Georgia Football: Best Quotes, Key Takeaways from SEC Media Days

The SEC media days have come and gone, and it ended with the Georgia Bulldogs taking the stage in Birmingham.

Head coach Mark Richt along with Malcolm Mitchell, John Theus and Jordan Jenkins were in attendance for the Bulldogs taking questions from media from all over the country. There were a lot of things for Richt and his players to talk about, including the outlook on the season, the quarterback battle and even Richt’s new look. Yes, Richt has a new look, and it was on display on Thursday.

Here are some of the best quotes and takeaways from the Bulldogs' stint at media days.

Best Quotes

One of the burning questions the media wanted to ask Richt is the quarterback situation. With the Bulldogs adding Greyson Lambert, it’s now a full-out competition to see who will start on opening weekend. Richt has this to say via John Zenor of the AP (via the Advocate).

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“I think it’s going to take a while. We have 29 practice opportunities before the first game, and we’re going to get a rotation where we can see the guys that we want to see compete and then make a decision on who should be the starter.”

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But one of the other things that was interesting with Richt is the question was brought up if he was going to retire anytime soon. This is what Richt had to say, via Mark Schlabach:

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Richt said he has no plan to retire anytime soon. "I'm going to do it as long as the Lord says to do it."

— Mark Schlabach (@Mark_Schlabach) July 16, 2015"

It’s good that Richt is not going anywhere anytime soon, but one of the things that generated the most buzz (literally) is Mark Richt’s new haircut. Jenkins had to take a double take when he saw it for the first time. Here’s what he had to say, via Dayne Young of WALRB:

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#UGA LB Jordan Jenkins says the players didn't recognize Mark Richt after his buzz cut haircut. #Dawgs pic.twitter.com/65Pwx5QV2M

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) July 16, 2015"

Mitchell was on hand because he’s expected to have a strong season for the Bulldogs after missing all of 2013 with an ACL injury, and he struggled last season because he was still recovering from it. Here’s what he had to say about making his comeback (via Les East of the Advocate).

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“I’ve learned patience, I’ve learned persistence, I’ve learned to stay passionate about the things you love. I’ve learned to hold on to a dream long enough to see it through.”

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Key Takeaways

One of the things that fans learned while reading about and watching the Bulldogs at media days is that it has been a quiet offseason for the Bulldogs. Jake Rowe of 247Sports said that someone asked Theus the question about that, and he said that the overall character of the team is good. He also mentioned the leadership in the locker room, and character development has also played a factor in the quiet offseason.

That is a good thing because the Bulldogs can focus on the task at hand, which is winning the SEC East instead of finding out when and if a certain player can join the team because of what he did during the offseason.

Brynn Anderson/Associated Press

And speaking of the SEC East, the Bulldogs are the heavy favorite to win the division. The media voted on who would win the both divisions and the conference, and the Bulldogs got the most first-place votes with 166, which is well in front of second place Tennessee, who got 36 first-place votes (via Natalie Roe of the Red and Black).

Who the Bulldogs play will be a mystery because Alabama is picked to win the SEC West, but the winner of the conference will be Auburn…Go figure.

One of the reasons the Bulldogs are a favorite to win the SEC East is they could have one of the best offenses in the nation. However, with a new offensive coordinator in Brian Schottenheimer, one would think the offense will be different, right?

That probably won’t be the case because Rowe said that Richt told the media when they were looking for a new offensive coordinator, they were looking for someone who had the same philosophy as himself and former offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Richt also told the media that the plays they will run this season won’t be a lot different than what they ran last season.