Fall camp is underway across the SEC. With South Carolina opening practice, all 16 teams have officially begun preseason preparations as the countdown to kickoff continues. So, what storylines have emerged during the first week of camp? Here’s a look around the SEC.
Alabama quarterback position battle
One of the biggest stories in the SEC, and one that could shape the entire College Football Playoff picture this season, is the quarterback battle in Alabama.
It’s been two days since fall camp started and the tinfoil hats are already on. Grainy, Zapruder-esque screenshots have flooded social media, fueling speculation about who threw which pass and who took which rep.
There’s nothing of note that would suggest Alabama has made a decision on who their starting quarterback will be. Keelon Russell and Austin Mack’s battle will most likely go into the final weeks of camp and possibly the start of the season. The winner of that battle will be tasked with trying to get Alabama back to the promise land on a team that features only seven scholarship seniors.
A potentially more important storyline for the Crimson Tide is the running back room behind a brand-new offensive line. Ryan Grubb’s ability to fix the run game could go a long way toward determining Alabama’s success.
He was asked about that very thing this week, and his response was simple, “We will.”
Alex Golesh hates girls and dogs
That may be a bit dramatic, but Golesh did mention both when he talked about what things were banned from Auburn’s fall camp when it started this week.
In the NFL there are a lot of preseason training camps that take place on college campuses or secluded places to create a feeling of isolation for the team. That’s not the case in college football. Or, it’s not usually the case.
Auburn has bucked that trend and taken their entire team to a resort 20 miles away from campus. The 2026 Tigers will begin their preparation for the season in style at the Marriott Grand National outside of Opelika. Golesh took the same approach during his first season at South Florida in 2023.
“There’s no nothing — no girlfriends, no dogs, cats, whatever guys are into,” Golesh said this week. “It’s truly just us for the next 13 days, which is absolutely huge for us. We need it.”
There is, however, a water slide, but no mention yet on whether or not the players are allowed to use it. Either way, nothing says team building like a 105 man game of sharks and minnows.
Arch Manning turning heads early
No player came into last season with more hype than Arch Manning. That was very undeserved. This year, the expectations for Texas, and Arch Manning, are a little more tempered.
Manning has looked great in camp, and has already had a few viral moments on social media for passes that caused a wild overreaction from fans everywhere.
The hype in Austin this year is real, and the Longhorns are a consensus preseason top-five team. If Manning can play all season the way he did at the end of last season, there’s no reason to think that Texas won’t be firmly in the mix for the CFP.
