Greg (@devywarehouse) had the idea to tackle one burning question for each college football team in 2020. We’ll break these up by conference and/or division. Greg asked Kyle (@FranchiseKF) and Brad (@DW_BMack) to join him for the SEC East edition. The questions will either reference college fantasy football, Devy, or real-world gameday or locker room topics. We started with the SEC East, and we’ll get through as many teams as we can before the season begins (or is canceled).
Even though it looks like we went in projected order of finish with Florida over Georgia at the top, we just went in alphabetical order. Let’s get started.
Florida Gators
Can the Gators get over the hump by winning the East and making the Playoffs? @FranchiseKF
I guess the first bit of information needed to properly address this question is whether there will be an SEC Championship and a College Football Playoff this year. I don’t know the answer, but I’ll answer the question under the assumption that both will happen. Things set up nicely for Florida in 2021. They return their quarterbacks, Kyle Trask and Emory Jones. While I’m not of the opinion that Trask elevates this team and is a future pro, he played well enough last year in his first season of real action to assume that he can match or improve in year two. Jones should continue to give them a change of pace as a wildcat. They return the majority of their offensive line, a group that struggled last year but found a way to scheme around them and find offensive success. This is Florida, so they have plenty of talent at the skill spots. Offensively, this should be Mullen’s best team since he’s been in Gainesville. The Gators lose a great player at every level of their defense, but this is Florida, and they have great players waiting in the wings. Their front seven was beaten up last year, and as a result, they got some younger guys experience. The secondary was tremendous last season, and I think they could be even better this year. Without knowing the details of the COVID-schedule, I’m comfortable saying that Florida is a slight favorite to win the division and has a legitimate shot to make the playoffs.
Georgia Bulldogs
Will Kirby Smart allow the offense to grow? @DevyWarehouse
Since Smart took over the Bulldogs, the offense has been as bland as a mayonnaise sandwich. The Dawgs have had plenty of talented weapons that could have excelled in a more modern offense, but the defensive-minded Head Coach wanted to run a 1990s offensive scheme and mindset. Georgia played a slow grind-it-out offense trying to mimic Smart’s days at Alabama when he was the defensive coordinator. Smart has failed to win it big. He’s had the talent but not the scheme to win in today’s game. The days of winning the national title game 21-0 are long gone. In steps Todd Monken, formerly the OC at Oklahoma State, Head Coach at Southern Miss, and more recently an NFL OC with the Bucs and Browns. The most notable difference in a Monken-run offense is passing attempts. From 2011-2015, when Monken was the OC at Oklahoma St. and HC at Southern Mississippi, the following were his passing attempts per game: 46, 38, 40, 40, and 38. Offensively under Smart, the Dawgs have averaged 30, 20, 25, and 30 attempts a game. If Smart allows this offense to step foot into the 21st century and run a more up-tempo and a more pass friendly scheme, either Jamie Newman or JT Daniels can bring this team to new heights. Georgia has plenty of weapons out wide and in the backfield to have an upper-level offense if schemed properly.
Kentucky Wildcats
How do the Cats replace Lynn Bowden? @FranchiseKF
They don’t. When you properly frame the context of his accomplishments, Bowden is the most impactful player in program history. Fortunately, the reason why he was called into duty as a QB was an injury to Terry Wilson. Touchdown Terry was a former Oregon Duck, and his skill set is that of the explosive dual-threats that we used to expect in the Ducks’ heyday in Eugene. Wilson isn’t the same type of runner that Bowden was, but he provides a lot more as a passer. One thing I appreciate about OC Eddie Gran is that he’s done an excellent job over the years of adapting to his personnel and crafting unique offenses to support his soldiers. Look no further than last year with the LYNNSANITY offense. The offense had an incredible line last year, and they should be as good or better in 2020. While the run/pass splits will undoubtedly look different than they did in 2019, I’m optimistic about this team in 2020.
