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College football's spring practice season is now well in the rearview mirror while there has also been a lot of movement in the transfer portal over the past couple of months. Now that the dust has settled, CBS Sports' Will Backus has taken on the task of ranking the Southeastern Conference from top to bottom ahead of the summer season. Now 16 schools strong with the addition of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners this season, the Florida Gators find themselves in the bottom third of the league standings according to Backus, landing at No. 11. "Most pundits seem to be pretty down on Florida. It's understandable given the Gators are now 11-14 through two years under Billy Napier. This certainly feels like a make-or-break season for his tenure" Backus begins. "But if there's one team outside the top 10 of these rankings that I'm confident can climb into that echelon by season's end, it's Florida," he continues. "Graham Mertz is an underappreciated quarterback (and is likely motivated to elevate his game now that star freshman DJ Lagway's in the room), wide receiver Eugene Wilson is one of the SEC's best playmakers and the defense is actually taking nice shape with transfers bolstering the returning starters." The Georgia Bulldogs hold the top spot in the rankings, followed by Texas, the Ole Miss Rebels, Alabama Crimson Tide, Missouri Tigers, Tennessee Volunteers, LSU Tigers, Oklahoma, Kentucky Wildcats and Texas A&M Aggies, respectively. Following Florida are the Auburn Tigers, South Carolina Gamecocks, Arkansas Razorbacks, Mississippi State Bulldogs and Vanderbilt Commodores, also respectively. Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
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