College football is back, y’all!

After the most insufferably long offseason in all of major sports, Week 0’s lukewarm Applebee’s on a date night appetizer gave way to a sensational Week 1, filled with thrilling rivalry games like Pitt-West Virginia and East Carolina-NC State, huge upsets, like Old Dominion’s win over Virginia Tech, and big-time statements, like Georgia’s 3,245 to 3 victory over Oregon in Atlanta.

After a whole offeason with my fam-uh-leeigh (best Brian Kelly voice), it’s time once again for my favorite column, wherein I rank the 10 best players in the SEC and you all tell me how stupid I am in the comments section. If it weren’t for the Masters, I’d say that by Year 3 of this column it has become a “Tradition unlike any other.”

For those new to telling me I don’t know anything about football, here’s a little more context on what these rankings are and what these rankings are not. The top 10 is not a list of the top 10 NFL Draft prospects in the SEC. If you want that, google “NFL Mock Draft” and count to 10.

The top 10 is a list of the 10 best players in the SEC through a given week, a measure that is calculated by looking at talent as well as productivity from an analytics and statistical standpoint and a schematic one. The schematic one is important because, for example, it is sometimes difficult to truly measure the dominance of a great defensive tackle, who can have 3 tackles but control an entire game, against a running back who runs for 170 yards and 2 touchdowns behind a tremendous offensive line. The way a player impacts the scheme and flow of a game matters, or at least it does to Saturday Down South.

These rankings are not perfect or inarguable: Every week, without fail, the list will have “too few offensive linemen” or a player left in Honorable Mention who “should clearly be in the list.” That’s fine. It’s not easy to limit a list of the best players in the best conference in our sport to 10 names, but someone has to get yelled at for doing it. A player may even make the defensive play of the week in the SEC, for example, and not land on the list. See, Starks, Malaki:

That’s how good the SEC is in football. Keep these things in mind — or don’t — while reading.

In any event, beginning with Honorable mentions (maximum 2 from a school), here is a list of the Top 10 Players in the SEC through Week 1.

Honorable Mention: Traeshon Holden, WR (Alabama); Jaylen Moody, LB, Alabama; Trey Knox, TE (Arkansas); Bumper Pool, LB (Arkansas); Nathaniel Peat, RB (Missouri); Ty’Ron Hopper, LB (Missouri); Cam Riley, LB (Auburn); Kilian Zierer, OT (Auburn); Brenton Cox Jr., DE (Florida); O’Cyrus Torrence, OG (Florida); Kenny McIntosh, RB (Georgia); Broderick Jones, OT (Georgia); Barion Brown, WR (Kentucky); DeAndre Square, LB (Kentucky); Jayden Daniels, QB (LSU); Will Rogers III, QB (Mississippi State); Jett Johnson, LB (Mississippi State); Isheem Young, S (Ole Miss); Zach Evans, RB (Ole Miss); MarShawn Lloyd, RB (South Carolina); Cam Smith, CB (South Carolina); Andre White Jr., LB (Texas A&M); Layden Robinson, OL (Texas A&M); Kamal Hadden, CB (Tennessee); Cooper Mays, C (Tennessee); Mike Wright, QB (Vanderbilt); Anfernee Orji, LB (Vanderbilt).

10. Hendon Hooker, QB (Tennessee)

Make no mistake: The reason Josh Heupel’s program has so much juice starts and ends under center, with second-year starter Hendon Hooker. That was fully on display Thursday night in Tennessee’s impressive 59-10 rout of Ball State. Hooker produced 4 offensive touchdowns (2 passing, 2 rushing). Before he gave way to backup Joe Milton III with the game well in hand, he helped the Volunteers achieve an astounding 75% success rate on the snaps he played. Talk about efficient! A bigger, better test comes Saturday at Pittsburgh.

9. Christopher Smith, S (Georgia)

The preseason All-SEC second-team safety played like a first-teamer in Saturday’s blowout win over No. 11 Oregon. Smith posted 6 tackles, including 1 insane tackle for loss (below), and broke up a pass to pace the Georgia defense to yet another dominant performance.

The senior also tallied his 4th career interception on the afternoon, helping Georgia make mincemeat of Auburn transfer Bo Nix. As good as this Georgia defense is up front, Smith is the key to the secondary, and early returns were excellent in Georgia’s dominant opening day win.

8. Tank Bigsby, RB (Auburn)

Bigsby showed why he was a unanimous first-team All-SEC preseason running back selection Saturday when he lit up Mercer’s defense for 147 yards on just 16 carries. On the afternoon, the Tigers would rush for 285 yards, averaging 7 yards a carry, taking pressure off TJ Finley and the Auburn air attack, which remains a work in progress. No run more exemplified the danger of Bigsby than this ridiculous 39-yard touchdown run in the second half, which in almost any other week would have easily been the SEC Offensive Play of the Week.

Bigsby’s vision and burst are second to none, and he should pad his stats again against San Jose State this weekend.

