SEC Football Q&A: Who Will Be the Breakout Player in 2016?
You already know the stars of the SEC this year who are destined to shine bright, like LSU running back Leonard Fournette, Ole Miss quarterback Chad Kelly and Florida cornerback Jalen Tabor.
But "the unexpected" is what makes the season great, and there are several unknown players waiting to burst out and become household names in the SEC in 2016.
Which player will be the breakout star in 2016? That question and more are answered in this week's edition of SEC Q&A.
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Jacob Eason will be a starter and look like a star at times at quarterback for Georgia, Mark Thompson will be the primary back in the Florida running back committee and several newcomers could make an impact.
But for the unknown player who will make a name for himself in 2016, I'm going to go with Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams.
The 5'10", 224-pounder from Dallas had 254 yards and a touchdown in seven games as a freshman in 2015, earning freshman All-SEC honors from the coaching staff. But a scary neck injury suffered against Auburn knocked him out for the season in October, and kept him in a noncontact jersey during the spring game in Fayetteville.
Despite the injury, head coach Bret Bielema is confident that Williams can return to 100 percent and be a star for the Hogs.
"I think Rawleigh Williams looked as improved as I could have imagined," Bielema said on the spring teleconference. "A very versatile player. Last year before he was injured, he was well on his way to being a 1,000-yard rusher. I picture him as a guy who can be a 1,000-yard rusher."
The former 3-star prospect wasn't as highly touted as some other running backs in the SEC coming out of Bishop Lynch High School, but in Bielema's system that always seems to churn out running backs whether it's at Arkansas or Wisconsin, Williams is set up to be the next in line.
"I think back to my first year in coaching [at Wisconsin in 2006], I lost a running back by the name of Brian Calhoun who ended up being a third-round pick," Bielema said. "He left early as a junior. We had this kid come in, P.J. Hill, who nobody ever heard of, and he was freshman player of the year, ran for 1,500 yards and everybody was worried when he left."
Arkansas will find its next running back, and the smart money is on Williams as long as he's healthy.
Georgia will always run to set up the pass, even a few years from now when Eason is solidified as the starter and has experience under his belt.
With that said, though, Nick Chubb's status could make things a bit interesting early on in 2016.
Sony Michel proved last year that he can handle the load when he rushed for 1,161 yards, eight touchdowns and an average of 5.3 yards per carry. He can be a workhorse, even though the 5'11", 212-pounder isn't as much of a bruiser as the 220-pound Chubb.
Elijah Holyfield can provide a quality 1B option in the Bulldog backfield, and do enough as the primary back if he's pressed into that role.
The 5'10", 204-pound former 4-star prospect out of Atlanta rushed for 1,735 yards as a senior at Woodward Academy and is the next in line to be a star in Athens once Chubb and Michel move on.
New offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is a bit more flexible and versatile than previous offensive coordinators under former head coach Mark Richt at Georgia, but Smart saw firsthand at Alabama that establishing the run and working off of play action is the best path to success in the SEC when you have a pro-style quarterback like Eason.
That won't change, even when Eason is playing at his best.
"@BarrettSallee who's the dark horse SEC East team?
— Strictly Gamecocks (@GamecocksOnly) May 17, 2016"
Not to dodge the question totally, but I don't think there is a true "dark horse" in the SEC East this year because the only three teams that have a legitimate chance to win it are Tennessee, Florida and Georgia.
With that said, though, I do think that a few of the second-tier teams in the division could have a big say in which team actually does win the division if they can spring an upset or two.
Specifically, Vanderbilt.
I know, I know. "Vandy is Vandy," and the punchline to a bad and depressing football joke. Except that it isn't. The Commodores produced the nation's fourth-best red-zone-touchdown defense (38.78 percent) and sixth-best third-down defense (28.16 percent).
Couple that with 1,000-yard running back Ralph Webb, and the Commodores have the traditional recipe for football success nailed—they can run the ball and they can play defense.
The lack of a downfield passing attack—or any semblance of a passing attack in general—makes it impossible to legitimately call head coach Derek Mason's crew "a contender." But the fact that they do play great—and I don't use that word often—situational defense and have a proven, every-down stud at running back makes them incredibly dangerous.
Get used to talking about Vanderbilt. You might not talk about it in the division-title race, but you will talk about the Commodores as more than a joke in 2016.
It's important for both, but more important for Florida State.
Fair or not, the ACC is viewed as inferior to the SEC, so a loss by the Seminoles to Ole Miss—which could be in the playoff mix itself—would be a huge blow to head coach Jimbo Fisher's crew. Even if they won out after that, claimed the ACC title and had an 12-game winning streak to show the selection committee, it would depend on what other teams in other conferences did.
For Ole Miss, it isn't as important.
If Ole Miss falls to Florida State and then wins out in the brutal SEC West, beats Alabama for the third straight season and claims the SEC title, it'd be hard for the College Football Playoff selection committee to keep the Rebels out of the four-team tournament.
Sure, they could fall victim to circumstances as well—especially if Florida State is undefeated and in, and three other teams from Power Five conferences (and/or Notre Dame) are unblemished as well.
Make no mistake, though, it's as close to a national quarterfinal as you can get in Week 1.
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.
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