FULL SEC SEASON PREVIEW: Georgia's expectations, Missouri's schedule & Jackson Arnold 👀

Georgia Bulldogs and one of the toughest schedules we're talking about them dogs Georgia is looking to win their third National Title in four years after finishing fourth last season in the AP poll with the only loss coming to Alabama and the SEC Championship game which of course ended their shot at a three-piece on offense two-time Macky Award winner Brock Bowers is off to the NFL but quarterback Carson Beck and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo are back back ranked third in the FBS in passing yards last season and on defense three of the top five tacklers returned from last year as well as the top two sack Getters and Jaylen Walker and Mikel Williams Georgia has led the nation in scoring defense over the past three seasons here's Kirby Smart today on if the team has a chip on their shoulder after how last year ended we don't have a chip on our shoulder in terms of people trying to use that as motivation I've never used um a failure from the previous year as motivation and I've never used the success of a previous year as motivation we won't do that this year that's not who we are initially I was wondering how I got that draw you know but uh not one to complain we're one to be excited um I think when you step into the shoes of a University of Georgia football player you accept that that challenge is going to be there as coaches you want to play the best and people forget that when you spent time in the NFL every week was like that so when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference every schedule was going to get harder it wasn't going to get easier it was going to get harder and uh we embraced that we look forward to it and uh excited for the challenge to go to some really tough places embrace it indeed now Georgia won two in a row but failed the three repeat last year when of course Bama dethroned them now coach Kirby described his team schedule earlier as a gauntlet of course they have one of the toughest schedules coming up with three Road games against Texas Alabama and Old Miss now Jordan how do you prepare for this type of schedule well one game at a time nothing changes for Georgia right Kirby Smart was indoctrinated under the master of one game at a time the goat Nick Sabin who lives it on a daily basis so nothing changes for them and I think it helps that Clemson's first it's hard to look past the Clemson if you had a non-conference game to start the season well you might uh look past it a little bit but that's not the case for this Georgia football team and the other thing when this schedule was released 15 other teams in the SEC went do we have to play Georgia they hurried to look at the schedule do we have to play Georgia Georgia didn't hurry to look to see if they had to play anybody everyone has to play Georgia and that's just the state of the SEC right now they actually have the third toughest schedule in the FBS Now Greg that is according to ESPN analytics Now Greg what's the biggest difference this year for Georgia well I think really the last couple years the biggest change is is the schedule I mean in the SEC East in the divisions the SEC East most cases at least in the last decade a little bit more manageable than the SEC West where it was kind of a gauntlet with what LSU had done Obama had done and A&M's had some great years Auburn's had some great years so you look and then Old Miss as well or not forgetting about them uh looking at the schedule though now to have to play three teams that are ranked in the top 10 in the preseason at those three places at Bama at Texas at Old Miss very very difficult I also think too when you look at the best versions of Georgia and when you're this good you're the Alpha Dog program in the sport according to many you're going to be measured against yourself so you could say well hey look the defensive line for instance maybe it's just not quite as good as it's been in 2021 and 2022 when they won the National Championship doesn't mean it's not maybe one of the best in the country it's just maybe not where it's once once was so I think that's kind of the problem is they're kind of chasing ghost a little bit because of how good those teams were in both 2021 and 22 and a lot of folks of course are are worried about playing Georgia and Georgia has only lost two games in the last three years and Carson Beck is coming off a season in which he set Georgia's single season record for completion percentage and he spoke earlier today on the road to get to this point in his career those first three years were really tough especially um you know getting little scrap time you know getting playing time but it wasn't real playing time but obviously I knew that one day I was going to get that opportunity and I think that's what helped me stay and you know helped me to continue to compete and try to get better each and every day and just keep progressing cuz I knew when I got that opportunity I just wanted to be ready so once I did you know come out finally get there and I'm super excited he is a great great example of college football the day and age when you go somewhere and you jump school to school it's it's it's a popular Trend this kid stuck it out he stuck it out now and he didn't get the starting job in a tough moment when the starter went down and he lost starting job to STS and benett the week of UAB game two years