As we prepare for college football-related activities to begin in the coming days, there have already been a few clusters of positive tests for some notable teams.

A star Oklahoma State linebacker was one of a few Cowboys who tested positive. Arkansas State had several players test positive.

If handled correctly, these positive tests shouldn’t affect the season. But I hope this highlights the need for testing when players arrive on campus. Some schools had said they weren’t going to test athletes, but if players test positive and are able to quarantine for the required time and then test negative, that is only going to help the process go more smoothly.

This is uncharted territory for everyone in college football, but if things are handled correctly and advice from experts is followed, we should continue to move toward games this fall, which is a very good thing.

That said, here are your questions for this week’s SDS Mailbag:

Robert:

ESPN made a list of “NFL ultimate all-conference teams.” Which conference would you take in a round-robin tournament, taking both star power and depth into consideration?

That was definitely an interesting article from ESPN, using players from each major college conference currently playing in the NFL to form all-star teams. They rank the Big Ten as the No. 1 squad, but I’d disagree.

If we’re going simply by star power, that Pac-12 squad is stacked. Christian McCaffrey, Aaron Rodgers, Keenan Allen and Gronk? Studs. However, the defense has some holes and the depth is suspect.

If these teams were to actually play, depth would be the defining factor. The same 22 guys don’t play every snap in a football game, so you need everyone on the roster to succeed. Call me biased, but I think the SEC gets the edge when you consider the depth. I don’t like that Andrew Whitworth (who is 38) is the best option at right tackle, but other than that spot, the roster is loaded.

The SEC consistently sends more first-round picks to the NFL than any other conference, and while it would be difficult to stop Russell Wilson and the Big Ten’s all-star team, I think the SEC gets the job done.

@SChinni12:

Texas governor Greg Abbott says professional and college stadiums in the state can operate at 50% capacity. What do you think about that?

I think it’s a bit too early to make claims like that. What’s the point in saying something like that in early June when the football season doesn’t start until September?

I’m not going to pretend to be a virologist or anything, but to me and my rudimentary math skills, 50% capacity means every other seat in the stadium is full. Are those seats 6 feet apart? You and I both know that they are not.

I’m also not going to get on my high horse and say that people shouldn’t go to stadiums if they are open and the experts say it is OK. I personally wouldn’t feel comfortable going to a stadium at 50% capacity this fall, but if others want to take that risk, fine.

I’m just going to hope for the best while also doing everything I can to make sure me and my family remain safe. Hopefully, the college football season can start on time, with or without fans.

@Dobbe8:

Now that JT Daniels is at Georgia, where would he rank among the SEC’s best quarterbacks if he were eligible in 2020?

That’s an interesting question. Daniels is a former 5-star recruit and was the No. 3 quarterback in his class, behind only Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. Clearly, the kid can play. He showed flashes of stardom at USC in 2018 and in the 2019 opener before a knee injury ended his season.

The SEC also just lost arguably its top 3 quarterbacks in Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm. If Daniels were eligible in 2020 (and he might be, depending on what the NCAA decides), here’s how I’d rank the top SEC QBs:

  1. Kyle Trask, Florida
  2. Jamie Newman, Georgia
  3. Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
  4. Mac Jones, Alabama
  5. KJ Costello, Mississippi State
  6. JT Daniels, Georgia
  7. Terry Wilson, Kentucky
  8. John Rhys Plumlee, Ole Miss

I think the best move for Daniels is to sit out this season, and then return with at least 2 years left to run the Georgia offense. That team could be a title threat with him leading the charge.

Joe:

Assuming all nonconference games are able to go on as planned, which one involving an SEC team are you most excited for?

There are so many good nonconference games this year, some involving SEC teams and some not. There are some concerns that they might not all be able to go on as planned, but there is some positive momentum building toward an uninterrupted season.

Some games I’m excited for include Alabama vs. USC, Ole Miss vs. Baylor, Georgia vs. Virginia, Arkansas vs. Notre Dame, and Tennessee vs. Oklahoma, among others. But there is one game that stands out above the rest.

The nonconference game I’m most excited for is Mizzou vs. BYU.

Just kidding. It’s Texas at LSU in Week 2. That game was electric last year and there was plenty of bad blood on both sides. The Longhorns’ return trip to Baton Rouge should be a ton of fun, even if LSU will look much different than it did last year.

Second place goes to Tennessee at Oklahoma. That could be a sneaky competitive game and will be a good measuring stick for the Vols.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at ASpencer@SaturdayDownSouth.com.