<\/p>\n
Texas quarterback Arch Manning still doesn’t get all the love from coaches around the country.<\/p>\n
Jason Fochtman\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:<\/p>\n
1. Oh, the outrage<\/p>\n
The Athletic<\/a>, of all people, gave Arch Manning a rare compliment, but even so not the biggest kind of salute and more of the back-handed variety. The website that last September dubbed the Texas quarterback the biggest flop<\/a> of this new era of college football surveyed about three dozen NFL coaches, GMs and scouts and other talent evaluators to rank every one of the 138 starters in Division 1. And while Manning was listed among the top tier of those, he nevertheless was rated only seventh<\/a>, one spot behind Austin Vandegrift product and new Oklahoma State quarterback Drew Mestemaker. Heck, the Texas junior even fell below former Duke and new Miami quarterback Darian Mensah, which may qualify as faint praise. The top five in order were Ole Miss\u2019s Trinidad Chambliss, Oregon\u2019s Dante Moore, Notre Dame\u2019s C.J. Carr, Mensah, and Ohio State\u2019s Julian Sayin. Texas A&M\u2019s Marcel Reed came in 13th, and Brad Jackson, Texas State\u2019s prolific passer, was ranked 27th.\u2026. One Power 4 head coach, who was anonymous, called Manning \u201cjust OK\u201d and \u201ca bit overhyped.\u201d Another said Manning is just good, but not great. \u201cI\u2019m not a huge Arch fan,\u201d the second Power 4 head coach said. \u201cI think he\u2019s just a good player. All (the mechanics) are clean. I don\u2019t know, there\u2019s something about guys who win. In high school, he didn\u2019t win championships. College, it\u2019s only been one year but he still hasn\u2019t. He doesn\u2019t win.\u201d \u2026 Well, Steve Sarkisian at least has some motivational material for his star player.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton wasn’t shy in the team’s offseason whitewater trip.<\/p>\n Parker S. Freedman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n 2. Georgia took a bit of a different approach to the season<\/p>\n Coach Kirby Smart took his leadership group white water rafting in North Carolina in the offseason. Naturally, quarterback Gunner Stockton was at the front of the boat, which he explained \u201cwas the most risky position.\u201d He said his senior leader \u201cchose to jump into that seat. I think that says a lot about who he is. He leads from the front. He takes hits. He embodies everything our program is about in toughness, in culture, and the love for his university.\u201d \u2026 Smart also used the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder as a role model for his team. \u201cWe chose to study a successful brand or team or follow someone, and this year the reigning NBA champions at the time was the OKC Thunder and they talked about being uncommon and how you can be uncommon in today\u2019s world.\u201d Two of his players mentioned how the Thunder led the league in loose balls attained, which translates to effort. \u2026 Smart was also his usual feisty self. When a Huntsville, Ala., radio man mentioned the question mark of the Bulldogs\u2019 young wide receivers, Smart said, \u201cI\u2019m very thankful for people like you, Steve, that keep questioning them, because the more you question them, the more it helps me motivate them. So everybody says they don\u2019t listen to you guys. The wide receivers are listening, so they\u2019ll have a new challenge issued based on your question.\u201d \u2026 Few have an easier path to the CFP than Georgia, which boasts eight home games including Florida in nearby Atlanta and four of its last six. The Dawgs open the season against fodder Tennessee State and Western Kentucky. Did you know Georgia has the youngest roster in the FBS? The Bulldogs’ average age is 19.81 years, according to a RotoWire study. Texas and Ohio State are equally youthful. \u2026 Missouri\u2019s Eli Drinkwitz has been as consistent as any coach in the SEC over the past three seasons. But last year he was 8-0 against unranked teams and 0-5 against ranked programs. He\u2019s also 0-16 against SEC teams with a winning record in the league, according to Pick Six Previews. That\u2019s the worst mark in the SEC. \u2026Josh Heupel will have a new starting quarterback for the fifth straight season and seventh in the last nine years and will start a true freshman (five-star Faizon Brandon or 6-foot-6, 201-pound redshirt freshman George McIntyre) this fall at Tennessee.<\/p>\n Will Stein has the look of a winner as Kentucky’s new coach.<\/p>\n Icon Sportswire\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images<\/p>\n 3. Kentucky, you have a winner<\/p>\n Well, probably. Will Stein, one of six new SEC head coaches, brings a ton of experience and comes after a successful run as Oregon\u2019s offensive coordinator. He has been around the block, but looks younger than his 36 years. He sure brings some braggadocio to Lexington and the SEC. He has his work cut out for him because the Wildcats have won only two conference championships in their history \u2014 only one outright under Bear Bryant in 1950 \u2014 finished as a ranked team just 10 times and has won seven or fewer games in a season 42 of the last 48 years. However, when he was asked why he thinks he can win big at Kentucky, the first-year head coach said, \u201cI think because of me, to be honest.\u201d You got to love his candor and confidence. The Cats brought in 45 new players and built a new $3 million weight room. \u201cThis is going to be a tough program. Football is the toughest game played by tough men. It\u2019s physically demanding and mentally exhausting. Guess what, life is tough, too. The one thing I refuse to be is soft-minded.