SEC EAST PREVIEW
Two weeks until SEC football…It’s time for previews. Who wins the East? Are there any surprises to watch out for?
By: Bossman Slim
Is it JT Daniels and the Dawgs year? (Photo: Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)
Y’all, we’re down to just two weeks from SEC football. September 4th is right around the corner, and it’s going to be glorious. Buy your charcoal and wood chips now, stock up that beer fridge and prepare for your tailgate. SEC Football is back, baby.
As we’re so close to the season, it’s time for B&S to get in on the previews action and call our shots for the 2021 season. Who will win the East? Can anyone challenge Georgia? Is JT Daniels Georgia’s Joe Burrow? Does the winner of the East have a shot at Alabama? Will there be any surprises from the three new coaches on this side of the conference? We’ll answer all these and give our final standings prediction.
And be on the lookout for our West preview, which we’ll announce on our social channels @biscuitsandsec real soon.
SEC East
1. Georgia Bulldogs
The Hammer went on The DGD Podcast to talk Dawgs, so go give that a listen. We’re going to go out on a real limb here. No one is picking these guys, so we’re here to do the dirty work. Psych, this is the easiest pick that side of the Mississippi. Georgia is absolutely stacked. They return JT Daniels who is a Heisman candidate and who we expect to show that he’s a gamer. We love his mentality and his work ethic. He was born for this.
They also have a stable of running backs that would make Bob Baffert blush. Zeus and James Cook return, along with last year’s breakout player Kendall Milton. The defense is going to be solid, retiring linebackers Nakobi Dean (71 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 2020) and Quay Walker who had 43 tackles in 2020. The secondary was a big question mark heading into the season, but Kirby Smart(ly) picked up some talent in the transfer portal to bolster the backend, which is now a strength on paper. Cornerback Derion Kendrick from Clemson, Star nickel back Tykee Smith from West Virginia. Smith had 61 tackles and 2 INTs in 2020 while Kendrick had 18 tackles and 1 INT in 2020. In 2019, Kendrick had 2 INTs 43 tackles. We will be keeping an eye on Tykee Smith’s foot injury, which could keep him out of the Clemson game and beyond.
There’s a reason everyone and their mom is picking the Dawgs to come out of this East: because they should. If they don’t something has gone seriously wrong, and Kirby’s seat will inevitably warm. This is the year.
2. Florida Gators
It’s all Emory Jones’ show in 2021. (Photo: John Raoux, AP Photo)
I mentioned this on SEC After Dark with Steven Willis, but the Gators are getting the short end of the stick from all the pundits. Many are sour on the boys from Gainesville this year, but I’m not. This is Florida after all, an SEC power until proven otherwise, who just went to the SEC championship last year. I know they lose a lot, but I don’t care. It’s Florida. They recruit with the best of them. And Dan Mullen has shown he can coach, and did more with less at Mississippi State. He’s a magician, don’t count Darth Mullen out yet.
This all hinges on the most important position on the field, a spot where the Gators have to replace Heisman finalist Kyle Trask. Emory Jones has big shoes to fill, but I have confidence he can fill them. Jones was a big-time recruit that the Gators flipped from Ohio State back in the day, and with three years in Dan Mullen’s system under his belt, he’s primed and ready to go. People are worried about the offense, but how quickly they forget how well Mullen used running QBs in Starkville. Dak Prescott and Nick Fitzgerald were Fast and Furious at Davis-Wade and beyond, and I expect to see some SportsCenter Top 10 runs from Jones.
Jones can’t do it by himself though. He’ll need help from two places: skill positions and the defense. At the skill positions, Florida has multiple running backs with NFL talent, but all are unproven. The offensive line is a question mark - they return two starters but will need to mesh to give Emory Jones time. Much the same can be said about the wide receivers. You can’t replace the production of Kyle Pitts, Kadarious Toney and Trevon Grimes right away, but new receivers will have to step up, and quickly. Jacob Copeland is Florida's lone returning starter at wide receiver, and Trent Whittemore saw meaningful playing time in the slot to kick off the 2020 season, but was derailed by a rib/lung injury. Maybe it’s those two, maybe it’s a name we don’t know who steps up to fill the void.
On Todd Grantham’s side of the ball, he’s breaking in new coaches after cleaning house over the offseason to save his own job. There is optimism in Gainesville that this could be a turnaround year for the once-feared Gators defense. It all starts up front. Last year, Florida’s defensive line was undersized and often underperformed. While Florida mustered 35 sacks as a team, the defensive line only accounted for 12 of those. That won’t cut it, and Grantham knows it. If Grantham can’t get the defense turned around this year, we don’t expect him to be neighbors with Coach Mullen much longer.
