Ranking current SEC rosters minus the QB position
Quarterbacks get all the attention, but not right now.
We wanted to look at the top overall rosters in terms of talent and depth, while the the most glamorous, headline-getting position sits on the sidelines for a change.
These are the teams that enter the 2016 season with the most pieces to the puzzle in place around their signal-callers, in reverse order:
5. OLE MISS
Even without the consensus top QB in the conference excluded from this conversation, the Rebels are one of the most talented teams in the SEC.
And even with star WR Laquon Treadwell going to the draft, Ole Miss may have the deepest group of pass-catchers in the league with Quincy Adeboyejo, Damore’ea Stringfellow, Markell Pack, Damarkus Lodge and Evan Engram. Don’t be surprised if someone from the team’s trio of four-star receivers in this past recruiting class steps up.
Ole Miss would actually love if a few players emerge from its No. 6 recruiting class as it has holes to fill, especially on the offensive line.
The team has to replace some holes, namely the one at left tackle where Laremy Tunsil once was, but five-star signee Greg Little at least has the talent to anchor that position. He’ll have a tough test on his hands in Week 1 against Florida State.
Meanwhile, the group will likely have a trio of guys with starting experience in Javon Patterson, Robert Conyers and Rod Taylor.
The defensive line is talented as Marquis Haynes should emerge as a star whose name everyone will know by season’s end, and Fadol Brown is still recovering from a broken bone in his left foot but is expected to hold down the opposite side.
The question mark on this side is right up the middle of the defense at defensive tackle and middle linebacker, and DT Breeland Speeks and transfer LB Rommel Mageo will likely be key in addressing that.
The secondary could be the strength of the team as its plenty deep, and it will be led by (hopefully) a healthy Tony Conner, Tony Bridges, Zedrick Woods, C.J. Hampton and Armani Linton.
4. TEXAS A&M
This was a really tough call, but the Aggies get a slight edge over Ole Miss to make our list. QB Chad Kelly obviously would’ve tilted this the other way if he wasn’t excluded.
While both teams boast maybe the two best receiving corps in the SEC, Texas A&M has two proven stars in sophomore Christian Kirk and senior Josh Reynolds. In the backfield, the Aggies have what could be a promising duo of transfer RB Keith Ford and James White.
Like Ole Miss, Texas A&M’s offensive front will be a main concern. The team has to replace the right side of the line and its center, so it will be imperative for first-year offensive line coach Jim Turner to find guys to fill in for center Mike Matthews, RG Joseph Cheek and RT Germain Ifedi, a first-round draft pick a little over a week ago.
As for the defense, arguably the best pass-rusher in the entire country will line up at one end opposite of senior Daeshon Hall to form a nasty pass-rush. Last season, the two combined for 19.5 sacks and 34 tackles for loss.
In the middle, the team will have Daylon Mack in one spot and possibly Zaycoven Henderson at the other. A lot is also expected of Kingsley Keke, a four-star prospect in the Class of 2015.
Both starting corners are gone in De’Vante Harris and Brandon Williams, but last season’s nickelback Donovan Wilson — who led the team with 5 INTs last season — will fill one of those spots. Meanwhile, the team will have stud safety Armani Watts.
3. LSU
The improvement of QB Brandon Harris is viewed as so crucial because of the talent the Tigers have around him.
First of all, we know about the Heisman candidate he’ll have right behind him in RB Leonard Fournette, who has a strong partner in Derrius Guice.
The depth at receiver might not be spectacular, but LSU has a great duo with Malachi Dupre and Travin Dural. Plus, the offense is hoping to benefit from four-star wideouts Stephen Sullivan and Dee Anderson arriving early for spring. Another four-star signee, Drake Davis, is on the way.
The team will need to replace both offensive tackles with LT Vadal Alexander and RT Jerald Hawkins both gone, but the Tigers’ standouts on the interior last season — Ethan Pocic, Toby Weathersby, Will Clapp and Maea Teuhema — are back. This could end up being a strength of the team.
On defense, new defensive coordinator Dave Aranda has plenty to work with.
All four starters on the defensive line are back, which is great news for Aranda as he looks to work in his 3-4 scheme. Kendell Beckwith is back in the middle, but outside linebackers Deion Jones and Lamar Louis are gone, and that may be the biggest question mark on the team other than the QB position.
