Editor’s note: SDS is ranking the 25 best SEC players — at any position — of the last decade. Arkansas RB Darren McFadden is next up in a 25-part daily series.

4.) ARKANSAS RB DARREN McFADDEN (2005-07)

A five-star prospect, McFadden somehow ranked behind six other running backs in the 2005 signing class. But the North Little Rock, Ark., native ended his recruiting process early and chose the Razorbacks ahead of Alabama, Auburn and Tennessee, among others.

Immediately, McFadden became the starting running back on a team that included future NFL standouts Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis. He made a 4-7 Arkansas team worth watching. The team went 2-3 in its final five games, with the three losses by a combined nine points. McFadden put forth efforts of 190 and 187 rushing yards in losses during that stretch and became just the seventh SEC running back in history to reach 1,000 yards as a freshman.

The ’05 season proved nothing more than a good start for McFadden in Fayetteville. His sophomore year included four different performances of at least 180 rushing yards.

Then-offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, hired out of high school in a move some thought was purely a recruiting grab, teamed with head coach Houston Nutt for one season. But what a season it was. Arkansas re-popularized the wing-T offense, which was branded as the “Wildcat formation” thanks to Bill Snyder’s use of it at Kansas State.

McFadden was the centerpiece of that formation. Sure, he rushed for 1,647 yards that year. But the former high school quarterback was devastating taking direct snaps. He could take off. He could hand the ball to Jones, who ran for 1,168 yards on a stunning 7.6 yards per carry, with Hillis as a lead blocker. Or he could throw, completing 7-of-9 passes for three touchdowns. For good measure, he averaged 13.5 yards on 11 catches.

The Arkansas superstar lost the Heisman Trophy to Ohio State QB Troy Smith in 2006 and Florida QB Tim Tebow in 2007, handicapped by his position and by a Razorbacks team that finished 10-4 (with three consecutive losses) and 8-5. But many viewed him as the best college football player in the country, and no offense to Gators fans, certainly the most fun to watch.

By ’07, he’d sealed his value as a high draft pick, but instead of coasting and avoiding injury, he touched the ball a bone-crunching 346 times on offense as a running back or receiver in addition to 11 passes and 16 kickoff returns. The result, 2,433 all-purpose yards and 21 total touchdowns, enough to earn him back-to-back Doak Walker Awards and back-to-back SEC Offensive Player of the Year honors.

Mostly due to injuries, he’s had a slightly disappointing NFL career, though he ran for 1,157 yards in 2010 while adding 47 catches for 507 yards that year, then averaged 5.4 yards per catch in ’11. But in seven seasons with the Raiders, he’s managed 4,247 yards in 83 games.

At Arkansas, though, he was the most dynamic running back the SEC has seen in decades. His name belongs in SEC lore with the likes of Auburn’s Bo Jackson and Georgia’s Herschel Walker.

Regarding his placement on this list, as with the Heisman in his final two college seasons, McFadden fans must mutter six words: if only he was a quarterback.

Career numbers: McFadden played in 38 games, rushing for 4,590 yards and 41 touchdowns. He also returned 38 kickoffs, scoring a touchdown on one of them, caught 46 passes and completed 14-of-22 passes as a quarterback for seven touchdowns and one interception.

Individual superlatives: 2005 — SEC Freshman of the Year, Freshman All-American; 2006 — Heisman Trophy runner-up, Doak Walker Award winner, consensus All-American, Jim Brown Trophy, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-SEC; 2007 — Heisman Trophy runner-up, Doak Walker Award winner, consensus All-American, Jim Brown Trophy, Walter Camp Award winner, SEC Offensive Player of the Year, first-team All-SEC.

NFL draft: No. 4 overall to the Oakland Raiders in 2008.

Defining moment: McFadden rushed for 321 yards against South Carolina in ’07, tying the single-game SEC rushing record. Arkansas ran for 651 yards on the day.

“Obviously it was a mismatch tonight,” South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier said. “Looked like a Division III team trying to play an SEC team. Or maybe a Division III team could have slowed them down a little bit better than we could.”