The buds are on the dogwoods and the distinct sound of
coaching whistles can be heard warming up across the land. It’s spring football
time.
TCU coach Gary Patterson said recently that the SEC dominates in football
because “of the gene pool,” which is debatable. But no one argues that football
is in the blood of every SEC fan. And this is the time of year when those fans
get their gridiron fix and gauge their team’s talent before the long hot days
of summer.
It is way too early for any fall predictions — even the Presidential candidates
tell us that November is several eternities away — but that doesn’t stop
pollsters from evaluating those running for office, and it won’t stop SEC
football lovers from analyzing every practice session in the next month. Who is
standing out and who is stepping in will be the questions buzzing like bees
around the azaleas as the best football conference in America takes to the
field.
ALABAMA (12-1, 7-1 SEC, BCS National champion)
Recap: To the surprise of no one, the two teams to watch, yet again,
squared off in last year’s national championship game. Alabama and LSU have
talent to burn with more showing up every day. Both schools had great
recruiting classes and a good mix of seasoned veterans returning.
Key departures: Alabama is replacing seven defensive starters, including
nose tackle and cornerbacks, but anyone who thinks coach Nick Saban won’t have
a talented and disciplined crew on defense hasn’t been paying attention.
Priorities: The big question for the Tide is the offensive backfield.
With Eddie Lacey nursing an injury and Trent Richardson bound to be a high
first-round pick in the NFL draft, who will shoulder the offensive load for the
run-happy Tide is still open, especially with Saban considering moving running
back Brent Calloway to linebacker.
"We recruited him as a guy who could play running back and could play
linebacker," Saban said of Calloway. "He played running back all last
year, so now we're going to look at him at linebacker and see where he would
make the best contribution. These are experiments. This is not a final move.”
Keep an eye on: Sophomore Brandon Ivory at nose tackle and Jesse
Williams at defensive end. Both will play key rolls in the defensive fronts.
Spring game: April 14
LSU (13-1, 8-0 SEC, conference champion)
Recap: One win away from its third national championship in nine years,
the Tigers show up hungry and angry after the beatdown they took in New Orleans
last January.
Key Departures: The saga of Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee has finally
come to an end. No more Bobby Hebert rants and will-he or won't-he questions
for coach Les Miles.
Priorities: The Tigers have one player on their radar right now and that
is Zach Mettenberger at quarterback. Having one solid guy at QB will, at the
very least, provide some stability to the Tigers offense. Mettenberger is
already being dubbed "Mettensavior'' in Baton Rouge, and at 6-foot-5, 222
pounds with a cannon for an arm, expectations couldn't be higher.
Keep an eye on: Wide receivers Russell Shepard and Odel Beckham Jr. will
be happy to have a passer who can sling the ball downfield for them. The
questions about Mettenberger have always been about his leadership. With all
eyes trained on him this spring, those questions should be answered quickly.
Spring game: March 31
TEXAS A&M (7-6, 4-5 in final year in the Big 12)
Recap: The Aggies are competing in the toughest division in the toughest
conference in college football, and doing so against teams that have built
championships on defense. But A&M only starts spring practice with six
defensive scholarship athletes. That does not bode well for a team that will
play Arkansas, Alabama and LSU in its SEC debut.
Key Departures: Mike Sherman's departure at coach is both an opportunity
and a challenge. Kevin Sumlin is high energy and brings a high-powered
offensive mind to College Station. The new coach will need to set the tone
early.
Priorities: Four quarterbacks will vie for the starting spot, again a
scenario that isn’t ideal when entering a conference like the SEC. But Sumlin
has a knack for getting the most out of his QB’s, so the spring workouts should
be intense and interesting to watch.
Keep an eye on: The star for the Aggies is receiver Ryan Swope from
Austin. Assuming Sumlin can find a high-powered gunslinger to throw the ball,
Swope could be the bright spot on what is probably a tough year for the Aggies.
