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2007
SEC Football Preview
by
Raphielle Johnson
 When it comes to the SEC in 2007, most people can
agree on two things: the SEC is the best conference in America, and LSU is the
overwhelming favorite to win the conference. But picking a winner in the East,
that’s anyone’s guess as five teams can make a legitimate claim that they will
win the division. Even Vanderbilt, who returns their best team in some time, has
a shot at going bowling this season. Florida, the defending national champion,
hands over the offense to sophomore Tim Tebow, but they do have to replace nine
starters from last year’s defensive unit that gave Ohio State fits out in
Glendale. Georgia also has some holes to fill on that side of the ball, most
notably the vacancy left by corner Paul Oliver, who went off to the NFL after
finding out he was academically ineligible for his senior season. Tennessee,
while they do return quarterback Erik Ainge and a talented group of running
backs, need to find replacements at wide receiver for Robert Meachem, Jayson
Swain and Bret Smith.
At South Carolina, Steve Spurrier has had to deal
with some off-field issues, most notably the suspension of starting quarterback
Blake Mitchell for the season opener. Not the best way for a senior who’s
supposed to be one of your leaders to kick off his final season. And at
Kentucky, quarterback Andre Woodson and a large amount of talent at the skill
positions give fans of the Big Blue reason to stick with football once
basketball practice begins. In addition to having one of the nation’s best
quarterbacks, the SEC can also boast a favorite for the Heisman (Darren McFadden
at Arkansas), one of the best defensive ends in the country (Auburn’s Quentin
Groves), and the return of Nick Saban to the league (this time at Alabama). But
if the predictions come true, 2007 in the SEC will mean that this is LSU’s
world, and we’re just living in it.
Players of the Year: RB Darren McFadden
(Arkansas) and DT Glenn Dorsey (LSU)
Best Kicker and Punter: K Brandon Coutu
(Georgia) and P Britton Colquitt (Tennessee)
Special Teams Player of the Year: Felix Jones
(Arkansas)
Best Quarterbacks: Andre Woodson (Kentucky)
and Erik Ainge (Tennessee)
Best NFL Prospect: McFadden
Coach of the Year: Les Miles (LSU)
How they’ll finish
SEC East
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Florida (2006: 13-1, 8-1; returning starters- 8: 6 offensive, 2 defensive)
The Gators will be young this season, but don’t
mistake that for a lack of talent. Tim Tebow is now the man in the Gator
offense, and he’ll have some pretty good receivers to get the ball to. Percy
Harvin, Bubba Caldwell and Jarred Fayson are just three of the talented options
to which to deliver the football. Running back could be a concern, but with
Brandon James along with the fact the nearly every skill player can be counted
on to run the ball, they should be fine. It’s the secondary that will be tested
early and often, as playmakers such as Reggie Nelson and Ryan Smith are off to
the NFL. Luckily for Florida, end Derrick Harvey and linebacker Brandon Spikes
are back in Gainesville. While it may be too much to pick a team with so little
experience back on defense to defend their national title, it just may be a
possibility for the Gators. While they do have to visit LSU, Florida gets
Tennessee at home and Georgia in Jacksonville.
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Georgia (2006: 9-4, 4-4; returning starters- 10: 7 offensive, 3 defensive)
Georgia, just like their rivals to the south, has
quite a few holes to fill on the defensive side of the football. And just like
Florida, the Dawgs have a sophomore quarterback in charge. But Matthew Stafford
experienced a lot more in his first year in the SEC than did Tebow. The
struggles, followed by late-season growth in wins over Auburn, Georgia Tech and
Virginia Tech, should be even better in 2007. And he have a nice stable of
running backs (Thomas Brown, Kregg Lumpkin and Knowshon Moreno)behind him,
making sure that he doesn’t have to win games by himself. The offensive
questions are these: can the receivers consistently catch the football, and can
the inexperienced line protect the quarterback? Positive answers there could
give Georgia one of the most explosive offenses in the country. On defense,
there isn’t a whole lot of experience but there is talent. Senior linebacker
Brandon Miller will have to lead this group if they are to challenge for the
East. Georgia will have seven games in Athens, something that should help the
growth of the defense.
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Tennessee (2006: 9-4, 5-3; returning starters- 12: 7 offensive, 5 defensive)
The good news for Tennessee fans is that running
back LaMarcus Coker has been reinstated to the team following a suspension
(however, no telling when he’ll play). But even if he weren’t brought back, the
running back unit wouldn’t drop off much, thanks to the return of Arian Foster
and Montario Hardesty. The key on offense will be which receivers step up to
make plays. Lucas Taylor is the most experienced returnee, and many experts like
junior college transfer Kenny O’Neal to make an impact early and often. On
defense, the Volunteers need some depth up front, but they do have some capable
linebackers such as Jerod Mayo and Ryan Karl. And in corner Jonathan Hefney, the
Vols return one of the nation’s more versatile athletes. But if they’re to
compete for an SEC title, the defense must improve (ranked 50th in
the country in 2006). The schedule calls for trips to Cal and Florida within the
first three weeks of the season. Win both, along with the home opener over
Southern Miss, and we may have to talk about more than just the SEC crown with
this group.
