Before the new-look SEC’s first full football season with 16 teams kicks off in 2024, 247Sports polled its deep roster of insiders for a program-by-program breakdown. The SEC survey asked a handful of questions, including, “What issue keeps your fan base up at night?” Here’s a roundup of the answers.
Alabama Crimson Tide Cody Goodwin, Bama247New faces at a handful of key positions such as edge rusher, cornerback, receiver and offensive tackle. Who replaces Dallas Turner? Will true freshmen get some serious snaps at corner and receiver? Who will start at right tackle?There’s a ton of talent on this roster, and we think they’ll be pretty good this year even with the coaching change and roster turnover. But when the program and fans expect to compete for conference titles and playoff spots, those things matter all the more. The first few weeks of the season will reveal a lot.
Arkansas Razorbacks Danny West, HawgSportsRecruiting in the state of Arkansas. Arkansas lost a little momentum following a disappointing 7-6 season in 2022, but then lost a ton of momentum last year by going 4-8 with several embarrassing home losses.
Now, Pittman’s hot-seat talk (and, in some cases, NIL shortcomings) have caught up with Arkansas in recruiting, especially on the home front. Several notable in-state recruits are leaving to play for Missouri, Oklahoma, LSU and Auburn, and the Natural State simply doesn’t produce enough talent for Arkansas to easily overcome the misses. The second thing that keeps Arkansas fans up at night is the NIL conversation. When one sport can hire John Calipari away from Kentucky and give him basically a blank check to recruit basketball players, then the football program that has gone 24-74 in the SEC over the past 12 years can’t seem to catch up, there’s a disconnect.It’s not a lack of resources. It’s donor fatigue and fan fatigue after a rough past 12 years in football.
Auburn Tigers Nathan King, Auburn UndercoverRecruiting. It has been a sore subject over the past few years, especially with the talent deficiency Harsin inflicted on the program with his two signing classes. Freeze’s first full class this year is making tremendous progress, after last year’s group finished No. 8 nationally.Still, even with the star power Freeze has added since becoming Auburn’s coach, fans will always be wary of a loaded SEC landscape that includes some of the most affluent and cutthroat programs recruiting against them on a daily basis.On the field, quarterback has been a limiting factor for Auburn for the better part of three seasons, and how Freeze can fix that moving forward into 2024 and beyond remains on the forefront of Auburn fans’ minds.
Florida Gators Jacob Rudner, Swamp247Wins. Napier and his staff have checked some critical boxes over the past two years, namely fixing the program’s ailing culture and boosting its productivity on the high school recruiting trail by landing some of the nation’s top players, including presumed QB-of-the-future DJ Lagway. But, entering Year 3, Napier is just 11-14 overall and 6-10 in SEC play — a record that doesn’t fly among a Gator fan base that craves a return to the university’s glory days on the gridiron.
Georgia Bulldogs Benjamin Wolk, Dawgs247Kirby Smart’s coaching longevity. Given he could already retire like a king, and that the sport is only getting more hectic and complicated, how much longer Smart wants to coach college football and whether he’d be tempted by the NFL is really the only thing Georgia fans are worried about as they map out the next half decade.
Kentucky Wildcats Josh Edwards, Cats PauseOffensive stability. Brock Vandagriff as the starting quarterback and how Bush Hamdan’s offense will translate to the SEC are relative unknowns. UK is on its third offensive coordinator in as many years.
LSU Tigers Bryce Koon, Geaux247Defense, defense and more defense. After having an offense capable of beating anyone last year and a defense that couldn’t stop anybody, this fan base hopes that the defense can improve under new coordinator Blake Baker. There were misses in the transfer portal, so LSU will have to count on some serious internal development for this side of the ball to avoid being a liability in 2024.Fans are fearful that the offense could still be good, but that defense will result in a missed playoff appearance.
Mississippi State Bulldogs Steve Robertson, Gene’s PageDefense. State fans expect to score and probably a good bit, but can they stop anyone with a brand-new defensive scheme? State may have to win some track meets this year.
Missouri Tigers Eli Hoff, St. Louis Post-DispatchDefense. There are questions about this Missouri team’s defense after losing several players to the NFL and a highly regarded defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, to LSU in out-of-the-blue fashion.New coordinator Corey Batoon’s scheme should remain similar, and there are newcomers and depth-chart-risers alike who will fill in, but there’s an uncertainty on that side of the ball that hasn’t been there since before Baker’s hire.The Tigers’ offense should be able to keep up with the SEC’s best, but there could be a shootout or two that elevate Mizzou fans’ heart rates this season.
