The 5 SEC defenses that are destined for improvement in 2022
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. I really do.
It brings me no joy to say “it ain’t getting any better.” Not every defense in the SEC can improve. There’s no set formula. Returning starters doesn’t always do the trick, and neither does retaining a certain coordinator.
Sometimes, “improvement” doesn’t necessarily equal satisfactory performance. Last year, Florida and LSU experienced that on defense. LSU went from inexplicably allowing 34.9 points per game with Bo Pelini in 2020 to 26.6 last season. Florida allowed 30.8 points per game in 2020 and allowed 26.8 in 2021. Both coaching staffs were still fired in the midst of 6-win regular seasons.
Sorry. That’s too much bad news.
The good news is that we’re here to discuss which SEC defenses are destined for improvement in 2022. Just as I said when I outlined the SEC offenses that were destined to improve, a team that misses this list isn’t necessarily doomed for regression in that department. It just means I have more questions about them and don’t think that path to improvement is quite as clear as it is for these 5 teams.
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So, let’s get to that positive news about SEC defenses with better days ahead.
Mizzou
2021 finish — 33.8 PPG (No. 113 in FBS)
Why improvement is imminent — I’m sure there’s a portion of the Mizzou fan base who would’ve preferred I ended this section with “because Steve Wilks is gone.” I, however, refuse to do that. I’ll instead point to the fact that despite the Tigers having an absolutely dreadful run game for the majority of the season, they actually finished the year with an improved front and only 2 of the final 6 opponents hit the 30-point mark. The Tigers got a facelift at the defensive coordinator position with Blake Baker coming over from LSU. He inherited a group that returns 78% of last year’s defensive production, including the underrated edge duo of Trajan Jeffcoat and All-Bang The Drum Team member Isaiah McGuire, who quietly finished with 14 tackles for loss. Kris Abrams-Draine should lead an improved secondary, as well. There’s no reason Mizzou can’t at least flirt with mediocrity on defense.
LSU
2021 finish — 26.6 PPG (No. 70 in FBS)
Why improvement is imminent — As weird as it sounds, LSU actually figured things out without Derek Stingley Jr. and Eli Ricks, so don’t tell me their departures are why LSU will regress. In November, the Tigers were a top-20 defense despite the fact they faced Alabama, Arkansas and A&M. Even more impressive was the fact that LSU had the nation’s No. 7 run defense in November even though it faced Brian Robinson, the Hogs’ top-ranked rushing attack in the SEC and the Isaiah Spiller/Devon Achane duo. Obviously, it’s a new defensive staff, led by Matt House. But there are a ton of promising returning pieces in that front 7 with BJ Ojulari, the promising Ali Gaye, Jaquelin Roy and Maason Smith. That’s the foundation. That group can rush the passer and stop the run without putting so much pressure on the defensive backfield, which is huge considering how many new faces LSU has in the secondary via the transfer portal. This has the makings of a potential top-5 SEC defense.
MSU
2021 finish — 25.9 PPG (No. 62 in FBS)
Why improvement is imminent — MSU is the perfect example of a defense where some of the raw numbers don’t look particularly special (No. 62 in FBS in scoring & No. 71 vs. the pass), yet those who watch them on a weekly basis see it goes beyond that. Zach Arnett has done a tremendous job implementing his 3-3-5 defense and doing the heavy lifting at some key moments while Mike Leach’s Air Raid was still in “beginner” mode. It’s one thing to return a ton of defensive production, which MSU does (No. 1 in the SEC and No. 8 in FBS). It’s another to return legitimate All-SEC candidates at each level. Nathan Pickering, Jett Johnson (another All-Bang The Drum Team selection), Tyrus Wheat and Emmanuel Forbes are all capable of doing just that. Don’t forget that despite the somewhat mediocre raw numbers, MSU was still No. 3 in the SEC against the run. If they can be healthy at the pass-rusher positions this year, a top-4 finish in the SEC is very much in play for the MSU defense.
