Promoting football has never been difficult for the SEC. But an easy job will be even easier this season.
Georgia and Florida each has been ranked No. 1 in more than one preseason poll. Defending national champion LSU, Auburn and Tennessee all have top-10 potential.
Such depth and balance of power aren't uncommon in the SEC. But those virtues are being recognized more nationally.
That was reflected in the final Associated Press last January when LSU and Georgia finished one-two. It was reflected even more in a myriad of post-season individual awards, the most telling of which was the Heisman Trophy.
A popular Heisman theory took a beating in last year's balloting. Having two strong candidates from the same region of the country is supposed to work against both candidates.
Not last year. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the award, and Arkansas running back Darren McFadden was the runner-up.
As strong as the SEC has been in football, it went 12 years without producing a Heisman winner. Then, its players placed first and second in the same season. What does that tell you?
It tells SEC fans that the rest of the country is wising up.
You could argue that the Heisman race would have gone differently if the Big Ten could have provided a more attractive candidate. But the SEC didn't just win the Heisman. It dominated the post-season awards.
LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was recognized as the best lineman in the country. Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs was honored as the nation's outstanding center.
Tebow and Luigs will be in Birmingham, Ala., this week for SEC media days, which begins this afternoon and continues through Friday. So will several other preseason All-Americans, including Tennessee offensive guard Anthony Parker.
But you can't judge the SEC's star power solely by who's in Birmingham. Most of the SEC's most touted players are underclassmen, and schools usually prefer to bring seniors to media days.
Florida was media savvy enough to make an exception for a Heisman winner. It also could have made an exception for junior wide receiver Percy Harvin, who will give the Gators a second Heisman candidate.
Georgia's two best players are sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno and junior quarterback Matthew Stafford. UT's best player is sophomore strong safety Eric Berry.
One preseason magazine ranked five SEC players as the best at their position nationally. Four other SEC players were ranked second-best at their position.
Tebow, Harvin and Moreno are the SEC's highest-profile players, but the league has more overall talent at the less-glamorous positions.
For example, the SEC has never looked stronger in the offensive line, where three guards, three tackles and two centers are ranked in the top five nationally at their positions.
The SEC's most underrated position is probably safety, where Mississippi State free safety Derek Pegues and Alabama strong safety Rashad Johnson are returning first-team All-SEC players. But they will be hard-pressed to repeat.
Berry made a name for himself last season as a true freshmen. Florida's Major Wright, who also started last season as a freshman, hits as hard as most linebackers. One of the reasons for Georgia's improvement in the second half of last season last year was the play of freshman safety Reshad Jones.
LSU's Harry Coleman starred in the national championship game after replacing injured safety Craig Steltz, and sophomore safety Chad Jones is one of the team's most athletic players. South Carolina has a pair of proven safeties in Darian Stewart and Emanuel Cook.
Those players will combine to make safety one of the conference's strongest positions. But in this league, there's no weak position.
The final rankings should again bear that out. And so should the individual awards.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
Vanderbilt 93, Tennessee 79, Feb. 9…
Tennessee 69, South Carolina 57 men's…
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Comments » 66
ctownvol writes:
I actually started reading this until I noticed who wrote it.
spvol writes:
Wow! Adams actually mentioned Tennessee. Must be a mistake.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
We know.
You are correct, John.
gavol2572 writes:
and he said we have top 10 "potential"
ctownvol writes:
Who said we have top 10 potential?
ULTIMATEVOLUNTEER writes:
Tennessee always has and always will have top 10 potential. Just keep picking them third in the East-it works well for the VOLS!
gohawks1 writes:
It's what we've known all along - the best players in the country want to play in the SEC.
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
We always have top 10 potential but never actaully finish in the top 10. 2001 was the last time. Hey Foolmore.
volengr#233707 writes:
I'm pretty pissed he didn't say something like "Vols are God. Vols are my spouse. Vols are great. Vols are who I want to pro-create with. Vols are my food. Orange orange orange. Vols. Vols the Vols and Orange and Tennessee."
