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Every Kentucky fan's guide to SEC Media Days 2018

For the first time the SEC's annual Media Days event will take place in Atlanta. Everything kicks off Monday.

Normally SEC Media Days takes place around Birmingham, Alabama, but the move to Atlanta will give more of a big city, and big platform feel, to the event.

Here's a preview of what Kentucky fans can expect during the event.

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Mark Stoops (Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports)
Mark Stoops (Shanna Lockwood-USA TODAY Sports)

Experience and star power representing the Cats

The Kentucky delegation to Atlanta will include Mark Stoops, senior linebacker Josh Allen, senior tight end C.J. Conrad and junior running back Benny Snell.

It's an experienced group from the coach on down to Snell, who isn't a senior but who may be preparing to enter his final season in Lexington with the potential of an early entree in the draft looming large.

Stoops, along with Auburn's Gus Malzahn, who also accepted his current position before the 2013 season, is second in tenure among the conference's head coaches behind only Alabama's Nick Saban, who has been with the Tide for more than a decade now.

Last year Kentucky was represented by Stephen Johnson, Mike Edwards and Courtney Love. Jojo Kemp, Courtney Love and Jon Toth represented Kentucky at Media Days before the 2016 season. Melvin Lewis, Jordan Swindle and A.J. Stamps, all going into their senior seasons at the time, represented Kentucky before the 2015 season.

Themes to expect coming out of Media Days

Expect Kentucky's players and Stoops to be asked quite a bit about the ongoing quarterback competition, which is primarily between Terry Wilson and Gunnar Hoak, with fall practice inching closer. Quarterback competitions aren't anything new in Lexington and with Stephen Johnson gone after directing the Wildcats to 14 wins over his two years at Kentucky, the coaching staff will be looking for not only a playmaker but also a winner who can keep the Cats on the right side of the W/L column more often than not.

Will Kentucky's senior-laden and experienced defense make a big step forward in 2018? That probably needs to happen with questions at quarterback and on special teams. Many expected Kentucky's defense to take a step forward last year. The unexpected departures of linebackers Denzil Ware and Eli Brown aren't going to make things any easier but with so many starts and starters returning, some might wonder whether it's now or never for Matt House's unit.

In the bigger picture, where does Kentucky expect to stack up in the SEC East? Most conference attendees on the media level will expect Georgia to finish first in the East. It's likely that South Carolina will be picked second in the East. The Gamecocks' status as a Cinderella, and perhaps a media darling, has been something that has rubbed folks the wrong way around the Kentucky program, since the Cats have won that divisional rivalry four years in a row.

Finally, any time Kentucky football steps into the spotlight beyond the local scene it's inevitable that the long losing streak to Florida will rear its ugly head as an uncomfortable topic of conversation. With the way Kentucky lost the game to the Gators last year, those questions are probably deserved until the streak is over. It won't be easy to break the streak in Gainesville so long as long-time nemesis Dan Mullen is there, but this year could be the Cats' best chance in a while with quarterback questions looming for the new Gator coach.

What the schedule looks like

The event kicks off Monday at 11:30 a.m. with conference commissioner Greg Sankey presiding over the affair. Fans can watch on the SEC Network or the WatchESPN app. If you're attending, it will take place at the College Football Hall of Fame.

Here's a daily schedule of who will take the podium:

Texas A&M (Monday, 11:30 a.m. - 3:10 p.m.) represented by Jimbo Fisher, Kingsley Keke, Erik McCoy and Trayveon Williams

Kentucky (Monday, 2 p.m. - 6:50 p.m.) represented by Mark Stoops, Josh Allen, Benny Snell and C.J. Conrad

LSU (Monday, 2 p.m. - 6:50 p.m.) represented by Ed Orgeron, Foster Moreau, Rashard Lawrence and Devin White

Georgia (Tuesday, 9 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.) represented by Kirby Smart, Terry Goodwin, J.R. Reed and Jonathan Ledbetter

Ole Miss (Tuesday, 9 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.) represented by Matt Luke, Sean Rawlings, Josiah Coatney and Jordan Ta'amu

Arkansas (Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.) represented by Chad Morris, Santos Ramirez, Hjalte Froholtz and Dre Greenlaw

Florida (Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.) represented by Dan Mullen, Martez Ivey, David Reese II and Cece Jefferson

Mississippi State (Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.) represented by Joe Moorhead, Marquez Callaway, Mark McLaurin and Nick Fitzgerald

Tennessee (Wednesday, 9 a.m. - 1:15 p.m.) represented by Jeremy Pruitt, Kyle Phillips, Eli Wolf and Marquez Callaway

Alabama (Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.) represented by Nick Saban, Ross Pierschbacher, Damien Harris and Anfernee Jennings

Missouri (Wednesday, 1:30 p.m. - 5:45 p.m.) represented by Barry Odom, Drew Lock, Terry Beckner Jr and Terez Hall

Auburn (Thursday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.) represented by Gus Malzahn, Jarrett Stidham, Dontavius Russell and Deshaun Davis

Vanderbilt (Thursday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.) represented by Kyle Shurmur, Justin Skule and LaDarius Wiley

South Carolina (Thursday, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.) represented by Will Muschamp, Jake Bentley, Deebo Samuel and D.J. Wonnum

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