Who are the top wide receivers in SEC history?

We’ve spent the last several weeks flipping through team-specific media guides, glancing over highlight film and nearly coming to blows at our home office determining this 25-member comprehensive list of the league’s best pass-catchers.

Editor’s note: The SDS staff weighed multiple factors during our SEC’s all-time wide receivers rankings process including career statistics, individual awards, importance to their respective team and the era in which they played.

10.) ALSHON JEFFERY, SOUTH CAROLINA (2009-11)

Known for his one-handed grabs and ability to make leaping catches in double — sometimes triple — coverage, Jeffery’s one of only five SEC wideouts to surpass the 3,000-yard receiving mark in his career. Jeffery’s 1,517 yards as a sophomore in 2010 is the third-highest total ever in the SEC for a single season.

Jeffery holds the school record for most 100-yard games as well, accumulating 12 during his tenure.

Jeffery made waves shortly after signing with the Gamecocks after he revealed then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin told him during his recruitment that he would be ‘pumping gas’ like the rest of South Carolina’s in-state signees if he chose to stay home. Kiffin has never admitted to that remark on the record, but Jeffery used it as a motivational tool throughout his career and is now one of the NFL’s brightest young receivers with the Chicago Bears.

Career numbers:

183 catches, 3,042 yards, 23 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-American (2010); All-SEC (2009-10)

NFL Draft:

No. 45 overall (second round) in 2012

Defining moments:

Jeffery’s coming out party came at home as a freshman in 2009 when he scored three touchdowns (including an insane one-handed grab) against Kentucky. Jeffery’s compiled four multi-touchdown games at South Carolina, but that was his only three-score outing.

9.) TERRY BEASLEY, AUBURN (1969-71)

Auburn’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions and receiving yards along with nine individual records, Beasley remains the Tigers’ only two-time All-American at the wide receiver position nearly four decades after he last took the field in the SEC.

A pass-catcher with blazing speed and a reputation for being a fierce competitor, Beasley was once labeled ‘Boy Wonder’ by Georgia coach Vince Dooley, referencing Robin to Heisman quarterback Pat Sullivan’s Batman according to the Opelika-Auburn News during the 1971 season. Beasley’s final two seasons featured great combined production — 23 touchdowns and over 2,000 yards — and propelled the Tigers to 18 wins in 22 games.

Beasley’s toughness was his calling card. During an era before concussion-related sideline tests, the SEC’s best receiver routinely suffered blows to the head across the middle and remained in the game, not knowing the severity of constant impacts. It’s a price Beasley has been forced to pay during his post-football career with a variety of medical issues.

Career numbers:

147 catches, 2,624 yards, 30 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-American (1970-71); College Football Receiver of the Year (1971); College Football Hall of Fame (2002)

NFL Draft:

No. 19 overall in 1972

Defining moments:

Being voted Auburn’s co-MVP with his Heisman-winning quarterback teammate was Beasley’s brightest moment.

8.) CRAIG YEAST, KENTUCKY (1995-98)

A can’t-miss athlete on offense and special teams, Yeast holds Kentucky records for career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns and helped quarterback Tim Couch finish fourth in Heisman voting during an incredible senior season in 1998.

Yeast caught a program-record 85 passes for 1,311 yards and 14 scores during that campaign in the Wildcats’ wide-open Air Raid attack under Hal Mumme. He’s one of only seven wideouts in SEC history to register at least 200 career receptions and scored four times on special teams (three kickoffs and a punt) as the league’s most dangerous return man during his time.

The only Kentucky player in the Top 25, Yeast’s career numbers dwarf Randall Cobb’s statistics (at least as a receiver) who is widely-considered the program’s most dynamic playmaker ever.

Career numbers:

208 catches, 2,899 yards, 28 TD

Individual superlatives:

All-American (1998); All-SEC (1998)

NFL Draft:

No. 98 overall (fourth round) in 1999

Defining moments:

Yeast made a game-winning touchdown reception in the corner of the end zone against nationally-ranked and soon-to-be SEC West champion Mississippi State in 1998.

7.) PERCY HARVIN, FLORIDA (2006-08)

This playmaking receiver-tailback hybrid was college football’s most electrifying player when healthy, registering 3,781 yards from scrimmage and 32 touchdowns over his stint in Gainesville as Urban Meyer’s primary weapon in the backfield behind Tim Tebow.

Florida won two national titles during Harvin’s tenure and flexed one of the nation’s top offenses three consecutive seasons. Harvin, noticeably strong despite his stature, seemed to always produce in big games, none bigger than his two-touchdown, 167-yard outing during a win over Arkansas in the 2006 SEC Championship.

Harvin was nearly impossible to tackle in space and led the SEC in yards per carry as a sophomore and junior before bolting for the NFL.

Career numbers:

133 catches, 1,929 yards, 13 TD; 194 carries, 1,852 yards, 19 TD

Individual superlatives:

SEC Freshman of the Year (2006); All-SEC (2007)

NFL Draft:

No. 22 overall in 2009

Defining moments:

As far as total yardages goes, Harvin’s best career outing came during a loss, Florida’s memorable one-point setback at home against Ole Miss in 2008. Tebow vowed the Gators wouldn’t lose again, and didn’t. Harvin totaled 268 yards and two touchdowns against the Rebels on 23 touches during a memorable afternoon.

6.) A.J. GREEN, GEORGIA (2008-10)

One of the SEC’s few five-star prospects who immediately lived up to expectations between the hedges, Green’s size and speed at nearly 6-foot-5 with a 4.4 average in the 40-yard dash made him one of college football’s scariest athletes on the outside.

Green emerged as Matt Stanford’s preferred receiver early in 2006 and finished with a freshman school-record 963 yards and eight touchdowns, earning SEC top rookie honors.

Despite playing in just 31 career games as an early NFL Draft entry, Green ranks third all-time at Georgia in receptions and receiving yards. Only Terrence Edwards scored more touchdowns at the position.

Career numbers:

166 catches, 2,619 yards, 23 TD

Individual superlatives:

SEC Freshman of the Year (2008); All-SEC (2008-09)

NFL Draft:

No. 4 overall in 2011

Defining moments:

There were many memorable plays and big-time catches, but Green’s one-handed snare in the corner of the end zone at Colorado during the 2010 season is one that still makes its way into the conversation as one of the best ever.