Well, now we come to the end of the 2011 SEC Media Days. It's been an enjoyable experience. There really hasn't been too many bombshells here apart from Danny Sheridan bring back the ghost of the Cam Newton investigation, although there's still plenty to talk about. I'll be going into what SEC Commissioner Mike Slive said in his remarks and break down his suggestions in a future slideshow. 

I want to say that it's been a real pleasure to be here over the last three days. I'd like to thank the officials at the SEC for making this happen and all the work they've done in putting this together. I'd also like to thank the fine people at Bleacher Report who were able to make this happen for me as well.

Alright, college football season is right around the corner and I'm sure we'll have plenty to discuss before the season begins. To those who have taken the time to read my coverage, thank you.

This concludes Bleacher Report's live coverage of the 2011 SEC Media Days. This is Lafe Peavler, and I hope you all have a great weekend.

First off, I should not that WR Russell Shepherd was originally slated to be here, but he's not. Les Miles said that Shepherd is dealing with some "Personal issues in Baton Rouge" today. 

OL T-Bob Herbert loves playing for the "Mad Hatter." "There's definitely some method to his madness.... Who wants to play for just a regular guy?"

I'm sure there's never a dull moment with Les Miles around.

QB Jordan Jefferson said that the Cotton Bowl win against Texas A&M was, "A great win.... We dominated the entire game. That allowed us to end the year on a good note."

Jefferson had some things to say about his detractors as well. "It kinda hurts a little because I have a 20-7 record.... I'm eight games away from winning the most games of any QB at LSU.... But I'm doing a lot to change people's perception of me."

LB Ryan Baker feels that Les Miles is, "The best coach in the country." On last season, Baker said, "We were 11-2 but it didn't feel like that. We want to win the national championship. 

Well, that's for LSU. Final thoughts coming at you!

LSU Head Coach Les Miles feels good about the experience of his team.

"It's a quality team. 16 seniors.... I feel that there's great leadership there."

On QB Jordan Jefferson: "Jefferson is in his final campaign. He's been in the best place he's ever been with coaching."

He touted the experience he has on his offensive line. He also talked about his highly thought of defense. 

"I like our defense. I like their speed. I like how they deploy."

On playing Oregon: "I told our players that they need to prepare with purpose. We need to prepare for a world-class team."

LSU talked about his schedule, which indeed is very difficult with Oregon and West Virginia in the non-conference play.

About the 25 player signing cap: "As long as we're all in the same position, there shouldn't be any issue there."

On preparing for Oregon: "We certainly looked at the Auburn game.... They have speed and ability.... It's going to be a great game to coach in and a great game to play in."

On keeping Jordan Jefferson's confidence up: "I think he's leading. I think he's doing what he needs to do."

On the Willie Miles situation: "All I can tell you is that we're going to cooperate fully."

On Greg Schiano's idea to get rid of kickoffs: "I don't see special teams reduced in any way."

On playing in the Louisiana heat: "We're out in it every day.... When we go out and play in conference play it's always going to be there."

On not looking ahead to the Alabama game: "It's very easy not to look ahead I promise."

On the criticism that Jordan Jefferson has gotten on message boards: "Those that sign their name 'Slick Willie' don't have legitimate opinions." 

On Les Miles' basketball skills with Scott Van Pelt: "I made the shots that I shot and I slammed my slam and I defended my seven year old very well."

Well, that's it for the "Mad Hatter" and all of the SEC coaches. LSU players are the last up, then I give you my final wrap up. 

Since Les Miles is running a bit late, here's the media's predicitons on how teams will finish in the SEC (Taken from the SEC website):

SEC CHAMPION - Alabama (98), LSU (29), Arkansas (18), South Carolina (14), Georgia (4), Florida (2), Ole Miss (2)

Alabama is predicted to win it all in 2011. This is the way that I voted as well.

Of course, we in the media don't have a terrific track record of picking the right team, but...

So thoughts? Did anyone get snubbed in your opinion? Feel free to discuss below!