Him not like us. Him talk of other football teams sometime. Him suggest sometime Vols bad. I want him go to cornfield.
Hey, and I heard Adams doesn't even paint his car orange. I bet he kills kittens and laughs at retarted children.
hcjournals#206623 writes:
What is The closest thing other SEC schools have to this website? I go to the city newspapers during the season, but slack off in the summer. If 99Gator and dcflorida like our site so well, what do they have to offer? What about GA? Bama? LSU? Thanks.
ctownvol writes:
Volengr- Those are terrible things to say, but I hear he does hate old people.
ctownvol writes:
BTW- He laughs at "retarded" children. Ya know like mcbrim.
jawjavol writes:
Adams still not wising up to the country!
hcjournals#206623 writes:
Volengr-
I don't think you understand that it's one thing to be a homer. It's another to be objective, and yet another to show a clear vindictive side and try to pass it off as unbiased. We all saw it. That's why he catches grief. He has done some good articles since then, but it's hard to clean the slate when he pulled a minor league bow-up session with our coach. This website is one of the best in the country for this genre. The writers need to remember that and not make it look like they are writing for the 80th largest market, or wherever Knoxville is right now. Most the stories are good. But when the boss shows his lack of balance and then doesn't have the courage to face the music, or even debate the matter, he loses. He will have to come clean or he will eventually get sick of us, the fans. We are a forgiving group, but he has done the worst thing you can do as a journalist....Use your medium as a weapon....And he got caught, because he doesn't understand that this is, right or wrong, part of our lives. We are nice but we don't suffer fools lightly..............
banman360 writes:
top ten potential.wow. looks like john is starting to lighten up. i wonder what he will say if he does an article on off field issues
ctownvol writes:
Hcjournals- Very well put. VERY WELL!
volwalk writes:
I agree with what hcjournals said.
tractoronthepole writes:
Best comment on Adams written to date hcjournals
VOLS85 writes:
no problem with this article...I figured since I'm typically critical of Adams' input then it's only fair to let him know when the article isn't a complete bust...
BSweet writes:
Kaplan must have asked Mr. Adams to throw us a bone with those UT references. Seriously Mr. Adams, thank you for finally mentioning the hometown Vols. Very refreshing indeed.
volengr#233707 writes:
hcjournals-
Yeah, I'm definately coming across too one-sided. It just grows tiring to see 4/5 comments pointed to Adams instead of his article, which I've enjoyed ever since my days at UT in the first half of the 90s. I've generally considered them objective(others arguably consider bias). And you're right about the coach article. That was uncalled for, not too mention suggesting the program is out of control and all Fulmer's fault was lazy. It just appears some are getting out of control. I just picture a mob with garden tools showing up at his doorsteps one day.
And as long as he gets the HOT sign on every article, he ain't going nowhere.
utchris writes:
volengr-
You mean kid of like the similar comments pointed at Fulmer and the mob with the garden tools and moving equipment at Fulmers doorstep? He ain't going nowhere either.
Bigger_Al writes:
I hope Ayers is asked about Tuscaloosa John and his showboat, self-serving articles at Media Day. Adams wants to be the premiere sports personality in Knoxville.
I'd really like to see Ayers throw Tuscaloosa John head-first into a dumpster. But then Coach Fulmer would face the conundrum of disciplining Ayers vs. high-fiving Ayers...
movol77 writes:
hcjournals, your summary observation on Mr. Adams is the best, concise, objective explanation I've read around here. Ever! Kudos.
LargeOrange writes:
hcjournals - you nailed it. JA you are still a small man hiding behind your keyboard and your bias is so transparent.
Hunter writes:
Adams states that the country is wising up to the SEC. Meanwhile, back at the Batcave......
John Adams is still wondering why all these people in Knoxville wear orange all the time. Is it the bear hunting? An especially large amount of prison work-release programs? An affinity for traffic barrels?????? More news at 11:00.....
