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Where every SEC team ranks on ESPN’s returning production chart for 2020
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One of the greatest aspects of college football is the annual uncertainty surrounding the sport each and every offseason.
Who would have guessed at this time last year that Joe Burrow was going to win the Heisman Trophy, set nearly every single NCAA and SEC passing mark and lead the Tigers to a perfect 15-0 record?
While there will always be uncertainty in college football, one of the best tools we can use to help project next season’s results on the field is the level of production returning for each program.
Bill Connelly of ESPN has taken things a step forward, devising formulas for ranking the returning production for each college football program. Connelly has broken down his rankings into three categories: overall returning production, as well as returning production on offense and defense.
Of course, not all programs are built the same. Alabama and LSU can sustain losses that many others could not, but this data should give fans an idea of which units in the SEC should be among the strongest heading into the 2020 season.
Here’s his breakdown of how Connelly came up with his production figures on each side of the ball:
Offense metrics:
• Percentage of last season’s QB passing yards returning: 32% of offensive returning production formula
• Percentage of last season’s WR/TE receiving yards returning: 32%
• Percentage of career starts returning on the offensive line: 17.5%
• Percentage of last season’s offensive line snaps returning: 12%
• Percentage of last season’s RB rushing yards returning: 6.5%
Defense metrics:
• Percentage of defensive returning production formula derived from defensive line: 5%
• Percentage derived from secondary: 37%
• Percentage derived from full defense: 21%
We’ve taken the liberty of pulling out the data for the 14 SEC programs and listed them out below but you can check the data for all 130 college football teams over at ESPN.com.
Where every SEC team ranks on ESPN’s returning production chart for 2020
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A graduate of the University of Tennessee, Michael Wayne Bratton oversees the news coverage for Saturday Down South. Michael previously worked for FOX Sports and NFL.com
