Texas A&M Football
“Cole Cubelic is going to be great as a sideline analyst and I love that role because it brings such a unique perspective down there. If you are in a tight game and you want to know, why is this working? Why is their o-line doing this? Why is their d-line doing this? He brings a unique perspective especially from the line standpoint because he is a former offensive lineman. If the game is a blowout, what can we talk about as far as the SEC as a whole? Cole is great at bringing that perspective there too, so I think he will be a unique perspective to the coverage.”
“After I am done with SEC Nation, I will probably run back to the bus and catch every game that is going on at that point because a noon game will start right after SEC Nation finishes. I will get to watch games all day. I am so excited about that because usually you try to watch games out of the corner of your eye and try to figure out what is going on by scoreboard watching, but to able to actually sit down and watch those games is something I am really excited about. I mostly did noon games before, so now it gives me an opportunity to watch the games for real and watch some of the other things that are going on as well.”
“My husband Josh is here actually for his first ever SEC Media Days. His first comment when we got here was, 'What are all these fans doing here? I thought this was for the media.' I told him to wait until later on in the week. I have to keep him under control and had to remind him not to wear any Alabama gear.”
“This week, we are going to be doing a lot of player interviews. Today I am going to be talking to Ralph Webb from Vanderbilt and also Jim McElwain. I will be talking to Nick Saban later in the week, also Kevin Sumlin, and we have a pretty long list. It will really be trying to figure out where everybody’s head is at, at this point. It is always interesting as we know because we are trying to project, and trying to temper the optimism and the pessimism. You are trying to figure out how serious are some teams about what they are going to do, what does their game plan look like, and what is going to be different.
I think some of the more interesting story lines have to do with teams like A&M with Trevor Knight coming in here and seeing what he can bring to the table. Will their defense be better? What can they do to generate more offense and can they get some of these dynamic receivers involved. We will see Ricky Seals-Jones this week, you know Christian Kirk and his great season last year, and everyone wants to see Speedy Noil step up.
I think there are some question marks from the Florida standpoint. What do we know about Antonio Callaway? They are potentially a team that could do something in the SEC East if they have a playmaker like that. Their run game looks better, and they will have better options at quarterback with Luke Del Rio likely the starter there. For Alabama, what is going on with Cam Robinson? We probably won’t get any definite answers, but I think the fact that we can ask these people the questions and see how they respond, you at least can get an idea of what is going on and where some of these are headed. There are so many storylines, and there always are every year, but I am intrigued by a lot of different things.”
“I think you are getting bare minimum from Hugh Freeze on what is going on, and that is no knock on him or anybody, I think he just can’t say a whole lot. You saw him skirt around that issue in Destin, but now he will be badgered with more direct questions and it will be more of a podium situation where he has got to answer some of this. He has had plenty of opportunities to learn how to skirt around this and I think he is going to continue to do that until more information comes out, and until they can actually say what happened.”
“Arkansas is an interesting team too, they are still kind of that team that people don’t want to play because you might beat them, but they also might beat you. They have kind of held that mantra the last few years especially with those late season victories that they have had against teams like LSU and teams of that nature. You wonder about their run game and if they will be able to replace the guys they had, they have a good guy coming in and from what I have heard, and Austin Allen is better that Brandon Allen. He doesn’t have the experience but I watched him in practice, he has a nice arm and looks really good. You know there O-line will be good because that is what Bielema does. Austin has been behind his brother the last few years and I would say that he is comparable to Brandon as a junior. His dad is involved as a former player. so they are both smart players from a decision making standpoint. You have to think that a lot of it is going to stand on the O-line. Nobody really talks about them at this point in the year, but near the end of the season you think, 'Where did they come from?' Nobody is surprised because they are that team that nobody wants to play.”
“You think about what Dak Prescott did for Mississippi State and how he changed the game for them. He was a guy that as soon as he stepped on the field, even when he wasn’t at full health, he was still a game changer and a threat. You had to keep him in mind in all aspects of the game, even on defense because you don’t want to get Prescott back on the field. It changed everything about what anybody did when they faced him. Without him you wonder what will happen with Mississippi State.”
