Aaron Murray’s graduation is going to leave a monstrous hole at QB for the Georgia Bulldogs. But all new QB Hutson Mason may have to do is hand the ball off to Heisman contender Todd Gurley, and the Dawgs – armed with a strong linebacking corps, could be in the mix for a trip to Atlanta as SEC East Champion

LAST SEASON

The biggest highlight of Georgia’s season was the secondary’s screw-up of a pretty easy knock-down/interception to gift Auburn a victory in a titanic battle. Of course, the decision of Lee Corso to pick LSU instead of UGA in Athens ‘led’ the Dawgs to victory in one of the games of the season, and Georgia beat Florida and South Carolina, too. But the losses to Clemson, Missouri and the stunner of a loss at Vandy  contributed to an Atlanta-less season. A mid-to-late season injury to Aaron Murray – as well as an injury earlier to RB sensation Keith Marshall – hardly helped the team, either.Losing to Nebraska in the bowl game didn’t exactly end the season on a high note, either. The Dawgs finished 8-5.

RECRUITING 

Georgia always wants to recruit well in-state, so when they nailed 3 out of 5 of the top players in the Peach State (DE Lorenzo Carter, RB Nick Chubb, CB Malkom Parrish) , Dawgs fans must have been barking. 5-star RB Sony Michel (FL), OG Isaiah Wynn, TE Jeb Blazevich and Pro-Style QB Jacob Park’s arrivals made up for some stinging losses in rest of Georgia saw Clemson, Auburn and South Carolina pick up recruits among the State’s Top 20.

OFF-SEASON

It wouldn’t be an off-season without a Georgia player getting his hands in cuffs, and 2014 was no exception. Where do we start? 4 players (DT Jonathan Taylor, S Tray Matthews, DE James DeLoach and WR Uriah May) get busted for trying to cash in game stipends twice. Matthews transferred to Auburn, May requested a transfer, and DeLoach has stayed. Taylor? Oh, after being given a second chance by Mark Richt, he’s then arrested on Tuesday morning for what breaks down as assault on a woman, which we hope he’s kicked out for. SS Josh Harvey-Clemons apparently ‘violated team rules’ and was dismissed, and CB Shaq Wiggins was busted for driving without a license, and transferred soon after. Sadly, there were no “boating under the influence arrests” in 2013.

TOP QUESTIONS FOR GEORGIA IN 2014

QB – HUTSON MASON: A GOOD ENOUGH REPLACEMENT FOR AARON MURRAY?

 Hutson Mason’s name might sound like he belongs in Cherokee County, but apparently he’s good enough to be named starting QB immediately by Richt. Which is strange for us, bearing in mind how little he did to make us enthusiastic in 2014, going 67-110 for 968 yards, 5 TDs and 3 INTs. And by the look of it, he’s a goddawful rusher, too. A lot of UGA fans will be hoping that he’s the second coming of Murray, and not Joe Cox. We remain sceptical.

RB: GLORIOUS GURLEY 

We love Todd Gurley, we really do. He’s one of the most fun-to-watch running backs in college football. He’ll beat the crap out of an offensive line himself. Last season he was sidelined during October with an ankle injury, and Georgia fans will be praying that there’s not a repeat of the bad luck that’s plagued their Heisman hopeful. Still, his 100.3-yard average through the games he DID play makes him frightening and fun in the same breath. Also, don’t bet against Keith Marshall coming back, despite having an horrific knee injury against Tennessee last year. Chubb and Michel provide even more depth for the Dawgs, and we’ll be seeing more Brendan Douglas and A.J. Turman, too. This is almost Alabama-like depth, yo.

WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AT WR/TE?

If he returns OK from his Spring-time leg injury (in addition to last year’s ACL tear), then Malcolm Mitchell will be one heck of a threat. Chris Conley, when he’s not directing Star Wars movies, is a very good WR with a great attitude, but otherwise, things are a looking a little thin. A key returnee is also Michael Bennett, who, combined with Conley, caught for over 1,100 yards and 8 TDs. Dawgs fans will be hoping Bennett as well as Justin Scott-Wesley stays healthy after he tore his knee in October. He could do wonders. Otherwise, the losses of Rantavious Wooten and Artie Lynch, the transfer of Uriah LeMay, and the fact that frosh Gilbert Johnson’s not coming to Athens because of academics, mean that injuries like Mitchell’s could really devastate the team. Brendan Langley has moved from CB to WR to add some depth, too.

DEFENSE: WOULD THE LAST SECONDARY PLAYER TO LEAVE PLEASE TURN OUT THE LIGHT?

The biggest news for the defense this season was DC Todd Grantham’s decision to leave Athens and go work for St Bobby Petrino in Louisville. Mark Richt brought in secondary coach Jeremy Pruitt from Florida State to be the new DC. No complaints from UGA fans there!

Grantham’s ‘loss’ may be good riddance for Dawgs fans, who had to put up with a Georgia team that weren’t great at tackling, embarrassed themselves against Auburn, and finished 79^th in the country in total points given up. They were mediocre against both rush (43^rd) and pass (59^th) and total yards given up (45^th), meaning that Grantham’s policy of ‘bend not break’ didn’t work that well.

The good news for Georgia is that they are still great at linebacker, with Ramik Wilson, Armarlo Herrera, Jordan Jenkins and young freak Leonard Floyd, who had 55 tackles as a freshman. And defensive end Ray Drew is going to cause O-Lines problems, too.

Still, the loss of most of their secondary to transfer (Wiggins, Harvey-Clemons and Matthews) and/or dismissal is going to be a worrier.

CB Damian Swann’s decision to return to Athens, on the other hand, was a big plus. We’ve got no clue about what happens with the secondary from here, although expect Corey Moore/Quincy Mauger to get action. But with Pruitt coaching, things may be a little more hopeful back there. Oh, and a Georgia fan told us to remember the name of CB/S JUCO Shattle Fenteng, who spent the last two years at a CC in Kansas to get his grades up, who’s mean to be pretty badass, and Trammel Terry arrives at safety after coming off major knee surgery (stop if you’ve heard this one before!!).