How I voted for the All-SEC team College Football 2011: Picking the Preseason All-SEC Team

DE Kentrell Lockett is thankful that he's able to come back after missing a lot of last season with a torn ACL and that he's grown because of it.

"I have a whole new perspective and a whole new way of playing the game. Just one play can be your last."  

He's also grateful that the NCAA granted him a sixth year of eligibility so that he can be back this year.

RB Brandon Bolden feels new confidence in his new offensive line. He gave a very nice shout out to Matt Hall, who just transferred from Arkansas. "I feel way better about [the offensive line] than I did last year."

OT Bradley Sowell said that the line has been able to "gel" and that "we have our starting five."

Well, just one school remains for the entire SEC Media Days. And what better way to go than having LSU Head Coach Les "Mad Hatter" Miles address us? Maybe we'll get some grass samples...

Houston Nutt called 2010 "dissapointing", but said that things went better this spring and summer.

On BYU: "They're a good football team with a lot of tradition."

On the QB battle: "We have three good QBs fighting for the top position that haven't played at this level yet."

About the new SEC signing cap at 25: "Well, it's the rule. I always follow the rules.... I wish we had kept it at 28 for one more year."

On raising the GPA to 2.5: "I believe in Commissioner Slive. I'm going to look at this."

It seems that what Slive said on Wednesday is taking a lot of coaches by surprise. It'll be interesting what comments come out once they read over it a bit more.

On Dan Mullen's billboard campaign: "We had the best recruiting in the state of Mississippi.... I don't concern myself with what other coaches say." He also called what Mullen's doing a "waste of time."

On Jeremiah Masoli: "I think he helped him and he helped us.... it's funny that when you don't win that story goes away."

On the SEC: "This is the most difficult team in America. It's hard."

Still, Nutt feels that things are going well at Ole Miss. "We're on the right track [to get to the SEC championship]"

On the SEC West: "Tough, tough, tough."

He also said that LSU looks "beautiful" before the game. I'm not sure football players think of themselves as beautiful

Houston Nutt seems to be in favor of paying players. "I think that we can help out on certain things."

More on the matchup with BYU: "I have a lot of respect for Bronco and what he's accomplished.... The have a QB that started as freshman last year that was outstanding particularly his last six games, and so we got to do a good job." 

Nutt says that says that he doesn't have to use the fact that Ole Miss has been picked last in the SEC West: "They know that... It's already immediate motivation."

Here's the recruiting services question again (it seems to be one writer's obsession here...): "That's how we get the video.... Those services are valuable because they can get 250 schools worth of film."

On the Egg Bowl and what Dan Mullen is doing to stir the pot: "It's all about winning. That's the bottom line.... My energies are going to be on what's going to help us win.... We have marketing people that do stuff like that."

On Greg's Schiano's proposal to get rid of kickoffs: "It's going to be hard to take out the kickoff. It's going to be hard to take that out.... Move that ball to the 35 would be a suggestion."

Mike Slive's proposal to have multi-year scholarships isn't popular with the coaches, and Nutt is no exception to that. 

Alright, Ole Miss players coming up!

The players at Vanderbilt seem to be more excited now that James Franklin is the new head coach.

QB Larry Smith recounted his first team meeting with Franklin: "The first thing he said at our first team meeting when he arrived in Nashville is that Vanderbilt's days at 2-10 are over. So when he said that we knew he meant business."

CB Casey Hayward said that, "It was time for a change.... Coach Franklin is a confident guy. He's brought in a that's confident staff as well.... The confidence that they bring in is rubbing off on the players."

LB Chris Marve said that Coach Franklin and his staff, "Had my respect from day one. They're very energetic and knowledgeable and really, really committed to this program."

It seems like James Franklin has injected new energy into this program. It'll be interesting to see how that translates on the field. Ole Miss' Houston Nutt us up next!

On Mike Slive's idea to raise the GPA: "I'm for those rules because we're already applying them."

On recruiting: "My philosophy is about relationships.... The way I look at it we have an opportunity to do something special at Vanderbilt... You can come to Vanderbilt and you can have a world class educations.... We also play in the best football conference in the country. If you're a top student, where else would you want to play?"

