Best SEC players of the last decade: No. 25, Alshon Jeffery

Editor’s note: SDS is ranking the 25 best SEC players — at any position — of the last decade. South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is the first member of a 25-part daily series.

• No. 25: South Carolina WR Alshon Jeffery
• No. 24: Texas A&M LT Luke Joeckel
• No. 23: Vanderbilt WR Jordan Matthews
• No. 22: Alabama OL Barrett Jones
• No. 21: Georgia QB Aaron Murray
• No. 20: Florida OL Mike Pouncey
• No. 19: Georgia LB Jarvis Jones
• No. 18: Georgia WR A.J. Green
• No. 17: Alabama LB Rolando McClain
• No. 16: Florida LB Brandon Spikes
• No. 15: South Carolina DE Jadeveon Clowney
• No. 14: Alabama QB AJ McCarron
• No. 13: Alabama RB Mark Ingram
• No. 12: LSU DB Patrick Peterson
• No. 11: Alabama WR Amari Cooper
• No. 10: Alabama WR Julio Jones
• No. 9: Ole Miss LB Patrick Willis
• No. 8: LSU DL Glenn Dorsey
• No. 7: Tennessee DB Eric Berry
• No. 6: LSU DB Tyrann Mathieu
• No. 5: Florida ATH Percy Harvin
• No. 4: Arkansas RB Darren McFadden
• No. 3: Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel
• No. 2: Auburn QB Cam Newton
• No. 1: Florida QB Tim Tebow

25.) Alshon Jeffery, WR, South Carolina (2009-11)

In need of a playmaking wide receiver following Sidney Rice and Kenny McKinley’s departure, the Gamecocks found their guy in Alshon Jeffery, a South Carolina native who left the program in 2011 as the most decorated pass-catcher in school history and arguably one of the SEC’s best ever.

Known for his one-handed grabs and ability to make leaping catches in double — sometimes triple — coverage, Jeffery’s one of only five SEC wideouts to surpass the 3,000-yard receiving mark in his career. Jeffery’s 1,517 yards as a sophomore in 2010 is the third-highest total ever in a single season.

Jeffery made waves shortly after signing with the Gamecocks after he revealed then-Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin told him during his recruitment that he would be ‘pumping gas’ like the rest of South Carolina’s in-state signees if he chose to stay home. Kiffin has never admitted to that remark on the record, but Jeffery used it as a motivational tool throughout his career and is now one of the NFL’s brightest young receivers with the Chicago Bears.

Career numbers: 183 catches, 3,042 yards (school record), 23 TD (tied for school record with Sidney Rice)
Individual superlatives: 2009 — Consensus first-team All-SEC (freshman) and freshman All-American; 2010 — Biletnikoff finalist; All-American
NFL Draft: No. 45 overall (second round) in 2012
Defining moments: As a sophomore in 2010, the former four-star recruit who spurned Southern Cal on National Signing Day for the Gamecocks caught a single-season program record 88 passes for 1,517 yards and nine touchdowns on South Carolina’s first-ever Eastern Division championship squad. During that season, Jeffery recorded eight 100-yard games and was a regular on SportsCenter’s top plays for an array of acrobatic receptions including a one-handed sideline snare that led to a seismic upset of No. 1 Alabama at Williams-Brice Stadium (4:30 in the video).