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Footbal l PreviewSunday, August 28, 2016 dailytimesleader.com2

Milton Davis, Store Manager

662-494-4541130 Hwy 45, West Point

JIM’S AUTO PARTSTRUCK, AUTOMOTIVE & TRACTOR PARTS

GOOD LUCK TEAMS!

W e s t P o i n t H i g Hg r e e n W a v e

Pos. WT GRADE1 Demarrio Edwards ATH 165 SR2 Marcus Murphy ATH 190 JR3 Chris Calvert RB 181 JR4 Trevino Harris DB 175 SR5 Tray Brownlee DB 160 JR6 EJ Bush LB 150 JR7 Ledarius Glover ATH 205 JR8 Brandon Lairy LB 190 SOPH9 Nate Montgomery ATH 155 JR10 Ryan Melton ATH 155 SOPH11 Brentt Cunningham LB 165 SOPH12 Kevion Gibbs WR 155 SR13 Trey Shelton WR 145 SR14 Tyler Rupert DB 150 SOPH15 Clayton Knight QB 165 SR16 Jason Brownlee WR 155 JR17 Jose Garcia K 180 SR18 Jake Chambless QB 165 JR19 Travarcus Valentine LB 165 SR20 Everitt Cunningham DL 215 SR21 Quanteze Powell DB 140 SOPH22 Tahj Johnson ATH 185 SR23 Archie Jones RB 200 JR24 Terence Cherry DL 245 JR25 Rasson Carr LB 165 JR26 Komarcus Powell DB 150 JR27 Jaylen Cungious DL 200 SOPH28 John Facella WR 150 SOPH29 Andre Lane RB 165 SR30 Travion Stennis DB 135 JR

31 Tyrese Johnson WR 150 JR32 Keonta Hampton LB 185 SR33 Xavier Fair LB 185 JR34 Jaylun R. Eggerson RB 175 SOPH35 Kameron Martin RB 155 SOPH36 Amir Gordonel WR 155 SR37 Kentavious McMillian DB 150 SOPH39 Latarius Embry DB 150 SOPH40 Matthew Bagwell DL 190 JR41 LeMarcus Yates DB 130 JR42 Cassius Walker DB 150 JR43 Tyson Davidson DB 150 JR44 Jamel Banks DL 270 JR45 CJ Melton DL 215 SR46 Jaquerius Crawford WR 150 SOPH47 JeQwan Young WR 150 SOPH48 Jarvis Evans DB 190 SR49 Jalen Sanders LB 190 SOPH50 Robert Thompson OL 200 SOPH51 Jaylon Webb DL 270 SOPH52 Stededric Griffis DL 200 SOPH53 Jamicheal Hogan LB 175 JR54 Ezekial Head OL 270 SOPH55 Jeremy Latty OL 190 SOPH56 Brian Crawford LB 160 SOPH57 Derrick Lee OL 255 SR58 Draylon Rieves OL 185 JR59 Stefon Townsend DL 200 SR61 Jacquan Poole DB 155 SOPH63 Zameek Price OL 225 JR64 Jameek Price OL 225 JR

65 Dontavius Pargo OL 301 SOPH66 Tyler Hannah DL 200 SR68 Tinsley Banks DL 300 SR69 Jose Lemus K 210 SOPH70 Jeremiah Walker DL 165 SOPH71 Nehemiah Walker OL 200 SOPH72 KeAris Smith OL 220 SOPH74 James Spann DL 318 SR76 David Rush DL 200 JR77 Ricky Armstead DL 450 SR78 Daveion Reives OL 275 SOPH79 Austin Morton OL 160 SOPH80 Jermarquez Cummings WR 160 SR81 Darius Quinn WR 150 JR82 Jerni White WR 150 JR88 Semaje Harris TE 200 SOPH90 Tyren Warren WR 150 JR99 Dmitre Townsend DL 275 JR

