Latest news with #SECfootball
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Would Nick Saban ever return to coaching? Georgia head coach Kirby Smart weighs in
To kick off 2025 SEC football media days on Monday morning, a rumor began to circulate online surrounding former Alabama Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban, along with if the greatest of all-time would ever return to coaching. Since, many across college football have chimed in to give their thoughts as to if that would ever happen, the latest of which came Tuesday morning at SEC football media days in Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. 'That's not happening, I don't think Nick's coming back,' Smart said. 'I think he's too happy where he is. I think y'all are lacking buzz and they needed some buzz yesterday. That was the only thing that could generate some buzz besides Lane and Hugh (Freeze) feud over the internet. There's just not a lot there.' Among current SEC head coaches, Smart was the one who was with Saban the longest at Alabama, spending nine seasons in Tuscaloosa, many of which came as defensive coordinator from 2008-15. Since taking over as head coach at Georgia in 2016, Saban and Smart met head-to-head six times on the gridiron, with Alabama owning a 5-1 combined record. Two of those games came in the national championship, with the teams splitting the matchups, along with three SEC title contests. Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. This article originally appeared on Roll Tide Wire: Kirby Smart weighs in on potential Nick Saban coaching return
Associated Press
4 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
Hugh Freeze, QB Jackson Arnold are confident Auburn can be a winner in 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn's coach. The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7. Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat. 'I'm glad I'm at a place that has those expectations,' Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. 'I think when you've done this awhile, you really don't give into a lot of the pressure stuff.' Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn's 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin. Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze's quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial. 'Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,' Arnold said. 'I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.' He will have two of Auburn's top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively. 'This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,' Freeze said. 'We'd better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we're pretty talented up there.' Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia. 'Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,' Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. 'We've been in the games the first two years, but we haven't found a way to win.' Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hugh Freeze, QB Jackson Arnold are confident Auburn can be a winner in 2025
ATLANTA (AP) — Hugh Freeze is in unfamiliar territory as he heads into year three as Auburn's coach. The former Arkansas State, Ole Miss and Liberty coach only had one losing season in his decade as a Division I head coach, but his first two seasons at Auburn have yielded meager results at 6-7 and 5-7. Advertisement Last fall marked the first football season without a head coaching change in the SEC since 2018, but Freeze certainly enters 2025 on the hot seat. "I'm glad I'm at a place that has those expectations,' Freeze said Tuesday at SEC media days. 'I think when you've done this awhile, you really don't give into a lot of the pressure stuff.' Everything starts at quarterback with the highest profile of Auburn's 19 incoming transfers. Freeze signed former Oklahoma starter Jackson Arnold, hoping he can finally provide stability. Starting quarterback Payton Thorne and his backup Hank Brown both struggled last season particularly with ball security, as the Tigers threw 13 interceptions as a team and finished 119th nationally in turnover margin. Arnold himself struggled through a difficult season with the Sooners, losing his starting job for two games and playing the final five games of the regular season with an interim offensive coordinator. But between Freeze's quarterback-friendly system and a year of SEC experience now under his belt, there is optimism about the fresh start being mutually beneficial. Advertisement 'Coach Freeze isn't scared to push the ball down the field, which I absolutely love,' Arnold said. 'I thought with my experience running the RPO game, I think it meshed well with what Coach Freeze wants to do with his offense.' He will have two of Auburn's top three receivers from last year in terms of both yards and touchdowns back with Cam Coleman and Malcolm Simmons, along with incoming transfer Eric Singleton Jr. from Georgia Tech. That combined with a returning nucleus on the offensive line led by center Connor Lew has Freeze expecting a sizable jump offensively. 'This is my favorite offensive line when I look at it on paper,' Freeze said. 'We'd better be able to run the football and protect the quarterback, because I think we're pretty talented up there.' Heading into 2025 Freeze is not only 11-14 overall, but 5-11 in SEC play, 2-6 in one-possession games and perhaps most damaging in the eyes of fans and administrators, 0-4 against rivals Alabama and Georgia. Advertisement 'Our roster is one that can compete with those teams,' Freeze said, directly addressing the rivalry shortcomings. 'We've been in the games the first two years, but we haven't found a way to win.' Auburn will get both games at home, with Georgia playing at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Oct. 11 and Alabama coming in for the regular-season finale Nov. 29. ___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: and
