Sophomore Tyler Bray returns for his sophomore season after having a very good freshman year. Bray threw for 1,849 yards last year with 18 touchdowns and 10 ints. He brought the Vols back from a 2-6 start to finish 6-6 and earn a berth in the Music City Bowl where they lost in double overtime to North Carolina. Bray has the height at 6’6″ and weighs 210 pounds though he’s probably gotten a little bigger in the offseason. Should have an outstanding sophomore campaign. In the backfield, senior Tauren Poole returns. Poole ran for 1,034 yards last year and 11 TDs. He averaged 79.5 yards per game and had six games of over 100 yards rushing. Sophomore Rajion Neal is a high quality backup to Poole. Channing Fugate will man the fullback position as the Vols employ mostly a pro set offense. Fugate is 6’1″, 245.
The Vols lost two standout wide receivers in Gerald Jones and Denarius Moore and also lost their outstanding tight end, Luke Stocker. Two sophomores will take over at wide receiver. Justin Hunter (6’4″, 191) caught 16 passes for 415 yards last year, an astonishing 25.9 yards per catch. He scored seven touchdowns. Sophomore Da’Rick Rogers (6’3″, 215) caught 11 passes for 167 yards and two TDs. Rogers was a highly recruited player and Derek Dooley and his staff foresee great things for Rogers. Junior Zach Rogers (6’0″,175) is the veteran. Zach Rogers caught 14 passes for 207 yards and one TD. Sophomore Matt Milton (6’5″, 22o) will also see a lot of time and gives Bray a huge target to throw to. Milton had a couple of nice catches in the spring game. Junior tight end Mychal Rivera (6’3″, 254) caught a 54 yard touchdown pass from Bray in the spring game. He looks like he’s ready to fill Stocker’s huge shoes.

The offensive line lost only one starter, Jerrod Shaw. JerQuari Schofield (6’6″, 333) is one of the candidates vying to replace him at left guard. Freshman Marcus Jackson (6’2″, 315) will also battle for the spot. The other four line positions look good with James Stone (6’3″, 308), the highly regarded center/lineman, set to return as center or at another spot on the line. Zach Fulton (6’5″, 330) will return at right guard, JaWaun James (6’6″, 324) will return at right tackle and junior Dallas Thomas (6’5″, 301) will be the  left tackle. Fulton, James and Stone are all sophomores. Others in the mix include sophomore transfer Alex Bullard (6’2″, 309), junior Carson Anderson (6’1″, 280) and freshman Jacob Gilliam (6’4″, 275).

The defense lost five starters off the front seven last year including middle linebacker Nick Reveiz and his 140 tackles. But there is talent in the ranks. Malik Jackson  (6’5″, 270) had five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and 48 tackles at defensive tackle. He is a rising senior. Nose tackle Daniel Hood (6’4″, 293) won the most outstanding defensive player of the spring game. He should be excellent. Others on the line include Montori Hughes (6’4″, 327), Joseph Ayres (6’3″, 263) Corey Miller (6’3″, 255) and defensive end Jacques Smith (6’2″, 245) who had five tackles for loss and two sacks last year. Junior Willie Bohannon (6’2″, 251) is another end. Marlon Walls (6’2″, 281) will also anchor the line.

At linebacker, Herman Lathers (6’0″, 220) returns for his junior season. He was second on the team in tackles with 75, had two and a half sacks and four and a half tackles for loss. Senior Austin Johnson (6’2″, 235) had 44 tackles last year, three and a half tackles for loss and one int. Daryl Vereen (5’11”, 215) will play another linebacker spot. Greg King (6’2″, 235) , Hoover’s John Propst (6’0″, 225) and Raiques Crump (6’1″, 220) will add depth and get a lot of playing time at lb. Nigel Mitchell-Thornton (6’1″, 235) is another who will make an impact.

The secondary is pretty loaded though Janzen Jackson, who had five interceptions, six pass breakups and 69 tackles last year, left the team in February for personal reasons. Prentis Waggner 6’2″, 181) had five picks last year and is a candidate for the Lott Award this year given to the best defensive back in the country. Marsalis Teague (5’10,177) had eight pass breakups last year and 46 tackles and was a highly regarded player coming out of high school. Eric Gordon (5’9″, 185) will also challenge for a starting position in the secondary. Senior Anthony Anderson (5’11”, 185) is a contender for playing time and will return punts most likely. Art Evans (5’11”, 175) had 21 tackles last year. The Vols signed seven defensive backs in this class who will challenge for playing time. Justin Coleman (5’10”, 185) is an early enrollee and had a good spring.