Head Coach/Athletic Director: Chris Chambless • Assitant Coaches: Roger Burton, Alex Williams, Brett Morgan, Casey Welch, Jerry Fremin • Assistant Coaches: Charles Herron, Matt Snow, Ricky Melton, Seth Stillman • Superintendent: Burnell McDonald • Assistant Superintendents: Tim Fowler, Reita Humphries • Head Principal: Jermaine Taylor • Assistant Principals:Kendall Pickens, Felicia Shumaker, Jacob Gentry • Band Director: Rickey Brown • Assistant Band Director: Travis Metcalf • Transportation Director: Lamar Mills • Maintence Director: Mike Williams • Public Address Announcer: Alan Leonard • Sports Technology/Media: Justin Vollenwieder • Cheer Sponsors: Pamela Anderson, Kahla Thomas • JV/Jr. High Sponsors: Diann Landon • Voice Of The Green Wave:

Bud Bowen • Managers: Jason Garnett, Dmite Townsend

W E S T P O I N T F O O T B A L L 2 0 1 6 R O S T E R

Sunday, August 28, 2016 3 Footbal l Preview

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GOOD LUCK on a

Safe and Successful Season!

MayorRobbie Robinson

WEST POINT CITY SELECTMEN

Linda HannahWilliam Binder

Jimmy ClarkKeith McBrayerGary Dedeaux

GOOD LUCK TO ALL OF OUR TEAMS!

Jim & Curt Kisner, OWNERS548 West Broad • West Point • 494-5455

Kisner’s Radiator & Muffler

Service

W e s t P o i n t H i g Hg r e e n W a v e

WEST POINT GREEN WAVE2016 VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 13August 19August 26

September 2September 9September 16September 23September 30

October 7October 14October 21October 28November 4

All games will start at 7:00pm**Denotes district opponents(HC) Denotes Homecoming

Fall Jamboree Open

LouisvilleStarkvilleColumbus

Noxubee County**Oxford

**Clarksdale**Center Hill (HC)**Lake Cormorant

**Saltillo**New Hope**Lewisburg

MSU

HomeAwayAwayHomeHomeAwayHomeAwayAwayHomeAway

Green Wave looking to bounce back

BY JOSH [email protected]

The West Point High School Green Wave will be seeking to bounce back this season after making it to the North Half Championship last year.

WPHS Head Football Coach Chris Chambless said the team had worked very hard throughout summer prac-tices.

“They seemed to have a bad taste in their mouths after getting all the way to North Half and getting knocked out by Oxford,” Chambless said. “We’ve worked extremely hard over the sum-mer, and the kids have got a lot of fo-cus.”

He said he felt good about the team going into the season, and that the Green Wave would encounter a tough schedule.

“We always play a tough early schedule,” Chambless said. “We’ve done that for years. I like doing that, so we can get settled in and see what we need to work on.”

He said the team would need to

eliminate it’s first-game mistakes, as it sought to compete with Louisville in it’s season opener.

“Louisville has had that first game already, and we haven’t,” he said. “We’re going to have to feed off our own emotions, block and tackle. That’s how you play football.”

Emotions ran high during summer practice after the loss to Oxford in the North Half Championship, according to Chambless.

“They had a lot of focus, and they carried it to the practice field,” he said. “Drama was kept to a minimum, and we’ll see how the guys respond to adversity.”

He said he felt good about the team’s chances heading into this season.

“We want to win every game, and we’re going to try and win every game,” Chambless said. “I know they’re anxious and excited to get out there and hit somebody else instead of hitting each other.”

Good Luckfrom the Daily Times Leader

Sunday, August 28, 2016 5 Footbal l Preview

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ALL THE TEAMSA SUCCESSFULAND HEALTHY

FOOTBALL SEASON!

