With summer upon us and fall moving quickly — too quickly — toward us, we’re starting to get plenty of “fall preview” questions when we appear on radio talkshows across the Southeast.  Having answered the question, “What intrigues you about School X” umpteen times already, we thought it might be a good time to put all of the topics that most interest us together in one or two posts.

Yesterday, we shared with you our thoughts on the SEC East.  Today, you’ll find our look at the SEC West and the seven questions — one per team — that we look forward to having answered in the fall.  They’re listed in alphabetical order according to the school below…

Alabama

Can Nick Saban coax the same chemistry and drive from this year’s team?  After Alabama won the BCS championship in 2009, Saban spent his offseason trying to convince his 2010 team that — despite the return of many important players — the new squad wasn’t defending anything.  The 2009 bunch won the title, not the 2010 team.  But that message didn’t get through.  The Tide stumbled to a 9-3 finish.  Since then, Saban has led his 2011 and his 2012 squads to national crowns.  Obviously, the coach knows what it takes to win and what it takes to repeat.  But will this particular group of players heed his warnings of “you ain’t won nothing yet?”

Arkansas

How will Bret Bielema and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney co-exist?  At Wisconsin, Bielema’s teams almost always finished in the bottom-quarter of the Big Ten in pass attempts.  Chaney is known for having an itchy trigger finger when it comes to the passing game.  At Purdue, Drew Brees and Kyle Orton winged it for him.  At Tennessee, Tyler Bray was the gunslinger.  Now the run-first head coach and the pass-first coordinator are teaming up with a first-year starting quarterback and a roster made up of recruits signed to play Bobby Petrino’s pass-heavy style.  This might be the most fascinating mixture to watch in the SEC in 2013.

Auburn

Was Auburn’s 2010 BCS title more a product of Gus Malzahn’s offense or Cam Newton’s amazing talents?  Malzahn — hired to replace old boss Gene Chizik this offseason — has tested his up-tempo offense three times in the SEC.  (And no, we’re not counting the year that he was given little power as Houston Nutt’s offensive coordinator at Arkansas.)  In his season on the Plains with Newton at quarterback, Malzahn’s offense led the league in scoring (40.2 points per game versus SEC foes in 2010).  In the other two seasons without Newton, the Tigers finished fifth (25.0 points per game in 2009) and eighth (20.0 points per game in 2011) in the SEC.  That’s quite a difference.  Now Malzahn returns to AU without a sure-thing at quarterback and a need to focus on both the offense and the defense.  It’s time to for Malzahn to earn the big bucks.

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SEC Football

1. Georgia freshman cornerback Reggie Wilkerson is out for the season after undergoing knee surgery Friday.  Will have a second surgery to reconstruct the ACL.

2. A pink uniform for Mississippi State?

3. Line from a new song by an Alabama musician: ”Nick Saban and Jesus, yeah, that’s our guys.”

4. Freshman quarterback Ryan Buchanan will have a chance to compete for the No. 2 job at Ole Miss.

5. Former Tennessee safety Eric Berry on Butch Jones:  ”I love the guy and what he stands for.”

Football Safety Issues

6. Major agenda item at the athletic directors convention this week in Orlando - head-trauma and concussion concerns

7. Pro Football Hall of Famer Lem Barney: ”I can see in the next 10 to maybe 20 years, society will alleviate football altogether.”

SEC/College News

8. T-shirt spotted at the College World Series - “Mississippi State Rebels.”

9. Auburn hires Oklahoma’s baseball coach. Sunny Golloway had 14 NCAA Regional appearances in 15 years at OU.

10. What kind of impact has changing the bats made on college baseball?  Composite batting average this year of .274 lowest since 1975.

11. State of the athletic programs at Tennessee?  Plenty of room for improvement.

12 .If the NCAA wins the Ed O’Bannon lawsuit - it may seek to recover millions of dollars in legal expenses.

