The countdown to kickoff is no longer at a snail’s pace, and kickoff is just a little over two weeks away for most every SEC program. That means we are also nearly halfway through fall camp for most every team in the league as well. There are still plenty of starting jobs up for grabs though, so let’s dive into the most intriguing fall camp position battles.
Up next: Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee.
Ole Miss: Wide receiver
Ole Miss lost five of their top six pass catchers from a season ago. That hasn’t seemed to slow down the confidence that most people have in what this offense can do this upcoming season. Trinidad Chambliss may be the best quarterback in America. But, who is he going to throw to at wide receiver?
Hybrid tight end/receiver Caleb Odom should take a big step forward, and former five-star prospect Johntay Cook II has drawn rave reviews in fall camp after an erratic start to his career. Senior Deuce Alexander and former top 50 national recruit Caleb Cunningham should slide into two of the starting roles, but the rotation behind them is still undecided. It’s one of the few positions that isn’t solidified as the Rebels head into the season in what they hope will be a season ending in a return trip to the college football playoff.
South Carolina: Running Back
The running back position for South Carolina might not be that imperative to the Gamecocks’ success this season. At least not in comparison to the offensive line and passing game. However, South Carolina will need to find someone to be its bell cow in Kendal Briles’ new offense to help take some of the pressure off quarterback LaNorris Sellers this season. The run game was non-existent for South Carolina a year ago where the Gamecocks finished 14th in the SEC in rushing yards per game. That number plummeted from the previous season when the Gamecocks finished fourth in the league with over 184 yards per game on the ground.
The roster is talented at the position this year. Matthew Fuller returns from a promising freshman season a year ago. And, the Gamecocks added transfer Christian Clark from Texas and hope to get more production out of former four-star signee Isaiah Augstave who enters his second year in the program. The Gamecocks aren’t looking for a 1,000-yard back this season as nice as that would be. What they need is one (or two) players that can gain four to five yards per carry with the help of Sellers in the RPO game. That was non-existent in Mike Shula’s playbook a year ago. It won’t be in 2026.
Tennessee: Quarterback
Tennessee isn’t unfamiliar with starting a first-year quarterback in their system. This will be the fifth time head coach Josh Heupel has had to break in a new starter at quarterback since he’s been at Tennessee. Those previous five players didn’t exactly struggle, and neither did the Vols’ offenses. The Vols have finished in the top two in scoring in the SEC in four of the past five seasons. That’s why there’s a lot of valid reason for optimism in Knoxville this season no matter who starts Game 1 under, or behind, center.
Both George MacIntyre and Faizon Brandon are young. MacIntyre is going into Year 2 at Tennessee, while Brandon is a true freshman. Reports out of Knoxville say that Brandon has taken a slight lead in the race, but there are still several weeks to decide who will be QB1 for the season. If there’s another reason for optimism beside Josh Heupel’s track record, it’s that as difficult as Tennessee’s season is, a freshman quarterback will be a seasoned veteran by the back half of the schedule. Still, he’ll have to grow up quickly since Tennessee will have a road game at Georgia Tech and a home game against Texas in the month of September.
