SEC Football: Questions Facing SEC West Teams as They Enter Spring Practice

Every team in the West Division in the Southeastern Conference has at least one major question to answer as they start spring football practice. Whether or not they can adequately answer these questions will go a long way towards determining if the West Division will produce another national champion in 2012.

Multiple schools will be learning new schemes and how they fit in with the plans of their new coaches. Other schools will be trying to replace All-American playmakers.

Spring practice is just another step in building the foundation for a successful 2012 season. There is offseason conditioning, then spring practice and then summer workouts before two-a-days start and the season is upon us.

This is a look at one major question facing every team in the West Division of the SEC.

Alabama

The biggest question facing the Crimson Tide is who will step in and start in the secondary?

Alabama will likely see two of its defensive backs drafted in the first round of the NFL draft. Dre Kirkpatrick and Mark Barron both have first-round grades by most draftniks. DeQuan Menzie should also be drafted, although he is likely a fourth- or fifth-round pick.

Most programs would be ecstatic at having two All-American in their secondary in one season and chalk that up to a special year. Most programs are not Alabama and do not have Nick Saban as their head coach.

Saban routinely produces the best secondary in the nation and prepares his defensive backs for the NFL as well as anyone in the college game. Alabama may not have the star power in the secondary that helped it to one of the best defenses of all time, but its 2012 secondary should be very effective.

Look for Dee Milliner to start at one corner spot. The 6'1" junior will likely be a candidate for early entry into the NFL draft next spring.

Deion Belue is a junior college recruit and looks to lock down the other corner spot.

Vinnie Sunseri excelled at safety as a freshman when he was forced into action due to injuries. Look for him to be even better as a starter in 2012.

Robert Lester will man the other safety spot.

Expect the Alabama secondary to be as good as ever in 2012. Alabama is simply reloading every year under Saban.

Arkansas

Arkansas really has the makings of a national title contender returning in Fayetteville. The big question is who will replace the receiving trio of Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Julius Wright?

Those three wide receivers have torched secondaries for the last four years. They set numerous records at Arkansas and will obviously be missed.

With Tyler Wilson back at quarterback and a deep running back corps led by a rehabbed Knile Davis, the Arkansas offense should again be explosive as long as Wilson has some receivers to throw the ball to.

Senior Cobi Hamilton returns after catching 34 passes for 542 yards and four touchdowns in 2011. Expect Julian Horton and Javontee Herndon to start at the other two receiver spots next to Hamilton. The two juniors only caught 17 passes for 222 yards combined in 2011. but their numbers should increase with more opportunity.

Arkansas should be able to run the ball a little more effectively in 2012 with Davis healthy and Dennis Johnson and Ronnie Wingo back.

Auburn

Auburn's 8-5 season in 2011 had to be viewed as a success after losing 19 starters from its 2010 national championship team. You would expect improvement with more experience returning in 2012, but no one knows how the offense will respond after offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and star running back Michael Dyer have moved on to Arkansas State.

Malzahn was very adept at spreading defenses out with varying formations in his spread-option offense. He would continually change personnel and formation until he identified a defenses weakness and then pound it into submission.

He made Auburn a very dangerous team to play. It remains to be seen whether Scot Loeffler can generate that same kind of offensive threat.

We do know Loeffler will be missing a major piece of his offense as Dyer decided to transfer to Arkansas State to play under Malzahn after being suspended from the Auburn team.

Onterio McCalebb will try to carry the load at running back during his senior season on the Plains.

Auburn has recruited well under Gene Chizik so the Tigers will have plenty of options at running back to rest McCalebb.

LSU

The only question on this LSU team is what kind of passing game will Zach Mettenberger produce for them from his quarterback spot?

LSU has all the pieces in place to make another run at a national title and should enter most preseason polls in the No. 1 or No. 2 spot.

The Tigers return three of their five starters on the offensive line, a great group of young receivers and probably the best group of running backs in the nation. All they need is a triggerman.

It is hard to believe they could get less production from QB than they did in 2011. Jordan Jefferson was so bad in the BCS game that many have openly wondered whether he was paid off by gamblers.

All Mettenberger has to do is provide a decent passing threat. LSU will be able to run the ball 35 to 40 times per game and play defense and beat almost every team out there not named Alabama. If Mettenberger is smart with the football and just runs the offense, LSU should make a run at it all again.

Mississippi State

Will the real Mississippi State stand up? Are you the 9-4 offensive juggernaut we saw in 2010 or the 7-6 team that struggled throughout 2011?

If the Bulldogs cannot improve on their performance in 2011, Dan Mullen's seat will start to get hot, especially if Ole Miss shows improvement under their new coach.

Mississippi State was great on offense in 2010 but appeared lost for much of 2011. It needs to find some consistency from its quarterback if it wants to be a threat in the SEC in 2012.

The Bulldogs play hard under Mullen, but they need to score more in 2012. The Bulldogs averaged 19 points per game against SEC West opponents in 2011, but that number was skewed by 34 points in a loss to Auburn in the second game of the season.

MSU needs to score more or it is looking at another mediocre season.

Ole Miss

It is a new day in Oxford. Out is Houston Nutt and in is Hugh Freeze from Arkansas State. The question is how will the team respond to Freeze as he steps up in competition from the Sun Belt to the SEC?

Freeze gained notoriety as Michael Oher's high school head coach in Memphis. He followed Oher to Ole Miss and later thrived as the offensive coordinator then head coach at Arkansas State.

Freeze will bring his free-wheeling spread offense to the SEC. He has had success at every level with it and the SEC should be no different. It may take a while to get the speed needed in Oxford for his offense to really excel, but do not be surprised to see Ole Miss pull off a few upsets in 2012.

His no-huddle spread scheme will help neutralize the talent advantages opponents have and keep Ole Miss in games it does not belong in.

Ole Miss was terrible in 2011 and it is easier to get buy in when the players have nothing to lose. They should quickly adapt to Freeze's system and help Ole Miss be a better team in 2012.

Texas A&M

Everyone in Aggieland wants to know who will start at quarterback in 2012. Will it be Jameill Showers or Johnny Manziel?

Whoever is under center should put up big numbers in Kevin Sumlin's offense. Sumlin's Houston offense led the nation in 2012 with almost 600 yards per game.

Manziel's overall ability to lead and make something good happen when the play breaks down should give him a leg up on the competition with Showers.

Sumlin has not stated a starter, and this question may not be answered until September.