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Let the games begin. College football is around the corner and talking season serves as the unofficial kickoff for the upcoming season.
Down in Atlanta, another edition of SEC Media Days begins next week with a State of the Conference address from Commissioner Greg Sankey kicking things off. Once that is complete, it’s all ball for next four days.
The 2025 college football season is here.
Throughout the next week at the College Football Hall of Fame, numerous individuals will be brought up in discussions regarding all 16 members. Players, head coaches, and play-callers will determine how the SEC shakes out this fall. To help us get prepared for all of the shenanigans, I’ve decided to take a deep dive and pull out the most important individuals in the league this season.
These 10 players, head coaches, coordinators, and administrators will determine what happens and drive storylines in the SEC this season.
Most important individuals in the SEC in 2023
Most importat individuals in the SEC in 2024
Most important individuals in the SEC
Jackson Arnold (Auburn quarterback)
Jackson Arnold is a former Elite 11 champion who had a tough first year as a starting quarterback at Oklahoma in 2024. The former blue-chip recruit did not have much help or a good infrastructure surrounding him last year. Arnold transferred to Auburn in the offseason and will be playing with one of the best wide receiver rooms in college football. Head coach Hugh Freeze is very much on the hot seat but has a good roster on the Plains.
Arnold could unlock this roster. If he doesn’t, a coaching change seems possible, but a big year will make the Tigers a true College Football Playoff contender.
Ryan Grubb (Alabama offensive coordinator)
Ryan Grubb was locked in to becoming Kalen DeBoer‘s first offensive coordinator at Alabama before the Seattle Seahawks came calling. After spending once season in the NFC West, Grubb has reunited with DeBoer in Tuscaloosa. Grubb has worked with DeBoer at Sioux Falls (2007-09), Eastern Michigan (2014-16), Fresno State (2017-18, 2020-21), Washington (2022-23), and now again at Alabama.
The band is getting back together in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama is checking a lot of boxes on the high school recruiting front right now, but the team needs to make strides in year two as this program breaks in a new starting quarterback or doubters will start making a ton of noise. The DeBoer and Grubb offensive braintrust has been one of the best in college football in the past. If that works again, Alabama could win the national title this year.
DJ Lagway (Florida quarterback)
Billy Napier almost got on immediate rocky ground once he took over the Florida program but the one shining light that everyone pointed at was five-star quarterback DJ Lagway. The Lonestar State native became the face of the program as a recruit and showed that promise as a true freshman in 2024.
After the Gators lost Graham Mertz to injury, Lagway stepped in and led the team to wins over Kentucky, LSU, Ole Miss, Florida State, and Tulane. There was an injury scare along they way with Lagway’s hamstring but the QB looked like a future star when on the field.
Florida is all-in on Lagway entering his sophomore season. However, a strange shoulder injury has hovered over this program and talented quarterback all offseason. The Gators are bringing the young player to SEC Media Days next week, and that should help calm some of the injury worry, but durability is becoming a big question mark for the young phenom early in his career.
Napier’s fourth team might have the best offensive line in the SEC and has a much-improved defense. If Lagway is a star, this team can threaten for an SEC title and make the College Football Playoff. Without him, things could crumble since the backup position is very shaky.
So much is riding on Lagway in Gainesville.
Arch Manning (Texas quarterback)
The time has finally come. Arch Manning will become a starting quarterback in year three at Texas. Think this will get any attention this season?
Oh, also, he’s taking over for a program that is primed to go win a national championship. This sounds like ESPN’s dream.
Manning will be surrounded by high-end players all over the Texas roster while having play-caller Steve Sarkisian in his headset. There is a high probability that the latest quarterback from the first family of football could become as big of a star on the field as he is off the field.
Texas was already a super interesting team entering this season. The burnt orange get a lot more interesting with Arch Manning’s dual-threat skill set on the field. The Horns travel to Ohio State, Florida, and Georgia this season with a Manning at quarterback.
Yeah, those games will be big.
A Manning is finally back in college football and he is playing for an elite team in the SEC. This won’t be boring.
John Mateer (Oklahoma quarterback)
Many had Washington State transfer John Mateer as the top ranked quarterback in the portal. Oklahoma needed a big offensive upgrade. The Sooners went out and landed Mateer and his offensive coordinator (Ben Arbuckle) to come fix the offensive operation in Norman.
Brent Venables‘ job might just be riding on what Mateer can do on the field for the Sooners this fall.
Oklahoma underwent a major offensive restructure in the offseason while Venables is taking over the defense after surprisingly losing ascending defensive coordinator Zac Alley to West Virginia. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is now starting an athletic director search after long-time admin Joe Castiglione announced his retirment. Meanwhile, Jim Nagy has taken over as this program’s general manager and will report directly to the administration and not the head football coach.
