NFL Draft Watch: SEC Media Day Quotables

A look at key quotes of note from the 2025 Southeastern Conference Media Day.

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SEC MEDIA DAY: 2026 NFL DRAFT WATCH QUOTABLES

When evaluating potential college prospects for the NFL Draft, often times NCAA Media Days are a phenomenal way to gather key tidbits of information, get to know the personalities of pro prospects and learn valuable insights into what makes each individual tick. These are rare events, where both coaches and players are in a relaxed atmosphere (for the most part), as a wide array of questions are bandied about.

Below is a summary of quotes by head coaches from the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Media Week, which featured numerous draft-eligible prospects from the conference. In the 2025 NFL Draft, a record-breaking 79 players from the SEC were selected, including a record-tying 15 players chosen in round one. You can rest assure that many of the players highlighted below will hear their name called this upcoming April. (photos: Southeastern Conference)

South Carolina Head Coach Shane Beamer on QB LaNorris Sellers:

“LaNorris Sellers, returning captain as voted on by his teammates. Our returning MVP, as voted on by his teammates. Last season he was playing as well as any quarterback in the nation the last month of the season. Doing great off the field. Has been on the Dean's list twice. Currently doing a internship with contract construction in Columbia for his major as well. His best football is still in front of him.

“You're talking about a guy that is very humble, very hard working and has not changed. It is what it is. His life, his world has changed from last year at this time to right now because of what he did last season. But he's got a great family around him. He came back in January knowing the things he needed to work on to get better at. He's done a great job of working hard and improving, all while staying grounded and staying the same person.”

Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian on QB Arch Manning (photo below):

“For Arch, he grew up in this era of seeing high-level football. He's watched Super Bowls. He's watched gold jackets getting put on. He's been to playoff games. He's been recruited at the highest level as the No. 1 player in the country. He watched Quinn [Ewers] navigate through the ups and downs of being a starting quarterback at the University of Texas. I think the one thing you'll find out about Arch is, one, he's very even keel about him. Two, he's very quick witted. He's got a great sense of humor about himself and he's okay to laugh at himself and I think that's a great quality to have because, at the end of the day, there's going to be adversity that's going to strike this season and we all talk about resiliency and grit and all those things that are needed when adversity strikes but I think some of that resiliency can come from calm, remaining calm. Arch definitely has that about him. He's a great guy. He's a great teammate. He's got an unbelievable work ethic. And I think, if he stays true to himself, that's going to help him navigate these waters as they present themselves. We've got to do a great job of supporting him around him, as coaches, as players and ultimately, I think he's prepared for the moment but now it's just time for him to go do it and enjoy doing it quite frankly.”

Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian on S Michael Taafe:

“Probably the coolest story on our team right now is Michael Taaffe. Here's a guy who was a state champion at Westlake High School two years in a row, state championship game MVP two years in a row, has scholarship offers to go to other universities. His lifelong dream was to be a Longhorn and walks on at the University of Texas. All he did was work hard. He never put a ceiling on himself. I think in his mind he always expected to be an All-American safety at the University of Texas as a captain representing us at SEC Media Days. I think that's how this guy thinks and that's how he's wired. So now when you chronologically look at his path of walking on, being scout team players of the week, earning a little bit of playing time on special teams, earning a little bit of playing time on defense, to becoming a regular down player on defense, to becoming a front-line starter on defense, to becoming an All-American on defense, it's like, how do you not respect the guy? All the while, the way he carries himself and the way he represents the University of Texas and our community, I think is something to be admired. I think that's what his teammates do. They respect him; they admire him. He's probably as hard on his teammates as he is on himself, and he's probably harder on the other walk-ons than he is on himself because he had to earn what he got. I couldn't be happier for him. It is huge for us that he decided to come back for his senior season. His leadership, his ability to communicate in the back end for us, he is like a coach on the field. So just proud of him and proud to be his coach. Like I said, I think nobody deserves the accolades that he's getting more than Michael Taaffe right now.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly on QB Garrett Nussmeier:

“I think when you look at Garrett, what he brings is a mindset of a coach's son. That is I'm always looking to improve. Every day he comes to workouts, every day I comes to practice, he's looking for areas to improve on. I would tell you that experience is going to be his best teacher in the SEC. Having played a year in the SEC and seeing what needs to happen on a consistent basis is most important. He brings the individual trait that coaches love because he wants to be taught, coached. He wants to be coached hard. He wants to be coached in a manner that gets him to be the best version of himself. I love that about Garrett.”

LSU Head Coach Brian Kelly on LB Whit Weeks:

“Whit is our driver. He brings the passion, but passion without focus is irresponsible. He's not that. He's got incredible focus. He's got incredible passion. It rubs off on our entire defense. And he wants to obviously outplay his brother West Weeks, who is a pretty darn good player as well. Add Harold Perkins back to the mix who was out with an ACL last year, a player that can make plays all over the field. It gives us an incredible linebacker group.”