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Ten years ago, if you wanted to know who won the school football offseason, all you had to do was make a stop at your favorite scouting site in mid-February and take a look at which systems were signing up for the most sensible scouting lessons.
Now, it’s not that simple. The transfer categories tell only part of the story of the offseason. Winning the trade portal is important. The same goes for retention and reassembly.
Which teams have had the most success this offseason?Here’s my ranking of the five most sensible SEC offseason winners:
Brian Kelly’s review deserves praise. He sacked Missouri defensive coordinator Blake Baker and Texas defensive line coach Bo Davis to lead a review after LSU’s defense prevented the Tigers from reaching the high school football playoffs despite winning the Heisman Trophy as a quarterback. Baker and Davis were instrumental in Missouri and Texas having top 25 defenses last season.
Kelly has also hired the No. 7 recruiting chic in the country, and while he hasn’t researched the quantity on the move portal, he’s gained quality. Wide receivers Zavion Thomas (Mississippi State) and CJ Daniels (Liberty), as well as protection Gilbert Garden (Texas A)
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A workout replacement is a recipe for an exodus from the team, and the Aggies were no exception after firing Jimbo Fisher in November. But the Aggies came out of the roster merry-go-round better than most. New trainer Mike Elko maintained a top 20 exploration. elegance and then complemented it with the elegance of movement number 2. That included an instant effect on in-conference additions, such as linebacker Scooby Williams of Florida.
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Still, the Aggies report more production than any other SEC team, according to ESPN’s complex metrics. Elko has retained and added enough skill for FanDuel to include the Aggies with over/under 81/2 wins for 2024. This bet line reflects Elko’s work. I also like his hiring of offensive coordinator Collin Klein from Kansas State.
Lane Kiffin made it clear years ago that he intended to win with moves rather than sign and advance recruitment. Going in that direction means you can’t go through an offseason where you fail to make a top-tier move. There’s no shortage of “Portal King. ” He made one of the best plays in the country. It’s stocked with plug-and-play defensive talent, an organization led by Aggies star Nolen.
Not even Kiffin bats 1.000 in the transfer market. Top Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins transferred to Ohio State. But, the Rebels gained more than they lost.
By keeping Pete Golding, Ole Miss will have the same defensive coordinator in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 2020-21. Combine Golding with the movement skills gathered and this will be Ole Miss’s most productive defense during Kiffin’s tenure.
Quinn Ewers eschewing the NFL Draft for another season is a win for Steve Sarkisian. Thanks in part to Ewers’ return, Texas A&M is the SEC’s only team that returns more production than Texas. The Longhorns are positioned to smoothly transition to the SEC and vie for a spot in the conference championship game.
Texas joined Oregon and Ohio State as the only systems to signal a top-10 exploration elegance and a top-10 movement elegance. The Longhorns have avoided any crippling start of movement while adding an impact on players like wide receivers Isaiah Bond (Alabama). , Silas Bolden (Oregon) and Matthew Golden (Houston).
The Longhorns’ offense is poised for a national championship appearance, but they’ll want to prove they’re strong enough on the defensive front after some remarkable starts.
Kirby Smart ruled the offseason and once again put the Bulldogs on the short list of groups with the best chance of winning the national championship.
Let’s start with the drafting: The Bulldogs signed the number one slate in the country. There are no surprises there. Smart is the country’s go-to scout, especially with Nick Saban retired. Georgian elegance included five five-star clients in defense. This elegance resembles the elegance characteristic of Georgia in 2019. Many of those rookies starred in the first episode of Smart. National Championship Team.
On the staffing front, Smart retained coordinators Mike Bobo and Glenn Schumann and plundered Travaris Robinson from Alabama to assist Schumann in running the defense.
Smart also has a more active portal than the previous one on the move, settling on some of the more sensible talents, adding running back Trevor Etienne (Fla. ) and receivers Colbie Young (Miami) and London Humphreys (Vanderbilt).
If championships are won in the offseason, then Georgia just positioned itself to reclaim the crown.
Blake Toppmeyer is an SEC columnist for USA TODAY. Email BToppmeyer@gannett. com and him on Twitter @btoppmeyer.
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This article originally published on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Football SEC: Offseason winners come with Lane Kiffin, Kirby Smart, LSU