Then there’s the secondary. As if you need to know, it’ll be amazing and one of the best in the country. CB Tre’Davious White and S Jamal Adams return after earning Second-Team All-SEC honors. Adams could be an All-America selection.
CB Kevin Toliver earned True Freshman All-America honors from 247Sports.com despite playing most of last season with a torn labrum in his shoulder, so a lot of people are excited to see what he can do as a healthy sophomore.
Overall, the group has plenty of experience. Even one that doesn’t have any in Saivion Smith, the No. 5 CB in the 2016 class, shined in spring practices.
2. TENNESSEE
While I’ve pointed out the fact that the Vols haven’t sent a player to the NFL draft in the last two years, that’s not exactly a bad thing.
Not when you have talented guys coming back, and Tennessee has plenty of that.
We can start with what could be the best running back tandem in the SEC with Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. Georgia’s pair of Nick Chubb and Sony Michel is the only thing that prevents me from saying that definitely.
Hurd and Kamara combined for nearly 2,500 yards from scrimmage and 24 TDs. Receiver may have been a cause for concern, but the spring yielded some potential stars in Preston Williams and Jeff George. Receivers Josh Malone, Josh Smith, Jauan Jennings and Vincent Perry as well as tight ends Ethan Wolf and Jason Croom (converted) are all options.
Contrary to some other SEC teams, offensive line isn’t an issue this season as four of five starters return but with the exception of left tackle. Right now, it looks like redshirt freshman Drew Richmond could end up there, but the team has some depth at guard and could move someone out there if needed.
New defensive coordinator Bob Shoop inherited a heckuva defense that has plenty of star power. Star defensive end Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen will be on the edge with the hope that No. 1 overall JUCO signee Jonathan Kongo can back up his big talk recently and make an immediate impact.
There may not be a better pair of linebackers in the SEC than Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. Behind them will be a potential All-American CB in Cam Sutton, and safeties Todd Kelly Jr. and Rashaan Gaulden locked down the starting safety spots with impressive springs.
1. ALABAMA
The rich have only gotten richer when you look at the Crimson Tide roster.
Football isn’t played on paper, but Alabama doesn’t seem to have any weaknesses when examining its roster right now outside of the quarterback position.
We’ll start with the defense because that’s what will be turning heads in the fall. There are potential All-SEC performers at every position group.
DE Jonathan Allen and safety Eddie Jackson were first-teamers last season and return to the unit. At linebacker, you have Tim Williams, second on the team in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (12.5), Reuben Foster and Ryan Anderson. In the secondary, you have corners Minkah Fitzpatrick and Marlon Humphrey.
Offensively, running backs Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris are unproven, but history seems to remind us that Alabama’s production at the position never seems to waver. Receivers Calvin Ridley, ArDarius Stewart, Robert Foster and Gehrig Dieter (grad transfer from Bowling Green) along with TE O.J. Howard will give likely starter Cooper Bateman good options.
The offensive line returns First-Team All-SEC LT Cam Robinson, who may be a potential first-round pick after this season, but he won’t be back until August as he recovers from a shoulder injury.
Ross Pierschbacher, who started all 15 games last season at left guard, has drawn rave reviews after switching from left guard over to center this spring.
The key for Alabama will be developing depth on the offensive line and deciding if Bateman indeed will lead the offense.
Awful list.
Here we go… Because auburn is a QB away from not being the laughing stock of the SEC. Keep drinking the Koolaid buddy.
Well let’s start with a team on here with nothing but a QB. I’d take 3/4ths of the SEC over Ole Miss outside of the QB spot, LSU should be #1 and yea, Auburn’s pretty well more deserving than Ole Miss because their recruiting is more consistent.
It’s awful because it had the opportunity to really look beyond the QB spot and missed it in favor of hyping up the same ignorance and spin they’ve been at this whole time. In terms of talent outside of QB, LSU, Alabama, Tennessee and then Auburn. Probably lean Georgia or Florida after that.
So yea, Auburn figures in a bit but that’s not why it’s terrible. Whole damn list is wrong.
