The biggest winners and losers from the 2024 SEC media days

The four long days of nonstop SEC media days have finally come to a close.

After hearing from 16 head coaches and 48 star players throughout the week, there are clear winners and losers in the conference so far.

From terrible acronyms to well-delivered tributes, the week was truly a mixing bowl of all the personalities that are now in the SEC.

Texas and Oklahoma have joined the conference, new head coaches lead programs, and there’s the usual chaos of the best conference in the nation.

So, following four days of speeches and media scrums, which teams are heading home as the biggest losers and which are tucking their tails as the biggest losers?

The winners:

Man, oh, man. The Texas Longhorns are in the SEC and that is not the last (nor the first) you will hear of it.

The SEC Network (including Nick Saban) couldn't stop bringing up the Horns and Saban himself picked Texas to land itself in the conference championship game at the end of the regular season.

Steve Sarkisian and his players did a fabulous job of bringing attention to their program without showing off and truly had five-star performances across the board.

It came as no surprise that Kirby Smart and his players, including Heisman candidate Carson Beck, did well at SEC's media days.

The elite head coach and his star athletes had a flawless showing but they didn't necessarily bring any shock and awe to their program (hence the minus instead of a plus).

Lane Kiffin's father, Monte Kiffin, passed away recently after an incredible career in the football world.

Not only did Kiffin get the chance to pay homage to his late father, he also got to talk about how much it meant to be around the Ole Miss program following his death.

Other coaches and Kiffin's own players also paid homage to Monte and the love for Lane Kiffin was beyond obvious.

The Tennessee Volunteers are coming off of a College World Series Victory over the Texas A&M Aggies. Josh Heupel got to highlight the dominance of the Vols' athletic department, including the football team.

Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is set to lead Heupel's squad in 2024 and needless to say, the Volsare ready to be impressed by a new quarterback once again.

Kalen DeBoer had the pressure of the world looming overhead as he stepped up to the podium to represent the Alabama Crimson Tide.

Oh, and his predecessor Nick Saban was at the SEC news desk watching on.

DeBoer knocked it out of the park and reassured Alabama fans with his well-spoken words and his pride surrounding the program's growth already.

Somewhat surprisingly, Brian Kelly aced his SEC media days test and brought even further attention to the already trending LSU Tiger program.

Kelly did a flawless job of introducing his rebuilt program and the success that he believes the Tigers will have despite losing Heisman-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels to the NFL.

For the first time as a head coach, Jeff Lebby took the stand as a head coach. Now the leader of the Mississippi State Bulldogs, Lebby immediately caught the attention of the media members and most fans are already calling him a beloved figure.

Lebby is holding the reigns of a State team who finished the 2023 season at 5-7 overall. He came to the Bulldogs from Oklahoma and Sooners head coach Brent Venables spoke highly of him.

Sam Pittman and the Arkansas Razorbacks are receiving a lot of hype around their program, especially because of the return of its rivalry with the Texas Longhorns.

Pittman focused on his team's priorities of consistency and finishing this season, which were the two biggest lackings of the Razorbacks' program last year.

Mike Elko is taking over a Texas A&M football program that was falling to pieces under the guise of Jimbo Fisher.

The Aggies haven't made Elko's future national championship plaque quite yet but maybe they should have his performance at the SEC media days. Elko talked about the Aggies never "looking back" at the past and only focusing on how they can get better every day.

The losers:

Unfortunately for the Sooners, the Longhorns were the biggest focus this week despite both teams being newcomers to the SEC.

Brent Venables did a fine job of introducing his program to its new conference but he didn't make Oklahoma standout in the way that Sark and his Texas players did.

Unfortunately for Eliah Drinkwitz, the biggest takeaway from his time at the podium was the disastrous acronym he used to descive his players.

STIs – Size, Toughness, and Insticts

All three are great characteristics for players to posses but Drinkwitz turning them into such an unfortunate acronym was a huge flop for the Tigers.

The Commodores didn't have a bad showing at the media days but they also didn't have a necessarily memorable one either.

Vanderbilt has long struggled under the guise of the SEC and head coach Clark Lea didn't do much to reassure that would change anytime soon.

Similarly to the Commodores, the South Carolina Gamecocks fell short of wowing the crowd while at the mic this week.

Shane Beamer was well spoken but fell a little flat as his opening statements carried on and as he answered questions from the media.

Billy Napier is the best loser in this group. He paid a perfect tribute to Lane Kiffin's father and spoke well of his players.

However, his continued motto that the Gators are a "work in progress" didn't quite settle the nerves of Florida fans as they head towards the toughest schedule in the nation.

Hugh Freeze hesitated to grade his own program so we're doing it for him. A reporter directly asked how the program was looking through two seasons and the current offseason.

Freeze, instead of boosting his players, said he won't say much until after this season.

After speaking about some changes the Tigers have made, Freeze said, "What does that mean in win-loss total this fall? I'm not sure yet."

Oh, Mark Stoops how you never fail to amaze us... in the worst ways possible.

Stoops not only mentioned how every SEC media days, he has to introduce a new offensive coordinator.

Not to mention, he kept mentioning how heavily Texas A&M pursued him for the Aggies' head coaching job.

But don't worry, Stoops has "been grinding at Kentucky."

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