Saturdays in Athens
GEORGE SOMERVILLE – THE TOUCHDOWN SEC CORRESPONDENT
Saturday , 22nd october 2022
Unsurprisingly now that we are nearing the business end of the conference, matters are starting to get a little serious – as last week’s column highlighted. So in a conscious effort to lift the mood, this week we have some classic quotes from Kiffin and Leach (a new vaudeville act coming to a theatre near you soon), Bulldogs QB Will Rogers shows us that he is just a straight up nice guy, and former Alabama players in London to play for the Broncos talk to the Touchdown! What else do you want?
Here are this week’s SEC headlines!
That's our QB!
While walking out of the stadium I witnessed @Wrogers__2 offer and help this Alabama event staff member up the exit ramp.
— John Cohen (@JohnCohenAD) October 23, 2022
Always proud to watch Will exemplify true leadership, even after a tough week such as this. pic.twitter.com/72WoO7fRdd
Starkville, ms
There has been a fair amount of bad news in and around the conference this last week or so, so let’s start with some good news story.
We know that Will Rogers is an exceptional QB, I have written about just how good before (please check it out). But it turns out he’s as equally an all round good guy. Captured on camera the Mississippi State QB was seen helping an elderly Alabama staffer from the stadium following the Bulldogs defeat to the Crimson Tide last weekend.
In this week when student athlete’s character is being called into question, it was nice to see a young man being a great role model to others. Well played Will Rogers!
#HailState
tiny dinosaur arms
Starkville, ms
Let’s stay in Starkville to get an interesting take from one of the SEC’s most colourful coaches – Mike Leach.
Leach was very critical of his team after their defeat to Alabama with the Bulldogs Head coach suggesting that his players were scared of the Alabama jersey,
“We’ve got some guys that are afraid of the jersey that says Alabama on it. We spent a lot of time frightened of their jerseys. You want to scare some of the guys on our team, put an Alabama jersey on, it’ll scare the hell out of them.”
Said Leach during his post game press conference. Then Bulldogs head coach expanded on why Alabama extended their unbeaten run over State.
“They were more physical – they were using their hands better than we did, they used their hands better, they shoved us around”.
Leach as he typically does then went a little off piste with the rest of his answer. Coach has a theory on the evolution of the football player, if coaches don’t act now. This is what Coach Leach said,
“I’m genuinely fearful that on our team if me and the other coaches don’t get them right, that about a generation from now their kids and their grandkids won’t have hands.
Because from a lack of use those hands just disappear. Maybe they’ll be … like those dinosaur hands – you’ve got like a tyrannosaurus rex, which is clearly really good at eating things, with big ol’ jaws and all that stuff, certainly athletic and can run.
I think we took a very, very, very big step as a team, which we have to correct this. We have to correct this because, you know, I think that its best in the end for these guys that they have good hand development and that they don’t evolve to where they don’t have hands”.
You never know what is coming next with Coach Leach but it is must watch TV, that’s for sure.
#HailState
Mike Leach is worried if his receivers refuse to use their hands, they might end up like the dinosaurs.
— Grace Ybarra (@gnybarra) October 23, 2022
For reference, Leach was "a big dinosaur guy" growing up. pic.twitter.com/C6p9krKg5N
We tried to keep him
Oxford, MS
As much as I would dearly love to fill this page with quotes from the Mississippi quip masters that are Leach and Kiffin, it rarely transpires that both deliver in tandem.
But this week both head coaches were on fire.
During this week’s SEC coaches teleconference, Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin was asked about defensive coaching changes made at the end of the season when Defensive co-ordinator DJ Durkin moved across to Texas A&M. We all recognise that the Rebel defense this year is playing pretty well without their old DC but it didn’t stop Coach Kiffin taking a veiled swipe at the Aggies. Kiffin had this to say about Durkin jumping ship,
“DJ really turned around our defense here. We played really well, especially the second half of last year. We tried to keep him because he did a really good job – we got out-bid … kind of a common theme with that program …”
Ouch. So far Jimbo Fisher has not held a hastily arranged press conference to call out Kiffin’s comments. More to come I am sure.
#HottyToddy
The Touchdown talks to Jerry Judy & Patrick Surtain ii
London, UK
“I never thought in a million years I would be in London playing football”
The opening words from ex Alabama and current Denver Broncos wide receiver Jerry Jeudy after the AFC West team had practised at Harrow School. The Touchdown was able to spend a little time with former Alabama stars Jerry Judy and Patrick Surtain II after practice had finished to talk abut their time in Tuscaloosa.
“I’m still kind of shocked that I’m here (in London), it’s a blessing”.
continued Jeudy who is clearly appreciative of his time at Alabama and how it helped his journey to the NFL,
“you know football opened a lot of doors and opportunities for me. Football got me here”.
This week their former head coach at Alabama has come under fire over his handling of the situation that wide received Jermaine Burton finds himself in. Judy was more than happy to share his thoughts on his old college head coach,
“He’s a great leader, he never lets you be complacent – he’s going to keep things the way it is, every day is the same- he wants to bring the best out of you. Having a coach like that is a blessing. You learn a lot from him”.
Unsurprisingly, Pat Surtain was equally full of praise for is former head coach,
“Saban was all around a great coach, a tremendous leader. He set high standards for us as a group at Alabama. You know he’s one of the greatest football coaches of all time to do it. Just to have him teach us valuable lessons, just helped me a lot at the next level”.
Both players have settled into the NFL well, albeit Jerry Judy has been slowed by injuries – but Surtain is now considered one of the best defensive backs in the league. I asked both about the transition from SEC football to the NFL and whether the step up was as expected?
Surtain who is starring in this Broncos defense was appreciative of his coaching during his time with the Crimson Tide,
“Alabama prepared me well for the next level – it was nothing unexpected, I just stepped in and did what I had to do”.
Jeudy talked about the main difference being the amount of time available to a NFL player over a student athlete,
“In the NFL you’ve got a lot of great players, top players from around the world – at Bama we had a lot of great players too – but the biggest thing is the time management. At the end of the day football is football”.
It is the first time in London for both players who were off to see the sights – Surtain had already seen Buckingham Palace but the now obligatory shopping and food stops were on the itinerary.
#RollTide
GEORGE SOMERVILLE
COLLEGE FOOTBALL WRITER
A GLASWEGIAN LIVING IN LONDON, GEORGE IS A COLLEGE FOOTBALL FAN WHO FOLLOWS THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE. HE PROVIDES CFB CONTENT FOR THE TOUCHDOWN AND IS ONE THIRD OF THE COLLEGE CHAPS PODCAST.