My All-Bang The Drum Team for 2025: 1 player I’ll lead the bandwagon for on each SEC team
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A year ago, Dylan Sampson headlined The 2024 All-Bang The Drum Team.
He was the perfect candidate for such an honor. We knew that Sampson was set to become the featured back in Josh Heupel‘s potent ground attack, and based on the sample size throughout his first 2 seasons at Tennessee, those who watched him knew that he could explode onto the national scene.
Then, of course, Sampson exploded onto the national scene in ways that even I couldn’t have predicted.
To go from a 3rd-string guy to the SEC Offensive Player of the Year is a meteoric rise and then some. Sampson carried the Tennessee offense, which eventually ran out of gas, but not before its first-ever Playoff appearance.
I say that because when I put The All-Bang The Drum Team together, that’s the type of candidate we’re hoping to shine a light on. That’s not to say that everyone who makes this list is about to embark on stardom. Lord knows I’ve had plenty of players in the 4 years of compiling this list who fell short of that, and they were afterthoughts by season’s end (Creed Whittemore). The goal is for more cases like Sampson.
Here are the rules for The All-Bang The Drum Team:
- 1 guy per SEC team
- No quarterbacks
- No first-team All-SEC picks from 2024
- No repeat selections
Simple enough, right? OK, here’s my 2025 All-Bang The Drum Team:
Alabama: Bray Hubbard, S
Hubbard isn’t a headliner among the notable names that Alabama returns on defense, but that could change by season’s end. As a second-year player, Hubbard might’ve been the most consistent force on defense in the latter half of the season. He wasn’t a starter until midseason, and then he recorded an interception in 3 of his 6 starts, which saw him allow just 21 yards in coverage. The play-making safety allowed just a 21.3 NFL QB rating when targeted in coverage, too. The 6-2 defensive back might not get “next great Alabama defensive back” talk nationally, but he should be one of the most celebrated players on that loaded defense.
Arkansas: O’Mega Blake, WR
If you’re wondering why that name sounds familiar, it’s because he was at South Carolina to start his career. Then Blake went to Charlotte, where he was a home-run play waiting to happen. Blake was No. 2 in FBS with 24.8 yards/catch, and he was No. 3 in FBS with 8 catches of 40+ yards. That’s exactly the type of downfield threat that Taylen Green needs. Only 2 SEC teams (Texas A&M and Vanderbilt) had fewer 40-yard passes than Arkansas last year. Blake can be to the Arkansas offense what Matt Landers was in his return to the SEC in 2022.
Auburn: Jay Crawford, CB
I’m admitting that I’m cheating just a touch here. But I wanted to include him on a list that I’m confident he’ll be ineligible for after 2025 when he’s a first-team All-SEC guy. Crawford has plenty of Auburn fans who’ll be banging the drum for him after a true freshman season in which he did things that true freshmen aren’t supposed to do. What were those things? Well, he played 437 of his 502 snaps at outside corner, and he allowed just 13 catches on 32 targets in coverage. He had just 1 game of allowing more than 10 YAC (yards after catch) yards, and if you can get past his rough outing against Texas A&M in the 4-overtime marathon, you’ll see those were the only 2 touchdowns he allowed in coverage all year. Not too shabby for a sub-6-foot outside corner as a true freshman SEC starter.
Florida: Tre Wilson, WR
How all in on Wilson am I? We did a draft of the top comeback candidates in college football for the 2025 season, and I picked Wilson with my first pick. When he’s been healthy, he’s been special. After a lost 2024 season, Wilson is going to be the versatile matchup nightmare that DJ Lagway relies on the most. He’s got 80 catches on 97 targets without a drop in his college career. I’m not saying that he’s going to be 2023 Malik Nabers, but he’ll have games in which you could be convinced that’s a fair comp. His route-running and ability to get separation will be monumental for Florida’s most talented quarterback since Tim Tebow.
Georgia: Josh McCray, RB
This is piggybacking on something that I wrote about a few days ago. I’m excited to see Year 2 Nate Frazier, but if we’re projecting the world for him, we probably haven’t been paying attention to Kirby Smart enough. Smart went into the post-spring transfer window and poached McCray from Illinois. That’s a 23-year-old, 235-pound running back who had 10 rushing touchdowns for a 10-win Illinois team. That’s a grown man. He also ran for 113 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to Citrus Bowl MVP honors against a red-hot South Carolina team, so any concerns about his skill set translating to the SEC should be an afterthought. He’s going to be an ideal complement for Frazier.
