Our conference roundtable series concludes this week with the SEC. Yesh Ginsburg kicked things off at the start of the week by grading the SEC East and SEC West non-conference schedules. Today, we’ll talk about which players we should keep an eye on this fall.
Q. Who is the player to watch in the SEC this year?
Kevin Causey
On Twitter @CFBZ
The correct answer to this question is Nick Chubb.
As a freshman, Chubb rushed for over 1,500 yards despite only carrying the ball 31 times in the first 5 games. Last year, he had 745 yards and 7 TD in 5 games before going down with a season ending injury.
Chubb shouldn’t be ready to go by the beginning of the season but all of the reports coming out is that he is going to be ready and could be full force week one against North Carolina.
LSU’s Leonard Fournette is a major star at running back, but the story behind Nick Chubb makes him the player to watch in the SEC in 2016.
Bart Doan
On Twitter @TheCoachBart
Leonard Fournette is the low hanging fruit here, but I’m hungrier for a burger at this point, so let’s jump to the Eastern side of the conference and skip on up to Gainesville, where the fortunes of one position could help them again take the SEC East crown.
Jim McElwain insists the quarterback competition is still open, but it’s a lot like posting a job on a website as open because you have to, but everyone actually in the office knows it’s going to Suzie in accounting. Linebacker Jarrad Davis, among others, has spent time unloading about how great Del Rio looks. He completed 10 of 11 in the spring game.
Why is this such a big deal? Because look at what Florida did last season, when McElwain inherited a roster that will never be less fit for his coaching style. Will Muschamp and staff couldn’t find quarterback stability in his tenure if it was wearing a shirt made of Mary Jane with a drug sniffing dog.
Yet, Will Grier immediately took over and went 6-0, and while the since-departed Treon Harris wasn’t good, he was totally unfit for the system. Del Rio, a transfer from Oregon State, is not. He’s a big armed, stand tall in the pocket type that McElwain should do wonders with. Seeing as they already won the East with probably not the perfect fit at the position, the sky could be the limit for both Florida and Del Rio this Fall. And as we know, the sky is always expected to be high around those parts.
Terry Johnson
On Twitter @SectionTPJ
As both Kevin and Bart noted above, Leonard Fournette is the obvious choice. He led the nation in rushing yards per game (162.75 ypg) and ran for an average of 146.44 yards per contest against ranked opponents last season. His unique combination of size and speed makes him fun to watch and reminds me a lot of SEC legends Bo Jackson and Herschel Walker.
With that said, I’m choosing Texas A&M’s Myles Garrett.
Make no mistake about it: Garrett was the most disruptive defensive player in the SEC last year. He ranked in the top 10 nationally sacks (fifth, 12.5), tackles for a loss (eighth, 19.5), and forced fumbles (second, 5). He also tallied 10 quarterback hurries, 2 passes broken up, an interception, and a blocked punt.
Garrett’s nose for the ball will cause all sorts of nightmares for opposing offensive coordinators again this season. Look for him improve on these already-stellar numbers and to earn SEC Defensive Player of the Year in 2016.
Previous Conference Roundtables
Sun Belt
MAC
Conference USA
Mountain West
AAC
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