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Kentucky (2006: 8-5, 4-4; returning starters- 15: 7 offensive, 8 defensive)
As much as quarterback Andre Woodson and receivers
such as Keenan Burton and Dicky Lyons Jr. were able to produce last season, the
Wildcats fortunes may hinge on the health of running back Rafael Little. When
healthy, Little can contribute on the ground, catching passes, and in the return
game. Hopefully, for Little’s sake especially, the offensive line can become a
cohesive unit despite having to replace three starters from last season’s unit.
The defense was the nation’s second worst in 2006, making you wonder if Kentucky
could have won ten games with a better effort from this unit. Linebacker Wesley
Woodyard is the heart and soul of the unit, so look for him to spearhead an
improvement. And with the Wildcats ranking in the top ten in both punt and kick
return average, look for the new kickoff rule change to be put to good use by
the likes of Burton, Little and Lyons Jr. Fourth place could prove to be too low
for this team by season’s end, but I need to see more production from the
defense.
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South Carolina (2006: 8-5, 3-5; returning starters- 16: 6 offensive, 10
defensive)
Once again, it seems like quarterback Blake Mitchell
can’t get off to a good start. Two poor games to start 2006 led to Syvelle
Newton taking over at quarterback for the next six games. Mitchell regained the
job for the remainder of the season, leading many to believe that it would be a
springboard into 2007. If it is, we’ll just have to wait until their trip to
Georgia September 8th, as Mitchell has been suspended for the season
opener. Redshirt freshman Chris Smelley gets the nod for the game against
Louisiana-Lafayette, making you wonder if he keeps the job with a good
performance. Cory Boyd is back at running back for his final campaign, and Mike
Davis will return as well, giving the Gamecocks some good answers at running
back. And while they do lose Sidney Rice on the outside, wideouts such as junior
Kenny McKinley have the opportunity to step up and make plays in this offense.
On defense, the Brinkley twins (Jasper and Casper) are back to lead a unit that
held opponents to 19 points per game. The key for the Gamecocks is improving
against the run, a category in which they were 75 in the country last season.
And while they do get Florida and Clemson at home, Carolina has to visit
Georgia, LSU and Tennessee.
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Vanderbilt (2006: 4-8, 1-7; returning starters- 17: 9 offensive, 8
defensive)
In quarterback Chris Nickson and wide receiver Earl
Bennett, the Commodores have one of the better tandems in the SEC. Also, they
have a talented backfield with the return of Cassen Jackson-Garrison and Jeff
Jennings. Road games against Auburn, Florida and Tennessee are on the schedule,
but with eight home games this year Vandy could indeed make a run at bowl
eligibility. The key will be improving a defense that was 91st
against the run and 74th overall. And besides their win at Georgia,
you wouldn’t consider any of their wins in 2006 to have come against world
beaters. But don’t sleep on this team. As long as the secondary and special
teams can improve in 2007, Vanderbilt should have a chance at a winning season…
or 6-6 at the least.
SEC West
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LSU (2006: 11-2, 6-2; returning starters- 14: 6 offensive, 8 defensive)
JaMarcus Russell is off to the NFL (albeit still
without a contract), but there isn’t much concern in Baton Rouge thanks to a
defense that has all the making of one of the nation’s most dominant units.
Tackle Glenn Dorsey and linebacker Ali Highsmith are just two of the key cogs in
a fierce and fast group that was ranked 3rd in the country in 2006.
At quarterback, Matt Flynn takes over for Russell, and the last time we saw
Flynn in a starting role he was leading the Tigers up and down the field in
their 40-3 Peach Bowl over Miami two years ago. He’ll have to become acquainted
with a new offensive system, but he should be fine. Jacob Hester and Keiland
Williams will be just two of the few that will be asked to contribute in the
running game, and they also have one of the conference’s best wide receivers in
Early Doucet. As for big play potential, speedster Trindon Holliday is one of
the fastest players in America. Holliday owns the school record in the 100 meter
dash, and considering LSU’s history in track and field, that’s nothing to sneeze
at. The key for LSU in terms of playing in the Superdome for the national title
will be how much they can improve special teams that could best be described as
average in 2006. The first major test: Virginia Tech comes to town September 8th.
