The 2010 SEC Season Hinges On These 30 Men

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When the final whistle blows on the 2010 football season, the fortunes of 12 SEC teams will have most likely been decided by the performance of the 30 men we list below.

Quarterbacks, new starters on offense, new starters on defense, assistant coaches, coordinators, and even one interim coach make the rundown…

Thirty people whose teams’ fortunes hinge on their production.

Here are the 30 most important folks for SEC Football 2010:


ALABAMA
9 New Starters on Defense

Depending on how you look at last year’s roster, you can say that Bama has to replace anywhere from 8 to 10 starters on the defensive side of the ball this year.  We’ll level it off to 9 (partly because that gets us to an even 30 people on our overall list).

The Tide’s offense should be more open and more of a strength in 2010.  That should take a little pressure off of Bama’s D.  But if Alabama is to repeat as SEC and national champions, the new faces in Kirby Smart’s defensive scheme will still have to avoid a major drop in production from last year’s dominating unit.


ARKANSAS
Defensive Coordinator Willy Robinson

We all know that Bobby Petrino can coax big numbers out of any offense.  We also know that Ryan Mallett is expected to be the SEC’s best quarterback, a Heisman candidate and a potential NFL star.

What we don’t know is whether or not Arkansas’ defense has the ability to stop rival SEC offenses.  There are a lot of question marks at quarterback all around the league and that should work in UA’s favor.  But the Hogs will need to make major improvements from a year ago if they’re to go from “a fun team to watch” to “a title contender.”  After three years of lackluster results, the jury remains out on Robinson.


AUBURN
Offensive Coordinator Gus Malzahn

The obvious hinge for Auburn is new quarterback Cameron Newton, right?  Whether he’s a pure passer or not, Newton brings the kind of natural athletic ability to the position that the Tigers have lacked the last two years in their spread attacks (Malzahn’s and Tony Franklin’s).

But I believe it’s Malzahn’s “strategery” that will be the real key for AU in 2010, not simply the Tigers’ quarterback play.  Last year the Tigers averaged 46.6 points per game in five non-conference games (going 5-0).  But against SEC defenses, Malzahn’s unit averaged 25.0 points per game en route to 3-5 league mark.  And after October 3rd — when rival coaches had tapes of five games to study — the Tigers’ offensive output fell to just 20.8 points per game against SEC foes.  That’s why Auburn went just 1-5 in conference play down the stretch.  So is Malzahn a guru?  Or have SEC defensive coordinators already caught up to him? 


FLORIDA
Offensive Coordinator Steve Addazio

Again, the obvious selection is new quarterback John Brantley.  But even though he’s in the unenviable position of having to replace a once-in-a-lifetime player like Tim Tebow, Brantley isn’t necessarily the Gators’ biggest concern.  There are a lot of other holes on UF’s offense that need to be filled… or else Addazio might have to put way too much weight on Brantley’s inexperienced shoulders.

Addazio will need to find some new receivers — something that proved difficult last year — for his quarterback to target.  Gone are Riley Cooper and Aaron Hernandez who became Tebow’s go-to guys in 2009.  And who will run for the hard yards that Superman used to account for?  Also, is there finally a replacement for Percy Harvin on the Gators’ roster?  Addazio will have to coordinate a whole lotta “new” this fall.


GEORGIA
3 New Defensive Assistants

Well, heck, it appears you could just say “quarterback” for most schools and be done with this whole list mighty quick.  But while Aaron Murray is new under center in Athens, he does have an experienced line and veteran skill players all around him.  And Georgia’s offense wasn’t the big issue last season anyway.

New coordinator Todd Grantham, new secondary coach Scott Lakatos and new linebackers coach Warren Belin will be the trio to keep an eye on in 2010.  Can they teach old Dawgs the new tricks of their fresh 3-4 scheme?  Can they get holdover assistant Rodney Garner to buy in?  UGA’s season will hinge on Georgia’s defense.  That means the three new assistants on that side of the ball will need to produce quickly.


KENTUCKY
4 New Starters on the Offensive Line

Like most other schools in the league, there are questions at quarterback for UK.  The Wildcats will also need to improve a defense that was mediocre last season.  There’s also a brand new coach with a brand new attitude to talk about, too.

But if you can’t run block and you can’t pass block you can’t score.  If you can’t score you can’t win.  Therefore, new O-line coach Mike Summers needs to get the most out of the guys surrounding lone returning starter Stuart Hines… or else the Wildcat offense could derail Joker Phillips’ “Operation Win” campaign before his troops ever fully deploy.


LSU
Quarterback Jordan Jefferson

Jefferson was expected to have a breakout year in 2009 after taking the Tigers’ QB reins at the end of 2008.  But the guy who sliced up Georgia Tech in the ’08 Chick-fil-A Bowl was a no-show for much of last season.

