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Of all the decorated defensive backs to graduate from the SEC and advance to the NFL, only three players went on to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame: one who played three different positions in the early days of the NFL and two more who played for SEC schools when they were still affiliated with the Big 12.
Alabama’s Don Hutson, Missouri’s Roger Wehrli and Texas A&M’s Yale Lary all posted incredible careers at football’s highest level, representing the SEC better than any others to ever play their position.
Hutson was not only a star safety in the NFL but a star wideout and place kicker as well (he’s also one of only two SEC wideouts to reach the Pro Football Hall of Fame). He’s better known as a wide receiver, but he was arguably better as a safety during his NFL career.
Hutson played for the Green Bay Packers from 1935-45 and intercepted 30 passes in his final six seasons in the league. Although playing both ways was the custom of those days, Hutson handled the duties better than most. He led the NFL with six interceptions in 1940 and posted eight picks in 1943, even though the NFL in that era was far from the pass-happy league it is today.
Wehrli played at Mizzou in the late 1960s and played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1969-82. He was a five-time NFL All-Pro and a seven-time Pro Bowler, and he was named to the 1970s NFL All-Decade team.
Wehrli was the NFL’s resident ballhawk during his career, registering 40 career interceptions and 19 career fumble recoveries. Former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and fellow Pro Football Hall of Famer Roger Staubach called him the best cornerback he ever faced, and he went on to claim the term “shutdown corner” was derived from describing Wehrli’s play.
Lary, like Wehrli, played his football in the old Big 8 conference (now the Big 12) as a member of the Texas A&M Aggies. He was one of the NFL’s first “centerfielders” as a free safety before passing was a major part of the league, and he registered 50 career interceptions from that position.
For what it’s worth, Lary also played punter for the Detroit Lions during his NFL career (spanning from 1952-64), and many consider him to be the best punter in NFL history, even better than the legendary Ray Guy. Lary was a nine-time All-Pro and a member of the NFL’s 1950s All-Decade team.
Boasting only three Hall of Fame defensive backs seems underwhelming, but few conferences boast more Hall of Famers at any position in the grand scheme of college and pro football.
Are Hutson, Wehrile and Lary the best defensive backs in the history of the SEC? That’s a matter of opinion. But all three certainly crack the list, and if the Hall of Fame is any indication its inarguable that those three players played the position better at the pro level than any SEC alums in history.
A former newspaper reporter who has roamed the southeastern United States for years covering football and eating way too many barbecue ribs, if there is such a thing.
