O’Gara: 1 takeaway from every SEC spring game on Saturday (2024)

It wasn’t a fall Saturday, but it was a loaded Saturday of spring games in the SEC. That’s not too bad for mid-April.

Half the SEC was in action. Eight SEC teams closed their springs with scrimmages, albeit in a different fashion. We had some teams treat spring games like high-stakes fall showdowns (Georgia) and others treat spring games like low-stakes Saturday afternoon parties (Ole Miss). There was good variety.

There were also plenty of takeaways. Here’s 1 from each SEC spring game on Saturday:

Alabama — Germie Bernard is exactly what the passing game needs

I’ve been saying this since the former Washington receiver followed Kalen DeBoer to Tuscaloosa, so it wasn’t necessarily a revelation to see him hit the century mark in a spring game. It did, however, confirm the notion that he’s going to be a major asset for Jalen Milroe as he learns the DeBoer offense. We saw them connect for a 52-yard play on a crossing route on the right side, wherein he might’ve gotten away with a slight push-off. Call it veteran savvy.

Bernard might’ve only been the 4th option in Washington’s passing game, though that’s not really saying much considering Michael Penix Jr.’s first 3 options will all hear their names called in the NFL Draft later this month. At Alabama, Bernard has the makings of a WR1 in ways that we haven’t seen since the 2021 season. That doesn’t mean he has the upside of Jameson Williams, but the third-year wideout is a versatile, reliable weapon who’ll have no shortage of opportunities among a new-look group of pass-catchers.

Arkansas — The Taylen Green-Bobby Petrino connection has … optimism

All signs out of spring camp have been pointing toward the Boise State transfer being the unquestioned QB1 for Petrino in his return to Arkansas (I’m still not fully used to the end of that sentence). Green’s spring game showing confirmed that he has this job won. The touch was there in a way that predecessor KJ Jefferson sometimes lacked, and with Petrino at the controls, there’s optimism that there’ll be more creativity than what we saw under Dan Enos. That’s not saying much.

Green can run the RPO, though it’s fair to wonder if there’ll be plans to limit that with the uncertainty behind him at the position. Then again, if Sam Pittman’s job is on the line in 2024, there’s not anything that the Hogs can afford to hold back. Perhaps the full Green arsenal with Petrino’s tutelage will unlock the best version of the Arkansas offense in 2024.

Florida — DJ Lagway does things you can’t teach and a couple of others you can

You can tell why Lagway brought home so much hardware in his senior year of high school and why there’s hope that he can right Billy Napier’s ship in Gainesville. Beyond just his SEC-ready frame, you can see both the velocity and touch he puts on the football. His first touchdown score was a ball over the middle that had to be layered perfectly with zip (H/T Zach Abolverdi on Twitter):

DJ Lagway to Aidan Mizell for the TD ?

Game thread: https://t.co/wTpbh9asGF pic.twitter.com/qi8wEu9IV2

— Zach Abolverdi (@ZachAbolverdi) April 13, 2024

You can’t teach that type of execution. His connection with former walk-on Taylor Spierto was evident throughout the day, including a pass working back to his left that was put in a perfect spot. Lagway passes the eye test, which doesn’t mean that he’s about to start ahead of Graham Mertz. You also saw him pre-determine a read and not see a linebacker drift in coverage. That play gets picked off at this level, even with a defense that’s still figuring out its identity like Florida’s. The good news? There was much more good than bad from the 5-star early enrollee.

Georgia — Dominic Lovett is ready to thrive in a post-Brock Bowers/Ladd McConkey world

I don’t like getting too worked up about spring game performances. But when you watch a proven receiver have a day like Lovett had, it’s hard not to get excited, especially when we know that Carson Beck is searching for a new go-to receiver. Lovett hauled in 2 passes on a game-tying drive late, including a score wherein he pinned the ball on the back of UGA defensive back Patrick Taylor just before he crashed into the newly planted baby Sanford Stadium hedges (H/T Dayne Young on Twitter).

