Around the SEC

The first week of college football is upon us and not a moment too soon. Gone are the days of solely relying on SEC expansion to entertain us, and no longer is the hottest debate centered around if Texas is back (spoiler: they most certainly are not).

One of the better basketball schools in our league, the University of Tennessee, kicks things off for the SEC tonight against Bowling Green. Before the Vols’ quest to become bowl eligible begins, let’s look around the league and see who is making headlines prior to Week 1.

Here’s what’s happening around the SEC:

• Shane Beamer’s first year at South Carolina is off to a very smooth start… (extreme Borat voice) NOT. The Gamecocks will be without starting quarterback Luke Doty for their opener against Eastern Illinois. Rather than turn to their backup, redshirt senior Jason Brown, Beamer has tapped grad assistant Zeb Noland to start under center. Noland has one year of eligibility left after starting for North Dakota State in 2020 and backing up Trey Lance prior to that. We will see how this quarterback situation shakes out, as the Gamecocks come to Athens for a night game in Week 3.
• As is tradition, Florida is very active in the transfer portal. The Gators picked up defensive lineman Tyrone Truesdell from Auburn on Monday; however, Dan Mullen has lost redshirt junior defensive end Andrew Chatfield to the portal. Chatfield suffered an undisclosed injury in fall camp, though he was initially poised to take a leap this season after registering 4 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks as a reserve last season. Guess Mullen didn’t do such a good job of recruiting if he’s losing players to the portal.
• New Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin has tested positive for COVID-19. Harsin has declined to say whether he was or was not vaccinated and has been notably less adamant on players getting vaccinated than other SEC coaches. We wish Coach Harsin a speedy and complete recovery, and we implore all who are eligible to receive the vaccine.
• Texas A&M head coach Jimbo Fisher, already on one of the richest contracts in college football at 10 years and $75 million, has received an extension and a pay raise. Fisher has agreed to extend his contract to 2030 and will receive $9 million annually, making him the second highest head coach behind Alabama’s Nick Saban. If the Aggies actually win something under Fisher, say the SEC West, who knows what type of raise Fisher could get!

Welcome back to SEC football y’all. GO DAWGS!!!