These 5 SEC players can get the hype train rolling even faster with big bowl performances
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Bowl season is also offseason momentum season.
It’s the last time we see players in game-like situations for 8 months, which means if they look like an All-American, it fuels all the offseason buzz. College football is extremely different from any other sport in that regard because unlike pro sports or college basketball, these moments can come in wins to cap the season.
And now you understand how bowl games work.
If you’re looking for an example of how a hype train can get rolling on a player, think 2017 Jake Bentley or 2018 Feleipe Franks. Our offseason conversations about them were impacted dramatically by what they did in their bowl games … against Michigan. Neither player lived up to the hype, though obviously both had season-ending injuries (Bentley did have a dud 2018 season before his season-ending injury in 2019).
Remember that this often relates to skill position players. The hype train seems to always take off a little quicker as it relates to them because they’re the most visible to the casual fan.
So now, as bowl season gets revved up again, my question is simple. Who stands to gain the most offseason momentum with a big bowl game performance?
Here are 5 candidates in the SEC:
1. George Pickens, Georgia WR
In a game in which Georgia won’t have Dominick Blaylock or Lawrence Cager, the stage is set for Pickens to shine. He has a chance to move past the ugly fight against Georgia Tech that earned him a first-half suspension in the SEC Championship. Pickens actually came in and provided a spark, though the game was already out of reach at that point.
The highlight-reel plays aren’t the issue with Pickens, who could easily wind up with a couple more of those in the Sugar Bowl. It’s been his inability to get separation and be a more involved target in the offense. Pickens, who has 5 touchdowns in Georgia’s past 5 games, could look the part of No. 1 receiver if he were to have 100 yards, a score and a viral grab. That would ease some concerns that Georgia fans have about a passing attack that’s been stagnant far too often in 2019.
2. Kyle Trask, Florida QB
If you ask me, the hype train for any successful returning Florida starting quarterback already chugs along faster than most. That’ll be the case for Trask, but I tend to think that if he lights up Virginia for 300 yards and 3 TD passes, we’re going to be talking about him as a preseason All-SEC selection next year. The aforementioned Franks got a nice boost from his performance against Michigan, which capped a really solid finish to the season.
Think about this — if Trask does have, let’s say, a 300-yard, 3-TD game (24-for-36) in an Orange Bowl victory, his post-UGA numbers would be:
- 4-0
- 11-2 TD-INT
- 322 passing yards/game
- 8.6 yards/attempt
That’s the stuff that Florida fans can rally behind. They’ve already rallied behind Trask, who has been mostly solid in the wake of Franks’ injury. Surprising it was to see the likes of Bo Nix and Mac Jones get way-too-early Heisman Trophy odds but not Trask. Something tells me that changes if Trask torches Virginia.
3. Aubrey Solomon, Tennessee DL
It’s been a strange career for the former 5-star prospect, who had a wild recruitment that ultimately ended up with him signing to play for Michigan. But “play” should be used loosely. It doesn’t sound like that was the best experience:
Michigan transfer DL Aubrey Solomon asked what it was like playing for Jim Harbaugh: “I have no comment on that one.”
— David Ubben (@davidubben) November 5, 2019
Solomon was buried on the depth chart and suffered a season-ending injury at Michigan, which led to him transferring to Tennessee. For some unknown reason, he had to wait up until the week of Tennessee’s opener to find out if he was eligible.
Fortunately he was, and finally, in Year 3 of his career, Solomon is beginning to live up to that 5-star billing. He has been a key part of Tennessee’s defensive turnaround in the latter half of the season. He had a sack and a fumble recovery against UAB, and he had a streak of 3 consecutive games with a tackle for loss.
Unfortunately, Solomon went down with a head injury against Mizzou and missed the Vandy game. He’s considered questionable for the Gator Bowl, but if he plays, he’s certainly a candidate to blow up a few plays in the backfield and be a major part of the inevitable offseason Tennessee hype train that’ll pick up if the eighth win comes.
4. Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M RB
I’ve been critical of the A&M running game this year and Spiller was a part of that, though injuries in the offensive line didn’t help. The struggles to run the football against quality opponents were evident. And that’s certainly true with Spiller, who averaged 50.8 rushing yards on 13.4 carries in starts against Power 5 opponents this year. Against the likes of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and LSU, that number dropped to an average of 27.3 yards.
So why is Spiller a candidate to get the hype train rolling? Well, a couple things. Opening day starter Jashaun Corbin made the surprising decision to enter the transfer portal following his season-ending injury. In other words, the job should belong to the former 4-star back.
Here’s the other thing to keep in mind. Spiller, heading into the Texas Bowl, has 869 rushing yards and 9 touchdowns. In other words, he’s a 140-yard game from hitting not 1, but 2 key milestones. It’s not every day that we see a freshman rack up 1,000 rushing yards and double-digit scores in the SEC. Criticism aside, that would be an impressive feat.
A&M is supposed to take a big step next year, and if Spiller hits those numbers, a lot of people will look back on his season and bill him as a sleeper to be one of the conference’s top running backs.
5. Mac Jones, Alabama QB
I keep saying over and over — do not discount what these games mean for the future Alabama quarterback room. Jones has a major chance to do something that none of his future competition can. That is, have a big game against a quality opponent. That’ll carry more weight than any spring practice or recruiting ranking.
Jones, I thought, actually played really well against Auburn. He made 2 costly mistakes, for sure. But still, Alabama put up twice as many points as LSU did against that loaded Auburn defense. So now, against another “elite” defense, Jones has a chance to distance himself from the likes of incoming 5-star quarterback Bryce Young, and redshirt freshmen-to-be Taulia Tagovailoa and Paul Tyson.
I put “elite” in air quotes because I get the feeling that Steve Sarkisian is going to make everyone question that when the likes of Jerry Jeudy and Jaylen Waddle are gashing Don Brown’s single-high safety for long touchdown after long touchdown. This matchup sets up extremely well for those Alabama wideouts, and it seems like Jones should be able to pick his poison.
Jones already got the hype train rolling a bit by getting early Heisman odds. Keep in mind, we still don’t know the future of Tua Tagovailoa (officially). Him returning would be the only way that would calm the Jones hype down. But even if that happened, Jones could still set himself up to be an attractive grad transfer after graduating from Alabama last week. No matter what, the Citrus Bowl will mean a lot to Jones.
And if it came at the expense of Jim Harbaugh suffering another late-season loss, you can bet a few other SEC fans wouldn’t hate a big game from the Alabama quarterback.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