Kentucky: Joshua Braun, OL
Much like the quarterback that he’ll be blocking for (Zach Calzada), Braun is at his 3rd SEC school. He got to Kentucky by way of Florida and Arkansas. It’s not every day that you can add a 342-pounder with 32 career starts as an SEC offensive lineman. And by the way, the majority of those came while learning under Sam Pittman. Braun will look to establish the Big Blue Wall after allowing just 3 quarterback hits on 891 pass-blocking snaps at Arkansas. Kentucky’s best chance of getting back to that blue-collar offense will be with a veteran like Braun anchoring that offensive line.
LSU: Aaron Anderson, WR
One of the reasons why I’m so bullish on LSU — I have the Tigers winning a national title — is because I think Anderson is one of the best returning receivers in the sport. I’m not sure if there’s anyone quite like the 5-8 receiver in recent memory. His game has a lot of Luther Burden III in it, but that’s a 4-inch difference between the 2. Both, however, are bullies out of the slot. The former Alabama transfer had at least 60 receiving yards in 9 games last year (even Ryan Williams only had 6 such games). His explosiveness, which led to 20 missed tackles forced (4th among SEC WRs), was also evident in his 10 catches on throws that traveled 20 yards (T-3rd among SEC WRs). Anderson is my No. 3 returning receiver in the SEC, and I’m already wondering if I’m too low on him.
Mississippi State: Davon Booth, RB
Raise your hand if you knew that Booth ran for more yards than Caden Durham, Jadan Baugh, Nate Frazier and all but 2 SEC returners? Liar. Put your hand down. Booth slid under the radar in Year 1 of the Jeff Lebby era, and understandably so. The running back on a 2-win team typically doesn’t have a national spotlight. I’m not saying Booth is quite worthy of that yet, but don’t be surprised if that offense has much more of an identity with him. In his first season in Starkville, he finished 9th in the SEC with 457 yards after first contact without fumbling once, and he averaged 12.9 yards per catch. The former Utah State transfer will be buried in the All-SEC discussions, but he has that kind of upside in this offense.
Mizzou: Ahmad Hardy, RB
As much as I want to put Kevin Coleman Jr. here because 0 people are talking about the fact that the Mississippi State transfer had more receiving yards than any SEC returner, Hardy is the guy who could lead the nation in rushing. At Louisiana-Monroe, Hardy had a 1,351-yard season as a true freshman and essentially was what Sampson was, but in the Sun Belt. The only 2 running backs who finished 2024 with more forced missed tackles were Ashton Jeanty and Cam Skattebo, and he had 1,012 yards after first contact alone. While he’ll have to raise his game to the level of competition, it’s also worth noting that his surroundings are excellent with an elite offensive line and a proven ground-game schemer. All signs point to Hardy becoming the next great Mizzou back under Eli Drinkwitz.
Oklahoma: Eli Bowen, CB
I was tempted to give this spot to both Peyton and Eli Bowen, AKA the best brothers named “Peyton and Eli” since … you know. But as a younger brother myself, I’ll go with the younger Bowen brother after an impressive true freshman season in Norman. Eli wasn’t nearly as decorated as Peyton as a recruit, yet what did Eli do from the jump? He locked down one of those outside corner spots. Just like with the aforementioned Jay Crawford, who also did remarkable things as a true freshman corner, Eli only had one rough game (at LSU). He allowed 227 yards in coverage — 115 came at LSU — and allowed just 72 YAC yards all season. Bowen’s best game might’ve come against Alabama, where he had a massive 3rd-quarter interception that highlighted his tremendous instincts. If you thought that the Oklahoma defense was in for a regression after Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman left for the NFL, you weren’t paying attention to a guy like Bowen.
Ole Miss: Cayden Lee, WR
One of the safest bets this year is that Lee and Austin Simmons are going to put up big numbers together. Lee stepped into the WR1 role when Tre Harris was banged up in the latter half of the season, and he became a star as a second-year player. He finished the season with 874 receiving yards, which is No. 3 among returning SEC receivers (behind only Kevin Coleman Jr. and Aaron Anderson). He’s not gonna be physically imposing as a 5-11, 175-pound receiver who lines up predominantly out of the slot, but the reliability and the route-running will turn him into one of the better receivers in the sport. In 2024, he caught 79% of his targets without a single drop, and Matthew Golden was the only SEC receiver who had more catches of 20+ yards than Lee (20). There’s a path for Lee to lead the SEC in catches and yards in 2025.
