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The SEC East suffered what was considered a down year in 2015, as four of its seven teams finished below .500 and out of bowl contention.
But a new season brings with it renewed hope. East coaches (with the exception of Vandy, which completed its spring game Friday night) are busy hammering away at their weaknesses. The division features three new coaches and several fresh faces, particularly at the quarterback position.
Here’s a look at the biggest obstacles facing each SEC East squad this spring.
FLORIDA GATORS
The Florida Gators were a quarterback away from turning Jim McElwain’s first season in Gainesville from a solid debut into a great one.
Despite the loss of several big names from their SEC East-winning defense, namely CB Vernon Hargreaves III, LB Antonio Morrison and DL Jonathan Bullard, the Gators’ biggest obstacle heading into this spring and continuing into the summer will be to put a face on the offense. That starts under center where incumbent starter Treon Harris isn’t expect to return to the position — if he returns to the team at all.
Florida suspended Harris from the squad in January for unspecified reasons, along with top-returning playmaker in wide receiver Antonio Callaway, not long after McElwain announced that the maligned quarterback would be moving to a wide receiver slot.
Judging by the early returns this spring, it appears that Luke Del Rio has separated himself from Feleipe Franks, Austin Appleby and Kyle Trask for the starting quarterback nod. The son of Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio, Luke has impressed after reuniting with Florida offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. An Oregon State transfer, Del Rio worked with Nussmeier when he began his college career as a walk-on at Alabama in 2013.
If Del Rio is the next Gators starting quarterback, the obstacle now is implementing him into an offense and building a support system around him. That means getting Callaway back from suspension and bolstering a young offensive line that earned valuable playing time — and its share of growing pains yielding a national-worst 45 sacks — during the 2015 season.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Much like Florida, quarterback play — or lack thereof — hurt Georgia at times during the 2015 season. Unlike in Gainesville, where four players are competing for the starting honor, the Bulldogs appear to already know their signal-caller of the future with true freshman Jacob Eason. The son of former Notre Dame wide receiver Tony Eason isn’t a lock to start the season opener and must earn the position over a pair of returning veterans in senior Greyson Lambert and junior Brice Ramsey.
The obstacle for new Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is getting his young quarterback game-ready. To assist that endeavor, he must find another wide receiver behind rising sophomore Terry Godwin (379 rec. yards, 2 TDs). The former Alabama defensive coordinator Smart will also look to install a backfield platoon, which relies heavily on a quarterback who can get the ball in the hands of either Nick Chubb or Sony Michel, as well as senior Brendan Douglas or Elijah Holyfield — son of Evander — to deliver a knock-out punch.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS
They might not be on par with the likes of Alabama, but the Kentucky Wildcats have their share of offensive weapons to potentially get Mark Stoops over the hump and into a bowl game in his fourth attempt in Lexington.
With redshirt sophomore Drew Barker getting the vote of confidence at quarterback in Stoops’ offense — in addition to capable backs in Stanley “Boom” Williams and Jojo Kemp, as well as several pass-catchers — the biggest obstacle this spring will be getting it all to mesh under the Wildcats’ new offensive coordinator.
Stoops got his man when his third attempt to lure offensive coordinator Eddie Gran out of Cincinnati finally worked. Along with former Bearcats quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw, the duo is forcing Kentucky’s quarterbacksto improve by stepping outside their comfort zones. It worked in Cincy, where Gunner Kiel has tossed 50 touchdowns the last two seasons under Gran and Hinshaw.
If they can overcome the obstacle this spring of less-than-stellar quarterback play, there’s a chance the Wildcats can return to the postseason.
MISSOURI TIGERS
Missouri’s struggles at the quarterback position and out of the backfield were painfully evident last season. And matters don’t appear to have improved much heading into the spring after the dismissal of maligned quarterback Maty Mauk and the recent defections of running back Chase Abbington and offensive lineman Malik Cuellar. Neither Abbington nor Cuellar contributed much in 2015, but were expected to see their playing time improve on a roster thin at both positions.
The loss of Cuellar hurts the depth of a Tigers offensive line that finished in the bottom of the nation in just about every offensive line category in 2015, including No. 120 in the country in rushing offense. With Drew Lock returning under center, Ish Witter and Ryan Williams hopefully capable of forming a steady rotation out of the backfield and a wide receiver corps poised to break out, the biggest obstacle for new head coach Barry Odom is securing the offensive line. There might be hope, yet. So far, the unit has impressed Odom this spring.
That won’t be easy, considering starters Connor McGovern and Evan Boehm have exhausted their time Columbia.
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
Where to begin with South Carolina? The lowest point of the 2015 season came via a loss to FCS doormat The Citadel. The Gamecocks just didn’t have the fight in them to avoid a colossal upset.
South Carolina did a 180 this offseason, attempting to replace a lack of passion with one of the fieriest coaches in all of college football. South Carolina is hoping that former Florida head coach Will Muschamp will bring his trademark enthusiasm to Columbia and perhaps simplify life in the process.
“I wish I had a dollar for every time someone has asked me what I’ve learned,” Muschamp said via USA Today of his time spent in Gainesville. “What did I learn? You need to score more points. It’s real simple. We’re not splitting the atom.”
Taking on new coach’s persona is going to be the biggest obstacle as Muschamp looks to improve the SEC’s worst defense (No. 95 nationally) and the conference’s fourth-worst offense (No. 99 nationally). Muschamp’s work is cut out for him, but if can get his team to adopt his style, starting with spring camp, then the Gamecocks should be able to lift themselves out of their current dregs.
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
The biggest obstacle facing Tennessee this spring might be the Volunteers themselves. An early, early preseason favorite to dethrone Florida as the SEC East champs, Butch Jones’ squad has taken fire from a lot of directions this offseason, courtesy of a slew of off-the-field accusations.
Tennessee is set up to win now, with returning stars littered throughout the roster.
But the biggest hindrance on the field this spring looks to be the team’s health as players such as linebackers Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Dillon Bates, as well as leading running back Jalen Hurd are among the dozen players forced to the sidelined by ailments this spring.
The Vols are so banged up that Jones has eluded that the traditional scrimmage format of the annual Orange and White Spring Game could be in jeopardy.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Like many SEC East teams, quarterback play was a deterrent to winning games in 2015 for Vanderbilt. Johnny McCrary began the year under center, but the sophomore’s struggles led to his eventual benching and subsequent transfer out of Nashville.
True freshman Kyle Shurmur got the nod in place of McCrary, but didn’t run away with the job. That said, the rising sophomore is expected to emerge as the face of the Commodores for the next three years. Maybe.
With a 1,200-yard rusher in Ralph Webb and leading receiver Trent Sherfield both returning, the biggest obstacle for Derek Mason’s squad is finding consistency at the quarterback position. To push Shurmur, Mason opened up the competition this spring. The results were an impressive showing from Wade Freebeck. The rising junior had a torrid camp and put himself in the discussion to supplant Shurmur.
If Vandy can get improved play out of the quarterback position and its defense can return to its dominant form that saw them finished sixth overall in the SEC (No. 29 nationally), then perhaps Mason can contend for his first bowl game since taking over the Commodores during the 2014 campaign.
Chris Wuensch is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers South Carolina and Tennessee.