On building a program like Stanford: "Four years ago Stanford was 1-11.... It's a tremendous challenge.... I'm going to reach out to players and tell them that they can do something special here." 

On being the third head coach in three years: "All I can do from the day I got on campus is making sure our players know what direction we're going.... It's been exciting to see our players buy into our system."

Here's the recruiting service question again (I guess he couldn't get to Nick Saban...): "I wanted to make sure that we can recruit nationally.... Recruiting services are good but for us they're just a starting point."

On getting a better home field advantage: "The most important thing is to improve the product on the field.... Myself and my staff we need to reach out to our fan base around the world." 

On Jared Morrison: "He had a great spring. He has great work ethic.... I'm excited about what he'll do this year."

OK, that's it for James Franklin. His players are up next! 

LB Dont'a Hightower says that he's back to 100 percent this season after suffering with a knee injury.

"I think that after that A-Day Game that it shows that my pass rush is back."

That's not good news for QBs across the SEC.

RB Trent Richardson feels confident that whoever starts at QB will be good.

"I'm pretty comfortable with both of them boys.... I'm not worried about the QB position at all."

Also, Richardson's primary goal is not winning the Heisman this season.

"That's a dream...but what it all comes down to is if you win the game. It's not just one person...that's a team goal."

Never far from the players mind, and the fans and sportswriters for that matter, is the Iron Bowl Rivalry with Auburn.

Dont'a Hightower called the rivalry "intense." 

S Mark Barron wasn't surprised by the intensity of the rivalry because he grew up here in Alabama as an Alabama fan. 

"I knew it was intense....I don't think they're going to ever tone it down."

Barron is right. You just need to go out to the lobby here to see that.

We'll that's it for the Crimson Tide. James Franklin of Vanderbilt is next!

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban says that SEC Media Days is, "One of my favorite days," as he started his comments this morning.

And why not? There are a ton of fans in the lobby here. In Birmingham, Nick Saban is more famous than any rock star.

Nick Saban recognized all the efforts by people to help rebuild the state after the devastating tornado that hit earlier this year.  

As far as what's different this year, Saban said that, “We have a little more experience, a little more maturity.”

He also acknowledged the loss of a lot of key starts last season, including Heisman Winner Mark Ingram and star WR Julio Jones. “We do have some question marks on our team. The fact is that we lost four first round draft picks.”

“There was a time where five out of the six teams in the SEC West were ranked in the top 20.”

About scheduling local teams: “I personally don’t have an issue playing in-state schools.” Points to his LSU record.

On the Alabama-Auburn rivalry, "I'd like our fans to show class in how the represent our school and how they represent our state."

On a Alabama fan wearing a T-Shirt, "We can be a little more respectful to each other and still be as fierce on the field."

On paying players, "I'd like to sit down and discuss this issues. I'd like to have dialogue on how these things would affect college football."

Saban then talked about how a young man in that had come out of a small town in Louisiana and how his life had improved by getting the college degree.

"The impact that the program has had and college football has had on helping [young men]. I don't know why we need to change." 

On recruiting in Florida, "There's a few recruits that seem to want to leave their state and we try to identify those people."

On the SEC: "We're the national league of college football."

With the last five national titles in SEC hands, it's hard to argue.

On conference re-alignment and non-BCS schools: "I have no idea."

On Trent Richardson, "Trent Richardson played his best games [when Mark Ingram was out]...when he was the "A" guy." Also, Eddie Lacy will get a good share of the carries next season.

On being picked as the top team in the SEC: "You guys are a lot smarter than I am. I could never pick the champion in the league."

You know, I'm not sure we do such a great job as the press in picking who is going to win, but...

On Dont'a Hightower: "He's had a really good offseason, a really good spring practice and a great summer."

On the where the QB battle stands: "It doesn't stand anywhere.... It'll be interesting to see who plays better in a game."

On starting No. 1 preseason in a lot of polls: "It means nothing.... Whatever we do this season we're going to do it on the field."

On kickers and field goal kickers: "We won't know who our punter will be after fall camp." Also, there will still be two field goal kickers, one for short field goals and one for long field goals."

