In the normal order of things, players come to the SEC as future stars and are prepared for the next level by some of the best minds in college football.

Of course, some other players end up at Tennessee.

Jokes aside, there’s no reason to hold the Vols up as the sole program that sometimes doesn’t get all the ability out of a recruit. Here are 10 SEC players who have ended up better in the NFL than they were in college.

Alvin Kamara, Tennessee (Saints)

Kamara never quite grasped Butch Jones’s running-back-by-committee approach and finished two years at UT with 1,294 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns. Not bad … but in 10 NFL games, he’s already rushed for 459 yards on 6.4 yards per carry, and he’s also caught 49 passes. He’s currently one of the top 10 players in the NFL in all-purpose yardage.

Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee (Raiders)

Patterson was a late first-round pick, based more on potential than production. In one year as a Vol, he caught 46 passes  for 778 yards and five touchdowns. He did show some return-game skills, returning a kick and a punt for touchdowns, although he somehow returned only four punts. In the NFL, Patterson has been a decent receiver, but he has flourished as a two-time Pro Bowl kick returner.

Jordan Reed, Florida (Redskins)

Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

Reed played tight end for two seasons in Gainesville after starting his career as a quarterback. He finished at UF with 79 catches for 945 yards. From 2014-2016, he caught over 50 passes per season in the NFL, including 87 grabs in 2015 for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was a Pro Bowl player the following year.

Jacoby Brissett, Florida (Colts)

The guy who couldn’t even see the field for the Gators (two seasons, 74 pass attempts) now starts for the Indianapolis Colts. Brissett won’t make anybody forget Andrew Luck, but he certainly looks like he could have improved Florida’s eternally shaky offense.

Geno Atkins, Georgia ( Bengals)

Atkins fell off after a phenomenal sophomore season at Georgia and ended up getting drafted in just the fourth round. As a Cincinnati Bengal, he’s been a five-time Pro Bowler and twice was even chosen for the All-Pro team. He has 58 sacks in the NFL, far ahead of the 11 he totaled at UGA.

Michael Bennett, Texas A&M (Seahawks)

So we bent the rules a bit on this one. A&M wasn’t in the SEC when Bennett spent four seasons there. He totaled 112 tackles and 6.5 sacks, and as a senior, had 19 stops and no sacks. Since then, he’s a steady NFL starter, recently with the Seattle Seahawks. In five of his NFL seasons, Bennett has reached his career college sack total, including 2015, when he had 10 sacks.

Jason Peters, Arkansas (Eagles)

Peters was a physical specimen even in his college days. But he played tight end, catching 27 passes in three seasons. In the NFL, he has played tackle — and in that spot, he’s been to nine Pro Bowls and twice was chosen All-Pro. So the Razorbacks had a potential future Hall of Fame lineman hidden at tight end.

Mike Wallace, Mississippi (Ravens)

Wallace wasn’t bad as a Rebel, just a bit underutilized. In three seasons in Oxford, he caught 101 passes for 1,910 yards and 15 touchdowns. A third-round draft choice, he has had three 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL, including two years with 10 touchdowns. He also has six years of 60+ receptions, and earned a Pro Bowl spot in 2011 with the Steelers.

Kyle Williams, LSU (Bills)

An undersized defensive tackle, Williams had a good but not great LSU career (46 tackles and three sacks as a senior). A fifth-round draft pick, he has appeared in five Pro Bowls in 12 NFL seasons, all with the Buffalo Bills. He had 10.5 sacks in 2013.

Johnathan Joseph, South Carolina (Texans)

Injuries took Joseph’s first year at Carolina. In the second, he was good (55 tackles, four interceptions) but flew under the radar. Then he ran a 4.3-second 40 yard dash at the NFL Combine and vaulted to the first round of the 2006 NFL Draft (24th, Bengals). A dozen years later, Joseph is still a productive NFL starter who has twice made the Pro Bowl.