“SEC commissioner Greg Sankey declined comment.”

(Insert Keith Jackson “Whoa, Nellie!” here.)

Per The Houston Chronicle:

A decade after major conference realignment shook up college football, big changes might again be on the horizon.

Texas and Oklahoma of the Big 12 have both reached out to the Southeastern Conference about potentially joining the powerful league, a high-ranking college official with knowledge of the situation told the Houston Chronicle on Wednesday.

An announcement could come within a couple of weeks concerning the potential addition of UT and OU to the league, the person said, which would give the SEC 16 schools and make it the first of a national super-conference.

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Fore!

Aaron Murray on JT Daniels, who is getting the golf bug. "I told him if you’re going to be the QB at Georgia you better be good at golf because people are going to want to take you golfing. Georgia has some pretty sweet courses and you don’t want to crap the bed when you play.” pic.twitter.com/zEy1AbZXnn

— Anthony Dasher (@AnthonyDasher1) July 21, 2021

Shit, win a natty, and somebody will probably put him up for an Augusta National membership.

Had you going there for a second.

This is pretty good.

Hanging this in the KSR Hall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/boc37q0HXc

— Nick Roush (@RoushKSR) July 21, 2021

Taxing questions

I’ve seen plenty of questions here about the tax consequences might be for players who start receiving NIL compensation.  Here’s a link to the most in-depth discussion I’ve seen so far on the subject, if you’re interested in some answers. (h/t)

TFW our cliché is his reality

Pretty good JT quote ($$):

… Daniels offered up an interesting take on why, beyond experience and supporting cast, he may have been so good right away, better than his USC days: The fact he had been practicing against Georgia’s defense, especially when he was the scout-team quarterback for about a month, daily going against the first-team defense. That in itself had been a culture shock when he got to Athens.

“The first thing I learned when I got here was: ‘I don’t even know if I’m meant to play this sport.’ Like, Jordan Davis? Like, Nolan Smith? JD runs like a 4.9 (40-yard dash) at 350 pounds. That’s ridiculous,” Daniels said.

#unfinishedbusiness

Just when I think I can’t be surprised, Dennis Dodd, of all people, writes the most anti-narrative piece about Georgia of the offseason.  And it all begins with Kirby Smart’s obvious road block.

The question is being asked wrong. Instead of inquiring whether this is the year for Georgia, consider the man ultimately in charge of answering that question. More to the point, Kirby Smart has 24 of them — years, that is — on the legend he is chasing.

During his rotation through the 2021 SEC Media Days on Tuesday, the Georgia coach barely mentioned Alabama. He certainly didn’t mention Nick Saban, who at age 69 has to yet to lose to a former assistant (11-0).

Forget about those first five years of Richt versus first five years of Smart comparisons and try this one on for size.

Sure, Kirby had more to work with than his mentor did, but that’s kind of the point, isn’t it?  Saban’s built a monster in Tuscaloosa now and it’s Smart’s responsibility to deal with it.  He’s certainly putting the pieces in place to do so.

For the first time under Smart, offense is leading the way for the Dawgs. Quarterback J.T. Daniels is hoping to play his first full season since breaking out as a freshman at USC in 2018. This is a big deal because, as Smart likes to say, Georgia finished ranked No. 7 playing three quarterbacks last year in Daniels’ absence.

The difference might be Georgia is now explosive on offense. And explosive is all the rage. Why plod when you can strike quickly and often? The Dawgs led the nation with 4.5% of its plays being either runs of 10+ yards or passes of 30+ yards, both better marks than Alabama’s quick-strike offense.

Smart has hit the transfer portal like a gangster, landing LSU pass catcher Arik Gilbert, West Virginia safety Tykee Smith and Clemson cornerback Derion Kendrick. Even with the loss of leading WR George Pickens, Gilbert is a huge boost for the Dawgs. The former Tigers tight end has convinced Smart he can play receiver. Good luck defending that at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds … along with 6-foot-5, 265-pound tight end Darnell Washington.

The defense is absolutely loaded. Senior nose tackle Jordan Davis returned to a unit that led the SEC in average yards per play. “I just wanted to savor the moment because I feel like I didn’t really savor my last season,” Davis said.

Saban being Saban, of course, it’s not like Alabama has been asleep at the switch this offseason, either.  Is it enough to hold off Georgia?  It’s hard to pick against ‘Bama until Georgia actually does it, but I do feel if Smart knocks at the door long enough, sooner or later it’s bound to open.  In any event, I’d rather embrace that outlook than swallow the narrative du jour.