Arkansas
2021 finish — 22.9 PPG (No. 39 in FBS)
Why improvement is imminent — Last year, I wrote why the Arkansas defense was the best bet to improve of any SEC unit. That proved to be true. Arkansas went from No. 97 to No. 39 nationally because it improved by 12 points per game. Mind you, that was essentially with Jalen Catalon out for half the season. This year, even with losing ageless veterans like Grant Morgan and Hayden Henry, I expect Barry Odom’s group to take another step forward. In addition to a healthy Catalon and Bumper Pool back as the veterans of that group, I loved the Drew Sanders addition from Alabama. He has a chance to be Arkansas’ first double-digit sack guy in a decade. If he can become a force, I like the chances of Arkansas getting better on the back end with fellow SEC transfers Latavious Brini (Georgia) and Dwight McGlothern (LSU). It might be daunting to know what awaits in the SEC West, but we just watched Auburn have a top-30 defense in FBS, and I’d argue there are better pieces in place in Year 3 with Odom.
Alabama
2021 finish — 20.1 PPG (No. 18 in FBS)
Why improvement is imminent — Let’s stop pretending the defensive standard is still at 2009-17 levels. That 9-year stretch never saw Alabama finish worse than No. 6 in FBS. Just for a little perspective, Georgia hasn’t had a top-6 defense in consecutive years since 2002-03. I say that because improvement doesn’t necessarily mean I expect Alabama to allow 10 points per game. With the way the Tide lights up scoreboards now, I think the raw numbers will still not be at that level because when Will Anderson, Dallas Turner and Jordan Battle are drinking Gatorade on the sideline for the entire 4th quarter, teams will score. Having said that, those 3, along with Byron Young and Eli Ricks, all have legitimate All-American upside. That’s scary. While I still have some questions about the middle of that Alabama defense, it’s hard to envision this group not at least getting back to being a top-10 unit in the sport.
For most of these, there’s nowhere to go but up.
“For most of these, there’s nowhere to go but up.”
Profound, corn dog. Profound.
Exactly. Still contend Lee’s Summit North high school could have beaten Missouri last year.
Kris Abrams-Draine will be a high first or low second-round pick after this season.
Don’t sleep on UK’s defense. They had a historic D-line recruiting class 3 years ago, so will have 7 quality d lineman to rotate, so will have top 5 SEC front 7. Only question mark was CB depth, but have some interesting transfers coming in for depth.
I could argue for UT’s defense to be a little better. Im not sure we will be. But think so with just getting to the second year of the system and a few returning bright spots in the lineup. Its no secret our secondary is a problem on paper though. we should improve on the edge, LB’s will be better I think, safety could be a wash, DL loses a very solid player and perhaps more importantly a leader so someone has to step up there. There are candidates but theres no obvious choice. CB is the sore thumb of the D and we will need multiple players to step up. Honestly I could see our D being a little worse, a little better or quite a bit better. The schedule helps a little bit this year too.
And yet…another 7-6 season.
When was Auburn’s last national championship again?
More recent than Tennessee’s. TN defense will always be lower in the stats with the offense they run. Defense spends too much time on the field.
“When was Auburn’s last national championship again?”
In what sport? Football? 2011.
Equestrian? 2019.
RonMexico1 12 HOURS AGO
“I pointed out that Cam destroyed banners from opposing fans. Ron’s response, “Ohh, big deal. Is it against the law?” How do you have a reasonable conversation with that?’
Now that’s a lie if I ever heard one.
RonMexico1 2 WEEKS AGO “Antics like tearing down an opposing fans sign. ” Is that breaking the law?
Well you are a cold busted LAIR.
Cam Newton reportedly drawing interest from 1 NFL team ahead of 2022 season. Since I’m not Matt Haynes I’m giving my source. This is the article that I have cut & pasted RonMexicos posts showing who the liar is.
“RonMexico1 12 HOURS AGO
“I pointed out that Cam destroyed banners from opposing fans. Ron’s response, “Ohh, big deal. Is it against the law?” How do you have a reasonable conversation with that?’
