The SEC convenes Monday for its Media Days, an assemblage that has come to stretch over the better part of a week. The biggest and best conference enjoys reminding us how immense it is.
Over four days in Hoover, Ala., 14 coaches and 42 players will brief all manner of correspondents, and some of the discourse — though not much, truth to tell — will be interesting. For the sake of brevity, we’ll condense the key issues into 27 user-friendly column inches.
1. Is Alabama still almighty? Not since January 2013 has Bama claimed a national championship, which could be considered a drought only at Alabama. The Tide have lost only four games the past two seasons, all to teams ranked No. 11 or higher, so it's not as if they've gone back to being bested by Louisiana Monroe. Still, this is the nation's flagship program with the highest-rated recruits and the smartest coach south of Urban Meyer, and Bama probably won't be picked to win the SEC West. Time was, everyone picked Alabama to win every game. Is this an ebbing Tide?
2. Is Tennessee ready? Florida has a new coach. South Carolina is coming off its worst season since 2009. Georgia doesn't know who'll start at quarterback. Missouri has claimed the the SEC East two years running, but even Gary Pinkel can't outcoach everybody forever. The Volunteers made and won a bowl in Year 2 under Butch Jones and appear to be the one Eastern team on the rise. Trouble is, none of Tennessee's seven victories last season came over anybody of weight. (By that time, South Carolina didn't count.) Beating somebody good is the hurdle every up-and-comer must negotiate. Until the Vols do, this up-and-comer can't arrive.
3. Is Florida apt to be Florida again anytime soon? The worst anyone can say of Jim McElwain is that he was a solid hire. That's also the best anyone can say, and Florida's four hires over the past quarter-century haven't been middle-of-the-road things. They've either been inspired (Steve Spurrier, Meyer) or wrong-headed (Ron Zook, Will Muschamp). McElwain has already described the roster he inherited from Muschamp as "really insufficient," which a Florida roster should never be. The Gators will surely be better-coached than they were the past two seasons — they could scarcely be worse — but theirs could be a long slog back to eminence.
4. Will the West be decided by, of all things, defense? Even the rock-ribbed SEC has gone whole-hog for offense — the buttoned-down Saban imported Lane Kiffin to modernize the Tide — but old-fashioned defense could be resuscitated at two schools that haven't played much of it. Auburn hired Muschamp as defensive coordinator and has been penciled in as division favorite largely because of the move. Texas A&M, which had become the epitome of a good-hit/bad-pitch team, lured John Chavis from LSU, and Chavis was about the best thing the Fighting Tigers had going for them.
5. How much longer for the Ol' Ball Coach? Spurrier turned 70 in April. He has said he considered retiring after last season, which saw South Carolina, picked first in the East, finish 7-6. He's sticking around for now, but it's hard to envision him committing to another round of rebuilding after lifting the Gamecocks so close to an SEC title — they took the East in 2010 and won 11 games each of the next three seasons — without grasping it.
7. Was the Mississippi miracle a mirage? On Oct. 24, Mississippi State and Ole Miss were an aggregate 13-0. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the land; the Rebels were No. 3. The two would lose seven games — Ole Miss upset State in the Egg Bowl — and be routed in their respective bowls. It's possible neither Mississippi will finish among the West's top four in 2015.
8. Is Jeremy Johnson the next Cam Newton/Nick Marshall? As offensive coordinator, Gus Malzahn molded a first-year starter (Newton, who landed at Auburn by way of Florida) into a Heisman Trophy holder and a national champion. Three years later, Malzahn — then Auburn's head coach — and another first-year quarterback (Marshall, once a Georgia defensive back) came within 14 seconds of another BCS title. A junior, Johnson is Newton-sized and so highly regarded that the Bovada sports book lists him with 10-1 odds of winning the Heisman. But he has started two collegiate games.
9. Who will start at quarterback for Georgia? In 2016? Jacob Eason. In 2015? Good question.
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