Fall camp is wrapping up across the SEC, but plenty of storylines remain as all 16 teams turn their attention to Week 1.
From injuries to roster moves and late position developments, the final week of camp delivered several notable updates. Here’s what you need to know as game preparation begins across the conference.
Tell it to the judge
Teams around the league will begin game week with their attention focused somewhere few expected: the courtroom.
The initial ruling granted players from the 2022 class an extra year of eligibility with few limitations.
There are currently 60 lawsuits involving 322 players attempting to gain eligibility for teams this season. LSU has dominated the headlines, but the ruling has implications for programs across the country, particularly in the SEC.
The optics of players returning to college after spending time in the NFL have drawn criticism, but the players also have a case for pursuing additional eligibility.
Players who exhausted their four years of eligibility were told their time in college was done, as it had been for decades and decades in the world of college sports. A few months later, a ruling gave players from the 2022 recruiting class another year of college eligibility.
However, the ruling excluded players who pursued NFL opportunities, whether through a tryout, practice squad deal or training camp contract. Keep in mind, these aren’t players necessarily close to making the 53 man roster in the NFL. We are talking about players who signed $20,000 contracts to make a practice squad.
Those players almost certainly would have remained in college had they known the ruling was coming.
That’s the point getting lost in the debate. The optics may be bad, and no one has to like the outcome. But the players from the 2022 class argue they were unfairly subjected to a blanket eligibility rule in the first place. That’s why they’re taking their cases to court.
Alabama injuries mount (again)
It feels like every time there’s been an update in fall camp for Alabama, it hasn’t been a good one. Outside of the news that Keelon Russell will be starting at quarterback, most of what has come out of Tuscaloosa has been injury related.
Alabama already faced losses at running back with AK Dear suffering an injury that will keep him out until October.
Then, Alabama learned earlier this week that the injury that limited former five-star EJ Crowell during camp was more serious than initially expected. The talented freshman will miss Week 1, but the Tide hopes to have him back for its Week 2 trip to Kentucky.
The news got even worse when a third year contributor on the defensive line was ruled out for the entire season. Jeremiah Beaman suffered a torn ACL on Sunday in practice. It’s the second consecutive season this has happened to Beaman, who missed all but one game with a right knee injury a season ago.
Vanderbilt’s $2 million backup
Vanderbilt paid former five-star Jared Curtis $2 million in NIL funds to be a Commodore. It was assumed that he would be under center with the first team the day he stepped foot on campus. That is not the case.
Returning senior Blaze Berlowitz was announced as the starter for the ‘Dores opening game against Austin Peay. Maybe that shouldn’t have been a surprise since Berlowitz is a senior and a more than capable quarterback.
Still, in the era of NIL investment and the transfer portal, it was shocking to see the first five-star recruit in the history of the program take a back seat on opening day to a guy who sounds like an antagonist from a Disney original movie.
Here’s what Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea had to say.
“And Jared’s earned the right to play. This guy’s been ascending. I mean, you guys have heard me talk after every scrimmage. So, I’m excited where he’s headed. He’ll play in the game, too. And, we feel like just to get rhythm and chemistry going offensively, Blaze will give us a chance to do that. And we’ll have an opportunity to insert Jared in the game to give him his his first college game experience.”
Best thing you’ll see all week
Middle Tennessee State isn’t in the SEC. At this point, it’s barely hanging on to FBS status. But as a former Blue Raider for one miserable semester in 2004 and a Dolly Parton fan, I’d be remiss not to give a nod to these sweet jersey patches MTSU will wear this fall in honor of the late icon.
