With the NFL draft only seven rounds deep, plenty of very good college players go undrafted each year. It was no different in the SEC last week, where 51 conference players were drafted but 70 were quickly signed as undrafted free agents.

Many will just be camp fodder and will get cut before the season starts. But plenty will stick, some on practice squads and some on the regular roster. A handful will get some playing time and a few might even become starters.

RELATED: Here is a list of this year’s undrafted SEC players and where they signed after the draft.

It’s a tough path to stardom, being an undrafted free agent. But it has happened. There have been players who rose to greatness from those ranks. They are few and far between, but it happens.

Here are the five greatest undrafted free agents from the SEC who went on to have great careers in pro football:

1.Frank Gatski, Auburn (1945)

There are only 15 undrafted players who have made it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and there’s only one from the SEC. That’s Frank Gatski, who played part of one season at Auburn after returning from the war.

He went on to have a great pro career, first with the Cleveland Browns of the All-American Football Conference and then with the Browns and Detroit Lions in the NFL. During his 12-year career, he won in eight championship games, four with Cleveland and four with Detroit. He played center and linebacker his first two years, then starred at center through 1956.

Just getting to the pros was quite a journey for Gatski. When he returned from World War II, he had no place to play football because his school, Marshall, hadn’t resumed its program yet. Gatski found out Auburn was playing and found his way there, playing part of the 1945 season. He went back to the coal mines of West Virginia after the season but got offered a tryout in Cleveland and he stuck. He was one of the best linemen in his day and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1985, along with O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath, Roger Staubach and Pete Rozelle.

2. Bill Bates, Tennessee (1982)

Bill Bates was a four-year starter at safety for Tennessee from 1979 to 1982 but didn’t get drafted after he ran a very slow 4.8 at the NFL Combine. He had interest from the USFL’s New Jersey Generals but decided to sign a cheap free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys, which had always been Bates’ favorite team.

All he did was stick around for 15 years and become a special teams legend.

Bates played some safety, too, but it was his status as a special teams player that made him a fan favorite with Cowboys fans. He was the first special teams player selected to the Pro Bowl, and he stuck around long enough to win three Super Bowl rings with the Cowboys.

Georgia fans remember Bates for some other memorable moments. When Bulldogs legend Herschel Walker scored his first touchdown as a freshman, it was Bates he ran over on the way to the end zone.

3. Jason Peters, Arkansas (2003)

Jason Peters originally went to Arkansas as a defensive lineman but moved to tight end. His abilities as a blocker at tight end and his ability to carry more weight prompted a move to right tackle in the pros.

After not getting drafted in 2004, he signed with the Buffalo Bills. He stayed with the Bills through 2008, becoming a starter in 2006. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009 and has been there ever since.

Peters has earned eight Pro Bowl nods during his time with the Bills and Eagles and has been considered one of the best right tackles in the game during the past 10 years. The former tight end played at 6-foot-4 and 328 pounds last year.

4. Curtis McGriff, Alabama (1979)

Even though Curtis McGriff was a standout on those great Alabama defensive lines in the late 1970s, the beefy defensive tackle went undrafted when the 1980 NFL Draft rolled around. That was a surprise to many.

McGriff was quickly scooped up by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent, and he earned a starting spot in camp the following fall. He made the all-rookie team his first year and played with the Giants through 1986, winning a Super Bowl during his final seasons with the G-Men. He finished his career with the Washington Redskins and was considered one of the best run-stoppers of the 1980s.

5.* Pat Williams, Texas A&M (1997) and Dan Reeves, South Carolina (1964)

OK, we’re cheating here, but these two guys need a mention even though they played at two of our SEC schools prior to them joining the conference.

Pat Williams went undrafted but then went on to have a great 14-year career in the NFL. He played with the Buffalo Bills from 1997 to 2004 and then played six years with the Minnesota Vikings before retiring in 2010. Williams played in three Pro Bowls.

Reeves was a great quarterback at South Carolina, leaving the school as its all-time leading passer. He went undrafted but signed with the Cowboys in 1965. Switched to running back, Reeves got his change after a slew of injuries and wound up playing eight seasons in Dallas, making the playoffs every year and playing in two Super Bowls, winning one. He then was a head coach in the NFL for 23 seasons, winning 190 games and three conference championships with Denver, the New York Giants and Atlanta. He appeared in three Super Bowls but lost all three.

You can’t do an SEC undrafted story without giving those guys a mention.

Current players with a chance

Here are some undrafted free agents since 2010 who might crack that list someday.

Alvin Bailey, Arkansas: Alvin Bailey is a 6-foot-3, 320-pound offensive tackle who is entering his fourth NFL season, having just signed with the Cleveland Browns. Originally signed by Seattle as an undrafted free agent in 2013, Bailey has appeared in 42 regular season games with eight starts for the Seahawks. He also appeared in eight postseason contests with two starts. Bailey has helped the Seahawks lead the league in rushing, and he has appeared in two Super Bowls, winning one.

Brad Wing, LSU: Brad Wing was undrafted following a great career as LSU’s punter after coming over from Australia. He was signed by the Giants and cut, and then found his way to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who traded him back to the Giants. He’s been one of the better kickers in the league ever since.

Marcus Roberson, Florida: The former Florida defense back, Marcus Roberson signed with the Rams after going undrafted in 2014. He played nine games in  2014 and all 16 in 2015, starting four.
Will Hill, Florida: Hill, who played on Florida’s 2009 national championship team, left early in 2011 but was not drafted. He played in the Arena Football League, then was picked up by the Giants but was busted by the NFL’s substance abuse policy three times and was released. He seemed to turn his life around with the Baltimore Ravens, playing well and even signing a two-year, $7 million contract after the 2014 season. But he violated the drug policy again and was cut by the Ravens. If he returns to the league, he’ll have a 10-game suspension waiting for him.