2015 SEC East Preview
Tennessee (7-6/3-5 SEC)
Returning Starters 18 (10 Offense/8 Defense)/51 lettermen/None NFL Draftee
Last Year: Offense 28.9 ppg ranked #65/Defense 24.2 ppg ranked #34
One of the best 7-6 teams in the nation with an impressive win in Bowl over
a decent Iowa squad. Expectations are high for a young team with so much more
to improve and a great coach in Butch Jones in his third year with the Volunteers.
QB Joshua Dobbs, a dual threat QB, took over the starting job in late October
and never looked back. He owned a 4-2 record as starters, albeit wins over
mediocre teams, but that experience will be helpful as he'll be full time under
center. A good dual threat QB but he needs to cut down on his INT (9TD vs 6 INT),
make better reads, and trust his receivers for him to take the next step up.
Offense was mediocre both on the ground and through the air. That's about going
to change with better Line plays and more experienced skill players. Remember
the Volunteers was one of the youngest team in the nation last year. The OL had
a combined 6 career starts entering 2014 and will have 64 starts for this year. The
leading rusher Jalen Hurd was a freshman. Joshua Dobbs was a replacement QB.
Rushing attack should improve with Jalen Hurd and J. Dobbs in the backfield along
with highly recruited juco Alvin Kamara. The receiving corp. is solid and can go
nine-men deep plus a rising star in sophomore TE Ethan Wolf.
A decent defense will get much better with so many key pieces of the defense
returning. All three levels of defense are solid with great depth at the Line,
and the Secondary could be scary this season.
OL plays will hold the key to the Volunteers ability to take down heavyweights
like Oklahoma, Alabama and Georgia or not. The Line is still unsettled and there
was injury to starter Marcus Jackson and Austin Sanders. The Line needs to jell
quickly as new OC Mike DeBord will demand more out of them with his break-
neck tempo. Last year the Volunteers ran 977 plays in 13 games which is more than
Auburn or even Oregon, under former OC Mike Bajakian. Mike DeBord clearly
indicated that he will run the offense even faster this season. If the OL can do
just that, watch out… the Volunteers will get to the top and there to stay.
Barring further injury, the Volunteers are equipped to overcome a very difficult
schedule, drawing Arkansas and at Alabama from the West, to unseat Mizzou and
defeat Georgia to take the SEC East crown.
Georgia (10-3/6-2)
Returning Starters 12 (7 Offense/5 Defense)/42 lettermen/5 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 41.3 ppg ranked #8/Defense 20.7 ppg ranked #16
The most inconsistent team in the nation. How in the world a great team who
humiliated a good Mizzou team 34-0 but lost to Gamecocks in a down year, and
sleep-walk to a loss to a bottom feeder of Florida? And now a new QB and a
new OC as Brian Schottenheimer, former St. Louis Rams OC, has been named
Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach replacing Mike Bobo.
QB -race is down to between So. Brice Ramsey and Greyson Lambert, a Virginia
graduate transfer. Competition may last until season opener. Whoever wins the
job will have a great OL (probably the best in SEC) protection, an easy hand-off
to Nick Chubb, #1 RB in SEC with 1547 rushing yards, and a stable of good receivers
including Malcolm Mitchell, a potential star, returning from injury.
A great defense, ranked #16, suffered the loss of their top six players, notably top
three linemen and top two LBs. This could spell huge problem for an already
porous rush defense (allowed 167 rushing yards, ranked #63)
Schedules are so tough with Alabama and at Auburn from the West. Road games
at Tennessee, S. Carolina, and Ga. Tech could spell doom to the Bulldogs season.
The other three home games; Mizzou, Florida, and even Kentucky could give the
Bulldogs all they can handle. I am expecting a struggled year for the Bulldogs
despite the fact they are doing so well in recruiting, avg. rank #6 last 5 years.
An 8-4 record is about all coach Ritch can muster this season.
Missouri (11-3/7-1 SEC)
Returning Starters 13 (7* Offense/6 Defense)/46 lettermen/6 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 27.8 ppg ranked #73/Defense 21.1 ppg ranked #19
A mediocre offense and a good defense plus some luck was enough to send
the Tigers to Atlanta last year. Can they make a three-peat this year?
On paper the Tigers are going to struggle, just like last year!!, with so many key
departures. Anyone is going to bet against Gary Pinkel not getting the job done?
QB was mediocre at best and a turn-over machine. With one full year under his
belt, Maty Mauk should have a better year if he can cut down on INT and sacks.
The trouble is all returning WRs have combined only 10 career receptions. The
Tigers lost all four top pass catchers who're credited for 2285 receiving yards.
The entire OL starting 5 are all seniors and have 97 starts worth of experience.
Tigers will be a run-first, handing the ball off to their leading rusher Russell
Hansbrough (1084 rushing yards) and give time for receivers to develop.
New DC Barry Odom returns to the program after a successful stint at Memphis,
He should have plenty of talents to work with at Mizzou. Biggest concern is a
depleted DL where Tigers lost 4 of their top 5 linemen and practically no depth.
Tackle Harold Brantley is then out for the season with injuries in a car accident.
This year, the strength is from the linebackers led by Brothers and Michael
Scherer. The back four are loaded with experienced DBs.
Schedules are real favorable with 3 toughest games: at Georgia and at Arkansas,
and a home game vs Tennessee. If the Tigers can manage just one win from
these 3 contests, they are pretty much at 9-3 or 10-2 season and a chance to
win the East. If they can get 2 wins out of those, they are off to Atlanta again.
Coach Pinkel has proved us wrong before and he might just do that one more
time. But the Tigers will fail short this year at 9-3 and still have a chance for
a ten-wins season with a Bowl win.