Don’t sleep on Florida.
3. Missouri Tigers
I love what Eli Drinkwitz has going on in Columbia. He’s creating buzz around the program, he’s instilling fight in his players, and he’s building a winning culture. Plus he’s got a sharp wit and a keen offensive mind. Mizzou got a steal when they hired Drinkwitz away from App State before last season. We questioned it at first due to his lack of experience as a head coach, but Drinkwitz is proving us wrong.
Conor Bazelak returns to lead the offense with much hype surrounding him. He loses Mizzou legend Larry Rountree III to carry the ball, but he’s got two talented RB replacements in Tyler Badie and Elijah Young. Mizzou fans are also excited to see what 2020 leading receiver Keke Chism can do in his return. He had 35 catches for 451 yards and 1 TD - they’ll look for even more production from him this year. Tauskie Dove, who hauled in 30 balls for 300 yards and two touchdowns also returns.
On defense, the Tigers will need to reload after losing their leading tackler, linebacker Nick Bolton, to the NFL. They also can’t afford to have the inconsistent play they did last year, such as holding Kentucky to 10 points, then getting smoked by a depleted Mississippi State team 51-32.
If Drinkwitz can shore up the defense, we trust him and Bazelak with the offense. This is the Show Me State…so show us Mizzou is ready to make a move, Eli.
4. Tennessee Volunteers
Trevon Flowers will be the veteran leader in the Vols locker room. (Photo: UT Athletics)
Here’s our first shot. And I know, picking a team 4th doesn’t seem like going out on a limb. But hardly anyone is picking Tennessee in this spot, and almost everyone has Kentucky at 3-4. I disagree.
Tennessee does not have a ton in the tank when it comes to this roster. It’s a depleted mess after the Jeremy Pruitt era when most of the top talent either left for the NFL or transferred. Good thing I’m not a defense attorney, because that’s not a great start to defending my thesis.
But hear me out: Heupel is a new commodity in the SEC with a proven offensive scheme that has given teams fits. Remember Kevin Sumlin in 2012? No one expected A&M to go 11-2 and slay the Alabama dragon in Tuscaloosa that year, but they did. Sumlin also came from a mid-major with a reputation for lighting up scoreboards. Or what about Gus Malzahn? He came in and took the SEC by storm in his first two years as well, coming from being a head coach at a mid-major and out-scheming teams on offense.
No, Heupel does not have a Johnny Manziel or a Tre Mason or Cameron Artis-Payne. But he does still have some talent in the locker room, and I think he can surprise people with it.
Heupel first needs to name a starting QB. He has a crowded room with 3 guys who all have a legitimate shot at winning the starting job. Harrison Bailey is a talented sophomore who looked good in the spring game, but we’re expecting Michigan transfer Joe Milton to win the job. Milton has the talent to succeed but will need to quickly get caught up on the playbook. Hendon Hooker transferred in from VT and is also in the mix. Whoever Heupel tabs to start, we like his options in the room.
After that, Vols fans are trying to get excited about RB Jabari Small, who rushed for 117 yards on 26 carries in 2020. Super senior Velus Jones also returns in 2021. He had 22 receptions for 280 yards and 3 TDs in 2020. Jalin Hyatt, a former 4-star recruit, returns for his sophomore campaign. Hyatt reeled in 20 catches for 276 yards and 2 TDs as a freshman last season.
The defense loses their two leading tacklers Henry To’o To’o and Harry Potter Alum Quvarious Crouch to Alabama and Michigan State, respectively. Those are big shoes to fill. Standout DB Trevon Flowers returns after logging 63 tackles in 2020. Jaylen McCollough, who had 43 tackles in 2020, also returns at the other safety position.
I’m high on Tennessee for a minor surprise this year.
5. Kentucky Wildcats
Big Blue Nation is set to pounce on me. I get it, you have a good argument to be above Tennessee and Mizzou. Actually, it’s not a good argument.
I love what Mark Stoops has done in Lexington. He has built a respected brand out of what was once an oft-maligned football program. But last year was worrisome, and all these pundits already singing the 2021 Wildcats praises doesn’t make much sense to me.
Who is the QB on this team? Joey Gatewood was unimpressive in his time under center last year and just transferred. So now, it’s all up to Will Levis, the Penn State transfer. Not to rain on the parade, but Levis couldn’t lock down a starting role in Happy Valley and was more known for his running ability there than his arm. He only attempted 55 passes at PSU. Supposedly Kentucky has figured out the forward pass in the new offense being implemented by fresh OC, Liam Coen. But if they don’t have a QB who can sling it with consistent accuracy, who the hell cares? It will still be Chris Rodriguez Jr. running into 8 and 9-man front brick walls if Levis can’t turn into a slinger. This wide receiver group also did not impress me last year, they need significant improvement before I can get behind this offense. Maybe they’re be bolstered by big-time WR transfer Wan-Dale Robinson who came to Kentucky by way of Nebraska, but the jury is out for me.
