8 Players We Want to See at SEC Media Days
SEC Media Days—and the unofficial kickoff to the college football season—are right around the corner, and several SEC stars will stroll through the Hyatt Regency Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama, in mid-June to preview the upcoming season.
The conference finalized the schedule for the four-day extravaganza this week, so now fans know which schools will be making the rounds on each day.
The three players each school will bring won't be finalized until the week or two prior to the event, but why wait?
Here are the players who must come to Media Days based on talent, personal story and national intrigue.
Georgia RB Nick Chubb
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OK, the best running back in the SEC and perhaps the country is a natural to come to Hoover, right?
Well, perhaps not.
Georgia typically goes with upperclassmen as their representatives to the event, but head coach Mark Richt should make an exception with Chubb.
Sure, there are the obvious questions that will be asked like how Chubb compares himself to other top-flight running backs and what it feels like to be in the Heisman Trophy campaign.
Those are no fun, though.
I want to ask Chubb to compare himself to a particular model of Lamborghini and his spring break plans for 2016. Maybe somebody will ask him to jump over a camera.
Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett
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Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett is another obvious choice, but he's also an important choice.
Garrett came in with boatloads of hype last year, and he didn't disappoint as he broke Jadeveon Clowney's freshman SEC sack record with 11.5. What's more, he evolved into more of a three-down defensive end as the season wore on.
Now, he has a new defensive coordinator in John Chavis who, prior to last season, has been known to let his ends loose and let them get after the quarterback.
How has the transition been? What's left to do before the season? How has fellow defensive end Daeshon Hall adjusted?
All of these are important questions. Plus, he's the star of the new-look Aggies defense, and a little bit of the spotlight wouldn't hurt.
Tennessee QB Joshua Dobbs
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By now, you've probably heard that Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs is incredibly smart and majoring in aerospace engineering. You've probably also heard that he spent May interning in Florida at Pratt & Whitney, a global aerospace manufacturer, according to Patrick Brown of the Chattanooga Times Free Press.
How'd it go? What's his workload really like now that he's fully into classes surrounding his major?
Those are fun questions, but there are also really serious football-related questions for Dobbs to answer, like how much he improved this offseason having first-team snaps in camp for the first time in his career, how Tennessee is dealing with building hype, what the realistic goal is for this team, etc.
Dobbs not only should be in Hoover, he needs to be in Hoover.
Auburn OT Shon Coleman
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Sure, there are higher-profile players on Auburn's offense than offensive tackle Shon Coleman, like quarterback Jeremy Johnson and wide receiver D'haquille "Duke" Williams, but they don't have the back story of offensive tackle Shon Coleman.
Coleman, who started at left tackle last year for the Tigers, was a 4-star prospect in the class of 2010. Shortly after signing with the Tigers, though, Coleman was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He sat out the 2010 and 2011 seasons, redshirted in 2012 and was granted four years of eligibility starting in 2013.
At this point in his career, he'd be fascinating to speak with on college football's biggest preseason stage. Not only has he conquered leukemia, but he's excelling at an SEC program that likely will be contending for a conference title (and perhaps more).
Florida QB Will Grier
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OK, this is way more unlikely to happen than any of the previous players coming to Hoover. In fact, I'm more likely to earn a spot on the PGA Tour with an average of 92 (er, 97-ish) than first-year Florida head coach Jim McElwain is likely to bring redshirt freshman Will Grier to Hoover.
But a guy can dream, right?
Grier is essentially the SEC's most mysterious player. He's the natural fit to take over McElwain's pro-style offense, but he is embroiled in a quarterback battle with dual-threat sophomore and returning starter Treon Harris.
It's a really interesting situation for a quarterback who has never taken one college snap in a game, and I'd love to hear more about it from Grier during the annual SEC kickoff event.
Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell
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If Ole Miss is going to be in the mix for the SEC West this year, it’s going to be on the legs and hands of wide receiver Laquon Treadwell to get the Rebels there.
The 6’3”, 210-pound monster from Crete, Illinois, was well on his way to an All-American-caliber season last year before a gruesome broken leg suffered late in the Auburn game ended his season.
Now he’s back, and he needs to announce that to the world.
On top of the obvious personal story that is appealing to the masses, it’d be nice to hear Treadwell talk about the Rebels’ three-man quarterback battle taking place among Ryan Buchanan, Chad Kelly and DeVante Kincade; how his fellow wide receivers have come along in his absence and how he and his teammates are dealing with lofty expectations.
South Carolina LB Skai Moore
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When you think of the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2015, you probably don’t hear about linebacker Skai Moore. In fact, you probably don’t think about anybody.
All of the superstars of the past have moved on, and it’s time for a new crop to step to the forefront. Moore is likely to be one of those stars.
He moved to “Mike” linebacker this offseason, and it’d be nice to hear about that transition. On top of the personal story, how has he and his teammates adjusted to new co-defensive coordinator/play-caller Jon Hoke? What changes have been made in the front seven to generate more pressure? How has the young secondary progressed from a year ago?
All of these are important questions, and South Carolina’s new defensive leader should be the one who answers them in Hoover.
Alabama RB Kenyan Drake
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Sure, Derrick Henry was the leading rusher for Alabama last year and the obvious star of the Crimson Tide backfield, and hearing about his offseason, which included pushing Ford F-150’s, would be fun.
From a football perspective, though, fellow running back Kenyan Drake would be much more interesting.
Not only is Drake coming off of a nasty broken leg against Ole Miss, but he is likely going to play the hybrid running back/wide receiver position under offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin similar to the one played by Reggie Bush at USC.
What’s that like? What was the plan for Drake for the remainder of the 2014 season had he not been injured? How has it been coming back from injury while the team has five quarterbacks battling for the top spot on the depth chart?
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports' composite rankings.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and college football video analyst for Bleacher Report, as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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