SEC Football: Predicting Every Team's 2016 MVP
Ladies and gentlemen, we are under the 70-day mark.
Monday marks 68 days until the first full college football Saturday of the season. When it starts, new stars and unknown players will emerge as the centerpieces for their teams.
Who will be the most valuable player for each of the 14 teams in the SEC? Our picks based on talent, scheme and depth are in this slideshow.
Alabama Crimson Tide: WR Calvin Ridley
1 of 14
Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin has helped the Crimson Tide make the College Football Playoff in each of the last two seasons with a simple philosophy—get the ball in the hands of the team's best offensive player in a variety of ways.
In 2014, that was wide receiver Amari Cooper—who went to New York in December as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Last year, running back Derrick Henry followed in his footsteps and won college football's most prestigious award. In 2016, that focal point will shift back outside to sophomore wide receiver Calvin Ridley.
The 6'1", 188-pound sophomore from Florida topped the 1,000-yard mark as a true freshman and will be featured prominently as a deep threat, possession receiver and on the perimeter for a Crimson Tide team that needs the stability he will provide.
With quarterback questions, an unsettled offensive line and the most inexperienced running backs corps that head coach Nick Saban has had in Tuscaloosa, Ridley's ability to keep defenses honest will come into play early as the new pieces slide into their new roles.
He might not be up for consideration for the Heisman when the season comes to a close. But when it comes to pure value, there's not a more important player in college football heading into the 2016 season. He'll come through for his coaches and teammates in a big way.
Arkansas Razorbacks: DE Deatrich Wise Jr.
2 of 14
While there are questions in the secondary in Fayetteville, there's no question what the strength of Arkansas' defense will be—the defensive line.
The centerpiece of that defensive line is senior defensive end Deatrich Wise Jr.
At 6'5", 280 pounds, the Carrollton, Texas, native notched eight sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss and hurried the quarterback five times for head coach Bret Bielema's crew. A true three-down defensive end, Wise has already made an impact in NFL draft circles.
"Against power-5 competition, Arkansas DE Deatrich Wise had second-best pass rush productivity behind Joey Bosa (42 pressures, 213 rushes)
— Steve Palazzolo (@PFF_Steve) June 22, 2016"
If Arkansas can consistently find pressure with four rushers, it will help the secondary become more consistent and give the offense more of a cushion as it transitions to new quarterback Austin Allen and a new No. 1 running back and replaces three key pieces along the offensive line.
Auburn Tigers: RB Jovon Robinson
3 of 14
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn has produced 13 1,000-yard rushers in 10 seasons as a college head or assistant coach, and Auburn's program has produced a 1,000-yard rusher in each of the last seven years dating back to 2009—Malzahn's first season as Auburn's offensive coordinator under former head coach Gene Chizik.
If those streaks are going to continue, it will be on the shoulders of senior running back Jovon Robinson.
The 6'0", 219-pounder from Memphis, Tennessee, rushed for 639 yards and three touchdowns in an injury-riddled season that landed the bruiser behind Peyton Barber on the Auburn depth chart for the majority of the year. But down the stretch, he was solid. He rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries in late October against Ole Miss, 159 against Texas A&M and 93 against Georgia; he then capped off his season with 126 yards, one touchdown and MVP honors in the win over Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl.
"His first real opportunity to get meaningful carries was Texas A&M, and he did great," running backs coach Tim Horton said this spring. "He comes back and plays good against Georgia, and he plays good against Alabama, and he's the MVP of the bowl game. I think some of it, not just with running backs but with any position, is that when I get the chance, am I gonna seize the day? That's what he did."
Now he's the unquestioned feature back in an Auburn offense that will lean on him as it looks to find quarterback stability for the first time since the 2014 season.
Florida Gators: CB Jalen Tabor
4 of 14
Florida cornerback Jalen Tabor tied Vernon Hargreaves III for the team lead in interceptions last year with four—two of which he returned for touchdowns.
Now he's the No. 1 cornerback for a Gators defense that could be even better than it was last year, with Tabor paying a mortgage on an island outside.
He'll be fine.
The 6'0", 191-pound junior from Washington, D.C., is physical at the line of scrimmage, has fantastic leaping ability and top-notch body control and, as I wrote in my predictions for the SEC's stat leaders, could be the SEC's best when the season wraps up.