Now that’s a lie if I ever heard one.”
Yeah, that’s because you made up a lie.
“RonMexico1 2 WEEKS AGO “Antics like tearing down an opposing fans sign. ” Is that breaking the law?
Well you are a cold busted LAIR.’
Are you high?
“Cam Newton reportedly drawing interest from 1 NFL team ahead of 2022 season. Since I’m not Matt Haynes I’m giving my source. This is the article that I have cut & pasted RonMexicos posts showing who the liar is.”
1: Your obsession with Cam Newton is on full display.
2: Cam is wealthy. You are not.
3: Cam is still affiliated with the NFL. You are not.
4: You made up something I never posted. You ma’am, are a liar.
Everyone who follows this site knows who the liar is.
Another thread and Ronnie again behaving like the #1 blog moron.
Way to go Ronnie
Oh no, jorts thinks I’m a moron. What EVER will I do???
If it were only me you would be fine but you do come across a big fat moron to many different fan bases on SDS
“If it were only me you would be fine but you do come across a big fat moron to many different fan bases on SDS”
The saddest part about your obsession with me is the fact that you actually think I care.
You care enough to respond
We will all know whether LSU’s defense has or hasn’t improved when the season’s play starts. One thing for sure, the commitment and attitude will be better.
I like the change in attitude of the team and the commitment to commitment. I anticipate they will be a team we will be proud of, and think they will at least win 9-10 regular season games. If they win more, then that’s exceeding even my expectations of them.
GeauxTigers8, really? If winning that many games shouldn’t LSU be pre-ranked in the top 25? I guess many experts disagree and those experts pre-ranked a first timer of a HC over Kelly many years of experience as a HC. How could that be?! Kelly left Notre Dame and Notre Dame actually got a higher pre-ranked with a first timer of a HC. Something tells me that something isn’t right about Kelly and LSU.
Listening to the predictions of “expert” talking heads diss other teams is about all Mizzou fans can do for encouragement. I’d recommend that the Missouri fake-Tigers apply to the Sunbelt Conference where you might hope to win a couple of games each year. One Vanderbilt in the SEC is enough.
Most people who vote in pre season polls base it off of last year’s results and don’t do deep dives into each team. You often see teams that lose most of their production get ranked close to or higher than last years finish.
Safe bet the defensive line will be better, and that’s a very good start. The back seven shows promise, but we won’t know until we see them play.
By virtue of replacing a coaching staff that had checked out and mailed it in I expect the Gators to improve in all facets of the game
I agree, with TG gone that automatically elevates the defense!
I think that Arkansas will upgrade talent over all but the thing that I’m most hoping for is improvement in our second team. Having a first teamer come out for a breather and having the second teamer let somebody blow past him for a long ganer or TD has been killing us most of this century.
Calling my shot: A&M remains top 10 in scoring defense and top 20 total defense.
You might be counting your eggs before they hatch. A&Ms problem will be youth and a lack of continuity. I mean, A&M is gonna be loaded with talented depth on both sides of the ball, but there’s not going to be a lot of experience to that depth and they’re gonna drop games they shouldn’t because of it.
DL is the only position group that may fit your opinion, but those that follow closely know projected starters McKinnley Jackson (3rd year – lots of playing time), Shemar Turner (2nd year – lots of playing time), Fadil Diggs (3rd year), and Tunmise Adeleye (2nd year) are all high four star or 5 star. Add guys that have been in the rotation like Adarious Jones, and Isaiah Raikes, then they will be fighting for time against possibly the highest rated D-line class ever signed. I’m feeling pretty good about that D-line.
Any team can say that. By that logic, LSU should be at least where A&M is.
A&M lost a good bit defensively while LSU did not.
I’d wager the LSU-A&M game will decide which team finishes a game better than the other.
My point to SmokeOne is there is a lot more talented “experience” returning in that Aggie D-line than the casual observer may realize. I admit I don’t follow LSU returning D-line close enough to say, but I doubt “any team can say that” and be able to back it up.
