Projecting 'Best of SEC East' awards in 2015
Yes, another story involving preseason SEC superlatives, but this one’s covering ALL the bases in the Eastern Division.
Best team
Georgia
The Bulldogs are the Vegas favorite to win the division and my personal pick to win the SEC this season. The schedule’s scary, sure, but the talent’s there to put together something special for Mark Richt if the quarterback situation is solved and Georgia can escape the cross-divisional slate. I don’t think there’s any glaring flaws with this year’s team and no other squad in the SEC can say that at this point.
Best coach
Butch Jones, Tennessee
It’s time to turn it around in Knoxville and that’s going to happen this season for Jones. Equipped with the best starting lineup Tennessee’s had on both sides of the football since the Fulmer era, the Vols will — at worst — finish tied for second in the East with nine victories and a quality bowl berth.
Best quarterback
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
The junior’s individual success coincides with his team’s push toward the top of the division and he’s the only quarterback in the East besides Mizzou’s Maty Mauk who is considered a legitimate rushing threat when he’s on the move. The key for Dobbs is to make smart decisions with the football and let his teammates around him make plays. There’s plenty of weapons on offense and Tennessee’s attack should be one of the league’s most prolific.
Best running back
Nick Chubb, Georgia
He’s not going to hit the 2,000-yard mark thanks to Georgia’s immense depth behind him, but keeping some of the tread on Chubb’s tires will come in handy during key late-season contests, including the SEC Championship Game. If I had to choose the league’s Heisman frontrunner it would be this sparkling sophomore, a no-nonsense ballcarrier with a work ethic most players covet.
Best wide receiver
Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina
Pickings are slim as far as top returning wideouts in the East, but Cooper sticks out as a player the Gamecocks will rely on mightily this season. The only wideout in the SEC who can beat you on the ground and through the air in addition to his pass-catching specialties, Cooper’s numbers will increase with an expansive role and more touches within the offense.
Best offensive lineman
Greg Pyke, Georgia
The only near unanimous choice on every All-SEC preseason team this summer from the Eastern Division, Pyke’s part of the season Georgia’s running game will be so dominant this season. He’s the most talented of the Bulldogs’ four returning starters up front and earned all-league accolades as a sophomore last fall. Not to mention he’s one of the SEC’s biggest guards at nearly 6-foot-7, 315 pounds.
Best defensive lineman
Derek Barnett, Tennessee
Admittedly, I have some SEC East bias. I just think this is the year the division repairs its ego to an extent and finally handles the West in several cross-divisional showdowns. Barnett’s my choice for league player of the year defensively, a faster and more agile version of a Warren Sapp-caliber rusher. He could play inside, but Tennessee has positioned Barnett to make plays at end. Based on his freshman results, Barnett might as well have the opposition’s playbook in his head the way he’s able to anticipate where the play’s headed after every snap.
Best linebacker
Leonard Floyd, Georgia
Long, lean and mean with a streak for viciousness. The junior pass rusher with the tight end’s frame is the kind of player that gives offensive coordinators fits because it’s impossible to account for such a skilled athlete on the outside. Whether he drops back in coverage and annihilates a hapless ballcarrier off the edge on his way toward the quarterback, Floyd going to give you everything he’s got at full speed for four quarters. He missed spring practice following shoulder surgery, but should return to full strength by mid-August.
Best defensive back
Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
Surprisingly, this award’s debatable despite Hargreaves being projected as the first cornerback taken off the board in next year’s NFL Draft (if he comes out). Tennessee’s Cam Sutton, who could make the full-time shift over to nickelback as a junior, comes in a very close second with considerable range and playmaking ability. Hargreaves is more of the Darrelle Revis clone, a corner who is extremely fast and physical despite being under 6-feet and 200 pounds. He’s a player who will have an impact at the next level very quickly, much like former Gators DB Joe Haden.
Best special teamer
Isaiah McKenzie, Georgia
Lost at times during the Chubb and Todd Gurley show last fall, McKenzie made quite a splash as a true freshman with three special teams returns for touchdowns. In the open field, few are better than the 5-foot-8, 170-pound speedster with elite quickness. Some of the cuts he made last fall were NFL-esque and left defenders in his wake. McKenzie will show five-star freshman Terry Godwin a couple techniques on offense and in the return game this fall.
Best true freshman
Martez Ivey, Florida
A prized five-star tackle with a great shot at earning a starting job from Day 1, Ivey arrives in Gainesville to help bolster a unit depleted of returning starters — and overall talent — during Jim McElwain’s first season. Ivey moves effortlessly for his size and if the learning curve isn’t steep for the Apopa, Fla., native, he’ll be an Freshman All-American performer.
Best newcomer
Marquavius Lewis, South Carolina
Waddya know, Steve Spurrier’s found himself a pass rusher. The JUCO transfer is a special immediate impact player and proved his worth during the spring after earning team MVP honors on defense. Lewis’ strength is in a three-point stance against the pass, but he isn’t afraid to get down and dirty in run support. And the Gamecocks surely need it.
Best breakout player (offense)
Nate Brown, Mizzou
The Tigers need someone to step up and become Mauk’s go-to target and my guess is Brown, a player with serious talent and a vast skill set if he can stay healthy. He’s shown flashes in minimal action, but like most of Mizzou’s crop of wideouts, struggles with drops at times. By August, Brown will be battling for the Tigers’ No. 1 spot along with Wesley Leftwich and J’Mon Moore.
Best breakout player (defense)
Lorenzo Carter, Georgia
Anyone who reads this site on a daily basis knows I’ve been extremely high on Carter throughout the offseason, a player I feel has more raw talent than any athlete in the conference, perhaps college football. Not only does Carter have the potential to exceed Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins’ production numbers at outside linebacker on his own team, but the sophomore has a chance to be amongst the nation’s leaders in plays behind the line of scrimmage at season’s end. He’s a nasty player and Jeremy Pruitt’s lucky to have him for two more years.
Best win
I haven’t yet revealed our SDS Crystal Ball game-by-game predictions for the 2015 season (that comes closer to Media Days), but I will say Georgia’s going to take care of business against Alabama between the hedges to strengthen the East’s ‘we’re on the upswing’ argument this fall.