Three days after Curt Cignetti guided Indiana to a historic Rose Bowl beatdown of Alabama, he took some time out of College Football Playoff prep to recruit Josh Hoover to serve as his quarterback for 2026. The truth is there is no offseason in college football — and in the age of the transfer portal and NIL money, that offseason has never been more crucial to a team's success the following year.
So, with Week 0 now officially right around the corner, how did every school in the SEC fare? Which programs put themselves in position to succeed moving forward, and which seem like they didn't quite do enough to get where they want to go this season (and maybe beyond)? We've graded how the offseason went for all 16 teams, taking into account everything from high school recruiting to the portal to coaching changes to injuries while adjusting for each program's expectations.
Alabama: B-
- Key additions: WR Noah Rogers (NC State), DT Devan Thompkins (USC), RB EJ Crowell, OL coach Adrian Klemm
- Key losses: QB Ty Simpson, OT Kadyn Proctor, WR Germie Bernard
It wasn't a disastrous offseason for the Tide. Far from it, really: Bringing on an old hand in Klemm shoudl help revitalize what as a downright bad offensive line last season, Kalen DeBoer filled some big needs with enticing portal talent, the high-school recruiting has been going like gangbusters and five-star QB Keelon Russell's development seems to be continuing apace. But for as good as Kane Wommack's defense might be — assuming Thompkins is a hit on the interior, at least — this offense needs a lot of help if it's going to get Alabama where it wants to go this season. And I'm just not sure DeBoer did it enough to stabilize that side of the ball for 2026.
Arkansas: D+
- Key additions: HC Ryan Silverfield, RB Sutton Smith, WR Chris Marshall (Boise State)
- Key losses: QB Taylen Green, RB Mike Washington Jr.
It's hard not to view Ryan Silverfield as a somewhat uninspired hire: He inherited a strong G6 program at Memphis, and while he won double-digit games twice, neither of those seasons resulted in conference titles and he went just 8-4 in 2025. There's very little evidence to suggest he's got the juice to tackle one of the SEC's trickiest jobs. He also didn't make all that much noise in the portal or on the recruiting trail in his first offseason at the helm — hardly damning, but also not the sort of needle-mover you'd like to see from a guy who doesn't exactly have the benefit of the doubt.
Auburn: C+
- Key additions: HC Alex Golesh, QB Byrum Brown, EDGE Da’Shawn Womack (Ole Miss)
- Key losses: WR Cam Coleman, DL Keldric Faulk, C Connor Lew
The jury remains out for me on Golesh, who brings an exciting offensive system and a dynamite dual-threat QB in Byrum Brown with him to the Plains but who also didn't actually accomplish all that much despite an increasingly well-resourced program at South Florida. One of his big portal gets, Baylor RB Bryson Washington, already seems to be trending towards bust territory, while he didn't actually bring in enough new talent to cover for the predictable post-coaching change portal exodus. Hardly reason to panic yet, but we're going to have to wait and see.
Florida: B+
- Key additions: HC Jon Sumrall, WR Eric Singleton Jr., QB Aaron Philo
- Key losses: DT Caleb Banks, QB DJ Lagway, CB Jordan Castell
Sumrall is an exciting hire who's won everywhere he's been so far, and he made two strong coordinator hires in OC Buster Faulkner (who made sweet music at Georgia Tech with Haynes King) and former Kentucky DC Brad White. I don't love Aaron Philo as the replacement for DJ Lagway, but the rest of this portal class is pretty strong, and Sumrall managed to hang on to some very big names from the Billy Napier era. Really, though, I just think the Gators got the biggest decision of their offseason right.
Georgia: B
- Key additions: WR Isiah Canion, S Khalil Barnes
- Key losses: LB CJ Allen, OT Monroe Freeling, S Joenel Aguero
Please don't take this relatively muted grade as any sort of indictment on Georgia under Kirby Smart. It's just that his program is sort of designed to be underwhelming in an exercise like this, given its emphasis on retention and development rather than portal splashes. Smart still retains and develops as well as anybody, and while I have questions about this offense's ability to generate explosive plays given how little they added in the portal, the foundation here remains very strong.
