Bergbau » two starting spots, gave up a touchdown pass.POSITIO

This story appears in ESPN College Football 2016, on newsstands now. Order online today!Leonard Fournette,?Nick Chubb,?Chad Kelly,?Myles Garrett?-- the SEC is stacked with stars for 2016.But that makes the lesser-known supporting cast so much more important in getting a leg up on the opposition in the ultra-competitive SEC.Here are the 14 biggest X factors in the SEC for next year:East DivisionTennessee Volunteers: New defensive coordinator Bob Shoop?Tennessees defense never ranked higher than No. 7 in the SEC under John Jancek (2013-15), but Shoop has led top-25 units in total defense in each of the past five years, first at Vanderbilt, then at Penn State. He employs a more aggressive system, which should better leverage the Vols speed, especially with the returns of likely early-round draft picks cornerback Cameron Sutton and linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin. With a team that surrendered three double-digit leads last year, Shoops arrival in Knoxville is just what the scoreboard ordered.Georgia Bulldogs: DT Trenton Thompson?After registering just two sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss in 2015, Georgias defensive line desperately needs a playmaker. Thompson, a sophomore, looks ready to make that leap. His development slowed last year (just 2.5 TFLs and half a sack), but the former five-star prospect screams All-American under coach Kirby Smarts watch.Florida Gators: DT Caleb Brantley?The Gators invaded opposing backfields often in 2015, totaling 101 TFLs, and if that dominance holds steady this fall, Brantley likely will be the catalyst. He showed flashes of pure brilliance in 2015, most notably a five-game stretch in which he registered at least half a tackle for loss in each outing but wasnt always asked to do a ton. That will change in 2016, with Jonathan Bullard and his 17.5 TFLs and 6.5 sacks off to the NFL. Brantley might not be a stat machine (three sacks in 2015), but he is disruptive and athletic.South Carolina Gamecocks: DE Darius English?Coach Will Muschamps first order of business on defense will be to amp up South Carolinas pass rush. Opposing quarterbacks were sacked, hit or under duress on only 22.6 percent of dropbacks in 2015, a rate that put the Gamecocks just outside the Power 5s bottom 10. Be on the lookout for English, who could explode at the hybrid Buck spot. His 4? sacks led South Carolina last year, but allowing the senior to move around more and play standing up or squatting with his hand on the ground should up his value. While hes not the biggest end (6-foot-5, 240 pounds), English has enough straightaway speed to be dominant in his new rusher role.Missouri Tigers: WR Chris Black?The Alabama transfer might just be the dependable safety net that quarterback?Drew Lock needs to get Mizzou humming. Though he never caught fire in Tuscaloosa -- 25 catches for 290 yards in three seasons -- Black is a former 22nd-ranked ESPN 150 prep and is arguably the most talented wideout in Columbia. Consider: Missouri had neither vertical attack (16 catches of 25-plus yards in 2015, tied for 119th in the FBS) nor a single go-to receiver. The Tigers return no one with more than 30 catches or 350 yards last year.Kentucky Wildcats: New offensive coordinator Eddie Gran?Gran, a Cincinnati transplant, has his work cut out for him 86 miles down I-75 in Lexington. The Wildcats have not ranked higher than ninth in the SEC in total offense and scoring since 2010. Last year was especially egregious, with Kentucky throwing six more picks (16) than touchdowns (10). Unlike his predecessors, Gran is not an air-raid disciple, but his success running up-tempo, pass-heavy attacks at prior stops should excite the fans in Kentucky. Last year his Bearcats pass offense gained 359.9 yards per game, sixth most in the country.Vanderbilt Commodores: WR C.J. Duncan?Junior wide receiver Trent Sherfield was a pleasant surprise last season (six games with 50-plus receiving yards), but hell need a castmate. Enter Duncan, who returns after missing all of 2015 with a leg injury. The versatile junior can line up in the backfield, be used in motion or sit down as a normal receiver. That flexibility is gold, not just for Sherfield but for Vandys young quarterback. Kyle Shurmur started five games last year as a true freshman, and though he is certainly the most