Five of the 10 SEC players with triple-digit tackles during the 2014 season are returning this fall. All five players are linebackers in the SEC East, which will count on the position group to try to claw back even with the West in 2015.

Here are the Top 10 returning SEC defensive players ranked by their tackles in 2014.

Player ’15 Class School ’14 Tackles
1. Kentrell Brothers Senior Missouri 122
2. Michael Scherer Junior Missouri 114
3. Josh Forrest Senior Kentucky 110
4. Jalen Reeves-Maybin Junior Tennessee 101
5. Antonio Morrison Senior Florida 101
T6. Johnathan Ford Junior Auburn 93
T6. Skai Moore Junior South Carolina 93
T6. Reggie Ragland Senior Alabama 93
9. Cassanova McKinzy Senior Auburn 91
10. Brian Randolph Senior Tennessee 88

Missouri returns 236 combined tackles from Brothers and Scherer, who will be in line for another huge statistical output this season behind a stout group of defensive tackles.

Alabama’s Ragland is the only AP first-team All-SEC player from the ’14 season, while Brothers and Morrison made second-team All-SEC.

Every returning Top 10 tackler in the conference is an upperclassman, and the majority are seniors. That’s in contrast to the returning offensive leaders, many of whom are sophomores and juniors.