Advertisement
football Edit

SEC football 2023: Post-spring pulse

Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III exits spring as the Vols' unquestioned starter.
Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton III exits spring as the Vols' unquestioned starter. (Andrew Ferguson/University of Tennessee Athletics)

It’s officially the offseason.

With spring practices wrapped up around college football, the next time SEC teams will meet on the field will be for fall camp in early August.

A number of programs enter the summer with plenty of momentum, fresh off of impressive 2022 campaigns while others are cautiously optimisitc with new pieces in place. Questions still remain for a few.

Here is a look at where all 14 league teams stand ahead of the 2023 season.

SEC EAST

Advertisement

1. GEORGIA

2022 record: 15-0

Outlook: The Bulldogs are coming off of back-to-back national titles though they're tasked with replacing quarterback Stetson Bennett. Sophomore Carson Beck will be the likely starter and Georgia returns tight end Brock Bowers while adding transfer wide receivers Rara Thomas (Mississippi State) and Dominic Lovett (Missouri) to its arsenal. The defense is in position to reload after the departures of Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith.


2. TENNESSEE

2022 record: 11-2

Outlook: Coming off of its best season in more than 20 years, the Vols have a number of key pieces to replace from an offense that paced the country last season and put up historic numbers. Quarterback Hendon Hooker and receivers Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman are heading to the NFL but Joe Milton III is back for a third season in the system and Squirrel White, Ramel Keyton, Bru McCoy and Oregon transfer Dont'e Thornton help makeup for the losses of Hyatt and Tillman. The defense must improve though.


3. SOUTH CAROLINA

2022 record: 8-5

Outlook: The Gamecocks closed out the 2022 season on a good note, beating rivals Tennessee and Clemson to get to eight wins in Shane Beamer's second season. South Carolina is breaking in a new offensive coordinator to work with returning starting quarterback Spencer Rattler, who passed for 3,026 yards and 18 touchdowns last season. Rattler closed out strong after struggling through the first part of the season.


4. KENTUCKY

2022 record: 7-6

Outlook: The Wildcats lost starting quarterback Will Levis to the NFL, but did well in the transfer portal finding his replacement, nabbing former NC State signal caller Devin Leary. Leary had a productive career at NC State the previous four seasons and has one year of eligibility left after missing much of last season with an injury. Leary will get to work under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Liam Coen, who is back for his second stint in Lexington.


5. FLORIDA

2022 record: 6-7

Outlook: The Gators opened Billy Napier's first season with an upset of Utah but not much else went right after that. Quarterback Anthony Richardson is gone after being drafted fourth overall in the 2023 NFL Draft and Wisconsin transfer Graham Mertz and Jack Miller left much to be desired in the spring game. Florida does return one of the better backfields in the league in Trevor Etienne and Montrell Johnson though and may have to lean on those two offensively.


6. MISSOURI

2022 record: 6-7

Outlook: The Tigers struggled to find consistency at quarterback last season. Brady Cook passed for 2,739 yards, 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions but the coaching staff added Miami transfer Jake Garcia to the room. Missouri also lost one of its top receivers in Dominic Lovett who transferred to Georgia. Receiver Luther Burden III is back after a strong freshman season, though.


7. VANDERBILT

2022 record: 5-7

Outlook: The Commodores were on the cusp of making a bowl game in Clark Lea's second season. Vanderbilt beat Kentucky and Florida late in the season but fell to Tennessee to finsh with five wins. A.J. Swann is back at quarterback after finishing with 1,274 yards and 10 touchdowns in just nine games lat season.

SEC WEST

1. LSU

2022 record: 10-4

Outlook: The Tigers impressed in Brian Kelly's first season, turning around in October and beating Alabama en route to an SEC Western Division crown. LSU is in good shape at quarterback with Jayden Daniels back and a plethora of offensive weapons, including wide receiver Malik Nabers at his disposal. The defense should be good, too with linebacker Harold Perkins coming off of a productive freshman season.


2. ALABAMA

2022 record: 11-2

Outlook: The offseason has been one of transition for the Crimson Tide. Nick Saban hired a pair of new coordinators with Kevin Steele on defense and Tommy Rees on offense to replace Pete Golding and Bill O'Brien, respectively. Replacing quarterback Bryce Young, who was drafted as the No. 1 overall pick will be among the biggests tasks, though. Alabama added Tyler Buchner from Notre Dame to go up against Ty Simpson and Jalen Milroe for the starting job.


3. OLE MISS

2022 record: 8-5

Outlook: For now, the Rebels boast one of the best quarterbacks rooms in the league with returning starter Jaxson Dart and transfers Walker Howard (LSU) and Spencer Sanders (Oklahoma State). Offense shouldn't be a problem for Ole Miss under Lane Kiffin but it will have to improve on defense after struggling the last two seasons. Kiffin hired Pete Golding from Alabama at the end of the season to try and make headway there.


4. TEXAS A&M

2022 record: 5-7

Outlook: The Aggies were one play away from beating Alabama in Tuscaloosa and shocked LSU to end the regular season but losses to Appalachian State and Auburn overshadowed the few successes in Jimbo Fisher's fifth season. To fix some of those issues, Fisher made a controversial hire in Bobby Petrino as the new offensive coordinator to help out quarterback Conner Weigman who appeaered in five games last season.


5. ARKANSAS

2022 record: 7-6

Outlook: Coming off an eight-win season in 2021, the Razorbacks started the season in the top 25 and were as high as No. 10 following a 3-0 start to 2022. Arkansas lost six of its last nine, which inlcuded losses to Texas A&M, Liberty and Missouri. The good news for Sam Pittman is he returns experienced quarterback K.J. Jefferson but had to find replacements at both offensive and defensive coordinator after Kendal Briles took the same position at TCU.


6. MISSISSIPPI STATE

2022 record: 9-4

Outlook: Defensive coordinator Zach Arnett was elevated to head coach after the passing of Mike Leach last December and it's hard to gauge what will or won't change for the Bulldogs after a 9-win season in 2022. Mississippi State has talent to work with at quarterback with Will Rogers back. Rogers put up big numbers last seasn, passing for 3,974 yards and 35 touchdowns, but it will be interesting to see how the offense looks under first-year coordinator Kevin Barbay.


7. AUBURN

2022 record: 5-7

Outlook: The Bryan Harsin project crashed and burned before the end of the Tigers' season but Auburn hired away Hugh Freeze from Liberty. Freeze knows how to win in the SEC, which he did at Ole Miss before being fired under grevious circumstances in 2017. Quarterback Robby Ashford is back and Freeze added Michigan State's Payton Thorne from the transfer portal last week.

*****

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens.

Advertisement