CLAY COUNTYBOARD OF

SUPERVISORS

oa k H i l l ac a d e m yr a i d e r s

O A k H I L L F O O T B A L L 2 0 1 6 R O S T E R 2 Cooper Hill FR 4 Powell Tabor SR 6 Parker Brand FR 7 Dylan Scott JR 9 Jonah Caskey FR 10 Ken Dill SR 12 John Carver Middleton JR

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72 Pierce Loyed FR

75 Cody Pearson SR

76 Julian Nance SR

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81 Grayson Easterling SO

88 Lucas Birmingham SO

OAk HILL RAIDERS2016 VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 11August 19August 26

September 2September 9

September 16September 23September 30

October 7October 14October 21October 28November 4

November 11November 18

**Denotes district opponents • (HC) Denotes Homecoming

Pickens Academy-ScrimmageNewton Academy

Tupleo Christian PrepHeritage Academy

W. Memphis Christian (HC)Marshall Academy

**Winona Christian School**Columbus Christian School

**Carroll AcademyLeake Academy

**Deer Creek SchoolPlayoffs-Round 1Playoffs-Round 2Playoffs-Round 3

State Championship

Home 6:00Away 7:00Away 7:00Home 7:00Home 7:00Home 7:00Home 7:00Away 7:00Away 7:00Away 7:00Home 7:00TBA 7:00TBA 7:00TBA 7:00TBA TBA

Raiders seek to overcome inexperienceBY JOSH [email protected]

The Oak Hill Academy Raiders are look-ing to overcome a bit of inexperience on the field to produce a productive season this year.

Head Football Coach Chris Craven said the Raiders had some good athletes, but the experience factor would play a major part in the season.

“We’re playing that inexperience,” Cra-ven said. “It may be upper classmen who just never had the opportunity to get real playing time in previous years, or it may be fresh-men.”

He said the team was looking to overcome its learning curve and gain discipline in all

positions. “Lack of experience leads to mistakes, and

it’s hard to win when you make mistakes,” Craven said. “We’ve got a good ball club, they just need to settle down. I feel good about our team going into this year, and we’ve just got to play ball.”

The team will not begin conference play until its Sept. 23 game against Winona Chris-tian School, and Craven said that would give the Raiders a chance to iron out the wrinkles.

“We’re playing the same schedule as last year,” he said. “There’s going to be some challenges early on, but there are teams we believe we can compete with. We’ve got half a season to work on getting our players some experience and get our mistakes down to a minimum.”

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2 Dash Turman 3 Bradley Scott 7 Braeden Triplett 11 Jax Warren 22 Elijah Parrish

23 Evan Pilkington 33 Doug Loden 50 Jackson Langley 52 John McGrew 53 Chase Collum

62 Kolbe Thompson

75 Aaron Woodson

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JR. VARSITY FOOTBALL Chris Jennings

Joshua Yates

James Williamson

Braiden Fulgham

Wesley Craft

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Sunday, August 28, 2016 7 Footbal l Preview

The Oak Hill Booster Club proudly supports all Raider athletic programs...Football, Baseball, Basketball, Softball, Track, Golf & Tennis

PAID FOR BY THE OAK HILL BOOSTER CLUB

GO RAIDERS!

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HeBron cHristian scHoole a g l e s

HEBRON CHRISTIAN SCHOOL2016 VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

August 12

August 19

August 26

September 2

September 9

September 16

September 23

September 30

October 7

October 14

October 21

October 28

*Homecoming • **Senior Night

Delta Academy Jamboree

Sharkey Issaquena Academy

Delta Street

Delta Academy

Central Academy

Open

Strider Academy

*Calvary Academy

Marvell

Leake Academy

Park Place Christian

**Kemper Academy

Away TBA

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Hebron Eagles full of youthful enthusiasm

BY DONNA [email protected]

Hebron, as a small Christian school, plays eight – man football in the MAIS league. The Eagles, under the direction of Coach David Foster, have put together a team of young men ready to learn the basics to become a good football team.

“We are a young team this year,” Foster said. “We have some eighth and ninth grade boys who are step-ping up to play both junior varsity and varsity football. The kids are ready and eager to play.”

Foster said they are working hard at becoming a team.

“They’re learning to execute plays,” Foster said. “The younger team members are playing six quar-ters a week, it gives them more time on the field. It gives them more practice time as well. I think it will be a good thing for the players.”

Foster said he was very proud of his team. Despite a loss during the opening game of the season, he said

the kids never gave up.

