SEC Media Days 2017: Highlights, Comments and Twitter Reaction from Tuesday

The 2017 SEC media days rolled on Tuesday from the Hyatt Regency Birmingham-Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. Representatives from Georgia, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State and Florida were on hand to discuss the upcoming college football season.

Although Alabama remains the team to beat in the nation's premier conference, Georgia and Florida are among the group of dangerous second-tier contenders heading into 2017. The Bulldogs and Gators both possess enough upside to dethrone the Crimson Tide.

Let's check out some of the top moments from Tuesday's media session.

Georgia

Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart expects improvement over last year's 8-5 campaign in large part due what should be a sizable increase in the number of impact seniors, per Chip Towers of DawgNation. He's also pushing players to embrace a winning mentality.

"Our players expect to win, and we don't want players who don't expect to win," Smart said. "When you come to the University of Georgia, that's what sits out in front of you. You're going to be one of the best players in the country, coming from one of the best states in the country, one of the best high school football states in the country. We expect them to come in with that attitude and demeanor. You create that, and it permeates your program by how you carry yourself and perform on the field. And we have not performed on the field from the level we should."

Running back Nick Chubb is among those high-impact seniors. Justin Nails of Gridiron Now noted the best news for Georgia is that he's feeling fresh and ready to roll for the new campaign.

"I thought I was healthy last year but it [wasn't] until going through spring that I knew I wasn't," the powerful rusher said. "I am fully healthy now."

Fox 5 Sports passed along comments from Bulldogs linebacker Roquan Smith, who knows what other defenses are forced to deal with after facing Chubb and Sony Michel in practice:

Michel, like Chubb, decided to come back for his senior season rather than attempt to make a jump to the NFL. His reasoning is quite simple.

"The ultimate goal is to win the east and win some championships," he said, according to Fox 5 Sports. "That's why I came back."

Vanderbilt

Nick Cole of SEC Country pointed out Commodores head coach Derek Mason understands the Crimson Tide's place at the conference's mountaintop but doesn't want to his team to back down from the challenge.

"I respect Nick Saban," Mason said. "I like his demeanor on the field. But I don't fear anybody. And our team doesn't. When we line up to play Alabama, we're going to play Alabama."

Exactly how much upside the team possesses depends heavily on the progress of quarterback Kyle Shurmur, who finished last season with nine touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He talked about the learning experiences Tuesday, via AtoZSports Nashville:

Senior running back Ralph Webb can help take pressure off the Vandy signal-caller with a big year on the ground. Ethan Triebsch of Rock M Recruiting provided the rusher's remarks on his potential:

Replacing standout linebacker Zach Cunningham will be another key factor. Oren Burks will carry much of that burden on wants to use what he learned from the second-round draft pick, per Jordan D. Hill of the Ledger-Enquirer.

"I think it just breeds confidence in the defense," Burks said. "You see he was able to do that and see he was so effective in the same scheme. We have the tools to do it: It's about buckling down, sacrificing, putting in the work and just getting it done at the end of the day."

Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are another team capable of making some noise with more reliable play at quarterback. Head coach Dan Mullen thinks Nick Fitzgerald has all the tools to become a top-tier player, but he also knows there's plenty of work left to get him on that level, according to Andrew Astleford of SEC Country.

"The biggest strides we need to see in Nick are his consistency in throwing the football, the accuracy, the decision-making, when he's getting the ball out, how he's throwing, what type of throw [it is]," Mullen said. "Those are skills that are developed over a very long period of time. And the more you can develop them, the more successful you're going to be as a quarterback."

Wide receiver Donald Gray also spoke about his high hopes for Fitzgerald, but what really stole the show was his choice of attire for the interview session, as Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel spotlighted:

Meanwhile, Davis Potter of the Oxford Eagle noted offensive lineman Martinas Rankin said their Egg Bowl triumph over Ole Miss helped send them into the offseason with positive vibes, and now it's time to build off that.

"We're focused on going into this season," he said. "It was a great win to finish the season, but it's new challenges ahead and we've got to prepare for them."

Florida

Gators head coach Jim McElwain didn't provide any additional insight into the potential availability of wide receiver Antonio Callaway, who received a marijuana citation in May, per Ryan Young of SEC Country.

"So far he's been doing the things that have been set forth, so what have we got, about eight Saturdays? There's a lot of things that a lot of guys have to do moving forward, and I mean at this juncture there's no reason to even speculate," McElwain said.

Even if Callaway, one of the team's most dangerous playmakers misses some time, the offense features plenty of upside. Grace Remington‏ of CBS4 provided thoughts from offensive lineman Martez Ivey:

Ultimately, the Gators are in a position where winning the SEC Championship is a realistic target, and JT Thomas of SmashMouth Radio pointed out defensive back Duke Dawson is setting the tone.

"We want to do more than just getting to Atlanta," he said. "[We] want to win in Atlanta."

SEC media days continue on Wednesday when the players and coaches from Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M and Kentucky get their chance at the podium.