Michael Palardy was five-of-seven on field goal attempts last year. His two misses came from over 40 yards. He was five-of-five inside the 40. Matt Darr should handle the punting duties. He had four punts last year for a 39.2 average. Anderson will return punts and Da’Rick Rogers will handle kickoff returns. He averaged 24.8 yards per return last year.

The Schedule:

The Vols open up with Montana and Cincy at home. Should be wins though you don’t know about Cincy. They could be better. Then it’s a huge game in Gainesville versus the Gators. If the Vols can pull that out, they could really gain some momentum. Then it’s Buffalo at home, Georgia and LSU at home, at Alabama, South Carolina at home, Middle Tennessee at home, at Arkansas, Vandy at home and at Kentucky.

Seven wins would be a pretty good year and eight would be great. Vols look like a bowl team this year as Derek Dooley tries to build the program back to an SEC and national contender. The only most likely losses are at Alabama and at Arkansas. Every other game looks winnable if the breaks go the Vols’ way. But injuries will be a factor on the offensive and defensive lines as there is still not a lot of depth there. It’s a difficult schedule as all SEC schedules are, but the Vols, if they can stay pretty healthy, should be playing in a bowl game in late December or early January. Maybe another Music City Bowl or a Gator Bowl. If they can somehow knock off Florida, who is uncertain right now with John Brantley at quarterback, and get one of two from Georgia or LSU, they have a chance to win eight games.

(Derek Dooley is trying to get UT back to upper echelon SEC status. He wants to be playing for SEC championships in December.)

It’s all about the quarterback and the offensive line for the ‘Dores. Larry Smith only completed 47 percent of his passes last year with six touchdowns and five ints. The question is, can the senior get it done his last season? He’s shown a propensity to get nervous in the pocket and make bad decisions. His olines have not been that good in the past and not sure how good they’ll be this year. Have nine on the roster and four coming in. There are actually some pretty good players on the line though just not a lot of  depth. Wesley Johnson (6’5″, 285) will be a stellar player at tackle. Logan Stewart (6’4″, 290) should be a pretty good center. Caleb Welchans (6’5″, 3oo tackle) and Jabo Burrow (6’4″, 290) should be good players as well. Ryan Seymour (6’4″, 305) is another. Mylon Brown (6’4″, 310) should be a good player as should Andrew Bridges (6’6″, 265) though he needs to gain some weight. Offensive guard/tackle Kyle Fischer  (6’6″ 310), a senior, could be in the NFL in 2012. He’s an impact player. If Smith gets some protection, he can be pretty good. In the spring game he made some nice throws and the offense looked more suited to his strengths, which is throwing the quick passes to the receivers and throwing the deep ball some.
He has some good receivers this year. Jordan Matthews is a 6’3″ target who caught 15 passes and four tds as a frosh. He could have a breakout year. Jonathan Krause is another guy who could really shine this year. He’s a speedster and caught 24 passes for 243 last year and ran it six times for 121 yards and two tds on reverses. Chris Boyd, Brady Brown and veterans Udom Umoh and John Cole should supply some punch on the outside as well.

There are some good running backs in Warren Norman (5’10”, 200)  and Zac Stacy (5’9″,210). Both guys can break it and are pretty tough if they can get some holes. Norman was hurt in the spring but will be back in the fall. Again it’s about the offensive line. Can they perform. Wesley Tate is a little bigger back at 6’3″, 225 and he gives the running game a power dimension with some speed, too. They need a couple more to step up with the way backs get injuried in the SEC. There are a couple of frosh coming in whom they’re high on so maybe they can add some depth.

Tight end is pretty solid with senior Brandon Barden back. He caught 34 passes for 425 yards and three tds last year and had a good year the year before. Has some pretty solid depth and two heralded freshmen coming in.

The offense has not been good for a while now, so the coaching staff really needs to figure out a way to move the ball and score on offense. They need to be pretty creative, but I think James Franklin, the first year coach, and his staff are. His offensive line coach, Herb Hand, is excellent.