Kentucky: B+
- Key additions: HC Will Stein, QB Kenny Minchey, OT Lance Heard, WR Kenny Darby
- Key losses: QB Cutter Boley, G Jalen Farmer, C Jager Burton
It's hard to expect much more out of a Kentucky coaching hire than Stein, a Louisville native who's engineered dynamic offenses first at UTSA and then under Dan Lanning at Oregon. And if you're looking for proof of concept early on, he provided it with a couple of high-school recruiting wins and poaching former Notre Dame QB Kenny Minchey to helm what could be a sneaky good offense in year one. This is going to be a multi-year build, but things have gone about as well as could reasonably have been expected for the Cats.
LSU: A
- Key additions: HC Lane Kiffin, QB Sam Leavitt, OT Jordan Seaton
- Key losses: CB Mansoor Delane, QB Garrett Nussmeier, LB West Weeks, OL Carius Curne
By no means is this a defense of the way in which LSU landed Lane Kiffin, or the way Kiffin behaved on the way out of Oxford. Putting all that to one side, though, the fact is that the Tigers nabbed one of the very best coaches in the sport, and someone who's demonstrated a unique ability to thrive in the chaos of college football in 2026. Case in point: This is easily the best transfer haul in the country, highlighted by future NFL tackle Jordan Seaton. No, he didn't raid Ole Miss' roster as much as he wanted to, and he suffered a couple high-school recruiting losses late, but the arrow is very much pointing up here as Kiffin gets his feet under him in Baton Rouge.
Mississippi State: C
- Key additions: WR Marquis Johnson, OL DJ Chester, EDGE Amaree Williams
- Key losses: WR Brenen Thompson, LB Nic Mitchell, RB Davon Booth
It's not hard to be excited about an offense that returns dual-threat dynamo Kamario Taylor, RB Fluff Bothwell and WR Anthony Evans. But this roster got raided in the portal otherwise, and I'm not sure Jeff Lebby did enough on defense or along the offensive line. This is the way of things for the bottom rung of this conference, and the Bulldogs are hoping some fliers on unproven Power 4 talent will pan out.
Missouri: C+
- Key additions: QB Austin Simmons, WR Cayden Lee
- Key losses: EDGE Zion Young, EDGE Damon Wilson II, LB Josiah Trotter
Replacing departed OC Kirby Moore with journeyman Chip Lindsey is pretty uninspiring, and while it might be too soon to give up on Austin Simmons — he was the next big thing just 12 months ago, after all — it was alarming just how many big mistakes he made in his first taste of being a starter in the SEC. Combine those offensive question marks with all the talent Mizzou lost from what was a sturdy defense in 2025, and it's hard not to feel like a step back is coming this season.
Oklahoma: B
- Key additions: WR Trell Harris, WR Parker Livingstone, LB Cole Sullivan
- Key losses: EDGE R Mason Thomas, DL Gracen Halton, WR Deion Burks
I would consider everything about Oklahoma's offseason to be fine. A top-15 high school class and a top-20 transfer class? Check. Decent returning talent on both sides of the ball? Absolutely. I would've liked some more proven offensive firepower than Harris and Livingstone, but those two are undeniably talented, and everything could look a lot better if a young and highly touted offensive line takes a step forward. Nothing earth-shaking here, but nothing to be overly concerned about either.
Ole Miss: A-
- Key additions: OC John David Baker, OL Carius Curne, QB Deuce Knight
- Key losses: EDGE Princewill Umanmielen, WR De'Zhaun Stribling
Part of this grade is a reflection of just how badly things could have broken for Ole Miss had Pete Golding not held down the fort. But it's not just that he managed to retain stars like Trinidad Chambliss, Kewan Lacy and Suntarine Perkins; he also went to work in the portal, particularly on the defensive side of the ball after the interior was exposed late in their College Football Playoff run. Add in the potential future at QB in former five-star Deuce Knight, and this is about as good a situation as the Rebs could've expected after their world appeared to be crumbling down in November.