Kentucky (5-7/2-6 SEC)
Returning Starters 14 (7* Offense/7 Defense)/47 lettermen/2 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 29.2 ppg ranked #62/Defense 31.3 ppg ranked #95
The Wildcats are the hardest team to decipher. Coach Mark Stoop is a defensive
coach but in 2 years with the Cats, there is no improvement has been made on
the defensive side but improved significantly on the offense. The most
troublesome one was last year when he had a good unit, filled with veterans, 11
top defensive players were upperclassmen, and made no progress on defense.
Another trend was recognized was the Cats kind of faltered in the 4th quarter.
It could be a lack of depth problem. The Cats typically did not recruit well, avg.
about #33 last 6 years, so lack of talents and depth are real serious problems.
Offense improved from 17.9 ppg in 2012, and in 2 years under coach Stoop, to
almost 30 ppg last year. Credit is given to dual threat QB Patrick Towles, first
year starter but matured beyond his time. This year all three top skill players
return, QB P. Towles, RB Stanley Williams, and WR Ryan Timmons. The OL is
solid with 4 starters and four more linemen who combined for 93 career starts.
The offense could even be better this year with the addition of new OC Shannon
Dawson who directed prolific offenses at West Virginia the last 3 years. Patrick
Towles will benefit a great deal from coach Dawson, a great QB and WR coach.
Defense lost 3 starters on the Line (2 was drafted) but has 7 experienced linemen,
all LBs and 7 defensive backs return. No idea the defense will get better or not
but they need to step up for the Cats having a chance at a Bowl this year.
Schedules are navigable with 4 near sure-wins, plus a great chance to beat
South Carolina on the road, Florida and Louisville at Home. If the offense
progresses as expected and a little improvement on defense, the Cats will be
enjoying a first Bowl season in 5 years.
A capping note: Kentucky can destroy inferior teams with ease, and only lose to
far talented teams.
Florida (7-5/4-4 SEC)
Returning Starters 10 (4 Offense/6 Defense)/40 lettermen/8 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 30.3 ppg ranked #56/Defense 21.1 ppg ranked #19
A very inconsistent team is now going through wholesale changes with a
new head coach and new staff, and a bunch of new faces on the field. The
positive thing is the Gators probably have found the coach they wanted.
HC Jim McElwain returns to the SEC, former Alabama OC, after a successful
stint turning around a rotten program of Colorado St to a 10-2 last year.
Coach McElwain is having a handful to rebuild the roster. First of all is the
selection of a QB between Treon Harris, returning QB, and RSFr. Will Grier.
QB battle is still unsettled and decided to go with 2 QBs system for their
season opener and maybe second game before naming a starting QB. All
accounts have pointed to Will Grier as eventual starter. Whoever wins the
job better be prepared to run for his life behind an OL combined for 10 starts.
There are only 2 offensive players worth mentioned are RB Kelvin Taylor
and WR Demarcus Robinson. The rest are either spotty or brand new players.
Defensive side is much brighter. The Line lost 2 starters but 6 linemen return.
LB is solid with top tackler return and 5 more experienced linebackers. The
Secondary is loaded with almost everyone is back. It could be considered
the best pass-defense in SEC. New DC Geoff Collins, from Miss St, love to press
the QB and shell out to stop the run and rely on his CBs to cover receivers
one-on-one. This talented DB will give him lot of ammunition to be aggressive.
Schedules are pretty tough with only 4 sure wins, 4 possible losses and 4 are
toss-up depending on how far the Offense will go. With coach McElwain at
the helm, I am confident he will improve the Offense significantly (relatively)
and lead the Gators to another Bowl at 6-6 or 7-5 at best.
S Carolina (7-6/3-5 SEC)
Returning Starters 12 (4 Offense/8 Defense)/43 lettermen/4 NFL Draftees
Last Year: Offense 32.6 ppg ranked #42/Defense 30.4 ppg ranked #91
Defensive Line was devastated with departures entering 2014 and it showed
on the field as one of Gamecocks worst defense in a long time, particularly on
rush defense, 212 ypg and ranked #107.
Offense will go through a tough rebuild this year. QB Dylan Thompson is gone.
So is top RB Mike Davis. Receiving corp. is depleted after losing 4 of their top
5 receivers. OL took a fair share of losses, losing 3 starters (99 starts) The OL
starters are serviceable but no depth after these 5 starters.
Spurrier has hired Jon Hoke, the last former DC he had at Florida, to help
resuscitate a defense that finished near the bottom of the SEC. DC Hoke
should have a good roster to work with. Most key players on defense
return especially on the Secondary. The pass defense has a good chance to
become better than average, but lot of improvement will be needed on
front seven.
Coach Spurrier is an offensive master. Can he make them respectable this
year? A very tall task. Defense has a good chance to be much better but it
will take time. Gamecocks would be glad if they don't have a losing season
this year. A 6-6 record is about all coach Spurrier can accomplish.
Vanderbilt (3-9/0-8 SEC)
Returning Starters 18 (9* Offense/9 Defense)/52 lettermen/1 NFL Draftee
Last Year: Offense 17.2 ppg ranked #119/Defense 33.3 ppg ranked #106
First year under head coach Derek Mason was a disaster. The team regressed
significantly on both sides of the ball, and back to being Vandy again.
New OC Andy Ludwig, from Wisconsin, was brought in to reshape an awful
offense, and Mason himself will be in charge of defense.
The defense has a good chance to take the next step with many key players
return. DL lost 2 starters but 6 experienced linemen return, all LBs and almost
everyone from a decent Pass defense unit are back. The offense will certainly be
molded to coach Ludwig style: a power rushing game. Passing game was horrid
and not much projected improvement. It would be a while for the Commodores
to start thinking about Bowl. A 4-8 record is about right for this year.