Missouri Tigers
Who takes over for Kelly Bryant? @DevyWarehouse
What will Missouri’s new offense look like? During his introductory press conference, Drinkwitz provided this description — “It’s going to be fun to watch. Our style on offense is a pro-tempo style. We’re going to base out of the no-huddle. We’re going to be quarterback driven. We’re going to be able to have a dominant downhill run game; a vertical passing game and we’re going to execute well under pressure.” Via AthlonSports. If you are going to be a quarterback-driven offense, you need to find a quarterback first. With the departure of Kelly Bryant, the Tigers look to find a new identity in 2020. The likely starter is former TCU Horned Frog, Shawn Robinson. Robinson sat out the 2019 season due to transfer rules. Over his first two years at TCU, Robinson completed nearly 60% of his passes for 1,518 (6.6 YPA) and 12 TDs to 8 INTs. He added another almost 400 yards on the ground while rushing for 5.4 YPA. Robinson was highly thought of coming out of high school. He was the 6th ranked Dual-Threat QB in his class and was a US Army All-American Bowl member. Robinson should be a big threat with his legs. Over his final three years of high school, he rushed for 484-4533-54 (9.4 YPA). While the job isn’t 100% Robinsons yet, Taylor Powell, Connor Bazelak, and Brady Cook will all push for the starting spot.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Will the ‘Cocks find an offensive identity? @DW_BMack
Will Muschamp prefers his teams to run the ball and play defense. In four seasons at Florida, his teams averaged 24.9 pass attempts and 40.3 rush attempts per game. In his first three seasons at South Carolina, his teams averaged 31.8 pass attempts and 33.8 rush attempts per game. However, 2019 got away from him. South Carolina threw the ball way more than Muschamp wanted. The Gamecocks averaged 38.8 pass attempts and 33.0 rush attempts per game last year.
New OC Mike Bobo’s offense has some of the same run/pass tendencies and should bring more balance at the very least, maybe even bring back the run-first, run-often play style that gets more efficiency from the quarterback position. Will that QB be returning starter Ryan Hilinski or Collin Hill, who came from Colorado State with Bobo. There’s even a group out there that thinks Luke Doty can/will steal the job from Hilinski. Without a normal preseason, grade transfer Collin Hill has the most experience in the offense.
The offense lost their top WR and top 3 RBs from 2019. Slot receiver Shi Smith is the only dependable WR on the roster. Someone has to fill Bryan Edwards’ shoes, so Smith can do his thing on the inside. It’s looking more and more like Dakereon Joyner last year’s backup QB, will be leaned on to catch passes this season. Kevin Harris and Deshaun Fenwick return at running back, but those two only have a game’s worth of carries between them. If things go right, they’ll get more purposeful play from the QB with 5-star true freshman MarShawn Lloyd as the headliner.
Tennessee Volunteers
Can the Volunteers continue their upward trajectory? @DW_BMack
Are the Vols back? Phil Fulmer will tell you, yes, but that’s what he gets paid to do. And while we are on the subject of getting paid, Jeremy Pruitt earned his paycheck in 2019, taking his squad from back-to-back losses to Georgia State and BYU to a resilient team with a six-game winning streak (only behind LSU). The Vols’ wild ride landed them third in the SEC East last year. They’ve lost to Bama, Georgia, and Florida the past two seasons. In order to get back to where Vols fans expect them to be, they are going to have to start winning those games. Beating one of those teams is likely the next show of progression Fulmer expects from Pruitt.
Pruitt landed two good recruiting classes the past two cycles, and he’s starting to develop the players on his roster, which is something that hasn’t been done since Fulmer roamed the sidelines. Their roster is still full of question marks. The biggest is who’s going to play QB? Can he be reliable? Whoever it is doesn’t have any proven weapons to throw to. The offensive line, run game, and defense should be formidable enough to keep the Vols in the good but not great category. They still have steps to take, and rivals to beat, before returning to the upper echelon of the world’s greatest conference.
Vanderbilt Commodores
Do the ‘Dores turn to a true freshman at QB? @FranchiseKF
This is an interesting dilemma. Derek Mason’s job is probably on the line. It’s a big risk to turn to a true freshman QB to help preserve your job security. On the other side of the coin, if you go that route and show any progress or excitement on offense, you can sell your losing season to the boosters and fans under the guise of a youth movement. You may be thinking, is football that political? Absolutely. This is a business, as we are currently seeing play out in front of our eyes amidst a pandemic. There is a lot of money on the line for these programs, and they’ve got free labor that they need on the field earning money. Politics aside, the ‘Dores best option may be to start freshman Ken Seals. At 6’3” and 205 pounds, he’s got the size and the high school experience to give this team a fair shake at competing. There isn’t another guy on the roster that is going to pilot them to a bowl game, so why not go with the youth movement? Mason hired a new Offensive Coordinator away from Louisiana Tech. As such, the offense should be more exciting and give them a better chance to punch with the heavyweight SEC gauntlet that they will face in 2020.
