Highlights from LSU's turn at SEC media days, plus the one question Kirby Smart must face

The most newsworthy item from LSU's turn at Southeastern Conference media days was a status update on one of the Tigers' top running backs.
John Emery “is in the process of being cleared” after having missed spring practice for academic reasons, coach Brian Kelly said Monday in Nashville, Tennessee.
Emery, a fifth-year senior, had to meet certain academic requirements before he could practice, and his status was uncertain coming out of the spring semester.
A former five-star recruit from St. Rose, Emery missed the entire 2021 season and the first two games last year because he was academically ineligible, a decision the NCAA upheld after appeals.
In 11 games last year, Emery rushed for 375 yards and six touchdowns. He added another 129 yards and two touchdowns receiving, including one in LSU's upset over Alabama.
With Emery on track to get cleared, LSU would have eight scholarship running backs.
Here are some other tasty bits from Scott Rabalais and Wilson Alexander from Nashville:
• Teammates all but begged Jayden Daniels to come back to LSU for one more year. He did. “It's like he has taken over the team,” running back Josh Williams said.
• Jay Johnson and Kim Mulkey both won national championships in Year 2 at LSU. Brian Kelly made no promises, but he's not ducking expectations.
• At the moment, Georgia and Alabama still rule the SEC. Can LSU close the gap? Scott Rabalais gives his top three takeaways from Monday's media session.
• The SEC will add Texas and Oklahoma next season. The conference will also take its media days to Dallas, commissioner Greg Sankey said.
On deck Tuesday at SEC media days:
VANDERBILT
ON STAGE: 9:05 a.m.
LAST YEAR: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)
COACH: Clark Lea (third year)
PLAYERS: LB Ethan Barr, S Jaylen Mahoney, WR Will Sheppard
THE BUZZ: Lea, a former defensive coordinator at Notre Dame under Brian Kelly, should be smiling when he hits the stage Tuesday, having just agreed to a contract extension this week (Vanderbilt, a private institution, did not announce terms, but the extension is reportedly through 2029). If you're wondering whether he has earned it, consider this: In Lea's first season, the Commodores snapped an 11-game losing streak, and last fall, Vanderbilt's 5-7 showing last season was its best since 2018.
GEORGIA
ON STAGE: 10:30 a.m.
LAST YEAR: 15-0 (8-0 SEC)
COACH: Kirby Smart (eighth year)
PLAYERS: TE Brock Bowers, CB Kamari Lassiter, C Sedrick Van Pran
THE BUZZ: The Bulldogs are coming off of back-to-back national titles, and they've lost just once in 34 games. But Kirby Smart will surely face questions about accountability. One player and one athletic department employee died in a high-speed, alcohol-involved car crash Jan. 15, prompting a series of reports from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that detailed an apparent pattern of unlawful behavior by players.
AUBURN
ON STAGE: 1 p.m.
LAST YEAR: 5-7 (2-6 SEC)
COACH: Hugh Freeze (first year)
PLAYERS: TE Luke Deal, LB Elijah McAllister, OL Kameron Stutts
THE BUZZ: Freeze's five-year tenure at Ole Miss ended in shame, but he made the most of his next chance, going 34-15 at Liberty from 2019-22. He inherits a mess at Auburn, where Bryan Harsin never won over the masses because he didn't win enough. Freeze's No. 1 priority: Fixing the quarterback spot. TJ Finley, the Ponchatoula native, transferred to Texas State. Michigan State transfer Payton Thorne (6,493 yards in 29 games) is the most experienced.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
ON STAGE: 2:25 p.m.
LAST YEAR: 9-4 (4-4 SEC)
COACH: Zach Arnett (first year)
PLAYERS: QB Will Rogers, DL Jaden Crumedy, RB Jo’quavious Marks
THE BUZZ: Arnett, the Bulldogs' defensive coordinator the past three years, takes over for the late Mike Leach, the innovative, one-of-a-kind coach who died of heart failure Dec. 12. Arnett will use a different style of offense, having hired coordinator Kevin Barbay from Central Michigan. The offense figures to be more balanced but will bring back quarterback Will Rogers, who 10,689 career yards passing.