Ad Disclosure
Pro Football Focus senior analyst Steve Palazzolo put together a compilation of the top 101 players in college football ahead of the 2016 season, and the Southeastern Conference generates a good portion of the list.
A grand total of 27 players from the SEC make the cut. That’s … significant.
“With the college game being less quarterback-centric than the NFL, we have some leeway to give positional boosts for certain players who carry the workload for their respective team,” wrote Palazzolo. “The other challenge for the college game is the adjustment for competition, but we also wanted to be careful not to overlook outstanding small-school players. For that reason, the small-schoolers who made the list did so on the strength of excellent grades that were above and beyond their peers, often over a two-year sample.”
We’ve provided a quick checklist of SEC players that were included below, but be sure to check out the entire countdown on PFF:
2. Myles Garrett, DE, Texas A&M
3. Leonard Fournette, RB, LSU
4. Derek Barnett, DE, Tennessee
12. Nick Chubb, RB, Georgia
13. Charles Harris, DE, Missouri
15. Jalen Tabor, CB, Florida
17. Carl Lawson, DE, Auburn
19. Jonathan Allen, DE, Alabama
22. Deatrich Wise, DE, Arkansas
26. Tim Williams, LB, Alabama
28. Reuben Foster, LB, Alabama
30. Marlon Humphrey, CB, Alabama
33. Marcus Maye, S, Florida
37. Ryan Anderson, LB, Alabama
38. Zach Cunningham, LB, Vanderbilt
40. Arden Key, DE, LSU
48. Calvin Ridley, WR, Alabama
51. D.J. Jones, DT, Ole Miss
53. Chad Kelly, QB, Ole Miss
59. Caleb Brantley, DT, Florida
64. Eddie Jackson, CB, Alabama
65. Christian Kirk, WR, Texas A&M
66. Davon Godchaux, DT, LSU
76. Jalen Hurd, RB, Tennessee
84. Cameron Sutton, CB, Tennessee
96. Jamal Adams, S, LSU
97. Jarrad Davis, LB, Florida
Tyler Waddell is a member of the Saturday Down South news team. He brings over five years of professional journalism experience and is closing in on a Bachelor's in sports management. Follow him on Twitter (@Tyler_Waddell).