ago and then said you know what I'm sticking with it I'm going to persevere I'm going to show resiliency which is one of our core traits and he did that he's stuck it out and Carson Beck is back Year to in Georgia and there's a lot of hype around this QB he's considered not only to be the first overall pick but also one of the favorites to win the Heisman so let's talk your two Jordan with all the hype how does someone like Carson Beck manage the pressure both on an individual level but also overall with leading his team yeah I think you show up to SEC media days in a mock turtleneck in a chain I mean he's one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country now he's one of the best dress I've been trying to get Greg to rock one of those forever sell I've worn a mock Turtle NE before but it was because I had nothing else yeah it was a long time ago yeah all right in all seriousness there there is a lot of pressure around this program just because the standard of Excellence is that they go undefeated that's kind of the standard for Georgia right now Carson Beck in particular he just needs to continue to not try to do too much right a lot of quarterbacks will jump off the tape because they're incredibly fast athletic or this huge arm and and yes he has all the physical tools but what jumps out when you watch him is how effic ient he is how quickly the ball comes out of his hands how accurate he is so continue to not force throws continue to play the quarterback position in a calm Manner and I think he's going to continue to have success but one thing that Kirby said today about leadership as a whole he said this spring they're really pushing him to celebrate more with his teammates be more excited cuz naturally he's kind of like a status quo no emotion kind of guy and they want him to get more involved so he takes a little bit more of that leadership role I think guys will gravitate towards that too I mean it's just he has so much game but the Charisma now I think is the next part of the evolution and making sure guys gravitate towards him that's that turtleneck Fair it's also hard to do that though when you haven't played 100% but now that he's played and he's accomplished like he can really be comfortable in his own skin have a lot of fun because he's proven that he can play as well as anybody in the sport at that position and I look last year too really the first two three games kind of held him back a little bit like hey man we don't want to put you in an uncomfortable spot then the Kentucky game rolled around they said all right it's time to unleash you on the college football world and from that point forward he was really lights out so I I think the sky the limit for this young man he's got great ball placement really really cerebral and has a great feel for what they want to be offensively we'll see that emotion as well now Carson Beck will of course be without his go-to Target tight end Brock Bowers who was selected in this year's draft 13 overall by the Raiders he was essential in Georgia success and was not only the first Bulldog to win a John Macky award for college football's best tight end but the first player to win twice overall now there is no doubt that Brock Bowers was such a key point to George's offense now Jordan what can we expect the offense to look like this year without him well I think it's going to look similar in some elements but if you take a player like Brock Bowers off the field something's going to change he was such a chess piece for Mike Bobo in this offense really his entire career but they could use him all over the field split him out wide he can take a DB on one-on-one he was such an incredible Blocker in the Box as well as out on the perimeter he can run by guys great route Runner great hands and even better after the catch so that chest piece is not going to come I don't think from the tight end position as much although Oscar Delp is a really good player I look at a guy like maybe a Dylan Bell who's a running back/ wide receiver kind of guy that they can use in the back field they can split him out wide and give themselves that diversity of personnel groups that they had with Brock Bowers well the funny thing is we we look at the Heisman Trophy and we we know it get probably going to go to quarterback just being frank but I also look too is I don't think this offense is going to completely center around Carson Beck in the passing attack I think with the addition of Trevor etn and the and Branson Robinson getting healthy again I think the Run game is going to be a bigger part of what this offense is going to be and I think Kirby Smart's been pretty outspoken about hey we got to create more explosive plays and by creating explosive plays he means hey we got to gain 30 40 50 yards on One Snap as opposed to methodically working our way down the field well you know how they do that you make the defense think that you're going to run the football you play action pass you throw it over their head so I think the Run game is going to be what's really different about this offense partly because they're going to be healthier at running back and they've made some notable additions like etn like we referenced M and Georgia of course has reached the SEC Championship game six times in the last seven seasons 28 seasons in the Big Oklahoma Sooners 12 Oklahoma joins the SEC with a schedule that includes from Tennessee Alabama and trips to Old Miss