\u2026 Stein spent three years in Austin on Charlie Strong\u2019s Longhorn staff and before that two years as the offensive coordinator for Hank Carter at Lake Travis. Stein gave the Cavaliers some flowers Monday. \u201cOne of the great joys in my life was spending two years with Hank Carter at Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas,\u201d Stein said. \u201cIt taught me how to call plays. I was put in a situation where they already won six titles, I believe, up to that point, a coaching staff that was veteran, seasoned, knew what winning looked like. They took a young 28-year-old, know-it-all offensive coordinator from the University of Texas into their staff. It taught me that you can be normal and still coach football. You can have a family and life outside of football, when you can. That brotherhood is still part of the coaching world that still exists. So I\u2019m forever grateful for my time at Lake Travis.\u201d \u2026 Asked who\u2019s the best receiver in the SEC, South Carolina\u2019s 6-5 junior wideout Nyck Harbor said, \u201cYou\u2019re looking at him.\u201d Better than Cam Coleman, I asked. \u201cI\u2019ll say so. I\u2019ll say I\u2019m the best in the country.\u201d He\u2019s still chagrined over the meltdown against A&M when the Gamecocks blew a 30-3 halftime lead<\/a>. \u201cWe got too high on ourselves. You got to finish. You can point to the World Cup when England was playing Argentina. Just got to keep putting your foot on their necks.\u201d He scored an 81-yard touchdown on A&M and ran into the Kyle Field tunnel, only to be abruptly and rudely bumped by a DPS trooper. \u201cI don\u2019t remember too much,\u201d he said coyly. \u201cI think we should be worried (talking) about the touchdown.\u201d \u2026 Harbor added that former Longhorn running back Christian Clark excelled in the spring. \u201cHe brings energy. He brings explosiveness. He brings hard running. He\u2019s going to make a lot of plays. Can\u2019t wait to block for him. Hope he scores a lot of touchdowns..\u201d Clark\u2019s new running backs coach is another former Longhorn in Stan Drayton, who coached at Penn State last year.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Austin LBJ’s Sedrick Alexander of Vanderbilt strikes a pose at SEC Media\u00a0 days.<\/p>\n Vanderbilt Athletics\/University Images via Getty Imag<\/p>\n 4. Austin\u2019s finest<\/p>\n Vanderbilt running back Sedrick Alexander, decked out in a custom sleeveless tuxedo courtesy of Men\u2019s Wearhouse and looking very dapper, said he might even consider coming back next season for a fifth year with the new NCAA eligibility rule. But the Austin LBJ product already has his college degree. He\u2019s been instrumental in flipping the Commodores\u2019 reputation. \u2026 Speaking of flipping, head coach Clark Lea got five-star freshman Jared Curtis, the No. 2 quarterback by 247Sports and highest recruit in school history, to switch from Georgia to Vandy. The 6-3, 230-pound rookie has the inside track to start although Blaze Berlowitz has been in the system for three years and plays more like the scrambling, versatile Diego Pavia. Whoever starts won\u2019t be the only new face in the offense because Vandy has to replace four starters in the line. \u201cHe definitely got my attention,\u201d Alexander said of Curtis. \u201cHe definitely has the potential to start. His arm talent is crazy.\u201d \u2026 South Carolina was ranked as one of 10 teams with a top-20 portal class and top-20 recruiting class. Seven of those transfers either played on a national champion team or at least a CFP team in 2025. Coach Shane Beamer had just four senior starters in 2025 and wanted to get older. \u2026 He\u00a0 said nine of the 10 toughest schedules belong to SEC teams. His Gamecocks finished a depressing 4-8 season, which included a \u201cheartbreaking\u201d 31-30 road loss to Texas A&M and six defeats that were one-score games in the fourth quarter. South Carolina led in three of those in the final period. \u201cWe don\u2019t seek comfort in that,\u201d Beamer said. \u201cBut a lot of programs might have come back to half-empty stadiums the next week, and our stadium was sold out the next week against Coastal Carolina. When a College Station reporter brought up that loss, Beamer quipped, \u2018Can we not? That was a tough day.\u2019<\/p>\n Greg Sankey wants honest conversation about future of college athletics.<\/p>\n Parker S. Freedman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n 5. SEC breaking away<\/p>\n I ain\u2019t buying it. SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said nothing to tamp down the controversial subject Monday, but I truly wonder if the SEC\u2019s heart is in it, given the worry about antitrust litigation and the problems that would arise from self governance. Maybe the SEC and Big Ten and possibly even the ACC could break away and form their own super league, but I\u2019d be shocked to see it happen. \u201cYou phrased the question, \u2018How real? \u2019 So I\u2019ll take that as, like, real or not. So they\u2019re real,\u201d Sankey said in response to a question. \u201cPeople have talked about that. They\u2019ve opined about the frustrations that bring them to the point of saying we should look at something significantly different.