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Are secondary concerns the SEC’s biggest weakness across the board heading into the 2015 season?
It’s a fair question considering the league-wide ineptitude at the back end last fall, a result of inexperience on the corners and an overall lack of discipline at various safety spots.
There’s four teams in the West — Alabama, Auburn, Mississippi State and Texas A&M — with glaring deficiencies in need of substantial improvement against the pass to be labeled College Football Playoff threats this season.
Even then, most have already written off the Bulldogs and Aggies in their own division, much less national relevance.
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Texas A&M has given up 67 touchdowns through the air since Kevin Sumlin took over as coach in 2012, second-worst in the SEC over that span behind Arkansas (68) and the loss of multi-year starters Howard Matthews and DeShazor Everett could potentially become a substantial obstacle to overcome in September.
John Chavis will try and put a band-aid on a defense leaking big plays and he has the talent to do so. The Aggies welcome back returning starters De’Vante Harris and Armani Watts and based on their spring practice play, expect to use Justin Evans and Justin Dunning a good bit this season.
Projected as a cornerback, four-star 2015 signee Roney Elam should provide immediate depth in coverage and has great length at 6-foot-2, 180 pounds.
Watts, a skilled sophomore often caught out of position as a true freshman last fall, must emerge as the leader of the group. Based on his production as a rookie ballhawk, he has the potential to become an All-SEC caliber defensive back in Texas A&M’s system.
The cupboard’s not quite as stocked with potential playmakers at the back end in Starkville, but first-year defensive coordinator Manny Diaz is confident Mississippi State’s secondary will be much improved when the ball’s in the air this season.
Cornerback Taveze Calhoun and safety Kendrick Market are the lone veterans on a unit that yielded a league-worst 272.8 passing yards per game during the 2014 campaign including an SEC-high 25 completions spanning 30 or more yards. It was a fatal flaw that kept the Bulldogs out of the at-large Playoff picture when a loss to Ole Miss in the season finale featured a plethora of big plays despite just 13 completions out of opposing quarterback Bo Wallace.
Wallace’s 296-yard effort coupled with Jaylen Walton’s 91-yard touchdown run and a pair of late-game highlights from Jordan Wilkins squandered a terrific season for once-No. 1 Mississippi State.
The lack of production in the secondary on team returning only six total starters hasn’t stopped the Bulldogs from setting lofty expectations for 2015.
During spring practice, cornerback Will Redmond tweeted his belief that the Jim Thorpe Award, given to the nation’s best defensive back, ‘is coming back to StarkVegas’ this season. Former Bulldog defender Johnthan Banks won the award in 2012.
Redmond made 51 tackles last season and tied Richie Brown for the team lead in interceptions with three. Credit Dan Mullen for keeping his team’s confidence level high.
For Alabama and Auburn, the odds-on favorites to win the SEC according to 5Dimes’ updated projections, Kirby Smart and Will Muschamp need only to generate a pass rush since there’s talent (and depth) in each respective secondary.
As bad as the Tigers were last season against the pass with the Iron Bowl being the combustion point, they did find a way to swipe the third-most interceptions (22) in college football. Muschamp was able to bring with him top assistant Travaris Robinson to coach the secondary which should, in time, strengthen Auburn’s defense.
Returning starters Jonathan Jones and Johnathan Ford combined for nine of those 22 picks and the Tigers are encouraged by several newcomers who made waves this spring including Georgia transfer Tray Matthews.
The hard-hitting safety made six starts for the Bulldogs during the 2013 season and was involved in the Hail Mary play from Nick Marshall to Ricardo Louis at Jordan-Hare. His second chance comes at Auburn where he landed after Mark Richt kicked him off the team following multiple off-the-field issues.
Matthews made an acrobatic interception in the back of the end zone during the spring game, a positive sign for the Tigers who appear to now have the luxury of depth in the secondary.
In Tuscaloosa, the scapegoat for last year’s struggles on defense was secondary coach Greg Brown who stepped down following his first season after a disappointing effort against a third-team quarterback in the Sugar Bowl. Brown was replaced by Mel Tucker who faces substantial pressure to turn things around beginning with returning starters Eddie Jackson and Cyrus Jones.
Jones, who is still recovering from January surgery to repair a torn labrum, says the offseason criticism has taken a toll on Alabama’s secondary.
“I know criticism is something you have to let go in one ear and out the other,” Jones told AL.com this month, “but it’s hard when you’re constantly hearing the same things, whether it’s personally or with your group, my group being the secondary.”
Veterans Nick Perry and All-American Landon Collins are gone, leaving the Crimson Tide without much muscle at the back end. Tony Brown played well in spurts this spring and could lock down the other cornerback spot opposite of Jones, but it appears potential starting safety Geno Smith, one strike away from being dismissed following a DUI arrest in March, has a long road back before he’s competing for first-team reps.
One diamond in the rough who could star in the secondary this fall is Marlon Humphrey, a redshirt freshman who had a fantastic spring per Nick Saban. He’s a track star with great speed and coverage ability. The son of former Alabama star ballcarrer Bobby Humphrey is battling senior Bradley Sylve at corner.
Like Auburn’s eight-player deep secondary, Alabama has the personnel to be successful but it remains to be seen who steps up as leaders in the absence of Perry and Collins.
