SEC Football: Bold Predictions for 2016 Fall Camp
College football fall camp is just around the corner, which means many of the position battles around the SEC will begin to come into focus before we know it.
Which position battles will be settled? Which will linger? What other storylines will emerge during fall camp?
Based on history, talent, scheme and trajectory, let's walk through some bold predictions for SEC fall camp.
2 True Freshmen Will Win QB Jobs
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With so many quarterback battles around the southeast, it's no surprise that many include true freshmen.
Two of those true freshmen will win jobs this fall.
At Georgia, Jacob Eason looked like the 5-star superstar he was touted to be in the spring game, when he completed 19 of 29 passes for 244 yards and one touchdown.
"Jacob has done a great job," offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow said at SEC media days. "He's come in and worked hard—obviously he's under a lot of scrutiny [as a 5-star early enrollee]. We feel like all three guys [Eason, Greyson Lambert and Brice Ramsey] have done an amazing job, and we'll see how it goes during fall camp."
Eason will pick up where he left off early in fall camp and will earn the starting job in Athens prior to the start of game-week preparations against North Carolina.
One state over at South Carolina, dual-threat early enrollee Brandon McIlwain also shined in the spring game, completing 19 of 26 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns. With Perry Orth sidelined for the latter half of the spring with a collarbone injury, McIlwain made a quick move.
"Obviously we're still searching for a starting quarterback," head coach Will Muschamp said at media days. "Perry and Brandon distanced themselves in the spring. Both of those guys did a good job for us."
If McIlwain is even at this point, he'll be leaving the pack by mid-August and will nail down the starting job.
You'll Hear a Lot About Preston Williams
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Tennessee needs a spark in its downfield passing attack, and sophomore Preston Williams is the most likely candidate to provide it.
The 6'4", 209-pound native of Georgia caught seven passes for 158 yards and two touchdowns during an injury-riddled true freshman season for a Tennessee team that tried everything it could do find some stability at wide receiver.
In the spring game, though, he had three catches for 77 yards and looked every bit like the superstar he was once touted to be. In mid-July, head coach Butch Jones mentioned Williams as a "bright spot," according to Dustin Dopirak of the Knoxville News Sentinel.
You're going to hear about Williams taking on more responsibilities within the offense this August. The focus will be on the different ways Jones and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord will use him and how much of a mismatch he is for opposing defensive backs.
John Franklin III Will Be Named Auburn's Starting QB by Aug. 15
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Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn isn't afraid to put a timeline on making his quarterback decision, which is currently brewing between senior Jeremy Johnson, sophomore Sean White and junior college transfer John Franklin III.
"We're going to name somebody," Malzahn said in May at the College Football Hall of Fame. "Hopefully sooner rather than later once we start fall camp."
That "somebody" will be Franklin, the former junior college backup at East Mississippi Community College and Florida State scout-teamer who served as former Tiger quarterback Nick Marshall on the Seminole scout team as Florida State prepared for its 2014 BCS National Championship Game meeting with Auburn.
Malzahn will name him Auburn's starting quarterback by Aug. 15.
Malzahn's track record during his time at Auburn is to have somebody in place by mid-August at the very latest. The latest he has named a starting quarterback—either during his stints as Auburn's head coach or offensive coordinator—was Aug. 18, when he chose Barrett Trotter prior to the 2011 season.
Franklin needs the unopposed work as the first-team quarterback to take this team as far as it can go. His legs are his primary weapon, and he can provide Marshall-like quickness off the edge to stress defenses laterally. With unopposed first-team reps, he will work on the five or six things vertically that can pose a threat, and Auburn's offense will revert back to its 2013 form.
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Georgia's Mecole Hardman Will Play Both Ways Immediately
4 of 9Georgia got a big boost on national signing day when in-state superstar Mecole Hardman Jr., signed on the dotted line with first-year head coach Kirby Smart.
He'll play an immediate impact on both sides of the ball.
As Marc Weiszer of the Athens Banner-Herald noted earlier this offseason, Hardman's long-term future is at defensive back.
"I'm really serious about playing defense right now," Hardman said. "That's where I think I'm going to be long term, but I'm pretty sure they're going to have packages for me on offense."
It'll be more than just a few packages. Hardman's speed, agility and opportunity for immediate playing time on a Georgia offense that doesn't have many proven playmakers outside will force Smart to use him in a variety of ways on offense. He could follow in the footsteps of USC athlete Adoree Jackson, who totaled 552 receiving yards and five touchdowns over the past two seasons with the Trojans.
Terry Godwin has potential, Isaiah McKenzie is dangerous in space and the Bulldogs have other weapons outside, but new offensive coordinator Jim Chaney must exploit Hardman's ability to explode for home runs as the Bulldogs transition to a new quarterback.
Alabama Will Name a QB, and It'll Be Blake Barnett
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During each of Alabama's last three quarterback battles, questions have bled into the season.