Defense looked sharp in the spring game. New defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has brought a toughness to this defense. They were hitting harder, going after the ball and making plays on defense.

The secondary should be high caliber. Casey Hayward (6’0″, 185) is coming back for his senior year at cornerback after intercepting six passes last year. He’s one of the top corners in the conference. He looks like he’ll be on an NFL roster in 2012. At the other corner, Trey Wilson (6’0″,190) looks like he’ll still be fighting for the job with Eddie Foster (5’10”, 175) come August. Andre Hal (6’0″, 185 though I think he’s bigger now) and Kenny Ladler (6’1″, 205) look like excellent players at safety. Incumbent Sean Richardson (6’2″, 215) might have his work cut out for him to make the starting lineup. Those two can really play.

The Dline is 10 deep according to Shoop. Colt Nichter (6’2″, 290 dt) had an excellent spring. T.J. Greenstone (6’3″, 285) should be a beast as should redshirt freshman Kyle Woestmann at defensive end. Walker May  (6’5″, 235) and Tim Fugger (6’4″, 255)  should be good bookends on pass rushing situations. And there is good depth there.

Linebacker has some good players but is very thin. All-SEC performer Chris Marve (6’0″, 235) is back. He plays the run very well, but needs to work on his coverage skills. Guys like DeAndre Jones and Tristan Strong look promising as does Chase Garnham. Archibald Barnes looks OK. They need to stay healthy for sure.

Punting and kicking game fine with Richard Kent a pretty good punter and either Ryan Fowler or Carey Spear handling place kicking duties. Spear looks ahead there. Return game on kickoffs should be excellent with guys like Norman, Stacey, Eric Samuels and Wilson returning kicks. Need to get better in their punt return game though.

James Franklin has come in with a lot of energy and passion and has his team jacked up. It’s kind of a rebuilding job and there will be depth issues this year and Larry Smith is a question mark, but there are some good players on the roster. Jordan Rodgers, Aaron Rodgers’ little brother, is trying to compete for the job but he’s been hurt, so Smith is pretty far ahead of him. It’s probably Smith’s job to lose, but Rodgers is a talent. There are some freshmen qbs coming in, two who have good reputations and were high quality recruits. Don’t think they’ll start, but if Smith falters and Rodgers can’t get the job done, these guys could be in the mix.

The Schedule:

It’s a meat grinder, as my friend coach Chris Yeager of Mountain Brook, says. Elon, UConn and Ole Miss at home; potentially three wins, but no guarantee by any means. Vandy loses games some times there supposed to win and they won’t be favored against Ole Miss, but they’ve beaten Ole Miss three times over the last five years, so it should be a highly competitive game. UConn could be tough, too. They blasted the doors last year at Stoors. Don’t know much about Elon. At South Carolina (played SC tough the last four years and beaten them twice) and at Alabama (loss there). Georgia at home, Army at home, Arkansas at home. At Florida, home against Kentucky, at UT and at Wake.

Five wins would be a successful season and six victories and a bowl game would be outstanding. Got some games at home that they can win, but it’s just a tough league to play in for a school that has such high academic standards. But there are some good players and the new coaching staff has put a new life in these players. They’ve just got to believe they can win.

Next: Tennessee

(James Franklin is trying to change the culture at Vanderbilt.)

The 2011 Florida Gators will have a new man running the show as former Texas and Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp takes over. Muschamp is known for his enthusiasm and tireless energy on the sidelines. He has hired long time NFL coaches Charlie Weis and Dan Quinn as his offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively. Weis is known for developing quarterbacks as he developed one of the greatest of all time in Tom Brady at New England. But he’s got his work cut out for him developing Jeff Brantley.
Brantley was highly recruited out of  high school and sat behind Tim Tebow for a couple of years before taking over last year. He struggled some completing 200 of 329 passes for 2,061 yards with nine TDs and 10 ints. He had his moments, but he also had some struggles. Muschamp said that Brantley completed 70 percent of his throws in the spring, but he was not so great in the spring game. He will have some playmakers behind him this year, guys like world class sprinter Jeff Demps, who won the NCAA 100 meter run for the second straight year this Spring–he missed spring practice for track. Demps, a running back, ran for 551 yards and three tds last year, not overwhelming numbers, but he was hurt some. He has a lot of strength for an 181 pounder and can really break it when he gets in the open field. Chris Rainey is another guy with explosive play ability. Rainey ran for only 366 and two tds, but he struggled with injuries and sent an infamous text to his ex girlfriend that said “it’s time to die.” Honestly, I don’t know why he remained on the team. Urban Meyer was pretty loose in his discipline and he had 30 something players arrested in his career. Muschamp looks like he’s going to run a tighter ship as he kicked Janoris Jenkins, the team’s star cornerback, off the team in April for his second marijuana possession charge in three months.