SCHEDULE

Aug. 30 – Clemson
Sep. 13 – at South Carolina
Sep. 20 – Troy
Sep. 27 – Tennessee
Oct. 4 – Vanderbilt
Oct. 11 – at Missouri
Oct. 18 – at Arkansas
Nov. 1 – vs. Florida @Jacksonville, FL
Nov. 8 – at Kentucky
Nov. 15 – Auburn
Nov. 22 – Charleston Southern
Nov. 29 – Georgia Tech

We’re going to make this clear: If Georgia can get through the first 2 games of the season at home to Clemson (against a very good defensive unit) and on the road at South Carolina (which is a horrible place to play), they may very well run the table…. If they can stay out of jail or the treatment room. Unfortunately, we think they’ll go 1-1, and despite winning every other game on the schedule after that (yes, that includes Auburn at home), they won’t go to Atlanta (it’s South Carolina’s year) and not even make the Play-Off (they’ll finish No.5 and UGA fans will tell us how they were ‘screwed’).

The last two years in Texas A&M history haven’t been the most successful, but hell, they’ve been the most fun. That’s because Johnny Manziel was there, tearing up the SEC, stealing the headlines, winning a Heisman, and giving heart attacks to every head coach and defensive co-ordinator he faced. He made head coach Kevin Sumlin into a God and himself into a NFL first-rounder. Well, he’s gone now, and we see what A&M’s going to do in 2014 without him.

LAST SEASON

While the Johnny Football offense continued to be fun (5th in the country in scoring) and tight, the defense really wasn’t. We’d dare to say that if it wasn’t for Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans’ heroics, Texas A&M probably wouldn’t have gone to a bowl game this year. And defensive co-ordinator Mark Snyder would be out of a job. Anyway, the Aggies finished 9-4. They lost close games to Alabama and Auburn, and tough road games at LSU and Missouri. The ‘D’ was so goddawful that the highlights of their season was a bowl game win (and Johnny masterclass) victory over born-again Duke and beating Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

RECRUITING

We love you, Kevin Sumlin & team. The Aggies had another banner year for recruiting, bringing in the No.1 DE recruit in the nation in Myles Garrett, No. 1 ATH Speedy Noil, No.1 Pro-Style QB Kyle Allen, No.6 ATH Nick Harvey, the No.9 DT DeShawn Washington, and the No.11 WR Frank Iheanacho. Oh, and he also got the No.1 JUCO OG Jermaine Eluemunor – and he’s a Brit, too – and No.4 JUCO OT Avery Gennesy. More’s the case, Sumlin pretty much rubbed Texas’ face in it, which pissed off Longhorn fans the world over. http://espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/_/id/189525/frank-iheanacho

OFF-SEASON

Two words: Fulmer Cup. Up to the time of writing, Texas A&M had TEN players arrested. TEN. Everything from fights to weed to shoplifting. Anyway, Coach Sumlin isn’t screwing about, because he booted starting LB Darian Claiborne, starting DT Isaiah Golden, redshirt freshman S Kameron Miles, and DL Gavin Stansbury‘s has ‘left the team to attend personal issues’ to, after he was arrested earlier in the year for pouring beer on a Rice University student and punching him in the face. Oh, and one of his top offensive weapons for 2014, WE Ricky Seals-Jones, was arrested on charges of disorderly contact, and would-be starting QB Kenny Hill was found passed out in a flower bed, and arrested for public intoxication.

Oh, and Johnny Manziel’s had quite an entertaining off-season, too. He’ll be playing in Cleveland next year, and could well be the starting QB for the Browns.

ANYWAY, OUR TOP QUESTIONS/STATEMENTS FOR THE 2014 SEASON

WHO WINS THE QB BATTLE?

Now that Johnny Football’s gone, it’s an embarrassment of riches for Texas A&M. Kenny Hill was a God in high school at Texas HS powerhouse Southlake Carroll, and he’s excellent on his feet. Kyle Allen has a better arm. We think this goes down to the wire. Allen’s probably a shoo-in to start the South Carolina game after Hill’s arrest, but we could see both QBs start. In other words, we really don’t know….but the future’s rosy. People will be hoping for the QBs NOT to make the mistakes that Manziel made, too.

IS THERE LIFE AFTER MIKE EVANS?

The receivers are going to have to replace the 7th best passing offense in the country. If you believe the Aggies patter, Speedy Noil is one heck of a WR, and the 12th Man (WAIT?! SHOULD I HAVE CALLED THE AGGIES MARKETING OFFICE FOR PERMISSION TO SAY “12TH MAN” WITHOUT THEIR EXPRESSED WRITTEN CONSENT?) is drooling at the lips to see him partner Seals-Jones. If Seals-Jones avoids the arrest charge, then him and Noil could be a powerful 1-2 punch for A&M – especially in Game 1 against some inexperienced Gamecocks corners. Oh, and Malcome Kennedy‘s a stud too. That’s three, Aggies fans.

HOW SOLID IS THE OFFENSIVE LINE LOOKING?

We had to say goodbye to Jake Matthews (he’s going to play in the NFL), but this O-Line is good, folks. OG Jarvis Harrison is excellent, center Mike Matthews, other OG Germain Ifedi and OT Cedric Ogbuchi, and we expect Gennesy to slot into the other OT spot. He may share time with the ultra-athletic Eluemunor. You know, if they stay out of jail. So in other words, the offensive line’s looking fine, folks.

AND THE RUNNING BACKS?

