For a division that claims to be the best in college football – and rightly so – there are plenty of huge question marks floating around the SEC West as the 2016 season approaches.

Most of them center around the quarterback position, where only Ole Miss (Chad Kelly) and LSU (Brandon Harris) have a returning starter at the game’s most important position. Battles for the starting QB spots will likely rage on throughout the spring and early fall at Alabama, Auburn, Arkansas, Texas A&M and Mississippi State.

That’s a whole lot of uncertainty, especially after most everyone has felt fairly established at that position the last few years.

Here’s a look at the biggest hurdle each of the seven SEC West schools have to overcome in the offseason:

Alabama Crimson Tide

The defending national champions have the country’s best coach in Nick Saban and will probably have a top-three defense in 2016 as well, even with the departure of longtime defensive coordinator Kirby Smart to Georgia.

Much will be made of replacing Jake Coker at quarterback, because it is the game’s most important position after all, but the biggest thing might be someone stepping up to be the feature back to replace Heisman winner Derrick Henry. As long as Saban is there, the Tide will want to be a run-oriented team and he’ll have plenty of options from top recruits Bo Scarbrough, Damien Harris and B.J. Emmons. It will be interesting to see who emerges from that group or if it plays out as running back by committee. Henry carried the ball 395 times last year and that’s certainly not going to happen again.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Arkansas lost a ton of weapons on offense and can only feel comfortable at wide receiver coming into the 2016 season. Finding a quarterback is most critical, though seeing who steps up at running back and along the offensive line is going to be interesting, too.

Brandon Allen is gone at QB, and he’ll likely be replaced by his little brother, Austin, who got a few snaps as the backup last year, but not many. It’s a wide open race this spring and that battle might carry into the fall. Ricky Town, Rafe Peavey and Ty Storey are all going to get a good look at quarterback.

Auburn Tigers

The Tigers have concerns at quarterback after Jeremy Johnson and Sean White both struggled with inconsistency in 2015. But the biggest offseason hurdle is going to come on the defensive side of the ball, where the Tigers lost their way the last two years. It’s a fix that has to happen in 2016.

Will Muschamp is gone as defensive coordinator and Kevin Steele takes over. This group was horrible the first half of the season but showed improvement down the stretch and completely shut down a good Memphis offense in their bowl win. In 2016, the defensive line should be very good, anchored by Carl Lawson and Montravius Adams and – hopefully – a big step up from former No. 1 recruit Byron Cowart. There are still holes to fill at linebacker and in the secondary, but if the Tigers are going to contend, this group has to carry them.

LSU Tigers

LSU just might have the best defense in the division, so here’s their biggest challenge for the offseason: Prepare to prove it. Even with Leonard Fournette back at running back, as long as Brandon Harris is at the controls, the LSU offense isn’t going to go out and score 40 a game.

That’s where the defense comes in. Being very good won’t be enough. They need to be the best, and they need to help the Tigers win some huge showdowns 10-7 if need be. They’ve got the skill do it, with linebacker Kendell Beckwith, defensive tackle Christian LaCouture, defensive end Lewis Neal and defensive backs Tre’Davious White and Rickey Jefferson all returning to Baton Rouge after flirting with early departures to the NFL. This defense should be something special. But again, go prove it.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Three years of Dak Prescott spoiled the Bulldogs, so seeing how the quarterback race plays out this spring and early fall is going to be interesting. Nick Fitzgerald is the leader in the clubhouse, because he’s at least seen some action behind Prescott and has prepared well to play these last two years. But he will get some competition.

This is a year of transition for the Bulldogs, so this is going to be a critical spring for the coaching staff to get a lot of good work done. Coach Dan Mullen has changed the culture in Starkville since arriving in 2009 and they’ve reached the point where they expect to win now. That’s going to be a challenge in 2016, so building a faith in their leaders on the field will be a good goal going forward.

Ole Miss Rebels

It’s nice having the best returning quarterback in the SEC – or is that the country? – in Chad Kelly, but the most interesting hurdle to overcome is developing that stud receiver who can be the go-to guy much like LaQuon Treadwell was a year ago for the pass-happy Rebels.

There are plenty of options, certainly. Kelly should wind up working well with Quincy Adeboyejo and Damore’ea Stringfellow, both of whom have star potential. Treadwell leaves huge shoes to fill, but these guys can do it. Don’t be a bit surprised if Stringfellow leads the league in catches this year. Their goal as a group for the spring is to get comfortable and be on the same page on every route. If that happens, they are going to be tough to stop, both in the league and nationally.

Texas A&M Aggies

Having two five-star quarterback recruits walk away would put any program on the hot seat. That’s the case at A&M after Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray both transferred. So Kevin Sumlin, who’s seat is getting very warm in College Station, needs to find some immediate answers at the position, especially since the Aggies have great weapons at wide receiver.

Oklahoma transfer Trevor Knight should be able to step right in at QB, and he’s proven through the years that he can win big games. But he’s also proven that he can lose his job, which is what happened with the Sooners. He’ll need to play well from the get-go and get comfortable with his receivers quickly. If he does, the Aggies may surprise some people this year.