SEC running backs dominate headlines and it’s easy to see why based on Heisman talk, but one could make the argument that the league’s deepest position this fall is at linebacker where every team has at least two players capable of earning All-SEC laurels by season’s end.

Earlier this summer, we broke down the league’s top LB duos entering the season, but let’s go one step further from a team-by-team perspective to showcase the league’s depth and recognize a couple other sure tacklers in the ‘must-watch’ category.

Must-watch SEC linebacker tandems in 2015

ALABAMA

Reggie Ragland and Reuben Foster
2014 combined stats: 117 tackles, 12.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks
Bring it: Next up in the Crimson Tide’s recent star-studded lineage of linebackers is Ragland, a ready-made defensive captain anxious to help Alabama to another SEC championship in his final season. Watching him on film, Ragland has the look of an old-school gap to gap tackler, a player who isn’t afraid to lower his pads for the anticipated collision in the hole. Foster, possibly the SEC’s meanest linebacker, is another hard-hitter who performs with dangerous aggression. With Ragland at weakside and Foster in the middle, Kirby Smart’s 3-4 look flexes brute strength and NFL-level talent heading into August.

ARKANSAS

Brooks Ellis and Josh Williams
2014 combined stats: 101 tackles, 7 TFL, 1.5 sacks
Bring it: Razorbacks DC Robb Smith needs heavy production out of both of these guys to help make up for the loss of all-conference defenders Trey Flowers and Martrell Spaight. In his first season last fall, Williams showed flashes of stellar play in 13 appearances, including a pair of starts. Williams started in Ellis’ place against Georgia and recorded a team-best 14 tackles. Solid in coverage, if Williams becomes a dominant run-stopper alongside the proven junior Ellis, productivity at linebacker shouldn’t be a concern this season for the Razorbacks.

AUBURN

Cassanova McKinzy and Kris Frost
2014 combined stats: 178 tackles, 21 TFL, 5 sacks
Bring it: Both of the Tigers’ draft-eligible veteran linebackers decided to give it another go after last season, strengthening Will Muschamp’s chances to turn this defense around during his return to Auburn. We ranked this duo sixth in the SEC heading into the 2014 season and the multi-year starters didn’t disappoint, combining for 178 tackles on a unit in desperate need of reliable tacklers. Another year should improve each player’s draft stock and most importantly, gives the Tigers leadership in the middle of the defense.

FLORIDA

Antonio Morrison and Jarrad Davis
2014 combined stats: 124 tackles, 7 TFL
Bring it: Will Morrison and Davis perform at full strength this fall? Injuries concerns plagued the Gators at linebacker throughout the spring as Geoff Collins’ best personnel at the position from the sideline. Morrison was carted off the field with a nasty leg injury during the bowl game while Davis has been out since tearing his meniscus in November. When he’s healthy, Morrison’s all over the field and might be the league’s best overall at the position after registering 87 of his team-leading 101 tackles during eight SEC games last fall. Alex Anzalone, after a solid spring, will see substantial snaps this season and be leaned on if either of these two freaks isn’t healthy.

GEORGIA

Leonard Floyd and Jordan Jenkins
2014 combined stats: 125 tackles, 18 TFL, 11 sacks, 41 QB hurries
Bring it: It doesn’t feel right excluding standout sophomore Lorenzo Carter when referencing Georgia’s uber-talented core of outside linebackers so we’ll throw him in this mix as well. Jeremy Pruitt’s stacked at the center of his defense this season with the nation’s best collection of tacklers and edge-rusher hybrids. Not only are Floyd and Jenkins stellar in pursuit of ballcarriers in run support, but the duo smells blood at the line of scrimmage and makes life a living hell for opposing quarterbacks. With Carter’s help, Georgia’s linebackers should combine to lead the SEC in sacks this fall.

KENTUCKY

Josh Forrest and Jason Hatcher
2014 combined stats: 138 tackles, 13.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks
Bring it: Third in the East behind Mizzou’s Kentrell Brothers and Michael Scherer in total tackles last season, Forrest is a fifth-year senior who has seen it all during consecutive years as heavy contributor for the Wildcats. One of the SEC’s better naturally-instinctive tacklers who seems to always pick the right hole is on the preseason Butkus watch list as the face of a new-look front seven playing without NFL draft picks Bud Dupree and Za’Darius Smith. Hatcher, a part-time defensive end, packs serious punch at the strong-side spot at nearly 260 pounds and could be in for his best season yet if his successful showing during the spring was any indication. Hatcher will likely lead all Kentucky linebackers in sacks if he’s able to freelance off the edge a bit.

LSU

Kendell Beckwith and Deion Jones
2014 combined stats: 104 tackles, 11 TFL, 1.5 sacks
Bring it: Beckwith assumes a sizable leadership role this season as the team’s second-leading tackler from last fall, replacing linebacker Kwon Alexander as the figurehead within that athlete-heavy position group. Beckwith earned his first career start at Florida during Week 7 last fall and never relinquished his spot, blossoming into one of John Chavis’ most consistent tacklers. Beckwith’s a versatile defender who can track down ballcarriers sideline to sideline with great speed. Jones is one of the Tigers’ top players on special teams, but he’ll play the majority of his snaps at Will linebacker as a senior. He’s one of several veterans LSU needs to emerge within a front seven that has depth concerns following Trey Lealaimatafao’s dismissal and a couple transfers.

