Fall camp is underway across the SEC, so it’s time to get some overreactions and observations in. Your team is healthy, the schedule is manageable, and the amount of hope floating around the program is absolutely off the charts. Still, every team has some questions.
Here are three burning questions for every SEC team. Next up, Mississippi State.
1. Can the offensive line get to average?
The Mississippi State offensive line has been one of the worst in the SEC over the last two years under Jeff Lebby. They’ve allowed the second most sacks of any team in the conference with 83. That’s just one shy of South Carolina who’s allowed 84. This year’s unit will look much different than a season ago. Their starting left tackle Jayvin James is now at Alabama, and the left side of the unit will look much different. The good news is that the sack numbers should go down with an athlete like Kamario Taylor at quarterback. If they can protect Taylor and open up some holes for Fluff Bothwell and company in the running game, then this offense can be dangerous.
2. Can Zach Arnett fix the major hole at DL?
This feels awkward, but it’s also becoming a bit more commonplace. Zach Arnett is back at Mississippi State just a few years after he was relieved of his duties as the head coach. He’s back in his old office down the hall this time as the defensive coordinator. It’s similar to Ed Orgeron at LSU. Coordinators returning home has been a consistent theme in the league this offseason, as Texas hiring Will Muschamp is another example.
Arnett fielded a top 40 defense in almost every year he was the DC. His defenses were stingy and a far cry from some of the underwhelming ones that have taken the field the last few years. The biggest question for this year’s defense specifically is can he plug the holes in the defensive line. Mississippi State has been a factor over the last decade or two at producing elite level defensive linemen to the NFL. Arnett should help them get back to the business of doing that.
3. Can Kamario Taylor take that next step to superstardom?
There are few players exiting the offseason with more juice than Kamario Taylor. Taylor is an elite athlete and could blossom into one of the best quarterbacks in the SEC in Jeff Lebby’s offense. He averaged nearly 350 yards per game in the two starts he made at the end of the season. He can run, he can throw, and nearly every time he steps on the field he’s the best athlete out there. There are some parts of his game that need refining, but he has one of the highest ceilings of any player in the country.
I asked him at SEC Media Days what he thinks Taylor’s ceiling can be this season.
“I don’t like to put a ceiling on K1 because there isn’t one,” said Lebby.