The running back position is loaded with playmakers, but not a lot of size. Mike Blakely (5’9″, 198), Mike Gillislee (5’11”, 198) and Mack Brown (5’10, 193) are three others who could be highly productive backs. Rainey weighs 175. Could struggle with injuries with their lack of size. Wide receiver features all purpose back Trey Burton who looks like he’ll be a star as kind of a hybrid running back-receiver and maybe some wildcat quarterback. Andre Debose, Deonte Thompson and Quinton Dunbar are some others who could be key players if they develop and can catch the ball consistently. Jordan Reed, a 6’3″, 237 tight end/wide out, looks like he could present some matchup problems for linebackers and cornerbacks.

The questions are: Can these guys play consistently? Can Brantley run the offense and make the throws downfield? Can Rainey and Demps stay healthy? Can the other guys run and catch consistently?

The offensive line lost four starters, so that could be a problem.  Xavier Nixon at tackle (6’6″, 290) is a pretty good player, but they had some linemen out in the Spring. Mike Pouncey left for the Miami Dolphins, but he struggled with snaps all year, and frankly, the Gators were just not very good on offense last year. Oline could be a weakness on this team and that will be a problem.

Defense looks pretty high caliber. Defensive tackles Shariff Floyd (6’3″, 303) and Dominique Easley (6’2″, 278) will be forces. Easley was dominating until he got banged up a little bit in the spring game. Think he’s OK though. Ronald Powell (6’4″, 250) was a five star defensive end out of high school two years ago, so they’re expecting big things from him. Linebacker Jonathan Bostic (6’1″, 238) will be a force, also. Jelani Jenkins is an excellent linebacker, also. Jeremy Brown (5’10”. 184) is an excellent cover corner. They lost a really good player in Janoris Jenkins, but Cody Riggs had an interception in the spring game and could be a good replacement. Josh Shaw is a good safety as is Tim Clark. So they’ve got some players on defense.

The thing I noticed most about the spring game is there were so many guys out. The Gators need to get healthy for the fall. The oline could be a problem for them as it doesn’t seem like they have a lot of depth there. It seems like a team that doesn’t have a lot of depth in general. Some very good players but just not enough of them.

The Schedule:

The Gators open with Florida Atlantic and UAB. Don’t know much about Florida Atlantic, but that should be a W. UAB should, too, as it is in the Swamp. But the Blazers have proved to be pretty tough against good teams. They’ll play Tenn at home, Ky on the road and ‘Bama at home. They go to LSU, Auburn, play Georgia in Jacksonville, then Vandy at home, South Carolina on the road and finish with Furman and Florida State at home.

I’m looking at a 7-5, 6-6 season for the Gators. They might knock off a team that they’re close in talent with or have less talent than, but they may lose one that they shouldn’t. I don’t see them contending for the East title. Think Georgia and South Carolina are stronger. They struggled last year in Urb’s final season, so Muschamp is trying to rebuild. He’s got some good skill players and some good players on defense and his offensive and defensive coordinators are proven NFL coaches. But can their pro experience translate to the college game? They’ve got their work cut out for them and they’re are some brutal road trips to LSU, Auburn and SC and Alabama is going to be very good. They have to go to Kentucky, too, and that’s no gimme. Georgia in Jacksonville will be tough, Tennessee is no cake walk and could lose that and FSU has very high expectations heading into this season and will be better talent wise than Florida as Jimbo Fisher has got his program heading in the right direction and maybe contending for a national title this season. So I think 6-6 and if they knock somebody off in an upset, 7-5. Something like a  Music City Bowl team. A pretty good bowl, but I know Muschamp wants to be competing for championships. He had a decent recruiting class with 11 four stars, a couple of four star quarterbacks and six defensive backs. So we’ll see how quickly he return Florida to prominence. It’s not going to happen this year.

