Georgia hits mark on vaccination rate
HOOVER, Ala. — Georgia coach Kirby Smart has been proactive in urging his players to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. He said more than 85 percent of the Bulldogs players are vaccinated, meaning they will not have to be regularly tested with the start of the season a little more than a month away.
“(But) it’s not about a number,” Smart said Tuesday, the second of four SEC Media Days. “It’s not about a threshold. Everybody wants to write who’s over and who’s under … (But) what it’s really about is being able to save our season. Being able to keep our players safe — we want to keep our players safe. And we want to keep our coaches and staff safe.
“We want to keep our family members safe, and that comes through vaccinations.”
SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said this week that only six of the league’s 14 football teams are at least 80 percent vaccinated
Texas A&M, which has representatives speaking at the media days on Wednesday, has not revealed what percentage of its players are vaccinated.
Heupel compares Vols to his Sooners
New Tennessee coach Josh Heupel cited his experience as Oklahoma’s quarterback in 2000 as a reason why he believes the Volunteers can begin competing for SEC East titles quicker than many believe.
“If you go by wins and losses, we’re not where we need to be for sure,” said Heupel, who led the Sooners to a national title 21 years ago and finished second in the Heisman Trophy balloting to Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke. “But the only time constraints you put on, are the ones you put on yourself. I have a little different perspective of the opportunity that is Tennessee football (based on) my playing experience.
“I went to Oklahoma (in 1999) when they hadn’t been to a bowl game in five years. But when you get the right alignment, from president to chancellor to athletic director to head coach, and you hire a great staff, and you’re consistent and you’re accountable, you have an opportunity to move things forward quickly.”
Tennessee, which won a national title in 1998 under then-coach Phil Fulmer, was 3-7 last year in the final of coach Jeremy Pruitt’s three seasons. Pruitt’s final game was a 34-13 home loss to A&M, and he was fired soon after.
Heupel, 43, is in his fourth season as a head coach. He led Central Florida to a 28-8 record over his first three after serving as Missouri’s offensive coordinator from 2016-17.
Sense of normalcy begins to return
The SEC did not have a media days a year ago because of the pandemic, and a poignant moment occurred Tuesday when celebrated newsman Bob Holt of the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, a favorite among media and coaches, asked Kentucky coach Mark Stoops a question in the main ballroom.
“It’s great to be back here, and it’s really good to see you,” Stoops responded. “I missed you. I enjoy listening to your questions each and every day to every coach.”
Hard to believe, but Stoops is second only to Alabama’s Nick Saban in SEC tenure. Stoops is entering his ninth season at Kentucky, while Saban is entering his 15th season with the Crimson Tide.