Bringing the hammer: Gene Chizik names the SEC’s 2 hardest hitters
By Keith Farner
Published:
They may not be household names, but there are plenty of highlights of them sending an opponent backwards.
That’s why SEC Network analyst Gene Chizik has listed Missouri LB Nick Bolton and Auburn LB K.J. Britt as the biggest hitters in the SEC. It’s players like this that set the SEC apart from other Power 5 conferences, and why that makes NFL scouts sit up and take notice.
“This league is known for its physicality,” Chizik said. “I’ve been to three or four different Power 5 leagues and look, they’re just built differently in this league.”
Bolton and Britt are not well known even though they’ve had solid careers and are experienced.
“Watch these guys knock people backwards,” Chizik said. “I’ve seen them take 220-pound tailbacks, 330-pound guards, they are bringing the wood and they are knocking you backwards. Because they know that’s what wins in this league. If you talk to NFL GMs, if you talk to NFL scouts, what do they love about this league, they love the speed, and they love the physicality, and make no mistake about it, there’s not another league that consistently brings that every single year.”
Bolton was second in the SEC last year in tackles with 107, while Britt had 10 tackles for a loss, which was tied for 12th in the league.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
