Meet the new SEC coaches who'll turn LSU, Tennessee into title contenders

Published Nov. 15, 2016 3:48 p.m. ET

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There are 13 new coordinators in the SEC. Most of those moves are triggering plenty of optimism around conference fans bases, but two of those new hires, I think, will make a particularly large impact and shake up the conference and college football.

One is Les Miles bringing Dave Aranda from Wisconsin to take over the LSU defense. The other is Butch Jones luring Bob Shoop back to the SEC from Penn State to run Tennessee’s D. They are arguably the two best defensive coordinators in the college game right now, and I think they will turn two tradition-rich programs back into national title contenders if their quarterbacks can give them more consistent play in the passing game.

Aranda is the Tigers’ third DC in three seasons, and he comes to Baton Rouge with his 3-4 scheme and a very impressive resume. During Aranda’s three seasons as Wisconsin’s defensive coordinator, the Badgers ranked No. 1 nationally in total defense, No. 2 in scoring defense, No. 3 in pass defense and No. 4 in run defense. Last year, LSU ranked No. 25, No. 41, No. 65 and No. 17 in those categories, respectively. Not awful, but nothing close to what we’d expect from the Tigers. LSU’s former defensive coordinator from 2015, Kevin Steele, is now at Auburn.

"Dave Aranda really fits the bill, just what we need,” LSU head coach Les Miles said this summer.

LSU actually opened the 2014 season against Aranda and Wisconsin, winning 28-24. However, Aranda’s defense limited the Tigers to 126 rushing yards as LSU used a fourth-quarter rally to beat the Badgers in Houston. In Baton Rouge, he will have much more team speed and athleticism. The Tigers have budding stars in edge rusher Arden Key, LB Kendell Beckwith and safety Jamal Adams. They also have a trio of massive newcomers in Travonte Valentin, Ed Alexander and Rashard Lawrence to create havoc in the middle of the defense.

It’ll be fascinating to see what Aranda, regarded as one of the game’s great outside-the-box thinkers, can do with the Tigers’ personnel. LSU also has arguably the most talented RB in college football in Leonard Fournette, who led the nation in rushing yards per game last fall.

The 49-year-old Shoop, who is well-regarded for his in-game adjustments and as a play-caller, led the nation's No. 2 defense in his first season at Penn State in 2014 and ranked No. 14 in 2015. In Knoxville, he inherits some good leaders on his defense in DE Derek Barnett, LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin and CB Cam Sutton. The Vols have a terrific 1-2 punch in the backfield in Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara.

The biggest question mark about whether the Vols can take the next step and emerge beyond a watered-down SEC East is if QB Josh Dobbs can elevate his passing game. In the Vols’ four games against ranked opponents in 2015, he threw just two TD passes and completed under 53 percent of his passes compared to over 62 percent against unranked opponents. The first step for the Vols is beating Florida, something they’ve been unable to do for a ridiculously long time.

I think the Vols have the best roster in the SEC East, and this isn’t a young squad any more, either. Both Georgia and Florida are also sorting out QB issues as well.

Both LSU and Tennessee, of course, are staring up at Alabama, like the rest of college football is these days. Nick Saban has, after all, won four national titles in the past seven seasons. The Tide, though, have some sizable questions entering this season.

For the third year in a row, OC Lane Kiffin will try to sort out a big unknown at QB. This year, the Tide also have no real experience at running back either. The good news for Saban: He’s got a loaded receiving corps, led by WR Calvin Ridley and TE O.J. Howard, and a talented, deep defense. Still, there’s not a lot of margin for error when you look at how the Tide’s schedule sets up.

Alabama opens against USC in Texas, then a few weeks later they visit an Ole Miss team that has beaten them twice in a row. The Rebels return the most talented QB in the conference in Chad Kelly. Later there's the trip to Baton Rouge Nov. 5. They also have a tricky game against Texas A&M and its new QB Trevor Knight, who carved up the Tide when he was Oklahoma's quarterback a few years ago. The Aggies will go into that one coming off a bye where Alabama will be coming off consecutive road games against Arkansas and Tennessee.

Like my colleague Stew, I think there’s a very real possibility the SEC could get two teams in the College Football Playoff this year.