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We round out the Top 50 best players in the SEC with a look at 10 elite players that could probably contend as the best players in all of college football. With superstar matchups lined up every week in the SEC, there will be no shortage of players staking their claims to rise and fall on this list by the end of the season.

Here are Nos. 10-1 in the SEC this season:

No. 10: Jeremy Johnson, Auburn

Position: QB
Size: 6-foot-5, 240 pounds
Year: Junior

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Ole Miss, Oct. 31; Johnson goes up against a Tony Conner-led Ole Miss secondary that ranked No. 3 in the SEC last season and projects to be just as sound in 2015, despite the losses of CB Senquez Golson and S Cody Prewitt.

Why Johnson: The Jeremy Johnson era in Auburn is about to get another reboot. Johnson gets the nod atop the Tigers depth chart after starting just two games at quarterback — including the 2014 season-opener — as an underclassman. Playing spot duty behind Nick Marshall for two seasons, every so often Johnson would tease glimpses of greatness. Now a junior, the job is all his, and the hype train isn’t too far behind. Johnson and former Auburn standout quarterback Cam Newton are nearly identical in size, but the similarities end with their strong arms. Johnson is going to use his arm to beat you, rather than his legs. For Johnson, the talent is there. How he’ll perform under the pressure of the SEC could raise him from pretty good to the stuff they talk about for years to come. Or vice versa.

No. 9: Cam Robinson, Alabama

Position: LT
Size: 6-foot-6, 326 pounds
Year: Sophomore

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Tennessee, Oct. 24; Robinson and the Alabama offensive line travel to Rocky Top to face a Volunteers front seven that may be the best in the SEC with Derek Barnett, Curt Maggitt, Kahlil McKenzie and Shy Tuttle.

Why Robinson: Alabama Nation held its collective breath on Aug. 9 as Cam Robinson had to be helped off the field during fall camp. As little to no information surfaced in the next few hours, Crimson Tide fans went into a slight hysteria mode. Robinson (sprained knee) was back at practice the next day, but the panic that everyone from fans to coaches felt only highlights the importance of having Robinson manning Alabama’s offensive line. Robinson became the first true freshman since Andre Smith in 2006 to start at left tackle for Alabama, starting all 14 games for the Tide. Not only does Robinson have first-team All-American potential, but he could also go down alongside Alabama offensive line greats such as John Hannah and Chris Samuels.

No. 8: Derek Barnett, Tennessee

Position: DE
Size: 6-foot-3, 257 pounds
Year: Sophomore

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Georgia, Oct. 10; something has to budge when sack master Barnett goes up against Georgia’s veteran brick wall of an offensive line in a game that could go a long way toward determining the SEC East.

Why Barnett: Think Derek Barnett is a special player? Barnett became the first true freshman in Tennessee history last year to start a game on the Vols defensive line. From there, Tennessee’s freshman records began falling quickly — including tackles for loss (20.5) and sacks (10.0). Barnett has spent the offseason working on his football moves and technique, rather than just relying on raw athleticism. That’s scary news considering that Barnett led the SEC in conference play with 18.0 TFL, and even scarier when you consider that teammate Curt Maggitt was second in the conference with 12 TFLs. Barnett sat out the spring recovering from shoulder surgery, but appears to be suffering no lingering effects.

No. 7: Leonard Floyd, Georgia

Position: ILB
Size: 6-foot-4, 231 pounds
Year: Junior

Intriguing Matchup: at Tennessee, Oct. 10; Georgia might have the hyped run game, but Tennessee’s running attack is on a sharp rise with Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara. There’s nothing Floyd would love more than shot at thwarting the Vols’ run game, while dealing a blow to their SEC East title hopes.

Why Floyd: When healthy, Leonard Floyd is arguably the best linebacker in the SEC, which makes him also among the nation’s best. He’s probably even better than most of the league when not 100 percent. The versatile Floyd has worked out with the inside and outside linebackers this summer, as well as the out of the “Star” position. But a shoulder injury that cost him the Belk Bowl has continued to linger throughout the summer. The All-SEC First Team selection and Bulldogs team Defensive MVP is expected to start the season. In 25 career games, Floyd has accrued 110 tackles, 12.5 sacks and 18.0 tackles for loss.

No. 6: Leonard Fournette, LSU

Position: RB
Size: 6-foot-1, 230 pounds
Year: Sophomore

Intriguing Matchup: At Alabama, Nov. 7; Fournette takes his act on the road to face Alabama’s Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster, the Crimson Tide’s latest incarnation of elite linebackers.