13. What’s at stake in the O’Bannon case? “The current model of college sports.”

SEC Basketball

14. Jerome Seagears time at Auburn lasted a month.  He’s returning to Rutgers.

15. Kentucky commitment Karl Towns wants to play for the Dominican national team.

Extras

16. TV sideline reporters made their debut at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville back in 1974 as part of the coverage of the Tennessee-UCLA game.

17. 80-year Vince Dooley goes sky-diving with his grandson.

Alabama has received a commitment from quarterback David Cornwell from North High School in Norman, Okla.

“Officially committed to the University of Alabama! Roll Tide!” Cornwell wrote on twitter.

Cornwell, who’s ranked the nation’s No. 3 pro-style quarterback by Rivals.com, chose the Crimson Tide over offers from Auburn, Missouri, Tennessee, Miami, Notre Dame, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech.

Cornwell is the 11th prospect to commit to Alabama’s 2014 class, which is ranked No. 7 in the nation by Rivals.

SEC Football

1. Possible season-ending injury for Georgia freshman cornerback Reggie Wilkerson. Reportedly undergoing ACL surgery today.

2. Two Missouri freshman players treated and released with minor injuries following a car accident in which they were passengers. Tackle Chris Freeman has left the team for personal reasons.

3. Auburn assistant Scott Fountain on H-Back Jay Prosch: “Since I’ve been in coach Malzahn’s offense for four or five years, he’s the best I’ve seen in the system.”

4. Danny Sheridan has Alabama as his favorite to win another national title but he does have a question for Nick Saban:  ”Why don’t you ever play two quarterbacks?’

5. What about the Alabama schedule? The toughest part of the season comes in November.

6. One take on Tennessee’s prospects: “Back-to-back September visits to Oregon and Florida will be an early reminder how far the Vols have fallen since their last SEC East title in 2007.”

7. David Climer on Tennessee: “More and more, we are finding that Dooley fixated on the minutia of his job while failing to grasp the big picture.”

8. John Adams: What’s next? An advertising campaign promoting UT as “The Vanderbilt of East Tennessee”?

9. What impact will  freshman wide receiver Quincy Adeboyeje and sophomore wideout Cody Core have on Ole Miss this year?

10. Meet Les Miles and his family.  ”Father’s Day is a joy at our house.”

 SEC/College News

11. First Toomer’s Oaks at Auburn and now Howard’s Rock at Clemson.  When will this college football crime spree end?

12. Alabama fraternity gave up property to the University.  Now the Alabama athletic department is helping to pay for a new fraternity house.

13. Ed O’Bannon lawsuit could be headed to a trial by next year at this time.

14. Lousville as a preseason No. 1?

15. Preseason basketball scrimmage costs an Old Dominion guard an entire season.

SEC Basketball

16. Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings blocked Sheldon Jeter from transferring to just one school - Pitt. He can still attend Pitt – but would have to pay his own way for a year.

17. Missouri coach Frank Haith meets with the NCAA Committee on Infractions – timeframe on report release could be anywhere from six weeks to four months.

18. Tennessee’s Derek Reese will play on  Puerto Rico’s national team.

19. Kentucky assistant Orlando Antigua will coach the Dominican Republic national team. John Calipari stepped down from the role last year.

20. Bring back the jump ball.  One man’s five-step plan to rescue college basketball includes eliminating the alternate possession rule.

Extras

21. A parking spot a block from AT&T Park in San Francisco sells for $82,000.

22. ESPN’s Bill Simmons not happy with ESPN.

23. Bonnie and Clyde at 33,000 feet. “So, what do I wear to a hijacking?”

24. The rapper from Antioch, Tennessee who loved Waffle House too much.

Between now and National Signing Day 2014 there are 33 Wednesdays on the calendar.  Between now and National Signing Day there’s a helluva lot that can change.

Still, better to have momentum at this time of year than not.  And there are plenty of SEC teams — some that might surprise you — that have some strong momentum at this point.

