Florida climbed to the top of the SEC East in 2015 but staying on top of their division will be that much more difficult this coming season with Tennessee and Georgia on the rise. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina all have the potential to improve but just like the teams at the top they have significant concerns they must address in order to reach their potential. Here is a look at the biggest concerns for teams from the SEC East division.
Florida Gators
The Gators went 10-4 and won the SEC East in Jim McElwain’s first season. Florida football fans are excited to see what is in store for year two. The key will be improvement at the quarterback position where transfer Luke Del Rio will have the edge to start after shining in the spring. However, they will need to protect him in order for Del Rio to perform at a high level. The Gators gave up a national-worst 45 sacks last season but there is every reason to think they will be better in 2016 and improved pass protection could be the key to their success in the SEC East.
Tennessee Volunteers
Tennessee is loaded with talent led by star quarterback Joshua Dobbs and an improved defense so there is no doubt they have the potential to contend for an SEC championship in 2016. The key will be whether or not a largely uninspiring group of wide receivers can step up and complete a pass offense that has the potential to be really good. Josh Malone is the leading returning receiver with 31 catches for 405 yards and two touchdowns but he needs to have better numbers than that for the Vols to be a serious contender. Tennessee will rely on Malone, Josh Smith and sophomore Jauan Jennings to step up and produce at a high level in 2016 and their success will be the key to the Vols ascending as legitimate championship contenders.
Georgia Bulldogs
Kirby Smart picked the perfect time to make the move to Georgia as the Bulldogs are loaded with talent and will play a relatively soft schedule in comparison with past seasons. Georgia has two potential starting quarterbacks in freshman Jacob Eason and senior Greyson Lambert and whoever starts for them should be just fine under center. However, the Bulldogs do have concerns at the running back position where Nick Chubb and Sony Michel have 1,000-yard seasons on their resume but both have injury concerns. Chubb is still recovering from torn ligaments in his knee suffered last October while Michel broke his forearm in a recent ATV incident. Georgia will need one of those two running backs or both to emerge in order to compete for an SEC East title in 2016.
Vanderbilt Commodores
The Commodores made progress a year ago after Derek Mason fired both of his coordinators and took over the defense. Vanderbilt was much stronger on that side of the football but their offense wasn’t nearly good enough and must show improvement in order to take another step forward. The biggest concern for the Commodores is who will be catching passes as their leading returning receiver from a year ago Caleb Scott had just 24 catches for 339 yards and a touchdown. The Vanderbilt offense needs to be far more consistent for this team to improve its win total in 2016 and the passing game will undoubtedly by their biggest concern.
Kentucky Wildcats
Kentucky returns 13 starters including nine on offense but their biggest issues will lie on the defensive side of the football. Sophomore linebacker Denzil Ware is the only returning starter in the Wildcats’ front-seven so it will be on Mark Stoops and his staff to get that group up to speed in time for September. The Wildcats demonstrated improvement when they posted a 5-7 record a year ago but they will need more from their defense this coming season in order to take another step forward in the SEC East.
Missouri Tigers
The Missouri offense was one of the worst in the nation a year ago when they averaged just 13.6 points per game – the second-worst mark in the FBS. The Tigers will need to do more on that side of the football this season with sophomore quarterback Drew Lock expected to take another step forward. Lock is coming off an ugly freshman season in which he threw for four touchdowns and eight interceptions while completing just 49-percent of his passes. Part of the issue will be Missouri’s improvements at the wide receiver position but ultimately Lock will need to be a lot better.
South Carolina Gamecocks
The Gamecocks have struggled in their transition to the SEC and now Will Muschamp inherits a really tough situation with just seven returning starters from a year ago. South Carolina’s roster is dotted with holes and the biggest concerns are at the quarterback position. Holdovers Perry Orth and Lorenzo Nunez will compete with freshman Brandon McIlwain for the starting job and whoever emerges as the starter needs to be that much more effective. Gamecocks’ quarterback combined for 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season and that won’t be good enough to make significant progress in the win column this coming season.