Whether teams test him or shy away from him, his presence will be a huge benefit for the 2016 Gators defense.
Georgia Bulldogs: RB Nick Chubb
5 of 14
The jury is still out on whether Georgia running back Nick Chubb will be at 100 percent when toe meets leather in the Bulldogs' season-opener versus North Carolina after he missed the second half of the 2015 season with a knee injury.
Even if he isn't, though, a 90 percent version of Chubb is still better than 95 percent of the running backs in FBS.
The 5'10", 220-pounder from Cedartown, Georgia, has the power of a bruiser and the speed of a track star and proved from the moment he stepped on the scene in 2014 that he can be the every-down running back that Georgia needs.
While he might not be used in that way in 2016 because new head coach Kirby Smart might want to protect his star player's knee and use fellow junior Sony Michel to take pressure off him, Chubb will be what makes the Georgia offense—which could be starting true freshman quarterback Jacob Eason—tick.
Kentucky Wildcats: RB Stanley "Boom" Williams
6 of 14
Kentucky has questions on defense and at quarterback and has a head coach in Mark Stoops who probably needs to make a bowl game in order to keep his job. At running back, though, the Wildcats boast one of the best tandems in the SEC with Stanley "Boom" Williams and Jojo Kemp.
Williams is one of the best in the business.
The 5'9", 196-pounder from Monroe, Georgia, finished second in the SEC in yards per carry last year with 7.07, rushing for 855 yards on 121 carries for the season. More than just an edge threat, Williams' relatively small size allows him to sneak up to defenders who are engaged up front with the offensive line and aren't ready for the punch Boom provides.
Williams sat out spring practice recovering from an elbow injury, but Stoops said at SEC spring meetings that he'll be ready to go for fall camp. With Eddie Gran now in to coordinate the offense, Williams should get the ball in a variety of different ways, which will make opposing defensive coordinators' heads spin.
LSU Tigers: RB Leonard Fournette
7 of 14
When it comes to LSU's most valuable player, this contest is about as one-sided as a game pitting the Harlem Globetrotters against the Washington Generals.
It's over before it even starts.
Fournette led the nation in rushing yards per game last year with 162.75, was in the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation for a full two months and will be in the same discussion in 2016.
The 6'1", 230-pounder from New Orleans established himself early in his career as one of the best in the game and worthy of the hype that followed him to Baton Rouge.
He'll be the focal point of a Tigers offense that is based on establishing a punishing rushing attack. He has proved he has the big-play ability to impact the scoreboard from anywhere on the field and could be a bigger part of the passing attack in 2016.
Mississippi State Bulldogs: LB Richie Brown
8 of 14
If you don't know Mississippi State linebacker Richie Brown yet, you're going to hear a lot about the senior this season.
The 6'2", 245-pounder from Long Beach, Mississippi, is one of the most underrated players in the country. He notched 109 tackles last year and will be the centerpiece of a new-look Bulldogs defense that needs the stability that Brown provides after undergoing a total overhaul in its on-field coaching staff.
"Richie Brown considered leaving for the NFL, but MSU fans answered his prayers for guidance. https://t.co/GzBVFrPOz9
— Michael Bonner (@MikeBBonner) March 30, 2016"
Brown has a nose for the football and has the experience to help younger players such as fellow linebacker Leo Lewis. The team will count on him to not only match his production from a year ago but also serve as the quarterback of a Mississippi State defense that can't take too much of a step back if head coach Dan Mullen's crew is going to stay in the SEC West conversation.
Missouri Tigers: DL Charles Harris
9 of 14
D-Line Zou developed a new star last year, when Charles Harris notched seven sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss and helped the Tigers defense do all it could to keep the team in games while the offense struggled to gain momentum.
Harris is back for more as a junior, and the ultra-versatile 6'3", 231-pounder should further prove that he's one of the best three-down defensive ends in the entire country.
"Missouri's Charles Harris has a big season in store. https://t.co/fS21dGZqX0
— PFF College (@PFF_College) June 16, 2016"
He'll be the centerpiece of a defensive line that features Harold Brantley, Josh Augusta and a host of others who will make sure the moniker that the Tigers earned under former head coach Gary Pinkel makes the successful transition to the Barry Odom era.
