Swing Players - SEC West

Here is the 2nd installment for the SEC, this time of the Western Division persuasion.







-WR Tim Hawthorne (rFR), 6'3", 207: Highly touted prospect two seasons ago; with two other mediocre receivers with him, someone has to step up to be Cox's go to guy; Prechae Rodriguez has been a disappointment, and Roderiqus Smith averaged 2 catches per game in 2006; Hawthorne and Smith could be potentially dynamic together, but neither of them have proven much on the field, if anything; Auburn's 173 passing yards per game was their worst total this decade.; must replace draft pick Courtney Taylor.

-OT Lee Ziemba (FR), 6'7", 295: One of the most sought after OL recruits this past winter; with Brandon Cox throwing as a southpaw, Ziemba gets the opportunity to protect his QB's blind side as a true freshman; expect to see Derrick Harvey, Antwain Robinson, and Tyson Jackson to be opposite Ziemba this fall - can a true freshman hold off these 3 draft picks?

-RB Ben Tate (SO), 5'11", 215: Highly touted prospect in 2006, played a bit last season - 54 carries, but 7.3 ypc; will get the bulk of the carries over Brad Lester; Lester is best suited as a backup, and Tate will need to shoulder the load for the entire offense; unlike last season, the Tigers cannot afford a lackluster season from their feature back; has 4 new starters on the line, so he needs to make things happen by himself sometimes.







-QB Matt Flynn (SR), 6'3", 228: Everyone remembers the 40-3 drubbing he helped lead against Miami in the Peach Bowl following the 2005 season; it could have been lightning in a bottle or a sign of the future; the defense is National Title caliber, but the offense still have some questions - mostly Flynn; he went 12-20 for 133 yards, 2 touches and a pick - no clues there, either; should have ample targets at WR, enough time to look around via a stud OL, and a decent running game.

-FS Danny McCray (SO), 6'1", 205: Has the unenviable task of trying to replace top tackler and top 10 pick Laron Landry; the defense is studly everywhere, except his FS spot; he did have 30 tackles and an interception as a true freshman, so he has some experience; he basically needs to play well enough to where there won't be a glaring weakness on the LSU defense.

-RB Keiland Williams (SO), 5'11", 223: Best back on the team last year; really needs to separate himself from Scott and Broussard to provide consistency for the offense - no more musical chairs at HB; if LSU can't create a running game, it might not matter if Flynn plays well - you can stop a one dimensional attack.







-RB Terry Grant (rFR), 5'9", 184: Played the best ball of all the backs in the spring; Jimmy Johns has been disappointing this offseason, and Grant was a pretty highly touted prospect out of high school; will need to be good enough to keep defenses honest - Alabama will have the best WR duo in the conference along with an improving QB; Darby averaged only 4 yards per carry, a disappointment for a usually strong Bama rushing attack.

-CB Eric Gray (SR), 6'2", 188: Unheralded senior who has played over 300 snaps in his career at Alabama; if he doesn't show up, teams will simply throw away from star CB Simeon Castille, negating his talents; returning starting FS Marcus Carter wasn't impressive last season and they'll have a JUCO starter at SS - Gray needs to not only play well, but show senior leadership.

-NT Lorenzo Washington (SO), 6'4", 269: Played in 7 games as a freshman, but not many snaps; as everyone knows, in Saban's (and every) 3-4 defense, you need a hole-clogging, 2-gap defensive tackle - Washington doesn't fit the mold quite yet; 269 pounds is a bit light for an SEC nose tackle - has to reek havoc on the line for LBs Prince Hall, Keith Saunders, and others to make tackles; thrown into the fire.







-OT Jose Valdez (JR), 6'5", 307: Will attempt to replace 3 year starter and 2nd round pick Tony Ugoh; has 2 other new starters on the line with him, but he has the LT spot, the most important; McFadden and Jones are amazing, but they also benefitted from a bulldozing offensive line that loses 3 uglies; with Casey Dick starting at QB, he'll need to do his part to keep passing situations from getting worse; defenses will put 8 or even 9 players in the box, so he'll need to get close to the same push Ugoh was getting - tough task.

-OLB Freddy Fairchild (SO), 6'3", 220: Started 9 games in 2005, but missed all but 2 games in 2006 due to an ACL injury; there isn't much experienced depth behind him; the secondary should be good and the DL should be decent, so the LBs stand out as a glaring hole on the defense; attempting to replace 1st Team All SEC LB Sam Olajubutu.

