SEC football news: Tapping sources for 2023 insider knowledge across the conference
The stove is scorching around the SEC coming out of spring practice as college football's most talent-rich league tries to contend for its fifth-consecutive national championship during the 2023 season. As many as six teams from the conference could be ranked in the preseason AP Poll a few months from now, but in the final year prior to Playoff expansion, the number of true title contenders is likely half that number.
After gathering information from a host of sources around the conference, both at the team and insider level, 247Sports highlights teams with newsworthy updates only those close to these programs on a daily basis might know.
A few programs in the SECwent portal-heavy this recruiting cycle, while others continue to rely on talent development and expect a few freshmen in their respective 2023 signing classes to be impactful.
From breakout players to revised playbooks and even personnel groupings that are flying under the radar, here's what you can expect to see this fall in the SEC:
Mississippi State Bulldogs
Mississippi State continues to produce freakish ballhawks in the secondary and Decamerion Richardson is next in line to be All-SEC caliber this fall. One source in Starkville told 247Sports, "he’s probably a better athlete than Martin Emerson and Emmanuel Forbes and there's a good chance he declares this year and makes it three-straight early-round picks at corner."
Mississippi State tasks him with guarding the opposition's best weapons this season and Richardson should be up for the challenge. Another splashy athlete for the Bulldogs who had a great spring was Tulu Griffin, who is making the move to slot after working exclusively on the outside his first couple years on campus (76 career catches, 832 yards, five touchdowns). Not dealing with traffic in the middle of the field will increase the likelihood of highlight-worthy plays for the veteran pass-catcher.
Florida Gators
Billy Napier is not losing sleep ahead of his second season at Florida, much to the chagrin of detractors who expect another disappointing finish from the Gators. Sources close to the program say Florida's offensive staff was encouraged by the production at several positions during camp, but all the public saw was offensive ineptitude during the Orange and Blue game. The offensive line should be a primary strength, which is great news for the quarterbacks and a potential big year out of tailback Montrell Johnson. Florida's last 1,000-yard rusher was Kelvin Taylor in 2015 and the Gators are confident Johnson will be next. True freshman Knijeah Harris made a splash during the spring and could start at left guard in the opener at Utah. Austin Barber is another player the coaches love at left tackle.
No disrespect to Anthony Richardson, who left the Gators as a top-five pick, but this offense could be more productive despite what many are assuming will be a one-dimensional attack. Why? Florida will not face as many stacked boxes defensively since a run threat as talented as Richardson is no longer under center. In theory, that could make the Gators more successful on the ground since they're not having to account for more bodies to block.As for a couple breakout options, according to sources, portal additions Cam Jackson and Caleb Banks are going to play a ton of snaps and freshman cornerback JaKeem Jackson was a great evaluation.
Ole Miss Rebels
Much has been made about Lane Kiffin's transfer portal prowess the last couple cycles with the Rebels and those close to the program rave about tight end Caden Prieskorn, a former walk-on quarterback at Memphis that made his way to Oxford after catching 48 passes for 602 yards and seven touchdowns last fall as a first-team, All-AAC honoree. He will play on Sundays and routinely turned heads during the spring. This Ole Miss offense goes through Quinshon Judkins in the backfield and Prieskorn helps in that department, too. He's 6-foot-5, 255 pounds and can move defenders at the line of scrimmage with considerable strength. Paired with returner Michael Trigg, who transferred from USC after the 2021 season, Ole Miss may have the best 1-2 punch in the SEC at tight end — and no one's talking about either player this summer except those who have watched them every day in practice.
Arkansas Razorbacks
Sam Pittman and the Razorbacks may have landed college football's most underrated transfer portal hauland Arkansas is still taking players. Most of the Razorbacks' starters on defense in 2023 will be portal additions from the last two years. Scribbling out the projected depth chart coming out of spring, half of the Arkansas starting lineup (seven on defense and four on offense) is expected to be made up of transfers. You've got Missouri's Trajan Jeffcoat at defensive end, transfers linebackers Jaheim Thomas (Cincinnati) and Antonio Grier (USF), Baylor's Al Walcott and Lorando Johnson in centerfield and either Jaheim Singletary (Georgia) or Kee’Yon Steart (TCU) at one of the starting corner spots. Former LSU transfers Landon Jackson and Dwight McGlothern could also trot out with the 1s in September. Transfer defensive tackles Anthony Booker (Maryland) and Keivie Rose (Louisiana Tech) will play a ton. This is a talent-heavy group on defense for Pittman, who tapped the portal hard for seasoned vets.
