ARE THE VOLS THE FAVORITE IN THE SEC EAST?

All of those summer, preseason college football magazines will be hitting the newsstands soon and most will have the Tennessee Volunteers favored to win the SEC East. On paper, they return more starters than both Georgia and Florida and they have a proven, quality quarterback.

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Tennessee running back Jalen Hurd (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

But can Butch Jones and his staff get these guys coached up? I’ve got some doubts, especially with those dark clouds circling Knoxville regarding the sexual assault charges. Something serious like that could get a coach fired and divide the team.

Recently, Coach Jones mentioned how Georgia should be getting some preseason love in the East. Imagine that. Butch must not be real comfortable with the high expectations. He’d rather see the ‘Dogs getting hyped, even if he wasn’t spot on with his analysis.

Butch told the media at the SEC Meetings in Destin that the ‘Dogs were loaded on the line of scrimmage. Say what? That’s not true. In fact, that’s the area where Kirby is committed to upgrading in the next couple of recruiting classes. Right now, the Georgia staff is trying to figure out how to cover those spots up. I’m still chuckling at Butch and his analysis.

As I see it, both the Gators and Bulldogs have enough talent to compete for the East title. But, Tennessee should be the favorite, even though they Vols have a brutal stretch early to midseason.

Florida and Georgia need a quarterback to step up and play good football. Sounds like the Gators are happy with what Luke Del Rio did in the spring. Jacob Eason flashed some skill in the G-Day exhibition. If those two can throw it around successfully, both teams are capable of breaking through, if Tennessee slips.

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