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2019 SEC Football Season Preview B Y D OUG A MOS C O - HOST , MAX R OUND T ABLE ESPN T HE T ICKET W E ’ RE SET TO BEGIN A NEW CHAPTER IN WHAT IS ARGUABLY THE MOST PASSIONATE TIME OF THE YEAR IN THE S OUTH , YET THE STORY OF THE 2019 S OUTHEASTERN C ONFERENCE FOOTBALL SEASON MIGHT VERY WELL RESEMBLE ITS PREDECESSOR . T HE MEDIA GATHERED RECENTLY IN H OOVER TO GET A PREVIEW OF WHAT ’ S TO COME IN THE NATION ’ S STRONGEST CONFERENCE AND MOST LEFT THINKING THE BALANCE OF POWER WILL NOT SHIFT . t’s Alabama in the West and Georgia in the East, at least according to the vast majority of those assembled for SEC Media Days. Al- though after four days of coach and player interrogations there are others ready to pounce should last year’s division champions falter. In the West, could it be LSU with an ultra-confident quarterback and a slew of talent returning in the bayou? Or Texas A&M, with its head coach set to attack his second season with experience back under center? And then there’s Auburn, whose embattled leader has one of the top defenses in the land to complement an offense he’ll engineer once again. Those chasing the “Dogs” in the East could come in any order. Will Gator Nation see its chomp continue to strengthen or will a highly-sought transfer quarterback lift Mis- souri back near the top of the standings? Could Kentucky continue to rise? Or maybe South Carolina or Tennessee, a pair of teams who haven’t challenged in years? Following is a breakdown of both divisions heading into August season openers, and a predicted order of finish for all 14 teams. WEST 1. Alabama returns arguably its most talented group of skill position players in decades and will rely on solid play from a rebuilt offensive line to once again be prolific offensively. Quarter- back Tua Tagovailoa has running back Najee Harris in the ground game and a plethora of receivers at his disposal, in- cluding a pair of preseason all-league choices in Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III. There are more holes to fill defensively, but Nick Saban has a roster built for re- loading as the Crimson Tide will attempt to erase the memory of the championship-game thumping it took last January. 2. LSU quarterback Joe Burrow has talked a big game heading into his final col- legiate season, believing the Bengal Tiger offense will finally shake the stigma of being the weak link in Baton Rouge. Ed Orgeron returns eight starters on each side of the ball and made wholesale changes to his staff offensively. De- fense has never been the issue, with coordinator Dave Aranda once again calling the signals. For LSU to challenge for a title, Burrow’s pre- diction of a new-look offense must be accurate. 3. Texas A&M head man Jimbo Fisher is settled at quarterback as well, with junior Kellen Mond expected to be much-im- proved in his second season in his coach’s system. Six other starters from a year ago join Mond on offense but gone are a pair of go-to guys in running back TrayveonWilliams and tight end Jace Stern- berger. Just four starters are back defensively and if the Aggies are to threaten, they’ll need some unexpected surprises on that side of the ball. 4. Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn says he feels like himself again, now finally 100 percent calling the offensive plays. He’ll do it with an un- proven quarterback, whether it be redshirt freshman Joey Gatewood or pure freshman Bo Nix. The good news is a senior-laden offensive line returns and perhaps the best defensive line in the country. All- 20 AL/ Metro 360 www.almetro360.com I