“My favorite thing about Aggieland is the food. I have had some really good food at the Republic. I also had some great barbecue the last time I was there but I am blanking on the name. I have eaten at Fargo’s before too and it was great. I have never had a bad experience eating in Aggieland.”
“I wouldn’t pick Gainsville for my favorite college town in the SEC. There are some things about it that I don’t necessarily love even though I went there. I am going to say Baton Rouge is probably my favorite SEC college town just because it is so different and the culture there is so distinct to what they are. I love everything about it. LSU fans are so much fun and they are hospitable, but can also be wild and crazy. Once again the food is a deciding factor for me on anything, so I love the Cajun food and everything that they bring to the table.”
“The best part of my job is talking to coaches and players and then telling their stories. I take a lot of responsibility in that, I really feel like it is a great honor to be able to hold somebody’s story and to be able to convey it to make sure you are doing them a service with that. You are representing them in the right way and they are trusting you to do that. I think that is amazing thing that we in media get to do so I never take that for granted. It is always amazing how much you can learn when you just sit and listen to them, and they will tell you things that wow you. Every person has an amazing story, I have never met a single person that doesn’t have a great story.”
“Recently I was hosting a show and they did a 10-count for tossing to something, you know they will start talking in your ear saying you’ve got 10 seconds until we toss it to this soundbite. I was tossing so quickly that they had to change it to a five-count because I am so used to being on the sidelines and doing everything so quick. They would tell me I had time, but I am so used to being so concise and so quick.
“The hardest part about being in TV and being married to and MLB baseball player is that we rarely get to see each other. We have kind of always had this unconventional relationship even when we were first dating until we got engaged. We rarely get to see each other, so when we do it is great. I am lucky that we are both supportive of each other, we agreed to do this as long as we can and see where our careers go and it has been really fun.”
“Josh has been on the DL a lot this year, and he probably should have been on it a little earlier because he was playing through a lot of pain. He got off to a really hot start, and being in that utility role is so difficult because you are coming off the bench not knowing if you are going to face Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta, or whoever it may be, and you are cold. Not that he would ever make excuses, but he will probably start a rehab assignment the second week after the all-star break and then he will back with the team.”
“My pageantry background has really helped out in a lot of ways because you get so much experience speaking publicly when you are doing that. Obviously the pageant is only one night, but the year of service that follows that is a great preparation and people don’t really realize that it is a lot of community service, a lot of going into schools and speaking, children’s hospitals, nursing homes, you are going to environmental things. I went on airboat rides to promote the Florida everglades. You get such a wide variety of experiences that are beneficial. I really enjoyed those aspects of it.”
“There some similarities between sideline reporting and pageantry because you are rolling with the punches. I still emcee Miss Florida and go back and give some scholarships. We had this girl who was about to go on stage on the final night of competition and we looked over she was walking on stage in her big evening gown and there was something attached to her dress. It turns out it was a pair of undergarment that followed her on to the stage, so we were so glad we caught that, and she thought we were crazy people. Crazy things happen all the time in pageant world and it can translate into weird things that happen in sports television, too.”
“It is good experience, it really is. A fun fact is that the Miss America is the largest provider of scholarships in the world. I won $40,000 in scholarships over three years of competing. That is why I did it was to win scholarships, so that is a great thing. You can payoff more than just your undergrad, but also if you wanted to go to grad school as well.”
“We are actually talking to Carl Lawson today, and it is going to be interesting. I am sure he is tired of answering those questions about his injuries. But it has to be asked, and if you can say he can go make an immediate impact when he is healthy, we are talking about complete dominance and that guy is a beast like no other.”
