Those that have been reading this blog for a while know that I am a Georgia man and a fan of the SEC. Earlier this week I introduced you to a weekly SEC column that I will be writing this year. We started off by reviewing the QB battles that are taking place this fall in the SEC. Since fall practice is just getting under way around the conference it’s worth taking a second look at the SEC this week and the biggest storylines we will be following until the season starts:
HOW WILL AUBURN REPLACE ALL OF THAT TALENT?
We might as well start off with the reigning champs of the SEC and the Nation and discuss Gene Chizik’s Auburn Tigers. We already previewed Auburn earlier this pre-season so make sure you go back and catch up on what you missed. Auburn not only has to replace the reigning CFBZ Offensive Player of the Year in Cam Newton but they need to replace the QB eating CFBZ Defensive Player of the Year runner-up in Nick Fairley. Did I mention they also lost four offensive linemen, their top two receivers (including 4 of their top 6 leaders in receptions), almost their entire DL and secondary and a partridge in a pear tree? Auburn has an almost insurmountable hill to climb in the talent that they lost. The good news is that they have one of the best offensive minds in the game in Gus Malzahn. They also had a very strong recruiting year. Auburn has a ton of positions open for battle during practice, it will be interesting to see who steps up to fill them.
LSU’S OFFENSE IN FLUX
LSU’s offense finished 9th in scoring last year in the SEC and 11th in total yardage. In some games it won in spite of it’s offense and this caused Les Miles to hire Steve Kragthorpe to run the offense. The horrible news came out earlier this week that Kragthorpe was stepping down after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. We wish him the best in his fight against this disease and hope the best for his future. Kragthorpe will stay on as QB coach and Miles has moved up OL coach Greg Studrawa. Studrawa does have OC experience as he served that position for a few years at Bowling Green but this is the SEC so it will be very interesting to see how that experience translates. This will be an interesting situation to watch to see how fluid the change of coaches and responsibilities are and if the offense faces any setbacks because of this unfortunate set of circumstances.
THE NEW COACHING STAFF IN FLORIDA (AND THE DRAMA IN GAINESVILLE)
Will Muschamp has taken over at Florida and he’s brought Charlie Weis with him. The Gators will move from Meyer’s system to what Muschamp says will be a more balanced and pro-style offense under Weis. Some players have already run for the hills as they’ve had at least six players transfer this off-season, including their best defensive player Janoris Jenkins, but I think i’ve lost count. There also have been some off-season issues with pot as De’Ante Saunders was the latest casualty to that Gators vice. There are numerous off-field issues Muschamp has been dealing with, he’s breaking in a new coaching staff, he’s completely re-vamping the offense, he’s trying to figure out if he has a QB or not, and the list goes on and on. Florida has the talent to make a splash this year and it will be very interesting to see how camp goes down in Florida.
UGA’S DREAM TEAM HITS CAMPUS
Despite Mark Richt’s losing season, Georgia was a major player in recruiting this year landing more than a few players that could come in and make an impact. The most noteworthy is a 350 lb Nose Guard by the name of Johnathon Jenkins that could give Georgia the run stuffer in the middle that they so sorely lacked last year. The most hyped newcomer is RB Isaiah Crowell and he hits campus with Georgia’s top two leading rushers from last year (Washaun Ealey and Caleb King) no longer on campus. There is also buzz around campus surrounding WR Malcolm Mitchell, TE Jay Rome and DB Chris Sanders. Other guys like Nick Marshall, Damian Swann and Ray Drew look to prove their worth during practice and get into the rotation. Georgia has a lot of talented kids on campus, we will be watching which ones break the two-deep.
COMPLIANCE ISSUES
It has been the off-season of “scandal” in the NCAA this year and there are still a few floating out there that may have consequences to SEC teams. Georgia is internally looking at some potential violations Jarvis Jones had when he was a part of USC and have sent their finding to the SEC, Alabama has gotten into the media with the suit store and Russell Shepard of LSU might have some housing issues. Those are some small (but could blow up into bigger) storylines to keep an eye on as football season approaches. We all remember the AJ Green stuff seemingly popping up out of nowhere last year so you never know what could happen before the season starts this year.
SOUTH CAROLINA AND THEIR QUARTERBACK
Stephen Garcia’s career with the Gamecocks has been an on and off the field roller coaster. He’s been suspended multiple times, re-instated just as many and at times has been more interested in partying than playing football. Garcia seems like he’s a changed man and he’s even under going alcohol abuse treatment. I’ve said all along that Steve Spurrier needs Stephen Garcia to win the SEC East and I still believe that to his day. How he plays this year (and if he can stay out of trouble) will go a long way in deciding how good South Carolina can be. They have the best RB/WR combo in the league (probably the Nation) in Marcus Lattimore and Alshon Jeffrey but Garcia is the man that stirs the drink (had to get that alcohol related reference in there) and the Gamecocks will only go as far as he takes them this year. For South Carolina’s sake I hope G.A. Mangus is not his sponsor.
There are a lot of storylines and things to touch on as fall practice gets heated up this year. Those are the biggest ones I will be keeping an eye on. Which storylines will you be watching?
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