After the Big 12 kicked off 2024's edition of Talking Season for power conferences around college football, SEC media days took center stage in Dallas, Texas, throughout the week.

It's no surprise why the SEC chose the Lone Star State, too.

For the third straight year, rather than holding media days in its traditional Alabama location—and before it moves to Atlanta, Georgia, next summer—the league showcased the arrival of Oklahoma and Texas. The blue-blood programs are making their SEC debuts in the fall.

As you can imagine, many SEC coaches tipped their cap to the incoming teams. But the interviews had plenty more substantive material than pleasantries for the newest members of the prestigious conference.

Egg Bowl Getting Spicy

I love the smell of a rivalry brewing in the morning.

Jeff Lebby, who's approaching his first year as Mississippi State's coach, previously served under Lane Kiffin on the Ole Miss staff. During the 2020 and 2021 seasons, Lebby was the offensive coordinator.

But as Lebby expressed respect for his recent boss, one of his players provided some bulletin-board material in Oxford.

"It's overrated," linebacker John Lewis said of Ole Miss' "Come to the Sip" mantra, per ESPN's Chris Low. "This is our state. Everybody knows that. We run the Sip because we run Mississippi. We've been saying it. They're just following us, so it's OK. They literally want to be us."

Don't know about you, but I'm pretty excited for the Egg Bowl this year.

Mississippi State travels to Ole Miss on Friday, Nov. 29, during the final week of the regular season.

Drinkwitz Campaigns for Mike Leach

Media days regularly become a well-attended recruiting pitch, and Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz certainly made his way there. After all, the Tigers won 11 games with a Cotton Bowl victory last season.

But first, Drinkwitz took a moment to campaign for the late Mike Leach as a Hall of Fame-worthy individual.

"Coach Leach, in my mind, and I believe in most of the people in this room, is a no-doubt Hall of Famer," he said in his opening statement. "He impacted our game more in the last 50 years than a lot of other people, not only with his legacy, but also with his football acumen."

Drinkwitz continued: "I hope that [CFB Hall of Fame executive Steve] Hatchell will recognize that as CEO he has the ability to utilize his discretion to make the obvious into reality, and that obvious is that the Hall of Fame is incomplete without Coach Mike Leach in it."

Leach posted a career winning percentage of .596, which is narrowly shy of the minimum .600 requirement.

However, it certainly would be sensible to honor "The Pirate," who died in Dec. 2022, for his contributions to the sport. The popularity of the Air Raid offense is a credit to Leach's coaching impact.

Brian Kelly Addresses Defensive Failure

Last season, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels led an exciting offense that featured first-round NFL draft picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr. at wide receiver.

But the Tigers still dropped three games.

The results can largely be pinned on the defense, which surrendered 45 points to Florida State, 55 to Ole Miss and 42 to Alabama. That middle loss served as the catalyst for changes in Baton Rouge.

"That game cost us a chance to be in the playoffs," Kelly told reporters. "In many ways, the Mississippi game forced our hand in a lot of ways to really evaluate our defense and what we needed to do in the offseason. ... That game really became the mark for where we can't go again."

This offseason, LSU hired Blake Baker as the defensive coordinator and totally revamped the group of assistants around him.

Whether it works is the unanswerable question, of course. But if it does, LSU can point to that high-scoring letdown to Ole Miss as the moment the program changed for the better.

Sark's Notable QB Comments

Let's start here: I am not saying that Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is doing anything close to inviting a quarterback controversy.

Simultaneously, I am intrigued.

During his presser, Sarkisian answered the inevitable questions about Quinn Ewers and hyped backup Arch Manning. Ewers, who guided the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance last year, is the undoubted starter for Texas in 2024.

Sark, nevertheless, said Texas is "probably going to need both those guys at some point this season," per ESPN's Andrea Adelson.

That may simply be a nod to Manning occupying the backup role. Ewers also missed time in both 2022 and 2023 because of injuries, so it's reasonable—even if unexpected—to indirectly acknowledge that.

Again, the Longhorns are Ewers' team. Sarkisian's response still elicited a head-turn and second readthrough.

Lane Kiffin Leans into 'Free Agency'

Lane Kiffin isn't afraid of saying the quiet part out loud.

During his official press conference, the Ole Miss coach repeatedly used "free agency" in reference to the transfer portal.

In response to a question about Chris Paul Jr., a linebacker from Arkansas: "So just seeing his impact, so when he became available in free agency, we already knew about him that way. Really glad to have him."

Regarding star running back Quinshon Judkins, who left Ole Miss for Ohio State: "Quinshon is a great player, one of the best in all of college football. As we alluded to earlier, we're in an NFL world. You don't just go to the portal and get everybody and nobody comes and gets your guys. It's free agency. So we wish him the best."

Honestly? Respect for that.

No matter if you love or dislike this era of player movement, any reasonable person can acknowledge that free agency is an appropriate description. That's the nature of NIL money and unlimited transfers.