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Auburn (2006: 11-2, 6-2; returning starters- 12: 5 offensive, 7 defensive)
With running back Kenny Irons now in the NFL, it
will be even more important for the Tigers to keep quarterback Brandon Cox
upright. If they can do this, which could be tough considering the lack of
experience up front, Cox is one of the best in the SEC. Also at his disposal are
talented runners such as Brad Lester, Ben Tate and fullback Carl Stewart. And
even with the loss of Courtney Taylor at wide receiver, there’s still talent and
experience on the outside. On defense, look for senior Quentin Groves to wreak
more havoc on SEC offenses this season. In 2006, Groves had 9.5 sacks, good for
third in the SEC. Unfortunately for Auburn, they have to replace both their
kicker and punter from 2006, so some growing pains could be in store for that
unit early on. But given the amount of success they’ve experience in the kicking
game in recent years, it wouldn’t be wrong to think that Auburn will be just
fine in this area. Despite eight home games, the Tigers will have to deal with a
tough four on the road (Florida, Arkansas, LSU, Georgia).
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Arkansas (2006: 10-4, 7-1; returning starters- 10: 6 offensive, 4 defensive)
Now that the turmoil of this past off-season is past
us (hopefully), we can move on to focusing on the Heisman campaign of Darren
McFadden. McFadden can do it all, be it running, catching or even throwing the
football out of the “Wildhog” formation. But to focus solely on McFadden would
be a terrible mistake considering the talented Felix Jones. Just as dangerous in
the return game, Jones also ran for more than 1,000 yards in 2006. Casey Dick
returns as the unquestioned starter, but he’ll need some players to step up at
wide receiver, since Marcus Monk has been banged up thus far. On defense,
linebackers Freddie Fairchild and Michael Grant are back and healthy, so look
for some improvement from this unit. So despite the off-field rumors and
transfers, Houston Nutt has a good shot at repeating as SEC West Champions. At
the least, he can expect to be in New York for the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
We’ll have to wait and see if he’ll be coaching the Heisman winner.
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Alabama (2006: 6-7, 2-6; returning starters- 14: 9 offensive, 5 defensive)
How do you know fans are excited about your arrival?
How about when people mob you at the airport upon your arrival, and then 93,000
fans show up for the spring game? This is what happened to new head coach Nick
Saban during his first spring in Tuscaloosa. Kenneth Darby is gone, leaving a
hole in the backfield, but the Crimson Tide does have some options to replace
him. Jimmy Johns, Glen Coffee and freshman Jamar Taylor are just three of the
many choices from which to choose. Quarterback John Parker Wilson should be even
better in 2007, especially with the return of key targets DJ Hall and Keith
Brown. But the main concern for the offense will be the line, which is woefully
inexperienced heading into 2007. On defense, ‘Bama will switch to a 3-4
alignment due to a lack of depth up front, which could pose a problem for a
linebacking group that besides Prince Hall needs some playmakers to step up. Of
course, Hall and Keith Brown have been suspended for the opener, so we won’t get
to see either of them. Does Alabama replicate their fourth place finish from a
year ago, or do they begin the steady climb to the top of the SEC? We’ll have to
wait and see, but the most important game of the Saban era will be November 24th
(Auburn), not November 3rd (LSU).
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Mississippi State (2006: 3-9, 1-7; returning starters- 15: 10 offensive, 5
defensive)
Sylvester Croom heads into his fourth year in
Starkville looking to add some more wins to the record. And while the wins and
losses haven’t shown concrete improvement during his time there, progress has
been made. Players are more disciplined and accountable under Croom, but the
time may be now for the Bulldogs when it comes to getting out of the SEC West
cellar. Michael Henig is once again the starting quarterback, but hopefully he
can make it through the season in good health after breaking his collarbone in
last year’s opener. The offense will have some talented skill position players,
such as running back Anthony Dixon and receiver Tony Burks. The key will be the
growth of an offensive line that had its share of troubles last season. On
defense, the Bulldogs will need to replace the departed Quinton Culberson at
linebacker, but junior Jamar Chaney is back. This is the year for the Bulldogs
to show their improvement in the form of more victories, and they just might
have the talent to get it done.
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Mississippi (2006: 4-8, 2-6; returning starters- 14: 8 offensive, 6
defensive)
The Brent Schaeffer experiment is now over, with
senior Seth Adams taking over the quarterback position. For both players though,
it may be good that they’re graduating this year with Texas transfer Jevan Snead
waiting in the wings. Luckily for the Rebels, Benjarvus Green-Ellis returns at
running back, along with a wealth of talent and experience at wide receiver. The
offensive line will be one of the Rebels’ strengths in 2007, and linebacker
Jamarca Sanford will lead a defense eager to improve against the run (94th
in 2006). The key this season will be how much the passing game and offense in
general can improve. Don’t look now, but your rivals from Starkville could be
passing you in the SEC West pecking order.
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