ATLANTA — Let me apologize.

If you’re expecting nothing but hard-hitting football news in this column, you’ve come to the wrong place for that (we’ve got plenty on SDS). I came to Atlanta to get some of that, but I also came to Atlanta to get some of the other stuff. For me, that’s what SEC Media Days should be about.

Hype season can also be fun season. Players don’t have to worry about having the wrong postgame/midweek tone, and even coaches can loosen up a little bit.

So my goal was to get those stories, too. Each day in Atlanta, I’ll recap the things that I found entertaining or interesting.

Here’s hoping you get a kick out of them, too.

Trayveon Williams discusses why Jimbo Fisher isn’t a “quarterback whisperer”

“Trayveon Williams: Jimbo Fisher isn’t a quarterback whisperer” would make for a great, attention-grabbing headline. Some would call it clickbait.

In this case, it would be exactly that.

The Texas A&M tailback discussed his new coach’s ability to mentor quarterbacks, but he didn’t feel that “whisperer” was the correct word:

Williams has jokes, too.

Fisher is indeed a screamer when it comes to his quarterbacks. Anyone following Florida State football in recent memory could’ve told you that.

There’s no doubt that Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel know what Fisher’s voice sounds like. I’d be stunned if either disagreed with Williams’ light-hearted comment. What I wanted to know was what Fisher thinks is the key place to start for a good quarterback. You’ll never believe what he said.

“Arm talent.”

Oh, OK. Thanks for that, quarterback screamer.

The thing that made Mark Stoops’ heart drop

Never make a middle-aged man feel old.

That’s rule No. 1 of the “I’m meeting my girlfriend’s father for the first time” handbook. That, and asking him any question about his daughter’s body is not smart. You’re going to take years off his life by doing that. Trust me.

So when a reporter asked Mark Stoops about his place as being tied for the second-longest tenured coach in the SEC, he responded in a way that perhaps caught him a bit off-guard:

Stoops certainly doesn’t feel like the grizzled veteran in the SEC coaches fraternity. After all, he is only 51 years old. The last thing that he wants to think about is being the “second senior-most” of anything.

It is weird, though, to think about how much turnover the conference has gone through. Obviously a big storyline of the week was that there were six new coaches at SEC Media Days. Combine that with the other four teams that changed head coaches since the start of the Playoff era and yeah, that’s enough to make anyone pause.

But fear not, Kentucky fans. Stoops still has a pulse, and he still made sure to get a little South Carolina jab in there.

“I don’t need South Carolina to motivate me,” he said.

No you don’t, Coach. No you don’t.

Greg Sankey isn’t here for your 9-game conference schedule

I’ll say this. The SEC commissioner has a point. In his opening statement, Sankey addressed any possible notion of the 9-game conference schedule. He said that conversations were “healthy” and that “there was continued dialogue about it.”

You know what else there’s “healthy” dialogue about? Me getting a face tattoo. OK, not really. That’s not going to happen and neither is the SEC moving to a 9-game conference schedule.

Why? It doesn’t have to. As Sankey said within his rundown of those discussions, the SEC has been to 11 of the past 12 national championships. Five different schools took part in that, too. In other words, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

The SEC ain’t broke, and nobody is telling it to be fixed. In my opinion, should every Power 5 conference play the same amount of conference games? Absolutely. I don’t care if Sankey claims that the SEC only plays 8 games because of how strong the league is. To me, it’s an advantage that is shown by the numbers. That can be true regardless of if the league is strong.

Sankey said what everyone knows to be true. Nobody is making the SEC change, and until that happens, healthy dialogue is about all that’s ever going to happen on that front.

Sadly, it doesn’t sound like Jimbo Fisher threw away his future national championship plaque yet

So, remember when this happened?

That dateless plaque came courtesy of Texas A&M chancellor John Sharp.

Jimbo Fisher handled the awarding of a future national championship plaque a whole lot better than I would have. Even in front of a crowd, I would have raised an eyebrow. I might have added a “wait, are you serious?” just for good measure.

Fisher did none of that. Perhaps that’s why he got a $75 million contract and I get fired up for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich coupon.

On Monday, Fisher was asked about the future national championship plaque that he received before he coached his first game in College Station.

“I thought it was kind of nice. I liked it,” Fisher said. “(Sharp) had the same commitment that we did. And I think they — and they also put their actions in place by the things, the programs and the things and the help and support in which they give our university and the athletic world.

“I think Chancellor Sharp doing that, there was no problem with that at all. I have a great relationship with him. In fact, a very good relationship with him. I thought it was kind of nice myself. Hoping we can fill that in quickly.”

