can say is if guys on our team have it, that’s all we can say.
“Other states can present written contracts. They can send you a written contract to a guy. I’ve been going through that in a recruiting thing. It’s just the world we’re in. We are frustrated because there’s no unification of what happens and the way it happens. It’s a different day and time. Change is inevitable. That’s the rules we have to play by, so we all have to adapt and adjust. You either adapt and adjust or you don’t, one of the two.”
2. Bryan Harsin addresses the gorilla in the room
Bryan Harsin began his talk at the podium by mentioning that a lot of people did not think the Auburn coach would make it to his second SEC Football Media Days. Not after what he called the “gorilla in the room,” i.e. the school’s offseason inquiry into the actions of its second-year coach.
“Going back to what happened back in February, what I’m going to do now is address it,” said the former Boise State coach. “Moving forward, that will be the last time I talk about this subject. There was an inquiry. It was uncomfortable. It was unfounded. It presented an opportunity for people to personally attack me, my family, and also our program. And it didn’t work.”
The 45-year-old Harsin went 69-19 in seven seasons at Boise State before following Gus Malzahn at Auburn. The Tigers struggled through a 6-7 campaign that included five straight losses to end the season. After losing to Alabama 24-22 in overtime, Auburn lost 17-13 to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.
Then in February, it was reported that backers of the Auburn program were searching for a way to fire Harsin “with cause.” When that effort failed, it was announced that he would be retained as head coach.
“What came out of that inquiry were a lot of positives,” Harsin said Thursday. “There was a silver lining in all of this. What I saw from our players and our coaches was leadership opportunities for them to step up, which is exactly what they did. You got a chance to see guys provide leadership. You got a chance to see coaches provide leadership.
“What it did is it united our football team, our players, our staff, our football team. I’m really proud of our guys. I’m proud of what something like that that could be very challenging and difficult for a lot of people, how our guys stepped up and handled it.”
3. Hendon Hooker ready to take next step at Tennessee
Virginia Tech transfer Hendon Hooker didn’t win the starting quarterback job right away at Tennessee last season. Given the chance, however, Hooker made the most of the opportunity, throwing for 31 touchdowns compared to just three interceptions as the Vols finished 7-6.
What does Hooker plan to do for an encore?
“I feel like I’m progressing on my game,” Hooker said Thursday. “I mean, I know it will never be perfect. So there’s always room to grow, and I will never go a day without trying to improve my game.”
Hooker also said going into fall camp as the starter has not changed his mindset.
“It has been no different,” he said. “I approach the season the same way whether I am the starter going in or not. I am ready to come out and compete, day in and day out and looking forward to fall camp.”
This story was originally published July 21, 2022 at 2:36 PM.