If Harris replicates his 2015 season, the Tigers will be in nearly every game. If the offense finds its stride, a return to the postseason should be in the cards.
Ole Miss Rebels: QB Chad Kelly
10 of 14
Chad Kelly proved during his first season as the Ole Miss starting quarterback that he's one of the best dual threats in the country. He threw for 4,042 yards, rushed for 500 and scored a total of 41 touchdowns for the Rebels after transferring from East Mississippi Community College.
After flirting with the NFL, Kelly is back for more and has a deep corps of wide receivers at his disposal.
No, Laquon Treadwell is no longer in Oxford. But Quincy Adeboyejo, Damore'ea Stringfellow, Markell Pack, Van Jefferson, DaMarkus Lodge and a loaded incoming class make Ole Miss' wide receiving corps one of the deepest in the country.
Kelly will find them early and often, flirt with the 4,000-yard mark again and provide a similar rushing threat for an Ole Miss program that should be in the thick of the SEC West conversation for the third straight season.
South Carolina Gamecocks: RB David Williams
11 of 14
This space was once reserved for South Carolina linebacker Skai Moore. But offseason neck surgery will sideline the three-time team leader in tackles for the entire 2016 campaign.
Because of Moore's absence, even more pressure is on running back David Williams to become a star in the offensive backfield.
The 6'1", 216-pounder from Philadelphia only rushed for 299 yards a year ago in a wildly disjointed offense, but he has the size and speed to be the every-down back that head coach Will Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper need to stabilize the Gamecocks offense as it transitions to the new regime.
With uncertainty at wide receiver, quarterback and on the defensive side of the ball, Muschamp and Co. need a stable running game in order to take pressure off the rest of the roster. That'll likely be Williams' responsibility in 2016, which makes him the most important player in Columbia.
Tennessee Volunteers: QB Joshua Dobbs
12 of 14
As quarterback Joshua Dobbs goes, so go the Tennessee Volunteers.
The senior dual-threat signal-caller is fresh off a season in which he scored 27 touchdowns, rushed for 671 yards and helped the Vols become a player in the SEC East—a division that it was one fourth-down stop against Florida away from winning in 2015.
But he didn't exactly impress through the air on a consistent basis en route to 2,291 passing yards. Part of that is on his wide receiving corps, which is the one question mark for the Vols as they look to make the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2007.
At the very least, Dobbs should replicate his production from a year ago and could emerge as a Heisman contender if he takes just a small step forward for head coach Butch Jones' crew.
That small step forward will happen.
Dobbs will lead the Vols back to Atlanta, become a superstar and flirt with an invitation to New York in December as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Texas A&M Aggies: DE Myles Garrett
13 of 14
Texas A&M defensive end Myles Garrett led the SEC in sacks in 2015 with 12.5 and tackles for loss with 19.5. He is back for more in 2016 as a true junior who'll likely be one of the top picks in the 2017 NFL draft if he elects to come out early.
He'll be the player that opposing offensive coordinators focus on during game preparation against the Aggies, and he should get the full-on Jadeveon Clowney treatment, with multiple players trying to keep Garrett out of the backfield.
He'll still have success.
Whether it's in the stat sheet or as a decoy, Garrett is the most important piece of the defensive puzzle for head coach Kevin Sumlin and defensive coordinator John Chavis. He'll keep the Aggies in the SEC West title mix, help the defense take another step forward and likely be the talk of the offseason if he jumps to the pros.
Vanderbilt Commodores: RB Ralph Webb
14 of 14
Vanderbilt running back Ralph Webb rushed for 1,152 yards and five touchdowns for a Commodores offense that didn't do an awful lot to take pressure off him with its stagnant passing attack.
That might change in 2016 now that Kyle Shurmur has gotten his feet wet under center, but there's no doubt that Webb—a 5'10", 200-pounder from Gainesville, Florida, will be the focal point of the offense.
Webb is dangerous in space, has sneaky power at the line of scrimmage and will need to replicate the success of last season if the Commodores are going to become bowl-eligible for the first time since 2013.
He will, and head coach Derek Mason's program will quietly take another step forward in 2016.
Quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on SiriusXM 83. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
.jpg?w=600 "Former President Crashes Cowboys Presser")
