Avoiding disaster: What can't go wrong for all 16 SEC teams
- Franz Beard
- Jul 9, 2025
- 9 min read
A few thoughts to jump start your Wednesday afternoon:
As we close in on SEC Media Days, the prelude to the 2025 college football season, here is a look at all 16 SEC teams and what has to go right if they are to avoid a disastrous season.
ALABAMA: The big question at Alabama centers around new offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb. He was brilliant with Michael Penix at Washington. Can he do the same for Ty Simpson, a former 5-star recruit who has thrown only 50 passes, none for touchdowns, in his career? Alabama has one of the two best wide receivers in the country in Ryan Williams. He’s a game changer but Simpson has to get the ball to him. Can Grubb do for Simpson what he did for Penix. If he can’t Alabama will struggle.
ARKANSAS: The Razorbacks have a very good QB in Taylon Green, but all the experienced receivers are somewhere else. There is also that teensy matter of who’s going to give time for Green to throw the football? The O-line will have four new starters. Hog fans will tell you the newbies can’t be worse than the departures. The problems are two-fold. If Arkansas can’t find consistent receivers and decent O-linemen who can block it will be a very long season.
AUBURN: Quarterback is an issue but the hope is that Jackson Arnold is a better fit in a Hugh Freeze offense than he was at Oklahoma. The real question for Auburn is going to be that front seven defensively where there are a lot of new faces for coordinator DJ Durkin to work with. Durkin has a stud in DE Keldrick Faulk, but six other newbies have to get the job done and he’s got to find someone other than Faulk who can rush the passer. If Auburn can’t improve on last year’s 28 sacks, the Tigers will be very vulnerable defensively.
FLORIDA: Don’t worry about Billy Napier’s offense. It’s going to be explosive and very balanced. Florida’s skill people are as good as there are in the SEC starting with DJ Lagway, running backs Jadan Baugh and Ja’Kobi Jackson, and receivers Dallas Wilson, J. Michael Sturdivant, Tre Wilson and Vernell Brown III. The O-line could be as good as there is in the country. Where the Gators have to be good is on defense where the question is can Ron Roberts have an entire season like he had the last four games of 2024? With Roberts in the booth the defense came on at the end to play like it belonged in the SEC. Roberts has to have an outstanding year calling the defense or the Gators will have trouble.
GEORGIA: Kirby Smart says Gunner Stockton is the best QB Georgia has had in his nine years and that includes Stetson Bennett who won a couple of national championships. That seems like a reach for people who saw Stockton in the loss to Notre Dame in the playoff semifinals last year. If Georgia simply needs a game manager, Stockton might be adequate. If they need more, the Bulldogs are likely to be in deepest and darkest.
KENTUCKY: A year ago, Kentucky thought it had the stud QB who was going to take them to a 10-win season in former 5-star Brock Vandagriff, who transferred in from Georgia. Vandagriff stunk and so did Kentucky’s offense (No. 114 nationally). Vandagriff elected to retire from football and the best the Wildcats could do is Zach Calzada, now in his 7th year of college football, this time via D1AA Incarnate Word. He won’t have the benefit of stud receivers Dane Key and Barrion Brown. The thought in Kentucky is that Calzada can’t be worse than Vandagriff but if he can’t at least play at the same level, the Wildcats are in trouble.
LSU: The natives are getting restless. Three years and zero appearances in either the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff are not what was expected when AD Scott Woodward lured Brian Kelly from Notre Dame with a 10-year, $100 million contract. Despite four offensive linemen drafted by the NFL, LSU couldn’t run the ball last year (No. 107 nationally) and as the Florida game proved, really wasn’t that adept in pass protection (six sacks allowed). If the O-line can’t run block to give the Tigers some offensive balance, they’ll be in trouble.
MISSISSIPPI STATE: Where to begin? Year two of the Jeff Lebby era has as many questions as last year. This is a program that is undergoing a complete makeover and it might take an entire season to see progress on either side of the ball. The front seven on defense lacks experience and depth. If there is no early progress, the Bulldogs are going to be in more trouble than they are already.
MISSOURI: Eli Drinkwitz, who keeps surprising us by winning without high profile recruits, lost all his starting skill people so there will be plenty of new faces. He replaced quarterback Brady Cook with former Penn State backup Beau Pribula and his 2-headed monster at running back with Louisiana-Monroe’s Ahmad Hardy. Pribula is a dual threat guy who was stuck behind a 3-year starter. As a freshman, Hardy ran for 1,351 yards and 13 TDs. For Mizzou to be an upper echelon team in the SEC, these guys can’t have a mediocre season.
OKLAHOMA: The offense sucked last year (113th nationally). The O-line couldn’t block anybody and the running game was non-existent. A lot of fingers point to Washington State QB John Mateer as the answer to the offensive woes. He’s certainly an improvement over Jackson Arnold, who struggled, but the guy who holds the key is California transfer running back Jaydn Ott. Ott ran for more than 2,200 yards and 20 TDs in his first two years at Cal. Injured much of last year, he averaged only 3.3 yards a carry. If Ott isn’t recovered and back to his pre-injury form and the O-line has another season like 2024, Brent Venables and the Sooners are in deepest and darkest.
OLE MISS: Nobody works the portal like Lane Kiffin, who has 30 new faces to work with this season. Three new transfers from the portal will start on the O-line and three in the secondary. The Rebels have had success with transfers on the O-line so that’s less of a concern than the secondary. Ole Miss ranked 12th in the SEC in pass defense a year ago. If the newbies on the back end aren’t any better than last year, then the Rebels will be in trouble.
