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3 SEC football teams that will exceed expectations in 2024

By Connor Muldowney

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during Tennessee's Orange & White spring football game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, April 13, 2024.
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) during Tennessee's Orange & White spring football game at Neyland Stadium on Saturday, April 13, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA
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2. Florida Gators

This is another team that a lot of people have been down on, and it's fair honestly. The doubters have doubled since last season because Billy Napier continues to do less with more. He has a talented roster but the Gators somehow missed a bowl game in 2023 and while some of that had to do with going from Anthony Richardson to Graham Mertz, most of it was on coaching.

Mertz did have a decent first season at quarterback but he's not dynamic enough to carry an offense on his back the way that Richardson did before him. This year, Mertz will be pushed by five-star freshman DJ Lagway so if he struggles, there will be a change made.

I mean, Napier is coaching for his job this season.

On top of the quarterback position looking up, the Gators are bringing in the No. 4 transfer class in the SEC with 15 new faces from the portal. Elijah Badger and Cormani McClain are just the latest big names to transfer to Florida and both should have major roles in 2024. On top of that, there's Jason Zandamela, Jameer Grimsley, Asa Turner, Grayson Howard, DJ Douglas, and Joey Slackman. These guys could all very well be starters this season, and good ones at that.

Like South Carolina, not many are projecting Florida to win more than 5-6 games this season but to me, there are only 3-4 games in which I think the Gators are likely to lose. A few toss-ups go Florida's way and we may be talking about a 7-8-win team.

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