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Fall camp is a time for answering questions.
Is your team finally going to reach a bowl this season? Who will replace your favorite squad’s four-year starter at quarterback, who is now in the NFL?
These are some of the things that are going to be answered within the next few weeks.
But from a larger scope, there are still questions that will linger in the minds of players, coaches and fans all the way until the opening kickoff during the first week of September.
Let’s take a look at the primary question for each SEC West team heading into the season:
Alabama Crimson Tide
Primary Question: What can Alabama do to get its swagger back?
For starters, whoever ends up being the Crimson Tide’s starting QB – senior and Florida State transfer Jacob Coker or redshirt freshman David Cornwell – needs to match or exceed what Blake Sims did last season – 28 passing TDs vs. 10 INTs, 3,487 passing yards, an SEC championship and a berth in the inaugural College Football Playoff. No pressure there. But more importantly, the Tide needs to get tougher on defense, particularly in the secondary, which was burned repeatedly in Alabama’s national semifinal loss to Ohio State. Plus, with Bama losing its top three receivers – including NFL first-round draft pick Amari Cooper – veteran running backs Derrick Henry and Kenyan Drake will need to — pardon the pun — carry the offense.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Primary Question: How far can Bret Bielema’s bunch go?
Going from winless in the SEC in 2013 to a 7-6 record and a bowl win last season is an impressive jump. The Razorbacks have so many offensive weapons, including quarterback Brandon Allen, running backs Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins and one of the best lines in the country. But their lack of a breakout receiving corps, led by last season’s leading wideout Keon Hatcher, could keep them one-dimensional and easier for opponents to stop. Plus the loss of key defensive players such as Trey Flowers, Darius Philon, Martrell Spaight and Alan Turner might be tough to overcome. It’s reasonable to expect marginal improvement to eight victories, but road matchups against Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi and LSU could prevent the Hogs from exceeding that win total.
Auburn Tigers
Primary Question: Who will be more pivotal to the Tigers’ success: quarterback Jeremy Johnson or new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp?
Yes, Duke Williams’ “discipline issue” hasn’t helped things at fall camp. And yes, Johnson’s lack of experience – the junior has made only two career starts – is a red flag. But as long as Gus Malzahn is calling the shots on offense, the Tigers should be in good shape on that side of the ball. Muschamp, meanwhile, has a proven track record of success at multiple stops – including with Auburn as its defensive coordinator in 2006-07 – and the Tigers more than likely won’t be as bad as they were last season, when they finished ninth or worse in the SEC in scoring, rushing, passing and total defense. The pressure will indeed be on Muschamp to improve those numbers, but the return of DE Carl Lawson from a torn ACL will help.
LSU Tigers
Primary Question: Can the Tigers finish better than fifth in the SEC West?
Yes, but more likely no. A lot of things need to fall into place, starting with sophomore RB Leonard Fournette, who needs to have a Heisman-caliber season. Secondly, but even more importantly, LSU needs to improve its play at quarterback, whether junior and last year’s starter Anthony Jennings or sophomore Brandon Harris ends up taking most of the snaps. In addition, the Tigers’ defense, under new coordinator Kevin Steele – a former Alabama assistant – must be as good as or better than what it was under his predecessor, John Chavis, who is now the DC at Texas A&M. Those are a lot of question marks, but what’s certain is that the Tigers should go 4-0 during their non-conference slate – games against McNeese State, Syracuse, Eastern Michigan and Western Kentucky.
Mississippi Rebels
Primary Question: Will the Rebels be able to build upon their breakthrough 2014 season?
They certainly can. QB Bo Wallace is gone, but junior Chad Kelly – the nation’s top junior-college QB last season – has a strong arm, and either he or sophomore Ryan Buchanan will take over. All Kelly – who is the nephew of Bills Hall of Famer Jim Kelly – has to do is stay out of legal trouble. Two of the Rebels’ strongest groups are their receivers, led by junior Laquon Treadwell, and their offensive line, led by junior tackle Laremy Tunsil. Coincidentally both players are returning from broken legs, but both should be OK. But the biggest reason why Ole Miss can definitely improve upon its 9-4 mark from last season is its defense, led by junior All-American Robert Nkemdiche. For a change, the injury-prone defensive tackle is healthy, raising hopes that Hugh Freeze’s Rebels can land in a bigger postseason game than last season’s Peach Bowl, which they lost to TCU.
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Primary Question: What will Dak Prescott and company do for an encore?
Not as much as they did last season, when they got off to a 9-0 start and Mississippi State’s first No. 1 ranking in school history. But the aforementioned Prescott, who accounted for 4,435 yards of total offense and 41 TDs in 2014, returns for his third year as a starter. And when Prescott isn’t scrambling for a big play, he still has a safety valve in 6-foot-5, 215-pound wideout De’Runnya Wilson. Someone will have step up to replace leading rusher Josh Robinson; that group includes incumbents Ashton Shumpert and Brandon Holloway and redshirt freshmen Aeris Williams and Dontavian Lee. But what could hurt the Bulldogs the most is their offensive line, which will have new starters at guard, tackle and center this season. Including Prescott, Dan Mullen’s squad returns only seven starters overall after losing outstanding defenders Benardrick McKinney and Preston Smith, among others.
Texas A&M Aggies
Primary Question: How much of an impact will new defensive coordinator John Chavis make?
A big one. The pressure is on Chavis, who produced a plethora of NFL-ready defensive players during his six seasons at LSU. The Aggies are paying Chavis a lot of money – at least $1.5 million per year over the next three seasons – to fix their defense, which allowed 36.6 points per game in SEC play last season. But Chavis does have some strong players at his disposal, including Myles Garrett, who set an SEC freshman record with 11.5 sacks last season. Sophomore LB Otaro Alaka, the defensive MVP of last season’s Liberty Bowl, also returns, as do senior tackle Alonzo Williams and junior Daeshon Hall. Unfortunately for Chavis – who is embroiled in a lawsuit against LSU –Texas A&M’s anticipated matchup with LSU is its regular-season finale on Nov. 28, but by then the Aggies’ defense should be a much improved group.
Stan Chrapowicki is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, Alabama and Auburn.
