SEC Power rankings: Despite slight losses, Texas A&M retains spoiler potential after spring portal
With the spring portal over and done with, rosters are essentially sealed across the SEC until kickoff arrives. The Aggies have put together a grouping of talent that has a lot of fans filled with cautious optimism by this point, but they lost a few players to the spring portal.
The only really notable name was Micah Hudson, but he never played a snap for the Aggies, instead having an extremely short-lived stay in College Station before returning to Lubbock. Hudson was not all that the Aggies brought in at receiver, though, with KC Concepcion and Mario Craver being some really notable names on that front.
So after the spring portal moves, how does the conference shake out? Let's take a look.
16: Mississippi State
The hire of Jeff Lebby was hailed as a great one at the time, but there’s a significant amount of doubt there right now following his 2-10 season in Starkville. Not only did they lose double-digit games, they lost nearly every player that would give fans confidence going forward— Michael Van Buren, Kevin Coleman, Mario Craver, and more. Lebby is going to have to pull some rabbits out of hats if he wants to get out of the conference basement.
15: Kentucky
The addition of Zach Calzada means the Wildcats have a more proven passer, but Aggie fans know the ups and downs that come with the Calzada experience. A couple of years at the lower level have produced some much better numbers for the former Aggie QB, but with UK losing a lot of their top offensive weapons otherwise, it’s tough to see Stoops’s squad flourishing in the SEC.
14: Arkansas
Speaking of losing production, Arkansas had a heck of a lot headed out the door to the draft and portal. Taylen Green will be back for another year, but without Isaac TeSlaa and Andrew Armstrong, things could be rocky for Sam Pittman and company up in Fayetteville. The Petrino question remains hanging thickly over this season for the Hogs— and it seems more of a “when” than an “if” he’ll take over.
13: Florida
The Gators lost almost every player of import aside from DJ Lagway this offseason. Now, Lagway himself is a great enough talent to lift the floor of this squad, but he can’t do it all by himself. J. Michael Sturdivant was a great portal pickup, but he doesn’t make up for what they lost.
12: Missouri
The Tigers will enter this upcoming season sans Luther Burden, Theo Wease, Brady Cook, Nate Noel, and a host of other talented players on both sides of the ball, including a guy who was supposed to star for them in Williams Nwaneri. It could be a tough year up in Columbia for Eli Drinkwitz, but he’s pulled rabbits out of hats before.
11: Vanderbilt
Vandy is only this high thanks to two men: Eli Stowers and Diego Pavia. They were torment for opposing teams to deal with last year, and they should once again be a thorn in the side of everyone on their schedule— though their home and road splits are far more unfriendly than they were last year.
10: Tennessee
In my previous ranking, I had Tennessee up in the top three, but after the departure of Nico Iamaleava, the ceiling for this squad is far lower than it was at that point. That’s not to say I thought he was at a Heisman-winning level already, but that his potential was sky-high. Now, Heupel will need to make some magic with his roster in order to get UT back to their previous level.
9: Oklahoma
OU has quietly done a good job in the portal. The addition of Mateer has been hailed by a lot of people, but it’s really up and down the roster that they’ve brought in some quality players. They could make some noise this year if things break right for them.
8: Auburn
Auburn is all in this year. If they don’t get things going, we could see the end of the Hugh Freeze era come about pretty quickly. The Tigers boast some premier offensive weapons, Cam Coleman the top name among them, so if they can get their quarterback situation figured out, they can really make some noise— if not, though, some tough questions will be asked.
7: Texas
The Longhorns have some young talent upcoming, but if Arch Manning plays to the level we’ve thus far seen on the field rather than the level many expect thanks to his last name, then this is probably a top-15 team at best. That’s what happens when you lose your best corners, offensive and defensive linemen, and wide receivers!
6: LSU
LSU has done a really impressive job in the portal, and with Garrett Nussmeier returning as a potential first-round pick for 2026, this is a team that certainly could break out this year. However, the inability to deal with running quarterbacks last year was mystifying given the talent that the Bayou Bengals had, and Nussmeier is good for a few “what was he thinking” throws per game— so that limits Brian Kelly’s squad a little bit.
5: South Carolina
Carolina is losing a few big time players, including Kyle Kennard, but the return of Dylan Stewart, LaNorris Sellers, and the potential emergence of Nyck Harbor make the Gamecocks a team to watch this year. I’ve been high on Sellers for a while, and with his name now being mentioned as a potential top-10 guy for the 2026 draft, he could be quite the rising tide for the Gamecocks this upcoming year.
4: Ole Miss
The Rebels reloaded once again through the portal, surprising no one. They lost a lot of core pieces, but they also poached other teams’ core pieces, so it kind of washes out. That said, this is a team that has a far lower ceiling than did last year’s, so I’m not bullish on their playoff chances.
3: Texas A&M
The Aggies land here thanks to a few things: the growth of Marcel Reed, the overall speed on offense, and an improved defensive backfield among other things. This is a team that many are writing off thanks to their finish last year, but they have a real chance to get to double-digit wins and be in playoff contention in November.
2: Alabama
The Tide are not quite what they were with Nick Saban, but they steadfastly refuse to be bad. Kalen DeBoer’s team lost some head-scratchers last year, and the bowl game left a bad taste in Bama fans’ mouths, but this is still a team that will be tough to beat. Ryan Williams has superstar potential that we all saw last year, but a lot hinges on how they replace Jalen Milroe.
1: Georgia
The Bulldogs are the champs until proven otherwise. Now without Carson Beck, though, they’ll once again be leaning on their defense and a stout running game— provided by studs like Nate Frazier— but don’t sleep on the potential of USC transfer Zach Branch. A lot of talent went into the draft, but there’s still yet more coming up through the ranks in Athens.