7. KJ Jefferson, QB (Arkansas)

The Razorbacks’ quarterback did it all against No. 23 Cincinnati in Arkansas’ 31-24 season-opening win. He produced 4 touchdowns and 285 total yards, but more vitally, it seemed like every time the Bearcats threatened to take control of the momentum, Jefferson made a play. That’s what stars and leaders do, and there’s no doubt Jefferson is a special one for Sam Pittman’s Hogs.

6. Khari Coleman, Edge (Ole Miss)

There weren’t many defenders in the sport as active as Ole Miss’s Khari Coleman was Saturday in the Rebels’ 28-10 win over a solid Troy team. Coleman lined up with his hand in the dirt at times and off the line of scrimmage as a linebacker on other occasions, but wherever the dynamic athlete played, he was a menace.

The Rebels’ sophomore looks like a “different” dude getting off the bus, and he played that way Saturday, collecting 8 tackles, an impressive 5 of those coming for loss, along with 2 sacks and a pass breakup. Not bad for a guy who had to fight to start for Ole Miss in fall camp.

5. Ainias Smith, Playmaker (Texas A&M)

It doesn’t matter if Smith is lined up in the slot, in the backfield, or on the perimeter: He makes plays. Jimbo Fisher moved him all over the field Saturday to great effect, with Smith gaining 175 total offensive yards on just 9 touches and scoring 2 touchdowns. Smith is the classic example of how a player impacts defensive schemes — opponents need to know where the Aggies’ star is before every snap, and often, they adjust personnel accordingly. Smith’s involvement in Texas A&M the run game was particularly interesting because they demonstrate that in Week 1, Jimbo Fisher is determined to use Smith in every possible formation and way this season, perhaps signaling a return to the 2020 version of Smith who carried the ball 49 times in addition to his receiving duties. Last year, Smith had just 8 carries; he’s almost halfway to that number after one week in 2022.

4. Anthony Richardson, QB (Florida)

Anthony Richardson’s first start in The Swamp confirmed what plenty suspected — Richardson is must-see television, an electric player who Dan Mullen should have played more in 2021. As Billy Napier put it, “I think we all just found out this Anthony Richardson guy is pretty good.” That he is, and Florida quite simply does not beat No. 7 Utah with any other quarterback under center. Richardson played his best in the fourth quarter, when the Gators needed him most, leading the Gators on 2 touchdown drives in the final 15 minutes to seal the comeback upset win. He also made this absolutely silly play on a 2-point conversion to give the Gators a 3-point lead.

Richardson gets another stiff test Saturday when No. 20 Kentucky rolls into The Swamp. Buckle up because it will be fun any time Anthony Richardson has the ball in his hands.

3. Stetson Bennett, QB (Georgia)

Should Bennett change his name to Rodney Dangerfield? If I were him, I might, or at least I’d find a quality NIL opportunity related to Dangerfield’s famous quip, “I don’t get no respect.” At some point, it is time to put a little respect on the national championship-winning quarterback’s name. Who cares if Bennett looks more like a tax lawyer than a national championship-winning quarterback? All he does is win and move the football.

For all the questions about Georgia’s offense last season, the Dawgs finished the season ranked No. 2 in SP+ offensive efficiency and ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 4 nationally in yards gained per play. Bennett was at the center of all of that, and he was at the center of Georgia’s demolition of Oregon Saturday as well. The senior finished with 376 total yards and accounted for 3 touchdowns (2 passing, 1 rushing) in the rout. He threw only 6 incompletions and continued to show how lethal he is at extending plays with his legs and making the right decision on where to distribute the football on the move.

Is he as electrifying as Jefferson, Richardson, or even Hooker? No. But he’s the SEC’s No. 2 quarterback right now — and that’s true until Anthony Richardson shows he can stay healthy and win a few more games.

2. Bryce Young, QB (Alabama)

The Crimson Tide’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback began the 2022 campaign by showcasing a new dimension to his game: running the football! Young led the Tide in rushing in Saturday’s win over Utah State, tallying 100 yards, including this 63-yard run where he turned what appeared to be a coverage sack situation into a red-zone trip.

Young, like Tim Tebow over a decade ago, isn’t the best player on his team, despite the Heisman Trophy and all the accolades. He is, however, like Tebow, the Tide’s most indispensable player.

1. Will Anderson Jr., Edge (Alabama)

Anderson had “only” 1 tackle for loss and 2 quarterback pressures in Alabama’s season-opening win over Utah State, but when you are now double or triple-teamed on 80% of snaps, a drop in eye-opening statistical production is probably expected. Anderson still managed to finish the game second on Alabama in tackles behind Jaylen Moody and, as is usually the case, he’s the player on the field drawing the most NFL eyeballs, with an Alabama staffer telling me that defensive scouts from every NFL team were in attendance to watch Anderson on Saturday afternoon. Anderson fell just short of finishing No. 1 in these rankings last season — he’ll begin the season in the catbird seat in 2022.