Editor’s note: Saturday Down South’s annual Top 25 preview week continues with a ranking and analysis of the best players in the best conference in America.

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It’s not an easy thing to do.

Ranking the top 25 SEC players is not a task I recommend for the faint of heart. A lot of studs get left off. There are 1,000-yard rushers who didn’t make the cut and All-Americans who barely made the cut.

Welcome to life in the SEC.

Rather than doing side-by-sides of a bunch of players or telling you why a guy is No. 18 instead of No. 13, I decided to do something a bit different.

Let’s just go with positive vibes only. I’m gonna list 1 thing I like about every player on this list, which isn’t necessarily partial to any specific position. Well, except kickers and punters, though I do feel like South Carolina kicker Kai Kroger has a legitimate case to start on this list.

This isn’t an end-of-season projection. I’m ranking these players based on who they are if they played tomorrow. That means guys like Carson Beck or Ty Simpson, both of whom could become stars, aren’t on this list.

But these are my top 25 players in the SEC entering 2023, with 1 thing I like about each of them.

25. Maason Smith, LSU DL

1 thing I like — He might only have 5 career starts, which is why he isn’t higher than No. 25, but based on the extremely limited sample size 0f 9 career games with 5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks, it’s not crazy to suggest that a healthy, pre-draft Smith could instantly look like the second coming of Jalen Carter and finish as a top-3 player on this list.

24. Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina S

1 thing I like — A member of the 2023 All-Bang The Drum Team, Emmanwori led all FBS true freshmen with 62 solo stops and he did so as a 6-4, 220-pound 18-year-old in the nation’s toughest conference.

23. Dominic Lovett, Georgia WR

1 thing I like — Among Power 5 receivers who played at least 400 snaps, the only returner with a higher PFF grade than Lovett is Ohio State star Marvin Harrison Jr. Lovett did that at Mizzou, where there wasn’t someone like Brock Bowers commanding a defense’s attention.

22. Will Rogers, Mississippi State QB

1 thing I like — You think Rogers was just a byproduct of the Mike Leach Air Raid? Fine. Tell me then how many system quarterbacks have a 49-1 red zone TD-INT ratio the past 2 seasons. Only Rogers.

21. Beaux Limmer, Arkansas C

1 thing I like — The guy has been a steadying force for an Arkansas ground game that ranked in the top 5 among non-service academies each of the past 2 years, and now at center, the 23-year-old interior offensive lineman will get the action started for one of the top quarterback-running back duos in America in KJ Jefferson and Rocket Sanders.

20. Brady Latham, Arkansas OL

1 thing I like — It’s not just that he started a team-high 36 consecutive games at left guard for that aforementioned dominant rushing attack. He’ll be 23 this fall with 2,503 snaps coming in those 3 years as a starter for a Sam Pittman-developed offensive line.

19. Ladd McConkey, Georgia WR

1 thing I like — Forget the fact that he was in the top 10 in the SEC in every major receiving category and he had more receiving yards than any Georgia wide receiver during the Kirby Smart era. The guy weighs 185 pounds soaking wet, yet he lined up as an outside receiver on 70% of his snaps and if you don’t think he’s one of the best blocking receivers in America, you haven’t been paying attention.

18. Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State LB

1 thing I like — The only SEC player who had more tackles than Watson in 2022 was fellow leader of Zach Arnett’s 3-3-5 defense, Jett Johnson … who also returns in 2023.

17. Mekhi Wingo, LSU DL

1 thing I like — Like, besides the fact that he’s a returning third-team All-American and he won’t be considered a top 2 priority on the scouting for opposing offenses? OK, how about this? At 295 pounds, Wingo played 31 more snaps (821) than any interior defensive lineman at the FBS or FCS levels. Don’t sleep on that motor and what it could do to free up the aforementioned Smith and the soon-to-be mentioned Harold Perkins.

16. Javon Foster, Mizzou OL

1 thing I like — The only Power 5 tackle who had a better PFF pass-blocking grade than Foster in 2022 was Peter Skoronski, AKA the No. 11 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

15. Devin Leary, Kentucky QB

1 thing I like — Just against Power 5 competition, he has a 46-12 TD-INT ratio with 12 games of multiple touchdown passes. In his last fully healthy season in 2021 when he broke Philip Rivers’ NC State single-season touchdown pass record, a league-best 27 of his TD passes came against ACC competition.

