With as much hype as the SEC gets, believe it or not, some of the teams are getting less respect than they deserve this offseason. A loss of star talent is part of the reason for the uncertainties, but there is also room for optimism with these three teams.

 

Texas A&M

Sure, they lose Johnny Football and Mike Evans, their two biggest contributors on offense, but I don’t doubt Kevin Sumlin’s ability to reload. The Aggies pulled in the No.5 overall recruiting class in 2014, according to 247Sports.

Among those recruits was 247Sports No.1 rated pro-style quarterback Kyle Allen. While he doesn’t have any experience, he has the talent to be special for A&M. The Aggies also signed two other 5-star prospects in defensive end Myles Garrett and wide receiver Speedy Noil.

Their defense was terrible in 2013, giving up 32.2 points per game, but that unit should be improved this season because of the growing pains they experienced a year ago. Deshazor Everett could be an exciting player in the secondary and make big plays for the Aggies. Cedric Ogbuehi is an excellent offensive tackle and will help fill the void left by Jake Matthews’ departure to the NFL.

The Aggies have options at receiver to replace Evans. Malcome Kennedy, the senior, is the leading returning receiver. Ricky Seals-Jones was a big-time recruit that will have an opportunity to step up this fall, along with true freshmen Speedy Noil and Frank Iheanacho. Running back is another position that should have solid options in 2014 with Tra Carson and Trey Williams.

This team will finish higher than 6^th in the SEC West, there’s no doubt in my mind. Sumlin is an excellent coach and will find ways to win games against Ole Miss and Mississippi State. He should also be able to compete with South Carolina and LSU. Even though those would be tough wins, I like A&M’s chances to compete for wins in those two.

Florida

The Gators were terrible a year ago and don’t deserve to be hyped up too much this offseason, but they will surprise some people this year.

They have one of the most talented rosters in the nation on paper, with stars such as Dante Fowler Jr., Vernon Hargreaves, and Kelvin Taylor, among others. Jeff Driskel is really the X-factor for them. If he is able to thrive under new offensive coordinator Kurt Roper, the Gators could be one of the best teams in the country. He has some talented receivers to throw to, including Andre Debose, and Taylor should have a solid season at running back.

The defense was very good a year ago and figures to have another good season, despite losses to the NFL. Hargreaves is among the most talented defenders in all of college football and can make a huge impact in his second season.

The talent is there, but it’s just a matter of getting them to produce better results this season.

Mississippi State

The Bulldogs are one of those teams that have talent, but their schedule doesn’t help them out. When I say they will be underrated, I don’t think they will compete for the SEC title, but they should give some of these big-name teams a close game. I think we could even see Dan Mullen’s squad pull off an upset or two this season as well.

Mullen is an excellent offensive coach and should help quarterback Dak Prescott continue to improve this season. Prescott threw 10 touchdowns a season ago, but his impact was felt mostly in the run game. He ran for 829 yards and added 13 rushing touchdowns as well.

Defensive tackle Chris Jones and linebacker Benardrick McKinney return to a defense that was 4^th in the SEC and 18^th nationally in 2013 in yards per game. The Bulldogs defense allowed 23.0 points per game, which was 5^th in the conference.

Even though their schedule doesn’t help them out being in the SEC, it’s actually not as bad as one might think. Their crossover games are against Vanderbilt and Kentucky, two of the bottom teams in the league. They also get Texas A&M and Auburn at home this season, but having to go on the road to play LSU, Alabama, and Ole Miss still makes this a tough schedule.

Watch out for Mississippi State to turn some heads this fall and flirt with a top-25 finish.

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