It's Only SEC (but I like it....)
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN’s
SEC CORRESPONDENT
Training Camp Editions
We are only a week away from the start of the 2026/27 football season, with teams all over the country participating in preseason camps.
Which means we are starting to get a clearer picture of players trending towards starting positions, or, for the lucky few, those who are Heisman hopefuls!
But it’s still talkin’ season, meaning there is still a whole lot of nonsense doing the rounds, which is fairly well exemplified amongst the stories below. Fear not friends, the SEC is still as crazy as ever, and that’s before we throw a ball in anger.
Let’s see what nonsense we can talk about this week. Here are this week’s headlines.
this weeks sec Stories
Dis (R.E.S.P.E.C.T)
Baton Rouge, LA
I don’t think I’m being disparaging by saying that trouble and bother seems to follow the LSU Tigers around these days.
And so it’s hard not to have missed last week’s brouhaha over ownership of the LSU Tigers’ #5 jersey.
The story started when Tigers 5* recruit DJ Pickett asked the Tigers to wear the #5 jersey this season. Pickett wore the #3 jersey last season but had an agreement with ex-Tigers head Coach Brian Kelly that he would end up with the #5 jersey. The problem is that the #5 jersey hasn’t been worn since Jayden Daniels wore it during his 2023 Heisman-winning season. Notably, this jersey wasn’t retired, but there seems to be an agreement that the jersey would not be worn without Daniels’ blessing.
Which is what kick-started quite the public display of throwing the toys out of the pram this last week.
Daniels’ toys are out of the pram
It became public very quickly that Daniels, via his Management and Legal team, had issued the Tigers with a “cease & desist” order in relation to LSU using Daniels’ “Name, Image & Likeness”. If that wasn’t enough, the document also requests the return of LSU’s copy of the Heisman Trophy won by Daniels.
Why so, I hear you ask? It appears that Daniels either was not asked or, if asked, did not give his permission for the Tigers to issue the #5 jersey to Pickett. By going public both on Instagram and through the public release of the “case & desist” order, Daniels lit the blue touch paper in terms of his public persona. Especially in Baton Rouge. Did Daniels misjudge the public perception of how his legal approach would be viewed? With the benefit of hindsight, most certainly yes.
but why?
There was widespread confusion as to why the situation could not have been resolved before the lawyers got involved. Unsurprisingly, new Tigers Head Coach Lane Kiffin was asked his view on the matter,
“I’ve done a lot of research on that with the family and the representatives and the people, so really I didn’t have a decision to make. It was promised to the kid. It wasn’t done for whatever [reason]. I’m not going to get into that,” Kiffin told ESPN.
“When a kid is promised something to come to a school, he should wear it.” Which are Kiffin’s last words on the matter.
Whether LSU has real concerns about not being able to use Daniels’ name on jerseys, they haven’t blinked thus far. As for the Heisman? This appears to have been a real misjudgment on his Management’s part. Two trophies are issued when the Heisman is won. The player gets one, and the School gets the other. Daniels already has his, so asking for the return of the School’s statue is a mistake and, at best, churlish.
Social Media Sensation
I said earlier that the pushback against Daniels had been strong. The LSU fanbase in particular had a lot to say on the matter. But it also sparked a social media trend with many in jest taking the opportunity to remove the number “5” from their vocabulary.
First up was ticket provider Stubhub who posted on X, ” Effective immediately, we will no longer offer tickets in groups of 5. Out of respect for Jayden Daniels, we’re only doing 4 or 6+”. And then the trickle became a flood.
The New York Mets baseball team, upon beating the Washington Nationals 4-1, posted “stopped at 4 out of respect for Jayden Daniels”. The Saratoga Race Course announced it would no longer use Post 5 on its starting gate. And so it went on and on and on.
The Dawgs are all "white"
Athens, GA
Georgia Bulldogs Head Football Coach Kirby Smart has been critical of having alternate uniforms for his Bulldogs. In fact, that is putting it mildly; Smart is a traditionalist.
“Hokey pokey” as he once called it.
“Some of the best places I’ve played… they never change their uniform, they’re traditionalists. If it takes changing the uniform to get people fired up, then I’m at the wrong place.” Smart told the AJC back in October 2024.
Which felt like a watershed moment. As much as the fans wanted to see alternate uniforms, it appeared that their Head Coach wasn’t for turning.
smart relents
However, as Georgia moved towards their Spring game earlier this year, Smart seemed to shift on his position. The much-fabled, or unicorn, white jerseys were being talked about… by Smart
“I’m so sick of hearing about it… if they can triple our subscribers to ‘Glory, Glory,’ I’ll wear whatever the [crap].”
