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Forget whatever Punxsutawney Phil may have predicted this year: Spring has sprung.
Four SEC programs started spring practice before this week even began, while seven others (listed below) will have joined the fun by Friday.
We’ve highlighted a few important spring storylines for each of those seven.
ALABAMA
- Is Blake Barnett ready to start at quarterback?
- Can the team sustain a strong running game without Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake?
The Tide’s fearsome front seven must replace as many as three first-round picks and adjust to a new coordinator. But the biggest unknowns for the defending national champions are on offense.
Coordinator Lane Kiffin must successfully develop and install his third new starting quarterback in three years. Cooper Bateman seemed on the cusp of landing the job last season, even starting against Ole Miss before being pulled once and for all in favor of Jake Coker.
Most Tide fans seem to be rooting for former five-star recruit and redshirt freshman Blake Barnett to blossom, securing the reigns as a potential multi-year starter. But is he ready?
The team also must overhaul its backfield, as the depth chart behind Henry and Drake saw plenty of churn in 2015. Right now Bo Scarbrough, who shares some similarities to Henry physically, is the favorite to be the team’s alpha ball-carrier. Damien Harris, a five-star true freshman last year, looked only OK in spot duty. Those two will get the first opportunity before B.J. Emmons arrives in the fall.
FLORIDA
- Which of the 12 early enrollees will be able to contribute this year?
- Can the new leaders keep the defense steady?
The Gators took a page from the Butch Jones playbook by signing an inordinate amount of early enrollees within the class of 2016. We’re talking a full dozen of the team’s 25 signees, including two true freshman quarterbacks, three receivers, a touted JUCO running back and big-time relief in the form of kicker Eddy Pineiro.
Jim McElwain needed to overhaul the team’s offensive personnel, one of the big reasons that Florida paid his lucrative contract buyout at Colorado State. This group is an important factor in the timeline of that overhaul. This spring, the coaching staff (and fans, to a lesser extent) should have a better idea about which of those players will be ready to contribute this fall or even by 2017.
We know: It’s about time “Florida” and “Will Muschamp” no longer are mentioned in the same sentence. But the erstwhile coach does deserve credit for securing and developing some excellent defensive personnel while in Gainesville, including players like Dante Fowler, Jonathan Bullard and Vernon Hargreaves III who have now left for the NFL.
Still, there’s plenty of talent on that side of the ball. Players like Jalen Tabor, Jarrad Davis, Marcus Maye, Caleb Brantley and Quincy Wilson are capable of keeping the unit steady, at least with their collective ability. But what about leadership? Which player will step up and become traffic cop?
KENTUCKY
- Can new offensive coordinator Eddie Gran find a way to leverage the collection of skill players?
- Where will the pass rush come from?
Mark Stoops has made one unquestionable improvement at the University of Kentucky during his tenure as head football coach: talent. A strong recruiter, Stoops has far outdone other programs like Vanderbilt and Missouri when it comes to procuring respectable prep talent.
Much of that happens to reside at receiver or running back, usually with legitimate SEC speed. Boom Williams may be the most underrated ball-carrier in the entire conference entering this spring, and UK holds a collection of tall, speedy pass-catchers. Last year the offense just seemed out of sorts most of the year, and the receivers couldn’t catch a cold. It’s up to Gran to turn that collection of solid parts into a well-coordinated machine.
The defense must find a few players who can pressure opposing quarterbacks. Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith, the unit’s leaders in 2014, combined to produce 9 sacks as NFL rookies last fall. Jason Hatcher, arguably the team’s best pass rusher exiting the ’15 season, got dismissed from the team before spring practice.
Transfers Courtney Love (Nebraska) and De’Niro Laster (Minnesota) could help, and the latter looks slotted for an outside linebacker spot. Sophomore-to-be Denzil Ware could be the go-to pass rusher, while the team needs to sort through the group of Courtney Miggins, Kengera Daniel and Josh Allen to find more help.
LSU
- Will Cam Cameron open up the offense?
