Let the madness begin

Auburn gets its turn to talk today - day one of the SEC's annual Media Days - as do Arkansas, South Carolina and Kentucky.

On Thursday, the defending national champions, Florida, will be on hand. But the Gators, along with Vanderbilt and Mississippi State, will merely be a sideshow.

That day will belong to Alabama's Nick Saban, the SEC's only new coach this fall, who will cause a bit of hysteria among the Tide faithful packed into the lobby of the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. And in a somewhat ironic twist, Saban will pass right in front of a Shula's Steakhouse on the way in and out of the hotel.

A year ago, an overflow crowd filled the lobby and applauded then-coach Mike Shula, who was coming off a 10-2 season. Now, a year and a 6-7 season later, Saban is king and Shula has largely been forgotten - except for the delicious (but pricey) New York strip at his father's restaurant chain.

On Friday, preseason favorite LSU will be the marquee team, which also includes Georgia, Ole Miss and Tennessee.

Yes, it's once again time for the annual gab-fest during which the head coach and two players from each SEC team spend a few hours talking with reporters about the upcoming season and answering questions about everything from the relevant, like the toughness of their schedule or the impact a revamped offensive line will have on a running game, to the absurd, like their favorite brand of candy bar or the last song they downloaded on iTunes.

You can never tell what the hot topic is going to be during the three-day madhouse, but there are several items that will receive plenty of attention.

Arkansas, along with LSU, had 12 players voted preseason All-SEC by the coaches, and has a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy in running back Darren McFadden. But most of the hype and attention that should be coming the Hogs' way has been overshadowed by an offseason filled with transfers (most notably quarterback Mitch Mustain, who took his talents to Southern California), coaching departures, accusations and lawsuits.

All this after the Hogs surprised most everyone by winning the SEC West a year ago. Coach Houston Nutt will want to keep the conversation to on-the-field matters, but many of the questions thrown his way will have little to do with Arkansas' on-the-field performance.

Due to a high number of off-the-field incidents during the past couple of months, the issue of discipline and accountability will likely be a hot topic since hardly a week has gone by since the end of spring practice that at least one SEC football player hasn't made news - the kind coaches and universities don't want.

Amid all the off-the-field stuff, the coaches and players will also talk about some football. They can't wait for it to get started - though none of the players look forward to two-a-days - and neither can the rest of us.

John C. Frierson can be reached at 740-5730 or john.frierson@timesdaily.com.