Despite recently receiving a contract extension, Venables could find himself in hot water without a good season. That good season likely only happens if Mateer lives up to the hype. The Sooners could be looking at some more big changes if this big transfer addition does not deliver.
Diego Pavia (Vanderbilt quarterback)
The college football die hards knew about Diego Pavia before he arrived at Vanderbilt. The former junior college transfer helped one of the worst programs in college football win 10 games in 2023. Pavia then decided to follow his head coach (Jerry Kill) and offensive coordinator (Tim Beck) to Nashville.
Then we saw the undersized quarterback running a glorified triple-option offense become a mainstream college football star.
Pavia helped carry Vanderbilt to a bowl game. The Commodores do not get there with upsetting Alabama at home in the moment of the season. Now a lawsuit filed by Pavia has given the dynamo an extra year of eligibility. Vandy has real expectations this season because of him. Pavia is one of the biggest stars in the league and will play on some bigger stages this fall.
College football is always better when the best players have some character and flare. Pavia has both in spades. Vandy could become a huge story again if he can lead the Commodores to some more upset wins all while playing in one of the most unique offenses in college football.
Greg Sankey (SEC commissioner)
An annual member of this list, Greg Sankey will remain in the spotlight in 2025. The revenue-sharing era has arrived and the leader of the SEC is committed to making sure this new structure being run by the College Sports Commission will work.
Only time will tell but that is not the only thing on Sankey’s plate.
The power conference commissioners all need to agree on a new College Football Playoff structure that will begin in 2026. Yes, that is only a year away. The Big 12 and ACC want a 5+11 model. The Big Ten wants automatic bids. Sankey appears to be somewhere in the middle. In the midst of all of this, the SEC still does not have a permanent scheduling model locked in for 2026.
Some big decisions still need to be made. Sankey will be a part of all of them. The leader of the SEC has a big year ahead of him.
LaNorris Sellers (South Carolina quarterback)
Every program is looking for the quarterback that can help get them to the next level. South Carolina appeared to have found that last year.
After a slow star, LaNorris Sellers emerged as one of the best players in college football in October and November as he helped lead the Gamecocks to a bunch of big wins and the College Football Playoff bubble. Now he is back for a draft-eligible year and will attempt to get South Carolina over the hump.
With the defense in Columbia likely resetting after losing multiple draft picks, South Carolina will need Sellers to turn into a mega-star. His dual-thread skill set makes that possible. This quarterback could end up becoming the No. 1 pick and should be one of the faces of the conference this season.
Mark Stoops (Kentucky head coach)
Mark Stoops is the dean of SEC head coaches but things are getting interesting in the Commonwealth. The contract is preventing a true hot seat situation, but fans in the Big Blue Nation are getting restless after a three-year slide turned into a disastrous 4-8 campaign in 2024. Since then, we’ve seen the program go dark, Vince Marrow leave for Louisville, and the best players off last year’s team enter the transfer portal.
The response from Kentucky was to create no headlines all offseason, load up on players with playing experience in the portal, rebuild the offensive line, and reset the culture. Will that lead to better win/loss results?
Well, it created quite the internet joke with “Motivated Mark Stoops” memes. That alone is a storyline that will likely surround the program all season.
This is quietly a critical season for Stoops. The fan base could very well be all the way out if this program does not show improvement from the jump. That would put athletic director Mitch Barnhart in a bind in a time where his department is trying to budget to pay athletes for the first time in history.
The start will be critical. If UK suffers a bad loss early, this is a situation that will be worth checking the temperature on. This program is on some clear rocky ground from a general fan approval standpoint. Kentucky needs a bounce-back performance or things could start to crumble quickly.
Scott Woodward (LSU athletic director)
Athletic directors typically do not make my list in this yearly exercise, but the situation at LSU is fascinating. The Tigers have been a top-15 team every year under Brian Kelly but Scott Woodward did not hire him away from Notre Dame to just be a top-15 team. Kelly was hired to win a national championship.
LSU has not been close to that goal for three seasons now. What happens if this team goes 8-4? Would Woodward be willing to make a change?
The buyout would cost over $50 million, so that seems unlikely, but the situation in the Bayou could get uncomfortable for everyone if LSU does not deliver a big season. The Tigers spent a lot of money on this year’s transfer portal class and have one of the best quarterbacks in the country. The pressure is on Kelly to deliver. If he doesn’t deliver, the pressure could turn to Woodward.
How the administrator handles this situation if LSU misses the playoff again could be one of the most interesting stories in the SEC this season.
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