Earlier than the new-look SEC’s first full soccer season with 16 groups kicks off in 2024, 247Sports polled its deep roster of insiders for a program-by-program breakdown. The SEC survey requested a handful of questions, together with, “What difficulty retains your fan base up at night time?” Here is a roundup of the solutions.

Alabama Crimson Tide

Cody Goodwin, Bama247

New faces at a handful of key positions similar to edge rusher, cornerback, receiver and offensive sort out. Who replaces Dallas Turner? Will true freshmen get some severe snaps at nook and receiver? Who will begin at proper sort out?

There is a ton of expertise on this roster, and we expect they’re going to be fairly good this 12 months even with the teaching change and roster turnover. However when this system and followers count on to compete for convention titles and playoff spots, these issues matter all of the extra. The primary few weeks of the season will reveal rather a lot.

Arkansas Razorbacks

Danny West, HawgSports

Recruiting within the state of Arkansas. Arkansas misplaced slightly momentum following a disappointing 7-6 season in 2022, however then misplaced a ton of momentum final 12 months by going 4-8 with a number of embarrassing house losses.

Now, Pittman’s hot-seat discuss (and, in some instances, NIL shortcomings) have caught up with Arkansas in recruiting, particularly on the house entrance. A number of notable in-state recruits are leaving to play for Missouri, Oklahoma, LSU and Auburn, and the Pure State merely would not produce sufficient expertise for Arkansas to simply overcome the misses. 

The second factor that retains Arkansas followers up at night time is the NIL dialog. When one sport can rent John Calipari away from Kentucky and provides him principally a clean verify to recruit basketball gamers, then the soccer program that has gone 24-74 within the SEC over the previous 12 years can not seem to catch up, there is a disconnect.

It is not an absence of assets. It is donor fatigue and fan fatigue after a tough previous 12 years in soccer.

Auburn Tigers

Nathan King, Auburn Undercover

Recruiting. It has been a sore topic over the previous few years, particularly with the expertise deficiency Harsin inflicted on this system together with his two signing lessons. Freeze’s first full class this 12 months is making super progress, after final 12 months’s group completed No. 8 nationally.

Nonetheless, even with the star energy Freeze has added since turning into Auburn’s coach, followers will at all times be cautious of a loaded SEC panorama that features among the most prosperous and cutthroat applications recruiting in opposition to them every day.

On the sphere, quarterback has been a limiting issue for Auburn for the higher a part of three seasons, and the way Freeze can repair that transferring ahead into 2024 and past stays on the forefront of Auburn followers’ minds. 

Florida Gators

Jacob Rudner, Swamp247

Wins. Napier and his workers have checked some essential containers over the previous two years, specifically fixing this system’s ailing tradition and boosting its productiveness on the highschool recruiting path by touchdown among the nation’s high gamers, together with presumed QB-of-the-future DJ Lagway. However, coming into 12 months 3, Napier is simply 11-14 total and 6-10 in SEC play — a report that does not fly amongst a Gator fan base that craves a return to the college’s glory days on the gridiron.

Georgia Bulldogs

Benjamin Wolk, Dawgs247

Kirby Sensible’s teaching longevity. Given he might already retire like a king, and that the game is just getting extra hectic and complex, how for much longer Sensible needs to educate school soccer and whether or not he’d be tempted by the NFL is de facto the one factor Georgia followers are apprehensive about as they map out the subsequent half decade.

Kentucky Wildcats

Josh Edwards, Cats Pause

Offensive stability. Brock Vandagriff because the beginning quarterback and the way Bush Hamdan‘s offense will translate to the SEC are relative unknowns. UK is on its third offensive coordinator in as a few years.

LSU Tigers

Bryce Koon, Geaux247

Protection, protection and extra protection. After having an offense able to beating anybody final 12 months and a protection that could not cease anyone, this fan base hopes that the protection can enhance below new coordinator Blake Baker. There have been misses within the switch portal, so LSU must rely on some severe inside growth for this facet of the ball to keep away from being a legal responsibility in 2024.

Followers are fearful that the offense might nonetheless be good, however that protection will lead to a missed playoff look.

Mississippi State Bulldogs

Steve Robertson, Gene’s Web page

Protection. State followers count on to attain and possibly bit, however can they cease anybody with a brand-new defensive scheme? State could must win some observe meets this 12 months.

Missouri Tigers

Eli Hoff, St. Louis Submit-Dispatch

Protection. There are questions on this Missouri staff’s protection after dropping a number of gamers to the NFL and a extremely regarded defensive coordinator, Blake Baker, to LSU in out-of-the-blue vogue.

New coordinator Corey Batoon‘s scheme ought to stay related, and there are newcomers and depth-chart-risers alike who will fill in, however there’s an uncertainty on that facet of the ball that hasn’t been there since earlier than Baker’s rent.

