SEC Media Days: Kevin Sumlin audio and full transcript

Chase Goodbread, NFL.com “Coach, how much interaction did you have with Hue Jackson and Sashi Brown in Cleveland about Myles Garrett leading up to the draft in the spring, and what was the substance of their questions and your answers?”

"Sumlin – “Well I was in Philly, and anybody who saw the draft party at Myles’s house, you know my wife and kids were with Myles and the parents, and so I can tell you this, Chase, that when they went live to the party in Dallas that they already had the Cleveland Browns T-shirts on before the draft happened, or they announced number one. So that just tells you a little bit about the communication. We’ve done a great job, I think, with our coaching staff, I think the NFL, as much as we’ve complained as coaches, I think the NFL has bent over backwards here in the last couple of years to try to give us an oppotunity as college coaches. I think Nick brought it up two years ago, three years ago, about the number of guys who are turning pro that were getting false information. We still have that. But I think communication between the League and coaches, particularly coaches in the SEC has been really, really good. And because of that, I think our players have benefited because of our organizations honesty, with their organizations, with players they’ve drafted from us, knowing what they’re getting in guys that are playing very very well in the NFL and had careers and are doing well. I think people trust us. I think they trust us, they trust our organization. I’ve known people at that level for a very long time. Including Hue, he was a young college football coach way out on the West coast back where we all started so, he’s got a good one and Myles is excited to be a Cleveland Brown.”"

I’m sure there was lots of communication between College Station and Cleveland before Myles was picked. They probably wanted to know about the injury Garrett sustained during his senior season, about his workouts, grades, and anything else they could learn.

I’m glad to hear that the coaches are making every effort to make it easy on NFL teams trying to draft Aggies. It can only help if there are constant NFL scouts around. It should motivate players to perform better, being watched by someone who controls their future, and it should influence some young recruits who may have dreams of Sunday football.