SEC Media Days: Day one takeaways

HOOVER, Ala. – The SEC football world converged in the Birmingham area for day one of the annual SEC Media Days. The Southeast’s media spoke with coaches and players from Auburn, Florida and Vanderbilt. Plenty of headline-worthy topics were discussed, but here are the hottest topics that had the collected media buzzing.

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Background: The SEC was one of the first conferences to establish a rule barring transfers for players subject to disciplinary actions for “serious misconduct,” which the league describes as crimes that include domestic violence, sexual assault of other forms of sexual violence. But the rule only applies to transfers, not high school players entering college, and that distinction drew scrutiny on Monday.

Quote of the Day: “When someone enrolls in college, they are generally an adult. You expect that you'll have access to more consistent information on which to base decisions. And so we as a group said let's go further on the transfer issue. They have been adults on the university campus, and that misbehavior is viewed as rising to a higher level of attention.” – SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey.

Background: Several college coaches have recently called for the NCAA to reevaluate the rules related to underclassman and the NFL Draft. The most common approach is to allow players who go undrafted to return to school and regain their eligibility. The topic was mentioned several times and it seems to be gaining traction among the coaches who are looking for a new approach on the issue.

Quote of the Day: “I think I'm open to anything. Especially the guys that go undrafted. I think that is something to definitely look into. I know Bret from Arkansas, we talked about that, and I thought that was probably a good idea at least to discuss.” – Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn

Background: Auburn, Florida and Vanderbilt all played multiple quarterbacks during the 2015 season. While Vanderbilt has already named a starter, there is still plenty of unproven options at each of the programs. Each school’s coach was peppered with questions on the topic and each provided their thoughts on their current depth chart.

Quote of the Day: “I'm excited to see us at that position. And the way Luke [Del Rio] is, and Austin [Appleby], both have kind of elevated the guys around them. It will be fun here during two-a-days to see who takes that step” – Florida coach Jim McElwain.

“John [Franklin] is the guy to be impressed with. He's really won his teammates' respect, which is always important for a new guy coming in. It's very important to him. He's a hard worker. The two older guys both are in a lot better spot than they were this time last year. Once we identify who our starter is, it gives us a best chance of winning. You will see us tweak our offense to build around their strengths. We're always going to have the same philosophy and core beliefs with our offense, but once we make that call on.” – Auburn coach Gus Malzahn

“I named Kyle Shurmur the starter. That's where we are. He showed great character and leadership in the offseason. He has been pushed by guys behind them. – Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason