Greg McElroy picks Auburn as a dark horse contender for the SEC Championship

Before the SEC preseason media poll is released, perceived favorites have emerged at the top. Alabama, Georgia, LSU, and Texas will likely get a ton of votes to emerge as SEC Champions in December. ESPN’s Greg McElroy certainly believes so, saying as such Wednesday in Atlanta.

McElroy also gave out a pick as to who could be a dark horse to win the conference. He decided to go with the Auburn Tigers, liking the roster Hugh Freeze has put together on the Plains. The quarterback position might be the lone question mark and if Jackson Arnold can play up to his potential, McElroy sees Auburn as a dangerous team.

“The dark horse is Auburn. A huge question mark around the quarterback spot, for sure. Jackson Arnold last year, benched at Oklahoma, turnover issues, lacked confidence at times, gets replaced, gets put back in the lineup, finishes okay. He now gets a fresh start.

“But if you look at what’s around him, he’s got a really good supporting cast and I like what they have on defense at all three levels. So guys, I think Auburn is a legitimate SEC Championship contender, assuming their quarterback, Jackson Arnold, reaches his potential as a former five-star quarterback.”

Arnold is going to enjoy the wide receiver corps a lot more on the Plains than he did at Oklahoma. Auburn appears to have one of the best groups in the country, led by Cam Coleman. Eric Singleton was brought in via the NCAA transfer portal and Malcolm Simmons is primed for a breakout season. Plenty of options will be there for Arnold when he drops back to pass.

McElroy also mentioned the quality defense, having guys at all three levels. Opposing SEC offensive coordinators will be more scared of Kendric Faulk than anyone else, though. NFL scouts cannot wait to get their hands on Faulk and the potential to be a first-round pick is possibly there. A quality pass rusher, even in the SEC, can completely take over a game.

Pieces are there for Auburn to string together some wins. Looking at the schedule, some tough games are on there. As usual, the Alabama and Georgia games will be circled, both of which take place in Jordan-Hare Stadium. On the flip side, Auburn opens up SEC play with trips to Norman and College Station. And then Nov. 8, Freeze will look to get his first win over Diego Pavia.

Hurdles will have to be jumped over if the Tigers are going to live up to the dark horse billing McElroy set them to. More than anything, McElroy likes what he sees on paper and what the 2025 squad could produce.