DALLAS, Texas — SEC Media Days is officially underway.

LSU, South Carolina, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt took the stage at the Omni Hotel for the first day of the annual conference event on Monday. The head coaches and three players from the respective teams took turns speaking with the media to preview the 2024 season, the first to feature 16 SEC teams.

Oklahoma, Missouri, Tennessee and Georgia will speak on Tuesday.

Here's a look at some of the notable quotes from each team's appearance on Monday:

On expectations heading into his third season at LSU: "Our mission is certainly to win championships. I get how we get to that conclusion. We didn't win a championship. We're in year three, this is the most accountable that group has been. There is trust within the group.

This will be the deepest team that we've had. I don't know what that's going to be relative to the expectations. All I can do is continue to work towards what our process is and then whatever the outcomes are going to be evaluated externally.

I don't control those. I control what our process is and how we go to work every day. I can tell you in year three, I've had really good success with getting our football team to be the most accountable, trusting team that I've had here at LSU.

That's usually been pretty good at my other stops."

Thoughts on Brent Venables and the Sooners: "I think what I was really impressed with Coach Venables job was just the bounceback and the ability to overcome some adversity. Certainly as a first-time head coach, you know, having some adversity and really learning on the job and coming back and having an outstanding season this past season, I think they've got a great quarterback.

I just think they're another outstanding football team with a great history and tradition. I got the privilege of playing them few times when I was at Notre Dame, and it's a great atmosphere. I played them when I was at Cincinnati. So I think it's just a great tradition, great program, and I think coach has done a great job of really I think on the job really adjusting to being the head guy and I think he's done a terrific job."

Opening statement: "... We have a championship mindset at the University of South Carolina. Make no mistake about it. There is no ceiling at the University of South Carolina as well. Our expectations at South Carolina are to compete for a spot in that 12-team playoff, year in year out.

We have players that stayed in this program that could have gone to other schools. They didn't stay here to be average and go 6-6.

We have players that have transferred in from other SEC programs and Power 5 programs. They didn't come here to be average.

We have coaches that have come in from other teams that did not come here to be average.

We have coaches that stayed that turned down opportunities to go to the NFL and other Power 5s and SEC programs. They did not stay here to be average.

The expectation at our place is to compete for championships and be in the mix for that 12-team playoff. That's what we're working towards each and every day. We've got a great group of guys doing that back in Columbia right now."

On a disappointing season in 2023: "I think just continuing the work. You know, I get it. (Going) 5-7 last year is not what anybody expected. We were here last year and somewhat of a feel-good story, and some of you guys were picking us to be a dark horse team in the SEC.

"We went 5-7. Ultimately that's my responsibility. But I also look at it that we weren't that far away from the narrative being completely different as well.

"When the season is over, like every head coach, I sit back and look at everything that we're doing and where do we need to tweak, adjust, be better. Feel like we've done that, whether it be how we do things in our building each and every day, coaching staff, players we brought in, players that left our program in some ways as well..."

Does adding OU and Texas to the SEC make your job more difficult?: "I think that's fair. You know, it does make it more challenging if you bring in two, you know, national, traditional powers of Heismans and stadium size in tradition. Yeah, it makes our job more challenging, but I'm not a money, numbers guy. I'm sure there obviously was an impact there that makes all our programs better off financially.

So I say to our players all the time, no matter what it is in life, good or bad, there is an opposite to it. There is a cost and a benefit. There is a benefit and it's going to come with a cost. That is an example of that.

It's awesome in a lot of areas and harder to win when you add those two teams, so probably in the end it just makes us all better."

In the era of the transfer portal, how important is it to continue recruiting at the high school and JUCO levels?: "I think it's really critical to have a really good balance. I think that for us, the way that we do it, that changes every year. I don't think the right way in the evolving college football landscape of recruiting and portal changes and windows and now multiple transfers, I think you can't be stuck and say we're not going to take any or this many percent of high school.

You'll get stuck, because you got to do just like you were in the free agency in the NFL. There are some areas you sign more and some areas you sign less; you lose some sometimes now; some guys come back and don't go to the NFL that maybe you thought were.

So we're all evolving in that. We're going to try to sign the best players, but we're also going to really look at who they are. I mean, you guys see it. Just study -- the answer isn't just be the best portal classes, because there are some really good high school signing classes and some really good portal classes, and they didn't have great seasons.

"There is a lot to that too in the right makeup of the guys that you signed. So especially in the portal to me, I think you got to be really careful and really good job of evaluating who they are, why they left where they left, what do they want to do so that when you do hit some tough times they're the right type of players that are there to help themselves but to help the team also.

I think you've seen some programs where that hasn't been the case in the last two years.:

On the potential impact of in-helmet communication devices: "Well, because in college offenses are no-huddle and most use tempo, I think we're still going to need to utilize signals from the sideline. I think it's going to be advantageous for us to have a line of communication to a player on the field. Certainly believe that that can be used in a positive way.

"Maybe there are occasions against certain offenses where you have the time to group that defense together. We haven't -- used to be -- this is probably ten years ago, maybe 15, you would start fall camp going through your defensive huddle. I mean, that doesn't happen anymore.

"I don't expect there to be big changes that way. I do expect the line of communication to be helpful. Maybe in certain situations you have a chance for a linebacker or safety to get the group to go and deliver a message from the sideline."

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