We’re back for another installment of our SEC MVP rankings, and after two weeks, I think it’s safe to start shaking things up a bit.
First, a refresher on how this is going to work. We’re trying to sort out the SEC’s best players by taking into account all the things the Heisman voters tend to leave out. To top our list, you don’t need to be a household name playing for a national title contender — though, if we’re being honest, it doesn’t hurt. We aim to find the best player in the conference who is also his team’s most indispensable piece.
So we’re going to try not to overreact to one week’s results and will take into account a player’s track record. As we move deeper into the season, the reputation a player has developed over the course of a career will fade in the equation, replaced proportionately by what they’ve done for their teams lately.
Sound good?
Good. Let’s get on with it.
10T. Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
Last week: 4
A week ago it was Laremy Tunsil barely holding on to his spot in the rankings after being forced to sit out in Week 1. Seven days later, he still hasn’t seen the field (and the Rebels have been just fine, thank you), and he’s out of the top 10 for now. Hargreaves may face a similar fate. The Gators’ star cornerback missed last week’s game against East Carolina, and has been termed “probably questionable” for this week’s game against Kentucky. Tunsil and Hargreaves are elite talents, each among the best in the country at their positions. But time moves cruelly on, with or without them.
10T. Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
Last week: 9
No significant movement for Garrett this week as neither he or fellow Aggies bookend Daeshon Hall were called on to do much in Texas A&M’s dismantling of Ball State on Saturday. It could be a similar story this week as the Aggies welcome Nevada — fresh off a 44-20 loss to Arizona — to College Station.
9. Jordan Jenkins, Georgia
Last week: Not ranked
Choosing one Georgia linebacker over another is a fool’s errand. And yet, here we are. Read into that what you will. This week Jenkins gets the nod, replacing Leonard Floyd, after recording 11 tackles, two sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss in Georgia’s win over Vanderbilt. The senior is the SEC’s active career leader in both sacks (18) and tackles for loss (35.5).
8. Chad Kelly, Ole Miss
Last week: Not ranked
Two games (against two cupcakes) into his SEC career, you could form a cogent argument for Kelly to be much higher on this list or not on it at all. The belief here is that ignoring what’s happening with the Ole Miss offense right now would be the greater sin. With Kelly at the helm, the Rebels have been virtually unstoppable, but the degree of difficulty this weekend will be something completely different than what they’ve seen so far. If Kelly is anywhere near as sharp as he’s been through two games against Alabama, he’ll be moving up on this list.
7. Cam Robinson, Alabama
Last week: 6
Steady as ever, Robinson led a Crimson Tide offensive line that guided Alabama to more than 500 yards of offense, more than 5 yards per carry and yielded no sacks in an easy win over Middle Tennessee State. Much like Kelly, he’ll likely get his toughest test of the year thus far when the Tide and Ole Miss collide Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
6. Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
Last week: 3
Nkemdiche dips this week, but through no real fault of his own. The ghastly blowouts the Rebels are hanging on opponents just isn’t giving the first-team defense much of a chance to showcase their talents. Not that Nkemdiche is getting left out of the good times; he scored his second touchdown of the year in last week’s win over Fresno State, plunging in on a 1-yard scoring run.
5. Derrick Henry, Alabama
Last week: 7
That Henry has scored six touchdowns through two games and barely cracks the top five is a pretty clear indicator of how tight it is at the top. So far in 2015, Henry has 243 rushing yards with an average of 7.8 yards per carry.
4. Leonard Fournette, LSU
Last week: 8
I’d rather not have the top five so dominated by offensive talent, but the SEC has some true freaks running the ball this year. Exhibit A: LSU’s stud sophomore. With an assist from an improved run defense, Fournette carried the Tigers to a season-opening win over Mississippi State on Saturday, running 28 times for 159 yards and three highlight-worthy touchdowns.
3. Kentrell Brothers, Missouri
Last week: Not ranked
This week’s biggest mover, Brothers is making a strong case to be the conference’s defensive MVP — if not more. He made 16 tackles for the second week in a row, and in a game in which the Tigers’ offense sputtered, he intercepted two fourth-quarter passes to help seal the win over Arkansas State.
2. Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
Last week: 1
For much of last week’s loss against LSU, it looked like Prescott was headed for his second straight so-so showing. The Tigers pressured him constantly, forcing inaccurate throws and taking away his designed runs. But in the second half, Prescott showed the mettle on which he’s built his reputation. He threw for more than 300 yards against one of the league’s best secondaries and put his team in position to win in the final seconds.
1. Nick Chubb, Georgia
Last week: 2
Chubb ran for 189 yards on 19 carries against Vanderbilt, and though he didn’t reach the end zone, he was the game’s biggest difference maker. He’s now up to 309 yards on 35 carries for the season. In the 10 games since he took over as the Georgia starter last year, he’s carried 223 times for 1,632 yards and 15 touchdowns. If Chubb keeps up this production — and we’ve been given precisely zero reasons to believe he won’t — we could be watching one of the great backs in SEC history.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
