Thursday marks the final day of this year’s edition of SEC Media Days, one of the most anticipated weeks of the summer with regards to the college football offseason calendar.

For four days, this time in the city of Atlanta, coaches from every team gathered with some of their star players to talk about the upcoming season, controversies, wacky topics, and whatever else might come up as the unofficial start of football season begins.

After four long days of coverage, there were some coaches and players that clearly stood out from the rest, as the victors of what is known as “talking season.”

Here are some of the biggest winners of the week:

Brian Kelly, LSU Tigers Head Coach

LSU has lost their opening game in five straight seasons going back to before Kelly even arrived, and this year’s edition is their toughest opener yet with a road game at Clemson. The Bayou Bengals are not letting that discourage them though, and Kelly got out ahead of the narrative by saying how his team is embracing it instead of hiding from it as they get ready for the season.

He also mentioned the word “championship” about a million times during his monologue, and after a huge offseason in the transfer portal for his team and the return of star quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, that is the expectation in Baton Rouge. Things have to play out on the field, but Kelly certainly sounded confident.

Hugh Freeze, Auburn Tigers Head Coach

Someone who perhaps was not expected on this list after the way the last couple of months have gone, Freeze knocked it out of the park on Tuesday in Atlanta. Instead of continuing to push the “look what I inherited” roster wise narrative that fans have gotten tired of, Freeze spent the day talking about how much he loves this team and how he believes they are capable of competing for a playoff spot.

Whether or not that’s actually true remains to be seen, but Freeze has won the confidence of his fanbase back after a rough offseason by speaking with conviction and confidence for the first time in a very long time at Auburn.

Arch Manning, Texas Longhorns Quarterback

There has not been a player this anticipated at media days maybe ever, and the crowd surrounding Manning reflected that fact. Under more pressure than perhaps any other quarterback in the country to perform this season in his first year as a starter, Manning was cool, calm and collected as he introduced himself to the rest of the country.

Manning Mania is very real, and the young gunslinger did not collapse under the pressure.

Deontae Lawson, Alabama Crimson Tide Linebacker

Lawson might have had the quote of the week when he was asked about the wild comments made by Florida State quarterback Thomas Castellanos ahead of their week one showdown. Despite coming off a 2-10 season, Castellanos several weeks ago said he does not see Alabama stopping him and that Nick Saban is not there to bail them out.

Asked about the comments, Lawson kept a cool head and calmly talked about it coming down to preparation. Then, admitting that the comments fire up the Tide a bit, he uttered the epic phrase: “All disrespect will be addressed accordingly.”