“I have seen a big improvement in

the kids since the Jamboree ,” Fos-

ter said. “They showed a lot of pride

and spirit in the first game. They

may have lost, but they weren’t de-

feated. They are learning that you

never give up. That is an important

lesson when playing football. We

are working hard on play execution

and defense.”

During the building and learn-

ing process, Foster said the team

is showing a lot of potential for the

coming seasons at Hebron Christian

School, for both the JA and Varsity

football teams.

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Mississippi State wide receiver Fred Ross, left, makes a play against Missouri last season. (Photo by L.G. Patterson, AP)

Now fully healthy, Ross look to playhuge role at MSU

By JOEL [email protected]

By now, everyone is well aware of Fred Ross and his spectacular 2015 season.

The Mississippi State receiver shattered the school record for receptions (88), 100-yard games (five) and consecutive 100-yard receiving games (four) on the way to being chosen first-team All-Southeastern Conference by league coaches, an honor no Bulldog wideout had received in two decades.

The numbers were impressive. They become completely astounding when you consider what Ross was dealing with.

“I was hurt the whole season,” Ross, now a senior, admits.

Ross underwent surgery on what was a groin injury back in March and missed all of spring practice recovering. He’s back on the field preparing now as MSU inches closer to its 2016 season opener on Sept. 3.

Ross is easing back into action. Head coach Dan Mullen has stated he’ll be over-ly cautious with Ross and has backed that up as Ross sat out MSU’s first scrimmage of training camp on Aug. 11.

“He didn’t do anything and he won’t do anything in our next scrimmage (on Aug. 19) either,” Mullen said. “He might be 100 percent, and that’s good. You can be 100 percent cheering on the sidelines. I know when I want him 100 percent and that’s go-ing to be that first Saturday in September.”

So if an injured Ross can put together one of the best seasons in school history, what exactly can a healthy Ross do?

“I don’t know,” Ross said. “We’re going to see.”

Ross will be a total package for MSU this season. There’s basically nothing he won’t be asked to do. From a performance standpoint, Mullen intends to load Ross’

plate. Whether it’s on the outside or in the slot, Ross will be everywhere.

“Fred is going to play all over the field for us,” Mullen said. “The great thing is he has the skill set to do it and he has the knowledge to do it because he’s been in our program for so long. He’s a wild card for us. We don’t have him anywhere on the depth chart because he’s basically at the top of any of the receiver positions on the depth chart for us. He’s kind of a fill-in-the-blank.”

Mullen said Ross’ leadership will be just as valuable as his production. Regardless of who becomes Mississippi State’s start-ing quarterback, it will be an individual with little experience.

“Our young quarterbacks will make some mistakes and make some bad throws,” Mullen said.

Enter Ross to be a security blanket for the signal callers.

“Having a guy like Fred that understands the offense and can play multiple wide re-ceiver positions, I think it will help take a lot pressure off the quarterbacks,” Mullen said. “It’s not just his playmaking, but his personality. We’re going to need him to do that for these guys to get comfortable and get more experience in games.”

The only question mark at all for Ross is his health. He has claimed to be back to around 95 percent healthy in recent days. Ross says he doesn’t hurt anymore. He still just has some rust to knock off from his time on the shelf after the surgery.

By the time the first game rolls around, Ross is expected to be fully healthy and ready to go. With nothing to hold him back, 2015 may have just been an appe-tizer for what’s to come.

“I’m just glad that God blessed me, my surgery went well and I’m ready to start the season,” Ross said.

Sunday, August 28, 2016 9 Footbal l Preview

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local collegef o o t B a l l s c H e d u l e s

OLE MISSSep. Florida St. 8:00Sep. 10 Wofford 4:00Sep. 17 Alabama 3:30Sep. 24 Georgia TBAOct. 1 Memphis TBAOct. 15 at Arkansas TBAOct. 22 at LSU TBAOct. 29 Auburn TBANov. 5 Georgia Southern TBANov. 12 at Texas A&M TBANov. 19 at Vanderbilt TBANov. 26 Mississippi St. TBA

