The kickoff to the upcoming SEC season begins where it will end in December, though the SEC Championship Game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Before toe meets leather to kick off the 2025 slate of football game, players and coaches meet with the media to talk about what lies ahead. Each day, AL.com provided daily wrap ups from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of SEC Media Days with moments and interesting nuggets of information you might have missed.

Missouri’s Eli Drinkwitz provides morning laughs

Covering the yearly media day rounds can be an exciting time with signs the college football season is around the corner. It can also be stressful for the men and women who are trying to get as much as they can from the teams the cover, and the conference as a whole.

Depending on how long these things go, the last day can be a bit of a drag, knowing the finish line is in sight, but also, you’ve got a lot of work to get done.

That’s when Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz provided the tonic needed on Thursday morning.

Don’t believe it? Coach Drinkwitz said the following in his opening statement:

“But just as a reminder, I’m not going to answer any questions about the Epstein Files, whether about the Radiation Belt, and whether or not it was possible for Lee Harvey Oswald to get three shots off in succession in seven seconds. I don’t have time to answer all those questions, but I will answer questions about Mizzou football.”

Not only did he answer questions about Mizzou football but also had some interesting answers on both the college football playoff, and scheduling in the SEC. Two topics that most coaches have had to tackle this week.

Sam Pittman’s stern plea

It is a coach’s best friend, but also can be its worst enemy, the NCAA transfer portal. Across all sports, recruiting is now a year-long activity, not only to acquire talent but retain the existing players on your team.

And coaches are ringing the alarm, asking for change.

The latest? Arkansas football’s Sam Pittman.

While on the stage at SEC Media Days, Pittman called the multiple portal windows, “the craziest thing in the world”. Also noting he prefers the single portal window to open following the end of the season, closing the post-spring portal window for good.

Texas A&M hasn’t forgot what Auburn took from them

The Texas A&M Aggies were a win away from locking up a spot in the SEC championship game last season. All they had to do was win one of their last two games of the season, on the road at unranked Auburn, and hosting Texas to wrap the regular season.

After four quarters, and four overtimes later, it was Auburn who handed the Aggies their first of eventually two missed opportunities at the SEC title game. While revenge against the rival Longhorns is a given, it appears that Auburn is also on the Aggies revenge list this upcoming season.

The latest on a Nick Saban return

It’s almost fitting really.

The beginning of SEC Media Days 2025 began with former Alabama quarterback Greg McElroy discussing a possible comeback for legendary head coach, Nick Saban. It quickly became a topic of discussion from former players and former assistant coaches.

And as SEC Media Days 2025 came to a close, Nick Saban’s daughter Kristen Saban seemingly put everything to rest, with a simple sentence:

“He’s not coming back to coaching, hate to break it to you,” Kristen Saban wrote. “You had your time.”

Well, it seems like Nick Saban’s Saturdays this fall will still be occupied, just on ESPN’s College Gameday, not a college football sideline.

For the latest news from the SEC, log onto AL.com.