SEC Network's Laura Rutledge discusses her role this fall, SEC as a whole & more
Key quotes from Laura Rutledge interview
“I am very excited about what I will be doing this fall. You always want to be challenged in your career, and this is just going to be a different move for me. It will be a challenge in a lot of ways, but also a lot of fun. I will start the week off Mondays and Tuesdays in-studio for SEC Now and toward the weekend I will transition over to doing SEC Nation, which is our game day show on SEC Network. I have always watched College Gameday and SEC Nation and thought that would be really cool to do, but never thought it would happen to me. I am so excited about it and can’t wait to go to College Station with the nation crew and check out everyone’s tailgates. It is just a unique thing. I will miss the sideline because there is nothing like being out there and being in that action but it is a different type of action because I will be with the fans more, so I am pumped up about that.”“Cole Cubelic is going to be great as a sideline analyst and I love that role because it brings such a unique perspective down there. If you are in a tight game and you want to know, why is this working? Why is their o-line doing this? Why is their d-line doing this? He brings a unique perspective especially from the line standpoint because he is a former offensive lineman. If the game is a blowout, what can we talk about as far as the SEC as a whole? Cole is great at bringing that perspective there too, so I think he will be a unique perspective to the coverage.”
“After I am done with SEC Nation, I will probably run back to the bus and catch every game that is going on at that point because a noon game will start right after SEC Nation finishes. I will get to watch games all day. I am so excited about that because usually you try to watch games out of the corner of your eye and try to figure out what is going on by scoreboard watching, but to able to actually sit down and watch those games is something I am really excited about. I mostly did noon games before, so now it gives me an opportunity to watch the games for real and watch some of the other things that are going on as well.”
“My husband Josh is here actually for his first ever SEC Media Days. His first comment when we got here was, 'What are all these fans doing here? I thought this was for the media.' I told him to wait until later on in the week. I have to keep him under control and had to remind him not to wear any Alabama gear.”
“This week, we are going to be doing a lot of player interviews. Today I am going to be talking to Ralph Webb from Vanderbilt and also Jim McElwain. I will be talking to Nick Saban later in the week, also Kevin Sumlin, and we have a pretty long list. It will really be trying to figure out where everybody’s head is at, at this point. It is always interesting as we know because we are trying to project, and trying to temper the optimism and the pessimism. You are trying to figure out how serious are some teams about what they are going to do, what does their game plan look like, and what is going to be different.
I think some of the more interesting story lines have to do with teams like A&M with Trevor Knight coming in here and seeing what he can bring to the table. Will their defense be better? What can they do to generate more offense and can they get some of these dynamic receivers involved. We will see Ricky Seals-Jones this week, you know Christian Kirk and his great season last year, and everyone wants to see Speedy Noil step up.
I think there are some question marks from the Florida standpoint. What do we know about Antonio Callaway? They are potentially a team that could do something in the SEC East if they have a playmaker like that. Their run game looks better, and they will have better options at quarterback with Luke Del Rio likely the starter there. For Alabama, what is going on with Cam Robinson? We probably won’t get any definite answers, but I think the fact that we can ask these people the questions and see how they respond, you at least can get an idea of what is going on and where some of these are headed. There are so many storylines, and there always are every year, but I am intrigued by a lot of different things.”
“I think you are getting bare minimum from Hugh Freeze on what is going on, and that is no knock on him or anybody, I think he just can’t say a whole lot. You saw him skirt around that issue in Destin, but now he will be badgered with more direct questions and it will be more of a podium situation where he has got to answer some of this. He has had plenty of opportunities to learn how to skirt around this and I think he is going to continue to do that until more information comes out, and until they can actually say what happened.”
“Arkansas is an interesting team too, they are still kind of that team that people don’t want to play because you might beat them, but they also might beat you. They have kind of held that mantra the last few years especially with those late season victories that they have had against teams like LSU and teams of that nature. You wonder about their run game and if they will be able to replace the guys they had, they have a good guy coming in and from what I have heard, and Austin Allen is better that Brandon Allen. He doesn’t have the experience but I watched him in practice, he has a nice arm and looks really good. You know there O-line will be good because that is what Bielema does. Austin has been behind his brother the last few years and I would say that he is comparable to Brandon as a junior. His dad is involved as a former player. so they are both smart players from a decision making standpoint. You have to think that a lot of it is going to stand on the O-line. Nobody really talks about them at this point in the year, but near the end of the season you think, 'Where did they come from?' Nobody is surprised because they are that team that nobody wants to play.”