(Will Muschamp is trying to rebuild the Gators into championship contenders.)

Mark Richt seemed like a pretty content guy during his Spring game interview with CSS. He thinks his team is close to being a very good football team. With a recruiting class that was ranked No.5 by Rivals, he’s got some players coming in who can help. He signed some players who have been called the “Dream Team” out of Georgia. He signed five Star running back Isaiah Crowell out of Columbus (5’11”, 21o), tight end Jay Rome (6’5″, 255) out of national powerhouse Valdosta along with his teammate four star defensive back Malcolm Mitchell. Richt signed a ton of players out of Georgia who were highly rated. And he has some very good players coming back. The schedule is challenging as the ‘Dogs open with Boise State on Sept. 3 in Atlanta, then play host to South Carolina in an early SEC blockbuster. But I like this team after watching the G-Day game.
Redshirt sophomore Aaron Murray should have a stellar season at quarterback. He threw for 3,049 yards, 24 touchdowns and eight ints last year. He completed 61% of his passes. He had a rating of 154.4 which is outstanding. He is more comfortable in the pocket this year according to Richt and he’s got some excellent targets in Orson Charles, his teammate at Plant High School in Tampa where they teamed up to win a state championship, and Tavarres King. Charles at 6’3″, 241 will play kind of a hybrid tight end/wide receiver role and he’ll be a tough matchup for linebackers because he can outrun them and tough on dbs because of his size. He could have a huge year. King is a returning starter. He’s 6’1″, 192. Charles and King are juniors. Branden Smith is a defensive back starter, but he’s going to be a playmaker on offense. He’ll play some wildcat and he can really catch the ball. He had a 35-yard touchdown run in the game. He is a great athlete. Brandon Boykin is another db who’ll play on offense and give the offense more fire power. Marlon Brown is another wide out who will play a big role this year. Richt is also high on true  freshman Chris Conley who came in early. He is expected to be a playmaker on offense. He dropped a deep ball in the Spring game, but he looks like he has the tools.

Aron White (6’4″, 239) and Arthur Lynch (6’5″ , 272) are big tight ends. Expect Rome to come in and make an immediate impact at tight end though those other two are pretty good.

Running back will be solid and could be exceptional if Crowell lives up to his hype. Caleb King will be back. He’s 5’11”, 224. He was highly recruited out of high school and has been OK at Georgia. He needs to step it up though. Washaun Ealey was suspended indefinitely in February for a violation of team rules. Is it me or does it seem like Ealey and King are always in trouble? Maybe Ealey can come back. He and King had some critical fumbles last year against South Carolina (Ealey) and against Colorado (King). So not sure if you can count on them in crunch time, but they’ve got talent. I guess Ealey will make it back on the team. They both could be behind Crowell come September. Ken Malcome, a redshirt frosh, looked good in the game, Carlton Thomas had some nice runs, but also had two fumbles. They need some development there. It could be a good position for them. We’ll see.

Murray has some good young ones behind him. Liked Hutson Mason, a 6’3″, 196 sophomore. Parker Welch, a 6’3″, 204 redshirt frosh, looked pretty good., And Richt is high on Christian LeMay, a highly regarded signee who is in school and played in the Spring game LeMay, a four star, is 6’2″, 200. If Murray was to go down, Georgia might be OK there.

Offensive line looks pretty good. Ben Jones is a 6’3″, 316 senior center. He’s solid. They lost tackle Trinton Sturdivant to a knee injury once again. He has NFL talent but has been besieged by injury. They’re counting on junior A.J. Harmon (6’5″, 345) to fill Sturdivant’s role. Kenarious Gates, a 6’5″, 328 guard and  Cordy Glenn, a 6’5″, 348 tackle, will also be starters. Kolton Houston (6’5″, 291 RS frosh) and Chris Burnette (6’2″, 313, RS soph) will be some other key contributors. There are some good players on the line. Not sure there is a ton of depth there, but some good starters. They have six highly regarded freshmen linemen coming in, so that’ll help a lot if they can contribute.