It’s funny, because after seeing Johnny Manziel throw the ball about and Evans catch it, people weren’t really aware that A&M had a rushing offense. And certainly not one that put up 185 yards per game and ranked 45th in the country (although a lot of them were thanks to Manziel and Ben Malena). Now, Tra Carson, Tre Williams and Brandon Williams come to games expecting more carries, bearing in mind the inexperience at QB.  The three put up over 1,000 yards and 15 TDs combined last year.

OH MY GOD IN HEAVEN (Or: “THE DEFENSE”)

In the 2013 season, the nicest thing I wanted to say about Texas A&M’s defense is that DC Mark Snyder should have been fired. Seriously, they were terrible. We knew this when they struggled against Rice, and we kept on knowing it all year long. It was dreadful. Stats-wise, they were 96th in points given up, 111th in rushing defense, 97th in passing defense, 111th in total yards given up. And thanks to an off-season that’s seen two starters booted (Claiborne and Golden), and the D-Line looking a lot worse with DE Gavin Stansbury departing the program. The Aggies front seven lost six possible players from their front seven (only 1 due to graduation, and 1 due to injury), which means the Aggies aren’t going to be very deep in a nastily physical conference. Step up, Freshman LB Jordan Mastrogiovanni, TCU transfer A.J. Hilliard brings with him 11 games of playing experience with the Frogs, and DE Julien Obioha. And at DT? We’ll just have to wait and see. There’s still a month until the start of the season. The rest of the team could be arrested by South Carolina game. The good news is that a shredded front seven gives Snyder enough wiggle room to stay in a job ’til 2015. Although, as we’ve mentioned once or twice, he should have been fired at the end of the 2013 season.

And the secondary? Well, they’ve got four starters back. The problem? QBs threw all over them in 2014, so will a few months make a lot of difference? CBs De’Vante Harris and Deshazor Everrett, and safeties Howard Matthews and Floyd Raven: Aggie Nation is depending on you. Frosh CB Cedric Collins will provide some depth – especially as Miles was dismissed. So deep breath: They are going to be better than 2013. But not by a lot.

THE SCHEDULE: INCONSISTENCY REIGNS

Aug. 28 – at South Carolina
Sep. 6 – Lamar
Sep. 13 – Rice
Sep. 20 – at SMU
Sep. 27 – vs. Arkansas @Arlington, TX
Oct. 4 – at Mississippi State
Oct. 11 – Ole Miss
Oct. 18 – at Alabama
Nov. 1 – Louisiana-Monroe
Nov. 8 – at Auburn
Nov. 15 – Missouri
Nov. 27 – LSU

We don’t like to be forecasters of nasty, but we see A&M losing their Thursday opener to South Carolina, before reeling off 4 straight wins, which includes beating Arky in JerryWorld. Then, we see them losing at Mississippi State before beating Ole Miss, losing to Alabama, beating ULM before losing at Auburn, beating Missouri before losing a Thanksgiving war to LSU. The final record? 7-5. Which actually won’t be that bad considering the ‘Johnny Factor’ and the ‘D Factor’.

Despite all the talk that comes out of Steve Spurrier’s mouth, there one thing that’s for certain about his South Carolina Gamecocks: They’ve never won a SEC title under him. Sure, they went there in 2010. But they lost, and despite Spurrier’s annoyance at the schedule, they haven’t been back since. 

But this year the Gamecocks are favored for the SEC East. Can they make it?

LAST YEAR

Despite the excellence of QB Connor Shaw and RB Mike Davis, the whole of the 2013 season was really about one player: Jadeveon Clowney. If there was another player in the game who’s name wasn’t Johnny Manziel who was more focused-on than Clowney, we’d like to know who it was. It never stopped. And Clowney spent most of the season either being double-teamed or complaining about injuries, which pissed head coach Steve Spurrier off. Clowney never looked like the Heisman contender people had talked about him being. The Gamecocks lost on the road to Georgia and more stunningly at Tennessee, but the second – coupled with the fact that Missouri only lost one game in the SEC (ironically to South Carolina in 2 OT) – meant that again, Spurrier wasn’t going to Atlanta. However, South Carolina did pick themselves up off the mat – unlike one big football team in the South- and beat Wisconsin the Citrus Bowl 34-24. Ironic, bearing in mind Spurrier’s anti-Tennessee quote when he was at Florida that you “can’t spell Citrus without a UT”. Butch Jones could only wish….

THE OFF-SEASON

It’s been a fairly quiet off-season. We’ve had Steve Spurrier talking **** about Nick Saban and Dabo Swinney, but really, it’s been a pleasure NOT to see player after player appear on Twitter for getting arrested. OT Na’ty Tolliver Rodgers was busted for underage drinking….and that’s about it.

And player-wise, Clowney – as we thought he would – went to chase NFL riches (he was the No.1 pick), as did Kelcy Quarles, Victor Hampton, Jimmy Legree and Connor Shaw. The offense still brings back 8 starters, and the D brings back 6. That’s pretty loaded, if you ask me.

RECRUITING

It’s been an interesting National Signing Day for South Carolina. They’ve gotten in some great recruits – but there’s been a report that as many as EIGHT players are struggling to meet the qualifying standards to even get into school. This includes two DEs and two CBs, which isn’t exactly great for the depth chart. The recruiting of LB Bryson Allen-Williams was a great get for the Gamecocks, and if CB Wesley Green can get to qualifying standards before August, he’ll probably be playing by the A&M game.

THE BIG QUESTIONS FOR 2014?

HOW ARE THE GAMECOCKS LOOKING AT QB AND WR?

