The SEC is bigger than ever in 2024, with Big 12 powers Texas and Oklahoma having joined up to form a 16-team super-conference.
But even among the greatest players and teams in college football, there are a few standouts. In the final part of the 78th annual SEC post-spring football report — first published by the Birmingham News in 1947 — we seek to identify the best of the best and answer the big questions facing the SEC in 2024.
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In voting conducted among AL.com sports staff members, here are how we see 10 key issues shaping up and panning out heading into the season:
Georgia quarterback Carson Beck enters the 2024 season among the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy. (AP Photo/John Raoux)
The Heisman is a quarterback award nearly every year these days, and the quarterbacks on the top teams are almost by default among the favorites for college football’s top individual honor. Beck led the SEC in passing yards in 2023, and the Bulldogs are likely to begin the season ranked No. 1 nationally.
Others receiving votes: Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas; Jalen Milroe, QB, Alabama
Georgia safety Malaki Starks (24) is on the short list of the top defensive players in all of college football. (AP Photo/John Bazemore, File)AP
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Starks was a first-team All-America and All-SEC selection as a sophomore in 2023, and was also a finalist for multiple national awards. He’s the best player on what is another star-studded defense for the Bulldogs, who head into the season as the favorite to win the SEC championship.
Others receiving votes: James Pearce, DL, Tennessee; Harold Perkins, LB, LSU
Alabama guard Tyler Booker (52) is a two-year starter for the Crimson Tide, and among the top offensive linemen in college football. (Ben Flanagan / AL.com)
Booker has been a rock-solid performer for the Crimson Tide in his first two college seasons, arguably outperforming teammates who had more recruiting hype and who play more glamorous positions along the line. He’s Alabama’s unquestioned leader up front this season.
Others receiving votes: Will Campbell, OT, LSU; Kadyn Proctor, OT, Alabama
Former Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond, left, transferred to Texas in the offseason. (AP Photo/Butch Dill)AP
Bond went from Iron Bowl hero to transfer portal villain in a few short weeks over the winter, not only leaving Alabama but landing with the Crimson Tide’s new conference rival Longhorns. He’ll play in one of the more explosive and efficient passing offenses in the country in Austin.
Others receiving votes: Parker Brailsford, C, Alabama; Trevor Etienne, RB, Georgia; Jawarn Howell, RB, South Carolina; Walter Nolen, DL, Ole Miss
Freshman wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) is sure to be an impact player at Auburn this season. (Photo by Austin Perryman/AU athletics)Austin Perryman
No SEC recruit fills a more gaping hole than “playmaking receiver” at Auburn, which hasn’t had a player of his potential caliber at the position in decades. Coleman should be an instant starter for the Tigers, and could be a star before long.
Others receiving votes: DJ Lagway, QB, Florida; Colin Simmons, LB, Texas; Ryan Williams, WR, Alabama
Quarterback Brady Cook (12) and Missouri broke through with 11 wins in 2023, and could reach even greater heights this season. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez) APAP
The Tigers won 11 games and the Cotton Bowl last season, but have quite a bit of helium headed into 2024. With quarterback Brady Cook, wide receiver Luther Burden and a number of other key players returning, Eli Drinkwitz’s team could make a serious push for the College Football Playoff.
Others receiving votes: LSU, Ole Miss, Tennessee
Brent Venables and Oklahoma might find things a little tougher in the SEC than they did in the Big 12. (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)AP
The transition from the Big 12 to the SEC is not expected to go smoothly for Brent Venables’ Sooners, who bounced back with a 10-win season last year following a disappointing 2022. Oklahoma is almost never truly bad — just one losing season this century — but they might struggle to finish in the top half of a loaded conference.
Others receiving votes: LSU, Missouri, Ole Miss, Tennessee (P.S., it’s worth noting that these four teams received votes for both “surprise team” and “disappointing team.”)
Arkansas coach Sam Pittman enters the 2024 season in "win or else" mode. (AP Photo/Michael Woods)AP
That Pittman kept his job after last season’s 4-8 debacle was a bit of an upset, but he might have helped dig his own coaching grave by hiring one of his predecessors — Bobby Petrino — as offensive coordinator. If things go south for the Hogs early in 2024, Petrino might add “interim coach” to his list of official and unofficial monikers.
Others receiving votes: Shane Beamer, South Carolina; Billy Napier, Florida; Steve Sarkisian, Texas; Brent Venables, Oklahoma
Despite changing conferences, Quinn Ewers and Texas look like a solid bet to make the College Football Playoff for a second straight year in 2024. (AP Photo/Jacob Kupferman)AP
The new 12-team playoff format skews toward the power conferences, with not only the SEC champion a virtual lock for a Top 4 seed, but its runner-up and its “runner-up to the runner-up” probably guaranteed berths. Georgia, Texas and Alabama seems like solid bets for the 12-team field barring epic meltdowns this season, while Ole Miss, Missouri and Tennessee could also make their cases to be included among the seven “at-large” teams.
Ryan Day and Ohio State will be among the favorites to win the national championship in 2024. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)AP
The SEC failed to put a team in the national championship game last season for the first time since 2014 (the first year of the College Football Playoff) and didn’t produce the champion for the first time since 2018. The latter fact might be more than a one-year blip, as Ohio State returns an absolutely stacked team in 2024. Georgia and Texas will also make their case to be holding up the big trophy in Atlanta on Jan. 20, and you can obviously never count out Alabama (though it seems like our panel did).
Others receiving votes: Georgia, Texas
Creg Stephenson is a sports writer for AL.com. He has covered college football for a variety of publications since 1994. Contact him at cstephenson@al.com or follow him on Twitter at @CregStephenson.
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