- Will Dave Aranda be able to match personnel for his preferred 3-4 scheme?
Cameron and Les Miles both retained their jobs into 2016. Leonard Fournette remains in the backfield. Brandon Harris presumably will start at quarterback yet again. What will be different about the offense? And will Cameron and Miles follow through with the suggestion that they get less predictable? If so, how will that look?
All those questions will be focal points during the LSU spring practices.
Aranda, the team’s third defensive coordinator in three years, experienced immediate success at Wisconsin with lesser players. But LSU is painfully thin at linebacker and may not have a natural space-eating nose tackle on the roster. So will he be able to implement the base 3-4 scheme with which he’s had so much success? Or will he need to mix in a heavy dose of 3-3 and 4-3 fronts?
MISSISSIPPI STATE
- Will the running game return in 2016?
- What are reasonable expectations for this program?
Yes, there are other questions on offense. (Can the team adequately replace Dak Prescott? Will the offensive line play any better?) But none rise to the importance of whether the team’s running game will revive. If it does, that will take some real pressure off the shoulders of Nick Fitzgerald or whomever plays quarterback.
Brandon Holloway, Aeris Williams and Dontavian Lee aren’t a bad trio. Holloway got the bulk of the playing time toward the end of last season, seemingly because of his proficiency as a pass-catcher. Even with help from Prescott, the team’s 1,873 rushing yards represented the smallest total for the Bulldogs since 2012. That has to change for the team to be successful.
Mississippi State finished 9-4 in 2015, tied for fifth in the SEC West. Now the team must install a new starting quarterback, find yet another new defensive coordinator, replace several position coaches and other key starters on both sides of the ball. Needless to say, the Bulldogs won’t be preseason favorites.
But the schedule isn’t bad. With BYU (toughest non-conference game), South Carolina and Kentucky (crossover opponents) representing the crux of the schedule outside the SEC West, Mississippi State will have a real opportunity at 6-0 in non-division games. And coach Dan Mullen has done an excellent job in Starkville. What gives for this program in 2016?
MISSOURI
- Will a rebuilt offensive line allow the rest of the unit a chance to develop?
- How will the program react to so much change?
The Mizzou offense last year was terrible. Every facet, including the offensive line. But at least that group included two players who will get a chance at making an NFL roster in 2016: Connor McGovern (playing out of position at left tackle) and Evan Boehm (not his best year at center).
The offensive line will undergo nearly a complete overhaul this spring with at least four new starters. Last year’s group was at least saturated with experience. But perhaps a new position coach and new faces will help. I felt like last year’s spring and fall practices were a detriment to the group, as the coaching staff played musical chairs with all the players seemingly every time out. Making some early decisions and allowing all the players to get familiar with their roles and each other may be helpful.
Speaking of change, the Gary Pinkel era didn’t feature much of it. When he picked a starting quarterback, he generally stuck with that player. He rarely changed more than one position coach in a given offseason. #MizzouMade — from identifying talent and developing it — was a well-honed system.
Last year was a novella in many ways. Now it’s Barry Odom’s turn at the wheel. Will he be able to assert some stability to the program, and how will all the changes affect the on-field performance?
TENNESSEE
- Can Bob Shoop do anything to improve the defense?
- Who will protect the blindside of quarterback Joshua Dobbs?
Unless there was some behind-the-scenes drama about which we aren’t aware, John Jancek has to be wondering “what more could I have done?” Leading what still was a youth-led defense in 2015, he helped the group finish 16th nationally in scoring defense (20.0 points per game), then got replaced by Shoop, the former James Franklin henchman.
Shoop has some enviable talent on that side of the ball. He’s done well to mold his defense toward the skill sets of his players. Will he do enough to justify the switch? And if so, what will change?
There aren’t a ton of questions when it comes to the starters on either side of the football, as Tennessee returns as many starters as any team in the SEC. Left tackle is an exception. Brett Kendrick and Chance Hall started 12 games last year at right tackle, and one of them could kick over. Or redshirt freshman Drew Richmond could become a factor.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