Fine, just fine. The immensely talented Dylan Thompson – who actually played a bit last season for the Gamecocks, is going to be Spurrier’s starting QB, and he’s got great poise and a cannon of an arm. Don’t be surprised if he’s going to be in Heisman contention this year. Yep, he’s that good. We’d probably make him the SEC’s No.1 QB. Yes, even better than Maty Mauk. Plus, he’s hasn’t ended up arrested (so far) this off-season, so he’ll play more games than Nick Marshall. And as for wide receiver, the Gamecocks are deep, deep, deep. While Spurrier’s probably sad to say goodbye to Bruce Ellington, Shaq Roland’s going to cause headaches, as will Pharoh Cooper (although with the current lack of depth at CB, he could be playing BOTH WAYS!!), who may be the next Bruuuuce. Damiere Byrd’s also excellent (if he can can recover from a knee injury in time to start Game 1), and there’s also excellent cover. Dylan Thompson’s going to be fine, folks.

AT RUNNING BACK

My MVP for the South Carolina Gamecocks in 2013 wasn’t Clowney. Or Connor. But it was Mike Davis. Davis’ stirring performances were a big part of a great season in Columbia, with his 1,183 yards and 11 TDs carrying the Cocks on his back at points during the season (see his game against UCF for details last year). Davis is back, and he’s looking stronger than ever. We might hear things like ‘Heisman hopeful’ if he puts up big numbers against A&M and UGA in the first two games of the year. And Brandon Wilds and David Williams are going to be good back-ups, too. But expect Davis to play a lot. And big.

AND DYLAN AND MIKE WILL BE HELPED BY…

An offensive line returning a mound of starters (some reports say 4, others say 5). Cody Waldrop may move out of center to play at right guard – where there is a lot of competition for the role -while Clay Stadnik may slot into the center role after doing good works in ’13.  At left tackle they’ve got two interchangeable giants – Corey Robinson (6-8), Mason Zandi (6-9), while A.J. Cann (6-4) mans the left tackle position. This group is also deep, yo.

BUT WITHOUT CLOWNEY…

A lot of people will expect South Carolina’s defense to suffer. There’s no Clowney, Quarless or Sutton, but there IS returning starter J.T. Surratt, who at least will bring some experience to the line. Darius English and Gerald Dixon are solid DEs, and Kaiwan Lewis starred in the bowl win over Wisconsin, and he’ll partner T.J. Holloman at linebacker. There are reasons to be excited about the future, although they’ll be tested in the first 2 games by sprightly offenses.

NOW LET’S TALK ABOUT THE SECONDARY…

Cornerback is definitely a weak spot for South Carolina. No-one has any idea who’s going to be the new CBs. If Wesley Green gets qualified, it may well be him. That’s going to be fun during August. But led by Chaz Elder, the safety corps is looking pretty strong. Brison Williams and Kadetrix Marcus will be solid. But the ‘Cocks really need help at CB.

2014 SCHEDULE (HOME GAMES IN BOLD)

Thursday, August 28, vs Texas A&M
Saturday, September 6, vs East Carolina
Saturday, September 13, vs Georgia
Saturday, September 20, at Vanderbilt
Saturday, September 27, vs Missouri
Saturday, October 4, at Kentucky
Saturday, October 18, vs Furman
Saturday, October 25, at Auburn
Saturday, November 1, vs Tennessee
Saturday, November 15, at Florida
Saturday, November 22, vs South Alabama
Saturday, November 29, at Clemson

If South Carolina gets to the SEC Championship Game, it won’t be because they haven’t earned it. Well, in the SEC, anyway (If the Clemson game wasn’t on the schedule, USC’s non-conference schedule would be goddawful). This team’s good enough to beat A&M and East Carolina pretty easily, and they’ll be favored in the Georgia game because they’re at home. We think they could go out to 7-0 before they walk into Jordan-Hare to face Auburn in a MONSTER of a game….Which we think they’ll lose. They will then gain revenge on Tennessee, beat Florida (but it’ll be damned close) in The Swamp, before beating South Alabama. We don’t know about Clemson. Clemson is, you know, Clemson. We think the Gamecocks end the season 10-2….and go to Atlanta.

Georgia starting defensive tackle Jonathan Taylor has been arrested on a felony charge of aggravated assault.

Taylor – who was part of the group who arrested and charged with ‘theft by deception’ for depositing his stipends twice – was jailed early this morning after allegedly strangling a woman in his college dorm room.

According to the Athens Banner-Herald, “There was evidence that the female victim had been “possibly strangled by the offender,” in the incident in Taylor’s dorm room….There was evidence that the victim and another individual had been involved in an argument in McWhorter Hall, police said. Officers determined an established relationship and “co-habitation” with Taylor and the victim…”

“There were visible signs of injuries around her neck”, police added to the newspaper reporters.

BOTTOM LINE: The future does not exactly look rosy for Taylor and his future at Georgia. We should expect Taylor to be booted out of Georgia by the end of the week, especially with Mark Richt’s record with second chances. And if we’re honest, if Taylor IS found out to be the primary aggressor in this incident, he doesn’t deserve one, and deserves to go to jail.

Now we’ve done our SEC champions (Auburn and Missouri), it’s time we focus on the perennial favorite: Alabama. Alabama looked unbeatable all season long, until Auburn came along with ‘Kick Six’ to ruin their chances of going to Atlanta and the National Championship Game and Oklahoma beat the living hell out of them in the Sugar Bowl. Well, ‘Bama has reloaded and they are BACK, people. You know, if they’d ever left…..

LAST SEASON

Johnny Football scared the crap out of Alabama with a heroic performance, but the Crimson Tide won out 49-42. The rest of the games of the season simply were not close….until they were to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the Iron Bowl. Alabama went for the long, game-ending, Auburn-heart-breaking field goal to end the game, and kick went down the throat of Chris Davis, who ran the ball back to the house for the touchdown and ‘Kick Six’. You don’t believe me? Check this out. Anyhow, with their hopes of facing Florida State in the National Championship Game neutered, they went to NOLA to face Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. They made Trevor Knight look like Drew Brees out there, and promptly lost 45-31. And it was 31-17 at half-time. In other words, Alabama is now on a two-game losing streak…

RECRUITING

As usual, Alabama had the top pile of recruits in the nation. You know, this dude Nick Saban – and his team are pretty good recruiters. The five-stars they picked up were OT Cameron Robinson, DE Da’Shawn Hand,  linebacker Rashaan Evans and cornerback Marlon Humphrey. The list is frightening. OK, so you could crack the joke about how many of these players actually getting to play, and how many will be forced to transfer by Saban (or get arrested), but that’s college football, right?

