Will Arch Manning help the Texas Longhorns take another step toward a national title? Will DJ Lagway and the Florida Gators keep improving in 2025? Get the answers to these questions and more in our SEC football preview, which includes 4 futures bets.
Expectations are high in Austin for this Fall and rightfully so. The anointed one, Arch Manning, will finally get his chance to start and run the offense for Coach Sarkisian. After back-to-back CFP semi-final appearances, many believe this will be the year the Longhorns finally break through and make the title game. That said, things will not be easy as they face defending national champions Ohio State in the season opener in the Horseshoe.
Manning will have a returning 1,000-yard rusher in the backfield with Quintrevion Wisner. The addition of Stanford transfer Emmett Mosley to go along with both Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore Jr will give Manning decent playmakers on the outside. Gunnar Helm will be sorely missed at tight end, but Sark went out and nabbed Jack Endries in the transfer portal from Cal, who should be a threat.
While Manning brings many of the storylines to the offensive side of the ball, it is the defense that has been the strong point of this Texas team and will continue to be this season. Their defensive ends are top in the nation, and Anthony Hill Jr may be the most talented linebacker in the country. It is likely going to be the little things that Manning can do with his legs and IQ that will be the difference this season. The defense will allow him to continue his progression in a non-forced way.
Gunner Stockton will be taking over the reins for Kirby Smart this season. He will be part of a large crop of new faces as the Bulldogs return just 7 starters. However, there is no alarm sounding as they did a good job in the portal and with their freshman class.
Zachariah Branch from USC and Noah Thomas from Texas A&M are 2 of the biggest names that Kirby grabbed. They will be tasked with helping Stockton in his aerial attack. After their 2 cupcake games against Marshall and Austin Peay, the Bulldogs will be tested on the road in Tennessee and then at home against rival Bama in their next 2 games.
One of the big question marks for this Bulldog team is in the backfield. After being ranked 15th last year, the backfield will look to improve back to their top 10 status of years past. Bo Walker, Nate Frazier, and even Chauncey Bowens will have opportunities to be the bell cow. They will be running behind a completely revamped offensive line.
On defense, they will rely on a strong interior defensive line and a stout secondary. There will be a 5-man rotation at linebacker, but the edge rushers will be the biggest part left in the air. If they can progress early, the defense will be formidable and make the Bulldogs a contender once again.
The only reason the Gators have such a short win total this season is due to their schedule. However, Coach Napier knows how to fight through adversity, as he proved last season. Many had them counted out, and Napier as good as fired before he was able to turn things around and pick up big wins over Ole Miss and LSU. Health is going to be a big part of the season, and the return of DJ Lagway is the main piece of the puzzle.
Lagway will be a Heisman candidate, and he will have plenty of weapons at his disposal. The true freshmen duo of Dallas Wilson and Vernell Brown will only bolster a receiver core that also returns Eugene Wilson. The backfield has Ja’Kobi Jackson and Jadan Baugh who can both break big runs with their speed and run tough with their physicality.
One sneaky piece could be a tight end with Hayden Hansen, who at 6’8” 275, could be a beast and punish secondaries if able to get free. Linebacker will be the strength of the defense, but the group upfront and the secondary will need to make strides if they are going to contend with the top dogs in the conference.
Unlike the Gators, this Ole Miss team will have a much easier schedule. Coach Kiffin and the Rebels should be chomping at the bit after missing a chance at the playoff last season. While the faces will be much different this season, the replacement process was much of the same. Kiffin hit the portal hard and has a ton of talent on both sides of the ball.
Jaxson Dart is no longer running the show, but Austin Simmons showed he has the capability to run things after upsetting Georgia last year. De’Zhaun Stribling from Oklahoma State and Harrison Wallace from Penn State make up the large part of the wide out room.
They will join returner Cayden Lee, who put up nearly 900 yards as a sophomore. The defensive line is nearly all new, but the talk about the replacement group has been all positive. The secondary is a bit of a concern with Trey Amos gone, but the pressure up front should be able to alleviate some of those concerns.