“You think about what Dak Prescott did for Mississippi State and how he changed the game for them. He was a guy that as soon as he stepped on the field, even when he wasn’t at full health, he was still a game changer and a threat. You had to keep him in mind in all aspects of the game, even on defense because you don’t want to get Prescott back on the field. It changed everything about what anybody did when they faced him. Without him you wonder what will happen with Mississippi State.”
“My favorite thing about Aggieland is the food. I have had some really good food at the Republic. I also had some great barbecue the last time I was there but I am blanking on the name. I have eaten at Fargo’s before too and it was great. I have never had a bad experience eating in Aggieland.”
“I wouldn’t pick Gainsville for my favorite college town in the SEC. There are some things about it that I don’t necessarily love even though I went there. I am going to say Baton Rouge is probably my favorite SEC college town just because it is so different and the culture there is so distinct to what they are. I love everything about it. LSU fans are so much fun and they are hospitable, but can also be wild and crazy. Once again the food is a deciding factor for me on anything, so I love the Cajun food and everything that they bring to the table.”
“The best part of my job is talking to coaches and players and then telling their stories. I take a lot of responsibility in that, I really feel like it is a great honor to be able to hold somebody’s story and to be able to convey it to make sure you are doing them a service with that. You are representing them in the right way and they are trusting you to do that. I think that is amazing thing that we in media get to do so I never take that for granted. It is always amazing how much you can learn when you just sit and listen to them, and they will tell you things that wow you. Every person has an amazing story, I have never met a single person that doesn’t have a great story.”
“Recently I was hosting a show and they did a 10-count for tossing to something, you know they will start talking in your ear saying you’ve got 10 seconds until we toss it to this soundbite. I was tossing so quickly that they had to change it to a five-count because I am so used to being on the sidelines and doing everything so quick. They would tell me I had time, but I am so used to being so concise and so quick.
“The hardest part about being in TV and being married to and MLB baseball player is that we rarely get to see each other. We have kind of always had this unconventional relationship even when we were first dating until we got engaged. We rarely get to see each other, so when we do it is great. I am lucky that we are both supportive of each other, we agreed to do this as long as we can and see where our careers go and it has been really fun.”
“Josh has been on the DL a lot this year, and he probably should have been on it a little earlier because he was playing through a lot of pain. He got off to a really hot start, and being in that utility role is so difficult because you are coming off the bench not knowing if you are going to face Clayton Kershaw, Jake Arrieta, or whoever it may be, and you are cold. Not that he would ever make excuses, but he will probably start a rehab assignment the second week after the all-star break and then he will back with the team.”
“My pageantry background has really helped out in a lot of ways because you get so much experience speaking publicly when you are doing that. Obviously the pageant is only one night, but the year of service that follows that is a great preparation and people don’t really realize that it is a lot of community service, a lot of going into schools and speaking, children’s hospitals, nursing homes, you are going to environmental things. I went on airboat rides to promote the Florida everglades. You get such a wide variety of experiences that are beneficial. I really enjoyed those aspects of it.”
“There some similarities between sideline reporting and pageantry because you are rolling with the punches. I still emcee Miss Florida and go back and give some scholarships. We had this girl who was about to go on stage on the final night of competition and we looked over she was walking on stage in her big evening gown and there was something attached to her dress. It turns out it was a pair of undergarment that followed her on to the stage, so we were so glad we caught that, and she thought we were crazy people. Crazy things happen all the time in pageant world and it can translate into weird things that happen in sports television, too.”
“It is good experience, it really is. A fun fact is that the Miss America is the largest provider of scholarships in the world. I won $40,000 in scholarships over three years of competing. That is why I did it was to win scholarships, so that is a great thing. You can payoff more than just your undergrad, but also if you wanted to go to grad school as well.”
“We are actually talking to Carl Lawson today, and it is going to be interesting. I am sure he is tired of answering those questions about his injuries. But it has to be asked, and if you can say he can go make an immediate impact when he is healthy, we are talking about complete dominance and that guy is a beast like no other.”
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