OFF-SEASON

There was a HUGE rumor going round that Nick Saban – not renowned as the most loyal of coaches – was preparing to leave Tuscaloosa to join Texas. Paul Finebaum insisted Texas regents were preparing a $100m offer. Anyway, it came to nothing but got a lot of SEC coaches a nice pay rise during the off-season…bearing it mind that IF Saban had moved, it would have set off one of the biggest coaching carousels in history. Speaking of coaching carousels, Saban did hire otherwise-unemployed offensive guru Lane Kiffin to be the team’s offensive co-ordinator (Doug Nussmeier went to Michigan to help the clueless in Ann Arbor), defensive line coach Chris Rumph left to Texas (replaced by Bo Davis) and defensive back coach Greg Brown resigned (he’s now at Louisville worked with former UGA DC Todd Grantham and one Bobby Petrino), too.  Add to that five early departures from the actual team to the NFL, and it’s hardly been an off-season of quiet.

Oh, and then there’s the team’s behaviour…which is an on-going soap opera. Defensive players Jarran Lee, Dillon Lee and Tony Brown were all arrested in the off-season, as was back-up running back Kenyan Drake. Former running back Dee Hart was also arrested for possessing weed and having counterfeit money, but no-one knows if he was playing for Alabama or if he wasn’t (Saban says he wasn’t part of the team). Anyway, Nick Saban’s pissed about it so we can expect all four players to NOT play a part in the West Virginia game.

Oh, and former FSU back-up Jacob Coker transferred, and he’ll probably be the next QB at Alabama.

SO HERE ARE OUR BIGGEST QUESTIONS FOR THE 2014 ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE

QB: WILL JACOB BE ALABAMA’S MOSES?

Jacob Coker‘s put a lot of smiles on a lot of people’s faces since his transfer from Florida State – where he nearly won the starting job from Jameis Winston in 2013. The kid’s got a cannon, and everybody’s very excited that THIS will be the guy to lead ‘Bama back to the Promised Land. Senior Blake Sims didn’t exactly impress a lot of people in the Spring Game, but redshirt freshman Cooper Bateman DID impress at the ‘A-Game’. Although Bateman’s good, he’s not experienced. So we’ll give the job to Coker. And Coker will do just fine, people.

WR: AMOROUS FOR AMARI

We love Amari Cooper. So do a lot of people. Cooper had 736 yards and 4 TDs on a Bama team that had 8 receivers with over 100 yards receiving for the season. He wasn’t the point man for TDs last year – that was Kevin Norwood. Cooper’s going to give DBs fits next year, and then so will returners DeAndrew White and Christion Jones. Hell, Alabama’s running backs can all catch the ball too, so Alabama shouldn’t have a problem scoring. We’re also pretty excited about seeing Chris Black getting to see some more playing time. OJ Howard and Brian Vogler come in as two excellent TEs who are going to haunt secondaries too. In short, if Kiffin’s offense is going to be less run-orientated, then we can see the numbers explode and defenses not know how to deal with them.

RB: GET LOADED

Kenyan Drake‘s ****headery aside, Alabama is loaded at the position. And by loaded, I mean, LOADED. Last year’s starter TJ Yeldon put up over 1,200 yards for the Tide, and he’ll be doing the same this season. In fact, if you’re a fantasy expert, I would probably put some money on seeing Yeldon get LESS touches than last, because Derrick Henry blew everyone’s minds at the Sugar Bowl, and we even heard some critics compare him to Bo Jackson. Look, we think Henry could well be the No.1 RB in Tuscaloosa this year. And Drake will come in and play, too. If Drake had been arrested at any other school, there would have been hysteria. Not in Tuscaloosa. That’s how good Henry is.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A LITTLE INEXPERIENCED

Phil Steele projects Alabama’s starting offensive line unit to have the second-lowest amount of starts of any offensive line in the SEC, with 37. And while we can’t quite believe Cyrus Kouandjio left for the NFL after a piss-poor bowl performance (he went from mid-first to second round), he has and has to be replaced. His brother Arie has stayed, and he and Austin Shepard are the only recognised starters. Insiders/Bama Believers believe that freshman Cameron Robinson’s going to start immediately, and sophomore Grant Hill is pretty useful, too. Mario Cristobal, Bama’s offensive line coach, is one of the best in the business….so we wouldn’t be surprised to see this unit go from strength to strength as the season rolls on.

DEFENSE: MONSTER AFTER MONSTER

The amount of talent leaving Tuscaloosa this year would make most teams cry. See you later,  CJ Mosley, Ha-Ha Clinton-Dix, Vinnie Sunseri, Ed Stinson, Jeoffrey Pagan, Adrian Hubbard! Don’t worry ‘Bama fans, Kirby Smart’s re-loaded, and the Crimson Tide should be stronger than ever. Nose guard Brandon Ivory and MLB Trey DePriest will marshall the D, and we can’t wait to see more of future God DE A’Shawn Robinson. We can’t wait to see more of JUCO D.J. Pettway and Jarran Reed, when the latter leaves Saban’s doghouse. Adrian Hubbard’s departure will have to be filled, too.

SS Landon Collins and CB Cyrus Jones are going to try and hold together a unit that wasn’t that good last year and was exploited in the Iron and Sugar Bowls. Tony Brown – also in the Saban doghouse – figures to be a starter by end-season.