promising signal-caller of the Derek Mason era, his QBR was 17.3. Attention, C.J.: Shurmur needs playmakers to shoulder the load.West DivisionLSU Tigers:?The linebackers?Former Wisconsin defensive coordinator Dave Aranda and his attacking 3-4 base arrive in Baton Rouge for 2016. The Tigers will be transitioning from last years 4-3, and Arandas scheme, which draws up exotic blitzes from its linebackers, will ask more from the unit in 2016. Speedy defenders like seniors Kendell Beckwith (10 TFLs in 2015) and Duke Riley will help LSUs defensive ends attack the edges.Alabama Crimson Tide: New defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt?Other SEC programs made splashier hires (Bob Shoop to Tennessee, Dave Aranda to LSU), but bringing Pruitt back into the Alabama fold was a no-brainer for head coach Nick Saban. Pruitt cut his teeth in Tuscaloosa before moving on to direct defenses at Florida State (2013) and Georgia (2014-15), where his units ranked top 20 in the nation in scoring and yards per game each year. Alabama has signed 34 ESPN 300 defensive prospects since 2013, so hell have plenty of talent to help ward off any drop-off from the Kirby Smart era.Ole Miss Rebels: LB Rommel Mageo?Mageos decision to take up residence in Oxford as a graduate transfer (Oregon State) is welcome news for the Rebels defense. The linebacker led the Beavers with 87 tackles last year, so hell provide a critical, and immediate, boost to a linebacker unit that loses C.J. Johnson and Denzel Nkemdiche (18 starts and 96 tackles combined in 15) and that needs a playmaking complement to junior DeMarquis Gates.Texas A&M Aggies: The offensive line?In February, head coach Kevin Sumlin brought back Jim Turner for a second stint leading the Aggies offensive line, and hell be entrusted with overhauling a thin, inexperienced unit. Texas A&M surrendered 2.9 sacks per game in 2015, tied for 107th in the nation, so Turners ability to turn around a porous line might just be the key to the Aggies returning to form on offense. In its first year post-Johnny Manziel, A&M maintained a solid 6.3 yards per play (No. 26 in the FBS) but flatlined in 2015 with 5.6 (No. 69).Mississippi State Bulldogs: Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon?Sirmon is the latest to cycle through the Mississippi State revolving door of defensive coordinators and is Dan Mullens sixth coach to hold the spot in eight seasons. The first-time defensive coordinator (he coached linebackers at Tennessee, Washington and USC) will mix in some 3-4 alignments with the Bulldogs 4-3 base, including a new hybrid end/linebacker spot he calls viper, which should leverage the teams wealth of defensive ends.Auburn Tigers: LB Tre Williams?All three starting linebackers from 2015 are gone (Kris Frost, Cassanova McKinzy, Justin Garrett: 593 combined tackles since 2012), so Williams returns to The Plains as the units most experienced Tiger. The departing starters predicted last year that Williams, who came up with 55 tackles and four TFLs in 2015, was ready to take over the D. Hell need to if Auburn has any hope of resurrecting a dormant rush defense. The Tigers allowed 4.5 yards per carry last year, 11th in the SEC.Arkansas Razorbacks: The running backs?Sophomore Rawleigh Williams III?is coming back from a scary neck injury, former QB and now-WR Damon Mitchell is still learning the intricacies of the position, and true freshmen Devwah Whaley and T.J. Hammonds are promising (2016 ESPN 300 preps) but unproven. That leaves senior Kody Walker to take on an expanded role after backing up Alex Collins last year. Walker rushed for at least one TD in four of Arkansas final seven games -- production that will be critical for a team that ran the ball on 57.8 percent of its plays in 2015 (No. 14 in the Power 5). Cheap Air Max 90 . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. Wholesale Air Max 95 . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. http://www.airmax2018outlet.us/ . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Sale Air Max Outlet . The Masters champion and winner of last weeks Australian PGA has a three-round total of 14-under 199 at Royal Melbourne. "Im in a really good position for tomorrow," Scott said. Cheap Air Max .