Missouri and LSU oh and the annual Red River rivalry game vers Texas just means more now that it counts in the SEC standings Seth Latrell takes over as offensive coordinator in priority number one will be filling the nearly 7,000 yard void left by all Big 12 quarterback Dylan Gabriel who transferred to Oregon now Oklahoma's defense made life easy for the offense last season U forced 26 turn turnovers that led to 111 points armed with 7 9% of its defensive production returning the Sooners are poised to take another step forward in Brett Venable's third season here's Brent earlier today Jackson understands you know better than anybody what what goes into being a quarterback of a football team of a Locka room the leader the face uh the responsibilities the challenges uh his skill uh his arm Talent his toughness his instincts his ability to lead people bring out the invest in people uh no question about it he's ready for uh you know his opportunity and his moment we're excited for the challenge as as competitors uh as a football program you know Oklahoma you know isn't intimidated as a as a football program we we're running towards the SEC I think that goes without saying we're we've looked forward for the last several years for this partnership uh to be a part of an amazing conference the best conference in college football now with Oklahoma making its SEC debut this season they have not been given an easy first year they'll be facing six of the best teams in the nation Texas Alabama Old Miss LSU Tennessee and Missouri Greg what do you think overall will be their biggest challenge in this conference well they're going to have the same challenge as the Texas will as they transition to a league in which every single team can get you and I think that's been the biggest adjustment and if you look at really the SEC over the course of time it doesn't matter the week even Vanderbilt with all due respect to my good buddy right here even Vanderbilt depending on theek can go and rally up and get you if you don't play your best now they've been down no denying that but if you look at some of these road trips at Auburn really difficult place to play we all know that ol Miss is the legitimate playoff Contender Missouri is a playoff Contender this year you got Bama coming to you before you go to LSU who I think is also a legitimate playoff Contender so I think the gauntlet and being able to weather the storm will be the bigest adjustment for Oklahoma because there is not that get back on track team in the SEC the same way they might have seen it from time to time in the Big 12 and in order to weather that storm and the physicality week to week the line of scrimmage is huge right and up front they lose all their full-time starters from last year at offensive line got a young talented quarterback so I think that's going to take a little bit to come along to gel as a unit as well but look this is a team that albeit they have a brutal schedule and Texas is getting all the hype because they come in as more of the favorite new team they're make a run for a championship Oklahoma's a really talented football team Jackson Arnold is so good and and he's young and he'll make mistakes but especially on that defensive side of the ball Danny stutman and Billy Bowman coming back they have a bunch of guys coming back that defense is going to carry them to some wins that I think maybe if we looked at the schedule today we're like I don't know if they'll get that one they'll get one or two of those yeah yeah for sure and Jackson Arnold he is set to steer the Sooners through one of their most important years in program history making a statement in the SEC and facing six of the top teams in the nation now after sitting for a year behind now Oregon QB Dylan Gabriel the former five-star quarterback is one of the most anticipated newcomers in the country at one of the most prestigious positions in the country he spoke with our Dar NOA I mean it's and blessings to God you know I I wouldn't be in this position um without him and without my family too you know um I I would if you told me this 18 months ago that I'd be here right now I honestly wouldn't believe you uh it's a great feeling um I'm just super blessed SEC fans are going to be learning more about Oklahoma every day throughout the season how do you describe the offense you'll run to those fans I'm a super uptempo um fast offense um spread them out wide run a spread offense old Air Raid systems part of it um but just a super explosive offense um that loves just get going have fun you had limited experience a year ago I know you started the bowl game against Arizona in that limited experience what was the biggest thing you learned about playing quarterback starting at quarterback at a high college football level um I think just limiting the mistakes that you make you know I don't have to in high school you know you can kind of get away with things that you can't get away with college you can make these extreme plays that we're in college you don't need to make you know just go out execute do what the coaches need you to do and you can go out and you'll win games man and I feel like in in the bowl game and even in BYU a little bit like I tried to do too much tried to overcompensate and that's when the mistakes start happening the turnover start happening so just learn to kind of play in my realm and just kind of you know execute and do what I'm coach this is a huge uh