The “Dan Mullen conundrum”

Man, I don’t know what Dan Mullen did to the folks over at The Athletic — does he owe somebody money, or something? — but between the piece I linked to yesterday and Ari Wasserman’s takedown of Florida’s recruiting ($$), lately the Portal Master™’s been taking it on the proverbial chin over there.

You could say that the key for Mullen is to hire a hot-shot recruiter as a lead assistant. He did that, bringing in Tim Brewster as his tight ends coach before the 2020 season. But to be a dog in the recruiting realm, you have to love it. Meyer breathed recruiting. He loved it. He was passionate about it. He looked forward to it. And from afar, it doesn’t seem as though Mullen has that temperament. The head coach has to embody what he wants from his staff.

Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Making a connection

We’ve talked about how no spring practice in 2020 really set back Georgia’s offense, because it delayed Monken’s installation of a new scheme.  But if you listen to Kirby Smart, it sounds like COVID caused bigger problems for the team than just that.

… Smart already has been angling for a tighter group after the limitations last year that accompanied the coronavirus outbreak.

“When you’re on a Zoom with somebody, it’s hard to have a connection,” Smart said. “When you’re not allowed to sit within six feet of somebody, it’s hard to have a connection. We had some players that didn’t get to meet and know everybody on the team throughout the season because so much was done through Zoom and different methods of communication, so connection is one of the key ingredients for this team.

“We have been very intentional about it. We’ve given up football time. We’ve given up workout time to spend more time with each other, and that’s beginning to pay off as we see it here in the summer with guys getting in front of the group and leading skill sessions and being very active.”

Kirby discusses other COVID-related management issues in this clip:

SEC Media Days 2021: @GeorgiaFootball head coach @KirbySmartUGA joins the guys as Day 2 of SEC Media Days gets started! https://t.co/y8lcPDKuWw

— McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning (@macandcube) July 20, 2021

He does sound confident about addressing this, doesn’t he?

Not the “Year of the Quarterback” year we were expecting?

Pete Thamel thinks the SEC is looking at something of an off year for SEC quarterbacks, and who knows, he may be right about that.  There is, after all, not so much returning talent at the position —  Corral, Daniels and Nix (there are questions about who will start at Mississippi State) — and there are questions about all three of them.

Here’s what Thamel got some coaches to say about JT:

Yahoo Sports polled five coaches/assistants who faced Daniels last year, and they all gushed about his talent and potential. Whether he can be a transformative player like those title-winning quarterbacks remains a debate.

One assistant said Daniels had the strongest arm of any player he’d faced in his career and added that he’d be “the ultimate seven-on-seven quarterback.” Another pointed out that Daniels handled in-game adversity well and showed toughness, which were knocks on him at USC.

Can he actually leap into that rarest of quarterback air? Coaches pointed to Georgia’s skill position weapons being inferior to the past few title winners. “He ain’t one of those guys,” one assistant said of Daniels. “He’s not an upper-end NFL guy in my opinion.”

Interesting.  Does the quarterback make the skill position guys, or do the skill position guys make the quarterback?

Wednesday morning buffet

SEC Media Days are always good for a few tasty menu items.

• Smart and Muschamp teaming up to recruit Derion Kendrick from the transfer portal sounds like it has the makings of a good buddy movie.
• UNC has partnered with the Brandr Group to launch their own group licensing apparatus for Tar Heels athletes.
• “They’re getting reps, they’re learning the playbook and it’s really exciting,” nose guard Jordan Davis said. “You see them flash (in workouts). Tykee and Kendrick are really good players…I’m excited to see what they’re going to do during the season. I know they’re going to show out.”
• Prime Time loses his shit.
• For once, Dabo ain’t wrong.
• Bryce Young hasn’t started a game for Alabama yet, but Saban says he’s already close to being a millionaire, thanks to NIL.  Junior’s reaction to the news is priceless.
• Kirby knows what Saban’s figured out already.
• Don’t get too excited about this, but George Pickens is making progress on the rehab front.

***************************************************************************

UPDATE:  This goes out to those of you who have missed the point behind Saban’s comment about Bryce Young.

Bryce Young is very marketable, but he likely hasn’t done anywhere near $1 million in #NIL deals.

At least not yet.

However, Nick Saban has the world talking about it and that’s 1 reason why Alabama will continue to be at the top of the recruiting game. Saban’s playing chess.

— Darren Heitner (@DarrenHeitner) July 21, 2021