ATLANTA — While I got ya, here are nine things and one crazy prediction:

1. Georgia on my mind

And Steve Sarkisian’s mind as well. The Bulldogs players largely dismissed Texas as their new biggest rival, and Kirby Smart mostly said he has no secrets to his success over the Longhorns recently. It says here, until Kalen DeBoer proves Alabama will return to the level of dominance it enjoyed under Nick Saban, Texas-Georgia is the top rivalry in the SEC since they met in last year’s title game, the Longhorns have reached the semifinals of the last two College Football Playoffs and the Bulldogs won back-to-back national titles in 2021 and 2022. But Sarkisian definitely poked the bear this week when he stole two big recruits out from under the Bulldogs when he grabbed a commitment from five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson and flipped the Georgia pledge from four-star defensive lineman James Johnson in a brash change of course. Reports circulated that Kirby Smart was fuming over the announcements although he has been publicly effusive in his praise of Sark, like himself a former coordinator under Saban. Atkinson is rated the No. 1 linebacker in the country and top-ranked player in Georgia, a prospect the Bulldogs have recruited since he was an eighth-grader. Some sources suggest Texas forked over $1.2 million for Atkinson and $750,000 for Johnson in NIL money, but those reports are unconfirmed. A Texas source disputed those numbers to the Houston Chronicle and said “the money is lower that that by a good margin.” … Regardless, Sarkisian is upping the ante on the new-born SEC feud after Georgia beat Texas twice in the Longhorns’ inaugural season, both at DKR and in the league championship game. Remember, Sark also plucked five-star defensive lineman Justus Terry from Georgia a year ago, which should only heighten the interest when the Longhorns travel to Athens, Georgia, for their Nov. 15 meeting and first at Sanford Stadium. Texas can ill afford a third straight loss to the Dawgs or risk losing some street cred. That’s fair play since Smart got No. 1 linebacker Justin Williams from Texas in 2024. The two schools finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the 2025 recruiting rankings, and Georgia currently has the No. 2-ranked recruiting class for the 2026 cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Texas has the No. 9 class.

2. OU owned it

Brent Venables opens his fourth season after two losing seasons in three years and an overall 22-17 record, which is hardly acceptable in Norman. Twenty-four of the top 48 Sooner players were freshmen, but Venables dipped heavily into the transfer portal and plucked out Washington State quarterback John Mateer, whose only offer out of Little Elm came from Central Arkansas before the Pac-2 school called. Mateer chose OU over more money from Miami. Venables also hired the Washington State offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle to ease Mateer’s transition. The 6-1, 219-pound junior brings a level of toughness he likens to former OU quarterback Baker Mayfield as well as his wheels, having run for 826 yards and 15 touchdowns with another 29 scoring passes. “Some say I’m a little like (rugged former TCU quarterback) Max Duggan,” Mateer said. “Baker’s got that toughness every quarterback needs to have. You got to do it. And Kyler (Murray)’s outrunning everybody every play. I’m fast but not that fast.” … Mateer did attend one Texas-OU game in the Cotton Bowl during his high school days. He doesn’t remember who won “because I left early in the third quarter. Why? I had a homecoming dance.” … OU should be much better in its defensive front with second-team All-SEC end R. Mason Thomas (nine sacks), transfer Marvin Jones and nose tackle Damonic Williams. Asked why the Sooners have struggled against Texas lately and scored only three points in two losses two of the last three years, Thomas said, “The game plan didn’t turn out like we wanted to. We made a lot of mistakes and in some cases were beating ourselves. But I think our fan base has a lot of faith in us.”

