It’s here.
The unofficial start to the 2024 football season begins this week if you’re a high school or Southeastern Conference (SEC) fan.
SEC Football Media Days kicked off today and runs through Thursday at the Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas, the fourth different location in the last four years.
The SEC now features 16 teams, including newcomers Oklahoma and Texas, and they are all in the same division. No East and West anymore.
Plus, the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) starts this year.
Another big change is the absence of Alabama’s Nick Saban, at least from the sidelines.
Saban retired from coaching after the 2023 season. He won 291 games and seven national titles, including six with the Crimson Tide and one with LSU (2003).
Today, the legendary coach, who was scooped up by ESPN, said the Longhorns and the Sooners “aren’t going to run the SEC.”
Yes, there are lots of storylines this week in Dallas, including predictions and coaches on the hot seat.
Brian Kelly and LSU, which ushers in its 100th year of football this fall, led off the event.
Kelly is one of 13 coaches in the country given a ‘0’ on the hot seat rankings in 2024. The Tigers (10-3) were one of five SEC teams to win 10 or more games in 2023.
South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Vanderbilt joined the Tigers today.
One of the biggest questions this week will be, “Are Texas, Oklahoma ready for the SEC?”
Defending Big 12 champion Texas had a win at Alabama last year and made the college football playoff.
It’s a program with deep pockets, with a record-breaking $271M in revenue for 2023.
Oklahoma has one of the toughest schedules in the country with only three SEC home games against Tennessee, South Carolina and Alabama.
Their first-ever SEC game will be Sept. 28 at Auburn.
Welcome to the SEC.
The Sooners will also travel to Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU.
Texas is a heavy favorite (68%), according to Allstate Playoff Predictor, to make the CFP.
Among SEC teams, Georgia (79%) leads the way, followed by the Longhorns, Alabama (57%), and Missouri, Tennessee, and Oklahoma, who are all tied for fourth at 37%.
Mark your calendar for 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 as Oklahoma hosts Texas.
Somehow excluded from that list is Ole Miss, which might be the most talented team in the league behind Georgia. The Rebels, who defeated Penn State in the Peach Bowl last year, won 11 games and returned 10 starters on offense and 10 starters on defense.
Earlier today, Saban projected Georgia and Texas would play in the conference championship game.
You might also want to put the Oct. 19 Georgia at Texas game on your games to watch this season.
The Gators will make an appearance on Wednesday at 1:50 p.m.
The University of Florida will be represented by head coach Billy Napier, quarterback Graham Mertz, linebacker Shemar James and running back Montrell Johnson Jr.
Former Gator wide receiver Chris Doering projected UF to exceed external expectations in 2024.
Fans interested can watch the four-day event on ESPN as part of the SEC Network.
While SEC Football Media Days can be a circus, high school football media day is still a challenge even though it’s a much scaled-down version.
Still, a total of 32 teams featuring coaches and players will attend the 2024 North Central Florida High School Football Media Day on Wednesday at the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe.
“To put something like this together can be difficult, especially in coordinating the logistics from contacting schools and coaches to putting the final touches on a live broadcast production and everything else in between,” said founder and publisher Joshua Wilson of FloridaHSFootball.com, who is organizing the event.
One of the toughest challenges in putting together something this big that accommodates players, coaches, and media is finding a venue large enough to host.
“I am beyond grateful for the support given to some of the great people involved with the Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe including Richard Blalock and Megan Hooper of RADD Sports who graciously have opened up their doors for us to use the Alachua County Sports & Events Center West Lobby area,” Wilson said. “Alachua County and Celebration Pointe have a wonderful facility dedicated to sports and there is no better facility in the area to showcase what is coming up for the 2024 season than having the 2024 North Central Florida High School Football Media Day at Celebration Pointe.”
Media Day will be live-streamed on http://FloridaHSFootball.com beginning at 9 a.m.
Two-time defending state champion Hawthorne, which became the first Alachua County football team to win back-to-back, and Buchholz, which advanced to its third straight state semifinal last year, are just two of the top storylines heading in.
“First and foremost, the teams can expect media coverage from a variety of media outlets from across the state and region including print, radio, and television,” Wilson said. “Second, each team will get their time to be on stage to be interviewed and talk about their program which will be broadcast live on FloridaHSFootball.com, YouTube, X (Twitter), and Facebook. For fans, they will get a chance to see what their teams are up to and get excited about the upcoming 2024 season.”