Auburn Tigers
The Auburn secondary could generate numerous takeaways this season. The Tigers' defensive staff is excited about the talent returning and especially the team's leadership back there. Every scholarship player who took a snap last fall returns to The Plains at the cornerback and safety spots. Auburn's offensive line is another position group that should be one of the team's best, a bit of a surprise coming out of spring considering most of the starters will be transfers.
LSU Tigers
If this hasn't been conveyed enough since the end of his first season with the Tigers, Brian Kelly loves this offensive line. There was considerable trepidation with the rotation up front this time a year ago, but the youth-infused lineup learned on the fly and wound up helping the program to a spot in the SEC Championship Game. Even the biggest LSU homers didn't see that coming after opening the season with that memorable loss to Florida State in New Orleans. After chatting with a source close to the program, LSU's staff expects the projected lineup of Will Campbell, Myles Frazier, Charles Turner, Garrett Dellinger and Emery Jones to be dominant at the point of attack. That group combined for 56 starts last season alone and that camaraderie should pay dividends in 2023 blocking for quarterback Jayden Daniels and recent portal commit Logan Diggs at running back.
Georgia Bulldogs
Let's pause before calling any player on the nation's most talented roster underrated, but defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse has a chance to be Georgia's next great talent up front and NFL types are well aware of his ability. Georgia went nearly a decade without a draft selection along the defensive line before having four players at the position taken in the first round the last two cycles. Stackhouse started every game last fall at nose and was marvelous at clogging up the middle. His blocked field goal in the SEC Championship Game against LSU was returned for a touchdown. Get in on Stackhouse while his stock price is still low. By the end of the 2023, he'll be soaring as a prospect.
Reporting suggests to expect "a lot of 11 personnel" at Georgia this season with Mike Bobo calling the plays. Sources told 247Sports earlier this spring that quarterback Carson Beck was elite against Georgia's first-team defense in practice settings and said he would take the SEC by storm this season. That lines up with intel we've received about his being the deepest group of pass-catchers the Bulldogs have fielded under Kirby Smart, and that's with Darnell Washington departing for the NFL and AD Mitchell transferring to Texas. The versatile Brock Bowers is the headline-grabber as the nation's top returning tight end and his versatility will again be on full display. PFF listed Bowers as in-line at 30.7% of the time last year with his other reps coming in the slot. Expect that to continue to Bobo's scheme. Georgia's expected two-deep at wideout includes a bevy of proven weapons and the riches are vast. Like a basketball team that can sub out its starters with a talented second team, Bobo will tinker with various combinations of Ladd McConkey, Dominic Lovett (Mizzou transfer), Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, RaRa Thomas (Mississippi State transfer), Arian Smith, and Dillon Bell.
South Carolina Gamecocks
Spencer Rattler garnered the most national attention this spring at quarterback for the Gamecocks as he learned the new playbook brought by Dowell Loggains, but true freshman LaNorris Sellers is the player this South Carolina staff expects to bring hopes of a conference title to Columbia. "Special" is a word that's been tossed around often in circles coming out of the spring, so much so that Loggains plans to play this four-star signee as a true freshman in certain package to ensure his athleticism and abilities make it on the field. Sellers showed up in college-ready shape as one of the biggest quarterbacks on the roster and certainly has a future pro to learn from playing behind Rattler before this offense is his in 2024.
Tennessee Volunteers
The greatest show on grass under Josh Heupel will be more than continued offensive fireworks this fall. In fact, Tennessee's primary strength — and possibly the reason the Volunteers could unseat Georgia in the SEC East — will be in its senior-laden two deep. Vols247 tells us Tennessee could start 18 seniors over 22 positions on offense and defense, not including senior kicker Charles Campbell (Indiana transfer). In all, the Volunteers will have 32 seniors, including 10 as defensive starters. Tennessee's defense hasn't finished inside the top 6 of the SEC since 2019, but that's expected to change this fall. And we did it — a Tennessee nugget without mentioning Joe Milton or Squirrel White.
