College football is back, or at least it will finally feel back when the SEC opens play Thursday night when Bowling Green visits Tennessee. That game will open the Josh Heupel era in Knoxville, giving the Vols their sixth head coach since 2010 and their second since the inception of this list, which ranks the top 10 players in the SEC on a weekly basis.

For those of you who didn’t have the incredible privilege of following along and cursing the insanity of my selections every week a season ago — a brief reminder of what this list isn’t before we dive into what it is.

It is not a list of the Top 10 NFL Draft prospects from the SEC. If you want that, there are a number of places Google dot com can direct you where you can find such a list. If you don’t like Google, you can find nice links to mock drafts on Facebook, Parler, Twitter, Bing — basically any social media or search engine platform.

As for what this list is — it is a list that rewards productivity. It will change week to week and as such, a lengthy list of honorable mentions will be made that reflects the ever-increasing list of players whose production merits inclusion.

Will it be playmaker heavy? Probably. That’s who our eyeballs tend to be on from week to week. Will it be playmaker exclusive? No. Defenders made the list consistently in 2020 and will again in 2021. That said, it probably isn’t a list that will rank offensive lineman from week to week, unless they are so dominant (looking at you, Evan Neal and Kenyon Green) that they simply can’t be consistently ignored. Does that make the list flawed? Maybe. But the list ranked offensive line units off and on throughout 2020 and anticipates doing so again this season. The list also probably will feature players who will either be drafted next spring or once they become draft-eligible — an overwhelming number of players on last year’s various lists found their way to the NFL last spring and the few that didn’t are back in 2020. Does that mean the list is a mock draft type list? Not really. It just means the SEC is very good at football.

Speaking of very good at football, here are the top 10 players in the SEC as the league enters Week 1. Sorry, quarterbacks. You’ll have to earn your way in.

10. Kenyon Green, LT, Texas A&M

It’s not often you get a kid who becomes an All-American at left guard in his second year on campus and then is a preseason consensus All-American at left tackle entering Year 3. But it’s not often a program has a player as special as Kenyon Green.

After 2 splendid years inside, Green will get the chance to flash his wares on the outside, protecting new quarterback Haynes King’s blindside.

Jimbo Fisher has coached some brilliant linemen in a national championship career as a head coach but labeled Green the best of them last week.

“He’s going to go down as the best I’ve ever coached and one of the best we’ve ever had at Texas A&M,” he said. Heady praise — but worth it for a player whose production at a vital position earns him a spot on this list to begin the 2021 season.

9. Treylon Burks, WR, Arkansas

Burks has been almost unrecoverable for 2 seasons, and now, with an improved run game behind an offensive line expected to be vastly improved, Burks should have more help than he’s had in seasons past. He’ll still be the guy defenses key on, but as my colleague Connor O’Gara wrote this offseason, Burks averaged 7.6 yards after the catch anyway in 2020 — meaning it doesn’t really matter how many defenders people throw at Burks — he tends to find a way to make a big play.

Is he the best returning receiver in the SEC? I don’t know. But there aren’t many back who can make this catch:

Plus, at 6-3, 230 with top-end speed, he’s a 3rd-year receiver playing for a contract in 2021. Sign me up as “hog wild” for his ceiling in 2021.

8. Jordan Davis, DT, Georgia

A 6-6, 340 pound wrecking ball, Davis is a frightening blend of power and freakish-for-his-size athleticism who could be even higher on this list come next week. This clip, against a 2019 Florida offensive line that finished top 10 in the country in pass protection, is illustrative — and it also came over a year ago, before Davis was the more polished, All-SEC product he is today.

Quiet and cerebral off the field, Davis returned to Georgia to get his degree and win a championship. He’ll get the paper from a great university this winter. If Georgia wins a championship, he’ll be a huge reason that happens this winter too.

7. Will Anderson, LB, Alabama

A year removed from fielding one of the most prolific offenses in the history of college football and the best of the Nick Saban era, the whispers coming out of the Capstone are that this might be the best Alabama defense yet under Saban.

A big reason? Second-year linebacker Will Anderson. Anderson finished 3rd in the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss in 2020 as a freshman, a remarkable accomplishment, and was at his best against Florida, Notre Dame and Ohio State, when the Tide needed him most.

Anderson is lethal because he’s so versatile — Saban and Pete Golding can line him up in a two-point stance, four-point stance, on the line, in a gap — doesn’t matter. He’ll find the football and make a play.