MISSISSIPPI

Denzel Nkemdiche and C.J. Johnson
2014 combined stats: 66 tackles, 11.5 TFL, 5 sacks
Bring it: The numbers at Ole Miss are a bit misleading at linebacker considering Nkemdiche played in just seven games with three starts last season and Johnson was a full-time defensive end, but nonetheless, there’s pressure on both seniors to avoid being the weakest links on a star-studded defense this fall. An ideal scenario for DC Dave Wommack would be moving Johnson back to his more natural position if former JUCO transfer Christian Russell could handle middle linebacker duties. Johnson certainly has the speed, power and size to flourish at a different vantage point and a smooth transition is vital for a defense capable of being college football’s best.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

Beniquez Brown and Richie Brown
2014 combined stats: 112 tackles, 8 TFL, 2 sacks
Bring it: Perhaps the SEC’s most underrated returning starter tandem, the ‘Brown Boys’ won’t be in the shadow of Benardrick McKinney this season, Mississippi State’s all-everything tackler from a season ago. At times, Beniquez Brown was more productive than McKinney based on the number of snaps he played. Equally gifted from an athleticism standpoint, Brown could be Mississippi State’s best defensive player this year unless tackle Chris Jones can return to 2013 form. Richie Brown matched a school-record last fall with three interceptions during the Bulldogs’ emphatic win over Texas A&M. For a linebacker, he’s a great ball-tracker who moonlights as a fierce tackler in the hole.

MISSOURI

Kentrell Brothers and Michael Scherer
2014 combined stats: 236 tackles, 8.5 TFL
Bring it: Last season, Mizzou defensive coordinator Dave Steckel asked a lot of his linebackers, tackle-happy standouts who often lurked in the shadows of sack masters Shane Ray and Markus Golden. Brothers and Scherer are the SEC’s top returning tacklers at 122 and 114, respectively, and have a knack for flying to the football at all levels on defense. Easily college football’s most underrated tandem, it’s not out of the question that Brothers and Scherer exceed 250 stops this fall with an increased workload on a unit missing several key pieces off last season’s squad.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Skai Moore and Jonathan Walton
2014 combined stats: 154 tackles, 5 TFL
Bring it: South Carolina fans have waited seven months to see Walton return to the full-speed, helmet-rattling form he showed against Miami in the Independence Bowl, a true breakout performance for a potential unexpected star within the Gamecocks’ front seven. He plays the linebacker position like a safety with reckless abandon. Moore’s been ‘Mr. Reliable’ over his first two seasons, leading the team in tackles consecutive years and has a team-best seven interceptions over that span. When he’s healthy, he’s an All-American caliber player at Mike linebacker and a guy co-DC Jon Hoke will lean on as a leader this fall.

TENNESSEE

Jaylen Reeves-Maybin and Curt Maggitt
2014 combined stats: 149 tackles, 26 TFL, 13 sacks
Bring it: An explosive linebacker with unlimited range, Reeves-Maybin emerged as one of the division’s best linebackers in his second season, accumulating a team-best 101 tackles. The first-year starter led all SEC sophomores in solo stops (63) and showed the poise of a seasoned vet down the stretch. Maggitt’s the more widely-recognized player in this duo, a multi-positional threat and three-year starter for the Vols. In his return from an ACL injury which forced him to miss the entire 2013 campaign, Maggitt managed 11 sacks and 15 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He’ll play off the edge at times in his fifth and final season after spending more than half of his total defensive snaps (558) at linebacker as a junior.

TEXAS A&M

Otaro Alaka and Shaan Washington
2014 combined stats: 97 tackles, 7.5 TFL, 2 sacks
Bring it: Linebacker is an area of extreme optimism this season thanks to new defensive coordinator John Chavis putting the Aggies in proper position to make plays. Last season, missed tackles — and assignments — piled up at Texas A&M, who finished last in the SEC in total defense for the second straight year. Alaka earned defensive MVP honors last time out in the Liberty Bowl and looks the part as a possible premiere tackler. Washington’s an experienced junior who will benefit from less responsibility now that Texas A&M appears to have justifiable depth at the position. Washington’s 6.4 tackles per game average led the Aggies last season. Linebacker has been a major weakness since Kevin Sumlin’s arrival, but Texas A&M is hoping that changes this fall.

VANDERBILT

Nigel Bowden and Stephen Weatherly
2014 combined stats: 133 tackles, 14.5 TFL, 5.5 sacks
Bring it: Derek Mason has not one, but two all-conference candidates at the center of his defense this fall, playmakers who have shown a penchant for stopping ballcarriers behind the line of scrimmage. Weatherly made a quick adjustment to Vandy’s 3-4 look last fall, registering 12.5 tackles for loss, the most since Tim Fugger’s 13.5 in 1998. Bowden was named to the All-SEC Freshman team as a redshirt and bested all SEC first-year players in total tackles (78). He made 11 starts at inside linebacker, missing one game due to injury. These two don’t get enough shine despite the numbers warranting it.