MISSISSIPPI ST.Sep. 3 South Alabama NoonSep. 10 South Carolina 7:00Sep. 17 at LSU 7:00Sep. 24 at UMass TBAOct. 8 Auburn TBAOct. 14 at BYU 10:15Oct. 22 at Kentucky TBAOct. 29 Samford TBANov. 5 Texas A&M TBANov. 12 at Alabama TBANov. 19 Arkansas TBANov. 26 at Mississippi TBA

EMCCSep. 1 at Jones Co. JC 7:00Sep. 8 at MS Gulf CC 7:00Sep. 15 Northeast MS CC 7:00Sep. 22 at Itawamba CC 7:00Sep. 29 MS Delta CC 7:00Oct. 6 at Holmes CC 6:30Oct. 15 Northwest MS CC 2:00Oct. 20 at Coahoma CC 6:30Oct. 27 Hinds CC 7:00

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east ms ccl i o n s

Lions focused onpositives this yearBy DANNY P. [email protected]

SCOOBA – East Mississippi Com-munity College knows what it’s like to win a national championship in the last two years. The Lions also had the feeling of missing the playoffs during that time span.

No matter what the previous season held for the Lions, coach Buddy Ste-phens said they approach the next one the same way.

Even though EMCC was disap-pointed with the way last year ended with an on-field altercation at Missis-sippi Delta that kept it out of the post-season picture, Stephens said there was a lesson there.

“Last year didn’t end the way we wanted it to and we have to learn from those experiences,” Stephens said. “We have a tremendous platform to grow and to teach from. Those are the things we’ve been working on since last year. Right now, we need to make sure we get everybody healthy and get to the first ball game.”

The Lions captured the MACJC North Division championship after going 8-1 during the regular sea-son and finished seventh in the fi-nal MACJC poll. The only loss for EMCC was in overtime 31-24 to Co-piah-Lincoln.

With no playoff opportunity to brag about, the Lions were all about busi-ness during the offseason.

“Our guys have been here since May,” EMCC offensive coordinator and Starkville native Marcus Wood said. “They’ve had a great attitude and brought their lunch box to work every day. I think that part is good and we’re just eager to get going.”

It has been about work for the Li-ons.

They are not trying to dwell about

what could have been last year and are not trying to be bitter about it.

“We’re just hav-ing a positive at-titude every day,” EMCC running back and former Starkville High School player Jacquez Horsley said. “We’ve been working hard in the weight room, try-ing to keep everything positive and take it one game at a time.”

Horsley was the second-leading rusher for the Lions last season with 489 yards on 52 carries and six touch-downs.

On defense, linebacker Ryan Lee returns after making 28 tackles last season for EMCC.

Even though the Lions lost some quality defensive players, Stephens likes what he has coming back also.

“This one may be a little faster,” Stephens said. “We’re a little better up front defensively. The good thing is we’ve got some experience at key positions. We’re working on getting a little bit of swag to what we do and working on that defensive mentality.”

When EMCC opens the season on the road at Jones County on Sept. 1, it will be shorthanded.

Due to the suspensions from the altercation in the Mississippi Delta game, Stephens anticipates having only half of his team for the first game, which is somewhere around 30 players.

Stephens said the Lions won’t go in feeling sorry for themselves.

“That’s the hand we’ve been dealt and the hand we’ll play,” Stephens said. “We’ll go out and play it like any other game.”

Stephens

Sunday, August 28, 2016 11 Footbal l Preview

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West Point Varsity Football2016 Schedule

 AUGUST 26 LOUISVILLE HOMESEPTEMBER 2 STARKVILLE AWAYSEPTEMBER 9 COLUMBUS AWAYSEPTEMBER 16 NOXUBEE COUNTY HOMESEPTEMBER 23 **OXFORD HOMESEPTEMBER 30 **CLARKSDALE AWAYOCTOBER 7 **CENTER HILL (HC) HOMEOCTOBER 14 **LAKE CORMORANT AWAYOCTOBER 21 **SALTILLO AWAYOCTOBER 28 **NEW HOPE HOMENOVEMBER 4 **LEWISBURG AWAY

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Alabama, SEC trying to remain in college football’s penthouseBy JOHN ZENORAssociated Press

A postseason rampage put both Alabama and the South-eastern Conference back on top in college football last season.

