SEC Unfiltered: Why the gap between the SEC and rest of college football will widen

John Adams, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read
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Welcome to SEC Unfiltered, the USA TODAY NETWORK's newsletter on SEC sports. Look for this newsletter in your inbox every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Today, Knoxville News Sentinel columnist John Adams takes over:

The Big Ten has gotten bigger by adding Southern California and UCLA from the Pac-12. The Big 12 tells anyone who will listen that it’s open for expansion business.

But do you really think anybody is gaining significant ground on the SEC?

I’m not referencing the size of your TV market. I’m not talking about the quality of your product.

No matter how college football keeps changing – and it’s changing significantly and rapidly – the SEC maintains the upper hand.

Give players more freedom through the transfer portal. Give them money through name, image and likeness deals. And the SEC remains the prime attraction for many of the most sought-after players.

It’s not complicated. The highest rated recruits already imagine themselves in the NFL. How do you best prepare yourself for the NFL? You play in the next best league.

The SEC already signs the top recruiting classes and puts the most players in the NFL. And the gap between it and the rest of college football is apt to widen thanks to the NIL and transfer rules.

Players who already have proved themselves in other leagues can enhance their draft status by further proving themselves in the SEC. Not only will they be competing against the best players, they also will be practicing against them.

It’s not just championship programs like Alabama and Georgia who are benefiting. Look at what coach Lane Kiffin has done at Ole Miss. In 2020, he won only five games, mainly because of a dreadful defense. A year later, he won 10 games by upgrading his defense through the transfer portal.

Running back Zach Evans leaps forward at Ole Miss spring football practice on March 22, 2022.
Running back Zach Evans leaps forward at Ole Miss spring football practice on March 22, 2022.

He has helped himself on both sides of the ball this year by successfully working the portal. His additions include quarterback Jaxson Dart from USC, running backs Zach Evans of TCU and Ulysses Bentley of SMU, tight end Michael Trigg of USC, wide receiver Jordan Watkins of Louisville, and linebacker Troy Brown of Central Michigan.

The portal has been especially advantageous for the SEC in quarterbacks. Half of the conference teams could start transfer quarterbacks this season.

That trend should continue beyond this season. A quarterback with NFL aspirations should want to throw to potential NFL receivers and against potential NFL defensive backs.

The SEC is the best place to do that.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: SEC Unfiltered: Why gap between SEC and rest of college football will widen