Make-or-break positions in the SEC West

2:21 PM ET

Every coach you talk to will tell you it’s a total team effort. If one part fails, the whole show goes down.

But on most teams you can pinpoint a single position that will make or break the season. Last year it was Alabama’s defensive line that led the charge to a national championship while Florida’s lack of a strong quarterback limited how far the Gators could go.

We looked at those make-or-break positions in the East on Wednesday. Now, we’ll examine the West.

Alabama: It’s one thing to worry about the depth of a position. It’s another to worry about inexperience. For Alabama, the issues at running back involve both. While there is potential star power with Bo Scarbrough looking like the next in what has been a great line of Bama backs, he has only 18 career carries and his health is a concern with two knee injuries and a broken ankle already on file. Damien Harris is a solid second option, but he was the third-string back as a freshman last year. Making matters worse is the reported loss of reserve Ronnie Clark to an Achilles injury. If Scarbrough or Harris gets injured or doesn’t play well, the running game could falter, which is bad news for whoever becomes the new starting quarterback.

Arkansas: Kyle Allen, Chad Kelly and Dak Prescott threw for more than 350 yards against Arkansas last season. Prescott, in particular, went berserk, completing 38 of 50 passes for 508 yards and five touchdowns. That is, in a word, unacceptable. While Robb Smith is regarded as one of the better defensive coordinators in the SEC, he can’t allow his secondary to get carved up like it did last year. With Brooks Ellis, Deatrich Wise and JaMichael Winston, there’s more than enough talent in the front seven. If the back end of the defense improves, there’s no reason to believe that Smith can’t produce one of the best defenses in the SEC, playing more like it did in 2014 and not 2015.

Auburn: …

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