Oklahoma Sooners Tom Green, Sooners IllustratedOffensive line. The biggest question for the team this offseason is whether offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh can work his magic with an almost-completel- rebuilt line this year, after the Sooners lost all five regular starters and a few other key contributors up front.Oklahoma hit the portal hard, bringing in a group of five transfers, headlined by former SMU center Branson Hickman and former North Texas guard Febechi Nwaiwu.While Bedenbaugh’s track record developing talent along the line should probably earn him the benefit of the doubt, fans know that the play of this new-look unit in the trenches will make or beak the Sooners’ inaugural season in the SEC. The made-over offensive line will either raise Oklahoma’s ceiling or lower its floor.
Ole Miss Rebels Jared Redding, Inside the RebelsLane Kiffin and other jobs. Stemming from his recent success at Ole Miss and well-documented coaching journey before it, there’s always a widely held assumption that he will take another job at a more prestigious football program. That reached a fever pitch when Kiffin’s talks with Auburn came to light in 2022.Ole Miss is not a blue-blood football program, though it aspires to be in this new era. Therefore, many still believe that Ole Miss is just a stepping stone for coaches of the caliber of Kiffin.Though Ole Miss is in a better position than it’s ever been as a program, many fear that it will only take an SEC title, deep College Football Playoff run or national championship to finally put that speculation to rest. When one particular SEC head coach is on a visible hot seat, some fear that Kiffin’s name will be thrown into the mix and that the institution will throw the kitchen sink to get him to leave Oxford.
Another issue that keeps Ole Miss fans up at night is that high school recruiting, particularly this upcoming 2025 class, has left a lot to be desired, especially with massive decommitment blows in recent weeks. That said, when evaluating Kiffin’s recent roster-building methods, it’s been abundantly clear that a highly touted transfer will be better off than any highly touted high school prospect in this program. Kiffin has operated like an NFL GM in terms of just identifying talent, evaluating and fitting needs regardless of age.
South Carolina Gamecocks John Whittle, The Big SpurOffensive line. For always and forever, the issue that keeps South Carolina’s fan base up at night is the offensive line — and this year is a bigger deal than it’s ever been, based on what it was last season.The Gamecocks faced a slew of injuries last year up front, which started in losing its starting right tackle on the opening drive of the season. Spencer Rattler ran for his life all season as the Gamecocks finished the year at the bottom or very near it in rushing yards per game, and both sacks and tackles for loss allowed.
A great freshman class from last year is now more experienced, there are a couple of transfer portal additions, players returning from injury and a five-star freshman. The position is looking up, but that feeling has been there before.
Tennessee Volunteers Patrick Brown, GoVols247Tennessee being a turned ankle, stubbed toe or rung bell for Iamaleava away from playing either veteran walk-on Gaston Moore or freshman Jake Merklinger at quarterback. If it’s not that, it’s the secondary, which has been a point of frustration for most of the fan base under Heupel.It was a liability that cost the Vols a CFP spot in 2022 and though the numbers looked better last season, the best quarterbacks Tennessee played the second half of last season were able to carve them up.Now the Vols will have five new starters in the back end after turning the page from a slew of veterans to a combination of guys who have waited their turns, an up-and-coming talent or two and newcomers.
Texas A&M Aggies Carter Karels, GigEm247Texas joining the SEC and being immediately amazing. Aggie fans might not want to admit it, but I am sure the thought of the Longhorns coming into their conference and immediately winning big would make them want to vomit. It is why it is crucial for Elko to take advantage of this schedule and have a very successful first season.
Texas Longhorns Chip Brown, Horns247Recruiting. Right now, what keeps the fan base up at night is not winning enough commitments from top 2025 high school talent against other strong NIL programs such as Oregon, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Texas ranks No. 13 in the Class of 2025 recruiting rankings but that’s only good enough for eighth in the SEC.
Vanderbilt Commodores Robbie Weinstein, Vandy247At this point, fans are probably most concerned about whether Clark Lea is the right coach to lead the program. He’s not truly on the hot seat, and fans want him to succeed, but it has been a bumpy road. Prior headaches like facilities, NIL and the admissions process have all greatly improved at Vanderbilt.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/what-keeps-each-sec-fan-base-up-at-night-insiders-name-top-concern-ahead-of-2024-season/
