SEC Extra Points: Will Open QB Battles Be Settled After Week 1?
Week 1 is here, and several high-profile SEC teams will enter play with quarterback situations still in flux.
Alabama will square off with USC Saturday night with either Cooper Bateman or Blake Barnett taking the snaps, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart will start senior Greyson Lambert according to Chip Towers of DawgNation.com, but true freshman Jacob Eason could also play against North Carolina, South Carolina enters play with senior Perry Orth and true freshman Brandon McIlwain vying for playing time against Vanderbilt and Mississippi State will play both Damien Williams and Nick Fitzgerald against South Alabama.
Will these quarterback situations be settled?
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Three of them absolutely will, and this quote from Smart tells you why.
"I'm anticipating good decision-making," he said. "I look at which guy can efficiently control the offense, make great decisions, protects the ball, gets us in the right plays and can communicate."
All three of these schools have huge tests in Week 1 (yes, Vanderbilt's defense is legit), which will provide perfect barometers to gauge how the potential quarterbacks can handle things.
USC has some questions up front but is still extremely talented. With changes along the Crimson Tide offensive line and an inexperienced running back corps that is going to need to help out at times in pass protection, the Trojans will provide a real test and help head coach Nick Saban answer his pressing concern under center.
"We're looking for consistency in performance," Saban said, "and the guy who does that this week will give us the best chance for success."
Whoever is the most consistent against this defense is the quarterback of the future moving forward, because it's not like Saban and offensive coordinator have the luxury of time. Western Kentucky can put some points on the board in Week 2, and the road trip to Ole Miss in Week 3 will determine who has the lead in the early race to win the SEC West.
North Carolina is the type of team that, if Georgia's defense struggles, could force a shootout. If that happens, Smart will know if true freshman phenom Eason can handle that kind of pressure, because it's unlikely that Lambert can be that guy on a consistent basis.
Conversely, if the Georgia defense prevents North Carolina from dictating the pace of the game and Bulldog running back Nick Chubb returns to at or near 100 percent, Smart will know he doesn't necessarily have to trot out a young gunslinger and can go with a game manager like Lambert for the immediate future.
At South Carolina, Will Muschamp hasn't elaborated on how his quarterback situation will play out. But his opponent, Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason, thinks Orth, who started eight games last year, will be the first guy out.
"I think what you have to believe is the guy that has game starts and game reps is going to be the starter," he said. "Having gone through a quarterback carousel before, you try to look at the guy that has experience and has won games. If they choose to go the young route, we’ll make that adjustment."
That young route is a suggestion that South Carolina could insert early-enrollee McIlwain—a dual-threat prospect from Newtown, Pennsylvania, who completed 19 of 26 passes in the spring game.
But trotting McIlwain out first against a defense that was top-six nationally in red-zone defense and third-down defense a year ago on the road in Game 1 is asking a lot. He'll see time, though. If the brights aren't too bright, he'll earn the trust of Muschamp and offensive coordinator Kurt Roper and be the primary signal-caller moving forward.
Mississippi State might be the outlier. While South Alabama is a decent FBS opponent, Dan Mullen might want to test both of his contenders in the SEC opener at home the following week against South Carolina just to make sure the guy he chooses is ready for the spotlight.
Even if that's the case, though, we'll have a good idea which way Mullen is leaning following the game against the Jaguars based on how he divides up the snaps on Saturday afternoon.
Miles, The Innovator?
LSU head coach Les Miles announced earlier this week that all nine assistants will coach from the sidelines during the opener against Wisconsin in Green Bay.
The reason is pretty simple.
"Both coordinators have shown the want and the ability to do the job from the field," he said. "Those are the guys who are the kind who make quick adjustments and know what's going on. We have quality graduate assistants who have the ability to see and translate what's going on in the game that our guys don't see. These guys have the ability to see the field.
"We enjoy the fact that we can coach our kids. The disadvantage is that we won't have the great view of the field. If we're missing things on the field, I think we'll eventually go right back up. I enjoy the manpower that will be involved with our team during the games."
Having all nine members of the coaching staff on the field came as a shock to every other SEC head coach on Wednesday's SEC teleconference.
"All of our assistants? Like, all nine? Wow, no I have not [been on a staff that has done that]," said Arkansas head coach Bret Bielema. "I've had times maybe we've had two on one side of the ball. Most of the time it is one. As a coordinator, I always liked to be down on the field. For some guys, they like to have a moment of pause or have their own little work area."
Ole Miss' Hugh Freeze didn't even know who was trying this experiment, but he knows the Mad Hatter has a method to his madness.
"I think it would mean that they have a lot of confidence in the guys who are in the box, which would have to be GAs," Freeze said. "As a coordinator, both of ours are in the box because the information I like them to relay to me is on the field, and adjustments are easier to see up there.
"Well, I love coach Miles, so he must have a good reason."