The big difference is that those schools have coaches that have been successful coaching their players in the past few years. Gus Malzahn…. Not so much. Auburn probably has the best players that are wasting 3-4 years on subpar coaching. The good news is that Auburn gets a new coach next year.
Malzahn has a trump card over every coach but Saban. Rings.
Chizik had rings. How did that work out for him?
You must have hit ur head or maybe a Bama fan did – Clemson is coming.
Our DL was right up next to Bama, we stuffed everyone (only 3.6yds), our secondary lost it for OM – And first in total offense.
Year you finished 3rd in the SEC.
Yet.
Let me guess the university of carl lawson should be on here right.
How about giving us your list then? Where would you rank the last place team from the SEC West?
Nothing at WR
Nothing at LB
Very little anywhere else.
I got them 4th based on simply recruiting. Only 3 teams have 4 straight top 10 classes and Auburn is one of them along with Alabama and LSU. Tennessee and Georgia have 3 each and that’s the 5 teams for me.
1) LSU
2) Alabama
3) Tennessee
4) Auburn
5) Georgia (maybe Florida)
Wait no I forgot…
1 Allerbammer
2 Allerbammer
3 Allerbammer
4 Allerbammer
5 Allerbammer
I’m sure that’s your list.
How is that working out for Auburn?
Unless you live in a barn, this list is right on the $$. Calm down Ole Mi$$ fans.
I don’t get it. Why is Ole Miss on this list without Kelly who is their only marquee player returning. Lots of key players lost on the line and at skill positions.
Also, how is LSU not at 1 because lack of QB play has been the only thing holding LSU back from being the best team in the country (besides Alabama’s defensive line).
And Texas AM?
Only thing questionable about A&M is O-line, QB and maybe ST.
It’s clear to most everyone, as far as depth of talent in the West, you have Alabama/LSU, then Ole Miss/A&M/Auburn then Arky/Miss State. Injuries, coaching/play calling and a little luck, all make a difference in the toughest division of the toughest conference in college football. To have a Georgia fan question “and Texas A&M?”, after they squandered their opportunities with Florida and Tennessee having such down years just makes me laugh.
Texas AM has never been relevant in the SEC and they weren’t relevant in the Big12. Your team is a dumpster fire that no one wants to be a part of. All of your 5 five stars are transferring and all of your recruits are decommiting.
Irrelevant.
I don’t ever comment on these but first off even on our down year in 2015 georgia would of been a 21 plus point fav against A&M so you obviously don’t know nothing we lost to good teams last year a damn good Bama team a florida team with our third string qb in the game but every one forgets that part and to Tennessee after we lost the best rb in the country on nick chubb and basically gave up other than them games we won so now who won 10 games and who only won 8 yeah
I don’t get why Ole Miss is on this list.
It’s because two top 10 recruiting classes in school history equal stock piled talent and depth.
Because last year, their backups were better than their starters. Now those backups are the starters, and the SEC is in deep sh!t.
Watchout next year top there backups are even scarier this year.
“Ranking the SEC where we can ignore Brandon Harris”
Well, you’re blind if you don’t think LSU is absolutely loaded with talent. They always are. They’re the top program, in a top conference, in a state with a huge fan base that produces some of the best talent in the country year in and year out. They’re a school that basically recruits itself. It honestly just appears that Miles has had trouble developing a QB lately, and this year will go a long way towards proving the doubters wrong or right.
He’s had trouble developing QBs because he insists on taking the highest rated QB from Louisiana, regardless of their fit for Cameron’s offense. Yet they keep convincing dual threat QBs that they can be converted for the NFL.
^^^^This guy gets it.
LSU offense will always suck under Les Miles. Doesn’t matter if they had Payton Manning and AP.
