Alabama Football: Ten questions for the 2018 college football season
By Ronald Evans
Can Coach Boom become the top recruiter in the SEC East?
Kirby Smart and Dan Mullen are generally considered the top recruiters from SEC East schools. The most recent buzz has been Jeremy Pruitt’s recruiting prowess will bring abundance to Knoxville. Will Muschamp should not be underestimated.
Much will change between now and December – February. Yet, in early June, the top-rated list of 2019 commits among SEC East teams, belongs to Muschamp. Based on the 247Sports Composite, South Carolina has the fourth-best class in the nation. It is not inflated by more commits than other top teams. The Gamecocks have 13 commits. The other top five ranked commit lists from Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas A&M and Clemson have 12-14 commits.
Muschamp recently beat out Clemson and Tennessee for 5-Star and 4-Star players. The 5-Star is Zacch Pickens and he rated as the No. 15 overall player in the nation. Watch out for Coach Boom.
Is Dan Mullen good enough to bring the Gators back quickly?
Dan Mullen is respected by his peers. He is known to be a superior developer of quarterbacks, going back to his days as an assistant in Florida. His success at Mississippi State was impressive by all past Bulldogs’ standards.
In 2014, Mullen’s sixth season as a head coach, he led the Bulldogs to a No. 1 ranking. The team finished 10-3 but getting to No. 1 at any point is a big deal in Starkville.
The remaining question is can Mullen win enough big games against top teams. His record against Alabama football could not be worse, 0-9. How good Mullen will make Florida, and how soon, are two big questions.
Can Joe Moorhead match Mullen’s success in Starkville?
Bulldogs’ fans are excited about new head coach Joe Moorhead. Moorhead, more so than James Franklin, is credited with building an explosive offense at Penn State. The Bulldogs have firepower in the legs and arm of QB, Nick Fitzgerald.
The question is can Moorhead deliver as a head coach in the toughest division in college football. He had success at the FCS level. Moorhead was head coach at Fordham from 2012-2015. That was not much preparation for being an SEC head coach.