South Carolina: Justin Okoronkwo, LB
Okoronkwo got to South Carolina by way of Alabama and … Germany? Sure, why not. The Munich native left Alabama after his freshman season to play immediately for Clayton White’s unit, which lost a ton of front-7 talent to the NFL Draft. This is the exact type of player who would’ve stuck around in Tuscaloosa in the pre-transfer restrictions era, but now, he’ll have a chance to thrive in the middle of South Carolina’s defense. He’s still football-young, so there could be some growing pains there. But the size and athleticism — he played soccer and did gymnastics growing up — for an off-ball linebacker will be on display. In 247Sports’ Freaks List, they mentioned that in high school, Okoronwko had a 36.5-inch vertical with a 10-1 broad jump. With a college strength staff, there’s reason to believe that Okoronwko might just be scratching the surface of the player that he’ll become. And based on what he told The State about South Carolina’s strength staff compared to Alabama’s, well, let’s just say he’s enjoying his new surroundings.
Tennessee: Arion Carter, LB
If we’re going to be looking up at Tennessee in the Playoff hunt again, it’s going to be because of a leader like Carter helped keep that locker room together. He took on that role as a sophomore even though Tennessee’s defense was loaded with upperclassmen. In addition to making one of the biggest plays of the year when he intercepted DJ Lagway in the Florida victory, Carter had a team-high 65 tackles for the No. 7 scoring defense in America. He got better in coverage in Year 2, and after staying healthy as a sophomore, there’s an expectation that Tim Banks will turn to him as the eyes and ears of Tennessee’s defense. That group could be asked to do a ton of heavy lifting. So far, Carter has shown that he can take that on.
Texas: Trevor Goosby, OL
One of the most underrated parts of Texas‘s run to an SEC Championship berth in its first year in the conference was how Goosby stepped in for the injured Kelvin Banks Jr. against Texas A&M. The 3-year left tackle starter and eventual first-round pick could’ve left a banged-up Quinn Ewers exposed against a talented A&M defensive line in a hostile atmosphere. Instead, the redshirt freshman protected Ewers’ blindside by not allowing a single pressure that night. While he wasn’t perfect against Georgia and Arizona State in the postseason — he allowed 5 pressures but 0 sacks in those 2 games — Goosby still played both left and right tackle with both Banks and right tackle Cam Williams banged up. Kyle Flood’s development was evident. As Arch Manning’s blindside protector, he’s going to be in a high-pressure role once again. All signs point to the 6-7 Goosby rolling with whatever is asked of him.
Texas A&M: Rueben Owens, RB
It was a massive bummer that Le’Veon Moss tore his ACL last year because he was putting it all together for the Aggies. That late-season slide happened in part because A&M’s backfield depth was lacking in a scheme that relies heavily on a stable of backs. Owens’ foot injury in the first scrimmage fall camp played a significant role in that. What was incredibly encouraging was that Owens made a surprising late-season return and did so without any setbacks. I don’t want to assume Moss’ return from a torn ACL will have him coveting the lion’s share of the work, especially with how promising Owens has been in 1-plus seasons. In the Collin Klein offense that returns all 5 offensive line starters and a mobile quarterback in Marcel Reed, the former 5-star tailback is going to seize his opportunity from the jump in 2025. When he’s healthy, he can make dudes miss in space — he forced 23 missed tackles on 101 carries in 2023 — and become the steadying force in that offense.
Vanderbilt: CJ Heard, S
His nickname is “Sea Snake” (I’m told that’s a House of the Dragon reference). What else do you want? Much like another CJ did in that Vanderbilt defense (CJ Taylor), the Florida Atlantic transfer will be all over the place for Clark Lea. Heard did that as a true freshman, albeit for a bad FAU team. He had 82 tackles and 53 solo tackles, which is insane for a true freshman. The former Florida State pledge had plenty of big-time offers as a 3-star recruit out of Atlanta, but he opted to start his career in spots where he could play. Heard is exactly the type of guy that Vandy needs to lean on in the transfer portal era. If he can fill the role left by the other CJ (Taylor), Vandy has a much better shot of avoiding regression after a historic 2024 season.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
