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It feels like the season just ended, but we’re already heading into spring practice season. The spring provides plenty of opportunities: early enrollees get their first taste of college football, veterans can lay claim to open positions and new coaches get their first chance to work with their units.
Who in the SEC East, both individuals and units, has the most to gain this spring? Let’s go team by team and take a look.
Florida — Will Grier and Treon Harris
The common assumption with Florida is that Jim McElwain is going to be shopping hard for a quarterback in the 2016 class, and that’s more than likely true. In the meantime, someone is going to have to start in 2015, a year in which the Gators have sleeper potential thanks to a wide-open SEC East. Will one of Grier and Harris, who ended 2014 as the starter, be able to separate, or will the Gators be stuck in the quarterback muck again in 2015?
Georgia — Hunter Long
The Bulldogs had perhaps the best offensive line in the SEC in 2014. There’s no way you have a guy (or two, if you include Todd Gurley’s shortened season) rush for better than 7.0 yards per carry without a great line. Georgia brings back the majority of it’s offensive line, but the only loss is vital center David Andrews. In his place comes Hunter Long, a rising redshirt senior. Getting Long comfortable making line calls after Andrews started 40 straight games is a major priority if Georgia wants to continue its ground success in 2015.
Kentucky — Wide receivers
The Wildcats’ 2014 recruiting class was stacked with receivers; five of the top 100 high school wide receivers in the country signed with UK. In 2014, Thaddeus Snodgrass, the highest rated of the five, took a redshirt. The other four — Blake Bone, Garrett Johnson, Dorian Baker and T.V. Williams — all had minimal on-field impact. The Wildcats now have a quarterback experienced in the Air Raid, and getting the young receivers behind Ryan Timmons up to speed will be crucial in helping Patrick Towles succeed.
Missouri — Wide receivers
The Tigers did not have a potent passing attack in 2014. Bud Sasser was consistently very good, Jimmie Hunt was prone to breakout games (and drops), and after that there wasn’t much to write home about. The top three receivers from last year’s team are all gone, leaving a void to fill during spring practices. Names like J’Mon Moore, Nate Brown and Wesley Leftwich will have a chance to establish themselves as top targets for Maty Mauk before a slew of freshmen arrive in the fall.
South Carolina — Connor Mitch
Steve Spurrier has been high on Mitch’s potential for some time, and now the rising redshirt sophomore has a chance to make good on his coach’s hype. Mitch has thrown all of six passes in his career after backing up Dylan Thompson in 2014, but he’s expected to be the man to lead the Gamecocks as they try to bounce back from a frustrating season. Will he be able to pick up where Thompson left off, or will Carolina be starting from scratch? How ready he is to run the offense will determine how far the Gamecocks have to go to get back to the level they were at just a few years ago.
Tennessee — Early enrollee linemen
The Volunteers reloaded on both sides of the line, offense and defense, and plenty of those players are already on campus: Kyle Phillips, Andrew Butcher and Shy Tuttle on defense, Jack Jones and Chance Hall on offense. While the defensive line certainly is in better shape, being able to send those guys in waves come fall will be a major plus. On offense, both Jones and Hall can work their way into the rotation among the team’s weakest position group from a year ago.
Vanderbilt — Johnny McCrary
Last year’s quarterback situation was a mess for the Commodores. Within the first couple of weeks of the season, they had trotted out four different passers. McCrary ended up being the guy mostly due to attrition, as Patton Robinette couldn’t go, Stephen Rivers was ineffective and Wade Freebeck simply wasn’t ready. McCrary showed that he has the skill to manage the position, and he can solidify the job with a strong spring. If he can’t, Vanderbilt is right back where it was a year ago.
A former freelance journalist from Philadelphia, Brett has made the trek down to SEC country to cover the greatest conference in college football.
