Texas A&M Football: SEC West Power Rankings During Spring Practice

Texas A&M is about to enter the toughest division of the toughest football conference in America. The West Division of the Southeastern Conference has produced the last three national champions. A&M will compete in the West in the fall.

While most of the schools across the country have started spring practice, the Aggies are still trying to get faster and stronger in Larry Jackson's strength and conditioning program.

No one will know how the Aggies truly stack up against the rest of the SEC West teams until they play the games in the fall. We can however, take a look at how they stack up as far as personnel goes right now.

This is a look at how the SEC West teams currently compare to each other.

7. Ole Miss

Ole Miss enters the spring coming off a 2-10 season and a winless 0-8 conference campaign in 2011. The Rebels are starting a new era with a new head coach in Hugh Freeze.

The Rebels return eight starters on offense and will be led by sophomore receiver Donte Moncrief.

Moncrief  led the Rebels with 31 receptions for 451 yards and four touchdowns as a true freshman. The question for the offense is who will be throwing the passes in Freeze's spread attack? Look for JUCO transfer Bo Wallace to emerge from a number of candidates at the position. 

Ole Miss only averaged 16.1 points per game in 2011 and that has to improve if they want to be competitive in the SEC in 2012.

On defense, the Rebels must replace three of four starters on a defensive line that led one of the worst units in the country. The Rebels allowed 32 points per game.

Ole Miss should improve in Freeze's first year, but not enough to crawl out of the West Division cellar.

6. Mississippi State

The Bulldogs return five starters on offense and four on defense from a 7-6 team that went 2-6 in the SEC.

Despite the personnel losses on offense, the 2012 version of the Bulldogs' offense has a chance to be much improved from the 2011 version. Tyler Russell is now the full-time starter at quarterback. If the "Dawgs" get more consistent play from under center in 2012 then the offense should be fine.

Six senior starters on defense will give the unit a veteran look. MSU will have to find a way to replace Fletcher Cox, who departed early to become a likely first-round draft pick in the NFL.

If Russell proves he can get the job done at QB, then this ranking is way too low.

5. Auburn

After returning only four starters from their 2010 national championship team in 2011, the Tigers enter 2012 as a veteran group with 17 of their starting 22 returning.

There are two reasons they are ranked so low right now. When Gus Malzahn took the Arkansas State job he also took with him what made Auburn special on offense. He was able to spread defenses out until he found a weakness and then exploit it over and over again.

Auburn has not been particularly good on the defensive side of the ball since Gene Chizik arrived, but Malzahn was always able to cover for it with his offense. Now he has moved on and we will see how the Auburn offense responds.

Michael Dyer has been steady as a rock at running back for the Auburn offense over the past two years. When in doubt, hand it off to Dyer and let him work. He was suspended from the team and decided to follow his offensive coordinator to Arkansas State.

Without Malzahn and Dyer, the Auburn offense looks pedestrian. Chizik has recruited well since his arrival and that influx of talent should really start to show on the field this year.

Until they show something better on the field in 2012, this is where Auburn belongs right now.

4. Texas A&M

There was a lot of debate over whether to put Auburn or A&M in this spot. After all, Auburn has been there and done that while A&M has not. It came down to coaching and I think Kevin Sumlin is better than Gene Chizik without Gus Malzahn.

A&M must find a quarterback, but otherwise return multiple playmakers on offense. Christine Michael returns at running back and Ryan Swope returns at wide receiver after a record-setting junior campaign.

With the entire offense line returning and solid depth at wide receiver and running back, the Aggies should be able to score some points in Sumlin's hurry-up attack.

That is good because it remains to be seen how well the Aggies defense will match up with the physical offenses of the SEC. A&M must replace two senior starters on the defensive line, but returns their entire starting LB corps.

Whether the Aggies deserve this spot or not will probably come down to the October 27th game at Auburn.

3. Arkansas

Arkansas is the third best team in the SEC West and arguably the third best team in the country.

The Razorbacks return Tyler Wilson at quarterback and get Knile Davis back at running back. Davis may be the best running back in the SEC and should be a Heisman contender in his junior season.

The Razorbacks lost three great wide receivers in Joe Adams, Greg Childs and Jarius Wright, while also losing Jake Bequette on defense.

Bobby Petrino recognized that the defense has to be better in order for the Hogs to even win a championship, so he went out and hired Paul Haynes away from Ohio State. Haynes coached the Hogs defense when they held Kansas State to 16 points in the Cotton Bowl.

Petrino has plenty of speed on the roster and should be able to find some receivers who will replace Adams, Childs and Wright. If Haynes can get the defense to play like an upper echelon SEC defense, then the Hogs will compete for a national title in 2012.

2. LSU

The LSU Tigers only lose eight senior starters to graduation. Rueben Randle, Morris Claiborne and Michael Brockers declared early for the NFL Draft so the Tigers will have to replace 11 total starters.

For most teams coming off a BCS National Championship Game appearance this would be a monumental task, but for the Tigers it is simply a matter of the next guy on the depth chart stepping up. Some positions like quarterback will probably be better in 2012 because of graduation.

Senior defensive end Kendrick Adams graduates and waiting in the wings is freak of nature pass rusher Barkevious Mingo.

The Tigers should be better on defense in 2012 with an exceptional junior class that includes Mingo, Tyrann Mathieu and a host of others who have another year of experience in John Chavis' system.

LSU returns four running backs who could start anywhere else in the country in Spencer Ware, Michael Ford, Alfred Blue and Kenny Hilliard.

The Tigers are stacked and will enter the year at No. 1 in the country on most preseason polls.

1. Alabama

The Crimson Tide is coming off a national championship season in 2012. The Tide have to replace Trent Richardson, Mark Barron, Dre Kirkpatrick, Courtney Upshaw and Dont'a Hightower. After losing so much how can they be ranked so high in 2012?

The fact of the matter is that LSU probably is a more impressive team on paper. The games are not played on paper and in real games Nick Saban is a much better football coach than Les Miles.

The Tide will have a dominant defense as long as Saban is roaming the sidelines in Tuscaloosa. On offense, A.J. McCarron earned a little more of Saban's trust with an outstanding performance in the national title game and he should be allowed to air it out more in 2012. 

Eddie Lacy will take over for Richardson at running back and the 240 lb sledgehammer should grind out somewhere around 1,000 yards for the Tide.

Look for junior DeAndrew White to finally live up to his potential and become a star at wide receiver. 

Bama is No. 1 until someone knocks them off their pedestal.