-QB Casey Dick (JR), 6'2", 216: Will not have the luxuries of last season - defensive coordinators have an entire year to gameplan against McFadden, Jones, and Monk; Dick completed only 49% of his passes, was lucky to have 9 touchdowns; with more pressure on him now than last year, he'll have to make some big throws to win games - I don't think he can.







-QB Michael Henig (JR), 6'1", 190: Awful 2006 - 44% completion percentage, 7 TDs to 9 INTs; getting pushed by highly regarded JUCO Josh Riddell; talented RB Anthony Dixon needs help; has talent at WR; worst team completion percentage this decade; has 4 starters back on the OL, so no excuses.

-DE Avery Hannibal (SR), 6'1", 245: Only 4 sacks in 3 seasons; needs to provide a semi-consistent rush, as Titus Brown will be double teamed all season long; being pushed by highly touted Jazzmen Guy; MSU had a good rush defense last year - with 2 new CB starters, the passing defense will be in trouble; senior leadership is underrated.

-OT Michael Brown (JR), 6'5", 300: MSU allowed 29 sacks last year, but only 6 in the 5 games he started at LT; needs to watch Henig's blind side to give the poor QB some time to throw; was ineligible for first 6 games in 2006, when MSU allowed 22 sacks; line returns four starters so should be much improved.







-QB Brent Schaeffer (SR), 6'2", 205: Coach O's prize catch last winter, but hasn't done anything at Mississippi; completed 47% of his passes; only ran for 100 yards in 12 starts; attitude problem; being beaten out by a walk-on; has to take advantage of 4 returning starters on the OL and a good RB in Green-Ellis; for Ole Miss to have a chance, Schaeffer has to win the starting job back and play like he was once projected to.

-DT Jeremy Garrett (SR), 6'1", 290: Started 3 games in 2006 before injury, and had 3 TFL and 26 tackles - good sign; Ole Miss created only 14 sacks last season; line returns 4 starters; 3 new starters at LB means the DL is of the utmost importance in both creating pressure on the QB and stuffing holes on runs; senior leadership should be helpful to his trenchmates.

-MLB Tony Fein (JR), 6'2", 245: JUCO signee who spent the last year in Iraq with the Army; he should be an emotional, mature leader in a corps of 3 new starters at LB; oh, and he has to replace some guy named Patrick Willis; the DL and DBs should be good to great, so the LBs need to get good, quickly.


So, where is Brandon Cox for Auburn? I don't think he's a swing player. He played mediocre in 2006 and Auburn won 11 games. He was good in 2005, and they won 9. There are certainly other players who could make these lists, so go ahead and leave some comments on guys who you think could change the SEC West race.

Swing Players: SEC East

This series is something I literally just thought of. We all know what swing games are - games on the schedule that are "iffy" for the team to win, and will decide the fate of the season. We also all know the impact players from each conference - it's not hard to make a list that includes Darren McFadden, John David Booty, Desean Jackson, Brian Brohm, and so forth. Why shouldn't we "care" about the impacts? Because these players will almost 100% likely be constants for their teams. We already know they're going to be good. Every team has a few players who have raw talent but are one of the following: young, underachieving, or coming off an injury. I'll outline 3 players from each team that will tip the scales for the season.






- DT Demonte Bolden (JR), 6'6", 290: Extremely highly-rated out of high school, had 4 TFL last season; UT's run defense was awful after Justin Harrell went down, and Bolden will need to live up to his hype for the line to get better. Bolden is in the mold of former stud linemen at UT.

-WR Kenny O'Neal (JR), 6'0", 195: JUCO signee from California; played at FSU as a true freshman and gained over 600 all purpose yards as a true freshmen there; one signee from a highly touted 2007 receiver class; his experience makes him a swing player for UT, he'll need to try to replace Robert Meachem; this author thinks he'll have a real shot at 1,000+ yards.

-CB Eric Berry (FR), 5'11", 195: The #1 high school cornerback; already expected to start this fall for Tennessee; UT lost 3 starters from an average secondary, and will possibly rely on 3 players from the 2007 class to start (Berry, McKenzie, Willingham); with Hefney locking down a safety spot, UT needs a lockdown corner more than they need McKenzie at safety; if Berry plays even plays to 80% of his potential as a freshman, UT will be fine in the back.







-MLB Brandon Spikes (SO), 6'3", 241: Highly rated prospect a year ago; played in 9 games last season as a true freshman, so there is experience; has the big Brandon Siler shoes to fill, and with 9 new starters on defense, he'll be one of many swing players (but we had to limit this thing to 3 per team); will face strong running games in 2007 from Georgia, Tennessee, and South Carolina, so he'll need to lead that new corps of linebackers.

