The Missouri Tigers and Texas A&M Aggies haven't begun fall practice for their debuts in the Southeastern Conference, and already the Tigers and Aggies have learned the importance of playing defense.
Players and coaches from both schools spent most of their time Tuesday at the annual SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., fending off questions about their chances after joining what is generally considered the toughest college conference in the nation.
The Aggies and Tigers who attended were engulfed by more than 1,100 media types on the first day, many of the questions pertaining to how they expect to fare in their new digs.
The general consensus is they aren't intimidated and will do just fine.
"You have to earn everything you get," Missouri wide receiver T.J. Moe said. "Nobody is going to just give us respect. We earned respect in the Big 12, and now we have to do it again.
"Players on each side have respect for each other. At the end of the season you are going to see some of our players on All-SEC teams. The media is going to make a big deal of it. They've seen the SEC has won the last six national championships, but all 12 SEC teams didn't win the national championship, just one of them."
Said Texas A&M wide receiver Ryan Swope: "We expect to win football games. We don't want to be overlooked. We want to be right up there with the big dogs. We're ready to kick this thing off. We're here to win football games."
That was the message coming from the coaches, too. The last thing Missouri's Gary Pinkel or Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin need is the slightest suggestion of insecurity. Both teams come from the Big 12, which has a reputation for explosive offenses, but might not match up well defensively in the SEC.
The players echoed their coaches sentiments: The SEC deserves the respect it gets, but the Big 12 also played a good brand of ball.
"I'd be disappointed if we were intimidated," said Pinkel, a college teammate of Alabama Coach Nick Saban at Kent State. "We played in a pretty good football league ourselves. We understand the great league we're coming into.
"How are Missouri and Texas A&M going to do? There's going to be analysis every single week."
Sumlin's task is even more difficult, getting to know a new team going into a new conference. He took the A&M job after going 35-17 in four years at Houston, including a 13-1 mark last season. He faces all four of the six teams that have accounted for the past six BCS titles -- Alabama, Florida, Auburn, and a visit from LSU on Oct. 20.
"We knew that when we took the job," Sumlin said. "I'll tell you what made it real to me. At the first head-coaches meeting in February or March, when you walk into a room with 13 other head coaches in the SEC and (Commissioner) Mike Slive, and they close the door behind you."
Sumlin has a team with eight offensive starters back but will be breaking in a new quarterback as a replacement for first-round draft pick Ryan Tannehill. Progress might be slower on defense, where the Aggies will switch from a 3-4 defense to a 4-3. Sumlin is trying to solve the disparity of a unit that led the nation in sacks (51) but was 113th in passing yardage allowed (280.5).
"It was feast or famine," he said. "We have to be more consistent. We're going to have to recruit to the 4-3. Unfortunately, we're going to have to get some young kids on the field early this year."
Pinkel welcomes back seven offensive starters, among which is a potential standout in quarterback James Franklin (6 feet 2, 225 punds). The Tigers piled up 6,182 yards, divided evenly between passing and running. However, Franklin suffered a severe knee injury in spring practice. He's expected to be ready for the opener, but he missed valuable offseason work.
"He's so calm," said Moe, who caught 54 passes for 640 yards and four touchdowns last season. "When he drops back it doesn't matter if 10 guys are blitzing. He has pocket presence to get out of some things and knowing when it's time to stick in there and make the right throw."
Missouri was ranked No. 61 in total defense last season, and Texas A&M was No. 66. The top four defensive teams in the nation last season were Alabama, LSU, Georgia and South Carolina. Florida was No. 9.
The SEC schedule-makers did the newcomers one favor -- they set them up with SEC openers at home. Missouri plays host to Georgia, and Texas A&M welcomes Florida for Sept. 8 games, which should provide a nice welcome-to-the-neighborhood buildup for the school's fans.
"Normally, we never talk about a game other than your first game," said Pinkel, whose team opens against Southeastern Louisiana. "We understand historically for the University of Missouri it's going to be a big game, the first SEC game, but there's going to be a lot of big games. That's what separates the SEC from other leagues."
South Carolina Coach Steve Spurrier, who knows from two perspectives how tough it is to win in the SEC, said the new teams have a chance to make an impact.
"I think they are going to be extremely competitive," said Spurrier, who excelled at Florida. "It wouldn't surprise me if they were in the hunt to win a division or so. I think they may be right up there."
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