Some of the SEC’s best teams have some obvious needs to fill heading into 2016. Here’s a glance at some of the biggest concerns around the conference:

Alabama

Deficiency: Quarterback

Even though the Alabama defense might lose a ton of people, the Crimson Tide seem to be in a better position to replace most of them. The spotlight is going to shine brightest on the quarterback battle, because whoever wins the starting job to replace Jake Coker is going to have to produce. With no Derrick Henry around to get 40 carries a game, there’s going to be an urgent need to have more balance in the offense.

Cooper Bateman played a bit early in the year and will at least have some experience on his side. David Cornwell and Blake Barnett will also get a good look. But if the running game isn’t as productive – and let’s not forget Henry was breaking SEC records this season – then the quarterback might need to be a hero some games. That battle is going to have plenty of Tuscaloosa eyeballs on it.

Ole Miss

Deficiency: Secondary

In most any year in Ole Miss history, a 10-3 record that includes a Sugar Bowl win would be considered a highly successful season. For 2015, that’s mostly true, although Hugh Freeze has set the bar higher now. The Rebels are actually disappointed that they didn’t win the SEC West and play in the SEC Championship Game for the first time in school history.

The problem was with the Ole Miss secondary, which got torched in its three losses by Florida’s Will Grier, Memphis’ Paxton Lynch and Arkansas’ Brandon Allen. Those three quarterbacks combined to pass for 1,097 yards and a whopping 13 touchdowns against the Ole Miss defensive backs. The current guys are going to have to get better and some recruits are going to need to step up in a hurry if the Rebs want to finally grab that elusive SEC title.

Georgia

Deficiency: Leadership

The transition from Mark Richt to Kirby Smart is going to be interesting to watch. There’s no denying that there’s still plenty of talent on the Georgia roster, but there are also plenty of new voices barking out orders. Which players are going to step up and be leaders?

What also makes this leadership question interesting is that the Bulldogs might go into the 2016 season with a true freshman starting at quarterback. Five-star recruit Jacob Eason has a ton of prep press clippings, but is he ready to step in and be a forceful leader as a freshman? It’s going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

Florida

Deficiency: Quarterback

We’ve been discussing the travails of Florida QB Treon Harris for months now as he’s struggled to replace Will Grier in the Gators offense. It was one thing to struggle in narrow wins over Vanderbilt, South Carolina and Florida Atlantic, because you at least got to celebrate. But the losses to Florida State, Alabama and Michigan have been painful to watch with Harris running the show.

The offense was held scoreless by FSU. The only points by the offense against Alabama came in the last five minutes when they were already down 29-7. Against Michigan, a first-quarter score was all they had and the Wolverines reeled off 35 unanswered points as the UF offense shut down.

Gator fans aren’t going to want to start the season with Harris at quarterback. Transfer Luke Del Rio will get a look and coach Jim McElwain might be tempted to force-feed incoming freshman Feleipe Franks of Crawfordville, Fla. The former LSU commit is enrolling early and will have the benefit of spring practice. It’s an area that needs a massive upgrade, that’s for sure.

Tennessee

Deficiency: Closing out games

The Volunteers finished the season on a six-game winning streak, which is the fourth-best active streak in the country behind Clemson (14), Alabama (11) and San Diego State (10). But what will be remembered about 2015 is their inability to close out games. In their four losses, they had double-digit leads in the fourth quarter three times and let it slip away. They also had a lead on Alabama late and couldn’t close it out.

Three areas will help cure that next year. More depth will help, and that seems to be in place, especially with a strong recruiting class coming in. An improved downfield passing game from Joshua Dobbs as he gets another year older will also help. And most importantly, better play-calling and execution down the stretch in tight games is an absolute must. Tennessee has a chance to be something special next year, but they’ve got a big hurdle to overcome first.

Mississippi State

Deficiency: Quarterback

Dak Prescott is Mississippi State football. The three-year starter at quarterback took the Bulldogs to unprecedented heights, setting 38 school records, earning a No. 1 ranking for several weeks in 2014 and showing what he takes to be a leader.

Now he’s gone. The likely candidate to replace him is 6-foot-5 redshirt freshman Nick Fitzgerald, although there will be some competition in the spring. There is a major unknown here as to how well Fitzgerald will do once the real bullets start flying. He’s been through two springs with the Bulldogs already, which helps, and he’s culled as much as he can from Prescott as his understudy.

“Dak Prescott almost is Mississippi State football,” Fitzgerald told the Clarion-Ledger a few weeks ago. “Trying to follow up a guy like that is going to be really hard. If you want to know how to be a leader, just look at Dak Prescott. If you could follow him around with a camera and try to do everything he does. You’ll be fine in life.”