Each week, Matt Hayes uses his sources around the country to bring you insider knowledge about what’s going on in the SEC ahead of this week’s games.

This is what he’s hearing from SEC coaches and NFL scouts in Week 10 …

One game does not a season make for Georgia’s Jake Fromm

The obvious question after last week’s Florida-Georgia game: How did Dawgs QB Jake Fromm suddenly become an efficient thrower on third down after struggling the entire season? “Simple,” says one SEC coach, “Florida had guys in that secondary that had no business being there.” At the very least, Florida wasn’t playing with the two cornerbacks that began the season – two All-SEC caliber players. But understand this: The Gators had been playing without CB Marco Wilson since he tore his ACL in Week 2 vs. Kentucky. The Gators lost CB C.J. Henderson (back injury) in the first series against Georgia, and that left the defense with significant inexperience in the secondary.

Two other young but talented defensive backs – Brian Edwards and Brad Stewart — didn’t even make the trip to Jacksonville. As a result, Florida dialed back on blitz packages (giving Fromm more time to set and throw), and tried to play more zone to protect the inexperience in the secondary. A bad combination. …

Why all that Jake Fromm love could come crashing down vs. Kentucky

Why the explanation of Fromm’s huge game against Florida, you ask? Because, says one NFL scout, “Kentucky is going to make it much harder on Fromm in 3rd-and-long.”

The same UK defense that last week played against a talented Missouri passing offense that includes a first-round pick at quarterback (Drew Lock), a first-round pick at tight end (Albert Okwuegbunam), a bruising, deceptively fast tailback (Larry Rountree III) and a deep receiving corps. Sound familiar? Kentucky forced Missouri – on the road in Columbia – to eight consecutive 3-and-outs in the second half of a 15-14 win. “These things don’t occur in a vacuum,” an NFL scout said. “You can’t just say because a guy played well one week, he has it figured out or the staff has it figured out. There are circumstances that can’t be ignored. I can guarantee the average Georgia fan thinks all is well with Fromm now. You don’t just turn it on and off.” …

Missouri set for another big November

Along those same lines, this suddenly has become a critical week for the Florida defense. They’re banged up in the secondary, and a desperate Missouri team that has underperformed in big games all season rolls into Gainesville. One SEC coach I spoke with said Missouri looks a lot like last year, where it struggled in games that mattered, then won in the back half of the schedule to finish a respectable 7-5. The final four games for Missouri this season: at Florida, Vanderbilt, at Tennessee, Arkansas. “That’s 8-4 right there, and then everything doesn’t look so bad,” one SEC coach said. “How many of us wouldn’t love to be staring at that in November?” Missouri began last season 1-5, before winning six in a row against Idaho, UConn, Florida, Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Arkansas. Don’t think that run of wins can’t happen again. …

Greedy Williams can’t get too greedy vs. Alabama

Earlier this week in First and 10, we told you how the Alabama offense will put LSU in position to choose between hoping to get pressure with the front four (hasn’t happened consistently this season), or using blitz packages and expecting defensive backs to win in individual battles with Alabama’s talented receivers. Another NFL scout looks at it a different way: “I’m not so sure LSU is as good as their reputation on the outside. I like Greedy (Williams), but he takes a lot of chances and they allow him to freelance back there. You’re not freelancing against these guys at Alabama. That guy throwing the ball is way too accurate for that.” …

Jarrett Stidham vs. the Texas A&M defense

Two NFL scouts I spoke with say this is a big week for Auburn QB Jarrett Stidham. A junior, Stidham isn’t expected to return to Auburn and likely will make himself available for the NFL draft. That’s what makes this weekend’s game against Texas A&M (a top 25 defense) so important. “Auburn did some things last week (against Ole Miss) to spread the field a bit and (Stidham) was making some nice throws,” the scout said. “But that Ole Miss defense is awful. This group they’re playing this week will get after (Stidham) and cover tight.” Scouts I have talked to all season have criticized Auburn for the way it uses Stidham, a true pocket passer playing in an ill-fitted offense. The fear this week: Auburn will revert to what it did prior to the Ole Miss game, using quick throws to prevent a fierce pass rush from overwhelming an offensive line that has struggled to protect all season. …

The one silver lining in the Tennessee season: The emergence of Jarrett Guarantano

The losses keep piling up in Knoxville, but there is hope on the horizon. Specifically, there’s hope with QB Jarrett Guarantano. “That is one tough SOB,” one SEC coach said. “I don’t know how, if you’re playing on that team, you see that kid giving everything and don’t say, yeah, I gotta play like that, too.” In four games since an absolutely horrific performance against Florida (who on Tennessee didn’t play poorly against the Gators?), Guarantano has completed 65 percent of his passes for 741 yards, with 6 TDs and 0 INTs. This despite poor pass protection (10 sacks, 8 hurries, countless knockdowns). “If I’m (Tennessee coach) Jeremy (Pruitt), I’m pretty excited about the guy under center,” the SEC coach continued. “He may not be you’re a big-time (NFL) first-rounder, but he has talent and you cannot intimidate him. He does not get shaken.”