Florida Gator Football: A Look at Returning Production in the East

There has been a tremendous amount of talk about the SEC Eastern Division being wide open this year. For the last few years, Florida has absolutely dominated the division. Some say this could change in 2010 because of the lack of returning experience for the Gators.

There are some truly gifted players whose extraordinary production simply makes us forget those annoying lapses in judgment. They simply score touchdowns more often than they miss assignments, and they sack the quarterback more often than they get burned for a big play.

There is a way to look into the production of such players and see if they have actually produced enough for fans to overlook their inexperience. Various writers and reporters have told the public that teams like Alabama, LSU, and Florida will simply reload with experienced players for 2010. Many have even predicted that these teams will get better, not worse.

It is time to see if there is any substance to these predictions and take a look at returning production in the Eastern Division. While there will be many new contributors on the 2010 rosters, very few of them will be true freshmen. If they were as good last year as the players they are replacing, we can assume these returnees played some during the 2009 season.

Returning Production SEC Eastern Division 2010

Statistic	Florida	Tennessee	South Carolina	Georgia
Tackles	425	463	623	460
Per Game	30.36	35.62	48	35.38
Sacks	14	14	15	23
Per Game	1	1.08	1.15	1.77
Interceptions	8	4	4	6
Per Game	.57	.31	.31	.46
Forced Fumbles	2	10	9	5
Per Game	.14	.77	.69	.38
Rushing Yards	2018	204	1529	2093
Per Game	144.14	15.69	117.62	161
Receiving Yards	892	1471	2440	2353
Per Game	63.71	113.15	187.69	181
Total Yards	2910	1675	3969	4446
Per Game	207.86	128.85	305.31	342

When we look at returning production for the entire teams, it tells a slightly different tale compared to what has been promoted by most prognosticators.

It would look as if fans can expect Georgia and South Carolina to contend with Florida for the Eastern Division title in 2010, and Tennessee should have a very competitive defense while its offense looks to rebuild.

This piece   was used as a source for this article