Though most fans are gearing up for March Madness, it is never too early for SEC fans to begin thinking about the 2024 football season. One annual rite of passage that signals the start of the football season is SEC Media Days and on Thursday, the official schedule for this year's event was released.
This year, SEC Media Days will take place July 15-18 in Dallas, Texas. It will be the first time ever that the conference has held its annual media scrum in Big D, which is fitting given that two schools in close proximity to Dallas, Texas and Oklahoma, will be joining the league this summer.
Of course, Starkville is quite a ways away from Dallas but still, there should be plenty of attention on new Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby given that he was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma for the past two seasons. Now, we know when the head Bulldog will be speaking to the media in Dallas.
Jeff Lebby will speak on Wednesday, July 17
Lebby won't be immediately thrown to the media wolves. Rather, the first-time college head coach will speak on the third day of the event, Wednesday, July 17.
After taking over for Zach Arnett, who was on the job for less than one full season, Lebby will have plenty of work to do to turn around a program that lost its identity in 2023. Thus, it will be interesting to see if the offensive guru can build a winning culture in Starkville. After all, being a head coach brings on far greater responsibilities than simply designing an offensive scheme and calling plays.
What's more, Lebby will have to find a way to get the most out of Blake Shapen, his presumed starting QB who transferred in from Baylor this offseason. While with the Bears, the senior appeared in 27 games throwing for a total of 5,574 yards and 36 TDs with 13 picks.
Lebby won't have the advantage of easing into his head coaching career, though with a tough 2024 ahead of him. After opening at home against Eastern Kentucky, he will then take his team to Arizona State in week two.
Then, a home game against Toledo precedes the SEC opener at home against Florida. After that, two daunting road games at Texas and Georgia will present huge challenges.
Next, a home game with Texas A&M will be no walk in the park. That comes right before two winnable games at home against Arkansas and UMASS. However, then, a road trip to Tennessee will be a tough test before a road trip to face a very good Missouri team. Of course, the season then wraps up with the Egg Bowl, which will be played in Oxford this year.
It is always exciting when a new face takes over a program so the enthuiasm for MSU football should be high this year. That's one reason why Lebby, a rising star in the college coaching ranks, should see a lot of attention at SEC Media Days this year.
Full SEC Media Days schedule
Monday, July 15
LSU -- Brian Kelly
Ole Miss -- Lane Kiffin
South Carolina -- Shane Beamer
Vanderbilt -- Clark Lea
Tuesday, July 16
Georgia -- Kirby Smart
Missouri -- Eliah Drinkwitz
Oklahoma -- Brent Venables
Tennessee -- Josh Heupel
Wednesday, July 17
Alabama -- Kalen DeBoer
Florida -- Billy Napier
Mississippi State -- Jeff Lebby
Texas -- Steve Sarkisian
Thursday, July 18
Arkansas -- Sam Pittman
Auburn -- High Freeze
Kentucky -- Mark Stoops
Texas A&M -- Mike Elko