Talkin' season comes to a head this week in Atlanta when the 2023 football season officially kicks off with SEC Media Days. You can keep up with live updates here. At the end of the week, the media and coaches will unveil their Preseason All-SEC teams and division winners, but before they do, we wanted to let our readers see what the national publications are saying. We've gone down to our local Barnes and Nobles and thumbed through the usual preseason guides, without buying one, so you won't have to. (Note we do not actually recommend that you do that). The preseason magazines are informative and fun and can be a great reference throughout the season. Here was what they had to say about the second edition of Shane Beamer's South Carolina Gamecocks.

You've always heard how it is impossible to get a group of four strangers to agree on anything, well it has happened. Collegefootballnews.com, Lindy's, Athlon, and Phil Steele all agree that the Gamecocks are going to finish 5th in the SEC East. There was no variation whatsoever in any publication's picks for #1, (Georgia), or 5-7, (Carolina, Missouri, Vanderbilt), in the east. They also all took Alabama in the west. Further showcasing the lack of parity problem college football is experiencing, all four have also tabbed Alabama as their National Champion. Three of the four have the exact same playoff teams, Alabama, Ohio State, Georgia, and Clemson. Collegefootballnews.com has Southern Cal in the last slot instead of Clemson.

Collegefootballnews and Athlon both have the Gamecocks finishing with another 6-6 record and another 3-5 record in the SEC. Phil Steele and Lindy's do not predict a final record. Gamecock fans took exception to Steele's omission from the Gamecocks in his top 60 national rankings. He explained that his top 60 is based on a projected order of finish. He also has Carolina at 38th in his power poll. In the South Carolina section, Steele notes that he feels that the 2022 Gamecocks will be superior to the 2021 team. Steele refers to Beamer as a rising star and that Carolina has a "great shot" at moving up in the east. Steele also projected the Gamecocks' offense to be greatly improved and to average over a touchdown more this season that last. Steele has Carolina's quarterback and receiver units ranked 4th respectively in the SEC. The Gamecock position groups he ranked the lowest in the conference are the running backs at 12 and the defensive line at 10.

Athlon ranked Carolina 42nd in the country and projected them to go 6-6. Athlon's bowl projection has the Gamecocks playing West Virginia in the Liberty Bowl. (The Mountaineers are probably still seething after that 95' Carquest Bowl). The Athlon writeup of the Gamecocks was also identical to Steele's, the Gamecocks will be better, but the schedule won't allow for much improvement in the win column. Athlon has a small blurb from an "opposing coach" that was perhaps the most encouraging few paragraphs I've seen this offseason. The coach said, paraphrasing here, that Beamer knew what he is doing and is going to build a winner. The coach was impressed by how much talent Beamer was able to land in the portal and that if Spencer Rattler shines this season, South Carolina could be a destination for high-profile players that need a second chance. The coach did warn that the schedule the Gamecocks play year-end and year-out could limit the ceiling for Beamer. Athlon also ranked Carolina's QB room as its strongest position placing them 5th in the SEC. They ranked the Carolina offensive line as the biggest concern, ranking them as the 13th best unit in the league.

Yes, Lindy's is still a thing. They too were optimistic about an improved 2022 Gamecock team. The bottom line, nothing earth-shattering here, if Spencer Rattler plays well, the Gamecocks pull a few upsets and improve on 7-6. Lindy's believed that the Gamecocks lacked the depth of upper-echelon SEC teams. Lindy's ranked South Carolina 45th nationally.

Everyone loves Cam Smith. Steele and Athlon have him 1st team All-SEC. Lindy's has Smith as a 2nd team selection. Steele has Smith as a 2nd team All-American. It should be noted that the SEC is loaded with high first round potential draftees and corners this season and Cam Smith projects to be one of them.

Lindy's had no Gamecocks on the first team All-SEC team, but in addition to Smith, they also had Zacch Pickens on the second team and Josh Vann, Dak Joyner, Jovaughn Gwyn, and Brad Johnson on the third team. They also list Rattler as the "Newcomer of the Year," in the conference.

Steele, usually the most accurate of the preseason prognosticators (if you don't believe me, just ask him- it's all over his magazine), also has Smith as first-team all-conference. He tabbed Dylan Wonnum and Vann as second team members. Steele placed Pickens and Antwane Wells on his 3rd team, and a trio of Gamecocks on his 4th team All-SEC squad. (Austin Stogner, Jordan Burch, JuJu McDowell).

Athlon also has Vann on the second team with Jaheim Bell. Like Steele, Athlon placed Pickens on their third team. Athlon also included McDowell as their all-purpose third-team All-SEC selection.

That's 12 different Gamecocks on an All-SEC team and not one of them is named Spencer Rattler.

What does all this mean? Absolutely nothing at this point, but that doesn't mean it isn't fun to talk about in July. Come on over to the Insiders Forum and tell us what you think.