From 1933-2001, from Tennessee halfback Beattie Feathers to Florida quarterback Rex Grossman, the SEC handed out a Player of the Year award.

But in 2002, the conference essentially split the honor in two with an Offensive Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. A defender hadn’t won Player of the Year since Auburn D-tackle Tracy Rocker in 1988.

Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts is the league’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year after throwing for 23 touchdowns, running for 13 more and coming within a few seconds of claiming a national title. He’s the first true freshman to be awarded, although Georgia running back Herschel Walker was Player of the Year right out of high school in 1980.

It's a small sample size, so it's difficult to predict if Hurts will dazzle a second time or disappoint to some degree.

Of the previous 15 to win Offensive Player of the Year, Hurts is only the fifth to return to the SEC the following season.

The other four prior to Hurts are all recognizable names, to say the least: Arkansas running back Darren McFadden, Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, Alabama running back Mark Ingram and Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Tebow, Ingram and Manziel were Heisman Trophy winners, while McFadden is the only player in history to finish second in the voting twice. What’s interesting is that neither Tebow, Ingram nor Manziel won the Heisman in his final season of college ball. They were classified as a sophomore, sophomore and freshman, respectively, at the time.

It’s a small sample size, so it’s difficult to predict if Hurts will dazzle a second time or disappoint to some degree.

McFadden (below) was in part responsible for the Wildcat craze that began about a decade ago. In addition to 1,647 yards rushing and 14 TDs on the ground in 2006, he also completed 7-of-9 passes for 69 yards and 3 more tallies.

Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports

In 2007, despite the fact that Tebow became the first sophomore to take the Heisman, McFadden actually defended his title as SEC Offensive Player of the Year. He ran for 1,830 yards and 16 touchdowns, plus he connected on 6-of-11 throws for 123 yards and 4 more TDs.

Even though Tebow was never more statistically dominant than his 2007 campaign — 32 scores as a passer, on top of 23 as a rusher — he wasn’t recognized as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year until 2008. That season, he put together a sparkling touchdown-to-interception ratio of 30-to-4 and won the national championship.

Tebow was the coaches’ pick for Offensive Player of the Year again in 2009, yet the Associated Press didn’t see it that way.

The writers chose Ingram, who went on to capture the Heisman, as well. The first Heisman winner in Crimson Tide annals, he rushed 271 times for 1,658 yards and 17 TDs. He also sprinkled in 32 catches for 334 yards and 3 more scores.

However, unlike McFadden and Tebow before him, Ingram didn’t appear to be the same player during his follow-up season in 2010. Only playing in 11 games due to injury, he still ran for a respectable 875 yards and 13 touchdowns. But in a runaway vote, Auburn quarterback Cam Newton was named Offensive Player of the Year.

Even though Tebow was never more statistically dominant than his 2007 campaign -- 32 scores as a passer, on top of 23 as a rusher -- he wasn't recognized as the conference's Offensive Player of the Year until 2008.

Manziel authored one of the more memorable individual performances of recent vintage during his video game-like 2012.

It was the Aggies’ first year in the conference after moving over from the Big 12. They immediately upset the balance of power by beating ‘Bama, which was undefeated and the defending national champ at the time, in Tuscaloosa.

Eluding Tide defenders in mind-boggling fashion from start to finish, Manziel threw for 253 yards and ran for 92 more without committing a turnover. That afternoon paved the way for him to be the first freshman to win the league’s Offensive Player of the Year award. He was the first frosh to nab the Heisman, too.

Manziel was second in the SEC with 3,706 yards passing and even led the way in rushing as a QB with 1,410.

He was a better passer across the board based on numbers alone in 2013, but A&M didn’t enjoy the same level of success. Like Ingram, Manziel wasn’t able to repeat. Auburn running back Tre Mason won Offensive Player of the Year.

Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Again, it’s a small sample size. Simply studying McFadden, Tebow, Ingram and Manziel (above) doesn’t give us much to go on when trying to forecast how Hurts will play in 2017. Whether he repeats as Offensive Player of the Year or loses the starting job to incoming freshman Tua Tagovailoa, precedent will have very little to do with it.

That being said, there’s no reason why Hurts can’t be equally productive this season for Big Al, if not more so.

To be fair, he’s already on his third offensive coordinator. Lane Kiffin is now the head coach at FAU. Steve Sarkisian is the new OC of the Atlanta Falcons. New arrival Brian Daboll will be calling plays for Hurts come September.

More often that not, he'll have enviable field position and won't be pressured to score 40 points every Saturday just to win.

Alabama won’t be short on skill-position talent, that’s for sure. Damien Harris, Bo Scarbrough, Joshua Jacobs and B.J. Emmons all return to the backfield, plus blue-chip freshmen Najee Harris and Brian Robinson have been added to the mix. And don’t forget that Hurts is quite a capable ball carrier himself.

While ArDarius Stewart and O.J. Howard have been deleted from the receiving corps, primary target Calvin Ridley remains.

Last year’s Outland Trophy winner, left tackle Cam Robinson, has joined Stewart and Howard in the NFL. Jonah Williams, who starred as a freshman at right tackle this past season, will switch sides. He might be even better than Robinson.

Needless to say, Hurts is supported by one of America’s premier units on defense. More often that not, he’ll have enviable field position and won’t be pressured to score 40 points every Saturday just to win. In today’s game — not so much in the SEC, admittedly — a lot of field generals don’t have that luxury.

The recipe is certainly there for Hurts to go back to back as Offensive Player of the Year. Will he? We’ll see.