That’s not to say that Jefferson was bad.  He wasn’t.  But he wasn’t great either.  LSU will need to reestablish its run game in 2010.  To do so, they’ll need to make opposing defenses worry about the possibility of getting burned over the top.  Jefferson will be the key in that area.  So it probably wasn’t a good sign that so much ink (meaning: any at all) was devoted to backup Jarrett Lee this spring.  Jefferson needs to step it up for LSU to get back to a championship level.  In the spring, he didn’t.


MISSISSIPPI STATE
Quarterback Chris Relf

Okay, now it’s getting easy.  Once again the man to watch is a quarterback.  The Bulldogs’ season — as well as all the optimism created by Dan Mullen’s first year — hinges on Relf’s ability to run MSU’s spread attack.

Splitting time last year, Relf ran for 500 yards on 76 carries.  That’s a 6.6 clip and pretty darn impressive for a quarterback.  He ate Ole Miss alive in the Egg Bowl, gouging the Rebels for 131 yards on the ground.  The downside?  He was called on to throw just 41 times in 2009.  If State is to improve on offense then Relf will need to prove that he can throw the rock as well as carry it.


OLE MISS
Co-Offensive Coordinators Mike Markuson and Dave Rader

Leading passing Jevan Snead — gone.  Top receiving threat Shay Hodge — gone.  Top rushing threat and Mr. Everything Dexter McCluster — gone.  What that all means: The men tabbed to lead UM’s rushing and passing games have a lot of work to do.

Houston Nutt will play his usual big role in play selection, but without McCluster, no one’s really sure how effective Nutt’s Wildcat package will be.  Backup QBs Raymond Cotton and Randall Mackey will need to be ready to run it and run it well.  Meanwhile, Rader will have to instruct Nathan Stanley on how to efficiently run the Rebels’ base offense… meaning no Snead-like turnover fests.  And Markuson will have to make sure Ole Miss’ ground game can survive without the electric McCluster.  UM’s season will hinge on how well these two men can do their jobs — and work together — in 2010.


SOUTH CAROLINA
Quarterback Stephen Garcia

South Carolina returns one of the SEC’s most veteran signal-callers in Garcia.  Last season he led the SEC in pass attempts (432) and finished with 17 touchdowns against 10 interceptions (not a bad INT ratio considering the 432 passes thrown).  But Steve Spurrier has never warmed to his quarterback.  In his view, Garcia is not the film junkie that he needs to be.  For that reason, Spurrier has taken shots at Garcia in the media all offseason, to the point that the coach’s wife actually told the quarterback not to worry too much about what her husband says.

In Carolina’s wins last year, Garcia threw an average of 25.5 passes per game.  In the Cocks’ losses, Garcia threw an average of 42.1 passes per game.  USC went 7-2 in games in which Spurrier called 34 or fewer passing plays.  Do the math.  Whether Carolina’s pass-happy attitude was a product of a poor running game or an impatient head coach, perhaps Carolina should not put the ball in Garcia’s hands quite so much in 2010.  But when they do — and Spurrier surely will — the QB desperately needs to avoid turnovers.  Or else the coach will start up his old quarterback merry-go-round again.


TENNESSEE
5 New Starters on the Offensive Line

Tennessee will have either a juco transfer or a true freshman playing quarterback this year.  The Vols’ top running back has never started a game.  Their receivers aren’t gamebreakers and a couple of them have been named in connection with a recent barroom brawl.  On defense, the versatility and talent of Eric Berry will be missed.

But like Kentucky above, everything starts with the offensive line.  If the Vols can get good line play from five brand new starters, they can take the pressure off their young quarterbacks.  If they can’t, this could be a very ugly season on Rocky Top.  You tell me: Ever heard of a team replacing all five starters on its offensive line and having a good year?


VANDERBILT
Interim Coach Robbie Caldwell

Like Kentucky and Tennessee, Vandy has serious issues on an inexperienced offensive line.  The Commodores have three solid running backs, but they’re once again shaky at the quarterback position.  While Vandy should have a pretty good secondary and a solid linebacker corps led by Chris Marve, the defensive line needs to make big improvements in 2010.

But after the word came down last Wednesday that Bobby Johnson was retiring, you can now throw all those other worries out the window.  This season will hinge upon how well Caldwell can keep his team together in light of Johnson’s shocking departure.  Will the Commodores fight — as they have under Johnson — when the breaks go against them?  Will they be competitive — as they have under Johnson — and go into numerous fourth quarters with a chance to pull an upset?  Caldwell has landed in a very tough spot.  How well he manages the situation will determine how well VU does in the standings… and whether or not Caldwell will get a legitimate shot at the full-time gig at season’s end.