On whether or not Mike Slive is a dictator: "No. Not at all...I think that Commissioner Slive is a really good guy."

On his defense this year: "It think that we have some good players coming back with a lot of talent and experience...But will they use the talent and experience as a comfort zone or will they work harder?... The group that we have I've been pleased with."

Then, before he left he thanked all of us for covering college football.

Well, the Alabama players are up next! 

Well, we've only got one day left of SEC Media Days. So, let's take a moment to pause and reflect about what has happened over the last two days.

First, thoughts from today: There weren't any real bombshells today. Gene Chizik didn't go nuts after getting asked for the 100th time about the NCAA investigation into Cam Newton and what Danny Sheridan said yesterday. The coaches and players said pretty much what they're expected to say.

The award for best coaching interview so far goes to South Carolina's Steve Spurrier. He was entertaining, infinitive and honest with us.

The worst was Gene Chizik. He speaks with a bit of a monotone, and his press conference was pretty much 30 minutes of "No comment" said in a variety of boring and long-winded ways.

SEC Commissioner Mike Slive's proposals have been the biggest buzz around (well, except maybe Danny Sheridan's comments...). Let's be clear on the one about paying players according to the cost of living:

It ain't gonna happen.

The SEC may rule college football right now, but not even Mike Slive can change Title IX. There are very few schools around the country turning a profit right now on their athletic programs, and money is an important issue here. If college football and college basketball players can get scholarships then everyone else will have to receive the same thing.

Raising the academic standards doesn't seem to be too popular with some SEC coaches, including Steve Spurrier and Derek Dooley. I'm sure more will come out against it as the word gets out. Let's be honest here: A lot of people who play college football are only here because they want to play in the NFL. The last time I checked, the NFL doesn't require a college degree and doesn't really care about what people's GPA was in high school. So let's not pretend that a lot of these players are truly "student athletes." But we'll see.

Well, that's all I've got for now. Check back tomorrow for more live coverage of the SEC Media Days right here on Bleacher Report.

OL Dallas Thomas perhaps said it best when he said that Tennessee is the "Most experienced young team."

Yes, that's somewhat oxymoronic, but it does describe where Tennessee is right now.

DT Malik Jackson is putting on a bit of weight to help him prepare for playing his position next season. "I'm at 250 lbs right now and I'd like to get up to 275 lbs by the fall.

Tauren Poole talked about the extra blocking duties he had to take on last year: "I actually liked it... Here at Tennessee they ask you to do everything."

And they'll need him to do even more this season.

Well, that's it for my live coverage of the SEC Medias Day 2. Check back here later today for my thoughts on today's interviews and make sure to come back tomorrow for Alabama, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss and LSU.

Tennessee Head Coach Derek Dooley acknowledged the difficulty that Tennessee has had over the last few years.

"We've defiantly given you to write about over the last year."

He also confirmed how young his team is right now. "We have only ten seniors, and only two of them were starters." But, Dooley said that, "We're not going to use youth as and excuse for failure."

Dooley said that he's trying to get Tennessee back to its former glory.

"We lost what it means to play for Tennessee and what the Power T means."

As far as coaching Tyler Grey, "Well, it's like parenting. Sometimes they don't do what you want them to, but then when they do it you think well that wasn't so bad."

On the weakness of the SEC East: "Well, we've got some issues ourselves... We have to concern ourselves with where we are."

On Slive's proposed increase in required GPA: "We met some good baseline standards and we've met those standards." 

On Will Muschamp: "I think he'll do well at Florida, but I wish he was at Texas. He's a friend of mine."

When asked about the athletics department merger, "The merger has not affected us positively or negatively because we're not there yet."

On the legislation of that over-signing cap, "We're going to adjust, so we'll move on."

On the AD search, "I'm not involved in the hiring, nor should I be. He's going to be my boss."

With the speed of the NCAA investigations: "I can't do anything. I'm just a football coach... I raised the issue with [the NCAA] and they listened." 