Why Fournette: Leonard Fournette needed only six starts to set the LSU rushing mark for freshmen with 1,034 yards to go along with 10 touchdowns. That’s remarkable considering a slow start saw him go without a 100-yard game until Week 5. Once Fournette began flashing the brilliance that made him one of the most coveted recruits in the class of 2014, the future of Tigers football became clear, regardless of whether Anthony Jennings or Brandon Harris is under center to start the season: just give the ball to Fournette.

No. 5: Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss

Position: LT
Size: 6-foot-5, 305 pounds
Year: Junior

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Texas A&M, Oct. 24; Tunsil will have to be at his best when SEC sack leader Myles Garrett and DT Daylon Mack arrive in Oxford.

Why Tunsil: Not even a broken leg and dislocated ankle suffered in the Peach Bowl appears to be able to slow Laremy Tunsil down. Reports claim Tunsil is operating at about 90 percent this summer and is expected to be ready for Week 1, provided lingering issues stemming from a fight with his step-father and subsequent NCAA investigation don’t interfere. The Ole Miss left tackle is about as fundamentally sound a player as you’ll find in the entire FBS. If he can add a little more strength (or not) expect to see him playing in the NFL one day.

No. 4: Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida

Position: CB
Size: 5-foot-11, 190 pounds
Year: Junior

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Tennessee, Sept. 26; Joshua Dobbs likely is the best SEC quarterback that Florida and superstar CB Vernon Hargreaves III will face this year.

Why Hargreaves III: At his current pace, Vernon Hargreaves III might get an island named after him. Hargreaves is considered the top defensive back in the SEC, entering the 2015 season with 88 career tackles, 6 interceptions and 24 pass break-ups. The junior, who is likely playing his final season in Gainesville, is the anchor in a formidable Gators secondary. Hargreaves should feast on a glut of inexperienced SEC East quarterbacks. Of the Gators’ eight conference games, at least four of them are against opponents who are embroiled in quarterback battles during the fall camp.

No. 3: Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss

Position: DT
Size: 6-foot-4, 296 pounds
Year: Junior

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Arkansas, Nov. 7; you might be able to hear the impact from space when Robert Nkemdiche squares off against the Arkansas Razorbacks’ dominating, veteran offensive line in a battle between what should pit the SEC West’s best defensive lineman versus its top offensive line.

Why Nkemdiche: Nkemdiche is a cyclone wrapped in a tornado, despite the fact that he constantly sees double teams, stunts and other diversions to prevent the Ole Miss defensive tackle from laying waste to opposing quarterbacks. The stat line is decent, 69 tackles and 4 sacks in two seasons, but one has to wonder how much better it can be without such impediment. The emergence of Marquis Haynes gives Nkemdiche some help along the defensive front seven. The centerpiece in Ole Miss’ fabled 2013 recruit class, Nkemdiche has had a solid career, but to match the hype, he needs to have a truly special junior campaign.

No. 2: Nick Chubb, Georgia

Position: RB
Size: 5-foot-10, 220 pounds
Year: Sophomore

Intriguing Matchup: vs. Alabama, Oct. 3; Chubb, widely thought to be the top running back in the SEC, takes on the conference’s No. 1 rushing defense.

Why Chubb: For most programs, replacing a player who was the No. 10 overall pick and first running back taken in the NFL draft can prove daunting. For Georgia, the Bulldogs will replace the aforementioned Todd Gurley with a running back who actually out-rushed the new St. Louis Ram by 636 yards and 5 touchdowns in 2014. Nick Chubb is considered the premier back in the SEC this season after posting 1,547 yards and 14 touchdowns in a campaign that saw the SEC name him Freshman of the Year. His rushing performance as a freshman ties him for the program’s fourth-best rushing season ever. With arguably the top offensive line in the SEC returning, expect Chubb to post another big season in Athens, and possibly flirt with 2,000 yards on the ground.

No. 1: Dak Prescott, Mississippi State

Position: QB
Size: 6-foot-2, 230 pounds
Year: Senior

Intriguing Matchup: vs. LSU, Sept. 12; this will be a matchup between what should be the SEC’s top quarterback against its No. 1-ranked passing defense.

Why Prescott: Dak Prescott enters the 2015 season with a real opportunity to win the first Heisman Trophy in Mississippi State history. Prescott can beat you with his arm, legs, and shear will power — whichever is needed at the time. He enters his final season in Starkville with the highest winning percentage in Bulldogs history (.700). He’s just nine rushing scores shy of joining Tim Tebow as the only player in SEC history to both throw and rush for 40 touchdowns. Prescott threw for 3,449 yards last season, including 27 touchdowns, and fell 14 yards short of cresting the 1,000-yard rushing plateau. Prescott has to contend with an offensive line that’s breaking in three new starters, but at least he should have leading receiver De’Runnya Wilson back among his arsenal of weapons.