Since improbably sweeping Tennessee to start SEC baseball play, my Missouri Tigers are struggling. They’ve gone an abysmal 2-13 in SEC action since that sweep and have fallen to the bottom of the SEC East standings.

I’m still holding out hope that they can turn things around and make a run for the NCAA Tournament, but it’s not looking good.

Basically, I’m looking at a long summer with no football to keep me occupied if Mizzou baseball continues to free-fall.

Oh and the St. Louis Cardinals are off to a less-than-ideal start to the season.

Sorry, I’ll stop complaining about my lackluster baseball teams. Let’s dive into this week’s Mailbag instead!

Jack:

Now that Tyler Buchner has transferred to Alabama, is he your pick to win the Crimson Tide’s QB1 spot?

I think the fact that Nick Saban brought him in at all means he’s not thrilled with where Tyler Simpson and Jalen Milroe are at this spring.

Buchner obviously has the added benefit of having worked with new Alabama OC Tommy Rees when they were both at Notre Dame last season. Thus, even though it’s a bit late in the offseason to be bringing in a new quarterback, Buchner should at least have plenty of familiarity with Rees’s terminology and system.

I would caution against completely ruling out Milroe or Simpson, though. While bringing in Buchner is definitely a message being sent by Saban to his quarterbacks, if Milroe or Simpson has a strong start to fall camp, they could still win the job.

My money would be on Buchner winning the QB1 position for Week 1, but I mean it when I say anything can happen with Alabama’s quarterbacks over the next few months.

@SChinni12:

How would you power rank the 14 SEC teams following spring practices?

In my opinion, there’s a top tier of 4 teams in the SEC this year and a bottom tier of 3 teams. The other 7 teams could be put in almost any order you want and I wouldn’t quibble with it too much.

Here’s how I rank the 14 SEC squads as we enter the long summer:

  1. Georgia – Until someone takes down the Dawgs, they’re No. 1.
  2. LSU – Jayden Daniels is a dark-horse Heisman candidate. The Tigers are legit.
  3. Alabama – I’m worried about the QB situation for the Tide, as discussed in the previous section.
  4. Tennessee – Joe Milton looks ready to take a step forward. But replacing Hendon Hooker, Cedric Tillman, Jalin Hyatt and others won’t be easy.
  5. Kentucky – I love the addition of Devin Leary at QB and getting Liam Coen back as OC.
  6. Ole Miss – I’m usually higher on the Rebels than most folks outside of Oxford, and this year is no different. That offense is going to be dangerous once again.
  7. Texas A&M – Conner Weigman will be under a ton of pressure to turn things around in College Station.
  8. South Carolina – Spencer Rattler finished the 2022 season on a strong note. Can he carry that momentum into 2023?
  9. Arkansas – The Razorbacks must fix their pass defense if they’re going to finish in the top half of the SEC in 2023.
  10. Mizzou – I know y’all will give me hell in the comments for having Mizzou here, but the Tigers consistently put together decent (but not great) seasons. The Tigers have only finished last in the SEC East once since joining the SEC (the 2016 season). They’ll win 6-8 games again this year.
  11. Mississippi State – I have questions about Mississippi State in Year 1 under Zach Arnett. After the tragic loss of Mike Leach, I wonder how well the Bulldogs will play offensively without the architect of the Air Raid offense calling plays.
  12. Auburn – Give Hugh Freeze some time and he’ll turn this program around. If he makes a bowl game in Year 1, that’ll be enough. Real progress needs to start in Year 2.
  13. Florida – I’m not a big Graham Mertz fan. I don’t think he’ll move the needle at all in Gainesville. It could be a rough fall at The Swamp.
  14. Vanderbilt – The Commodores showed some fight last year, but they’re still in the cellar until they prove otherwise.

There are still some major quarterback battles yet to be decided, including ones at Georgia, Ole Miss and Alabama, so we’ll see how that impacts things when I do rankings again ahead of Week 1.

Ben:

How worried should Colorado fans be about the recent transfer portal mayhem in Boulder?

Well, I think Colorado will somehow find enough players to field a team in 2023, even if that looks like a monumental task at this point.

Who is QB Shedeur Sanders going to throw the ball to this fall? That’s a question that really needs to be answered. Is Travis Hunter going to play both cornerback and wide receiver like he did in high school?

Also, as mentioned in the Alabama QB answer, this isn’t the time of year you want to be adding players you will count on to contribute this coming season.

A couple of months ago, I believe I predicted in my Mailbag that Colorado would be bowl-eligible in Year 1 under Sanders. (I’m not 100% sure if I answered that question or not. Forgive me, new dad here. Sleep is still hard to come by.) I’m officially worried about that prediction. Long term, I’m still bullish on Deion Sanders as Colorado’s head coach, but this year could be a bit rougher than I originally expected.

@Dobbe8:

If you had to drink just one type of liquor for the rest of your life, what would you pick?

I’m going whiskey (bourbon, if I have to be more specific) all day. I like pretty much everything but rum. Vodka, gin, tequila, mezcal … it’s all good.

But a nice glass of bourbon is special. My favorite at the moment is High West’s American Prairie bourbon. Either neat or with 1 ice cube is the best way to enjoy it.

I wouldn’t be thrilled with having to limit my hard liquor options so much moving forward, but whiskey is absolutely my answer here.

Have a question for next week’s Mailbag? Tweet at us using #SDSMailbag or email me at Adam.Spencer@XLMedia.com.