If the SEC West wants to maintain its reputation for being college football’s best conference, it theoretically should have the best players in the country, right?

Well, it still has the best players, so much so that it’s hard pin down the division’s 10 best. A two-year national title drought notwithstanding, there is plenty of talent on both sides of the ball, and NFL types — as they do every year — are playing closing attention.

Here are the 10 best individual players in the SEC West entering the fall.

Also Considered: Auburn WR D’haquille Williams, Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson, Alabama DE Jonathan Allen, Ole Miss DB Tony Conner, Texas A&M QB Kyle Allen, Auburn DE Carl Lawson, Arkansas RB Alex Collins

10. RB Derrick Henry, Alabama: Henry, who deferred to T.J. Yeldon in the last two seasons, led the Crimson Tide with 990 yards and 11 rushing TDs in 2014. He will be Alabama’s go-to option on the ground, and 2015 is finally his year to thrive. The 6-foot-3, 242-pounder averaged 6.6 yards per carry and rushed for 1,372 yards and 14 TDs his first two seasons with the Tide.

9. WR Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: After making 72 catches for 608 yards and five TDs as a freshman in 2013, Treadwell hauled in 48 passes for 632 yards and five more scores last season before it was cut short by a serious leg injury. Treadwell appears poised for a big year. That’s despite the fact that he compiled those numbers with Bo Wallace throwing to him and even though Ole Miss’ quarterback situation remains unsettled. This is how important Treadwell is to Ole Miss’ offense: in their final three games against FBS opponents last season, the Rebels scored just 34 points and Arkansas throttled them, 30-0.

8. LB Reggie Ragland, Alabama: The 6-foot-2, 252-pounder led the Crimson Tide’s linebacking corps in 2014, finishing with 95 tackles (including 10.5 for a loss) and a forced fumble. He could very well be Alabama’s next first-round pick at linebacker, continuing the recent tradition established by Rolando McClain, Don’t’a Hightower and C.J. Mosley.

7. LT Cam Robinson, Alabama: It’s not often that a true freshman left tackle protects the blind side of one of the SEC’s top passers. That’s exactly what Robinson did last year for the Crimson Tide during the team’s run to the College Football Playoffs. Though he was good last year, Alabama will count on Robinson as a foundational member of an offense that returns just three starters, including center Ryan Kelly. Nick Saban has indicated that his quarterback may be tasked with protecting the ball and managing the game rather than winning it as often as Blake Sims did last year. But whomever lines up behind center can rest assured that Robinson will keep him clean.

6. DE Myles Garrett, Texas A&M: Garrett finished with 11.5 sacks last season to break Jadeveon Clowney’s SEC freshman record. Garrett, who also made 53 tackles a season ago, is coming off surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. He’ll be a key cog for the Aggies’ defense under new defensive coordinator John Chavis, who spent the last six seasons at LSU.

5. RB Leonard Fournette, LSU: In his fantastic freshman season, the 6-foot-1, 230-pounder rushed for 1,034 yards and 10 touchdowns. He also added a 100-yard kickoff return against Notre Dame. With Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris, who struggled with consistency last season, returning at quarterback for the Tigers, expect Fournette to get more than 20 carries a game (he had only 187 all of last season) and make a big move toward the Heisman Trophy.

4. OT Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss: The 6-foot-5, 305-pound junior, who has started for the Rebels since he was a freshman, is coming off a broken leg he suffered in LSU’s Peach Bowl loss to TCU. A first-team All-SEC pick last season, Tunsil will be counted on to protect the blind side of one of the three candidates trying to replace Wallace — junior transfer Chad Kelly and returning sophomores Ryan Buchanan and DeVante Kincade.

3. DT A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama: The Texas product recorded 49 tackles last season, which is impressive when you consider the fact that he usually splits snaps as a nose tackle or end in the Crimson Tide’s 3-4 alignment. The junior, whose contributions to coordinator Kirby Smart’s defense aren’t usually seen in box scores, will anchor the top front seven in the nation.

2. DT Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss: The 6-foot-4, 296-pound junior — the consensus top-rated recruit in the country two years ago — made 35 tackles last season, including four for a loss and two sacks. He was the main cog for the “Landshark” defense that held opponents to 16 points a game in 2014. But the Rebels need more from the defensive tackle who has NFL aspirations and is considered a possible first-round pick.

1. QB Dak Prescott, Mississippi State: He’s the top returning QB in the SEC and one of the best signal-callers in the country, but he might be hard-pressed to exceed – or even duplicate – his numbers from last season, when he threw for 3,449 yards, 27 touchdowns and 11 interceptions while adding 986 yards and 14 scores on the ground. Prescott’s offensive line will have three new starters, but a plethora of running backs — Ashton Shumpert, Dontavian Lee, Aeris Williams and Brandon Holloway — might keep him from running for his life and eventually toward New York in December when Heisman voters look his way.