This week in the SEC West
We are one week closer to the start of college football, and there’s a lot going on to reflect that in the SEC West. Several teams held their final scrimmages Saturday as they work toward finalizing their depth charts and game plans heading into the season.
Gus Malzahn and the rest of the Auburn coaching staff decided to hand Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham the keys when they named him the starting quarterback this past week. The move was expected by many, but it finally puts that position battle to rest and will allow the team to rally behind Stidham moving forward.
Here’s what else has been going on this week in the SEC West.
Alabama
There had been rumors that Bo Scarbrough was nursing some sort of injury, fueled by the star RB’s multi-day absence from practice. It turns out Scarbrough has been dealing with an illness rather than an injury.
“From an injury standpoint, Bo has been ill for two days, very sick. I’m talking ill enough to be in bed,” Nick Saban was quoted as saying Saturday after the team’s scrimmage.
That’s good news for the Crimson Tide, as they already are dealing with a Josh Jacobs hamstring injury — and a timetable for his return has yet to be identified. The running back group is one of the deepest positions on the roster, but the team doesn’t want to test that depth before it even has a chance to kick off against Florida State.
As for the scrimmage, it was a great day for both the offense and defense outside of walk-on WR Donnie Lee Jr. suffering a knee injury. He’s expected to get an MRI in the coming days.
Arkansas
Despite having to replace multiple weapons, the Razorbacks are expected to have one of the SEC West’s best offenses. The defense, on the other hand, could be a liability.
The team did receive good news with head coach Bret Bielema announcing that star LB Dre Greenlaw is 100 percent healthy as the start of the season approaches. Greenlaw was one of — if not the — best defensive players for the Razorbacks last season, but he suffered a broken foot against Alabama that put him out for the season. His health will go a long way in determining if Arkansas can improve on defense in 2017.
The other good news is that QB Austin Allen has been dominant in practice and scrimmages. He’s even been removed early from scrimmages due to how well he has performed — which has allowed the coaching staff to get a better look at Cole Kelley and Ty Storey.
Auburn
In addition to Stidham being announced as the starting quarterback, Auburn fans received some other good news. Multiple key players on defense, including sophomore Marlon Davidson, have been banged up recently. According to AL.com, all of those players are back in some capacity.
LSU
The quarterback battle rages on in Baton Rouge, as senior Danny Etling and true freshman Myles Brennan both saw time with the first-team offense in Saturday’s third and final scrimmage of fall camp. Ed Orgeron is expected to name a starter soon, but those who assume Etling has won the job will need to wait a little longer to receive clarity.
It also would seem that those who are expecting Heisman Trophy candidate Derrius Guice to see a workhorse role in the offense could be surprised at how many touches senior Darrel Williams receives. According to Andrew Lopez with NOLA.com, Williams finished Saturday’s scrimmage with 20 touches for 82 total yards.
Ole Miss
The big news coming out of Oxford is the unfortunate run of injuries the Rebels have dealt with over the course of the last week. Several big-name players, including star LT Greg Little, have missed time recently with injuries.
According to The Clarion-Ledger, DT Benito Jones went to the hospital for spinal X-rays after a hard hit early last week. He never lost feeling or movement in his extremities, but the news is concerning nonetheless.
Ole Miss can’t afford to see this string of injuries continue.
Mississippi State
Nick Fitzgerald is still searching for his “go-to” receiver in the Bulldogs’ offense now that Fred Ross has moved on to the NFL. Donald Gray appears to be that guy, and there doesn’t seem to be much of a push from the younger receivers on the roster.
This past week, The Clarion-Ledger reported that the younger receivers, such as Osirus Mitchell and Reggie Todd, had shown glimpses, but neither player has shown the consistency needed to produce on a regular basis against SEC cornerbacks. The team needs to provide Fitzgerald with as many weapons as possible if it is to make any sort of push in the SEC West.
In other news, Mississippi State got a commitment from the state’s No. 1 prospect in 2019, Charles Moore, on Saturday. The 5-star prospect from Louisville, Miss., is an absolute terror on the edge, and his commitment gives State an excellent jump on the 2019 recruiting class.
Texas A&M
There is still no clarity on the Aggies’ quarterback situation, and that might not change until the starter is jogging out with the first-team offense against UCLA on Sept. 2.
“We will run someone out there against UCLA,” Kevin Sumlin responded when asked if he would be naming a starting quarterback soon. “Just because we’ve done it in the past around this time … this is just a different schedule. We’ll figure it out. We’ve got a pretty good idea of where we’re at right now, and when the time is right, we’ll do that.”
The trenches, on both sides of the ball, also got makeovers as the team returned to practice last Tuesday. According to 247Sports, several players were seen playing new positions on the lines.