2. The Keystone Light
Bro of the SEC
(Stephen Garcia
Garcia Award):
Tyler Bray, Tennessee:
Tyler Bray has the poise and talent
to be one of the best quarterbacks
in the SEC. Apparently, he also
possesses the poise and "hot
dogging" to be the life of the party.
During the summer, Bray was linked
to a vandalism incident, where
vehicles were damaged by golf
balls and empty beer bottles. If
that wasn't enough, Bray took the
party on the water. Over the fourth
of July holidy, he was charged with
a misdemeanor for reckless
operation of a personal watercraft.
According to Tennessee Wildlife,
Bray was with a woman passenger
and was playing chicken. That
sounds like a Barbara Dooley
Fourth of July celebration.
3. Haunt Your Dreams:
Cyrus Kouandjio,
Alabama:
How good is Cyrus Kouandjio?
The coaching staff moved the
nation's best offensive lineman,
Outland Trophy winner Barrett
Jones, from left tackle to center
to make room for Kouandjio. At
6'6" 311 pounds, he is the only
300 pounder that I have ever
seen with a six pack. This guy will
be a dominant force for the
Tide, like previous left tackles:
Andre Smith, James Carpenter,
and Barrett Jones.
4. Best Comeback:
Knile Davis, Arkansas:
After sitting out all last season due
to a nasty ankle injury, Davis is
adamant that he is 100%. If so,
watch out SEC defenses. In 2010, I
thought Knile Davis was the best
running back in the SEC,
accumulating over 1,600 total
yards. The Razorbacks will rely on
him to take some slack off the
passing game, an area that
suffered last season without his
presence. If Davis truly is back to
2010 form, I predict that the Hogs
will split 'Bama and LSU, and you'll
hear his name amongst Heisman
chatter.
5. The Ticket Seller
(Best Offensive Player):
Aaron Murray, Georgia
"We want to score 40-50 points or
more per game." Those are lofty
goals for Murray and the Georgia
offense. Coming off a school
record 35 touchdown passes,
Murray is hoping his second season
in the no-huddle offense will
eclipse last season's stats. It doesn't
hurt having 5 of your top 6
receiving targets returning. If the
young offensive line jells, Murray
will have all the tools to lead his
Dawgs to Miami.
6. Shrinking the Field
(Best Defensive
Player):
Jadaveon Clowney,
South Carolina:
Clowney is a NFL star playing
against inferior talent. At 6'6",
260 pounds, he is often
compared to Julius Peppers. As
a backup last season, Clowney
had 12 tackles for a loss and
eight sacks. This year he is a
starter and a miss match for the
majority of offensive lineman. Oh
yeah, in addition to defensive
end, Spurrier announced that
Clowney may see some snaps
at middle linebacker.
7. Best Newcomer:
TJ Yeldon, Alabama:
Last year, Yeldon was rated as one
of the best high school running
backs in the country. In April,
Yeldon was named MVP of the A-
day spring game, where he
racked up nearly 180 total yards.
Given the history of Eddie Lacy's
nagging injuries, Yeldon may be
called upon to have a bigger
freshman role than that of Mark
Ingram or Trent Richardson.
8. Coach of the Year:
Dan Mullen,
Mississippi State:
The more I look at State's schedule,
the more I see a minimum of eight
wins. If Dan Mullen can beat
Auburn and/or Arkansas (both at
home), the Bulldogs have a great
chance of getting 10 wins. If
Mullen gets to 10 wins, he will have
done so in the toughest
conference with less talent than
other double digit teams. The result
will be Mullen as the hottest
commodity for coaching
vacancies.
9. Darkhorse:
Florida Gators:
Florida may have the nastiest
defensive front seven in the
country, anchored by Jon Bostic,
Sharrif Floyd, and the Chucky
wielding Dominique Easley.
Running back Mike Gillislee will be
one of the surprise stories in the
SEC in this season. If Jacoby Brissett
or Jeff Driskel can get a handle on
Brent Pease's offense, the Gators
could find themselves in Atlanta
the first week of December.
10. SEC Champions:
LSU Tigers over
Georgia Bulldogs:
In a rematch from last season's
SEC Championship, the Tigers
and Bulldogs will once again
meet in Atlanta for what could
be a play-in game for the BCS
National Championship. With a
year of experience, the Bulldogs
will not concede the Georgia
Dome like last season. However,
a late fourth quarter touchdown
by LSU will be the difference,
making the Bayou Bengals the
first team to win back-to-back
SEC titles since 1998.
