Jimmy Hyams of Gridiron Now recently spoke with several SEC coaches and published their thoughts on other programs around the league on the condition their identities would not be identified.
Here’s some of the (highlighted) opinions from Gridiron Now’s report:
Anonymous coaches on Alabama
“Alabama should be the best team in nation for the fourth year in a row and win the national championship. They’ve got 40 guys on the roster who will play in the NFL. Nobody else in the SEC has 25. They have draftable players at every position. They’ve got five-stars (recruits) playing third and fourth team.”
“Against fast-paced spread teams, they have a bust every play. Even when you’re the king (referring to Saban), you’ve got to learn to adapt.”
Anonymous coach on Arkansas
“Offensively, it will be interesting to see what they do with new guy. Bielema has conviction in what he’s doing and how he’s doing it. … They do a tremendous job of staying true to who they are.”
Anonymous coach on Auburn
“The thing about Gus’ teams, they can always move the ball. The strength of the team will be the wide receivers. I like the running backs, but they’re unproven. The most dynamic running back is Roc Thomas. They’ve got running backs who can come in and operate in the system. Ultimately, it will come down to the performance of Jeremy Johnson.”
Anonymous coaches on Florida
“Their weakness was quarterback and their new coach is a quarterback coach. So the offense probably will be better. It all starts with the quarterback. They’ve had very talented skill people.”
“Biggest difference on offense is, and people never talk about this, Steve Spurrier and Urban Meyer had very good offensive lines. That hasn’t been the case at Florida the last couple of years. They’ve been hurt by a lack of stability at quarterback and the guy coaching the quarterbacks. … But it wouldn’t surprise me if they put themselves in position to win the East.”
Anonymous coaches on Georgia
“When is the last time you saw Georgia without a great running back? They lose one of the best running backs (Todd Gurley) in the country but they’ve got Nick Chubb. And when is the last time Georgia didn’t have a running back playing on Sunday?”
“Jeremy Pruitt said last year he had the worst collection of defensive backs he ever had to coach. He said he inherited defensive backs that weren’t SEC caliber. But he’s taken the bull by the horns on defense and he will lean on some young guys in the secondary. I think those two guys at outside linebacker (Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins) are talented but not superstars. I think they are a product of the recruiting machine and hype.”
Anonymous coach on Kentucky
“Stoops has done a better job of recruiting, which is not easy to do at Kentucky. It’s kind of like David Cutcliffe at Duke. Kentucky and Duke are basketball schools. Stoops has done a good job recruiting considering what he’s got to work with. And the Commonwealth Stadium fans are awesome; they do a phenomenal job of supporting the team. And I like (quarterback) Patrick Towles for what they do.”
Anonymous coach on LSU
“The defense should be as good or better. They always have good players. They might have the best pair of linebackers in the league. The front may not be what it’s been past years – they have no first-round draft picks. (New defensive coordinator) Kevin Steele gets a breath of fresh air, being a coordinator again. They have some coaching changes on defense, so that has to jell. If they can get someone to manage the game (at quarterback), they should win a bunch of football games. Everything else is there.”
Anonymous coach on Mississippi
“Without Bo Wallace, it will be interesting to see how they operate. Without him there and without his personality, it might be positive for offense. Bo made some awful decisions that cost them games. It’s like he had a different set of rules than anybody else. I think he was a very overrated quarterback last year.”
Anonymous coach on Mississippi State
“They lost a lot of kids on defense. The new defensive coordinator, Manny Diaz, went from State to Texas (in 2011) and was a bust. He went to Louisiana Tech and did so-so. The bottom line is he needs to be a better defensive coordinator this time around at State. They didn’t play good defense in the big games, like Alabama and Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.”
Anonymous coach on Mizzou
“Gary Pinkel has done a phenomenal job with the kids he has. On offense, they play team football as well as anybody in terms of vertical football and being opportunistic. It’s a great credit to him to win the East two years in a row.”
Anonymous coach on South Carolina
“I’m not sure they’ve recruited as well in recent years as they did earlier. They used to get the top player in South Carolina almost every year. Now they’re struggling to get the best players in their backyard. I’m not sure Steve Spurrier recruits as hard as he used to.”
Anonymous coach on Tennessee
“They don’t need to be 7-6 again. They need to get nine to 10 wins. They’ve been floundering in mediocrity since 2007. It’s been eight years since Tennessee has been relevant in the East.”
Anonymous coach on Texas A&M
“I don’t think A&M has done a great job recruiting defensive players. It’s a space game on defense. You need big guys up front, but you’ve got to have speed to cover the field. I don’t think they have had the personnel and they haven’t performed well. They were poor, technique-wise, last year. It’s a matter of if they can get it done on defense. They’ve proven through the years that offensively, they’ve got a good recipe. I think they have some pieces on defense for sure. Myles Garrett is talented. Any time a freshman leads the SEC in sacks, he’s pretty gifted.”
Anonymous coach on Vanderbilt
“Mason has to show he can get confidence in his team. But it’s going to be tough because they don’t have a quarterback and they don’t have many skill players on offense. That’s a recipe for disaster in the SEC.”