THE SCHEDULE: SHOULD ROLL

Aug. 30 West Virginia (in Atl)
Sep. 6 Florida Atlantic
Sep. 13 Southern Miss
Sep. 20 Florida
Sep. 27 OPEN DATE
Oct. 4 at Ole Miss
Oct. 11 at Arkansas
Oct. 18 Texas A&M
Oct. 25 at Tennessee
Nov. 1 OPEN DATE
Nov. 8 at LSU
Nov. 15 Mississippi State
Nov. 22 Western Carolina
Nov. 29 Auburn

We keep looking at the schedule, and we keep laughing. Alabama will be 4-0 without even having to think about it (West Virginia’s ‘D’ and Florida’s ‘O’ are horrible), and while the game at Ole Miss will provide some test, it’s not hard to think ‘Bama will be 8-0 before going into Death Valley to face LSU. This game is going to be a monster, which we can quite easily see them losing. A lot of people are talking up Mississippi State, but Alabama’s at home. It might be closer than previous years, but we expect Alabama to roll to an 11-1 season/12-0 season (we still can’t work out which one!) and into the SEC Championship Game, and then into the College Football Play-Off. 

As we’re in the swing of doing our SEC previews, we thought that as the SEC Conference 2013 winners were first up on The SEC Football Blog SEC Preview, then the 2013 SEC Conference runners-up (aka ‘Winners of the SEC East) should be second on the list. Then we can go with 2013’s also-rans. 

So we start with Missouri. I can’t wait to see Maty Mauk. I was really, really excited to see Maty Mauk link up with Dorial Green-Beckham, until Gary Pinkel booted him out of Columbia. But I’m still excited to see Maty Mauk. Oh, and there was some stuff about a guy called Michael Sam, too. 

LAST SEASON

Missouri shocked the WORLD in 2013 when they won the SEC East. They beat Georgia, Texas A&M and Ole Miss, and only succumbed to South Carolina in overtime (USC also had a shocking loss – to Tennessee, which ended up costing them the Championship). No-one expected them to get to Atlanta (except maybe for a bowl game), but they did. They were helped by not only some great QB work from James Franklin and Mauk (Franklin was injured for a while), but also clutch wide receiving from L’Damian Washington and Dorial Green-Beckham, who had nearly 900 receiving yards each. D G-B led the TD count 12-10, by the way. Not only that, but Henry Josey put up 1,100 yards on the turf. And the defense, while it didn’t exactly shine out, was 34th in points against, while 82nd in total yards given up. Michael Sam and Kony Ealy were the stars at rushing the QB (20 sacks between them), and an opportunistic secondary came up with 20 interceptions – a quarter of them by E.J. Gaines (5), who is unfortunately a senior.

Anyway, Mizzou went to the SEC Championship Game and lost 59-42 in a shoot-out, and then turned around and won the Cotton Bowl 41-31 in another shoot-out. Nothing if not fun, Mr Pinkel…..

THE OFF-SEASON

Michael Sam’s decision to tell the world he was gay in February before the NFL Combine made him the talk of the off-season. He ended up a 7th round pick by the St Louis Rams in this year’s Draft. He still is, with Tony Dungy saying how he wouldn’t have drafted him because of the ripples it might cause in  the dressing room.

But for us, the biggest off-season news that happened in Columbia was Pinkel’s booting of Dorial Green-Beckham, who was investigated by police for assaulting an 18-year-old student in April. And you know what? Pinkel hasn’t exactly been pilloried for his decision, either. More people are upset at the girl for not going to the police and getting the player arrested. Two more Missouri players were arrested for pot possession in mid-March. Since then, it’s been pretty quiet.

2014 PREVIEW

QB/WR: IT’S A MATY WORLD AND WE LOVE IT

Maty Mauk came in as a cover for James Franklin after the QB got injured (again)….and threw for over 1,000 yards (68-133) and 11 TDs at a rating of 143.1. We knew as soon as this season was all over that Mauk was going to take over as the QB, and we couldn’t wait for the combo of him and D G-B, with his performances maybe putting BOTH players in Heisman contention. And then G-B got himself B-O-O-T-E-D from the team, and with Washington gone, it’s going to be up to Bud Sasser, Jimmie Hunt and former Longhorn Darius White to give some hope to the Tigers faithful. Levi Copelin could also be exciting – although the kid needs to stay out of jail, as could walk-on Gavin Otte. They are all relatively untested – especially with the amount of catching Washington and D G-B were doing last year. But if the offensive line can do its job, Mauk’s got the chance to impress. You know, Heisman-like.

RUNNING BACK: NO, JOSEY….BIG PROBLEM

Henry Josey’s gone from the backfield, which could well be a massive problem for Mizzou. Josey’s 1,100-yard season made him a good threat for opposing DCs to think about, and now he’s gone (BTW, What a dumbass! He leaves to go to the NFL….and finishes up undrafted. He’s been picked up by Philly. (“Which is good, bearing in mind he’s got a child to support and needs a salary – and his knee could only take so much of a beating”” (a Mizzou fan tells us)), everyone’s now excited about 6ft, 210lb Morgan Seward, who’s going to be a battering ram. He’ll provide a triple threat with Russell Hansborough and Marcus Murphy. Probably not that great for a fantasy team, but probably really great for Mizzou’s offense.

OFFENSIVE LINE: FEELING BOEHM-IAN

We liked Center Evan Boehm’s vocalness during the SEC Media Days, where he wished D G-B ‘well’ but then moved reporters on. He could well be one of the best Cs in the country. On the other hand, how much will Mizzou be missing Max Copeland and Justin Britt from next year? Many people think Mitch Morse could be great at left tackle. Maty Mauk certainly hopes so. Anyways, this is a pretty deep OL, which will make Pinkel happy.  What could hurt the OL was the decision by veteran O-Line coach Bruce Walker to retire…just a few days ago. Josh Henson and new arrival A.J. Ricker from Illinois will be trusted to keep things ship-shape.