Below you’ll find an updated overview of how the SEC’s football programs are performing out on the recruiting trail as we hit mid-June and race toward a new football season.  As usual, we’ve used the star ratings provided by Rivals.com as our launch point.  For each star Rivals assigns, we award a point.  Except we also give 0-star recruits — those kids who haven’t even been graded yet — a point.  Hey, we’re nice guys.

We’ll once again examine the SEC’s commitment lists in three ways, grading each according to quantity, quality, and high-caliber talent.  We start with quantity…

Now we turn our attention to quality, ranking each program according to the average number of points per committed player…

Next we look at high-caliber talent, only counting those commitments worth four or five points…

Finally, we provide an overall MrSEC.com ranking for all 14 schools by assigning points to each school for its placement on the three charts above.  The fewer the points (meaning the higher the finish in a category) the better.  Also, we’ll discuss each program’s work to date at the end of this story…

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SEC Football

1. Make it four commitments in a week for Georgia.  The Bulldogs latest recruiting success is four-star cornerback Malkom Parrish. Georgia now has nine commitments in its 2014 class.

2. Kentucky getting a visit from the nation’s No. 1 all-purpose running back.  Stanley “Boom” Williams from Monroe, Ga. expected in Lexington today.Update: Williams commits.  UK makes an offer to 13-year old Jairus Brents. Said the 7th grader: ”It’s not a big deal. It’s just an offer.”

3. Homewood, Alabama offensive lineman Jordan Sims has narrowed his list to three schools - Alabama, Auburn and Ole Miss. The 6-foot-4, 330 pounds Sims took an unofficial visit to Auburn on Wednesday.

4. Several SEC teams are targeting Bossier City, Louisiana quarterback Brandon Harris. And with quarterback DeShone Kizer committing to Notre Dame , expect Harris to get even more attention.

5. Projected 2014 commitments for the LSU offensive line.

6. St. Louis, Mo. cornerback Raymond Wingo will visit Arkansas June 29th.  Wingo is being recruited by several schools, including Missouri and Tennessee.

SEC Basketball

7. Three of ESPN’s top 10 2014 recruits are from Texas.  Three of the top 100 are from Alabama.

8. Mississippi State gets two verbal commitments for the class of 2015.

A year has made a pretty big difference in the life of the Texas A&M football program and its coach.  According to Kevin Sumlin, other schools’ negative talking points have changed on the recruiting trail since the Aggies surprisingly went 11-2 with a Heisman-winning quarterback running the show:

“I’m amazed in one year how people want to flip the situation we have here.  A year ago, we were a team moving into a league we didn’t know anything about — the toughest league in the country.  We had a bunch of coaches from smaller schools, and we were going to run a gimmick offense, and they were telling guys that we were going to get killed.

A year later, the recruiting pitch out there right now against is, ‘You can’t play there, they’ve got good players.  And their coach is going to the NFL.’  I think it’s funny either way.”

Sumlin said he has had “plenty of opportunities” to coach in the professional ranks “as an assistant coach and even as a head coach.”  The coach said told The San Antonio News-Express that didn’t leave this offseason because “by no means have we arrived” as a program.

According to TexAgs.com, Sumlin was offered the head coaching position with the Philadelphia Eagles.  Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com reports that the coach “was actually pursued by three NFL teams this past winter.”

TexAgs.com also claims that Auburn offered its head coaching slot to Sumlin before landing Gus Malzahn.

“My family likes living here and I like living here,” Sumlin said.  “Heck, we just got here.”  But… “Those (NFL) discussions I hope come up all of the time.  Because as long as they do, we’re doing something right.”

When it comes to pastries, no SEC school takes as many trips to the corner bakery as Ole Miss.  Over the past five years, the Rebels have played a whopping six schools from the FCS level.  Worse, their non-conference schedule has featured just two schools — two in five years — from BCS automatic-qualifier conferences (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big XII, and Pac-12).

