I like this team a lot. Franks made great strides down the stretch last year. If he builds on that, he has a damn high ceiling headed into this season. Skill positions are pretty solid. Perine will probably be the featured back in this offense now that Scarlett is gone. Dameon Pierce and Malik Davis will get carries where they're needed, but Perine is probably our best offensive player.
WRs should be deep and pretty balanced. Cleveland, Jefferson, Swain, and Grimes will all get their share of targets. They'll probably keep sneaking Toney in here and there to catch people off guard. I do wish they could find a more consistent role for such an explosive player.
Everything on the offensive side really hinges on how well they can break in new starters up front. They will mostly be upperclassmen though and they have decent experience between them.
Defensively, this is still a pretty solid unit. Zuniga and Shuler will be really tough up front. David Reese coming back I think may have been the most important thing for them. Having a senior there at LB will just be huge.
If Marco is back at 100% from his knee injury, he and CJ will be one the best CB tandems in the country. Depth in the secondary is a concern though. Trey Dean will be seeing more action this year and needs to imorove from last season. That whole Steele fiasco is gonna hurt us at some point.
IMO, this is the best shot we've had at making a run at winning the SEC at any point in the last decade. This defense may not be as good as the one we had in 2012, but finally having an offense that doesn't suck makes up for a lot.
Looking at this schedule, I see a chance at 10+ wins. Doesn't mean we'll get there, but I do think this team is talented enough to make a run. Unlike most seasons, this one opens with an actual opponent at a neutral site, and an old rival at that. The two toughest games will likely be
@LSU and Georgia. We do get UT and FSU at home, but our next 31 game winning streak against UK will have to start on the road.
I'll be in town for the Auburn game. Can't wait.
Go Gators!