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SEC East notebook
August 16, 2006
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com
Fall practices have started around the SEC in the past week, so let's get right to the breaking stories, including a number of injuries and some surprise performances. Later in Bonus Nuggets, I'll offer out my predictions for the season.
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| Andre Caldwell is fully recovered from the broken leg that sidelined him last year. (Getty) |
| **Florida Gators**
--When Andre Caldwell broke his femur in last year's 16-7 win against Tennessee, Urban Meyer's spread offense lost one of its premier weapons. With the loss of wide receiver Chad Jackson to the pros a year early, Caldwell's recovery became even more crucial for this year's UF squad. Eleven months after the injury, Caldwell appears to be back and faster than ever. In fact, according to Gatorbait.net, he ran a 4.29 forty-yard dash last week and has been making plays galore at practice.
--The word out of Gainesville is that DT Joe Cohen, who was a high-profile recruit that has been fairly quiet during his collegiate career, has been dominant during early workouts.
--Florida is listed as a 20-point favorite for its home opener vs. Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles are 3-0 ATS in their last three spots as double-digit underdogs. Last year, they covered the number as DD-'dogs at Alabama and vs. California.
--UF has won 16 consecutive season openers, but the Gators are only 7-8 ATS during that span.
**South Carolina Gamecocks**
--South Carolina will open the season with a Thursday night game at Mississippi State. Most sports books have tabbed the Gamecocks as seven-point favorites. Steve Spurrier took a pair of teams to Starkville during his tenure at Florida. Both times the Gators left with double-digit defeats. During a Thursday game in 1992, Shane Matthews saw his Heisman hopes vanish in a 30-6 loss on national television. Then in 2000, the Bulldogs thumped UF by a 47-35 count.
--Sophomore RB Mike Davis, who rushed for 706 yards and five TDs as a true freshman last year, hasn't practiced yet due to an apparently serious foot infection. Junior RB Cory Boyd, who missed all of '05 while suspended, bruised his hand at Sunday's night practice and didn't participate in contact drills Monday.
--Sophomore WR Noah Whiteside and safety Ty Erving have both been suspended three games apiece by Spurrier for academic reasons. Whiteside had seven catches for 131 yards and one touchdown as a freshman.
--The 'Cocks return five starters on defense, but their top seven leading tacklers from last season are gone. Most notably, Ko Simpson's early departure for the NFL was costly.
**Georgia Bulldogs**
--Junior CB Thomas Flowers has been suspended for the first two games of the season for violating unspecified team rules. Flowers was listed as first team at cornerback, but he's also UGA's top return man. He averaged 13.7 yards per punt return last year and had one touchdown.
--Also suspended for the first two games (Western Kentucky, at South Carolina) are a pair of offensive linemen, Daniel Inman and Ian Smith. Inman was a second-team All-SEC selection last season.
--Quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo has not expressed any leader in the race for the QB job left vacant by the graduation of D.J. Shockley. This space thinks senior Joe Tereshinski will get the starting nod in the opener, but look for true freshman Matthew Stafford to eventually win the job.
**Tennessee Volunteers**
--UT has an abysmal 6-13 ATS record in its last 19 games.
--The biggest off-season coaching move in the SEC was Phillip Fulmer's hiring of David Cutcliffe as offensive coordinator. Cutcliffe, the former head coach at Ole Miss, was UT's offensive coordinator from 1993-'98.
--Cutcliffe's main job will be to tutor junior QB Erik Ainge, who is coming off an awful sophomore campaign after playing outstanding football as a freshman. The key to UT's bounce-back season will be Ainge, who completely lost his confidence last year while completing only 45 percent of his throws.
--As of this column's release, the Vols were listed as two-point home favorites against Cal for both school's season opener.
**Vanderbilt Commdores**
--With Jay Cutler no longer on the scene, there's no doubt about who the new star of Vandy football is, and his name is Earl Bennett. The sophomore WR out of Birmingham was a first-team Freshman All-American last year and is penciled in on every pre-season All-SEC team. But at Monday night's practice in Nashville, Bennett suffered a leg injury that sent him to the training table. According to Vandysports.com, Bennett spent the next hour getting ice treatment above his right knee. He hasn't practiced since, missing both of Wednesday's workouts, but the injury isn't believed to be serious. Bennett finished '05 with 79 receptions for 846 yards and nine touchdowns.
--Only one senior -- right offensive tackle Brian Stamper -- will be a starter on Vandy's offense. Stamper has 31 career starts under his belt and was a second-team All-SEC pick last year.
--Vandy redshirt freshman CB Joel Caldwell sustained a serious elbow injury Wednesday that is expected to sideline him for several weeks at the least.
--Bobby Johnson's team will open the season at Michigan. Most spots have the 'Dores marked as 25 1/2-point underdogs. During the last two seasons, Vandy owns an 8-1 spread record as an away 'dog with three outright victories.
**Kentucky Wildcats**
--Sophomore LB Braxton Kelley was leading UK in tackles (44) before tearing his ACL in a 13-7 win against Mississippi State last year. Despite playing only seven games, Kelley garnered first-team Freshman All-SEC honors. "He was a little shaky the first day," UK head coach Rich Brooks told CatsPause.com. "It looks like he's getting more comfortable with each progressive day."
--Another UK player recovering from off-season surgery is senior center Matt McCutchan, who hasn't touched the practice field yet. The Wildcats are hoping McCutchan will be ready for the season opener at Louisville.
--Kentucky posted a 5-2 spread record as a double-digit underdog last year.
**B.E.'s Bonus Nuggets**
--I've had such a tough time deciding who to pick to win the SEC East. I think Florida has the best overall talent, but the Gators have the toughest schedule. I think Tennessee is going to bounce back, but it's so hard to put faith in QB Erik Ainge. Georgia has emerged as the premier program in this division the last few years, but QB is a major question mark and the Dawgs still can't beat Florida. South Carolina has the best coach -- by far! -- and the easiest schedule, but the 'Cocks are probably still a year away. Therefore, I'm going with the Gators to win the East and return to the SEC Championship Game for the first time since thumping Auburn in 2000.
--Auburn will beat the Gators in the regular season and the SEC Championship Game.
--I still say South Carolina beats Georgia and starts the season with a 6-1 record, but a three-game stretch (vs. Tenn, vs. Ark, at Fla.) will sink SC's division title hopes.
--Georgia Tech's star WR Calvin Johnson left Wednesday's morning's practice with a leg injury, but it was not believed to be serious.
Brian Edwards can be reached via email at briane@vegasinsider.com.
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