No one in the SEC — not even Mississippi State — has feasted on as many cupcakes and creampuffs as the gang from Oxford.  And MSU has nibbled on its share of sponge cake.

On the other end of the spectrum are Vanderbilt and Georgia.  Some might say that the BCS-level foes they’ve scheduled haven’t always been atop their conferences, but at least they’re playing power-conference competition.  Both schools have scheduled 10 games against squads from BCS automatic-qualifiers over the last five seasons.

For comparison’s sake, we’ve gone back through the 2008 season to see which SEC schools have done the best and worst jobs of non-conference scheduling.  We’ve decided to include Missouri and Texas A&M even though they’ve spent just one year in the SEC.  But keep in mind the Big XII played nine league games in 2011.  So both A&M and Mizzou faced one less non-conference foe between ’08 and ’12 than their new SEC roomies.

In addition, please remember that those recent matchups between Texas A&M and Arkansas were non-conference games until last season.

One last note: We’re well aware of the schedule quirks, broken contracts, and state legislators’ desires that have forced your favorite school to line up games with tin cans on occasion.  And to paraphrase a Tommy Lee Jones’ line from “The Fugitive,” we don’t care.  Below is a simple look at how the SEC’s teams have handled non-conference scheduling in recent years.  It is what it is.

The categories used are “actual competition” (BCS conference foes), “cannon fodder” (teams from non-AQ FBS leagues or independents), and “cupcakes” (FCS-level opponents).

Enjoy…

Alabama

Actual Competition: 6 — Clemson, Duke, Michigan, Penn State (2), Virginia Tech

Cannon Fodder: 10 — Arkansas State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Kent State, North Texas (2), San Jose State, Tulane, Western Kentucky (2)

Cupcakes: 4 — Georgia State, Georgia Southern, UT-Chattanooga, Western Carolina

Thoughts: Nick Saban has been pushing the SEC to add another conference game.  He’s also in favor power-conference teams playing only other power-conference teams.  But he’s not an idiot.  Until everyone gets on the same page, he won’t be trying to lead the way with Bama’s schedule.  Still, he’s been more than willing to open seasons against name competition.

2013 Schedule: Virginia Tech, Colorado State, Georgia State, UT-Chattanooga

Arkansas

Actual Competition: 5 — Rutgers, Texas, Texas A&M (3)

Cannon Fodder: 10 — Eastern Michigan, Louisiana-Monroe (3), New Mexico, Troy (2), Tulsa (2), UTEP

Cupcakes: 5 — Jacksonville State, Missouri State (2), Tennessee Tech, Western Illinois

Thoughts: Meh.  The Hogs haven’t exactly lined up the best of the best of the best over the last few years.  (Hey, another line from a Tommy Lee Jones’ flick.)  Texas and pre-SEC Texas A&M were good games, but Arkansas’ cannon fodder games were truly that.  Then you toss in five games against FCS cupcakes.  Was any Razorback fan happy to plunk down cash to see any of the last 10 schools on that list?  Happily Bret Bielema and AD Jeff Long are locking up future non-conference games against quality foes from the Hogs’ old Southwest Conference days.

2013 Schedule: Louisiana-Lafayette, Samford, Southern Miss, Rutgers

Auburn

Actual Competition: 5 — Clemson (3), West Virginia (2)

Cannon Fodder: 10 — Arkansas State, Ball State, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana-Monroe (3), Louisiana Tech, New Mexico State, Southern Miss, Utah State

Cupcakes: 5 — Alabama A&M, Furman, Samford, UT-Chattanooga, UT-Martin

Thoughts: The same as above.  Auburn had five marquee non-conference games in the last five years.  Their remaining 15 non-conference contests were dreck.  This year’s non-con slate looks to provide more of the same.

