SEC Football Q&A: How Much Will Auburn's Passing Improve Under Scot Loeffler?

Every Thursday on The SEC Blog, we will feature questions from the B/R inbox, Twitter and email. Do you have a question for next week's Q&A? Send it to SEC lead blogger Barrett Sallee via the B/R inbox, on Twitter @BarrettSallee or at [e-mail].

From Van Plexico (@VanAllenPlexico) on Twitter: How much improvement do you expect to see from Auburn's passing game this season under Scot Loeffler?

Considering the Tigers finished ranked No. 105 out of 120 FBS teams last year in passing offense, there's really no other place to go but up.

Auburn's offense last season was lost for a myriad of reasons, including a rebuilt offensive line, a quarterback situation that never settled, a banged-up No. 1 wide receiver in Emory Blake and an offensive coordinator in Gus Malzhan that become incredibly predictable.

Quarterback Kiehl Frazier may not have officially won the job this spring, but he impressed everyone who saw him, and I'd be floored if he's not taking the snaps for the Tigers when they face Clemson in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game.

Loeffler has worked with players like pro-style quarterback Tom Brady and a pure spread quarterback Tim Tebow during his coaching career. He will use that diverse experience to adjust to the skills that the players on his roster possess. 

Blake thinks that this offense will be more dynamic and allow multiple receivers to get chances.

"The way the offense is run is completely different than Malzahn, so they'll be a lot more chances for our guys to get the ball," Blake told Charles Goldberg of AL.com. "It won't be a system like last year where the boundary receiver is the key receiver all the time."  

Auburn isn't going to be a one-trick pony in 2012, and having a diverse running back committee that can do things out of the backfield will certainly help.

From James (@jcharris08) on Twitter: What freshman will have a breakout season offensively?

There are several to choose from, including Dorial Green-Beckham at Missouri, T.J. Yeldon at Alabama, Mike Blakely at Auburn and Keith Marshall at Georgia.

But if I have to choose only one, it's South Carolina wide receiver Shaq Roland.

Roland is the reigning Mr. Football in South Carolina, and he's stepping into a situation in Columbia that's ready-made for him to become a superstar.

The only missing piece for the Gamecocks is the role formerly occupied by Alshon Jeffery at wide receiver. At 6'2", 204 pounds, Roland is a big target who has 4.45 speed in the 40-yard dash. 

The combination of Connor Shaw's emergence as a legitimate dual-threat quarterback and Marcus Latitmore's return at running back should allow Roland to ease into college football if he needs it, but it also should allow him to find plenty of space to get open.

From Reginelli (@s_reginelli) on Twitter: On a percentage basis, in your opinion, what's more important to the success of a program, coaching / recruiting. 50/50?

The old saying goes, "It's not the X's and the O's, it's the Jimmys and the Joes." I don't buy into that totally, but it's certainly applicable more often than not.

I think it really depends on the school and the situation on the current roster. Some years, certain teams are in the mode of just plugging a few holes, while others could be in full-on rebuilding mode. 

In the SEC, I think as long as you're in the top 15 or top 20 in recruiting, you're fine as long as the coaching staff takes it from there. Of course, having top-five classes annually will certainly help matters.

So, to answer a question that I may have just dodged, I'll say 50/50 is a good split. That will vary one way or the other depending on the specifics of each particular team.

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