besides the article, lots of comments to respond to so I’ll do it all in one essay. A) I don’t usually give Talal’s articles much love, but this one is pretty good…. the topic is relevant and not sideshow filler, and I enjoyed the reading his take on the actual football part of football. nice. B) As always, this is tough one to call and especially from a fan’s POV. We ALL think we have potential superstars as backups. We ALL know our 2nd and 3rd string guys, but don’t kid yourselves, what do you really know about another division’s backups? even a division rival’s replacements? what you’ve read about him? How many stars he got 2 years ago before ever taking a snap. Definitely some guesswork involved. C) as for LSU, I don’t think there is any depth issue at WR…. we did lose two highly touted guys in Diarse and Quinn, but then Talal skipped to talking about incoming freshman? yea, we did sign a trio of 4 stars for 2016 cycle, but what about the guys from 2015? It’s weird… people talk about starters and new recruits, but forget the guys in between. We are hyped about the new guys, but we’ve already forgotten we signed Tyron Johnson, 5 star no. 5 WR in the country? and 2 other 4 stars too just a year ago? DJ Chark is back again too, and has proven he has the right skill set in his limited action. There isn’t a depth issue at WR. I’m sure that next year we’ll be writing articles about the next 3 WR’s LSU signs, and will have completely forgotten Drake Davis, Dee Anderson, and Stephen Sullivan. Weird. As for the Harris comments…. same ol same ol from me. Harris wasn’t brilliant. But he gets ENTIRELY too much flak… He played fine for half a season, but against good competition he was NOT the only one that struggled. He had bad games when the offensive line was terrible, when LF7 couldn’t get it going, and when our defense was bleeding like it had a nicked artery. for the 1000th time, we only lost 3 games. We gave up 30 pts or more in those 3 games, and won every game when we didn’t give up 30 pts. Our defense gets a pass because it has been great for the past decade, but folks need to wake up and stop giving them the benefit of the doubt. You’re all stuck on this media driven narrative that LSU is the best team, we just have a bad QB and can’t develop one. None of that is true. Cameron has had 3 QBs to develop. The 1st one came in and posted numbers worse than Harris did last season in every category. Now he’s in the NFL. Jennings was bad, no doubt. Harris still has 2 years to develop. So we’re 1 for 2 on QB’s, and we’re only halfway done with the 3rd QB. Chad Kelly wasn’t even close to the final product in his sophomore season. He was writing rap songs and getting booted from Clemson to play at a CC. So give Harris another year before you blame EVERYTHING on him. And quit giving our defense a pass. Talented? yea. But last year they were not very good. Glad Steele is gone and Aranda is in, but I’m not gonna hype them up until they prove it. In summary, LSU IS very talented, but the QB excuse is inaccurate and old, the defense needs LOTS of work, and as always, it won’t matter how talented they are if they don’t go play on saturdays. I think we’re more talented than Ole Miss or Tennessee, but that doesn’t always translate. Ole Miss is replacing a lot… who knows how good they’ll be. As for A&M…. hard to take them seriously. Even in LSU’s most disappointing season, we usually get by them on raw physicality without even playing well. Keep thinking they have to beat us at some point…. And auburn…. Based on what I’ve seen, which admittedly is only the LSU, Jax St, and Memphis games…. shouldn’t be on the list. Arkansas is always a wild card, and State is a question mark too. In the east, Tennessee deserves their spot on this list, but literally every other team is a mystery. good luck trying to compare them to the west. It’s hard to tell.
Well, Auburn vs Memphis is a poor argument against Auburn being on the list. Especially after you consider they hammered Ole Miss and Auburn held their 1st round QB to the worst performance of his career. That was the only team Auburn completely dominated from start to finish last year.
Yea it was a pretty thorough domination. I didn’t list it as a reason they shouldn’t be, I just said it was 1 of 3 that I watched. It certainly seemed like they started to put it together towards the end of the year, but beating up Memphis isn’t exactly a good argument for why you’re a top 5 SEC team either. Memphis beating Ole Miss is another reason why I thought Ole Miss wasn’t a complete team… In a QB v QB showdown, they lost. Sure, Kelly can beat any team, and did so frequently, but OM wasn’t a dominant TEAM really….
