Vanderbilt Falls Off
Last season, Vanderbilt was one of the most underrated and surprising teams in the nation. Unfortunately, they have lost too many assets, including head coach James Franklin. In regards to player talent, Vanderbilt lost their top three receivers, which most notably included Jordan Matthews. On top of that, they lost their starting quarterback and best offensive lineman- and that is all just in regards to the offense.
Defensively, the losses of Andre Hal and Kenny Ladler will noticeably hurt the Vanderbilt secondary. New head coach Derek Mason is a brilliant coach, but it will be his first season and the talent to succeed simply is not there. Vanderbilt will revert back to their mediocre state in 2014.
Alabama Regains Their Reign
Last season, the Auburn Tigers won the conference championship, but they will be a changed team next season. While AJ McCarron did not turn the ball over much, he restricted what the offense was able to do. With a new quarterback in Jacob Coker and a new offensive coordinator in Lane Kiffin, the offense will look anew. Coker will be throwing to Amari Cooper and OJ Howard, among others, which will make his transition into a starting role much easier. Likewise, Alabama’s three-headed rushing attack will take pressure off Coker and force teams to load the box.
Their defense will still be one of the best, if not the best, in the conference as well. The front, lead by A’Shawn Robinson, will be a disruptive group whose efforts have a “domino effect” on the rest of the defense and make their tasks easier. Holding up the secondary will be Landon Collins, who has the potential to outplay 2013’s Ha Ha Clinton-Dix. Overall, plenty of talent is still on the team and the offense will be a more versatile, aggressive group.
Vernon Hargreaves Wins SEC Defensive Player of the Year
Though just a sophomore, Hargreaves is the most talented corner in the conference, if not all of college football. His blend of athleticism, fluidity, ball skills, and technique is impressive for anyone, let alone a young player fresh out of high school. Of course, he had his fair share of mistakes as a freshman, but in 2014, he will be completely ready for SEC football and will be able to handle any of the conference’s best receivers, including Cooper. Hargreaves will essentially take his man out of the play and force the opposing quarterback to look elsewhere. Despite being a cornerback, Hargreaves is the type of playmaker that will get the statistical production to compliment his intangible play on field.
Georgia Disappoints Mightily
Whereas most downfalls of teams are due to problems on both offense and defense, Georgia’s problems are almost solely on offense. Aside from their running back corps, there is simply not enough talent on the offense for it to function like it has in years past under Aaron Murray. Hutson Mason is, quite frankly, nowhere near the talent that Murray was and will not be able to be as efficient as Murray was. To make matters worse, Georgia lost most of their offensive line and will be playing with what is essentially a new corps. The offense will struggle to keep up with other offenses in the conference. On a tangent, their defense, which is not a bad squad, will not be able to hold opposing teams to fewer points than Georgia’s offense can muster up. For reference, Georgia’s 2014 will be reminiscent of Florida’s 2011 season.