Some thoughts on SEC Football

I do not dare make solid predications this far from the beginning of the season. As we all know, college football is a peculiar science, in that there are many teams that may look like Tarzan but play like Jane. Regardless of this fact, I feel that I have come to few conclusions in the closing days of Spring practice.

1. Lane Kiffin is in for a rude awakening. It seems that there is no end to the list of teams that hate him for his continual degrading comments and smug arrogance. He has only been in the league for a few months and has not even coached a game, but he has managed to piss off every team and nearly every fan in the SEC. I feel VERY confident in saying that he will not last 5 years in this league. Yeah, yeah, you can say all you want that he is motivating his fan base and stuff like that. However, he is also motivating his opponents to want to beat Tennessee more than ever. Instead of intimidating other teams through his comments, he has found a way to make everyone hate Tennessee more than ever. I seriously didn't think that was possible.

2. Florida and Alabama will both be very good. Florida returns EVERY single player on their First and Second String Defense. Urban Meyer adds these amazing defensive athletes to an offense guided by Tim Tebow and the result is a guaranteed ten win season. It doesn't matter that the Gators lost Percy Harvin. With Tebow as quarterback, Florida could insert any sorority girl into the offense at Wide Receiver and be successful. On the other hand, Alabama loses 2 starters on Defense and 7 on Offense, but they will be replacing these players with more talented athletes. Greg McElroy seemed a little more turnover prone than J.P. Wilson was, but he also has a knack to make a few more plays with his arm. The defense will be great despite losing captain Rashad Johnson. The front seven is as good as any other team's in the country and will once again be the team's strength. Look for a repeat matchup from last year's championship.

3. Ole Miss is getting better. It's a little surprising to see how much better Ole Miss is getting under the direction of Houston Nutt. While the team has the most talent it has had in many years on both sides of ball, it can be attributed to the recruiting ability of Orgeron (oh, if only he wasn't insane). If Ole Miss is going to become a major program, Nutt needs to continue his fantastic ability to coach and develop, and he needs to address needs MUCH better in recruiting. Without the late addition of Bobby Massie, this year's recruiting class was greatly disappointing. Now that Nick Saban is at Alabama, Ole Miss will need more than coaching ability to win the SEC West and contend for championships.

4. Mississippi State made a great choice by hiring Dan Mullen. This guy is going to take the fire and passion that Urban Meyer has instilled in the Florida program and use it to stabilize State. It is going to take time for him to get the speed, but the state of Mississippi has great high school football and he can at least turn them into a team that contends for a bowl spot every other year. I just hope he learns from Jackie Sherrill's mistakes and does NOT rely on JUCO players to build the program.

5. The conference is #1, without a doubt. So many people said last year that the SEC is down and I completely disagree. There was merely more parity in the conference, as even Vanderbilt was competitive. This is due to the new acquisitions of championship coaches throughout the conference and the amount of athletes and recruits located within the conference's borders. No coaches recruit on the level of Saban, Miles and Meyer. Nope, not even Pete Carroll. The SEC will be back in the spotlight again with its 4th straight National Champion this year, whether it be Alabama, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, or Georgia.

I will be back with predictions, in the SEC and nationwide, for games, championships and awards later in the summer.

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