That last statement is definitely true. I think Nick Fairley is a testament to that. Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU will all have great shots next year. I don't think McCarron at Bama or Wilson at Arkansas will be great dropoffs at QB, and LSU has Mettenberger coming in to push Jefferson. I wouldn't count out Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, or South Carolina either. I just hope Florida can keep up.
I have a feeling Georgia and Mississippi State won't be in the thick of it, but Tennessee could. They had a very young defense, so they'll be seasoned in that area. The only question is if they can find some offense.
Auburn should have a good recruiting class, and they'll need it as Newton and Fairley will most likely be gone, but Dyer will be back and should certainly get more playing time.
South Carolina has been steadily getting better, but the past few years, they tend to beat a team they shouldn't
(Alabama
), and then lose to a team they should blow out
(Kentucky
).
As for Alabama, they haven't had a really good quarterback in a long time. They've won with great defense and a stable of great running backs. There have been times when a Bama qarterback looks great, but that's only due to the occasional wide-receiver that is ridiculously talented. However, McCarron could be be the quarterback that Bama has longed for. We'll see.
Florida is the wild-card. They'll have a new coaching staff, but it will certainly be more stable than last year as Meyer missed so many of the early practices with all that time off. I think Florida will look really good on defense thanks to Muschamp, but I have a suspicion that Weiss and his offense will fall flat.
