A loaded crop of SEC sophomores is led by a pair of Heisman Trophy hopefuls at running back and it doesn’t drop off much thereafter.

The best-case scenario for this group? The sky’s the limit. Any player on this list could be an All-American at year’s end.

Nick Chubb

School: Georgia

Position: Running back

Best-case scenario: Leads the SEC in rushing, establishing a new single-season record for rushing yards. Sound far-fetched? Consider: after taking over as the lead back against Missouri, Chubb averaged 163 rushing yards per game the rest of the season. Extrapolate that out to a 14-game season (best-case, remember) and you get 2,282 yards. That’s how good Chubb was as a freshman, and he’s got the bulk of the best offensive line in the conference coming back to block for him. Of course, maintaining the kind of pace he showed last year isn’t likely, but Chubb already has proven ability to be great. If the stars align in Athens this year, he could be historic.

Leonard Fournette

School: LSU

Position: Running back

Best-case scenario: No matter how talented, don’t expect Fournette to match Chubb’s numbers. Les Miles has shown much less of a willingness to pound a single back the way Georgia used Chubb last year. In fact, LSU has never had a back average 20 carries per game under Miles, but that hasn’t stopped Tigers running backs from putting up big-time numbers. Jeremy Hill topped 1,400 rushing yards for LSU in 2013, and it’s within Fournette’s ability to reach that number.

Myles Garrett

School: Texas A&M

Position: Defensive end

Best-case scenario: No SEC player has topped 14 sacks in a season since Willie Evans tallied 15 for Mississippi State in 2005. Garrett, who had 11.5 last year, could certainly reach that number. But an even better outcome might be to simply maintain his stellar output as a pass rusher while also improving against the run.

Derek Barnett

School: Tennessee

Position: Defensive end

Best-case scenario: It seems likely that Garrett and Barnett might be destined to draw comparisons to one another for as long as they don shoulder pads. We’ll hold off making a call for now, but you could make a strong argument that Round 1 should be scored for Barnett. All 10 of his sacks came in SEC play last year and he had the most tackles for loss in 2014 of any returning player in the conference. Just as it is for Garrett, a 15-sack season is within reach.

Cam Robinson

School: Alabama

Position: Offensive tackle

Best-case scenario: Last year, Robinson became the first true freshman to start at left tackle for the Tide since Andre Smith in 2006; not bad company considering the latter left Alabama as an All-American, an Outland Trophy winner and a first-round draft pick. Robinson could be on a similar track after earning Freshman All-American status last year while recording 32 knockdown blocks and allowing just three sacks.

Lorenzo Carter

School: Georgia

Position: Linebacker

Best-case scenario: Carter enters the season as a third-team All-SEC selection by the league’s coaches after recording 41 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks in 2014. He should see those numbers rise this year as the Bulldogs shuffle their loaded linebacker corps to get the best players on the field more often. Georgia is experimenting with Leonard Floyd at various positions, which should free up more snaps for Carter at outside linebacker.

Carl Lawson

School: Auburn

Position: Defensive end

Best-case scenario: It’s easy to forget Lawson is just a sophomore. After notching four sacks as a true freshman in 2013, his absence hung over the 2014 season. Now fully recovered from the knee injury that caused him to miss last year, Lawson is back and making waves in the preseason. The league’s media made him a first-team All-SEC selection this year, and to hear his coaches tell it, he’s essentially an unblockable Rocky Balboa. Though his ability to knock out 6-foot-5 Russians is as yet undetermined, it appears clear Lawson will be force in the SEC this season.

Jamal Adams

School: LSU

Position: Safety

Best-case scenario: Speaking of hard hitting, Adams showed last year he can both lower the boom and make the sure tackle in space, making him an impact player early in his LSU career. He had 66 tackles and earned Freshman All-American honors from multiple outlets as a part-time player last year. This year he’ll be starting at safety and could be in line for a breakout season. Former LSU standout Tyrann Mathieu might be biased, but he’s on record saying Adams will be the best safety in the country this year.