Spring game: April 28
MISSISSIPPI STATE (7-6, 2-6 SEC)
Recap: Disappointing is an understatement for the 2011 Bulldogs, who had
high hopes for at least one or two upsets in the Western Division. Expect a lot
of soul searching and hard knocks out of Starkville as coach Dan Mullen tries
to come up with an answer to what is looking like another tough year.
Key Departures: The two toughest positions to fill will be defensive
tackle (junior Fletcher Cox entered the NFL draft) and safety (Charles Mitchell
finished his senior season). Shoring up the front line and the secondary are
critical for State to have any success next season.
Priorities: The addition of JUCO transfer Denico Autry and great play of
redshirt sophomore Kaleb Eulls should help on defense. Cornerback Johnthan Banks
is returning to provide leadership and star power to the defensive secondary,
but he will have a lot of work ahead in coaching up his teammates.
Keep an eye on: Sophomore defensive lineman P.J. Jones will have to
assume a much greater role stepping in for Cox. The Bulldogs will, once again,
be under a microscope as they compete in a conference where they are outmanned
at almost every critical position.
Spring game: April 21
OLE MISS (2-10, 0-8 SEC)
Recap: The Rebels were so bad that the big question isn't any one player
or position: It's whether or not coach Hugh Freeze can light a fire under a
program in desperate need of revitalization. There were no bright spots
in 2011, so spring 2012 is ripe with opportunity.
Key Departures: Coach Houston Nutt is gone but not forgotten. The
destruction left in his wake is going to be tough to overcome.
Priorities: Without a total transformation of the culture in Oxford, the
position battles this spring will be like fighting to see who gets to ring the
bell on the Titanic. Rarely has a coach had a bigger challenge and a better
opportunity.
Keep an eye on: Freeze’s actions early will tell a lot about the future
of Ole Miss football.
Spring game: April 21
ARKANSAS (11-2, 6-2 SEC)
Recap: They were criticized as a one-dimensional pass-happy offensive
team, but the only two losses the Razorbacks had were to the teams that played
for the national championship. At one point they were ranked third in the
nation.
Key Departures: Jarius Wright and Joe Adams were large, fast targets for
QB Tyler Wilson last season and two of the most productive receivers in the
SEC. They will be sorely missed.
Priorities: Expect the air attack to continue in Fayetteville. Wideouts Cobi
Hamilton, Marquel Wade, Maudrecus Humphrey and tight end Chris Gragg will be
primary targets for Wilson, whiile Knile Davis should be back at full speed in
the backfield to give the Hogs a more balanced attack.
Keep an eye on: Coach Bobby Petrino is likely to spend the spring
experimenting with a lot of new, quick talent at receiver while shoring up a
sometimes holey defense. Despite a sometimes prickly personality, Petrino is a
genius when it comes to adding wrinkles to his game plans.
Spring game: April 21
AUBURN (8-5, 4-4 SEC)
Recap: The best defensive game Auburn played last year was when it didn’t
have a defensive coordinator. Coach Gene Chizik reprised his role as DC for the
Tigers in their win over Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, an inspiring
performance for a team that struggled defensively for most of the year.
Key Departures: OC Gus Malzahn was such an offensive genius that he
can’t help but be missed — he’s now the head coach at Arkansas State — and
tailback Michael Dyer, while a problem child at times, was a force carrying the
football.
Priorities: Now Auburn has Brian VanGorder, formerly of Georgia and most
recently the Atlanta Falcons, coaching the defense. The Tigers should be much
better defensively given the experience they have in key positions and
VanGorder's history as a take-no-prisoners coach.
Keep an eye on: The quarterback question will, once again, be open.
Clint Moseley rode to the rescue in the plains last year, salvaging an
eight-win season for the Tigers. But sophomore Kiehl Frazier also showed a lot
of productively in his limited package of plays. Without Malzahn, it will be
interesting to see the direction Auburn takes offensively. The first sign of
that direction will be who gets the most snaps at quarterback.
Spring game: April 14
Thursday: SEC East spring preview