First off, thank you for actually giving us something of substance, Talal. I usually hate your stuff, but this is a step in the right direction. Second, this list itself is not what I would expect. aTm shoud NOT be on here, as they have to replace a 1000 yd back and 3/5 of their line with mostly unproven commodities, not to mention a lingering thinness at DT and in the secondary. Alabama I would bump down, as they are replacing the best center in the country, a 2000 yd back, two DL (granted the backups are of a more proven caliber than most) but I would start with LSU then TENN. UGA just loses way too much to consider. State has too many ??? at OL, RB, TE, and young guys at DB and LB. Vandy, MO (though I think they will be better) and SC are obvious exclusions. UK has one big hole called the DL, I’ll not elaborate on other areas. I actually think I would put OM at 3, missing some superstars, but some of them had more limited production than we like to admit and we’ve actually seen most of the backups quite a bit, their two RB look great. Hilton and Johnson will be the most missed, but a healthy Connor could be a boon. Then Alabama, that secondary might be the best in the conference, but young, and while Bama always reloads they do it this year with guys we know next to nothing about (except at DL, we’ve seen them and they are good). The margin between these four is small, and mine is a faulty opinion, but 5 is where it gets tough. I’m going with Florida, they have holes on the OL, but I don’t see a big falloff there (actually expect them to get better) and TE. But their returning defense and the potential on offense, I just think they have more pieces on both sides of the ball than aTm (see Aggies, I still think you guys are pretty good). RB is a big ?, and the OL is going to be the biggest factor. But they are replacing only two starters and need only find a decent backup center and a guard and tackle for the rotation. Much less than the Aggies, though they have an excellent track record there. Aggies also have what is either the best WR corps or second, but three new lineman, an unproven RB and more holes on D give UF the edge on this one. Thanks, again, Talal, for a real piece.
Not trying to insult the Razorbacks, so holes at DB, not stellar DL, replacing some great OL, and a massive ? at RB and TE2 in an offense that likes using 2 TEs, just not a team that makes the top 5 based on returning players. That brings us to Aub, and let’s be honest, regardless of the supposed talent recruited, there is a massive hole in production. Lawson has yet to make it through a season, the secondary looks bleak, and the WR corps lacks proven depth. The OL is mostly returning AND young, so they should be better, but there might be some depth issues in rotation. About the only thing I’m sure of with AU is someone is rushing for 1000 yards.
Auburn’s secondary? You’ve heard of Carlton Davis, Jamel Dean, Tray Matthews and Rudy Ford? According to SDS it’s one of the top position groups in the SEC not that I agreed with that.
As for the OL. Kozan, Golson, Damper and Smith have been playing together a while now and 3 of those are seniors or RS juniors. Nothing young there at all. Other sites have it ranked #3 in the SEC among OLs behind LSU and Tennessee but SDS hasn’t got OL lists up yet.
Rudy Ford is a former running back who has yet to contribute in a major way. I’m fairly certain neither he nor Jamel Dean are in ANY way returning starters. You’re best returning DB is Davis, but even last season AU averaged over 200 passing yards allowed, almost as bad as us. A lot of people haven’t heard of Rudy Ford, BTW. I meant the OL was young last season, which is a good thing, but call that a mistype on my part, but I was COMPLIMENTING the line. They will be thin on experienced backups for rotation as Danzey graduated, but that could be another improvement. Doesn’t bode well for 17 with three SRs starting AND 2 Srs on second, but I agree the OL should be good, better than last season and it was the best part of THAT offense. I still think the secondary is a hot mess.
yea I think I remember Leonard throwing a couple of those guys around….. or were those linebackers who he made look like corners?
Not sure why you say Bama’s secondary is young. They return everyone but Jones.
And Geno Smith, but it’s a breeze to replace the third leading tackler on a NC team, right? And I don’t know where they stand with Tony Brown, who is a so. You’re looking at 2 So. definitely, one senior, more than likely another So. Don’t always pay attention to Bama’s use of a nickel, but more than likely another SO. Explain how that is NOT young.
I tell you what. Actually take a look at who played in bama’s secondary and who is back this year. Bama had a lot of freshman playing last year in a young secondary. They are not young anymore.
They are young, I didn’t say unproven OR inexperienced.
Yet the way you said it makes it sound like you hold their age against them since that is now what you say you meant by young.
I don’t know why articles such as this are really written. I guess they are fun and kill time before the next kickoff. That’s good. However, the crux of the matter is, who is going to come close to measuring up to Alabama? Which SEC school is going to notch a win against them? Every year there seems to be one. Who is it this year and will one loss be enough to derail them? For the last two years, the Tide has given their worst effort against Ole Miss. I’m thinking it’ll happen again or it could be LSU.