3. No offense, but …

Alabama was one of the only SEC schools not to bring a quarterback or even one skill player to the SEC media days. DeBoer didn’t bring sophomore wide receiver Ryan Williams and didn’t even address the quarterback battle in his opening remarks. Asked later about the quarterback race, DeBoer said Tyler Simpson would take the first snap over 6-6, 235-pound Washington transfer Austin Mack if the season opened this week and is the likely successor to Jalen Milroe for the opener against Florida State. “Ty throws a catchable ball,” DeBoer said. “He’s smart, he’s been in college football now going on year four. He’s really owned things, I think, on another level.” Catchable ball doesn’t sound like Heisman material. … If the well-groomed Kadyn Proctor of Alabama isn’t the best offensive lineman in the SEC, he maybe the smartest with a 3.70 grade-point average and on track to graduate in December after taking 16 summer-school credits. Definitely the most hygienic. He unabashedly offered that he owns 150 different bottles of cologne and said his dad impressed upon him the importance of, well, smelling good. “Yeah, he taught me to smell good for the ladies back in elementary school,” said the animated junior left offensive tackle, who looked dapper in a gray turtleneck and black suit with a large silver cross medallion around his neck. “If you’re a big guy, you can’t stink. You got to be fresh. People think if you’re big, you stink, you’re sweaty, you’re smelly. I’m trying to flip the narrative. The motive is about really smelling good.” … Asked about the Texas defense, Florida center Jake Slaughter said, “They had three guys on the inside who could go. Their linebackers were good. Their scheme was just well-run. They were just a well-oiled machine. They played with good technique, good gap integrity. It’s hard to beat a team that does that.”

4. Vandy victor

Diego Pavia stole the show on Monday. While Arch Manning’s time in front of the microphone Tuesday drew more than 50 reporters, the Vanderbilt quarterback also entertained a big audience. His vibrant, confident personality has raised the Commodores profile with such a refreshing maturity. He also has epitomized the movement of the college athlete when he sued the NCAA and won his right to a sixth year of eligibility because his two years at junior college (New Mexico Military) didn’t count against him. I love his tough, physical, head-on style and think he should be considered the Cam Skattebo of college quarterbacks. He played hurt the second half of the season with leg injuries and said he was at about 85% efficiency. … When I asked him if he thinks the NFL will give him a chance at quarterback, he snapped back, “They will if they want to win. If they do, they should come get me.” … He raved about his teammate, 5-9, 200-pound running back Sedrick Alexander from Austin LBJ. “He’s a different cat. He’s my guy. He has a winner’s mentality.” … Pavia is eager to come to Austin to try to pay back the Longhorns. “We had a lot of close games. Texas was one of three that we lost, and we want to avenge every loss. We left a lot on the table at 7-6.” … Here’s betting Vandy will knock off a big-time opponent again in 2025 like it did in upsetting Alabama last season. … He said he was a big wrestling fan and said he draws on that when he takes on would-be tacklers. “It’s a manly hood type of thing.” And what would his name be if he were on the WWE circuit? “Maybe the Overtaker.” … Pavia added that he doesn’t mind trash-talkers on the field. In fact, he said, “I admire people who trash-talk when the score is 0-0, not when the game’s out of hand.”… His favorite former player? That was Johnny Manziel because the Aggie Heisman Trophy winner was “electric and brought everything he had.” He’s also a big fan of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson. He’s listed at 6-foot. When a reporter questioned it, Pavia kidded, “Do you have a measuring tape? I’m probably 5-10 1/2 or 5-11. You know older people shrink.”

5. There’s a catch

Brenen Thompson didn’t have a big impact on his one season at Texas. He had just one catch against Oklahoma State before transferring to Oklahoma but the speedy wide receiver from Class 3A Spearman in the Panhandle will get a chance to get back at his former team since he has switched to Mississippi State, which hosts Texas. The mature, deeply spiritual Thompson chose MSU and former OU offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby because he loved the “small-town, country vibe” of Starkville. He’s a former 100-meter and 200-meter state champion and said he’ll try to top his former Longhorn teammate Xavier Worthy’s 4.21 record time in the 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine. “I’m not saying I’ll do that but I’ll try. He’s a dog. God wrapped his arms around him, and he’s doing great with the Kansas City Chiefs.” … Thompson won the 100 in 10.2 seconds and 200 in 20.7 but gave up track after the one season at Texas because he kept having to gain weight for football or lose it for track. He weighs only 170 pounds. … He has remained friends with former Longhorns like linebacker DeMarvion Overshown of Arp and the Dallas Cowboys, T’Vondre Sweat and Worthy and got married to a childhood sweetheart, McKenzie, from Brownwood. … He said he thinks transfers sometimes get a bad rap. “It can be misunderstood,” he said. “Everybody talks about loyalty this and loyalty that, but at the end of the day we just want to play football.” So is he done transferring as he tours the SEC? “Yes, I’m done.” … He raves about MSU quarterback, Blake Shapen, a Baylor ex and said, “He throws a …. good ball. He be zipping it.”

