O'Gara: The SEC's 5 most important players who turned down the NFL Draft
It’s not easy.
Turning down the opportunity to play at the NFL level is a luxury that so few players can ever even think about doing. Sure, not everyone is turning down 8-figure contracts, but let’s be honest. We can’t assume that decision is ever easy.
With Monday’s deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NFL Draft in the rearview mirror, I thought it’d be worth circling back to the most important SEC players who decided not to turn pro.
These are the 5 that I settled on.
5. Bru McCoy, Tennessee WR
Wait, a receiver? And not Tre Harris? Yeah. Don’t worry. There is no shortage of quarterbacks who made the cut here. But let’s start with McCoy, who was sidelined in the middle of the season with a nasty ankle injury in the South Carolina loss. Tennessee missed him badly this year with an inexperienced group of pass-catchers for Joe Milton. As a result, it was easily the least productive offense that Josh Heupel has had as a head coach. To be fair, Heupel had nothing but top-8 scoring offenses in his previous 5 seasons as a head coach.
With McCoy’s return, there’s reason to believe that he can help get Tennessee back on that level. The Vols’ expected top wideout of 2023 should be a massive 2024 boost to decorated first-year starter Nico Iamaleava, along with fellow veterans Squirrel White and Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell II, who led the Green Wave in receiving as a redshirt freshman.
McCoy’s presence as that tough, dependable outside receiver will be a safety valve for Iamaleava, who excels at throwing outside the hashes. McCoy has all-SEC upside for what should be a much-improved Tennessee passing game.
4. Jaxson Dart, Ole Miss QB
It’s been an eventful offseason already for Ole Miss. Between Lane Kiffin’s portal haul, the Quinshon Judkins transfer to Ohio State and sweating out Kiffin-to-Alabama rumors, there’s been no shortage of personnel moves to discuss in Oxford. Outside of Kiffin, none were more important than Dart’s decision to return. He took another step for an 11-win team, and did so against a schedule that featured 5 teams who won double-digit games.
Dart’s return will allow Ole Miss to have legitimate Playoff-or-bust expectations. Along with tight end Caden Prieskorn and the aforementioned Harris, Dart would’ve had major weapons with just the returnees. The additions of South Carolina star Juice Wells and top-ranked JUCO receiver Deion Smith only added to that. Between the promise at the pass-catcher spots along with Dart’s mobility, there’s a whole lot of optimism that Ole Miss could have a historically good offense.
3. Quinn Ewers, Texas QB
The Arch Manning era will have to wait another year.
Ewers’ late announcement, while it became expected, was huge news for Steve Sarkisian as he enters Year 1 in the SEC. Ewers led Texas to its best season since 2009, and did so even though he suffered another midseason injury. His well-documented post-2022 transformation yielded promising results, though it’s interesting for his NFL evaluation that he’s now playing his best ball at sub-200 pounds.
Texas lost its top 5 pass-catchers from 2023. There’s significant turnover, but that storm can be weathered with a third-year starter like Ewers. He’s one of the preseason Heisman favorites for a reason. Ewers elevates Texas’ SEC floor significantly in Year 1. He also gives Texas a much better shot at continuing to recruit receivers in the portal. You could say the same thing about Jalen Milroe.
Speaking of Milroe …
2. Jalen Milroe, Alabama QB
Don’t let the Rose Bowl struggles overshadow how improved Milroe was in 2023. He finished 6th in the Heisman Trophy voting even though he was benched for a game amid a poor start. Milroe cut the turnovers down and became more decisive as a passer. Again, the Michigan game was rough. It happens. Michael Penix Jr. played his worst game against that Michigan defense, too.
Like Ewers, Milroe is returning to an offense with questions galore at the pass-catcher spots. Alabama’s lone returning pass-catcher with more than 15o receiving yards in 2023 was Kobe Prentice, who was held to 1 catch or less in all but 4 games in 2023. Not ideal.
Milroe’s decision to return came well before Nick Saban retired. Of course, he confirmed that he’s not going anywhere. It’ll be interesting to see how Ryan Grubb builds his offense around Milroe. We know that Milroe didn’t attempt 40 passes per game like we’ve seen oftentimes with the Kalen DeBoer/Grubb offense, but perhaps this can be more like the Jake Haener-led Fresno State offense in 2017-18 when that group averaged 31 attempts a game. Whatever the case, Milroe’s return is huge for Year 1 of a vastly new era.
1. Carson Beck, Georgia QB
OK, so this one is obvious. The No. 1 team in America returned a highly successful starting quarterback. Duh. Beck was the real deal in his long-awaited first season as a starter. His command of the offense was extremely high. Granted, he didn’t end the year with a ring like his predecessor, but Beck still gave Georgia an elite offense that led to a 12-0 regular season and yet another SEC East title.
Beck might not have the luxury of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey returning, but he’ll still get Dominic Lovett, RaRa Thomas and Oscar Delp back, along with transfers London Humphreys (Vandy), Colbie Young (Miami) and Michael Jackson (USC). Beck has a path to the Heisman Trophy returning to that offense, which’ll have a dynamic backfield complement with Florida transfer Trevor Etienne.
Something tells me Beck will prioritize a different trophy in Year 5 in Athens.