Associated Press
5 days ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
SEC media days: LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss quarterbacks in spotlight
ATLANTA (AP) — The opening day of SEC football media days Monday featured LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. The Commodores have Diego Pavia at quarterback going into his second season and the other three also have signal-callers entering pivotal seasons: Will Garrett Nussmeier take the Year 2 LSU leap? LSU quarterbacks have a history of taking an impressive jump from year one to two. Before spearheading two of the NFL's most dominant offenses, Jayden Daniels and Joe Burrow came into their own during their second seasons in Baton Rouge. Is it Nussmeier's turnn? Nussmeier finished the 2024 season with a 64.2 completion percentage and 4,052 passing yards for 29 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Limiting turnovers is a big point of emphasis for Nussmeier approaching his final season at LSU. 'There's no hiding from turnovers,' Nussmeier said. 'As an anticipation player, there's going to be some interceptions. The ones I need to eliminate are the ones that don't need to happen, the ones where I'm trying to do too much, the ones where I'm trying to make a play when I don't need to.' Nussmeier understands the stakes are high, especially given the history of year two success for Burrow and Daniels. More than ever, he's motivated to create his own legacy. 'Obviously with the track record that LSU quarterbacks have in the past, it's not a thing of disrespect. I have a lot of respect for Jayden, a lot of respect for Joe and what they were able to accomplish in their second years, and also respectively in their first years. But as I said before, I'm me,' Nussmeier said. 'I'm worried about improving myself, being the best I can be to lead us where we want to go.' The season opener is Aug. 30 at Clemson. High hopes for LaNorris Sellers and South Carolina South Carolina went 9-4 in 2024, the program's first nine-win season under coach Shane Beamer and just its second since 2013. The Gamecocks will have to replace most of their starting defense, but unlike plenty of SEC teams, they won't have to worry about turnover at quarterback. Redshirt sophomore Sellers returns after a breakout season, accounting for 3,208 yards and 25 total touchdowns, saving his best play for the end of the season with 16 total touchdowns and only three interceptions in November. 'I think we're going to be better around LaNorris as well on the offense,' Beamer said. '(We have) more depth and competition at pretty much every position, I feel like that's going to help him. He doesn't have to be Superman for us.' South Carolina closed the regular season with five consecutive wins, and lost two games by a total of five points against LSU and Alabama. The success down the stretch last season combined with Sellers' return is the backbone of the optimism surrounding the Gamecocks and their chances of reaching the College Football Playoff after narrowly missing out last fall. 'We were four to five plays off,' Sellers said. 'That showed us a little bit of success, and showed us that we can make the playoff and make a run for the trophy.' Ole Miss prepares for a massive change under center Ole Miss has the challenge of replacing one the most successful signal-callers in program history. Lane Kiffin's Rebels went 21-5 over the last two seasons with Jaxson Dart under center. Now the offense belongs in the hands of redshirt sophomore Austin Simmons. Simmons appeared in nine games last season mostly late in blowouts, but he did lead one touchdown drive against Georgia when Dart briefly went out injured. 'I'm really just focusing on building my own legacy rather than just focusing on the past,' Simmons said. Simmons is a total 180 from Dart. He was not a full-time football player until this year, also playing with Ole Miss baseball in the spring before transitioning to football full-time. He was a Kiffin recruit as opposed to Dart, who arrived in the transfer portal. Kiffin isn't looking for another Dart. 'Austin has to make sure he doesn't try to be Jaxson,' Kiffin said. 'He'll be fine. He's got elite talent, does a great job, he's maturing and did a great job when he came in in the Georgia game.' Ole Miss went 10-3 last season, following an 11-2 mark in 2023. It was the first time Ole Miss has won double-digit games in consecutive seasons since 1959-60, and 2025 will be an opportunity to do so in three consecutive seasons for the first time. ___ AP freelance writer Alan Cole contributed to this report. ___ AP college football:
