Pressing questions for several SEC staffs this spring

Missouri has already started spring practice, while first-year Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze will get his initial impressions of the Tigers later Monday afternoon. 

It’s been an unseasonably warm winter, so even if it seems like it’s a bit early for spring football, the gods are telling us it’s time. 

The rest of the SEC schools will open practice throughout the next week or two, and every program in the conference is facing some sort of pressing question or interesting storyline to monitor over the next six-plus weeks. 

Some are quite obvious. Like the quarterback battles at Alabama, Ole Miss and Georgia, the reigning national champs and early favorites to go for a three-peat in 2023. 

We know LSU and Tennessee hope to gel into more complete, balanced teams this spring, while Florida’s Billy Napier is stoked just to get back on the field after an offseason full of off-field drama. 

But what about some other teams in the conference? There are just two new head coaches in the SEC — Hugh Freeze at Auburn and Zach Arnett at Mississippi State — but there was a ton of turnover on staffs across the league, with 10 new offensive coordinators among the 14 schools.  

So while spring practices generally leave us with more questions than finite answers, they can provide a few hints or clues of what might be to come in the fall. 

Here are my most pressing questions for several SEC staff this spring.

What will Bobby Petrino’s early fingerprints look like on Texas A&M’s offense?

We’ve officially reached the Arrested Development stage of Jimbo Fisher’s time at Texas A&M. 

The Aggies’ offense was so bad in 2022 that Fisher was finally forced (mostly via public pressure) to relinquish some reins and hire an offensive coordinator. 

The Jimbo Fisher-Bobby Petrino marriage seems destined for disaster, but perhaps too much stubbornness could actually equal success.

Cue Arrested Development.

“Did it work for those people?”

“No, it never does. I mean, these people delude themselves into thinking it might. (LONG PAUSE)… But, but it might work for us.”

That certainly seems like what the Aggies are banking on.

Now is not the time to wonder whether Fisher could snatch play-calling duties back from this fall or if this is just a one-year experiment that Petrino hopes can vault him back into a potential FBS head coaching job in 2024. 

This spring, what is interesting is what sort of impact Petrino could have on Texas A&M’s offensive identity and scheme. 

Fisher is a really savvy offensive coach, but his system has grown stale. It’s too slow. Too complicated. The Aggies notoriously don’t generate many explosive plays despite rooms full of speedy, blue-chip skill talent. 

But Petrino’s scheme is very similar to the style that Fisher already runs, so what slight changes will he make to awaken an archaic passing offense? How does he plan to get the most out of A&M’s personnel?

The talent is there for Texas A&M to make a major offensive leap in 2023. Quarterback Conner Weigman teased his potential as a freshman. Almost the entire OL returns, and wideouts Ainias Smith, Evan Stewart and Moose Muhammad III are all back.

The initial clues to some of these questions should be fascinating to see unfold in College State. 

Will staff changes help Arkansas get back on track under Sam Pittman?

Outside of the two programs with new head coaches in the league, just two staffs in the SEC are breaking in a pair of new coordinators this spring, too: Alabama and Arkansas. 

I’ve detailed the coordinator changes by Nick Saban several times already this offseason, but what about what’s going on with the Razorbacks?

Continuity and culture were the calling cards of Sam Pittman’s program the first few years in Fayetteville, but this has been an offseason marred by change. 

In addition to both coordinators leaving for other jobs, Sam Pittman fired his strength and conditioning coordinator and several others assistants departed as well.  

Still, change seemingly was needed for the Hogs after team (and staff) chemistry soured last fall. 

But Pittman has also never dealt with such churn as a head coach. He’s a CEO leader, delegating responsibilities to his lieutenants who do the actual coaching. 

Pittman praised his program’s continuity just last offseason, noting that Arkansas was one of the few schools in America with the same head coach, DC and OC for three straight years. 

Yet after a very encouraging 9-4 year in 2021, the Hogs stumbled to a 7-6 season last fall, losing four games by a combined nine points. Defensive coordinator Barry Odom took the head coaching job at UNLV, while Kendal Briles made the lateral jump for the OC job at TCU. 

Pittman quickly filled both openings with intriguing candidates, snagging Travis Williams from UCF and Dan Enos from Maryland. 

Williams is very familiar with the SEC, playing and coaching at Auburn. Many consider the 40-year-old assistant a future head coach with his personality, energy and recruiting chops. But Williams has just a year of experience as a DC, so there could be some growing pains. Conversely, Enos is well-traveled and has produced solid-to-good offenses in multiple conferences. 

Considering Arkansas’ roster entering the spring (so far close to 30 players have left the program (mostly transfers and a few NFL early entrees), the Razorbacks are going to have to “coach’em up” if they want to make noise in the SEC West come fall. 

Can Enos get more passing production out of returning quarterback KJ Jefferson? What sort of impact and initial improvements can Williams make on a defense that lost its best players (outside linebacker Drew Sanders, defensive backs Myles Slusher, Jalen Catalon and pass rusher Jordan Domineck) and was already among the worst in the SEC (13th in yards per play allowed, 13th in scoring)?

What does Auburn’s offense look like under Hugh Freeze? Same for Mississippi State and Zach Arnett?

Somewhat quietly, Auburn has had a solid first offseason under new management. Naturally, vibes are high after washing away the stink of the Bryan Harsin era, but Hugh Freeze has also done a nice job rebuilding the offensive and defensive lines through the portal (seven total incoming transfers) and adding some skill talent to the roster, too. 

The Tigers still aren’t very good at wideout, but the offense should be better in Freeze’s scheme. 

It was just last spring that Robby Ashford went from a “Who’s that transfer?” To a guy competing for the starting quarterback job. 

We should find out just how much Hugh Freeze believes in Ashford depending on how the spring unfolds. Auburn went QB hunting during the first transfer portal windows, but it came up empty. 

It the Tigers sit out the post-spring window, then we probably have a strong indication of what Freeze thinks of his potential QB1. If they don’t, then that’s a major hint, too. 

As for Mississippi State, the Bulldogs should look very different under Zach Arnett versus the Mike Leach era. 

Arnett isn’t looking to whitewash Leach’s time in Starkville, but the promoted DC is making stark identity changes he believes is best for the future of the program. 

Mississippi State is no longer an Air Raid team. Quarterback Will Rogers is back, but he’s not going to throw the ball 60 times a game in Kevin Barbay’s system. But since MSU won’t have the tailbacks or OL to totally transform overnight, Rogers will still be the key to the team’s offensive success in 2023. 

Thus, how Barbay plans to best utilize Rogers’ arm in a new system will be interesting to see unfold.

The Bulldogs suddenly have tight ends on the roster, and Rogers will work under center at times for the first time in his career. 

Considering MSU’s position in the SEC West, how quickly Arnett and Barbay can navigate this transition during the spring could provide major dividends in the fall.