SEC media days: Nick Saban still hates satellite camps

College football is right around the corner and the blitzkrieg of media days has already begun. Our College Sports Nation team is on the ground for SEC Media Days. What’s gone down so far in the first few days? Well… Georgia is looking for a clear leader at quarterback, Greg Sankey is defending a player who was caught on camera hitting a woman, and Nick Saban is continuing his campaign to reign in satellite camps. Let’s take a deeper dive, shall we?

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey on Jeffrey Simmons

SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey sat down with College Sports Nation, and during the interview he offered an exclusive story about Mississippi State’s Jeffrey Simmons, the 5-star recruit who was suspended for the season opener after video surfaced earlier this year of the lineman striking a woman in the middle of a street.

Sankey said he received a text message about an incident involving Simmons and three other women during the Fourth of July weekend. It turns out, Sankey said, Simmons was helping three stranded women change a tire on their vehicle. Sankey shared the anecdote to justify Simmons getting a second chance.

“He didn’t handle himself right, but let’s take a step back and see how will he conduct himself from this point forward,” Sankey said. “You can debate one game, more, what are the interventions, what’s the accountability? I get that, but I do think care has to be exercised because we can rush to judgment on a lot of issues.”

Kirby Smart talks quarterback battle at Georgia

In other news, Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart touched briefly on what he must consider when selecting a starting quarterback, whether it be Jacob Eason’s arm strength or Brice Ramsey’s experience.

“Each guy has to elevate the offense in some kind of way,” Smart said. “Which quarterback does the rest of the offense have confidence in?”

Nick Saban has some thoughts on satellite camps

Atop the college football landscape, Alabama football is focused on defending their national football championship. However, Crimson Tide head coach Nick Saban couldn’t help but spend some of his time during his round of interviews continuing his battle against satellite camps.

As Saban sees it, satellite camps lack (favorite NCAA buzz words coming up) institutional control set by a potential recruit working out for scouts at their high schools, or visiting universities. Instead, the camps can be hosted by a third-party making money off of the event.

“If bowl games did these things, if the NFL did these things, if conferences did these things, some outside entity that was controlled by the NCAA,” Saban told College Sports Nation, “and you just had these things were like Saturday combines that players could go to and people could go there and watch them, I think during the evaluation period that would be beneficial.”

The Southeastern Conference kicks off their first season opener on Sept. 1.

For all things college sports, make sure to tune into SiriusXM College Sports Nation (Ch. 84)!