Kirby Smart Jabs Butch Jones at SEC Media Days

During Butch Jones’ lackluster Monday performance at SEC Media Days, the Tennessee head coach bragged about his team’s APR score and their NFL Draft picks.

“We have to replace some very, very good football players,” Jones said. “We had six drafted players in the first four rounds of the National Football League draft this past year. That hasn’t been done in Tennessee in 15 years.”

Today, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart used those words and turned them right back on Jones.

“Last year, we had a coach tell us that we had the best talent. And he had six players taken in the first four rounds after he said we had better talent than he did and we had one player drafted.”

It’s a little confusing statement, which is to be expected from a guy who’s often reserved in front of the media, so let me break down Smart’s statement.

• Jones said Georgia had more talent than Tennessee.
• Smart loses on a Hail Mary to Tennessee, gets salty.
• Tennessee has six players drafted in first four rounds, while Georgia only had one.

Smart’s shot at Jones has been the biggest surprise so far at Media Days, but he wasn’t the only coach feeling himself this morning at Hoover.  Vanderbilt’s Derek Mason proclaimed his program is on the rise, prepared for a renaissance in West Nashville.

“I continue to talk about college football being the junior-senior sport. I can remember coming into this conference and going down to Starkville and playing against a Mississippi State team that had Dak Prescott as a junior and a host of other guys as juniors and seniors on that football team. I looked at our football team, and we took some punches. I said to myself I couldn’t wait to be a junior-senior football team in this conference. Now, I’m not having to wait anymore. We’re here.

“I’m not a soothsayer. I am not talking about how many games we are going to win, but I do know we have a junior-senior team. The culture, continuity, all of those things lead to special things. I’ve been there before, and I am truly excited what the season holds for us.”

Hopefully Smart and Mason aren’t the only confident coaches hanging out in Hoover this week.