The SEC stock report is back for our weekly look at who’s trending in the SEC. Some good, some bad, and some diamonds in the rough ready to take off.
Stock Up: Slowed down Sam Leavitt
Leavitt was slowed down with a hamstring injury on Saturday against Texas A&M, and it may have been the best thing for him. His inability to escape the pocket led to him being forced to stay in it and deliver throws, and buddy did he ever look good doing that. Leavitt completed 74% of his passes for 312 yards, while dropping several throws into a bucket in key situations. The Tigers will need him through the entire season, so he’ll need to get healthier if they want to achieve their national title hopes. For now though, it looked like he took a giant step forward against the Aggies.
Stock Down: South Carolina as a whole
The hot seat is blazing for head coach Shane Beamer and the accusations of him losing the locker room were not exactly dispelled this past weekend at Alabama. Star defender Dylan Stewart had an absolute meltdown that involved several back and forths with Beamer and other coaches and several punches he threw at Alabama players. All of that was somehow enough to distract from the other glaring disappointment – the 31-point loss. South Carolina came into the season with high hopes and the thought that they’d win enough games to not only keep Beamer’s job but also build for the future.
Stock Up: Will Muschamp
Still got it. Never lost it. Apparently. The retread of Muschamp as the defensive coordinator at Texas went better than anyone could have hoped for, and that was on full display on Saturday in Knoxville. The Longhorns held Tennessee to just 10 offensive points which ironically was one for every sack the Texas defense had during the game. They also held Tennessee to its lowest offensive output in the first quarter and first half of any game in the last eight years.
Stock Down: Top 25 Poll SEC Defenders
Someone needs to explain to me why Missouri is still in the Top 25 after a loss at Mississippi State. Having them cling on to dear life at the No. 25 spot seems pretty stupid considering Wake Forest went on the road and beat a top-16 Louisville team on Saturday. Eli Drinkwitz is now 7-20 against ranked opponents as head coach at Missouri with four of those wins coming in one season. He has beaten one ranked team since then and it was No. 24 Boston College. What are we doing here?
Stock the same: Stewart’s Draft Stock
Whether you agree or disagree, allow me to give you the spoiler alert on this one. Dylan Stewart’s draft stock isn’t going to take because of what happened on Saturday. That’s not to say that it should or shouldn’t either. I’m just telling you it won’t. There are many draft analysts that think he is a top-3 overall talent in next year’s NFL draft. There is a boatload of time that will pass between now and the draft. There are seven months until the draft itself and five months until the NFL combine. That will allow his team to spin a narrative and do some positive PR between now and then. There’s also the track record of NFL franchises not caring about off-the-field character issues more than talent. Jalen Carter is a perfect example. Carter was involved in a street racing incident where someone lost his life just hours after the Georgia national championship parade. He still went No. 9 overall to the Eagles. Expect the same with Stewart.
