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This is my vote for pre-season offensive line rankings in the SEC.
Five years ago, it would have been hard to imagine this would ever occur. USC now has one of the best offensive lines in the nation. Three starters--LT Corey Robinson, RT Brandon Shell, and LG A.J. Cann--are likely NFL Draft picks next year. Either Cody Waldrop or Clayton Stadnik will provide excellent play at center. It's unclear whether Mike Matulis or Na'Ty Rodgers will start at RG, but both are talented. The Gamecocks also have enough depth at all positions to withstand all but the worst that the injury gods throw at them. Offensive line coach Shawn Elliott, both a precocious recruiter and developer of talent, is likely the most significant hire Spurrier has made.
2. LSU Tigers
Former offensive linemen Les Miles has always produced great lines at LSU, and this year should be no different. Miles has four starters back and a wealth of young talent to plug in as necessary.
Auburn loses star lineman Greg Robinson (the second pick in the NFL Draft), but returns four other starters from a line that dominated even the best opposing defenses late last year. Gus Malzahn has great talent at his disposal and may have his offense running even more smoothly in year two than last season.
4. Texas A&M Aggies
This program has been a talent factory on the offense line for years, and that should continue to be the case this year. The Aggies have several experienced players back and plenty of young talent.
The Tide will be more inexperienced on the offensive line this season than they have been in recent memory, but they've recruited so well that they have plenty of reasonable options available to them.
The Tigers lose talented left tackle Justin Britt but return a lot of talent and depth, led by Evan Boehm, one of the favorites to win the Rimington Trophy.
Dan Mullen loses Gabe Jackson, but they return four players with starting experience, and Mullen has been able to build a reasonable amount of depth. This should be a solid group blocking for an offense led by talented QB Dak Prescott.
Georgia loses three starters on the offensive line but also returns some talented starters such as John Theus and has experienced players ready to step in for the departing guys. A concern with this group is that Georgia's offensive line seems to perpetually be performing below expectations.
The Rebels have one of the most talented left tackles in the league in Laremy Tunsil, but they lack talented, experienced depth. Their ability to hold up over the course of the season is the question with this group.
10. Florida Gators
The Gators under Will Muschamp have struggled to recruit the offensive line as well as they did during Urban Meyer's heyday, and like Ole Miss, depth is a major concern for them. What makes that problem extra worrisome is that some of the starters have bad histories with injuries.
The Hogs gave young lineman a lot of playing time last year, and the results were predictable. However, the unit will be more experienced this season. Another thing the Hogs have going for them is that Bret Bielema has a track record of producing outstanding lines.
Vandy returns a relatively experienced, talented line by Vandy standards. Last year's best player, Wesley Johnson, is gone, though.
The 'Cats return four starters, but those players were part of the league's worst line last season, a group that gave up almost 40 sacks. Experience is very important on the offensive line, but can we expect this group to make more than incremental progress?
The Vols lose all five starters, although they have an experienced junior in Marcus Jackson who redshirted last year. It's very likely that multiple freshman will be forced into action right away for this unit, which should be good in a few years but will almost certainly be one of the league's worst in 2014.