In 2011, AJ McCarron and Philip Sims squared off in Week 1 prior to McCarron taking over on a full-time basis heading into Week 2 at Penn State. In 2014, we played the game of "Where's Jake Coker" during Alabama's win against West Virginia in Week 1, as Blake Sims took control of the position. Last year, Cooper Bateman supplanted Coker in Week 3, although the latter stepped back in and won the job in the loss to Ole Miss.
The 2016 battle will be settled prior to the first week of game preparations, with redshirt freshman Blake Barnett taking control.
The 6'5" California native's legs will allow offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin to get creative with how he's used on the ground, and his arm strength can replicate the downfield threat that Coker was for the defending national champs. Plus, he's put on some weight since arriving on campus last January, according to Charlie Potter of 247Sports.
He had some turnover issues during the spring, but he will prove that he's learned from those mistakes during fall camp. That will allow Kiffin and head coach Nick Saban to officially name him as Alabama's starter prior to game week vs. USC.
With the Week 1 date against the Trojans and a road trip to Ole Miss in Week 3, Alabama can't afford to fluctuate on its quarterback choice early in the season if it intends to repeat as national champs.
Otaro Alaka Will Emerge as a Star
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Texas A&M's defense has been more of a laughingstock than a serious talking point over the last four seasons, but that will change during fall camp when the Aggies defense begins garnering some positive headlines in practice reports.
Linebacker Otaro Alaka is a big reason why.
The 6'3" redshirt sophomore was named the defensive MVP of the AutoZone Liberty Bowl following the 2014 season when he notched seven tackles against West Virginia, but he played just three games and was granted a medical redshirt in 2015 after injuring his elbow and shoulder.
"You look where he is right now, he's bigger and stronger," head coach Kevin Sumlin said at SEC media days. "He's in the 240-some level. He's obviously a talented guy that can run and do a lot of things."
The linebacker position is a point of contention in Aggieland. The front four is solid with Myles Garrett, Daylon Mack and Daeshon Hall, and the secondary is in good hands with Armani Watts, Justin Evans and Donovan Wilson. It's up to Alaka to complete the puzzle.
You're going to hear about how much he has this August in College Station.
An Unknown QB Will Make a Push at Mississippi State
7 of 9Questions continue to swirl in Starkville around the quarterback position after superstar Dak Prescott moved on to the NFL.
Head coach Dan Mullen can choose from several options, including Nick Fitzgerald (Prescott's backup from last year), Damien Williams (his backup from two years ago) and 6'6", 235-pound sophomore Elijah Staley.
Don't count out redshirt freshman Nick Tiano, though.
Mullen made a point to mention the 6'4", 239-pound Chattanooga, Tennessee, native during SEC media days, which suggests that he could become more of a factor in the battle as fall camp begins.
"Our quarterback question is going to become more of a reality than a hypothetical here very shortly," Mullen said. "It could be Nick Tiano as a redshirt freshman coming in. One of the biggest challenges of [starting a freshman] is the young man coming on the field and being in that stadium for the first time."
Tiano, like the other contenders for the starting spot, are cut out of the Prescott mold, with big bodies, accurate arms and the ability to provide a power-rushing threat between the tackles. Tiano might not win the job, but don't be surprised if he makes a hard charge over the next couple of weeks.
Luke Del Rio Will Win Florida's QB Job by Aug. 15
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Florida head coach Jim McElwain named Treon Harris his starting quarterback for the season opener last year during game-week preparations, but he conceded that Will Grier would also get snaps. Grier eventually won the job before getting suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and he subsequently transferred.
Now that Harris has transferred as well, the two likely candidates to start at quarterback this season are sophomore Luke Del Rio, a former Alabama and Oregon State signal-caller, and senior Austin Appleby, a graduate transfer from Purdue.
McElwain will take a different path from last year and name Del Rio his starting quarterback by Aug. 15.
Del Rio—the son of Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio—completed 10 of 11 passes and tossed two touchdowns in the spring game. He has been in the Gators system for a full season after sitting out his transfer year in 2015.
"I've known Luke a long time," McElwain said at SEC media days. "I think he was an eighth grader when he came to camp in Alabama. Obviously, Jack, when they were in Colorado, he's a guy that we stayed in touch with a lot, and so, you know what, I'm excited to see us at that position."
It's Del Rio's job to lose early in fall camp, and he won't lose it.
8 SEC Teams Will Be in the Preseason AP Top 25
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The preseason Associated Press poll will come out on Aug. 21, and in it, more than half of the SEC will be represented.
Eight teams will land in the preseason Top 25: Alabama, LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida and Auburn.
Many of those teams will be there for obvious reasons, but teams that have solved some of their major issues will nail down the back end of that poll.
As predicted earlier, Auburn and Florida will both have starting quarterbacks in place prior to the poll being released, giving voters something to keep in the back of their minds as they are filling out their ballots.
Georgia always seems to be the recipient of offseason hype, including last year when it was picked to win the SEC East at SEC media days. While the Bulldogs might not have an answer at quarterback settled by the time ballots are due, any positive news regarding the health of star running back Nick Chubb will bring that buzz back to the forefront for voters who love to give Georgia the benefit of the doubt.
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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