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tom Brady appeared to be in regular season form Friday night.Unfortunately for the New England Patriots, they may not see that form in a meaningful game until Oct. 9 when they face the Cleveland Browns since the three-time Super Bowl MVP will serve a four-game suspension to start the season.Brady looked sharp in his preseason debut though, throwing a 33-yard touchdown pass to Chris Hogan in helping the Patriots to a 19-17 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers on Friday night.Brady relieved Jimmy Garoppolo late in the first quarter and completed a 37-yard pass to Aaron Dobson on his first play from scrimmage, leading to a field goal. On his second drive Brady heaved a perfectly placed over-the-shoulder pass to Hogan down the right sideline for a 9-0 lead. Bradys other two drives failed to produce points.Brady made a quick escape after the game and did not talk to reporters.Weve moved ahead in a lot of areas, but were certainly not where we need to be, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. I dont think any player is, any coach is, Im sure no team is at this point. Were all making progress, which is good. Weve just got to keep our foot on the gas and make it as quickly as we can.While Brady was on the mark, league MVP Cam Newton struggled mightily in his most extensive playing time of the preseason. Newton was intercepted twice and the Panthers failed to get any points on his eight first-half possessions. Overall, the Panthers scored just three points in 10 Newton-led drives.The sixth-year quarterback was high on some passes and didnt get much help from his receivers, who had problems getting separation and dropped four passes, including one by Brenton Bersin on a fourth-and-2 at midfield.Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he was frustrated, but if we lower our passes and catch the ball, then we are where we need to be.Newton called the loss eye opening.We need better production from everybody including myself, Newton said. I have to be more mature and check the ball down and let guys do what they do.We will be better from this.New England shut down the leagues highest-scoring offense from a year ago, intercepted Derek Anderson and allowed only one passing play of more than 15 yards in the first half.Garoppolo, expected to start the first four games for the Patriots while Brady sserves a suspension for his role in Deflategate, returned in the second quarter but couldnt get anything going.ddddddddddddIn the third quarter he rolled out of the pocket while under pressure and missed an open receiver whod gotten behind the defense. His six drives resulted in no points, although Stephen Gostkowski missed a 30-yard field goal on the New Englands opening possession.Overall, there were some good things we did tonight, but we have to get the little things corrected or theyre going to bite us in the butt, Garoppolo said.QB COMPARISONPatriots: Brady finished 3 of 9 for 76 yards with one touchdown, while Garoppolo was 9 of 15 for 57 yards.Panthers: Newton was 13 of 29 for 100 yards with two interceptions and ran once for 9 yards.ROOKIE WATCHPatriots: QB Jacoby Brissett connected on a 12-yard TD pass to DeAndre Carter to give New England a 16-3 lead late in the third quarter. That was set up by a 60-yard punt return by rookie Cyrus Jones.Panthers: CBs James Bradberry and Daryl Worley fared well. Veteran Bene Benwikere, who is competing for one of those two starting spots, gave up a touchdown pass.POSITION BATTLESPatriots: Call it even at running back, Tyler Gaffney had 32 yards on six carries and LaGarrette Blount had 26 yards on five carries, including a 17-yard run in which he hurdled Panthers safety Tre Boston as he broke into the secondary.Panthers: Rookie punter Kasey Redfern had a pair of 60-plus yard punts, while veteran Mike Scifres shanked a 21-yard punt and left with an injured knee.INJURY UPDATEPatriots: The Patriots reported no injuries.Panthers: Pro Bowl tight end Greg Olsen sat out his second straight game while recovering from back spasms. Guards Trai Turner (shoulder), Andrew Norwell (ankle) and linebacker Jeremy Cash (possible concussion) left with injuries.MISSED CHANCESGostkowski missed field goals of 52 and 30 yards.IN YOUR WEBBJoe Webb threw two late fourth quarter TD passes to sixth-string tight end Marcus Lucas to make the score close.THATS A GOOD KNIGHTThree former Rutgers players came up with interceptions for the Patriots: Logan Ryan, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '