SEC Football: A Look at the Depth and the State of the SEC in 2008

Going into 2008, the SEC looks to be the best conference in the country, top to bottom, once again. To win the conference though, like any conference, you must have depth throughout your roster.

Here's a look at the two-deep depth charts of the SEC going into 2008. This also gives you a look at the future and what you can expect from these teams in 2009 and beyond.

Alabama

Freshman- 11
Sophomores- 9
Juniors- 17
Seniors- 7

Alabama is on the right track under new coach Nick Saban. The Tide could have a better team in 2008 than in 2007, but the tough schedule could produce the same record as last season, although most pundits are expecting an 8-4 type season.

The Tide is going to rely heavily on freshmen to make immediate impacts this season, led by receiver Julio Jones and linebacker Dont'a Hightower.

Alabama looks to be a year or two away from having the kind of dominant SEC team that Saban is looking to build, but don't count them out this season if the freshmen can make a big contribution in the big games.

Arkansas

Freshman- 17
Sophomores- 5
Juniors- 7
Seniors- 14

Bobby Petrino steps into a tough situation. They lose Darren McFadden and Felix Jones to the NFL, and they also need to find a quarterback to run Bobby Petrino's offense.

Arkansas will play a lot of freshman this season so look for some growing pains in Petrino's first season. Next year could be more promising with Michigan quarterback transfer Ryan Mallet able to compete for the starting spot and he should be a perfect fit.

14 seniors though should help keep this team together if things were to go south.

Auburn:

Freshman- 5
Sophomores- 17
Juniors- 12
Seniors- 9

Auburn comes into 2008 as the favorite by the media to win the SEC West over LSU. Even though Auburn's schedule is favorable in 2008, their strongest team could come in 2009 with 17 sophomores and 12 juniors currently on the squad

The sophomores lead the way on offense with Kodi Burns, Lee Ziemba, Ryan Pugh and Mario Fannin.

The defense is led by the juniors Sen'Derrick Marks, Antonio Coleman, Tray Blackmon, and Jerraud Powers.

LSU:

Freshman- 11
Sophomores- 6
Juniors- 14
Seniors- 12

LSU comes into 2008 as the defending national champions, and their depth chart looks like they could repeat that performance with the experience and leadership that should be there.

The one question mark is obviously quarterback with no proven starter, but LSU's offensive and defensive lines—that are loaded with upperclassmen—will be great, but will be in a rebuilding position going into 2009.

Look for freshman Patrick Peterson to be the instant impact guy on defense at cornerback.

Mississippi State

Freshman- 8
Sophomores- 8
Juniors- 9
Seniors- 19

If Sylvester Croom wants to keep building his team and make another bowl game, he couldn't ask for a better situation in terms of experience.

Croom has 19 seniors that should contribute and provide great leadership for a team that is trying to build a solid foundation for the future in Starkville.

The playmakers on this team are on defense with as many as eight seniors starting, led by Derek Pegues in the secondary and Jamar Chaney at linebacker.

Ole Miss

Freshman- 4
Sophomores- 12
Juniors- 17
Seniors- 11

Houston Nutt might be stepping into a better situation in Oxford than what he had built in Fayetteville going into 2008.

Nutt inherits a big time quarterback transfer in sophomore Jevan Snead.

The Rebels are a very experienced team coming in with as many as 18 starters either juniors or seniors. The hype, however, in the offseason has centered around a sophomore and a freshman.

Snead is being counted on to be the savior for the Rebel program, and freshman running back Enrique Davis has been tapped as the next great back in Nutt's power running game lineage.

Florida

Freshman- 5
Sophomores- 17
Juniors- 16
Seniors- 6

Florida's numbers match up very similar to that of Auburn's.

Scary though, that Florida was the media pick to win the SEC championship with only six seniors looking to contribute.

With returning Heisman trophy winner Tim Tebow and those six seniors on the offensive side of the ball, the Gator offense is looking very strong in 2008.

Many people wonder about the Gator defense.  They are still a bit young with 12 sophomores looking at playing time, but I wouldn't look forward to facing this defense the next two years if everyone sticks around.

If junior Tim Tebow comes back for his senior year, that will ease the pain of losing the seniors on the offensive side of the ball after 2008 as well.

Georgia

Freshman- 10
Sophomores- 14
Juniors- 7
Seniors- 10

This one was a bit surprising. Georgia is the preseason number one team in the country with 24 underclassmen looking to contribute in 2008.

That's a lot of inexperience to rely on to win the national championship.

Of course, Knowshon Moreno is a sophomore who played all last season and is as good as they come. Mark Richt is set up for a great run though with a title contender this season, and some great young players coming on the next few years.

The inexperience this season is on the offensive line with 8 freshman and sophomores providing the depth and with the Trinton Sturdivant injury, only two starters coming back from last season.

Kentucky

Freshman- 4
Sophomores- 8
Juniors- 18
Seniors- 13

Rich Brooks has Kentucky looking as good as they have in a long time in Lexington.

The Wildcats are coming off a solid season, including a bowl win and a win over number one LSU at home.

With Kentucky's surprise run last season, the Wildcats return 31 upperclassmen to help continue that momentum and lead them to another bowl appearance this season. Most of the starters are projected to be upperclassmen when the season begins, including what could be Kentucky's best defense they have had in years.

Kentucky could be looking at some rebuilding though in a year or two with the loss of all the current playmakers.

South Carolina

Freshman- 5
Sophomores- 16
Juniors- 12
Seniors- 10

Spurrier said last season that he thought he had the team that could win the SEC East, but he may have been one year ahead of himself.

The Gamecocks look like a more experienced team this season and this could be the season that they surprise everyone. The Gamecocks have a good blend of experience and young players that could make them dangerous.

Spurrier has recruited well lately, so the sophomores could make big impacts, they just need their quarterback to come through. 2008 and 2009 could be very good seasons for Spurrier and South Carolina.

Tennessee

Freshman- 3
Sophomores- 13
Juniors- 14
Seniors- 14

In what may be one of Phillip Fulmer's most experienced teams, almost all of the Vols starters are either juniors or seniors, yet the defending Eastern division champions are still flying under the radar.

The offensive line has seven upperclassmen leading the way and should be the strong point of the offense.  While the defense was burned a bit last season, it will be led by a couple of sophomores in the secondary in Eric Berry and Demetrice Morley, and stud junior linebacker Rico McCoy.

The next two seasons for the Vols should be very good with the combination of juniors and seniors and some upcoming sophomores as well.

Vanderbilt:

Freshman- 9
Sophomores- 11
Juniors- 17
Seniors- 7

Well the positive thing if you are a Commodore fan is that you struggled last season and are picked at the bottom again in 2008.  But you only have seven seniors making impacts on the depth chart, so hopefully the sophomores and juniors can keep building the team in the right direction and make a bowl game in 2009.

The negative is that of your top six players, they are all juniors and seniors. Bobby Johnson has to hope that juniors like corner DJ Moore and Myron Lewis, and safety Ryan Hamilton don't leave college early because they are all NFL prospects.