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Points were hard to come by this season in the SEC as defense ruled.
Only two SEC teams ranked among the top 30 in scoring offense while seven teams ranked among the top 30 in scoring defense. There were some great players behind that success this season.
We ranked the five best defensive players in the SEC this season in reverse order:
5. Florida CB Jalen Tabor
Tabor has had an amazingly productive season for the Gators. The sophomore leads the SEC in passes defended (18) and passes broken up (14). He’s also had 4 interceptions, tied for 2nd-most in the conference, and he took two of those back for touchdowns. Shining while lining up opposite of fellow star Vernon Hargreaves III isn’t easy, but Tabor certainly did, earning First Team All-SEC honors along with Hargreaves.
4. Alabama DE Jonathan Allen
Allen has been the best down lineman in arguably the best front seven college football has seen in some time. Allen is 2nd in the SEC in sacks with 10, including a season-high 3 sacks against at Mississippi State on Nov. 14. The junior has also had 12.5 tackles for loss, which ranks among the top 10 in the conference. When you add 6 QB hurries, 4 passes broken up and 2 forced fumbles, you get quite an impressive season.
3. Missouri LB Kentrell Brothers
Everyone focuses on Brothers’ 152 tackles, which are 12 more than any other player in the FBS. That measure is good by itself, but it doesn’t tell the entire story. Brothers was incredibly versatile with 12 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 INTs, a forced fumble and three blocked kicks. He found multiple ways to impact a football game, and he did that as consistently as any player in the nation. He posted double-digit tackles in all but one game was involved in a tackle for loss in all but three games.
2. Texas A&M DE Myles Garrett
Garrett’s 11.5 sacks lead the SEC and are tied for 5th in the FBS this season. His 18.5 tackles for loss are also tied with Missouri’s Charles Harris for the most in the SEC. Oh, and he knows how to take the ball away, too. He has an SEC-high 5 forced fumbles and even had an interception at Ole Miss. Garrett had a tackle for loss in all but two games this season and is a force that can’t be ignored on any play, especially in passing situations.
1. Alabama LB Reggie Ragland
Ragland has done it all for the best defense in the country. The senior doesn’t get the same amount of opportunities as other defenders get since the Tide, which lead the SEC with 57 three-and-outs, are so stingy. However, Ragland still managed 90 tackles (30 more than anyone else on the team), 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, 6 QB hurries, 6 passes broken up and 2 fumbles forced. He’s all over the field, sideline to sideline, and despite all the stars surrounding him, nobody questions who the leader is.
Born and raised in Gainesville, Talal joined SDS in 2015 after spending 2 years in Bristol as an ESPN researcher. Previously, Talal worked at The Gainesville Sun.
