It’s not just in championships that the SEC East is looking to make up for lost time in 2018. The last time the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year came from the East was either 2008 (both the AP and the Coaches chose Tim Tebow) or 2009 (Coaches only, as the AP went with Alabama’s Mark Ingram). But just as the league championship drought ended with Georgia last season, the league’s top offensive individual trophy could return to the East in 2018.

One upside — unlike league titles, even teams like Kentucky (Artose Pinner, 2002) and Vanderbilt (Jay Cutler, 2005) have provided the SEC Offensive Player of the Year. With that in mind, here are 10 top players to watch for a run at the offensive hardware.

10. Kyle Shurmur, Vanderbilt

He’s kind of a forgotten man, in part because expectations for Vanderbilt are especially low. But all he did in 2017 was offset a down season by star RB Ralph Webb by throwing for 2,823 yards and 26 touchdowns, both career highs. With Webb gone and Vandy looking to surprise opponents in 2018, they’ll probably be relying on a healthy amount of downfield passes by Shurmur, which could put him into the Offensive POY conversation as well as move him higher up on Vandy’s all-time passing lists.

9. Keller Chryst, Tennessee

Much as with the discussion of Florida’s offense, Tennessee’s scoring attach can’t help but improve in 2018. Graduate transfer Chryst could have a big role in that transformation. As a part-time player at Stanford, Chryst passed for 1,926 yards, 19 touchdowns, and only six picks. But the 6-5 gunslinger has the potential to break through in Knoxville. If Jeremy Pruitt usurps Dan Mullen as the surprise of the East, then Chryst will likely make noise for the league’s Offensive Player of the Year.

RELATED: Film study breaks down race between Chryst, Guarantano

8. Van Jefferson, Florida

Similarly, given that Florida’s morbid passing game can’t help but improve, somebody has to catch those passes. Enter Jefferson, who showed big play ability at Ole Miss in 2016 and 2017 before transferring to Florida. In two years in Oxford, Jefferson caught 91 passes for 999 yards. If he can approach those numbers and Florida rises to a solid second in the East, he could be the Offensive Player of the Year.

7. Kyle Feleipe Jones, Florida

Sure, that guy doesn’t exist. But somebody will take snaps for Dan Mullen. Given that many around college football regard Florida as likely to have an inevitable bounce-back year, and given Mullen’s reputation as the QB whisperer, somebody is going to put up some big stats, whether that’s Kyle Trask, Feleipe Franks or Emory Jones. Honestly, the biggest stumbling block here is the possibility that two or three of these guys end up splitting snaps. But the top dog, if one does emerge, puts his name in the Offensive Player of the Year discussion.

6. Deebo Samuel, South Carolina

Another potential prospect for the OPOY award is the game-breaking Samuel. He caught 59 passes for 783 yards as a sophomore in 2016, and began 2017 on a hot streak before suffering a season-ending injury in Week 3. Samuel has 5 receiving touchdowns, 7 rushing touchdowns, 3 kick returns for touchdowns, and a passing touchdown at USC. He’ll do many things well in 2018, and that might make him stand out from the field.

5. Jake Bentley, South Carolina

For a season and a half, Bentley has been an efficient but not flashy component of Will Muschamp’s success in Columbia. With a new offensive coordinator and a healthy stable of experienced offensive weapons (led by a healthy Samuel), it’s not a stretch to think that Bentley could be the key factor in keeping USC in the competition for the SEC East. He passed for 2,794 yards and 18 scores last year. This season, 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns might not be out of the question. Those numbers would make him a strong candidate.

4. Benny Snell, Kentucky

Much like Drew Lock, an award for Snell would be something of a career achievement award. As Kentucky’s second back to compile multiple 1,000 yard rushing seasons, Snell also set the school’s rushing touchdown record as a sophomore in 2017. Snell enters 2018 with 32 career rushing touchdowns. Ten more would get him into the SEC’s top 10 list all-time, and while Tim Tebow’s SEC mark of 55 scores is probably out of reach, if Snell repeats last year’s 19 running TDs, he’d be second all-time in SEC rushing touchdowns. If he can do that and get Kentucky to a third consecutive bowl appearance, he could be the POY.

3. D’Andre Swift, Georgia

On the other hand, it’s kind of unrealistic to expect Running Back U, SEC Edition to not turn out yet another stud running back. And it could be Brian Herrien or Elijah Holyfield or a freshman … but it’ll probably be Swift. Speed thrills and Swift is a stone cold thriller in the backfield. His 618 rushing yards last season were impressive as UGA’s third back … but not as impressive as his 7.6 yards per carry. Swift has the big-play skills — remember that he finished with the fourth-most catches on UGA, more than Nick Chubb and Sony Michel combined. He could pick up some hardware in the 2018 postseason.

2. Jake Fromm, Georgia

All Fromm did as a true freshman was nearly lead his team to a national championship after wresting the starting job away from a more experienced incumbent. Sure, UGA passed for show and ran for dough, but with Chubb and Michel preparing for NFL snaps, Fromm’s downfield passing will get more of a look in 2018. Last year, he completed over 62 percent of his passes and threw for 2,615 yards and 24 touchdowns. There’s no reason to expect those numbers to do anything but improve, and with Georgia the runaway favorite for the East (and perhaps to repeat as SEC champions), Fromm makes sense as an OPOY pick.

1. Drew Lock, Missouri

The senior QB turned down the NFL, and instead, has an excellent change to make a run at Tim Couch’s SEC record of 4,275 yards passing. Last season, Lock passed for 3,964 yards and 44 touchdowns (which broke the SEC record). Given the improvement that the Tigers showed throughout 2017, if they can again reach bowl eligibility, Lock could have a historic season. FYI, he’s 4,471 passing yards shy of Aaron Murray’s SEC career passing record. That might not be out of the question if he can stay upright for 13 games.