Predicting the "Shohei Ohtanis" of the 2024 SEC Football Season

At this point, it has become clear that Shohei Ohtani is more than just a baseball player as the cultural phenomenon has seemingly transcended the sporting world.

This upcoming college football season, broadcasters and media members alike will constantly be looking to identify the Shohei Ohtani of SEC football.

And no, this does not mean a two-way player who excels on both sides of the ball since Ohtani is not pitching this year as he recovers from off-season Tommy John Surgery. And no, this also does not mean an international star that gets caught up in a potential gambling scandal involving their translator. That would be a very specific and difficult prediction to make.

What I mean by this is a player that is always mentioned or shown on camera during games, even when they are not involved in what is happening on the field. If you have watched a Dodgers game this year, you will know what I mean.

During every college football season, there are storylines and quips that broadcast teams and analysts love to bring up, and at some point it becomes so well-known that it is not even worth mentioning any longer. Some classic examples were: Stetson Bennett was a former walk-on and grew up a UGA fan, Josh Dobbs was an Aerospace Engineering major, Colt McCoy and Jordan Shipley were roommates.

Every time these were mentioned by the broadcasters, the audience let out a collective "WE KNOW" groan. Last season it was, "Yes, we know that Brock Bowers in from Napa, California. And we know that Napa is wine country.

Please stop mentioning this." Now with Brock Bowers (who is actually from Napa, California, which is wine country) off to the NFL, broadcasters and media members will pick their new players and topics to obsess over.

Here are some Predictions on who or what those Topics may be

1. Replacing A Legend

We all know that Nick Saban has retired, and we all know that Kalen DeBoer has been hired to replace him. Unfortunately, this won't stop broadcasters from bringing this up during every Alabama game.

Expect, at minimum, a graphic titled something along the lines of "Replacing a Legend" that compares the career accomplishments of Saban and DeBoer. We will all be re-educated on the greatness of Saban and constantly reminded that DeBoer has much less experience at the D1 level but has been successful at every place he has coached. Expect this for the duration of the season.