SOUTH CAROLINA: The new offensive coordinator is Mike Shula, who hasn’t had a good year running an offense since he was working with Cam Newton more than 10 years ago with the Carolina Panthers. Shula has a Newton-like QB to work with in LaNorris Sellers, a strong runner with a big arm. Can Shula take Sellers to the next level. If he can the Gamecocks could be really good. If not, the season could go in the tank.
TENNESSEE: When Nico Iamaleava was shown the door after demanding more NIL money, the Vols went into a scramble mode and came up with former App State QB Joey Aguilar in the portal. A year ago he threw 14 interceptions which is a concern. UT quarterbacks have thrown only 18 interceptions combined in the last four years. If Aguilar can’t cut down on the picks, then the Vols are going to struggle.
TEXAS: On paper the Longhorns are the nation’s most complete team, which is why nearly everyone has them No. 1 going into the season but there are questions such as will Arch Manning live up to the hype that comes with being a Manning and who’s going to catch the football. The thought is that Manning will be a star but only if his receivers are good enough to loosen opposing secondaries. The Longhorns had 176 pass plays of at least 10 yards a year ago, 80 of which went for more than 20 yards. The new receivers have to be good enough to back the safeties up or the Longhorns will have difficulty.
TEXAS A&M: The Aggies started strong and fizzled at the end a year ago when they were absolutely loaded. The Aggies were next to last in the SEC giving up long plays on the ground, near the bottom in explosive plays by their runners. The defensive front has been retooled and it has to be better against the run. The Aggies hope Le’Veon Moss can be the answer to an explosive running game. If the Aggies aren’t better defending the run and running the ball, they will have problems meeting expectations.
VANDERBILT: The Commodores shocked the world with a 7-6 record last year. Seven starters return on a defense that should be at least middle of the pack in the SEC. For the offense to be good, Clark Lea has to find some continuity and chemistry on the O-line where he’s replacing four starters with transfers. Can the O-line give QB Diego Pavia time to work his magic? He was sacked only 18 times all last year. Better yet, can they run block? For Vandy to avoid a losing season, the O-line is going to have to get the job done.
UF BASKETBALL: CLAYTON SEC MALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Walter Clayton Jr., who was a consensus All-American and the Most Outstanding Player in the NCAA Tournament for the national champion Gators, was named SEC Athlete of the Year. He’s Florida’s first SEC Male Athlete of the Year since Grant Holloway in 2019. Florida had the SEC Female Athlete of the Year in Trinity Thomas (2023) and Parker Valby (2024). All-time the Gators have had 17 SEC athletes of the year.
SUMMER LEAGUE UPDATES
Walter Clayton Jr., Utah Jazz: In an all too familiar scenario, Walt hit a 27-foot 3-pointer with 2:31 to go to put the Jazz up for good (82-80) in an 86-82 win over Oklahoma City. Walt scored 20 points, hitting 4-10 of his 3-pointers and 6-6 from the foul line. He also had four assists, one rebound, one steal and one blocked shot.
Speaking to an NBA sideline reporter post game, Clayton said he’s starting to feel comfortable and adjust to the aggressiveness and physicality of the pro game. Speaking of his team, Clayton said, “We’re young, I feel like we’re unselfish. We just play fast. It’s a good group of guys and we’re gonna be able to get stuff done.”
Will Richard, Golden State: Richard again started for the Warriors, playing 20 minutes in a 93-79 loss to Miami. Richard hit 6-16 of his shots, finishing with 12 points and five rebounds.
Phlandrous Fleming Jr., Memphis: Fleming got the start in the Grizzlies 91-90 loss to Philadelphia. He finished with nine points, two rebounds, two assists and three steals.
Osayo Osifo, San Antonio: Osifo, who spent the 2020-21 season at UF playing for Mike White, came off the bench to play 19 minutes for the Spurs in their 89-88 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Osifo scored six points and led the Spurs with seven rebounds.
UF BASEBALL: CAGLIANONE GOES DEEP
Breaking out of a lengthy slump, Jac Caglianone launched a 1-1 changeup 421 feet to dead center field off Pittsburgh’s Max Keller for his third Major League Baseball home run. Caglianone is hitting only .148 (17-115), but he’s making good contact (only 26 strikeouts) and has played very well in right field.
ONE FINAL PITHY THOUGHT
Hal Mumme is alive. Yes, that Hal Mumme, the same one who invented what is now known as the Air Raid offense, the one whose coaching tree includes the likes of Mike Leach, Lincoln Riley, Dana Holgorsen, Kliff Kingsbury, Neal Brown, Sonny Dykes, Josh Heupel, Guy Morris, Chris Hatcher, Art Briles, Will Muschamp and Kirby Smart.
Hal is the new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Centenary College in Shreveport, Louisiana, which hasn’t been relevant in anything since the days of Robert Parrish in basketball and Hal Sutton in golf. Light years ago. Centenary plays NCAA Division III football (non-scholarship) in a league that includes such notables as Texas Lutheran (Vern Lundquist’s alma mater), College of the Ozarks and Concordia.
I didn’t know they play football at Centenary.
Back to the top. We tend to forget that Hal first became relevant at Valdosta State where his coaching staff included Leach and Holgorsen. He left there after the 1996 season but Chris Hatcher, who was his QB, became head coach at VSU in 2000. Hatcher hired Muschamp and Smart, who went on to coach for Nick Saban.
Until you look at his coaching tree, you don’t begin to realize the influence Hal Mumme has had on the college game.
we will know by the end of Sept what type if team and season we will have
If the Gators are going to be great, DJ Lagway has to stay healthy all season…