SECMD19 Notebook: Storylines from Tide, Hogs, Bulldogs & Gamecocks
Everyone knows that each year, Alabama reloads its talented roster.
This year the Crimson Tide will again reload. But perhaps, more importantly, they intend to refocus. Even after suffering a 44-16 blowout loss to Clemson in the national championship game, the Tide players at SEC Media Days on Wednesday seemed to blame themselves more than credit Clemson.
Linebacker Dylan Moses even offered: “I think our best is better than their best.”
Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suggested the Tide loss was a result of winning previous games too easily.
“I think it comes down to how we prepared throughout the second half of the year,” Tagovailoa said. “As a team, we were goal-oriented for the second half. We played looking at the scoreboard. If the scoreboard was good to us, we would ease off and let the second group of guys go in. We wouldn’t play it the way we’re supposed to be playing.
“It was a lot different in that (Clemson) game. We weren’t put in a situation like that. It was the way we prepared the second half of the year. It ended up getting us against Clemson.”
That’s typical of Alabama. The Tide doesn’t lose often, but when they do fall, there is a handy excuse. They didn’t prepare correctly, the officials blew it (Clemson 2016), they didn’t care (Oklahoma in 2013 Sugar Bowl), they had a hangover from the previous game (Texas A&M, 2012).
Regardless of the reason for Alabama’s loss, coach Nick Saban said the priority is refocusing.
“I think that the key to us, the key to our success, is can we internally re-establish the standard of what we need to do to be the best team that we can be?” Saban said. “That's got to be something that's done on a consistent basis, and it has to be able to sustain the season. And that's a challenge for all of us.”
Not Tua offended
Alabama fans on an al.com thread were offended that Texas A&M Kellen Mond on Tuesday said he was the best quarterback in the Southeastern Conference.
That’s obviously because Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa earned All-SEC and All-American recognition, and led the Crimson Tide the SEC championship and the national championship game last season.
Tagovailoa threw 37 touchdown passes and only four interceptions last season. Mond threw 24 touchdown passes and nine interceptions.
Though Alabama fans are upset at Mond, Tagovailoa is not. During SEC Media Days, Tagovailoa praised Mond’s play and confidence.
“I have a tremendous amount of respect for Kellen,” Tagovailoa said. “He’s been my friend. We’ve been hanging out at (Los Angeles-based quarterback trainer) Steve Clarkson’s (camp) ever since I can remember. I don’t take anything away from him. He’s a great football player.
“If anyone else thinks they’re great, that’s good for them, too. We’ve just all got to go out and prove ourselves to everyone. That’s just really all it is.”
Alabama linebacker Dylan Moses wasn’t offended, either. Moses and Mond were high school teammates at IMG Academy.
“He’s confident in himself,” Moses said. “I don’t have anything against anyone that has confidence in themselves. With him feeling that way … kudos to him.”
So does that mean Moses feels his former quarterback is better than his current quarterback?
“I wouldn’t say that,” Moses said. “But if he feels confident in himself to say that, then go with it.”
It’s gotta happen someday, right?
It’s been often repeated that Saban has never lost a game to one of his former assistant coaches.
Saban is 16-0 against his former assistant coaches. He’s 3-0 vs. Derek Dooley, 3-0 vs. Jim McElwain, 2-0 vs. Will Muschamp, 2-0 vs. Mark Dantonio, 2-0 vs. Jimbo Fisher, 2-0 vs. Kirby Smart, 2 -0 vs. Billy Napier and 1-0 vs. Jeremy Pruitt.
Although there is little doubt Saban is one of the greatest coaches in college football history, he offered another reason for the dominance against his former assistants.
“They don't take a program over that has the established talent, culture and all that that we have at Alabama,” Saban said. “So when they get the opportunity to establish those things in their program, they're going to be able to beat Alabama and compete with Alabama.
“Most of the time when you get a job, it's because the guy that was before you didn't do a very good job, so you have lots of work to do to bring that team to that level. Obviously, I think a lot of those (former assistants) are going to be able to do extremely well. Some have done it already. I think it's a matter of time until those challenges get greater and greater for us.”
In memory of a lost cousin
The sight of Arkansas star defensive tackle McTelvin Agim carrying a “Chuckie” doll during interviews looked kind of funny.