Now, the trick will be staying there with three new coaches in the East and quarterback uncer-tainty across much of the league, including at ‘Bama.

The Crimson Tide is once again the team to beat in the league, and perhaps nationally, after claiming the SEC’s eighth national title in 10 seasons. That broke a two-year drought for the league, which went 9-2 in the postseason counting the Tide’s playoff wins over Michigan State and Clemson.

Alabama defensive end Jona-than Allen doesn’t think coach Nick Saban will let complacen-cy set in.

“The biggest thing at Alabama is that if you don’t have hunger,” Allen said, “then you’re not go-ing to start this year.”

It’s a luxury afforded by a string of top-rated recruiting classes, even with an unproven backfield.

Tennessee and Mississippi, who have the SEC’s most ac-complished returning passers in Joshua Dobbs and Chad Kelly, are trying to continue climbing the ranks.

Longtime Tide defensive co-ordinator Kirby Smart is now trying to get Georgia over the hump. Will Muschamp’s back in the SEC East at South Caro-lina and Barry Odom is trying to lead a comeback to division contention at Missouri.

In the West, Auburn and Tex-

as A&M are trying to bounce back while LSU aims for a stronger finish.

The favorites

East: Tennessee. Butch Jones has positioned the Volunteers, led by Dobbs, as front-runners for their first division title since 2007. They have 17 starters back from a team that went 9-4. Florida is the defending cham-pion while three of the seven teams have new coaches. Unlike Tennessee, potential challengers Florida and Georgia entered fall camp without an established No. 1 quarterback.

West: Alabama. The de-fending national champions, as usual, have talent all over the field. Cooper Bateman is the only quarterback with college experience, but Blake Barnett and David Cornwell were high-ly rated recruits. The division is typically loaded with coach Les Miles and Leonard Four-nette trying to lead LSU back from late-season stumbles. Kelly helps make Mississippi — which has beaten the Tide two straight years — a strong threat, too.

Top players

Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU. Consensus All-American flirted with a 2,000-yard season and was a big Heisman Trophy favorite early last season. A more consistent passing game would help him out.

Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M. In a league full of elite pass rushers, he may be the best.

Has 24 sacks in two seasons.Cam Robinson, LT, Ala-

bama. Started every game in his first two seasons and will be blocking for a new backfield.

Chad Kelly, QB, Mississippi. Sugar Bowl MVP had third-most passing and total yards of any SEC quarterback in a sea-son.

Nick Chubb/Sony Michel, RBs, Georgia. Both are try-ing to return from injuries, and both have posted huge numbers when healthy.

New faces

Kirby Smart, Georgia. The standard was made crystal clear when Mark Richt was fired after winning double-digit games nine times in 15 seasons. Smart will be chas-ing his mentor, Saban.

Trevor Knight, QB, Texas A&M. The former Oklahoma starter could be the biggest on-field addition for any SEC team. Doesn’t hurt that he once led a Sugar Bowl win over Alabama.

Bo Scarbrough, RB, Ala-bama. He and fellow sopho-more Damien Harris are vying to replace Heisman Trophy

winner Derrick Henry. It’s the first time Saban hasn’t had an experienced back returning.

On the hot seat

Gus Malzahn, Auburn. Three years removed from an SEC title, he’s been unable to beat the top teams since. Quarterback struggles held back his normally prolific, fast offense last season.

Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M. An 11-13 record in SEC games over the past three seasons and trouble holding onto quarterbacks could at

least make it lukewarm.Les Miles, LSU. Last year’s

groundswell of support and a talented roster make him se-cure — at least until the next three-game losing streak.

Derek Mason, Vanderbilt. Two SEC wins in as many seasons but 16 returning starters, including RB Ralph Webb and LB Zach Cunning-ham.

Picks

East: Tennessee. West: Alabama. League champion: Alabama.

Alabama football coach Nick Saban works with his players during practice (Photo by Vasha Hunt, AL.com, AP)

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