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There’s no denying that spring practice is going to be critically important for every SEC East team this spring. Three schools – Georgia, South Carolina and Missouri – are breaking in new coaches, and all seven schools have serious designs on 2016 being better than 2015.
No one really walked away happy with how they performed a year ago – at least in reviewing their complete body of work – and now they can start to do something about it going forward.
Here is the top spring priority for every team in the SEC East as they go through the paces this spring:
FLORIDA GATORS
Finding someone to play quarterback: No SEC division champion ever had worse quarterback play than Florida did last year and that’s the top mission to get accomplished this spring, finding a QB who can move this Florida offense.
Treon Harris struggled most of the year after Will Grier’s drug suspension and he’s not even an option now, having been suspended for the spring, according to Florida coach Jim McElwain, who vaguely explained the suspensions Tuesday without going into any detail. Harris wasn’t projected to be a QB option going forward anyway. Luke Del Rio seems to be the leader in the clubhouse.
“He’s been here and he’s been learning,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said of the Oregon State transfer.
All eyes will be on freshman-to-be Feleipe Franks, who enrolled early after being stolen from LSU late in the recruiting process and is considered to be the Gators’ QB of the future. It will be interesting to see how immediate the future arrives in Gainesville. Austin Appleby, a transfer from Purdue, will also get a look.
GEORGIA BULLDOGS
Getting Jacob Eason and Kirby Smart comfortable quickly: The Mark Richt era is over in Athens and the two new faces that everyone is excited about are new coach Kirby Smart and five-star QB recruit Jacob Eason.
Smart, who won four national championships at Alabama running Nick Saban’s defense, isn’t going to get much of a honeymoon period at Georgia because anything less than a division title in 2016 may be considered a disappointment. Georgia has a talented roster and Smart will have to meld it all quickly.
The QB race is going to be interesting. Greyson Lambert started last year and played well at times, but many question his ceiling and how good he can be. It’s Eason that everyone is excited about. He had committed to Richt and held true to Georgia after looking around a little bit after Richt’s departure. He’s the future, of course, but the howling for him to start from Day One will be there for sure. How he performs in the spring might be the biggest storyline anywhere in the SEC.
KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Re-establishing a level of confidence: When Kentucky’s once-promising 2015 season withered and died down the stretch, the heat got turned up a notch on coach Mark Stoops, who is now heading into his fourth season in Lexington. That 4-1 start looked great, but the 5-7 final record was painful, especially after blowing a lot of late leads throughout the back half of the season.
To say things are fragile in Lexington is an understatement. It’s up to Stoops and his staff to instill confidence in this group once again and be able to finish what they start in 2016. The offseason has been good so far. UK had another good recruiting class and conditioning was ramped up dramatically – “It was hell,” defensive back Chris Westry said – to better ensure being able to finish off games in the fourth quarter.
It’s Drew Barker’s team now, more than likely, and the QB needs to have a good spring as well. No one denies he has the talent to win games at UK, and now he gets the spring to work on being a leader and helping the ‘Cats get over the hump.
MISSOURI TIGERS
Going forward under new coach Barry Odom: The 2015 season was tumultuous on many fronts for the Missouri Tigers. They went from two-time SEC East champions to winning only one SEC game, being part of a raced-based walkout that caught national attention and then saying goodbye to their long-time coach, Gary Pinkel. Now, everything seems so new.
It all falls of new coach Barry Odom to get the Tigers back on track quickly. He’s hoping that new offensive coordinator Josh Heupel can get the offense going, which was a huge area of concern. Drew Lock got thrown into the fire at QB as a freshman and he struggled. But the learning experience was huge and he’s got to step up as a sophomore. He’ll get pushed this spring by Marvin Zanders, as well.
“He’s highly competitive, and he wants to be great,” Heupel said of Lock. “He pushes himself every day and he’s eager for knowledge.”
SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS
Learning their way under Will Muschamp: Now that the Steve Spurrier era is officially over, it’s going to be dramatically different in Columbia. New coach Will Muschamp is the polar opposite of Spurrier, with their only commonality being they were both head coaches at Florida. Spurrier had great success; Muschamp didn’t.
Being new, and basically overhauling the coaching staff, Muschamp has a lot of work to do. There are open competitions at practically every position and a lot will be decided in the spring. You can count on plenty of hard work getting done.
The quarterback competition is going to be interesting to watch. Perry Orth has the most experience, but that’s no guarantee he’ll emerge as the starter. He’s going to get plenty of competition from Connor Mitch, who won the starting job last year but was injured early in September and never returned, and Lorenzo Nunez, who started a couple games. Incoming freshman Brandon McIlwain, rated the No. 3 dual-threat QB in this year’s recruiting class – is also on campus and ready to compete. He’s a future star. How about the present?
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
Blocking out all the outside noise: The Volunteers seem to be the heavy favorites to win the SEC East in 2016 but the most important thing they need to accomplish in the spring is to not let all the hype go to their head. The Vols have been picked high before, only to falter. This spring, they need to stay focused on the task at hand and get better every day.
Between the hype and the concerns over the Title IX lawsuit that’s embroiled emotions on campus, it could be easy for Tennessee players to get distracted. So far that hasn’t been the case. “Our players have been very focused, very driven,” Vols coach Butch Jones said Tuesday. “We’ve had the best offseason we’ve had since we’ve been here.”
The two biggest things to get accomplished in the spring is to get the defensive players quickly acclimated to new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop, who arrives from Penn State, and for veteran QB Joshua Dobbs to continue to grow as a passer and a leader.
VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Finding the right combinations on offense: The Commodores were the first SEC team to begin practicing, already getting after it in February. They’re getting a lot done. That was a goal all along, and it’s a good one.
Kyle Shurmer got his feet wet at quarterback last year as a freshman, starting five games, and this spring will be important in his growth process. There’s plenty to build on there, and having continuity with offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig is a big boost, too. The spring is all about getting better, and finding weapons to attack with both in the backfield and at receiver.
“I need to mentally pick everything up, pick up the speed, pick up my feet, just be very smooth with everything I do,” Shurmur told The Tennessean at the start of practice in late February. “Last year (Ludwig) told me I was rushing a lot or I was too slow. I just have to become more comfortable with everything I do.”
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist and author who is covering SEC football for Saturday Down South.