We'll see how it works out Saturday afternoon.
Good Luck Getting Home
Last week, LSU defensive backs Tre'Davious White and Jamal Adams said they'd do the "Lambeau Leap" if they score touchdowns in Green Bay on Saturday afternoon against Wisconsin.
"I've been talking to the guys, and I'm just looking forward to returning a punt and trying to Lambeau Leap," White said, according to Andrew Lopez of NOLA.com. "I know Coach (Les) Miles won't be happy with me, but I'm just looking forward to it. I'll take that punishment when we get back Monday morning."
Adams echoed those sentiments.
"I definitely plan to," he said. "I've got to go talk to Coach Miles a little bit. I might take that chance. Hopefully I grab one and take it to the house. You might get a little excitement out of me."
They better pack extra clothes, though, because Miles' punishment will be severe.
"If anybody jumps for the Lambeau Leap, they’ll end up with their thumb out to see if they can get a ride home," he said on Wednesday's teleconference.
Let's not worry about White or Adams doing the leap. What really needs to happen is star running back Leonard Fournette taking one to the house from 75 yards out and then calling Miles' bluff.
Labor Day Challenge
Florida State's offense is loaded with talented players, including all five starters up front on the offensive line, a Heisman Trophy-caliber running back in Dalvin Cook and a talented receiving corps led by Travis Rudolph.
The one unknown is at quarterback, where redshirt freshman Deondre Francois will see his first bit of career collegiate action Monday night against the fast and physical Ole Miss defense.
Francois is no stranger to the Rebels.
"I remember him very vividly," Freeze said. "I thought he was a tremendous athlete with a big arm. So he's got the skill set to be very talented. You don't know how kids are going to perform in live situations like he's going to be in on Monday night, so there's a bit of an unknown there."
What is known is what the Seminoles will do offensively.
Whether it's with a statue under center or a player such as Francois who can run a little bit, Jimbo Fisher won't change all that much.
"I'm quite confident that Jimbo is not going to change who they are," Freeze said. "They do the same things. He is a bit different. You can't just rush wildly at him, because he can hurt you with his legs or his arm. It adds a little bit of mystery into the preparation, but I don't think they'll venture too far from who they are—especially when they've got No. 4 [Cook] back there."
Ole Miss won't "rush wildly," but it will certainly try to bring as much heat as possible in as many creative ways as possible to try to rattle Francois in his first start. Even without Robert Nkemdiche, the Rebel front four is loaded with stars, including tackle Breeland Speaks, end Marquis Haynes, tackle D.J. Jones and veteran Issac Gross.
The pressure that those guys can or can't get will decide the game against the Seminoles on Labor Day night.
Not-So-Secret Weapon
Calvin Ridley emerged as a star during his freshman campaign in 2015 when he caught 89 passes for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns for the eventual national champs.
What will he do for an encore?
Play special teams, of course.
Ridley has been working at punt returner this offseason and will get his first shot to be Cyrus Jones' successor under the lights at AT&T Stadium against USC on Saturday night.
"He has good judgment and experience being explosive as a returner, so we're excited to see how he does in that role," Saban said.
The expanded role for Ridley is a result of the sophomore from Florida showing he can make quick decisions on the fly.
"I think the most important thing about punt return is putting the guy back there that has really good judgment," Saban said. "Especially in this day and age when people rugby-punt and the ball can be difficult to field."
He has big shoes to fill.
Jones returned four punts for touchdowns during the Crimson Tide's title run a year ago, including one in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl national semifinal against Michigan State that broke the game open.
If Ridley is as explosive as Saban thinks he can be, a sequel to Jones' semifinal performance in the same building isn't out of the question.
Co-Architect Back in the House
One of the most subtle coaching hires of the offseason was Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn naming former Penn State offensive line coach Herb Hand to the same position on the Plains.
Hand, who's one of Twitter's best follows and a former contestant on Food Network's Chopped, didn't have a ton of success with a depleted Nittany Lions group. But he did at other stops along the way, including with current Penn State head coach James Franklin when the duo were at Vanderbilt and with then-offensive coordinator Malzahn at Tulsa.
In fact, he was much more than an offensive line coach at Tulsa.
"Herb Hand helped me, when I first started coaching in college, design the offense," Malzahn said. "He's a guy who I was a co-coordinator with at Tulsa. It was [one of] the No. 1 offenses in the country two years in a row. He deserves a lot of credit for that. I feel very good about this staff and think this staff will be together for a while."
How much does Hand's presence matter?
Malzahn better hope it pays dividends immediately.
His offense finished 11th in the SEC at 5.39 yards per play and eighth in scoring offense at 27.5 points per game a year ago and might have to light up that massive scoreboard at Jordan-Hare Stadium if it's going to keep up with national runner-up Clemson on Saturday night.
Quotes obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of CFBStats.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information is 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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