UTvols12342000 writes:
hcjournals
spot on my friend.
and before everyone shouts (and also those who already have) ..."look, he put tennessee in there, the word tennessee appeared in one of his articles, see, he is so objective, told you", I reread this article a few times and I think he was asked to include Tennessee in his top 10 potential list (why would he call for the head coaches job if he thought they had top 10 potential EVEN with a new OC?, huh?) and then he gives token references to Parker and Berry (I want to break down his Berry compliment to show you how he slights the entire UT team, but I dont have the time, maybe later).
JA's articles may attract some hits here and he make generate some "HOT" articles, lol, but I know how people are around here. I know that my own liking of this website has been declining at a steady rate. In the long run, I think the short term gain JA's articles generate will not be enough to overcome the long term effects that such tactics cause in the mindset of the community. I like KNS less than when I joined this site.
Its just that I love the VOLS more and cant stay away!
top 10 potential yet Fulmer is outta control. what a joke.
bloodrunsorange writes:
I was one of the first to sign up and pay for this. I'll be honest, I liked it better then. It didn’t have any loud mouths spouting off that don’t really care about Tennessee anyway. I have deep personal feelings when it comes to Alabama, Vanderbilt, and yes Florida is working their way there too, but I don’t go to there main sports news outlets and show my disgust by the written word. Adams is by no means a person who I believe is objective when Tennessee is concerned. This is sad because of his market. Maybe Birmingham, New Orleans, Chicago, etc… fits him better when writing about Tennessee. I appreciate very much what hcjournals has written yesterday (July, 22).
auttat writes:
Has Eric Berry become so popular that they only need to mention his last name? Read through the whole article a 2nd time and I still see no mention of him before the 4th to last paragraph, which starts "Berry..."
Just looking out for you JA. Seems like you need it on here.
HotlantaVol writes:
A little over halfway into the article, "UT's best player is sophomore strong safety Eric Berry." and then 5 paragraphs later "Berry made a name for himself last season as a true freshmen."
OrangePower11 writes:
Mcbrim...
You're still an ACR and we still own you as evidenced by your continual presence on our site...its bed time little brother, momma's callin.
Kindest Regards
richvol writes:
hcjournals...beeeutiful
ThurmondEppy writes:
Why call him Tuscaloosa John when he went to LSU? Just wondering.
agentorange writes:
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.adams is too old to connect with readers under 100.
hueypilot writes:
The "top ten potential" was a dig at Fulmer. Seems like an article could be there regarding what a tough job it is to compete and win the SEC East. Vols, SC, KY could all be pretty good teams but get steamrollered by FLA and GA. Or on the other hand we could have a repeat of last year where SEC teams beat each other up so the real sorry assed reporters, those from the East and the Midwest could, (again) tout Michigan or Ohio State and then watch one of them get disassembled in a bowl game or by the likes of Ap St and West Virginia and the other get punked again in a bowl game by an SEC team ranked behind them.
Silent_Fulmer writes:
Posted by WorkinLikeHeck on July 22, 2008 at 9:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
We always have top 10 potential but never actaully finish in the top 10. 2001 was the last time. Hey Foolmore.
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WorkinLikeHeck writes:
We're a top 10 program according to our fans but can't seem to finish in the top 10 or win our conference.
mattlock writes:
Okay, its clear most of you hate JA and I'm not going to try to defend the man, but I do want to try to make a few points. Its not like he's the only writer in town questioning the job Fulmer has been doing. . .listen to what others are saying, for the most part they disagree with his raise AND think he has failed to meet expectations. Before the 5-6 season, there wasn't much criticism leveled at Fulmer even tough it was clear we were a program going through a lull. Since the pressure has been placed on Fulmer, he has hired new coaches, put renewed emphasis on recruiting and feels like he has something to proove. He doesn't want to be remember as a coach who was great early in his career, but who was later forced out because he couldn't live up to the expectation he set for himself. This pressure is a good thing, the media needs to question the job he has been doing. I want to see him take this opportunity and bring us back to national title contention. Just go do it and quit making excuses about how hard it is these days.