I need to see it before I believe for this Wildcats team. Prove me wrong.
6. South Carolina Gamecocks
Shane Beamer is back, this time as the head ball coach (Photo: Travis Bell, Sideline Carolina)
Thank goodness for Gamecocks fans that South Carolina sits on the Atlantic seaboard because if this program was in the SEC West, they would be facing 40 years in the desert. And even in the East, that still may be the case.
South Carolina tried to recycle Florida’s cast-off coach again, but on the second go-around, it didn’t work. Will Muschamp is a stand-up man of character who players loved, but who fans turned on when the results didn’t show up on the field. Muschamp wanted fans to “get the f*ck out of their seats” but gave the Spurs Up crowd little to cheer for in his tenure.
Now, it’s Shane Beamer’s mess to clean up. The first-time head coach knows USC well, having been an assistant under Spurrier, and recently learned under Lincoln Riley. Beamer is a home run in terms of character and leading young men. But USC just had one of those, and they fired him. Ray Tanner knows that character and good team GPAs are icing on the cake in today’s college football. Winning is all that really matters.
So can Shane Beamer win? Not this year. Luke Doty took over the starting job late last season and will return under center. He is talented at QB and has promise, but he’ll be learning a new offense and loses his top target in Shi Smith. Doty does have a friend in Preseason All-SEC RB pick Kevin Harris who will help shoulder the load. There’s not much returning at receiver, but guys like Jalen Brooks, Xavier Legette, Josh Vann and others will be looked at to step up their game. South Carolina also added EJ Jenkins and Ahmarean Brown in the transfer portal over the offseason, and both should immediately factor into the wide receiver rotation. Brown caught seven touchdowns as a freshman at Georgia Tech, while Jenkins tallied 779 receiving yards at St. Francis University in 2019, setting a school record with 13 scores.
On defense, the Garnet and Black replace Jaycee Horn, a top 10 pick in the NFL draft, as well as Ishmael Mukuamu who is now with the Cowboys. USC will be implementing a new 4-2-5 scheme to get another DB on the field. But the cupboard is pretty bare on defense.
Carolina needs to implement culture and scheme this year while pounding the recruiting trail…which is much the same message for our last team.
7. Vanderbilt Commodores
Death, taxes, and Vanderbilt coming in last in the SEC East. It’s like clockwork, with only a slight blip in the last 20 years with James Franklin.
This year will be no different, even starting fresh with new head coach Clark Lea. Clark Lea’s anchor is always down, and as a Black and Gold alum, he knows what it will take for Vanderbilt to be a successful program. He was most recently the DC at Notre Dame and has a good track record.
Vandy could be a good football program. Who doesn’t want to go to school in Nashville? If I was a recruit and knew we could compete at Vandy, I’d go there in a heartbeat. Have you seen those beautiful Tennessee country girls in Nashville? Go have fun on Broadway? Sign me up. 18 year old me wouldn’t have blinked.
While Lea builds for the future, he still has to play this season. Ken Seals returns for year two under center. The talented Texan showed promise last year and should be the starter.
Otherwise, what else is there to talk about? Vandy needs help everywhere. Lea needs to instill belief and fight in the locker room and show that these perennial underdogs can overachieve on the field. Then he needs his staff to hit the recruiting trail harder than any staff in America to sell the Nashville dream and toughness of Vandy football.
But this year is not that year.
So there you have it, B&S SEC East picks are in. But now we need to answer the final few questions we posed at the outset.
Is JT Daniels the Joe Burrow of Georgia?
Yes. I believe in the Dawgs this year. JT Daniels is going to ball out. He’ll be a Heisman finalist. Turtleneck’s aside, he’s a vet, he prepares like an NFL QB, he can make all the throws and he has the talent around him at all levels to take this team to the Natty. I think we will see JT and the Funky Bunch in Lucas Oil Stadium. Can he solidify his Burrow status and finish the job? I waffle on this one…but I think this is Georgia’s year.
Can the winner of the East get through Alabama?
This assumes Alabama wins the West, which I’m not totally sold on, but that the rest of the national media assumes is a forgone conclusion. The previous answer says it all though. I’m picking the Dawgs to win the Natty, and they may have to get through Alabama twice to do it.
The rest of the questions we answered above. It’s been fun, let’s do this again for the SEC West real soon.
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