Defense will be led by dominating nose guard/tackle Kwame Geathers (6’6″, 350). He’s got great size and he’s a great athlete. He will be a dominant player. Richt also expects big things from linebacker Jarvis Jones (6’3″, 241 RS soph), a Southern Cal transfer. He’s a great pass rusher and cover lb on the outside. They are really high on him. Alec Ogletree (6’3″, 236) will be excellent at inside linebacker. Chase Vasser (6’3″, 227 RS soph) is an excellent outside linebacker. And Boykin and Smith are excellent cornerbacks. There are some others. The defense looked pretty good in the game. They could be much improved this season.

Of course  there was the loss of A.J. Green, a big loss. Green was the fourth pick in the NFL draft by Cincinnati. Still the wrs look pretty good overall. Green is a once every five years player. He was special. Kris Durham was a solid possession receiver and got drafted by the Seatlle Seahawks in the late rounds. They also lost a good fullback in Shaun Chappas, but they’ve got some pretty big guys there. Alexander Ogletree (5’10, 224), brother of the linebacker, and Bruce Figgins (6’4″, 272) look pretty solid  there. Figgins, obviuosly, is a very impressive guy physically. They should be OK there. Probably need another guy to step up. Georgia likes to use its fullbacks in blocking and in the passing game. They like that pro style set.

Blair Walsh, a senior, is a fine kicker. Didn’t really notice their punter or their return game; wasn’t emphasized that much.

Team looks good.

Mark Richt is a solid, spiritual guy and a good football coach.But 7-6  (2009) and 6-7 (2010) don’t cut it at Georgia. He has had a lot of success in the past and that’s why he’s retained his job after two disappointing seasons. Plus, I think Georgia people like him a lot. He’s a good person. His offense has always seemed a little slow in developing on plays to me, but he usually has a solid running game and a good controlled passing game. He needs some playmakers to step up this year.

Richt needs to win nine games this year. He needs to get the ‘Dogs back in the SEC champ mix. I like him, so I hope he can.

The Sehedule:

Open with what should be a top 10 team in Boise State. Boise State has some NCAA problems right now, so not sure how that’ll affect them. Should be a fine team though. ‘Dogs need to win that one and then beat South Carolina the next week at home. The Boise State game is in Atlanta; Chick fil-A game on Sept. 3. Coastal Carolina is the third game–win–then Ole Miss in Oxford, State in Athens, UT in Knoxville and Vandy in Nashville. If they come out of that stretch at 6-1 or 5-2 they could be in good shape. They have Florida in Jacksonville, and their last four at home: New Mexico State, Auburn, Kentucky and Tech. A 9-3, 10-2 season is possible. This is a good football team. Murray needs to stay healthy. That will be a key though they have some pretty good players behind him, but no experience. The freshmen, particularly Crowell at running back, need to step in and make an immediate impact. Crowell needs to be like a Marcus Lattimore or Michael Dyer. Georgia could win the East and go to Atlanta. Predictions in the summer.

(Mark Richt will be counting heavily on Aaron Murray to get his team to Atlanta.)

Arkansas has the skilled players on offense, there is no doubt. Tyler Wilson is the number one guy at quarterback. He threw for 242 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions in the spring game. Brandon Mitchell, a 6’4″, 230 pound sophomore, was challenging the 6’3″, 215 pound junior, but Wilson proved he’s the number one guy in the spring game. Wilson’s only experience in game situations was last year against Auburn when Ryan Mallett went down with an injury in the second quarter. Wilson came in against the Tigers and threw for 332 yards and four touchdowns and actually put Arkansas up in a wild game. Auburn came roaring back and won big, but Wilson showed he had the potential to be a standout SEC quarterback. I think he will be. He plays with a lot of poise, has a great arm and can throw the deep and underneath passes well. He took care of the football in the scrimmage, too. And he’s got an excellent supporting cast.
Knile Davis came in in midseason last year for the Hogs and ran for 1,322 yards and 13 touchdowns. The junior is back. There is good depth at running back with Ronnie Wingo Jr. and Dennis Johnson, both hard-nosed, north-south runners. Probably need a fourth back to develop as well.

