The SEC Media Days come to a close today as 11 teams have appeared and the final three, Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Auburn, are set to make the rounds today.
There are no shortage of storylines in this last group as Tennessee may be UGA's biggest competition in the SEC East, Texas A&M may be Alabama's biggest competition in the SEC West, and Auburn is quite an unknown while trying to save the job of Head Coach Bryan Harsin.
Tennessee: HC Josh Heupel, QB Hendon Hooker, WE Cedric Tillman, and S Trevon Flowers
Josh Heupel enters his second season leading Tennessee and despite going .500 in conference last season, expectations are that the Volunteers could be the second best team in the SEC East and for good reason.
Tennessee returns electric QB Hendon Hooker, who helped leads the Vols to the 9th best offense n the country in 2021 as they averaged 475 yards and 39 points per game. They are going to need to put up similar numbers this season, because the Vols were 7-1 when they scored 35 or more points and winless (0-5) when they didn't. They are also going to need better production from the ground game, Tennessee posted a 6-0 record when averaging 5 or more yards pr carry and were 6-2 on the season when they ran for 200+ yards as a team.
While the offensive line struggled mightily last season, allowing an SEC-most 44 sacks on the year, the defensive line thrived and they return a pair of rushers who each had 11.5 tackles for loss (Byron Young and Jeremy Banks). Despite the ability to get after the QB, the defense did allow 396 or more yards in nine games last season and teams were able to covert 40% of 3rd down attempts 8 times.
If Tennessee is to remain above Florida and Kentucky in the SEC East, QB Hendon Hooker is going to need to continue to his level of ball security (31 TD"s to just 3 INT's) and incoming USC WR transfer Bru McCoy is going to need to give him another playmaker on the outside.
Texas A&M: HC Jimbo Fisher, DB Demani Richardson and OL Layden Robinson
Texas A&M was supposed to be Alabama's biggest challenger since Jimbo Fisher took over, but after an 8-4 season, their 23rd season with 4 or more losses in the last 26 years, it's time for the Aggies to back up their win over Alabama last season with another big showing this year.
The QB job is unsettled for an offense that topped 400 yards only half the time last season, and whether it's Haynes King or LSU transfer Max Johnson, there should be some real weapons at their disposal. Ainias Smith was to be the teams top returning WR, but his arrest on Wednesday has left his future in doubt, and Devone Achane, the MVP of the 2021 Orange Bowl, is a former track star who is expected to be the lead running back. The key stat offensively is yards per pass, Texas A&M was 5-0 when they averaged 7 or more yards per pass.
The Texas A&M defense will likely have an even bigger say in the success of Jimbo Fisher's 5th season. The team was 7-0 when they allowed less than 20 points, but just 1-4 when they allowed 20 or more. The secondary may be the best in the SEC, returning a contingent of players that allowed just 13 TD’s compared to 10 INT’s last season
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Auburn: HC Bryan Harsin, RB Tank Bigsby, DE Derick Hall, and TE John Samuel Shenker
It was an interesting offseason at Auburn, and after saving his job from off-the-field issues, Head Coach Bryan Harsin will now have to do the same on-the-field. Auburn was 3-5 in the SEC last year and will need to improve if Harsin is to be given a 3rd season.
The offense had issues converting yards into points, averaging over 400 yards per game but only coming in 11th in the SEC in scoring. Harsin replaced OC Mike Bobo with receivers coach Eric Kiesau and together they will have to figure out the QB position as a trio of transfers will compete for the job. Whether it's LSU transfer TJ Finley, Texas A&M transfer Zach Calzada, or Oregon transfer Robby Ashford who ultimately wins the job, it may not matter if the offense isn't better on 3rd downs in tight games, (0-4 in games with less than 30% conversion rate).
The good news for Auburn is the influx of talent it will receive on defense as DT Jayson Jones and CB DJ James join from Oregon. Middle LB Owen Pappoe returns after missing most of 2021 with injury, and the challenge for Auburn will be creating turnovers. If you remove the bowl loss to Houston and the win over Alabama State in 2021, the Tigers defense forced just 8 turnovers in the other 11 games.
