The part where we all pretend the offseason is winding down has ended. Fall camp is here. So is another federal court ruling reshuffling SEC rosters like a drunk fantasy commissioner at 2 a.m.
As of this morning, the NCAA transfer portal is open again — specifically for class-of-2022 athletes who got their fifth year handed to them by a Colorado federal judge last Friday. We are talking about guys who went undrafted, hit an NFL rookie minicamp, got cut, and are now refreshing On3 hoping someone needs a starting defensive back. Georgia's JaCorey Thomas — who made 45 tackles as a starter last season before a targeting call in the Sugar Bowl ended his career — announced this weekend he plans to return to college football. Former Texas offensive lineman Cole Hutson had a hearing on this very situation today. The portal window runs through August 10. Chaos does not take August off, and neither does the SEC. Georgia fans who barely had time to process losing Thomas to that targeting flag are now apparently getting him back, which is great, except nobody knows if he counts against the roster limit yet. The NCAA, naturally, has not clarified. Classic.
Meanwhile, the Stephen A. Smith vs. the concept of Arch Manning discourse that consumed SEC Media Days two weeks ago has not cooled. It is in fact louder, because fall camp starts this week and every reporter in Austin is going to ask Manning about it until he says something quotable. Stephen A. went on First Take and flatly refused to crown the Texas quarterback as the best QB in the conference: "I don't see how anybody can just put Arch Manning ahead of [Trinidad Chambliss]. I'm sorry, I'm not doing it." This is the same Arch Manning who threw 26 touchdowns, had foot surgery, recovered, and is now the preseason Heisman frontrunner on a team projected No. 1. Paul Finebaum called Texas's roster the best in the SEC. Jordan Rodgers said he's "not sure" Manning is a first-round pick. The discourse will only be settled October 24 when Ole Miss comes to Austin — which means we have twelve more weeks of this.
And then there's Missouri. Eli Drinkwitz stood at the Media Days podium and announced that Ahmad Hardy — the running back who was shot in the leg at a Mississippi concert in May, underwent emergency surgery, broke the Tigers' single-season rushing record the year before, and is 20 years old — has been medically cleared to return. "We don't know exactly what the return-to-play progression is," Drinkwitz said, "because there's not a lot of literature to that." There is not a lot of literature on a Doak Walker finalist getting shot and then trying to be ready for Arkansas–Pine Bluff six and a half weeks later. College football contains multitudes.
Lane Kiffin, because the man is constitutionally incapable of not generating a storyline, had his first Media Days appearance as LSU's coach while Tennessee's Josh Heupel told reporters he hoped Knoxville grocery stores were "stocked up on mustard" for when the Tigers come to Neyland in November. Golf balls were implied. Ole Miss fans remain furious about the Vanity Fair interview where Kiffin implied Confederate history made recruiting Black players to Oxford difficult — an assertion Kiffin's own former quarterback Trinidad Chambliss publicly called untruthful. The man has two full fanbases ready to throw things at him and he hasn't coached a regular-season game yet. Respect the range.
Fall camp is open. The portal closes August 10. The discourse never does.