\u201d \u2026 Sankey added that, \u201cI do not believe that is a leverage point \u2014 I think that\u2019s just honest communication. I would prefer that stay in a meeting room or on a video conference and not be part of the D1 ticker the next morning, but I don\u2019t control all of that.\u201d \u2026 The SEC and Big Ten remain at odds about the size of future expansion of the\u00a0CFP, and the SEC remains the lone outsider favoring a move to 16 teams instead of the 24 preferred by the Big Ten. Sankey pointed out the 13 team national championships the league won last academic year although he\u2019s well aware that the Big Ten won titles in football (for a third straight year) and men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball. \u201cI think there is meaning and value (in the 13 championships) and I do think a national expectation that we participate in a national organization. But that national organization must function in a healthy manner; otherwise, that simmering will continue.\u201d \u2026 The SEC averaged more than 80,000 a game last year, which is staggering.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 6. Targeting a much-needed rule change<\/p>\n The powers made it less punitive. Finally, college football has tweaked the targeting rule that removes a player from competition. First-time offenders will sit out the rest of that game but be allowed to play in the entire next game to follow. Second-time offenders are punished with immediate dismissal and a first-half suspension for the following game while third-time offenders miss the entire following game. There has been no three-time offender in the past five seasons.<\/p>\n 7. Playing at the next level<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what The Athletic had to say<\/a> about Texas outfielder Aiden Robbins, the Mets\u2019 third-round draft pick. \u201cRobbins started lifting the ball more this year after transferring from Seton Hall and translated his raw power into in-game power with 24 homers. It\u2019s a complicated setup at the plate, and he doesn\u2019t hit off-speed stuff at all, but there\u2019s bat speed and enough athleticism to see defensive value in an outfield corner.\u201d \u2026 The Mets also took Texas A&M left-hander Shane Sdao a round later, and the article called him \u201cone of the best seniors in the class. He returned this year from Tommy John surgery to see his velocity drop a little but command and control stay mostly intact. He can flash a plus slider and offers a curveball and changeup. Check back in March to see if he has his velocity back.\u201d \u2026 Finally, The Athletic liked what it saw out of Longhorn starter Ruger Riojas but isn\u2019t certain about where he\u2019ll wind up. \u201cHe saw his velo bump this year, sitting 94-96 with a 55 changeup along with a cutter and a short curveball. He\u2019s pretty aggressive and throws strikes, so he could be a backend starter (for the Phillies), although I think he\u2019s more likely a reliever in the end.\u201d \u2026 The writer, Keith Law<\/a>, also gave high marks to former Longhorn Will Gasparino, who finished his college career at UCLA with a career-best 20 strikeouts, and said he was \u201cthe best pick for value in the Phillies\u2019 draft.\u201d \u2026 The article said A&M\u2019s Chris Hacopian \u201ccould profile at second base if the back injury is a temporary issue, with enough upside as a hitter to project as an above-average regular.\u201d \u2026 Law said he likes Texas prep pitcher and Nationals draftee Cooper Harris \u201ca ton at this (fourth-round) spot in the draft.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n 8. Scattershooting<\/p>\n While wondering whatever happened to former Longhorn wideout Limas Sweed, who had the winning touchdown against Ohio State in 2005.<\/p>\n Matt Damon is Odysseus and Zendaya is Athena in “The Odyssey,” written, produced and directed by Christopher Nolan.\u00a0<\/p>\n Melinda Sue Gordon\/Universal Pic\/TNS<\/p>\n 9. At the box office<\/p>\n Yes, \u201cThe Odyssey\u201d is finally here, and yes, the three-hour film delivers in a powerful way as only a Christopher Nolan film can do. It\u2019s large, it\u2019s in-your-face brutal, it\u2019s a reminder that the classics like Homer\u2019s poem can be both enlightening, stimulating and fun. It\u2019s also a battle between good and evil on so many levels, including the movie\u2019s hero, as well played by Matt Damon as anyone could as his character wrestles with his role as a Greek king who conjures up the Trojan horse but simultaneously agonizes over the raping and pillaging of Troy. Go ahead and engrave his name on the Oscar. Nolan\u2019s, too, as director and screenwriter. If you want to name Anne Hathaway the early favorite for Best Actress, I\u2019ll not argue with you. Nolan gave us a masterpiece that comes close to being as riveting as \u201cOppenheimer\u201d or \u201cDark Knight.\u201d Now I\u2019m not sure what Odysseus was thinking when he chose to leave Charlize Theron to jump on a flimsy raft to continue his journey home to Ithaca. This movie has everything from a chilling Cyclops to giant soldiers to sirens to a witch capable of changing humans into animals. Gave it 9 ducks.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Crazy prediction<\/p>\n The surprise team of the SEC will be South Carolina, which has three superstars in Harbor, quarterback LaNorris Sellers and edge rusher Dylan Stewart but finishes with Georgia and Clemson as their last two games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Texas quarterback Arch Manning still doesn’t get all the love from coaches around the country. 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