14. Malaki Starks, Georgia S

1 thing I like — As a true freshman, he not only earned a starting spot by Week 2 (which he never gave up) and played the 19th-most snaps of all Power 5 safeties, he finished 3rd on a national championship-winning defense in tackles (68) and led the Dawgs in pass breakups (4).

13. Dallas Turner, Alabama LB

1 thing I like — All 5 of Kevin Steele’s defenses at Auburn ranked in the top 6 in the SEC tackles for loss, which should benefit a preseason All-American like Turner, who has 18 tackles for loss through his first 2 seasons. Ahead of his first season replacing Will Anderson as the Tide’s top edge rusher, Turner said that Steele is “teaching the true Alabama standard” on defense.

12. JC Latham, Alabama OL

1 thing I like — He allowed just 2 sacks all year while delivering 29 knockdown blocks for an Alabama ground attack that quietly ranked No. 4 in FBS in rushing yards/carry.

11. Jayden Daniels, LSU QB

1 thing I like — Here’s the list of Power 5 quarterbacks who had 10 rushing touchdowns, 500 rushing yards and 2,000 passing yards:

  • Dorian Thompson-Robinson
  • Riley Leonard
  • Bo Nix
  • Jayden Daniels

Mind you, Daniels didn’t get a full spring with his new team. This year? That’s no longer the case.

10. KJ Jefferson, Arkansas QB

1 thing I like — Here’s the list of returning Power 5 quarterbacks who ranked in the top 10 in FBS in quarterback rating the past 2 years:

  • Caleb Williams
  • KJ Jefferson

Pretty good company, no?

9. Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia ILB

1 thing I like — He was the only Georgia player who ranked in the top 20 in the SEC in tackles for loss (9), and he did so from the inside linebacker position, where he helped fill the biggest void from that historic 2021 group, Nakobe Dean.

8. Antwane “Juice” Wells, South Carolina WR

1 thing I like — He ranked No. 1 in the SEC and No. 6 in FBS with 615 receiving yards in the second half/overtime. That’s why he’s the top returning receiver in the SEC.

7. Malik Nabers, LSU WR

1 thing I like — He led the SEC in catches (72) despite the fact that he played with a loaded group of pass-catchers and with a starting quarterback who had more rushing attempts than any FBS signal-caller.

6. Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia C

1 thing I like — Besides the fact that he started at center for every game of Georgia’s 2-year run, he also played the most snaps of any Bulldog in 2021, and he finished 8 snaps shy of earning that title when he was Georgia’s heart and soul in 2022 … because Stetson Bennett IV. Of course.

5. Rocket Sanders, Arkansas RB

1 thing I like — Here’s the list of Power 5 running backs who had 200 carries, 6 yards per carry and 10 rushing touchdowns:

  • Bijan Robinson, Texas
  • Kendre Miller, TCU
  • Eric Gray, Oklahoma
  • Rocket Sanders, Arkansas

And how many of those guys are back in 2023? One. It’s Sanders.

4. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama CB

1 thing I like — The man played 774 snaps at outside corner compared to just 16 in the slot, and among all FBS players, he played the most snaps in press coverage (299) without allowing a touchdown (via PFF).

3. Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss RB

1 thing I like — The only SEC true freshman in history with more rushing yards than Judkins was some guy named “Herschel Walker.”

2. Harold Perkins, LSU LB

1 thing I like — As a true freshman, the only SEC player who had more tackles for loss than Perkins was Will Anderson, AKA the No. 3 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft … and Perkins went into November having played 30-plus snaps just 2 times.

1. Brock Bowers, Georgia TE

1 thing I like — If you took Georgia’s SEC Championship and Playoff games over the past 2 seasons and averaged them out over a 13-game season, Bowers would have 1,142 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns, which is insane production for a guy who earned George Kittle blocking comps before he ever played a college snap.

Ah, I can’t just give you 1 thing for Bowers. Here’s another.

He’s only played 2 seasons and already has more career receiving touchdowns than Vernon Davis and Kellen Winslow Sr. combined. Bowers has more career receiving yards than the great Keith Jackson and he’s 97 scrimmage yard from passing Ozzie Newsome … which is why he’s 1 more Bowers-like season from being the unquestioned G.O.A.T. of college football tight ends.