Editor’s note: SDS is ranking the 25 best SEC players — at any position — of the last decade. LSU DT Glenn Dorsey is next up in a 25-part daily series.

8.) LSU DT GLENN DORSEY (2004-07)

The small-town player from the Jambalaya Capital of the World committed to LSU before his junior season of high school and never wavered, giving then-coach Nick Saban a four-star defensive tackle in the 2004 signing class.

Dorsey recovered an Oregon State fumble on his first college snap, which portended well for the rest of his career with the Tigers. Playing behind some All-American defensive tackles, Dorsey got occasional spot starts his first two years, otherwise getting on the field as a rotational player.

But when it was his turn to take a lead role as a true junior in ’06, he didn’t disappoint. He finished third on the team with 64 tackles, just behind future NFL safety LaRon Landry and Darry Beckwith. Teaming with Tyson Jackson on the defensive line, Dorsey ensured LSU held opponents to just 97 rushing yards per game during the ’06 season on 3.2 yards per carry.

Dorsey faced double teams the majority of the time, and after returning for his senior season in spite of a first-round grade, some offensive lines hit him with three different players for the rare triple team.

Even that didn’t seem to work against Dorsey, who made 69 tackles, 12.5 for loss, and generally terrorized offensive lines, freeing up Craig Steltz and Ali Highsmith to post huge tackle numbers.

The unquestioned No. 1 defensive lineman in college football on the eventual national championship LSU Tigers, Dorsey had what could be considered as the most decorated season of the last decade for an individual defensive player in the SEC. He became the first player to win the Outland, Lombardi, Bronko Nagurski and Lott, a testament to the fact that college offensive linemen just couldn’t block him, especially 1-on-1. All that despite playing with knee and tailbone injuries for a chunk of the season while the team drove toward a title.

A consistent starter for the Kansas City Chiefs or San Francisco 49ers at defensive tackle or nose guard, Dorsey hasn’t been the same destructive force in the NFL that he was at LSU.

Career numbers: Played in 52 games with 31 starts, including 27 consecutive to close his career. Made 179 tackles, including 27 for loss and 13 sacks.

Individual superlatives: 2006 — First-team All-American, first-team All-SEC; 2007 — Outland Trophy winner, Lombardi Award winner, Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner, Lott Trophy winner, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, first-team All-American, first-team All-SEC.

NFL draft: No. 5 overall to the Kansas City Chiefs in 2009.