Mike Gillislee grabbed headlines at last year’s Southeastern Conference Media Days after predicting that he would rack up 1,500 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2012.
OK, they were goals, not predictions. But for the sake of this column, just bear with me.
Although Gillislee fell short of both marks, he enjoyed a successful season as a first-time starter, becoming the first Florida player to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since 2004.
In the spirit of Gilly’s confidence and ambition last year, I will make some bold predictions regarding how the SEC will play out this season ahead of this week’s SEC Media Days.
And just like Mike, I’ll also probably fall a little short. So, uh, cut me some slack.
I’ll go with eight predictions because that’s the number of consecutive national titles the SEC will have won at the end of the 2013 campaign.
1. South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney will sack everyone and everything. Even you. Nobody is safe. Why are you still sitting there? Run!
2. Johnny Manziel will finally come around — again! — and realize Gators coach Will Muschamp was right all along. College Station is a bad place to be, especially considering that the Heisman Trophy winner has nowhere to go but down. (Also, the nearest Zaxby’s is 72.3 miles away in Spring, Texas. Wait a minute. There are two Zaxby’s in Spring! What the hell is he still doing in College Station? Also, Josh Beckett and Jim Parsons are from Spring.)
When Manziel tweeted his desire to leave Aggieland in June before promptly deleting the post, he was likely finally beginning to feel the pressure. You can only ride the kind of high he’s been living on since December for so long before everything evens out.
Losing Kliff Kingsbury and Luke Joeckel (Go Jags!) will hurt, and it doesn’t help that the biggest target in college football is painted on Johnny Football’s back. Good luck in Round 2 against those SEC defenses. You’re going to need it.
3. Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray will represent the SEC in New York at the Heisman Trophy presentation in December.
Murray will shine in his senior season surrounded by a variety of playmakers such as Todd Gurley, Malcolm Mitchell and Keith Marshall. There’s no telling how the Bulldogs’ new-look defense will fare in 2013, but the Murray-led offense is poised to put up numbers as big as Clowney’s hit on former Michigan running back Vincent Smith.
4. Clowney will also be in New York come December. He’ll either be up on stage with Murray or emerging from New York Harbor Godzilla-style and wreaking havoc on the Big Apple. I lean toward the latter. Actually, I’ll be running from it.
5. The Gators are a year away from Atlanta. There’s plenty to like about their incredibly talented defense, but I believe the group needs a year to come together and mature under the leadership of new defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin. As for the offense, the rushing attack will be one of the SEC’s best, thanks to a much-improved offensive line and a bevy of talented ball carriers. As for Jeff Driskel and the pass-catchers, I’ll believe it when I see it.
6. LSU will win 10 or more games. Also, death and taxes.
7. James Franklin will leave Vanderbilt after an eight-win season to take a better job in another conference (Texas should wise up and grab him before USC kicks Lane Kiffin to the curb). Franklin has been scary good with limited resources at Vandy, earning back-to-back bowl berths and winning nine (!) games last season. He’s too good to stay in Nashville much longer.
8. Alabama will win its third straight national title. He might be Satan himself (What’s up, Tim Davis?), but Nick Saban is simply the best. After the Crimson Tide wins the crystal football, people will debate whether the SEC is actually the nation’s best conference or if the league merely earns its prestige as the home of a modern dynasty. Of course it’s the former, but Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith need something to yell about.
Contact Joe Morgan at joemorgan@alligator.org.
Quarterback Johnny Manziel (2) eludes Josh Evans during UF’s 20-17 win at Texas A&M on Sept. 8.