DEFENSE: LIFE WITHOUT SAM?

The losses of Michael Sam and Kony Ealy are going to be HUGE for Missouri. Both were fantastic defensive players. They could tackle, they could rush the QB, and they could cause turnovers. Markus Golden and Shane Ray will be entrusted on DE duties, and Kentrell Brothers , will stay at OLB, despite thoughts that he might move to the middle linebacker. Michael Scherer is favored to start at middle linebacker.. The ‘D’ returns 5 starters, by the way.

Secondary-wise, the loss of E.J. Gaines is going to be HUGE for a very, very inexperienced secondary. Between all the players going for a starting position, Braylon Webb is by far the most experienced with 14 starts, and then Ian Simon with, er, 5. Aarion Penton has just 2. Of course, almost all of the secondary actually has played in games, and Webb, Simon and Penton all have pass break-ups to their name.

THE SCHEDULE: STREAKY

Aug 30: South Dakota St. 
Sept 6: at Toledo
Sept 13: Central Florida 
Sept 20: Indiana 
Sept 27: at South Carolina
Oct 11:  Georgia 
Oct 18: at Florida
Oct 25:  Vanderbilt 
Nov 1 Kentucky 
Nov  15 at Texas A&M
Nov 22 at Tennessee
Nov 29 Arkansas 

This is going to be streaky. We like Missouri to go 4-0 in its first 4 games, with Indiana probably putting the Tigers up with the biggest of problems thanks to their high-octane offense. Then, we see the Tigers going 0-3 in their next 3 games, losing to USC, UGA and a revitalized Florida team. They then go 2-0 with their home games against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, and then lose to Texas A&M before going 2-0 in their next two games against Tennessee and Arkansas.

FINAL PROJECTION: 8-4…..And Maty Mauk in the conversation for a Heisman.

The 2014 SEC season is nearly upon us, so it’s high time (no pun intended, Nick Marshall) that we start our round of 14 SEC previews with the Auburn Tigers. We were thinking about starting with favorites Alabama, or the Yell Boys at Texas A&M, but we realised that we do previews, we start with the Champions – and those were the Tigers, who beat Missouri in a 59-42 shoot-out in Atlanta.

Anyway, here’s your preview of the 2014 Auburn Tigers.

LAST SEASON

This was an incredible season to be an Auburn fan. ‘War Eagle’ finished 12-1 and 7-1 in the SEC, with their only loss coming at LSU. They beat Alabama and Georgia in stunning circumstances, with ‘Kick-Six’ and ‘Hail Mary’ plays suddenly becoming the order of the day. They turned Tre’ Mason, their running back, from relative unknown to household name. Their fast-paced, Gus Malzahn-coached offense could not be dealt with ANYONE, with no team managing to keep Auburn to less than 21 points. Oh, and they went to the National Championship Game, where they lost in heart-breaking fashion to Florida State. Auburn probably wasn’t a ’12-1 team’ in 2013. They could well have lost to Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi State this year. Their defense was awful. But you know what? The fact of the matter is is that they knew how to win games. Which makes them so dangerous in 2014.

RECRUITING

We’re not going to delve into the class of ’15 because unless the NCAA is doing early, early, early, early signing day for high school rising seniors, none of the guys that everybody’s talking about on Twitter are going to see the field in 2014, and could well commit and de-commit 900 times before National Signing Day. But on 2014 NSD, they got OG Braden Smith, who will probably start next year, D’haquille Williams, a WR that will boost Auburn’s receiving corps, and they shored up the defensive backfield. And they may have whiffed on 5-star Rashaan Evans (lost him to Alabama), but they also got DE Andrew Williams.

OFF-SEASON

The biggest talk of Auburn’s off-season was the citation of quarterback Nick Marshall (who didn’t exactly arrive on the plains NOT under a cloud after having to transfer from Georgia) for being in possession of under an ounce of marijuana. Malzahn seemed super-aggrieved at the SEC Media Days….and he is probably super-aggrieved with DB Jonathon Mincy, who was arrested on ‘second degree’ possession of the green stuff in late June. Oh, and new signee Kalvarez Bessent was also arrested on drug charges in February. Bessent was put on probation in March. But even if the CB wanted to start or play a part in the start of the ’14 season, he’s now starting in the Malzahn doghouse. I’m sure that Malzahn would have swapped all three arrests and had them all out for the season to bring back legendary TE Philip Lutzenkirchen, who died in a car wreck on June 30. Lutzenkirchen helped to bring Auburn a National Championship in 2010.

SO HERE ARE OUR BIGGEST QUESTIONS FOR THE 2014 AUBURN TIGERS

WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN AT QUARTERBACK?

We don’t know HOW pissed Gus Malzahn is at Marshall, but we should think he will suspend him for some or all of the Arkansas game on August 30th and if he’s super-pissed, the San Jose State game/home opener on September 6th. We think that that’ll give a chance to sophomore Jeremy Johnson, who Malzahn has already said “could start for a majority of teams in college football”. But really, Marshall’s going to start a majority of games for Auburn, and they are pretty much set at the position.

OFFENSIVE LINE: A WALL OF STRENGTH

The words ‘strength’ is probably understating how good Auburn’s offensive line is. Center Reece Dismukes and OG Chad Slade have both been starters for all of their careers. OG Alex Kozan and either OT Patrick Miller or Avery Young are going to take the LT position. Shon Coleman‘s also really talented, as well. They are ‘only’ having to replace Greg Robinson, who’s gone to the NFL. This line is to tight that we don’t think freshman Braden Smith is going to get a look-in, and he may well redshirt.

RUNNING BACKS: WHERE WILL WE BE WITH MASON?

