2012 SEC Media Days: Day 3 Report Card Grades for Teams, Coaches and Players

The 2012 edition of SEC Media Days is in the books, and it's time to hand out grades for Day 3.

It was clear that Alabama head coach Nick Saban came to the event with several talking points and that Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley was overly prepared to answer hot-seat questions.

Who made the grade and who needs improvement? SEC lead blogger Barrett Sallee hands out grades in this slideshow.

Ole Miss Rebels: A

The Ole Miss contingent was by far the most entertaining of the day.

Just to run down the highlights, new head coach Hugh Freeze more or less called out South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier for his comments from Day 1, and Donte Moncrief took shots at his teammate, Charles Sawyer, for being the better dresser.

Plus, we got actual information.

Moncrief gave a little insight as to who leads the Rebel quarterback race between Bo Wallace and Barry Brunetti: "I think Bo Wallace [is the favorite]," Moncrief said. "He knows the offense, and you can tell."

Freeze probably doesn't like him saying that—but we sure do.

Alabama Crimson Tide: B

Head coach Nick Saban provided the fireworks on Day 3, but center Barrett Jones, defensive lineman Damion Square and tight end Michael Williams spoke mostly like they'd been coached for the event.

Considering their head coach is Nick Saban—a man that is a master of saying a lot without saying anything—that's not surprising.

Want proof?

"Us as leaders, most of us now were there in 2010 and we saw what can happen, what complacency did to us," said Williams. "We’re very imminent [sic] to not let this happen to this year’s team.”

Straight out of the Saban playbook.

Saban carried the team on Thursday, which is probably the way he planned it.

Georgia Bulldogs: C+

Georgia head coach Mark Richt's laid-back style apparently permeates through the locker room.

The head coach of the SEC East favorites didn't say an awful lot at Media Days, and neither did the Georgia contingent of wide receiver Tavarres King, linebacker Jarvis Jones and defensive lineman Abry Jones.

King did give us some thoughts on true freshman running back Keith Marshall, who is expected to play a big role now that Isaiah Crowell has been dismissed from the team.

"He's shifty," King said. "He's impressive. I think he's going to be a really special player for us this year."

Crowell made waves as a true freshman last year, and it might be up to Marshall to repeat the feat if the Bulldogs want to win the East for the second straight year.

Tennessee Volunteers: C+

Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley is on the hot seat, and he acted like it a bit on Thursday.

He tried to be as gracious as possible when answering those questions.

"It's been a tough four years in Tennessee," said Dooley. "I know, of course, the SEC has enjoyed taking advantage of our tough times. But there's a nice mood on our team right now that you're not going to have Tennessee to kick around anymore."

His quarterback, Tyler Bray, answered it a little bit more colorfully.

"I don't know about our coach being on the hot seat, but our team is on the hot seat," Bray said. "We haven't played like we should have."

Other than that, the Tennessee contingent didn't give us much to work with.

Barrett Sallee is the SEC Lead Blogger for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotations in this article were obtained via SEC Media Days.