-DT Javier Estopinan (JR), 6'1", 270: Estopinan and fellow DT Clint McMillian are both undersized and have huge shoes to fill; Estopinan actually started 2 games last season before an injury, so he has some experience as well; with 3 new starters on the line and 3 new starting LBs, he'll need to clog some gaps up front - if not, Florida will get pushed around early in the SEC season.

-FS Kyle Jackson (SR), 6'1", 201: Jackson, a new starter, but a senior, will need to lead by example for this young defense; learned behind Reggie Nelson; was highly regarded coming out of high school; great size; started 12 games in 2004 and 2005 combined; if he isn't ready to lead the defense, they will struggle to find an identity.







-WR Mohamed Massaquoi (JR), 6'2", 198: This could really be Massaquoi or Sean Bailey, as UGA's receivers have underperformed for years, it seems; highly touted recruit, hasn't lived up; chronic case of the dropsies, possibly no vaccine; 4 TDs in 2 seasons; will need to provide consistency for a young QB; remember, Robert Meachem had a similiar two year stint before his breakout JR year.

-OLB Darius Dewberry (SO), 6'3", 230: Could go to JR WLB Ellerbe; replacing a solid contributor; highly rated prospect; needs to be a beast in run support, or UGA is in a heap of trouble; is the only highly rated LB in the 2 deep at LB

-QB Matthew Stafford (SO), 6'3", 237: Showed signed at the end of the season, but you can't forget the awful stretch he had; with only 2 returning starters from the worst UGA line in 3 seasons, Stafford will have to beat some teams with his arm, is he ready?; he is now THE man in Athens, no excuses; first time he's played in Tuscaloosa and Knoxville.







-WR Larry Freeman (JR), 6'1", 209: JUCO signee in for spring practice, thus, expected to be ready; has the fun task of trying to replace Sidney Rice (two time 1,000 yard receiver); without a #2 WR, defenses will key in on the emerging Kenny McKinley; only needs to provide around 750-800 yards to keep the passing game effective; due to only 2 returning starters on the OL, Mitchell won't have all the time in the world to throw - Freeman will need to be trusted.

-OG James Thompson (SR), 6'3", 320: Needs to step up after 3 years of seeing slight glimpes of action; the 2006 rushing game was the best in 5 seasons, but loses 3 starters; if Thompson doesn't play well, he could be replaced by a DL from 2006; has to bring the nasty attitude to help spring Cory Boyd.

-OG Garrett Anderson (SO), 6'4", 300: Same boat as Thompson; 4 starts in 2006, as well as playing in all 13 games - will be counted on to make the natural progression in his 2nd season; like Thompson, needs to provide time for Mitchell and holes for Boyd; Carolina has the defense to win the East, but everything relies on the OL.







-OT Josh Winchell (OT), 6'3", 305: JUCO signee expected to start from day 1; will have two scrimmages before the big game against Louisville; Kentucky had their worst running game in over 5 years, at least, even with star Rafael Little in the backfield.

-OG Jess Beets (OG), 6'2", 277: Another JUCO signedd slated to start in September; seems a bit undersized on paper; same story as Winchell - must help improve a wretched OL; Kentucky, even with a mobile QB like Woodson, allowed 39 sacks last season; could get bulldozed by premier SEC tackles.

-DT Corey Peters (SO), 6'3", 290: Showed some promise last season in limited action; will need to help clog holes with fellow tackle Myron Pryor; UK allowed 5 ypc last season and had the worst rush defense in the conference.







-WR George Smith (JR), 6'3", 195: Earl Bennett is no longer the best kept secret in the country, so Smith will need to step up to take some attention; Nickson should improve mentally going into his JR season, so he needs more than 1 consistent option; 4.4 speed; 44 catches in 2 seasons, needs to have that many or more in 2007.

-OT Brian Stamper (SR), 6'5", 295: He's not on this list for any other reason than that he's returning from an injury; before he went down, Vandy ran for 240 yards against a great Arkansas front; after his injury, they struggled against Mississippi and Tennessee, two below average rush defenses; also allowed 10 of their 19 sacks in a 4 game stretch without Stamper; with him, they start 5 seniors and could end up special, the best in recent memory.

-QB Chris Nickson (JR), 6'2", 210: Had a decent season, but has to progress; 15 TDs need to grow, 13 INTs need to drop; 20% of his passing yards came in their game against Kentucky (446 of 2085); needs to take heat off capable RB Jackson-Garrison.



For some of these teams, you could mention an entire 2-deep of guys who could be swing players. Every team has holes, but the players listed above are probably the most important in deciding the fate for their teams in 2007.