Texas A&M Aggies
Here is a bold prediction for the Aggies this season: Moose Muhammad II's production numbers this fall could be better than teammate and former five-star Evan Stewart. "He's the best wideout you've never heard of," team sources in College Station told 247Sports. Muhammad was tabbed to be a rotational option in the passing game last fall before Ainias Smith went down with an injury in September. Moving forward with more snaps and passes thrown his way, Muhammad averaged five catches (16.1 yards per reception) per game and scored four touchdowns. Over seven starts, Muhammad managed two 100-yard outings and was seven yards away from two more.
Alabama Crimson Tide
Has America bailed on Alabama as one of the three or four teams capable of winning a national championship this season? Maybe. All the attention coming out of Tuscaloosa this month is angled around the Crimson Tide's quarterback dilemma coming off a two-loss season and there appearing to be legitimate worry if Nick Saban's program could take another step back in 2023. Most preseason folks, including us, have placed Alabama outside of the top five, but we could see a situation where — for the first time in years — this team is carried to the Playoff by their defense. The projected 2024 first-rounders are already hyped (Dallas Turner, Kool-Aid McKinstry among others), but there's a play-making group who just arrived on campus dripping with immediate impact expectations SEC types aren't familiar with just yet. Five-star freshman Caleb Downs is going to start and a couple selective portal additions are ideal fits who were pursued by a list of elites. When grading Alabama at this very moment, consider how the Crimson Tide are going to look defensively before bailing on Alabama's Playoff hopes.
without 2023 NFL Draft first-round pick Jahmyr Gibbs. There seems to be an expectation that Jase McClellan and Roydell Williams will play significant roles and handle the lion's share of the carries, but second-year back Jam Miller and true freshman Justice Haynes are considered to be of starting caliber themselves.
"The growing sentiment inside the Mal Moore Athletic Facility is that Alabama’s running back room will rank among the very best in college football. Considering the transition the Crimson Tide is undergoing at quarterback, that’s a very good thing," one source said.
Oscar Tshiebwe, the 2022 National Player of the Year, is not expected to return to Kentucky and is expected to turn pro, multiple sources across the industry tell 247Sports, barring unforseen changes.
Tshiebwe has been undergoing the 2023 NBA Draft process and although he is not projected to be selected in the first or second round, his time at Kentucky is, as of this moment, expected to be coming to an end.
Tshiebwe will make an official announcement of his plans at 5:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 31. He had a workout with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.
A former McDonald's All-American, the 6-foot-9 center transferred to Kentucky from West Virginia halfway through his sophomore season and he quickly became one of the faces for how the transfer portal is helping to create a new way for college coaches to attack recruiting and replenishing talent.
In his first season at Kentucky, Tshiebwe averaged 17.4 points and 15.1 rebounds a game which led to him being the unanimous Player of the Year.
Although knowing it would be extremely difficult to replicate his junior year success, Tshiebwe opted to return for another season at Kentucky where he posted 16.5 points and 13.7 rebounds a game, helping Kentucky get their first NCAA Tournament win since the 2018-19 season.
Tshiebwe is one of three announcements that will be made on Wednesday along with Chris Livingston and Antonio Reeves.
As of this morning, Livingston is also expected to not return to Kentucky while Reeves remains the biggest question mark.
Looking ahead, Kentucky is currently sitting with seven scholarship players in DJ Wagner, Reed Sheppard, Aaron Bradshaw, Rob Dillingham, Ugonna Kingsley and Adou Thiero.
Tshiebwe could technically enter the transfer portal whenever he wants because he is a graduate transfer, but hemade it crystal clear at the NBA Combine that won't be happening.
“That is not an option,” Tshiebwetold the Herald-Leader. “I will never transfer. Kentucky’s my home. If there’s a chance to go professional, I’ll go pro. If there’s a chance to not go professional, I will go back to Kentucky. I’ve never even thought about going (another) place. Kentucky is my home. It’s a dream place. I can’t leave my home. That’s my place, forever.