Except that it was no laughing matter.
Agim brought the doll from the horror movie “Child’s Play” as a means of remembering his cousin, John Neal, who was tragically murdered in Texarkana last year.
His body was found with multiple gunshot wounds in the backseat of a burning four-door Mitsubishi on March 28, 2018.
“When they killed him they took part of me away,” Agim explained. “Now, I’m able to have something that’s with me and is able to see all the things he was not able to see.
“A part of doing this (media day interviews) is you want to do it for your family. You want to make it to the next level for your family. It also spreads light on his name.”
John Neal was 19 when he passed away. His birthday was Tuesday.
Head hog high on Starkel
There might have been some level of surprise that Arkansas coach Chad Morris brought in quarterback Nick Starkel, a transfer from Texas A&M.
Several returning quarterbacks were on the Razorbacks roster and Ben Hicks, who played for Morris at SMU, transferred to Arkansas before Starkel did.
Still, Morris never hesitated to offer a scholarship once Starkel became available.
“I've known Nick since he was in high school. I recruited him,” Morris said. “To watch the way the ball jumps out of his hand and how electric and how hot that ball comes out, and his decision making, how he can progress and see the field and his accuracy is what impressed me as I watched him. And had it not been for an injury to him a year or so ago, two seasons ago, the outcome for him in his season might have been totally different.”
Starkel broke an ankle first game of Texas A&M’s 2017 season. He returned later that season and had big statistical performances in games against New Mexico and Wake Forest.
He passed for 1,793 yards with 14 touchdowns and six interceptions that season.
“We're excited about having him and to know that he has two years with us,” Morris said. “I think one of the things talking to Nick is he saw an opportunity, an opportunity to come in, and to play in a league he's very familiar with, and his confidence level is extremely high.”
Starkel and Hicks are expected to compete for the starting quarterback role.
Moorhead nitpicking?
An intense competition is anticipated between junior Keytaon Thompson and senior Tommy Stevens for the Mississippi State starting quarterback role.
Thompson was the backup to Nick Fitzgerald last season, while Stevens was the backup to Trace McSorley at Penn State.
Stevens transferred to Starkville to be reunited with Bulldogs coach Joe Moorhead, who was the Nittany Lions offensive coordinator in 2017.
Moorhead, who seems to favor a downfield passing game, never appeared comfortable with the run-oriented Fitzgerald.
However, he sounded quite comfortable with the idea of Stevens as his quarterback this season.
“Obviously I've been exposed to Tommy and coached him for two years at Penn State,” Moorhead said. “I think he or any quarterback that we coach or bring into our system, we want the quarterback to be able to beat you with his brain, his arm and his legs.
“And I think Tommy is a kid with a lot of physical tools. Strong arm. He can really run. He's accustomed to the system, so he's going to understand it for the most part coming in. And, you know, I think he brings a lot of talent to the position, and I think the competition is going to be an exciting one. It's going to make the position better, it's going to make our offense better, and it's going to make our team better.”
The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Stevens completed 8 of 11 passes for 110 yards at Penn State last season. He also rushed for 118 yards.
Chicken fingers
The hopes for South Carolina will depend heavily on the passing arm of senior quarterback Jake Bentley, but maybe even more on the hands of his receivers.
Bentley passed for 3,171 yards and 27 touchdowns last season. He would have had even better statistics had his receivers been more reliable.
“We had 20 drops on the season,” South Carolina coach Will Muschamp said. “If you followed our season, some of those were game-changing moments. In order to win football games down the field and change the momentum of the game, we’ve got to be able to finish on those plays. Some of the inconsistencies we've had offensively, I felt were self-inflicted. If we can eliminate those things, I think we can continue to take the next step offensively.”
Muschamp said the Gamecocks also have to improve their turnover margin. They were 12th in the SEC in that category. They committed 21 turnovers while forcing 16.
Many of those turnovers occurred in the red zone.
“We had 56 trips in the red zone. We had 13 times and come away with no points and get eight turnovers,” he said. “That's gut-wrenching. That's psychological. That affects your football team, not just our offense, but your entire team to come away with no points. We had 21 turnovers overall in the year. We have to do a better job of making decisions with the ball and taking care of the football.”
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