The Tigers’ offense ought to have the ability to sustain with the SEC’s finest, however there might be a shootout or two that elevate Mizzou followers’ coronary heart charges this season.

Oklahoma Sooners

Tom Inexperienced, Sooners Illustrated

Offensive line. The largest query for the staff this offseason is whether or not offensive line coach Invoice Bedenbaugh can work his magic with an almost-completel- rebuilt line this 12 months, after the Sooners misplaced all 5 common starters and some different key contributors up entrance.

Oklahoma hit the portal exhausting, bringing in a bunch of 5 transfers, headlined by former SMU middle Branson Hickman and former North Texas guard Febechi Nwaiwu.

Whereas Bedenbaugh’s observe report growing expertise alongside the road ought to most likely earn him the good thing about the doubt, followers know that the play of this new-look unit within the trenches will make or beak the Sooners’ inaugural season within the SEC. The made-over offensive line will both elevate Oklahoma’s ceiling or decrease its ground.

Ole Miss Rebels

Jared Redding, Contained in the Rebels

Lane Kiffin and different jobs. Stemming from his latest success at Ole Miss and well-documented teaching journey earlier than it, there’s at all times a extensively held assumption that he’ll take one other job at a extra prestigious soccer program. That reached a fever pitch when Kiffin’s talks with Auburn got here to mild in 2022.

Ole Miss will not be a blue-blood soccer program, although it aspires to be on this new period. Subsequently, many nonetheless consider that Ole Miss is only a stepping stone for coaches of the caliber of Kiffin.

Although Ole Miss is in a greater place than it is ever been as a program, many concern that it’ll solely take an SEC title, deep School Soccer Playoff run or nationwide championship to lastly put that hypothesis to relaxation. When one specific SEC head coach is on a visual sizzling seat, some concern that Kiffin’s identify will probably be thrown into the combination and that the establishment will throw the kitchen sink to get him to go away Oxford.

One other difficulty that retains Ole Miss followers up at night time is that prime faculty recruiting, notably this upcoming 2025 class, has left rather a lot to be desired, particularly with large decommitment blows in latest weeks. That mentioned, when evaluating Kiffin’s latest roster-building strategies, it has been abundantly clear {that a} extremely touted switch will probably be higher off than any extremely touted highschool prospect on this program. Kiffin has operated like an NFL GM by way of simply figuring out expertise, evaluating and becoming wants no matter age.

South Carolina Gamecocks

John Whittle, The Massive Spur

Offensive line. For at all times and eternally, the difficulty that retains South Carolina’s fan base up at night time is the offensive line — and this 12 months is a much bigger deal than it is ever been, primarily based on what it was final season.

The Gamecocks confronted a slew of accidents final 12 months up entrance, which began in dropping its beginning proper sort out on the opening drive of the season. Spencer Rattler ran for his life all season because the Gamecocks completed the 12 months on the backside or very close to it in dashing yards per recreation, and each sacks and tackles for loss allowed.

A fantastic freshman class from final 12 months is now extra skilled, there are a few switch portal additions, gamers coming back from harm and a five-star freshman. The place is trying up, however that feeling has been there earlier than.

Tennessee Volunteers

Patrick Brown, GoVols247

Tennessee being a turned ankle, stubbed toe or rung bell for Iamaleava away from taking part in both veteran walk-on Gaston Moore or freshman Jake Merklinger at quarterback. If it is not that, it is the secondary, which has been a degree of frustration for a lot of the fan base below Heupel.

It was a legal responsibility that price the Vols a CFP spot in 2022 and although the numbers regarded higher final season, the perfect quarterbacks Tennessee performed the second half of final season had been in a position to carve them up.

Now the Vols could have 5 new starters within the again finish after turning the web page from a slew of veterans to a mix of fellows who’ve waited their turns, an up-and-coming expertise or two and newcomers.

Texas A&M Aggies

Carter Karels, GigEm247

Texas becoming a member of the SEC and being instantly superb. Aggie followers won’t wish to admit it, however I’m positive the considered the Longhorns coming into their convention and instantly successful huge would make them wish to vomit. It’s why it’s essential for Elko to benefit from this schedule and have a really profitable first season.

Texas Longhorns

Chip Brown, Horns247

Recruiting. Proper now, what retains the fan base up at night time is not successful sufficient commitments from high 2025 highschool expertise in opposition to different sturdy NIL applications similar to Oregon, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. Texas ranks No. 13 within the Class of 2025 recruiting rankings however that is solely adequate for eighth within the SEC. 

  Vanderbilt Commodores

Robbie Weinstein, Vandy247

At this level, followers are most likely most involved about whether or not Clark Lea is the fitting coach to steer this system. He is not really on the recent seat, and followers need him to succeed, but it surely has been a bumpy highway. Prior complications like services, NIL and the admissions course of have all enormously improved at Vanderbilt.