SEC East: What we learned from spring football

Five things we learned about the SEC East during spring football practice:

1. Kirby Smart has big goals

Georgia’s first-year coach is talking himself into a very small corner in the first few months of his tenure in Athens. After the team drew an overflow crowd of more than 93,000 for the spring game, the former Bulldogs player said: “It speaks volumes for where Georgia is headed and what Georgia can do. I have always said, ‘Why not us?’ ”

Smart talks like Steve Spurrier when he took over South Carolina’s program in 2005. The difference is Smart’s taking over a program that won at least 10 games in four of the past five years. His predecessor, Mark Richt, averaged 9.7 wins in 15 seasons in Athens.

Smart has Georgia fans believing those were the dormant days. The only way to back up that kind of talk is with a spot in the College Football Playoff, and soon.

2. Tennessee’s offense might be a problem

The Volunteers will have the best rushing attack in the division thanks to Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. The passing game didn’t help much in 2015, but it looked this spring like that might change.

Quarterback Josh Dobbs is a senior and should be the best signal-caller in the division if not the league, and two wide receivers stepped up in April. Preston Williams was the offense’s most improved player, and JUCO transfer Jeff George showed explosive athletic ability.

3. Drew Barker will get his shot

Former South Carolina recruiting target Drew Baker was named Kentucky’s starting quarterback coming out of spring practice. A former schoolboy star in the Bluegrass State, Barker was 12 of 18 for 156 yards and two touchdowns in the spring game.

Barker was suspended in 2014 after an incident with an air pistol on campus and redshirted that season. He mostly backed up Patrick Towles in 2015, completing 35 of 70 passes in fill-in duty.

4. Luke Del Rio will start at QB for Florida

The league’s most well-traveled quarterback (and the son of Oakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio) hasn’t been named the starter in Gainesville yet, but all signs say he will be. Del Rio was ranked the No. 2 player in the state of Colorado coming out of high school but chose to walk on at Alabama in 2013. He transferred to Oregon State, where he completed 8 of 18 passes as a freshman reserve in 2014. He then transferred to Florida, where he sat out last season.

Whoever the Gators land on will be a big improvement over Treon Harris, who probably will be a wide receiver. “We’ve got some arm talent at the position and that’s exciting,” coach Jim McElwain said.

5. The Missouri defensive line will still be good

Superstar defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski is gone (as is coach Gary Pinkel and most of the staff), but the Tigers still are going to be fearsome up front. Terry Beckner Jr. and Harold Brantley missed spring practice because of injury, but if both return at full strength, they’ll be the best pass-rushing duo in the SEC.

Nose tackle Josh Augusta also could be a first-team All-SEC type player. End Rickey Hatley had a nice spring but suffered what the Tigers are hoping is a minor knee injury during the spring game.

This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 6:22 PM with the headline "SEC East: What we learned from spring football."