6. Things I think I know

I think I love the rumor that Nick Saban wants to coach again. I mentioned on a Huntsville, Alabama, radio station that it’d be fun if Saban wound up at Auburn but don’t think the Crimson Tide would find it very funny. … Florida quarterback D.J. Lagway will be a legit Heisman candidate if he doesn’t have some of the arm and shoulder problems he’s had. The Willis native said Texas A&M was the first SEC school to recruit him and said he loved the campus, “but once Florida got involved, that was it.” … I think South Carolina defensive tackle Nick Barrett knows football. Asked whom he thought was the best defensive player in the SEC, he named Texas edge rusher Colin Simmons. … I think I’m glad the NCAA is trying to curb those fake injuries. A rule change could call for a charged timeout against offending team or a 5-yard penalty if the team had no timeouts remaining, but I doubt it will stop the unethical practice. … I think Florida will be the surprise team in the SEC. … I like Lane Kiffin’s irreverent personality. Asked why he took potshots at Hugh Freeze over his terrific golf game (i.e. too much time on the golf course), the Ole Miss coach said the two are friends and, after the Auburn coach once razzed Kiffin over a two-pound fish he caught, Kiffin would sent him pictures of bigger fish he caught. And Kiffin added, “I did go fishing yesterday. It was a dead period.” Touche. … I think Greg Sankey was smart to publicly apologize for the league playing the Aggie War Hymn before Steve Sarkisian’s introduction Tuesday instead of “Texas Fight.” Sankey said, “Mistakes happen. There was no ill intent.” … Sarkisian bristled a bit when one out-of-state reporter took him to task for Texas’ red-zone issues. The Longhorns ranked 101st last season and 90th the year before. Sark said, “I hope we get it fixed so you can ask me about it again next year.”

7. Book it

Madison Booker was thrilled to hear her idol, Kevin Durant, was headed to Houston in that vast, seven-player trade. The two work out together on occasion. Asked if she could take on the 15-time All-Star one on one, Booker said, “Yeah, I could. I definitely could. (Pause). On my best day. But I got to be 100% from the field. Got to make everything I see. And I got to get the ball first.” Set it up, some corporate sponsor. … Shay Holle, Vic Schaefer’s favorite player ever, finally exhausted her eligibility and has moved for now to New Jersey to be closer to her boyfriend, New York Jets receiver and Lake Travis ex Garrett Wilson, who just received a $130 million contract extension. … The entire Texas team will travel to Canada to compete in the Globl Jam Aug. 11-18 against the host team, Japan and Puerto Rico among other countries’ teams. … Jordan Lee is playing for the USA U19 national team in the Czech Republic July 12-20. … Aaliyah Moore, who’s had her share of knee injuries and someone else’s share too, probably won’t be on next season’s Texas roster as she contemplates what’s next. … Taylor Jones will go to training camp in Miami for the USA Basketball 3-on-3 Women’s Series Open and travel to games in Indonesia, Canada, Spain, France and Hungary.

8. Scattershooting

While wondering whatever happened to former Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron. And his girlfriend.

9. On the couch

Finished “The Waterfront,” a compelling, non-stop action series on Netflix that is basically “Bloodlines” on steroids. Maybe the most dysfunctional family in the history of dysfunctional families runs drugs, lies and cheats on each other, takes sibling rivalries to the next level but does so in such entertaining fashion. Gave it 8 ducks.

Crazy prediction

If they have losing seasons this year, I would guess Oklahoma and Michigan would try to pry Nick Saban out of retirement.

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