2013 Schedule: Washington State, Arkansas State, Western Carolina, Florida Atlantic

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Kentucky’s football budget will increase by $3 million in the coming year…
Much of the increase can be tied to coaching salaries
Florida quarterback Jeff Driskel on being selected in the Major League Baseball draft: “Did not see that coming.”
Auburn’s quarterback battle is down to four candidates with one freshman heading to prep school
Missouri, Alabama and Vanderbilt led the SEC in terms of the NCAA’s academic progress reports for football
Kentucky, Arkansas and Tennessee ranked at the bottom of the league
Tennessee’s score is below the 925 cut off point, which means the Vols will have to improve in the classroom to avoid a bowl ban
Missouri basketball coach Frank Haith will go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions Thursday…
Haith is charged with failure to promote an atmosphere of compliance while at Miami (FL)
A crowd of 1,500 came from as far away as Michigan to hear Alabama coach Nick Saban speak in Athens, Tennessee Wednesday night
For all your SEC news, check out MrSEC.com each and every day

SEC Football

1. What stands out on the Tennesse roster?  ”Lack of experience. Only 15 players have started more than 10 games…”

2. Budget for football at Kentucky will increase more than $3 million in the coming year. Big chunk is increased coaching salaries.

3. What’s the word on Ole Miss freshman running back Kailo Moore?  ”Blindingly fast.”

4. What’s the biggest challenge facing first-year Arkansas coach Bret Bielema?  The schedule.

5. Florida quartertback Jeff Driskel surprised to get selected in the MLB draft: “Did not see that coming.”

6. Florida-Georgia on November 2 - “might as well be circled in blood this season.”

7. Kevin Scarbinsky on the Alabama-Auburn rivalry: “In short, for the Tide, the Tigers are a means to an end. For the Tigers, the Tide is the be-all and end-all.”

8. Matt Hayes at The Sporting News says Gus Malzahn one of three coaches who will win immediately in his new job.

9. Looking like the race for quarterback at Auburn is down to four candidates: ”Jason Smith from McGill-Toolen is likely headed to prep school.”

10. Video games mimic real life.  Alabama dominates EA Sports’ NCAA Football 14. One hardcore fan put every rating into a sortable spreadsheet.

11.  Any takers? At just one dollar under a million - a ticket for Alabama/Texas A&M.

SEC Basketball

11. Incoming Florida freshman Chris Walker still has work to do to be eligible for this coming season.

12. That was quick.  Jerome Seagears transferred from Rutgers to Auburn this summer.  Now he’s told coaches he’s leaving to be closer to his family in Maryland.

13. Missouri assistant coach Rick Carter is leaving, reportedly headed to Xavier. Former Missouri coach Quin Snyder joining the staff of the Atlanta Hawks.

14. “The longest-tenured power conference coaches without an NCAA round of 16 appearance are Mississippi’s Andy Kennedy and Arizona State’s Herb Sendek.”

15, Tennessee’s Jeronne Maymon on sitting out last season with a knee injury.  ”You see things differently. Things you don’t see while you’re out there playing, you see.”

16. John Calipari’s advice to young players: “What you should be spending 90 percent of your time on is getting their feel for the ball, bouncing it with their head up…”

College News

17. Goodbye domes prior to college basketball’s Final Four?

18. There are 18 Division I teams banned from postseason.

19. One day after his father said he’d prefer Southern Cal, five-star linebacker Matthew Thomas will end playing at Florida State after all.

20. Former Syracuse basketball assistant coach Bernie Fine reportedly suing ESPN for $11 million.

21. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany signs an extension that will keep him around through June of 2018.

Extras

22. Interested in a college basketball fantasy camp in Las Vegas?  It will set you back $7,500.

23. Marcus Lattimore paid $20,000 to record two ads for the lottery in South Carolina.

24.  If they do this for a victory, what would San Antonio Spurs fan do if they win the series?

25. Major League Baseball opening in Sydney, Australia next year?