6. Kaiir Elam, CB, Florida

A consensus preseason All-American and All-SEC selection, Elam was one of the top-rated cornerbacks in 1-on-1 coverages in college football in 2020, per Pro Football Focus. In fact, entering 2021, the only corner in the country with a better coverage grade is Derek Stingley Jr. (wait for it), and Elam has actually surrendered 1 less career touchdown against (it’s 2-1, because they are both so good).

If Florida is going to return to its typically dominant self on defense in 2021, Elam’s ability to make the field smaller and force offenses to execute in tighter spaces will be a huge reason.

5. Evan Neal, OT, Alabama

It’s hard to imagine a list with 2 offensive linemen on it happening again in 2021, so let’s just do it coming out of the gate. A mountain of a human being who, like Kenyon Green, has cross-trained at multiple spots, Neal moves to left tackle this autumn after the departure of All-American Alex Leatherwood to the NFL.

Neal has terrific athleticism for his size, which allows him to be effective moving around and pulling in the run game. He can also just flatten you, using his 360-pound frame to subsume defenders. He struggled against speed rushers a bit last season — but only ones with elite athleticism — which is more a SEC Championship/College Football Playoff/NFL Draft concern than anything that will slow him down in 2021.

He’s the best offensive lineman in college football and probably will be one of the first 3 SEC players taken in the NFL Draft next spring. More important for purposes of this list? He’ll give new Alabama quarterback Bryce Young plenty of comfortable nights of sleep as Alabama looks to win yet another national championship.

4. Jalen Wydermyer, TE, Texas A&M

A preseason All-American selection, Wydermyer was a security blanket for Kellen Mond and young running back Isaiah Spiller in 2020. Why both? Wydermyer is a sensational blocker, a traditional tight end who played more snaps than anyone but Mond for the Aggies offensively in 2020. He’s also as good a possession receiver as the Aggies have- – and he led the Aggies in receptions a season ago with 46, averaging 11 yards a catch and hauling in 6 touchdowns.

Wydermyer has a massive frame and long arms, making him a terrific red-zone target, and he’s also underrated as a playmaker, largely thanks to his ability to use his big body to overwhelm defensive backs and break tackles.

If Texas A&M is going to win the SEC West, Wydermyer will need to deliver an All-American caliber season. He’s certainly capable.

3. Kevin Harris, RB, South Carolina

Argue with me for putting a player on a losing team in the top 5 if you want, but ask yourself these two questions before you do: (1) Where, exactly, would South Carolina be offensively if it weren’t for Kevin Harris? (2) Imagine playing against 8 in the box, over and over, as Harris did in 2020, and still powering your way to 1,178 yards and 6.2 per carry against an SEC-only schedule.

Harris earned second-team All-SEC honors in the process, but very easily could have been a first-team choice alongside Najee Harris. He was left off the first team again this preseason, snubbed for the likes of Isaiah Spiller and Tank Bigsby, two terrific running backs who play for better football teams and who, it should be noted, did not have as high a success rate as Kevin Harris a season ago.

I’ve heard some critics describe Harris as “slow.” But as the clip above shows, he seems fast enough to beat people to the end zone in the best league in the sport. A powerful runner playing with a promising young quarterback? Things could be even better in 2021.

2. DeMarvin Leal, DE, Texas A&M

Here’s the list of SEC defensive linemen who ranked in the top 5 in college football in pass-rushing and run-stopping, per Pro Football Focus:

DeMarvin Leal.

That’s the list.

The best defensive lineman in the league and a consensus preseason All-American, Leal should easily eclipse the 13 career tackles for loss he has in 2021, given the opportunity to play spring football and the chance to play a full slate of games. He’s the best player on one of the league’s best defenses.

1. Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU

I don’t think there’s a better player in college football than Stingley Jr. He’s a generational talent playing at a time when modern football is making life harder than ever on defensive backs. Enjoy the show, folks.

To those who might suggest “no man is an island,” I would submit they’ve never seen Derek Stingley Jr. play football. Stingley’s coverage grade of 91.3, per Pro Football Focus, is the best in college football over the past 2 seasons. Last year, teams completed only 7 targets out of 30 against Stingley Jr. before he shut down for the season. That limited action alone was good enough to put him on the All-SEC team, and he’ll be back as an All-American this season before becoming the first SEC player off the board in the NFL Draft next April.