Spring practice is about to launch for 13 of the 14 SEC programs. We figured this was the perfect time to check on the State of the Union for every conference team, which is exactly what we’ve done.
We’ve judged every program based on five criteria: on-field performance, recruiting, player development, facilities and coaching.
Find a link to all 14 stories below, in addition to a brief overview of each program heading into the 2015 season.
- Alabama: Nick Saban will try to convert yet another consensus No. 1 class into back-to-back SEC championships in 2015.
- Arkansas: Can Bret Bielema continue the Razorbacks’ steady improvement, or will 2015 be the year the Razorbacks hit a plateau?
- Auburn: After finishing at every extreme the last three years, the Tigers appear poised to stabilize as a program in 2015 thanks to a defense that’s hitting the reset button.
- Florida: Can Jim McElwain jumpstart the lagging Gators offense and get Florida back to the top of the SEC East?
- Georgia: The Bulldogs are consistently at the top of the SEC across every facet of a football program. Will that finally lead to a championship season?
- Kentucky: Can Mark Stoops lead the Wildcats back to a bowl game after a second-half collapse in 2014?
- LSU: Can the talented Tigers shore up some weak points that held the team back in 2014 and contend for an SEC title despite losing defensive coordinator John Chavis?
- Mississippi State: Will the return of Dak Prescott be enough to preserve the Bulldogs’ position as one of the nation’s Top 15 teams in 2015?
- Missouri: The Tigers are basking in the afterglow of back-to-back SEC East titles and one of the stronger recruiting classes in program history.
- Ole Miss: The Rebels no longer are an SEC West footstool. Can Hugh Freeze leverage the storied 2013 recruiting class, now all grown up, into even bigger things this fall?
- South Carolina: Did the Steve Spurrier era hit its apex in Columbia two years ago, or does the HBC have one last surge in his career?
- Tennessee: Thanks to sustained excellence in recruiting, the Vols are in position to make a major improvement on the field in 2015.
- Texas A&M: The Aggies can no longer lean on the excuse of young talent and a wayward defense, as the players should be maturing and John Chavis is coming to the rescue. Following which direction Texas A&M heads in 2015 is one of the most interesting plot points in the SEC.
- Vanderbilt: The Commodores faltered in a major way under first-year head coach Derek Mason, but after wholesale changes to the coaching staff, might Vandy start to creep back to being competitive in the SEC East?
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
