Even in August, counting returning starters isn’t an exact science.

For example, look at Florida’s quarterbacks.

Treon Harris started for the Gators during the second half of the 2014 season. Now he’s competing with Will Grier for the job, and most people believe the latter has an advantage. Thus, does Harris count as a returning starter? And if you project him to win the job, do you still count Jeff Driskel as the 2014 starter, like the preseason magazines?

I consulted ESPN, Lindy’s Sports and Phil Steele, as well as a few educated guesses about which players will start, to narrow down this list.

The state of Tennessee will feature a lot of familiar faces when its SEC teams meet again Nov. 28. The state of Alabama? Not so much.

Here’s an SEC-wide look at the returning starters on both sides of the ball:

Team Total Offense Defense K/P?
Tennessee 17 9 8 Y/N
Vanderbilt 17 8 9 Y/Y
Ole Miss 14 7 7 Y/Y
Arkansas 14 8 6 Y/N
LSU 12 6 6 Y/Y
Kentucky 12 6 6 Y/Y
Texas A&M 12 7 5 N/Y
Georgia 12 6 6 Y/Y
Missouri 11 6 5 Y/N
South Carolina 10 4 6 Y/N
Auburn 10 3 7 Y/Y
Alabama 10 3 7 Y/Y
Florida 9 3 6 Y/N
Miss. State 7 4 3 N/Y
  • Mississippi State returns the fewest number of starters in the SEC on defense — just one starter at all three levels. Also bad: steady placekicker Evan Sobiesk left the team to pursue a career in dentistry.
  • Tennessee returns a conference-best nine starters on offense, and one of the two losses was senior offensive tackle Jacob Gilliam, who played on a torn ACL on a sub-par offensive line. The biggest loss probably is middle linebacker A.J. Johnson, as the team will search for a replacement throughout preseason camp.
  • Breaking down the SEC’s percentage of returning starters at each position, the league will have a ton of experienced placekickers and defensive backs.
  • Auburn’s offense returns just one skill player (WR Duke Williams) who started in 2014. He currently isn’t practicing due to a discipline issue. New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp inherits seven returning starters, but it’s time for Gus Malzahn to prove his system will work even with talented but inexperienced personnel.
  • Seven SEC teams are returning the punter and the kicker. Arkansas is the only SEC team returning neither.
  • Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Auburn are the only four teams that need to replace starters at quarterback and running back.
  • Florida, Alabama and Mississippi State are the only three teams returning fewer than three starting offensive linemen.
  • Ole Miss returns all five starting offensive linemen and all four starting defensive linemen, though C.J. Johnson has transitioned from end to middle linebacker.
  • Most returning starters for each of the other power conferences, according to Phil Steele: Michigan (Big Ten — 16), UCLA (Pac-12 — 18), North Carolina (ACC — 17), Baylor/Texas Tech (Big 12 — 17).