Right, so Tre’ Mason was incredible in 2013, but sadly, Mason is gone. That leaves us wondering who’s going to take up the lack. Will it be Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant be the duo who’ll start against an Arkansas side sick of losing SEC games, or will freshman Peyton Barber be the one to excite us all? Or will it be incoming freshman Roc Thomas, who is certainly elusive. Whatever happens, Auburn is DEEP at running back, with the ‘thunder and lightning’ combo of Artis-Payne and Grant looking favorites to take the position.

RECEIVERS: COATES IS KEY

The return of 900-yard receiver Sammie Coates is going to be key for Auburn, bearing in mind no other receiver on the roster caught over 300 yards last year. He also caught 7 of the 19 TDs receivers/TEs caught last year. The receiving corps will be boosted by JUCO D’haquille Williams, who is exciting everybody at the moment , and the return of Ricardo Louis, who caught one of the catches/defensive ****-ups of the 2013 season (depending on who you’re talking to).

The rich history of Auburn at tight end will continue with C.J. Uzomah returning (he had 3 TDs in ’13), and a lot of people are excited about Brandon Fulse, too, who came onto The Plains on the back of a lot of high school hype.

DEFENSE: GOT TO GET BETTER

The great thing about Auburn’s 48th-ranked defense is that its offense got them out of trouble. Apart from the games against laughable opponents (Florida Atlantic, Western Carolina, Arkansas State), Auburn didn’t give up less than 17 points to any opponent last season….but still managed to go 12-2. Auburn’s secondary ranked 116th in total pass yards given up and 80th in total rush yards given up. Will the offense be able to bail them out in 2014 again?

Anyway, in 2014, things didn’t get off to the greatest of starts. Defensive end Carl Lawson – who’s projected to be a future All-American (and could still be) is done for a majority of the season with an ACL injury (he’s had it repaired successfully). He had 20 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 4 sacks in 2013 — and two monster plays in the 2013 season which helped to send the Tigers to Atlanta. Oh, and before that it was Mincy and his arrest for pot. We expect Mincy to be out for the Arkansas game. Oh, and stud DE Dee Ford left for the NFL.

Anyway, the loss of Lawson will mean that we could see a lot of players in the rotation before his return, including LaDarius Owens and Elijah Daniel. We’ll also be expecting a little more production at DT Gabe Wright – who might be playing on the edge, if reports are to be believed.

Oh, and to the secondary. The loss of Chris Davis, Ryan White and Ryan Smith to graduation may hurt the team on paper, but let’s be honest: They didn’t exactly do a great job in 2013, did they? We know this because they were ranked 100th in the country – as we may have already have mentioned. Anyways, a lot will be expected of Jermaine Whitehead and Joshua Holsey, and Mincy – who had 14 passes defended and an INT last year – when he returns from suspension. A lot of people are excited about the arrival of JUCO Derrick Moncrief, as well as the possibilities around Travon Reed and his conversion to cornerback from WR. Trey Matthews has arrived from Georgia on transfer after being booted out of Athens after being arrested for ‘theft by deception’.

THE SCHEDULE (HOME DATES IN CAPITALS)

Aug. 30 ARKANSAS
Sept. 6 SAN JOSE STATE
Sept. 13 ** Open Date **
Sept. 20 at Kansas State
Sept. 27 LOUISIANA TECH
Oct. 4 LSU
Oct. 11 at Mississippi State
Oct. 18 ** Open Date **
Oct. 25 SOUTH CAROLINA
Nov. 1 at Ole Miss
Nov. 8 TEXAS A&M
Nov. 15 at Georgia
Nov. 22 SAMFORD
Nov. 29 at Alabama

This isn’t the easiest of schedules. The date at Kansas State will be a really tough one (as dates in Manhattan, KS usually are), as is LSU at home, MSU away, South Carolina home, Ole Miss away, Georgia away and Alabama away. The Tigers could conceiveably lose all 7 of these games, and hardly disgrace themselves with a 5-7 record. However, we think that that the Tigers will go 8-4 for the season (losing to South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and at Ole Miss), giving them a tidy bowl game, but nothing more. Why? The defense simply isn’t deep enough (especially with the loss of Lawson) or good enough, and the offense is REALLY going to miss Tre’ Mason.

Safety Deontai Williams has de-committed from Florida, and instead has set his sights to play for Georgia.

The 6-0, 175lb Williams, who hails from Trinity Christian Academy in Jacksonville, FL, was rated 3-stars by 24-7sports.com, who were the first to report the news.

Georgia’s new defensive co-ordinator Jeremy Pruitt was given the credit for ‘flipping’ Williams.

Williams was also given offers by LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Louisville, Boise State, and Purdue amongst others. Louisville had been named early leaders.

Williams follows up from the commitment of 6-3, 190lb WR Shaquery Wilson from Coral Gables, FL. Vanderbilt, Arkansas, Virginia and Louisville were among the teams to have offered Wilson, a 3-star player.

Texas A&M DB Victor Davis has been arrested in his hometown of Rosenberg, Texas, according to Facebook.

Rosenberg Police showed a picture of Rosenberg’s Shoplifters, and Davis was displayed there, having been ‘cuffed for shoplifting from a Kohl’s in the area.

No further information has been given on the arrest.

6-1, 178 lb Davis redshirted in 2013 with the Aggies. Davis was rated a 3-star DB by 24-7Rivals.com, and was rated the 28th player in the whole of Texas.

Aggie website ‘Good Bull Hunting’ first found the story, and remarked that this arrest would probably have been pretty meaningless if the team hadn’t had disciplinary problems earlier in the season.

Top safety Jamal Peters has decided to commit to Mississippi State over Alabama, LSU and Florida State.

The four-star player from Bassfield, MS, decided to stay at home despite going to LSU and Ole Miss on unofficial visits.

Peters, who is 6-3 in height and weighs 200 lbs,  has been rated the top high school player in Mississippi by 24-7Sports.com, had 28 offers, including Georgia, Texas A&M, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Florida State.