Dominic Lovett: 1⃣

baby hedges: 0⃣

What a TD catch. pic.twitter.com/HaG21om3dF

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) April 13, 2024

Lovett had an excellent spring, so it was only fitting that he capped it off with a 104-yard day and a highlight reel grab. His potential is through the roof catching passes from Beck, who thrives on balls over the middle. With Lovett operating out of the slot, he should be set up for a monster year with so many of those intermediate targets up for grabs in a post-Brock Bowers/Ladd McConkey world.

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Kentucky — There’s an obvious effort to keep this offense under wraps

The UK “spring game” wasn’t available to be streamed, skill players weren’t brought to the ground and the deep shots were few and far between with the first-teamers. Take that for what it is. It was called an open practice for a reason. On top of the fact that it has a depleted defensive line late in spring, Kentucky has a new offense with OC Bush Hamdan on board after Liam Coen left for the NFL again. That delayed things this spring and there was late implementation of the offense. Highlights out of Lexington showed the new up-tempo offense and Hamdan let new QB1 Brock Vandagriff spin it a bit.

Kentucky is expected to look much different offensively with Vandagriff’s skill set compared to Devin Leary. We’ll get a much better feel for just how different that is in a few months.

LSU — The defense will be better, but the spring game showing didn’t make that look like a lock

Brian Kelly poached DC Blake Baker from Mizzou and made him the highest-paid assistant in the sport. There’s no way the LSU can be the train wreck it was last year, even if Harold Perkins’ usage remains a constant topic of conversation in Baton Rouge. But a spring game showing wherein the Tiger defense allowed 4 plays of 30 yards (3 passing, 1 rushing) felt like more of the same. Mind you, that’s against a new-look LSU offense that replaced the historically prolific trio of Jayden Daniels, Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas Jr., as well as primary offensive play-caller Mike Denbrock.

Yes, Garrett Nussmeier looked excellent throwing to new top targets Kyren Lacy and Liberty transfer CJ Daniels, but there were still too many guys running free. It’s a secondary that returns plenty of reps after it got baptism by fire in 2023, so there won’t be any excuses for poor tackling or busts in coverage come fall. The LSU defensive reclamation project has a ways to go.

Ole Miss — There’s only 1 team in America doing it like Ole Miss

I don’t know, man. Between the pregame slam dunk contest, the sorority tug-of-war contest and the Joey Chestnut-led hot dog eating contest, I think we can safely say that Lane Kiffin pulled out all the stops to live up to that “Party in the Sip” mantra. That’s not new. Kiffin has been about that from the jump since he arrived in Oxford nearly 4.5 years ago.

What’s interesting is that even as Ole Miss enters a season with perhaps the highest preseason expectations in program history, Kiffin is still about keeping things light. He wasn’t concerned about the fallout if star receiver Tre Harris were to turn an ankle in the slam dunk contest (he didn’t), though it’s worth noting that it was a 7-on-7 games so that’s not to say that the Grove Bowl was a total free-for-all. Kiffin just treated it like what the Pro Bowl has become. To each their own. Ole Miss’ own is certainly unique among Playoff contenders.

Tennessee — Nico Iamaleava is mastering the tempo needed to run the Josh Heupel offense

That doesn’t sound like a bold proclamation because he had the bowl game performance against an elite Iowa defense. But it’s easy to forget that in this game last year, Iamaleava was entering his first few months in the Heupel offense while Joe Milton was entering Year 3, and it showed. That’s why Milton was never in jeopardy of losing his job to Iamaleava going into 2023. But watching Iamaleava in the spring game, you can tell that he’s much more comfortable operating at that speed. I thought his touchdown pass to Chas Nimrod was a byproduct of tempo, wherein a tired secondary provided some self-induced separation and Iamaleava took advantage.

That’s the beauty of Heupel’s system. It’s going to provide big throwing windows to a guy who doesn’t necessarily need those to move the chains. That’s why his floor is so high. The cheap yards will be there, and the shot plays that happen to a depleted defense can also come in bunches when you’ve got a quarterback who can layer throws and throw off-platform. Iamaleava does that better than Milton did. Add in the Year 2 understanding of the offense and there’s hope that a major bounce-back year is in store for the Vols’ passing game.