learning point for me I know you got some receivers coming back three that got to play quite a bit tell us about Dion Burke's transfer from Purdue Dion's an absolute stud um great person a great football player super fast super quick um he's going to be one of our guys this year man he's going to he's always going to get open I mean in Spring ball is always getting open super fast guy super twitched up I'm super excited for him it is Jackson Arnold starting quarterback Oklahoma Sooners welcome to the league thank you 18 months from graduating high school to starting QB for Oklahoma Greg what are the realistic expectations with Jackson Arnold uh I think he can certainly Elevate to the top five in the SEC if if the opportunity presents itself look a lot of it has to do with playing within himself he's got the natural ability like Jordan referenced we all know that he was highly recruited Blue Chip Prospect coming out of high school but a lot of it has to do with your Supporting Cast and the good news is he's got guys that he can rely on he just has to distribute the football stay within the offense Seth L Trail is going to do a great job of making him feel really comfortable in both the downfield passing attack and the regular down and distance passing attack as well so I'm really optimistic about what this young man might be the only thing that he's got to do Jordan I think is just make sure he doesn't try to win the game on one play like so many young quarterbacks do did that a few times in the alibo bowl yeah well Jordan how confident are you in his ability to lead the Sooners in their offense to the top of the SEC well I think he can and what I love about SEC media days is it's talking season for us to sit up here with microphones but for most of the players and coaches they don't give you a ton right but if you saw that interview with Dari NOA and Jackson Arnold he asked him about Dion Burks did you see the smile and the glance to the camera when he when he talked about his stud receiver that transferred him from Purdue so I think he loves him I think he loves the talent that's around him and like he ad he's just trying to do too much as a young talented quarterback at times he's going to learn and he is going to be one of the top guys in the SEC sooner rather than later because the talent skill set and what Seth Latrell is going to set him up to do from an offensive perspective absolutely and having that composure is everything and I loved what Tennessee Volunteers coach Brett venal said that Jackson is a guy that knows that the tough moments are part of that position as in any position to get better that's one of the ingredients we're going to Coach Josh hyle arriving to SEC media and he had this to say about the hype regarding his QB the thing that I've Loved about Nico is you know when he came into the building uh he wanted to earn the respect of his teammates and you do that through your actions not your words everybody understands how hard he works to become the best that he can at his craft uh he takes great ownership in in his skill set in developing it uh understanding of our offense and um just uh you know as as a young player um gets his first start in the bowl game one of the best compliments you can give to to a quarterback is when it goes from the practice field to the game field it slows down for him during the course of the bowl game it slowed down for for him thought he was in great command out there now there's a lot of things that he learned from that game uh he's had great urgency in his preparation all off season I'm really excited to see his growth in development as a Young quarterback throughout the course of this 24-hour Journey we're excited for that Journey as well now in regards to Nico Greg are we buying into the hype uh we are and a lot of it has to do with ceiling with Nico IAM Malaya because so much of what we saw in the bowl game were were parts and and aspects of his skill set that I I didn't really anticipate to be honest with you I knew he had a big arm I knew he could place the football those two things were obvious from his Prep School tape what I didn't know is that at 6'5 and change he has some quick twitch mobility and we saw that with runs between the tackles we saw that with runs to the perimeter and if he can just keep you off balance with his skill set not just throwing it because he's going to hit guys that are open because in this offense guys are going to be open that was the problem last year they had way too many long foul balls and guys were open and Joe Milton just couldn't connect with those guys that were open so I know he's going to hit those but to keep them off balance too with his legs what we saw against Iowa is going to be a real problem for just about everybody he'll see in the I think he played a near perfect game against Iowa and I agree the mobility I think is the game changer for me look I'm not not buying into the hype right I ranked my top eight quarterbacks in the SEC yesterday and Vault Twitter lit me up cuz I didn't have him my top eight it's less of an indictment on him and what I think of Nico and more of a testament I think this quarterback class is just so deep this year look I think Nico can absolutely play his way into a top five in the SEC I just wasn't ready after a bowl game one body of work albeit it was really good to say that he's better than a Garrett nus who went on a biggest stage in the SEC Championship