17 CFB Position Battles to Follow in 2017 (SEC teams listed)

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Auburn – Wide Receiver

Darius Slayton vs. Nate Craig-Myers vs. Kyle Davis vs. Eli Stove vs. Jason Smith vs. Ryan Davis vs. etc

Leading wide receiver Tony Stevens (487 yards) is gone, and what remains in his wake is a lot of talented younger players with plenty to prove. Auburn’s often inconsistent 2016 passing attack kept numbers down, but the fact is no returning Auburn wideout reached the 300-yard mark a year ago.

With Jarrett Stidham likely to snag the starting quarterback job (incumbent Sean White is out for the spring), the Tigers will be equipped to throw more frequently in 2017.

Davis was expected to emerge as a potential No. 1 threat, but he’s missed the entire spring for “some personal business” per head coach Gus Malzahn. Slayton was effective a year ago, but recovery from a hernia injury has slowed him down. Even former “Last Chance U” star James Franklin is working at wide receiver, so the Tigers have plenty of options. They just have plenty of questions to go along with those options, too.

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Texas A&M – Quarterback

Jake Hubenak vs. Kellen Mond vs. Nick Starkel

It’s a critical year for Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M. Unfortunately for him, the Aggie quarterback room hasn’t been this unsettled since Sumlin tabbed Johnny Manziel to start prior to the 2012 season.

The five-star quarterbacks (Kyle Allen, Kyler Murray) are gone as is the known quantity transfer (Trevor Knight). What's left is a battle between former junior college transfer Jake Hubenak (1,283 yards, 9 TDs and 3 INTs career) and a pair of freshmen – Kellen Mond and Nick Starkel.

Mond is the most highly-touted of the trio as the third-ranked dual-threat passer in the 2017 class. After playing a year at IMG, Mond is on campus and ready to compete for the starting job. Starkel, a three-star prospect in the 2016 class, has a year advantage over Mond in terms of work in the playbook. Hubenak, meanwhile, is a solid but not game-altering passer. There will be plenty of offensive skill talent around whoever wins the job, but it’s the quarterback that will determine the ceiling for the Aggie attack.

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Florida – Quarterback

Luke Del Rio vs. Redshirt Freshmen

Florida might be back-to-back SEC East winners, but a run of less-than-stellar quarterback play has hampered its ability to compete in the upper echelon of college football under Jim McElwain.

Del Rio, a rising junior, struggled when healthy last season completing just 56.7 percent of his passes and throwing one interception for every touchdown (8 TDs, 8 INTs). The Gators need better play under center and redshirt freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask hope to help Florida solve that issue. Franks, a top-60 player in the 2016 class, is considered the future at the position, but he’s still a developing passer with an occasionally jerky motion. Trask is also in the mix, but he didn’t even start at Manvel High School in Texas – he sat behind Houston Cougars athlete D'Eriq King.

Somebody needs to emerge for the Gators this offseason. With Del Rio out for the spring due to shoulder surgery, the freshman will have every opportunity.

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Texas A&M – Quarterback

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Georgia – Offensive Line

Replacing Three Starters (So a lot)

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LSU – Edge Rusher

Andre Anthony vs. Sci Martin vs. Rahssan Thornton

This position isn’t really open, per say, but with the absence of Arden Key, the Tigers must find out what they have behind him this spring. Key occupies arguably the most important spot on LSU's defense, and whoever emerges from this group will play a lot regardless in 2017. Both Anthony, who wasn’t eligible a year ago, and Thornton were Top247 recruits in the 2016 class, while Martin was an under-the-radar prospect many schools came at late that cycle.

Key led the SEC in sacks per game a year ago, and the Tigers need someone down the pipe to replace him.

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