GeauxTigers8, Why isn’t LSU with Brian Kelly as the HC pre-ranked in the top 25? If you say LSU is that good how come there are teams that are pre-ranked for a reason like Texas A&M (this time for real due to what the team has coming back and getting ready to make noise this year) Arkansas fir the first time under Pittman and first time HC at Notre Dame that was where Kelly left to take the LSU job that everyone says will take time to get back to competition in the tough SEC West division that have a much improved teams like MSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Texas A&M, and Alabama. Former LSU HCs didn’t have that tough SEC West teams that is happing fir the first time in a very very long time! Kelly is a step behind right now.
Aggierider: I wonder where you stand on losing Elko? I personally think losing him will hurt y’all more than the players that left.
Elko is very good. Maybe one of the best, but I think Durkin has done well at several places. There is no doubt he helped improve that Ole Miss defense and he will have a very talented roster to work with at A&M. A slight drop off may be expected but the defense should still be very good.
@AggieRider losing Elko is going to hurt. I love the optimism, but that will sting.
This is the most experienced A&M secondary in my lifetime. 6 guys that have started with a plethora of 4 and 5 stars ready to contribute. Big losses of Tyree Johnson, Leal, Clemons, and Hansford will be hard to replace, but a top 10 finish would not surprise me. I will concede losing Elko, the best DC in college football in my opinion, will hurt. Excited to see what Durkin can do with this group.
points added for using “plethora”.
Couldn’t help myself
I think that, with the offenses of today, the old standard of yards per game and points per game allowed, alone does not really show how good a defense is. They can be used as indicators when compared to those allowed by other teams, but it still does not really tell the story. 3 and outs and giving the offense a short field is now more important in many respects.
Excellent point 8×5
Red Zone defense too. You can give up a ton of yards and still be effective if teams are only putting up 3 at a time. A&M was 20th in ypg but 3rd in ppg. A lot of that had to do with red zone defense.
Which makes what UGA dud last year consistently throughout the year so crazy. I don’t think we will see that again, not with these offenses.
Did, not dud, haha. UGA haters, insert your jokes here. I teed yall up.
100%. That defense was something special
How in the world of cabbage could you not mention the Gators after Grantham not patrolling the sidelines? Just baffling
LSU is more important than UF! ;) First of all, Florida got to beat LSU first before getting any respect.
Well, if Marsh was saying the Gator D would be better than the LSU D you’d have a point, but the article is The 5 SEC defenses that are destined for improvement in 2022, and with TG gone I believe that greatly improves the Gator D from what they showed last year.
Both LSU and Florida are SEC royalty while Mizzou is not. So it is more accurate to say LSU is more important than Mizzou and so is Florida
Mizzou is obviously the low-hanging fruit of the group, just stepping on the field should result in better defense. However, that’s a good point about how things really turned around the 2nd half of the season. Unfortunately a lot of that was the emergence of Mehki Wingo who has since transferred. He alone will improved LSU’s defense so it makes sense they’re on this list as well. At this point, just getting BACK to where Ryan Walters had it is the goal.
Mo? And Lswho
Interesting
As Coach Gene Stallings once said
“Defense Wins Championships”
Brian Kelly will win at least 10 games this year and prove he is worth every cent. Or he will go 6-6 and blame the players for their not winning 10 games since he coached them at a 10 win level. People do know that Kelly won a National Championship at the D2 level but has yet to win a major bowl as a D1 coach. D1 is harder.
No chance he wins 7,8,or 9? games? Vegas is trying to find you. (:
Disappointed not to see Tennessee on the list – we had to outscore cause we couldn’t stop people at times (although Tim Banks did great job with troops he had on hand.)
Only 5 teams have been in the SEC Championship Game since Missouri kicked the door down in 2013 AND 2014. So pretend all you want but Gary Pinkel was not the first good coach at Missouri and they already hired a coach who could better Pinkel.