SECMD23 NOTES: Smart challenges schedule naysayers; Freeze brings old tradition to Auburn; Arnett filling big shoes
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart challenged the challengers when asked about the ‘ease’ of the Bulldogs’ schedule on Tuesday at the SEC Media Days. (Courtesy Unv. Georgia athletics)
Compiled by GRAHAM DUNN
Easy does it on the UGA schedule
Come play it.
That was the response of Georgia coach Kirby Smart when asked about the Bulldogs’ schedule.
“I’d love to invite any team in the country to play in the SEC, come right ahead. I don’t get into comparisons but I believe in opening in a big kickoff game.
“A lot of teams I can control but I can’t control the narrative that people create outside the building.”
Georgia will open the season against UT-Martin after the league asked the Bulldogs to cancel their original opponent, Oklahoma.
Along with their usual East Division rivals. the Dogs will face Auburn and Ole Miss from the opposite side of the league. It is considered one of the more easier of the schedules in the league but as many would say, Georgia can’t play Georgia.
The Freeze underwear factor
Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has a new tradition for his offensive line coaches.
Get ready for a change in clothes at halftime.
“We were losing our first game at Ole Miss to a 1-AA opponent and it wasn't going well,” he explained. “He changed all of his clothes and we rolled up a bunch of numbers the second half, and from that point on, our entire five years together, Matt knew he had to change clothes at halftime if things weren't going well.”
A follow-up question went a little deeper when a reporter asked if the clothes change included underwear.
“I don't know,” Freeze responded. “You'll have to ask (Jake Thornton) that. I'll have to spring that on Jake, our O-line coach. I haven’t told him that yet.”
Iron Bowl hype, July style
It may be the heat of summer but it’s never too early to talk Iron Bowl.
Players were asked about the annual rivalry with Alabama and what it will take to earn a win over the Crimson Tide win late November.
“Just everybody being locked into the whole season and not taking a game for granted,” stated tight end Luke Deal. “Iron Bowls, it can happen. You can win or lose the Iron Bowl at any moment, not just in the game. We need to build that momentum throughout the season.”
Alabama has won the last three meetings with Auburn’s last win coming in 2019 at Jordan-Hare Stadium. That’s where this year’s game will be played on Nov. 25.
“(I’m) very excited,” Auburn linebacker Elijah McAllister said. “It’s one of the two rivalries I wanted to play in growing up… I’m excited to finally play in it and do it and fulfill my college career in the last game at home there, so I’m excited.”
Big shoes, heavy heart
New Mississippi State coach Zach Arnett is well aware of the pressure of his position entering the 2023 season.
It’s one thing to take over a program following a great coach.
It’s another to follow someone who is beloved, even by most opponents.
“There's obviously a lot of wisdom, nuggets of wisdom that I received from Coach Leach over the last three years,” Arnett said. “Simply put, I look at it as a blessing. I got to spend three years under, in my opinion is a unanimous first ballot Hall of Famer. I mean, his fingerprints and impact on the game of football are evident throughout particularly offensive play in modern football.
“I would like to acknowledge that I have seen the graphic listing the word count for every head coach's opening statement last year at this event, and Coach Leach's was seven. Seven words.
I've already said too much, and that combined with wearing a tie, I'm sure I've disappointed him a little bit here today.”
Leach made it known of his intense dislike for neckties. Most fans know he was quick with a quip and usually kept his audience in stitches.
He died on Dec. 12, 2022 just after the season ended. He was 61.
Arnett admits he’s not quite as lexical as his predecessor but he is finding ways to better communicate.
And, he can’t be Mike Leach, at least in front of a podium.
“I'm humbled and proud to be the head football coach at Mississippi State University, a place where you can compete at the highest level in the best conference in all of college football, you can get a world class education, and your dreams can become a reality,” he said.
“Mississippi State has forever changed my life and that of my family. For that, I am forever indebted to it. To Mike Leach, to all of Starkville, I could not ask for a better collection of people, players, coaches, support staff, to go to work with on a daily basis.”