SEC Media Days 2026
by GEORGE SOMERVILLE
THE TOUCHDOWN’s SEC CORRESPONDENT
Key Questions heading into Media Days
As much as we would like to think that football programs are well-oiled machines, there’s a huge amount of work and preparation that goes into getting the program ready for the season beginning.
Add in study time, transfer portal ins & outs, recruitment, even the constant noise around NIL, and you can see that there are a lot of distractions around a football program even before training camps have begun.
But Media Days are upon us already, and this signals the start of the clock ticking down to that first game of the season.
Each program knows what they need to do to become competition-ready. So, with a summer of hard work ahead for each school, here are what I think are the key questions which each team needs to answer heading into the new season.
Day Three
Alabama Crimson Tide
I am sure that fans of other SEC schools might argue the same for their team, but it feels like there are more unanswered questions for Alabama than any other school.
Year 3 for Head Coach Kalen DeBoer is huge. Two 4-loss seasons have not won over the Crimson Tide faithful, and an ignominious exit to Indiana in last year’s Rose Bowl both shocked and angered those in Tuscaloosa.
In July, Alabama does not have a clear leader at quarterback. Only one of last year’s O-Line returns, which can be looked at both positively and negatively. Shocking to say, but Alabama has no run game to speak of. The defense which at times looked impenetrable, was shown to be woefully inadequate against quality opponents Georgia and Indiana.
So it’s clear that DeBoer, Wommack and Grubb have had a lot of work to do over the summer.
DeBoer’s recent contract extension was designed to steady the ship and take the heat off both the Football Head Coach and Athletic Director, Greg Byrne. Like all premier sports programs, DeBoer needs time to build the program to his own design. The problem is that in Alabama, the fans aren’t the most patient.
Florida Gators
Billy Napier knows all about impatience during his time in Gainesville. While Napier believed that he was making strides with the football program, he never seemed to win over Gator fans.
So Jon Sumrall was persuaded to leave the fantastic job that he was doing with the Green Wave at Tulane to drive East to Gainesville.
Gainesville is a bit like Baton Rouge in that the ghosts of past successes walk the halls of the Swamp as they do in Tiger Stadium. It’s not hard to miss. There are three statues celebrating the Gators Heisman winners outside the front door. Steve Spurrier has the field named after him. Urban Meyer continues to be held in the highest esteem, and Tim Tebow, although he won’t like the comparison, is a god-like figure in these parts.
All this means that Sumrall may have the hardest job of any new Head Coach in the SEC this year. So where does Sumrall need to focus on first and fast? Well, it’s helpful that Sumrall has made that clear – Offense. Sumrall has handed the keys to the Offense to Buster Faulkner, most recently of Georgia Tech, who has brought several players with him, including QB Aaron Philo, who will battle incumbent Tramell Jones for the starting position.
All in all, the Gators have 29 players who have transferred into the program during this offseason. Another SEC team in rebuild mode? Yes. But the schedule is not kind to Sumrall in his first year in the SEC. This season has the potential to be a painful one for the Gators.
Ole Miss rebels
Almost impossible to do, but if you take out the noise surrounding the Kiffin departure to LSU, there isn’t much, if anything, wrong with the Ole Miss football program. A CFB Playoff semi-finalist last year, they were one score away from making it to a National Championship final game last season.
This season, last year’s defensive co-ordinator Pete Golding is the Head Coach, and their talismanic quarterback Trinidad Chambliss returns to lead the Rebels’ offense. Continuity is key to the Rebels’ success this year.
However, we are talking about the Ole Miss Rebels, so building a roster through the transfer portal is a way of life. This season is no exception, with 29 new additions to the Rebels’ roster. Fifteen of those transfers are expected to be starters, so Golding and his coaching staff have the tall order of finding chemistry from the off. Ole Miss returns not just Chambliss but also Kewan Lacy, Suntarine Perkins and Will Echoles, whose experience and leadership will be pivotal in the Rebels’ success this year.
Despite yet more roster upheaval, expect the Rebels to be challenging for an SEC Championship and a CFB Playoff spot again this year.
Texas Aggies
There is no question that Head Coach Mike Elko has transformed the Texas A&M Aggies following a disastrous spell under Jimbo Fisher. However, make no bones about it, Aggies fans expect a CFB Playoff spot as a minimum for a successful season. Last season, Elko got his team to the playoffs and was rewarded with a home-field game against Miami at Kyle Field in the first round. Expectations were high; however, the Aggies were soundly beaten by Miami. A disappointing end to a good season.
This year, Elko welcomes back QB sensation Marcel Reed for his fourth and final season in college football before heading to the Draft. Reed should be considered an early frontrunner to be a Heisman finalist this year.
However, the Aggies’ roster has changed much from last year. A record ten players were drafted to the NFL from College Station in this year’s draft. The biggest area of rebuild for the Aggies is on the O-Line, which is now almost entirely playing in the NFL. Center Mark Nabou Jr returns but has four new starting O-linemen around him. Good news for Aggies fans: the new guys all have SEC experience. If the coaching staff can get this unit to gel, then the Aggies will be a threat this year.
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
GEORGE IS A LONG STANDING FANATIC OF LIFE AND FOOTBALL IN THE DEEP SOUTH AND WRITES HIS WEEKLY COLUMN CALLED “IT’S ONLY SEC” FOR THE TOUCHDOWN. HE IS ALSO CO-HOST AND ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST, THE UK’S FIRST PODCAST DEDICATED TO THE COLLEGE GAME.