South Carolina: D
- Key additions: OC Kendal Briles, OT Jacarrius Peak, EDGE Caleb Herring
- Key losses: CB Brandon Cisse, S Jalon Kilgore
This is ... not what you want ahead of a season that will probably make or break your job security. Shane Beamer only gets one more shot with LaNorris Sellers and Dylan Stewart, and he responded to that opportunity by hiring a retread in Briles as his new offensive coordinator and not making too many splashes in the portal. The offensive line got some needed upgrades, sure, but this is still a weak group of skill players, and there are major questions in the secondary as well.
Tennessee: C
- Key additions: DC Jim Knowles, QB Faizon Brandon, CB Kayin Lee
- Key losses: QB Joey Aguilar, CBs Colton Hood/Jermod McCoy, WR Chris Brazzell
Maybe this seems harsh, and there are certainly things to like about the Vols' offseason — Knowles is an awfully accomplished DC, and five-star Brandon might be about to win the QB1 job already. I'm mostly concerned at how little Josh Heupel did to address a defense that was downright bad down the stretch of 2025. One of Tennessee's big transfer coups, Penn State EDGE Chaz Coleman, has been dismissed from the team, and as things stand I'm not sure how this team is going to improve on what was a pretty poor defensive front. There are proven additions in the secondary which should help, and this team will likely score lots of points. Playoff talk feels premature unless some young defenders really grow, though.
Texas: A- ... with an asterisk
- Key additions: WR Cam Coleman, RBs Hollywood Smothers/Raleek Brown, LB Rasheem Biles, DC Will Muschamp
- Key losses: LB Anthony Hill Jr., S Michael Taaffe, CB Malik Muhammad
The asterisk is a big one, as potential All-America tackle Trevor Goosby recently suffered a bone bruise to his knee in fall camp. The initial timeline suggests he should be back in time for the Week 2 clash against Ohio State, if not the start of the regular season, but the Horns can ill-afford to lose a player of his caliber at such an important position. Assuming Goosby's health, though ... man, it's hard not to like what Steve Sarkisian has put together. Quibble with the depth on offense if you want, but Arch Manning throwing to Coleman and Ryan Wingo and handing off to Smothers and Brown is potentially dynamite. I even like Will Muschamp returning as DC; sure, it's been a while, but his schematic chops have never been in question.
Texas A&M: B-
- Key additions: WR Isaiah Horton, OT Wilkin Formby (Alabama), EDGE Anto Saka (Northwestern)
- Key losses: OC Collin Klein, EDGE Cashius Howell, WR KC Concepcion
Start with the coaching staff, which lost both coordinators and replaced them with internal promotions who don't have much of any playcalling experience. I refuse to worry about a Mike Elko defense, but I have big questions about Holmon Wiggins taking over for departed OC Collin Klein. Elko did as well as he could replacing four departed offensive line starters, but rebuilding that unit on the fly is never an easy task. Elko is still building something to be excited about in College Station; this year's Aggies are losing more than they gained, though.
Vanderbilt: B+
- Key additions: QB Jared Curtis, WR Ja’Cory Thomas (Old Dominion), OT Beau Johnson (North Dakota State)
- Key losses: QB Diego Pavia, TE Eli Stowers, WR Tre Richardson
I'm not sure what it will mean on the field in 2026, but the primary objective for Clark Lea this offseason was to prove that his program could be much more than departed Heisman candidate Diego Pavia — and on that front, it was a pretty resounding success. The headliner is five-star QB Jared Curtis, who might be in line to start on day one after flipping from Georgia over the winter. Lea also managed to prevent his roster from getting raided as badly as it has in the past, and he also pulled in some solid transfers with real experience to patch holes on both lines of scrimmage. This feels like a sustainable blueprint moving forward.
Add us as a preferred source on Google