Volchaz writes:
Agree with HC. Also, the country might be wising up to the SEC and it's players, and remember how many teams have switched O-coordinators this year. There are plenty of unknowns. People have no idea what we'll run, or Aubie, or Bama, or Ole Miss, or Arky. There is plenty to discuss during Media days.
Bigger_Al writes:
ThurmondEppy - "Tuscaloosa John" is applied in the same manner as "Hanoi Jane". Jane Fonda spoke out against the US government, which was one thing. Then, she went on enemy Vietnamese radio to continue to rail against the US government, which was way over the line.
Adams wrote his chop article about Fulmer, which was one thing. Then, Paul Finebaum and Alabama radio put him on to broadcast venom to all the Bama fans, who already hate Fulmer because he wouldn't let them cheat.
CoverOrange writes:
"You could argue that the Heisman race would have gone differently if the Big Ten could have provided a more attractive candidate."
Have to say JA has a pro-SEC slant. The above quote looks like a slap at the preferential treatment of the BigTe(leve)n by the national media. Either that or the dumbest sentence ever.
ctownvol writes:
Turbo- Consider the source. I'm going with choice B. Dumbest sentence ever.
iowavol writes:
Mattlock, your point is sound (although some of your references have Mattlockisms - statements of utter conjecture made with such confidence as to be known fact). The problem is Adams has taken an oath of objectivity and violated it by making it his personal biases and his personal mission to spew - well - Adamsisms. Look at Epps article in today's Chattanooga Times Free Press. He's critical of the coach and where we will finish the year this year - but it is done so in a professional and objective manner. Adams is neither and does not represent KNS, The University of Tennessee or the FANS of UT with dignity or respect. Simply put, he is a joke in a lot of journalistic circles.
In response to a letter I wrote to him, the Editor in Chief of KNS wrote to me apologizing for how Adams is being perceived but rationalized that he was just stating his opinion. But that's really the issue, he is stating an opinion based on emotions and allegencies outside his audience base. While Adams tries to make you think he is being objective, he manipulates the data to prove his opinion rather than the reverse. Again, not to over simplify the consensus hatred for the man (because it is a perverse pleasure to dislike the moron), Adams has simply lost his journalistic (and manly) credibility in the state of Tennessee and the larger Big Orange Nation. Journalistic idealists would rather see him leave au contraire to the bean counter opinions.
BADGES0413 writes:
Iowavol,
That has to be the best response explaining the Adam's article on Fulmer, Good job.
cobbwebb writes:
you think so mr adams, the wac couldve had a say if they had provided a more attractive candidate.
LargeOrange writes:
Posted by iowavol on July 23, 2008 at 2:23 p.m. The problem is Adams has taken an oath of objectivity and violated it by making it his personal biases ... Adams has simply lost his journalistic (and manly) credibility in the state of Tennessee and the larger Big Orange Nation.
---
Very well put Iowavol. Below are the 2 of the 4 C-O-R-E V-A-L-U-E-S of the KNS. You can click on (About Us above if you want to see the full list) Let's see how JA stacks up against these. By going on Radio in Tuscalusa and Atlanta and spreading half-truths and clearly biased selection of information to support his thesis he violated both of these, IMO unless the community he serves includes UGA and UA/AU.
Our Core Values:
Integrity:
We are honest and truthful in our words and actions.
Community:
We are advocates of the greatest good; we serve the public. We reflect the community, its people, its culture, its diversity and its values.
LargeOrange writes:
I know Mark, I got my first one of those on Monday. But, I feel for the guy, I wouldn't want to have to defend JA for a living. :-)
TommyJack writes:
Marc: re the fullback. That's tremendous news, IMO.
murrayvol writes:
TurboFan & ctownvol: The sentence in question has little or nothing to do w/SEC preference or dumbness. It's speaks to the fact that if you add up Big Ten & Notre Dame Heisman winners, you'll be within a lob wedge of half the total.
I think "the" Ohio State University has as many as the SEC combined.
CoverOrange writes:
Murray, how is that different from what I said? Perceived bias toward midwest teams over others, specifically SEC (which has fewer than any other major geographic region) is the meaning I get from Adams line.
Or just a dumb sentence.
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