And so it is so. Reluctantly, or somewhat cleverly, Smart has relented to white uniforms solely for the benefit of many more subscribers to Georgia’s NIL collective. Smart is a wily ol’ fox.
Subsequently, the UGA Athletics department announced that the football team will wear all white for the first time in its history when the Dawgs play Western Kentucky on September 12th at Sanford Stadium. Dawgs fans are off-the-charts excited for this, and they should be – history being made!
Goosby injury blow to Longhorns
Austin, TX
Troubling news out of Austin this week, with reports that redshirt junior left tackle Trevor Goosby left practice with a bone bruise on his left knee, as confirmed by ESPN via Pete Thamel.
Goosby appeared to onlookers during practice to leave the field on his own power; however was reportedly seen walking with the aid of crutches afterwards. Goosby has since undergone an MRI, which confirmed the bone bruise. The injury has been reported as a non-contact injury.
No timeline to return has been confirmed by the Texas Longhorns medical team; however, a range of “weeks to months” is being mentioned by those familiar with such injuries.
Goosby being out for any length of time is a huge loss to the Longhorns, who have a difficult schedule this season. The 6′ 7″, 325-lb tackle started all 13 games last year for Texas and is very much looked upon as a leader on the field and in the locker room. Goosby is rated as a first-round pick in the 2027 NFL Draft.
Texas plays Ohio State in week two of the schedule, with the first SEC matchup in week 4, travelling to Knoxville to face the Vols. The Longhorns’ schedule just gets harder from there on in. A swift Goosby return feels imperative to Texas’s hopes this season.
Alabama's quarterback battle
Tuscaloosa, AL
As I write this on Thursday, 20th August, a mere 9 days before the start of the 2026/27 college football season and 16 days before Alabama’s opening fixture against East Carolina, the Crimson Tide still have not publicly settled on who their starting quarterback will be.
Speaking as far back as SEC Media Days, Head Football Coach DeBoer said of his two quarterbacks,
“Both of them are more than capable. I think they’re high-level, elite quarterbacks. It’s going to be a competition that’s going to lead to a tough decision”.
However, as recently as last week, DeBoer remains completely noncommittal to which QB is winning the competition. Speaking to Alabama media post-scrimmage 1 of the Tide’s camp, DeBoer said he was “no closer” to making the decision.
Which has had Alabama fans’ heads in a spin. This is a pretty unusual position for the Tide to find itself in, and the fans are well outside their comfort zones.
Even this week we have no further clues. Speaking on Tuesday of this week (18th), offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb was asked about the progress of both quarterbacks and whether the coaching staff was close to making a decision.
“We’re close – I mean, we’re getting close to game week. I would say by next week we’ll have to make that call,” Grubb told Alabama beat writers.
out of the question
Head football coach DeBoer has previously said that adopting a two-QB system is “out of the question”, meaning that the Crimson Tide will name a starter. Just not at this point.
If the recent Yea Alabama fan day, giving fans the chance to meet the Tide’s football team, is anything to go by, then Keelon Russell appears to be the fan favourite for the starting job. While many assumed the biggest line for photos and autographs would be for star wide receiver Ryan Coleman-Williams, more than a few eyebrows were raised when the biggest line by far was for Sophomore Russell.
Russell caught the eye during Spring scrimmages, and the fan base became very excited about Russell’s athleticism.
Austin Mack’s advantage is his experience having been in DeBoer’s system for four years now, first at Washington and now at Alabama.
The Crimson Tide hold their second scrimmage of the camp Thursday (20th), so by the time you read this, there should be some more clues. We hope!
But talk about leaving things right to the end!
Third Saturday in October
Knoxville, TN
If you are reading these pages, you already know that the “Third Saturday in October” is special to the SEC and especially in Tennessee and Alabama. The game between the Vols and the Crimson Tide has been one of themes hotly contested rivalry games in the SEC since it was first played back in 1901.
And the game just received some added spice, if indeed any more was needed.
For the first time since 1970, both teams will play the game in their traditional “home” jerseys – Alabama in crimson and Tennessee in orange. Since 1970, the road team has always worn white. Now, under a new agreement between both schools, the football teams will wear their home jerseys in 2026 and 2027.
“The Third Saturday in October stands alone in college football, and we are excited to restore one of its most iconic traditions as both teams wear their home jerseys,” Tennessee athletic director Danny White said on the announcement.
“I’m grateful to Alabama AD Greg Byrne and his staff for their shared commitment to bringing this experience back to the fans of one of the sport’s greatest rivalries.”
And in case you’re not familiar with the rivalry, this announcement has been received very well in Alabama and Tennessee. Very well indeed. This is very exciting news.
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.