I know I just finished posting my final New Orleans blog, something I dragged out longer than I anticipated, but I've got to get some football action on this bad boy.
So, perhaps periodically I'll present a trio of football queries pertinent to the current atmosphere of collegiate football. Maybe I'll come up with a catchier name than just "three questions."
1.Who will be the SEC's most dominant defensive lineman?
Gone is LSU's Glenn Dorsey, the most decorated defensive player in the history of the Tiger program. Gone is Auburn's Quentin Groves, a fierce edge rusher who may be a hybrid linebacker this year in the NFL.
Fear not. The country's fastest, deepest, and most talented conference will have plenty of able-bodied defensive linemen in 2008. Here's who to look out for this season ...
Sen'Derrick Marks, DT, Auburn - Moving to the edge from defensive tackle, Marks should have Auburn fans screaming War Eagle as often as Groves did last season. Marks has first-round pick written all over him. ESPN NFL Draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. believes Marks could be a top-five pick in next April's draft.
Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss - 63 tackles and 10 sacks made him a Walter Camp second-team all-America pick last season. Hardy, who will be just a junior, will lead a strong Rebel front seven that includes DT Peria Jerry.
Demonte' Bolden, DT, Tennessee - Following in a long line of Volunteer defensive lineman, Bolden joins LB Rico McCoy and S Eric Berry as Phil Fulmer's top defensive playmakers.
Ricky Jean-Francois, DT, and Tyson Jackson, DE, LSU - Lose Glenn Dorsey? As Friday's Rivals.com story points out, if anybody in the nation can afford to lose a Dorsey, it's LSU, which is primed to insert its next wave of stud defensive linemen into the limelight. LSU could have the nation's best defensive line - again. Jean-Francois played only two games, but earned BCS title Defensive Player of the Game in the process. Jackson only had 3.5 sacks last season, but had 8.5 as a sophomore. With a strong senior season, he could be a first-round pick. Add Kirston Pittman, Al Woods, Charles Alexander, Drake Nevis, and Marlon Favorite to this duo, and they're just a few more reasons LSU is Defensive Lineman U.
(Jean-Francois)
Jermaine Cunningham, DE, Florida - You're looking at the leader of what should be an improved and more experienced Gator front in 2008. A year after having the nation's best defensive line and winning the national title, last year was a work-in-progress for Florida, but Cunningham should follow up his 64-tackle, 6.5-sack sophomore campaign with another impressive year.
(Cunningham)
2.Which new coach on the Brazos will have the more immediate impact?
Mike Sherman takes over at Texas A&M. Art Briles is running the show at Baylor. Sherman has more to work with, but Briles has more ground to make up on the competition. Briles' shotgun-based offense is not too different from the pass-happy attack Guy Morriss had employed in Waco, but as ESPN.com's Tim Griffin wrote Thursday in his Big 12 blog, expect the Bears to run the ball more under Briles.
Texas A&M, on the other hand, will pass more. Griffin's play analysis revealed that, among Big 12 teams in 2007, only Oklahoma State ran the ball as much as Texas A&M (60.5 percent of its plays). Sherman's pro experience will usher in a balanced, pro-style offense with Stephen McGee running less, Mike Goodson running more, and McGee working almost exclusively under center.
All that said, since Briles has more work to do, and because he's more familiar with the recent world of college football, Briles will have a more immediate impact.
3.How will Cornelius Ingram's season-ending knee injury affect Florida?
News of Ingram's torn anterior cruciate ligament spread quickly across the college football InterWeb late Thursday. I read about it in ESPN.com's Chris Low's SEC blog, which is another excellent example of ESPN finally doing something right journalistically by hiring experienced newspaper writers to head their Blog Network college football coverage.
Ingram caught more than 500 yards worth of passes last year, including seven touchdowns. As Low emphasized, Ingram was money on third downs. He's the perfect safety valve for a quarterback.
(Ingram, #7)
Without him, I believe Florida's offense will be greatly hampered, enough to probably cost them a couple of spots in my preseason Top 25. Not only will Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow not have Ingram to bail him out at times, but more production will be needed from already-injured star Percy Harvin, Florida's version of Reggie Bush. Harvin's recovering form offseason heel surgery, but, again, as Low pointed out, isn't progressing as the Gators had hoped. A player who uses speed and agility as much as Harvin can't afford to not play at 100 percent.
In summary, losing Ingram robs Florida of a huge offensive dimension. It will prove costly at some point.
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