and threw for 295 yards in a loss against Georgia and then lit up Wisconsin you know in the bowl game as well just a little more body work from some of those guys but man Nico has all the skill set to light the world on fire in this offense under Josh hyp I expect him to do so I I just I want a couple games we'll get there heaven forbid you know see him play a couple games right he going to be good he's going to be victim in the past to kind of jumping on the hype train let's be let's let's be real I can rewind a year ago to a guy that you know we were all very enamored with the skill set that Joe Milton showed us in the bowl game against Clemson and we just have to be a little bit more guarded but totally I'd much rather have promise and projections than to be a guy that's like maximized out already so really optimistic about Nico IAM Malaya and I I think rightfully so and I think that's part of the reason why a lot of us really believe I mean genuinely believe that Tennessee is a legitimate playoff playoff Contender I think 100% I really liked what coach hyp said about how Nico is determined to earn that allaround respect and also in the locker room and you do that through actions not words so hopefully he makes your list next time Jordan now we're going to shift gears Missouri Tigers over to Missouri who won 11 games last season it's Fourth 11- win season in school history now the Tigers cap the year off win with a win over Ohio State and the cotton B classic it was Missouri's most wins in a season since 2014 now Missouri returns one of the nation's top quarterback wide receiver Duos from a year ago and Senior quarterback Brady cook and Junior white out Luther Burton III now this tandem connected for 1,197 yards a year ago the most among FBS QB receiver tandems now Missouri enters the season with high expectations according to ESP and bet the Tigers have a 14 to1 odds to win the SEC now with no Georgia or Texas on the schedule Missouri has the easiest schedule among SEC teams now having one of the easiest schedules this season Greg do you see that as a benefit or a burden with all due respect I mean there is not an easy schedule in the SEC uh there's not and we need to in the new era of college football get really comfortable with seeing teams that are 10 and two that we're not used to seeing that are 10 and two there's a reason why when you look at the win totals for all these teams Ohio State Georgia yeah one two whatever however you have them they're all at like 10 and a half because I think natural human tendency is you're going to lose games maybe you shouldn't if you're already secured a playoff spot so I think it's a challenge though going to A&M I think it's a challenge going to Alabama and then following that trip to Alabama you have the byee come back kind of regroup and then you have to play against an Oklahoma team that I think matches up pretty well against Missouri couple of road trips in November finally finish up with Arkansas so I I know it's more manageable than most but I certainly wouldn't qualify the Missouri Tiger schedule as being easy Jordan benefit or burden I mean it's easy but kind of but what about you Jordan I'm going to say it's a little bit of a burden and here's why hang in with me I agree with everything Greg just said their road is smoother than a lot of other schools with a bumpy road and a tough schedule but here's the thing last year we all set In This Very Room actually in a different city um but we set at SEC media days and nobody picked Missouri to be good they got to go in with nothing to lose and everything to gain they were an underdog almost every opportunity and and they showed everybody who they were this year nobody's going to be sleeping on them right so they're expected I think favored to win what nine or 10 games maybe something crazy like that so they are going to have to not slip up they're going to have to the margin for error for Missouri in their runs the playoffs is very thin because of the expectations you lose your defensive coordinator you lose three draft picks in the secondary still got Brady cook still got Luther Burton but I just think there may be one or two slip UPS there because of the expectations are so different last year to this year and Missouri has its highest regular season win total in at least the last 15 Seasons now speaking of Burton someone who is contributing to the benefit is Luther Burton III who returns to continue to dominate now Jordan is he the best player in college football he's up there he's on the short list he's probably in the top three and what I love is how Kirby Moore and Eli drinkwitz the two masterminds behind this offense find every way possible to get this dude the ball it is unbelievable you flip on the tape he is moving pre- snap every stinking play they're moving him from one side to the other motioning him stacking him they're finding so many creative ways to get this by Guy the ball because everybody on the defensive side goes I know where you're going we know who you're trying to throw it to we're going to try to stop it and Missouri just goes okay well we're going to move him over there we're going to move him over here and Brady does a great job of looking defenses off finding the ball or getting him the ball as much as possible so he's up there he's an absolute stud he's going to be great this year and he's going to be great at the next level too [Music] to I can bre [Music]