Wide receiver is loaded. Greg Childs, who didn’t play in the Spring, Joe Adams, Jaruis Wright, who caught two tds in spring game and looked exceptional, Cobi Hamilton, Chris Gregg, Julian Horton and Javontee Herndon give the Razorbacks an arsenal of receivers. Garrett Uekman needs to step in at tight end for the departed D.J. Williams, who is in the NFL now with the Green Bay Packers. The Hogs need to build some depth there.

Mallett threw for 3,900 yards and 32 touchdowns last year and 7.5o0 yards for his career. He had a fine career at Arkansas, but last year against Alabama, he threw two costly interceptions that cost his team the game. Made some mistakes at times, but I think he has a chance to be a pretty decent pro for the New England Patriots if Tom Brady retires any time soon, which is not likely. But he could make a good backup for a while and maybe a starter at some point if not for the Patriots somebody else. Brady could go down, too. I think Wilson has what it takes to be a stellar qb in the SEC. He’s got all the physical tools and Bobby Petrino can really coach quarterbacks up, so he should be prepared mentally. Mitchell looks like a pretty decent backup.

The offensive line is a bit of a question mark. Arkansas graduated three players off last year’s line. They lost their two starting tackles. They’re counting on true frosh Brey Cook (6’7″, 317) to step in at the left tackle position. He enrolled early and played in the Spring game. He made some mistakes, but he’s got talent. That was evident.  Jason Peacock will man the other tackle spot most likely. He’s 6’4″, 334 and a junior.. Travis Swanson (6’5″, 305) looks like a candidate at center.

If the offensive line can come through, Wilson and offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Garrick McGee could have some field days on Saturdays this fall.

A question mark for the Hogs through the years has been the defense. Are they good enough to get Arkansas to Atlanta?  Wilson threw all over them in the spring game, so it’s debatable. Robert Thomas, Dequinta Jones and Bryan Jones gives them some pretty good play at defensive tackle. The announcers didn’t say much about the linebackers; they didn’t do much in the game, so that could be a question mark. They look athletic, so maybe the defense was so vanilla, they didn’t show much at all. Petrino said in the interview with the ESPN guys that he liked his defense a lot, particularly the way they tackled, so we’ll see. Trumain Thomas is a ball hawk at safety; had two picks in the spring game. Looks like the Hogs have good athletes on that side of the ball, but not sure how good they’ll be. Wilson and the offense moved the ball well against them. Not sure if that’s a sign the offense is that good or that the defense is weak. The defense didn’t show much on purpose, so couldn’t get a great read on them. Defensive coordinator Willy Robinson will have his work cut out for him in August to make this defense more aggressive and tenacious. Alabama will run all over them if they don’t get it together by the fourth week in September when they visit Tuscaloosa and face Trent Richardson and company.

The Schedule:

The Razorbacks first three games look like wins against Missouri State, New Mexico and Troy. Then they go to Tuscaloosa for a showdown on Sept. 24. Can they stop Trent Richardson and the Alabama offense? Will ‘Bama’s qb situation be settled by then? Arkansas can put up some points, no doubt, but can they move the ball effectively on what looks like will be a stellar defense for Bama? If the Hogs can somehow get out of Tuscaloosa with a victory (which will be very difficult) they have a chance to do some great things. They play at Texas A&M the next week (in Arlington), then host Auburn, go to Ole Miss and Vandy, host South Carolina, Tennessee and Ms. State (Little Rock) and finish on the road in Baton Rouge. It’s tough like all SEC schedules are. It’s a matter of if the defense can step up and if the offensive line can perform. Beating Alabama is a tall order. If they can, they could have a big season. At A&M is tough, State looked very good in their spring game, South Carolina should be pretty good, Auburn is no shoe in, and LSU on the road will be difficult. But the key game to me is Alabama. I don’t know if  the Hogs can win there, but if they do, it could be a special season. It’s all about their defense and the offensive line. If those two units step up, the Hogs could have a BCS bowl season again. Don’t think they can beat Alabama to get to Atlanta, but we’re not sure about ‘Bama’s qb situation, so that could be an Achilles heel for the Tide. If the Hogs pull that off, they could possibly go to Atlanta. They’ll have to get through a very tough Ms. State team as well along with going to Baton Rouge and SC at home. Should be very interesting.

Tomorrow: Georgia

(Tyler Wilson takes over at quarterback for Razorbacks.)