That’s a tremendous spin zone. Speaking of “filling that in quickly,” Fisher dismissed any idea that the Aggies would be in rebuild mode in 2018.

“Your timetable is now. You want to win immediately,” Fisher said.

I don’t know if Fisher is going to deliver on that fake plaque’s promise, but I do know he’s world-class when it comes to accepting hypothetical awards.

An update on the future of “Benny Tha Bandit”

I had to know.

You know, what’s the latest on the one-hit wonder, the man, the myth the legend. I’m of course referring to “Benny Tha Bandit.” Consider it the alter ego of Benny Snell, AKA the most promising SEC running back who also raps.

Don’t worry, y’all. I got the latest scoop on the much-anticipated return of “Benny Tha Bandit” following his debut track after his freshman season.

“Oh, man. Benny Tha Bandit right now, he’s undercover. He’s down low. He’s about to do some great work in the music field out in the summer, but that’s for later. We in football mode,” Snell said. “Benny Tha Bandit’s away right now.”

It’s true that Snell has been putting his budding rap career on hold. With the exception of an impromptu freestyle at Kentucky fan day, we haven’t seen any snippets of Snell’s other passion.

“But listen,” Snell said. “(Benny Tha Bandit) has so much planned for the future. And it is looking great. I can tell you that.”

Fun fact: Snell enjoys listening to Rich The Kid, Kevin Gates and 50 Cent. Other fun fact: He only likes old-school 50 Cent (he said he believes you can feel 50 Cent and that he wants the defense to feel him).

Here’s hoping Snell’s rap game hiatus doesn’t last as long as 50 Cent’s. This stuff is too good to keep under wraps.

Ed Orgeron’s brevity about Matt Canada’s departure

The beauty of SEC Media Days is that sometimes, coaches will get asked about decisions that were made 8 months earlier.

That was the case on Monday with Orgeron discussing former LSU offensive coordinator Matt Canada, who was fired after one season in Baton Rouge.

“It’s hard when you make a mistake. It’s harder when you don’t admit you make a mistake. It just wasn’t the right fit,” Orgeron admitted during his time at the main podium at SEC Media Days.

Instead of elaborating on Canada, Orgeron talked about new LSU offensive coordinator Steve Ensminger. He did have an interesting choice of words.

“It didn’t work. All the while, I said, ‘Steve Ensminger is the guy. If I have the chance, I’m going to hire him.’ He and I are on the same page,” Orgeron said of his new offensive coordinator.

“The same page” is an interesting way to phrase that. For much of 2017, it seemed like Canada and Orgeron didn’t have the same offensive philosophy. The reports about Orgeron “stepping in” on Canada’s offense after the Troy loss led everyone to believe that the two were, in fact, not on the same page.

On another note, this got me thinking about how much I think I’d enjoy being on the same page as Orgeron. Not in like a “I’m the LSU offensive coordinator way,” but in like a, “let’s just hang out and eat gumbo” way.

A guy can dream.

Orgeron more or less says the other thing we all know is true

Orgeron was asked a question about what in his two losses to Alabama made him confident that his team can slay the giant in 2018. The end of his answer was extremely telling.

“Their quarterbacks made plays and ours didn’t,” Orgeron said about the 2017 loss.

Orgeron also added that LSU couldn’t hit D.J. Chark on a key pass. Danny Etling’s name never came up, nor did any of the past LSU quarterbacks who couldn’t beat Alabama. But we knew exactly what he meant — LSU was a quarterback away from beating Alabama.

Sounds familiar, right?

In totally unrelated news, Orgeron brought up the importance of adding Joe Burrow when LSU didn’t sign a quarterback in 2018. The Ohio State graduate transfer checked the boxes they were looking for — they apparently met for 3.5-4 hours — and Orgeron liked what he added to the competition. Orgeron said that he could play with the idea of using multiple quarterbacks if the battle isn’t decided, but let’s be honest: Burrow didn’t come to LSU to sit on the bench.

Burrow is in Baton Rouge to be that difference-maker against the Alabamas of the world. The hope is obviously that he’s the missing piece, much like Jarrett Stidham was for Auburn in taking down the Tide last year. Orgeron gushed about Burrow, even saying that a guy who has never started a game has pro potential.

In my opinion, there’s a favorite in the clubhouse. It certainly seems like Burrow is Orgeron’s favorite.

And if Orgeron can say “Juh Burruh” about 10,000 more times this season, he would quickly become my favorite.