Every year around the turn of the new year, talking heads around the country suggest the top SEC football team can beat the worst NFL team. Obviously, in a vacuum, the best college team, including the 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide, would get waxed by 50 when facing the winless Detroit Lions circa 2008. Although the two leagues share considerable similarities, they have unique differences, including talent, pageantry, and amateur versus professional status. However, with the conclusion of the House v. NCAA settlement in mid-May, college football and the NFL will continue their crash course to become one and the same.
With the emergence of player compensation through NIL and loose transfer portal regulations, the college game is continuing to get closer to resembling the NFL. Now on the table for the NCAA following a court ruling last week is a potential roster cap set at 85 players, strongly resembling the professional ranks. With the possible implication of a roster cap comparable to the NFL’s 53-man roster, SEC football coaches quickly made their voices heard regarding the potential landmark decision.
SEC Football Coaches: Strongly Oppose Hard Roster Cap
![BREAKING: SEC Football Coaches Strongly Oppose Potential Roster Cap and Loss of Walk-On Programs - REPORT - 2024 Offseason 1 Texas Longhorns land WR Silas Bolden](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/USATSI_22207012-e1705465851310.jpg)
The idea of a roster cap and the elimination of walk-on programs has SEC football coaches up in arms heading into the 2024 campaign. Following the House v. NCAA earlier this month, college football is set to make another seismic change to its operation. In addition to players earning compensation through their university, the case could further tweak roster construction, allowing limitless scholarships but demanding a roster cap. Capping rosters to 85 scholarship players for football could eliminate walk-on programs.
Mike Elko and other SEC coaches are not a fan of a potential hard 85-roster cap, eliminating valuable walk-on programs.https://t.co/wV9yM5iRpD pic.twitter.com/fOGePmMSCQ
— On3 (@On3sports) May 29, 2024
Newly cemented Texas A&M Aggies bench boss Mike Elko is “strongly against it,” saying he thinks it’s “absolutely against college football.” Elko continued, “I think that would be a major problem, especially when you look at the legacies of Texas A&M kids that will get the opportunity to play football at Texas A&M potentially taken away from them. I think that’s something’s really bad for the sport.”
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has issues with a roster cap, saying, “What happens to all those walk-ons? What happens to all those stories? That’s what college football is all about.” The loss of walk-ons would become a significant loss for college football. Stetson Bennett, Rodrigo Blankenship, and Baker Mayfield were all walk-ons among current SEC teams. Bennett won two titles with Georgia, Blankenship became one of the best kickers in NCAA history, and Mayfield took home the 2017 Heisman Trophy Award.
Other SEC Football Coaches Take Issue with Potential Roster Reconstruction
![BREAKING: SEC Football Coaches Strongly Oppose Potential Roster Cap and Loss of Walk-On Programs - REPORT - 2024 Offseason 2 SEC Football](https://gridironheroics.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/USATSI_21973265-scaled-e1705558062833.jpg)
Alongside Mike Elko and Steve Sarkisian, Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze worries about roster size, saying, “We’re only used to practicing a certain way. We’re not the NFL. We (have) physical practices.” However, no immediate change is coming, even though many SEC football coaches oppose roster reconstruction. An 85-man roster limit is also subject to change if a restriction becomes enforced.
What is certain is that college football continues to change rapidly, for good or bad. More court rulings could push the NCAA towards more player empowerment, even if it comes at the cost of inspiring walk-on success stories.
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