On the ubiquitous recruiting question: "With technology, there's a better way. The high school coach can send the film to a recruiting service... That's what we use these recruiting services for is video." That being said, Dooley has cut about $75,000 from recruiting services over the last two years.

On how long its going to build back the program after what "February I got together with the team and said that the problems are behind us. We're not up to 85 yet, but we have enough bodies now."

Dooley on multi-year scholorships: "A scholarship is a contract....Both parties have obligations to do things to keep up the agreement." "I think that the way that we have things is good."

On RB Tauren Poole "Tauren is everything that you want in a player as far as drive goes.... I wish I had 100 Taurens."

The last question was about the endings of some of the games (I'm assuming that the ending of the LSU Tennessee game where the Volunteers lined up with 13 players on the field.). "You live. You learn. I'm glad they happened my first year. I hope that these never happen again."

OK, Tennessee athletes up next than I'll be wrapping up the live coverage for today.

The Tigers know that they're predicted at or near the bottom of the SEC West, and they have one thing to say to that:

Bring it on.

DT Dosa Equae says that Auburn will, "Use [what naysayers say] to our advantage. When your working so hard and everybody is telling you what you can't do you really go out there and do it."

TE Phillip Lutzinkirchen said that, "People were wrong about us last year and we have the same mentality this year."

Nosa Equae said that even though a lot of people are gone from last year, practice was still pretty much the same.

"It was the same practices. It was the same tempo. It was the same game speed mentality. It was the same coaches getting after us. It was a great experience."

WR Emory Blake said that the Tigers, "Had a great spring and an awesome summer. It was probably the best summer I've had at Auburn, and everybody's been hungry and working to get back to where we were."

Alright, well there's only one team left for today and that's Tennessee. Stick around for more updates

Auburn Head Coach Gene Chizik had took a moment to say I told you so.

"We've had an incredible last year... There wasn't many people in this room last year that thought that Auburn would win the national championship." 

However, Chizik is smart enough to realize that last season is over.

"We have moved on. We are focused on the 2011 football season."

As far as this years team, Chizik said, "We've got a very young team.... We are very light on experience. I asked our guys to raise their hands if they started in more than five games and I was looking for hands."

Chizik gave a lot of credit to his assistant coaches. "I've got the best coaching staff in the country."

Mike Dyer this year, "One things that we did with Michael is that we didn't through him in too early.... But Michael has a lot of work to do... I'm proud of the direction that he's going right now."

On Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn: "It's really important for me to keep Gus... He's one of the best in the country as his trade." 

On the story in the NY Times concerning the Cam Newton : "It was a simple question of process... To be honest it was very informative."

Translation from Chizikese: I'm not going to tell you what I really think.

Chizik continued to deflect any questions about, well, everything. 

On the Iron Bowl, "It's great for the state of Alabama... This is a great rivalry and I expected to be energized."

On scheduling in-state schools besides Alabama: "It's nice to be able to play Samford. But we'll do whatever we feel is best for Auburn."

On how they can replace Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, "We feel good in the evaluation of our players."

Most common thing Chizik said: "I'm not going to go into the details..."

Translation: I'm not going to answer that question and talk about how good Auburn is instead.

On the poisoning of the Toomer's Corner: "I think it's like anything else. The majority of people...are passionate without going overboard. But there's a small few that do go overboard." "If the fans had as much respect for each other as the coaches and the players, then things like this wouldn't happen."

On recruiting services: More rambling on.

Chizik's answer to everything: "We're recruiting well, so what if the NCAA is investigating us? (Not an actual quote)."

On the Danny Sheridan's comments (you know this was coming...), "The NCAA has said that Auburn did nothing wrong in the recruitment of Cam Newton."

Chizik says that he's "had a blast" despite the NCAA investigation.

Chizik said that the comeback in the Clemson game was the "first indication that this team was special."

As enjoyable as South Carolina's Steve Spurrier was yesterday,  Gene Chizik was the exact opposite. He's monotone and he doesn't really answer questions. I know he's got a lot of distractions, but not addressing them the way that he is really isn't helping his cause. 

OK, Auburn players up next!