2020 Macadoodle's Mailbag: 43rd Edition

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GD: It's not great is my first reaction. Mac Jones is pretty clearly the best of the bunch at this point. Kyle Trask is second. Matt Corral, Kellen Mond, Connor Bazelak and Myles Brennan have had moments but need to show it over a longer period of time. Last year, you had Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa which covered for anything else that happened in the league (which wasn't incredible because Kelly Bryant was the league's fifth rated passer among those who had at least 14 attempts per game and played at least 75% of the games and he didn't have what most would consider a very good year).

I set a very arbitrary number of a quarterback rating of 145 and above. Here is the number of SEC passers who are at or above that mark:

2020: 5 (with Kellen Mond at 144.9)

2019: 2

2018: 5

2017: 5

2016: 3

2015: 4

2014: 4

2013: 5

2012: 5

This year's numbers will likely drop as we get more games, so it's not an apples to apples comparison. Just using the gut feel test, I've got to think 2016 was the worst. Josh Dobbs led the league in passer rating that year. Austin Allen was third and Sean White from Auburn was fourth. I think there are some guys this year with potential, but it remains to be seen if they can show it consistently.

GD: Let me start with this: What he's done with Arkansas' defense is very impressive so far. Last year the Razorbacks gave up 36.8 points per game and 6.54 yards per play (and that included four non-conference games). So far this year, it's 25.5 points and 5.01 yards per play. They're about 20% better than a year ago on every single snap. That's undeniably impressive. If they keep it up, I think Odom has a legitimate shot at the Broyles Award.

That said, it's four games. Let's see what they do over the final six.

As to your question, I'd be surprised if anybody comes calling after this year. I just don't think that many jobs are going to be open. I also think Odom might have a bit of a sense of loyalty to Arkansas and Sam Pittman (that's a rare word in college coaching, so maybe not, just a guess).

But let's say he does something similar the rest of this year and next. I definitely think he'll be in the mix for a head coaching job. I would think it's most likely at a Group of Five school where he'd have to show he'd learned things at Missouri and would be better the second time around. If he does well there for two or three years, he could get a look back at the Power Five level. But he's got to be careful of the job he would take too. A lot of coaches fail once and recover. If you take the wrong job and you fail a second time, you're probably not getting a third shot (I'm sure there are exceptions, just a general opinion).

There's another factor here which I should have probably mentioned first. Odom's agent is Jimmy Sexton. Sexton will get him interviews.