No one had more questions to answer this spring than Georgia.The Bulldogs lost two projected first-round picks in quarterback Matthew Stafford and halfback Knowshon Moreno to the NFL draft following last season, leaving Georgia to fill holes at two of the most important positions on the field.But following the team’s spring practices, which concluded last weekend with the annual G-Game, Georgia coach Mark Richt is confident his team will continue to be successful without two of the program’s most legendary players.”The media, whether we liked it or not, wanted to portray Stafford and Moreno as ‘the team’,” Richt said in a teleconference. “They were great players … but I think now that those guys are gone, it’s much more of a team situation here, and I think that’s very important. It seems like now everyone, including in the media, is in agreement that Georgia can only be successful if they play as a team, and that’s healthy for our team.”Fifth-year senior quarterback Joe Cox is considered by most as the heavy favorite to replace Stafford.Cox saw action in three games for the Bulldogs in 2008 and completed 11-of-15 passes for two touchdowns.The Charlotte, N.C., native did not hurt his cause in the spring game and was 9-of-16 with 105 yards.”He has command of [the offense],” Richt said. “He understands it extremely well. He was a fantastic No. 2 quarterback because he always prepared like he was No. 1.”Sophomore halfback Caleb King appears to be the Bulldog in line to replace Moreno at halfback.King had 61 carries and 247 yards last season for Georgia and followed that up with 22 rushing yards in the G-Game.But redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas stole the show in the spring and figures to be a home run threat out of the Georgia backfield in 2009.Thomas used his slender 5-foot-7-inch frame to allude Bulldog defenders and rack up 59 yards on eight carries, including a 20-yard touchdown run.GATORS CHOMPING FOR REPEATWith 19 of 22 starters returning — including all 11 defensive starters — from last season, Florida is most people’s preseason favorite to repeat as BCS national champions.So with spring practice concluding in Gainesville this weekend, Florida coach Urban Meyer said he is pleased with the progression his team has made as they begin their quest to win their third BCS national championship in four seasons.”One of the reasons we had success at the end of the season was the professionalism of our players,” Meyer said. “And I think that’s carried over into the spring with our returning players.”The Gators return 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow at quarterback.Tebow pondered the NFL draft, but will return to school after completing 192-of-298 passes with 30 touchdowns and just four interceptions his junior season.But the Gators’ strength may be their defense.Florida will return all of their 2008 starters from a unit that allowed just 12.9 points per game last season and held Oklahoma’s high-powered offense to just 14 points in the BCS championship.Meyer said having so much experience on his team will allow the Gators to avoid the pressures of being defending national champions.The Gators went 9-4 in 2007 after winning the national championship in 2006.”The maturity level of this team is just different,” Meyer said. “The entitlement and the selfishness and the worrying about things that don’t contribute to next year are all things I don’t see this year.”NEW COACHES GET FEET WET PRIOR TO SEASONThis season will mark the debut of three new coaches in the SEC — Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin, Auburn’s Gene Chizik and Mississippi State’s Dan Mullen.Kiffin made splashes throughout his first offseason with the Volunteers and criticized a few SEC coaches through the media, including Meyer and Richt.But his focus now on improving the Volunteers’ play on the field — which was good enough for only a 5-7 record in 2008.”We have two practices left, and we’ve had 13 practices so far, and we feel really good about how our guys have worked,” Kiffin said. “I think our first defense is playing at a very high level, and we’re very excited about them.”The Volunteers were without All-American junior safety Eric Berry for the spring, who had offseason shoulder surgery. But Kiffin said he expects Berry to be ready for fall practices.Chizik and Mullen entered the SEC in a lower profile than Kiffin but have equally large challenges.Chizik’s main focus will be finding production from the quarterback position.Auburn finished last in the SEC in passing touchdowns and No. 10 in passing yards per game.But the Tigers return junior Kodi Burns who saw significant playing time last season, as well as junior Neil Caudle and freshman Barrett Trotter.Chizik said all of his quarterbacks made progress this spring and have put themselves in a position to see playing time in the fall.”I really don’t envision being able to name a starter after spring,” he said. “But they’ve all done good things, and to rate them right now in terms of who’s one, two or three, I think would be premature on our part.”Mullen will have a similar challenge at Mississippi State.The Bulldogs finished last in the conference in scoring offense last season at just 15.2 points per game.Mullen had success as a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Florida and has had a hand in grooming quarterbacks such as Alex Smith, Josh Harris, Chris Leak and Tebow in his career.But the Bulldogs’ first-year coach knows his players will have a lot of growing pains as they encounter their first season with the spread offense.”One of the things we asked from our guys this spring was to give great effort,” Mullen said. “Because we know there’s a big, giant learning curve for our guys with a new style and a new way that we’re practicing.”—–Contact Casey Gisclair at [email protected]