2024 North Central Florida High School Football Media
Wednesday, July 17
Alachua County Sports & Events Center at Celebration Pointe
Media Day will be live-streamed on http://FloridaHSFootball.com
9 a.m. – Open/Media Day Panel – Part #1
9:13 a.m. – Dunnellon Tigers
9:26 a.m. – Riverside Christian (Trenton) Wranglers
9:39 a.m. – Saint Francis Catholic Academy Wolves
9:52 a.m. – Bradford (Starke) Tornadoes
10:05 a.m. – Lafayette (Mayo) Hornets
10:18 a.m. – Vanguard (Ocala) Knights
10:31 a.m. – Hamilton County (Jasper) Trojans
10:44 a.m. – P.K. Yonge Blue Wave
10:57 a.m. – Newberry Panthers
11:10 a.m. – Eastside Rams
11:23 a.m. – BREAK
11:36 a.m. – Buchholz Bobcats
11:49 a.m. – Branford Buccaneers
12:02 p.m. – West Port (Ocala) Wolf Pack
12:15 p.m. – North Marion (Citra) Colts
12:28 p.m. – Bronson Eagles
12:41 p.m. – Santa Fe (Alachua)
12:54 p.m. – Bell Bulldogs
1:07 p.m. – Interlachen Rams
1:20 p.m. – BREAK
1:33 p.m. – Union County (Lake Butler) Tigers
1:46 p.m. – Oak Hall Eagles
1:59 p.m. – Chiefland Indians
2:12 p.m. – Dixie County (Cross City) Bears
2:25 p.m. – Gainesville Hurricanes
2:38 p.m. – Countryside Christian Minutemen
2:51 p.m. – Forest (Ocala) Wildcats
3:04 p.m. – Fort White Indians
3:17 p.m. – BREAK
3:30 p.m. – Trinity Catholic (Ocala) Celtics
3:43 p.m. – Trenton Tigers
3:56 p.m. – Hawthorne Hornets
4:09 p.m. – Suwannee (Live Oak) Bulldogs
4:22 p.m. – Columbia (Lake City) Tigers
4:35 p.m. – Media Day Panel – Part 2 (Closing)
SEC Football Media Days
Omni Hotel in Dallas, Texas
All times below Eastern.
Monday, July 15
Commissioner Greg Sankey (10:05 a.m.)
LSU (11 a.m.) — Brian Kelly | QB Garrett Nussmeier, TE Mason Taylor, LB Harold Perkins
South Carolina (12:35 p.m.) — Shane Beamer | DT Alex Huntley, ATH Luke Doty, LB Debo Williams
Ole Miss (2:50 p.m.) — Lane Kiffin | QB Jaxson Dart, WR Tre Harris, DE Jared Ivey
Vanderbilt (4:20 p.m.) — Clark Lea | OL Gunnar Hansen, LB Langston Patterson, DB CJ Taylor
Tuesday, July 16
Georgia (10:05 a.m.) — Kirby Smart | QB Carson Beck, DL Mykel Williams, DB Malaki Starks
Tennessee (11:45 a.m.) — Josh Heupel | C Cooper Mays, LB Keenan Pili, DL Omari Thomas
Oklahoma (1:50 p.m.) — Brent Venables | QB Jackson Arnold, LB Danny Stutsman, DB Billy Bowman Jr.
Missouri (3:20 p.m.) — Eli Drinkwitz | WR Luther Burden III, QB Brady Cook, DL Kristian Williams
Wednesday, July 17
Alabama (10:05 a.m.) — Kalen DeBoer | QB Jalen Milroe, OL Tyler Booker, DB Malachi Moore
Mississippi State (11:35 a.m.) — Jeff Lebby | QB Blake Shapen, OL Albert Reese IV, LB John Lewis
Florida (1:50 p.m.) — Billy Napier | QB Graham Mertz, LB Shemar James, RB Montrell Johnson Jr.
Texas (3:20 p.m.) — Steve Sarkisian | QB Quinn Ewers, OL Kelvin Banks Jr., DB Jahdae Barron
Thursday, July 18
Arkansas (10:35 a.m.) — Sam Pittman | WR Andrew Armstrong, QB Taylen Green, DE Landon Jackson
Texas A&M (12:05 p.m.) — Mike Elko | DL Shemar Turner, LB Taurean York, OL Trey Zuhn III
Auburn (2:05 p.m.) — Hugh Freeze | QB Payton Thorne, LB Eugene Asante, DE Keldric Faulk,
Kentucky (3:25 p.m.) — Mark Stoops | OL Marques Cox, LB D’Eryk Jackson, DL Deone Walker