RELATED: East’s best candidates

Offense sells tickets, it is claimed. It provides the fireworks. It scores the points. Well, outside of Alabama, anyway. The SEC West has its share of star players on offense.

Here’s a look at the top 10 candidates from the West for SEC Offensive Player of the Year. Now, that doesn’t necessarily mean it is the top 10 offensive players, but rather those with the best chance to take the honor. With that distinction, here we go.

10. Nick Fitzgerald – QB, Mississippi State: Bursting onto the scene last season, Fitzgerald threw for 2,423 yards and 21 touchdowns and nearly won the SEC rushing title with 1,375 yards (15 TDs) as he willed the Bulldogs to six wins and a bowl bid.

9. Shea Patterson – QB, Ole Miss: In a system that allows him plenty of opportunity to shine, Patterson takes over at quarterback on a full-time basis. He displayed above-average ability, throwing for 880 yards and six touchdowns in three games last year, and will become the face of the franchise this year.

8. Christian Kirk – WR, Texas A&M: It wasn’t quite the 1,000-yard season he enjoyed as a freshman, but Kirk turned in another outstanding season in 2016. And without Josh Reynolds, Ricky Seals-Jones and Speedy Noil, Kirk will be the highlighted receiver. His return skills (three punt-return TDs already) only add to his legend at Texas A&M.

7. Austin Allen – QB, Arkansas: The SEC leader in passing yards (3,430, 25 TDs) a year ago, Allen has a year under his belt, and that can’t be good news for opposing secondaries. He must cut down on his SEC-high 15 interceptions, but Allen has the ability to put the team on his shoulders.

6. Calvin Ridley – WR, Alabama: After an amazing freshman season, Ridley fell off somewhat, stats-wise, in his sophomore year. But look for those numbers to pick up again as QB Jalen Hurts becomes a better passer. In two seasons, Ridley has 1,814 receiving yards and 14 TDs on 161 catches, and he will be the Tide’s go-to receiver this year.

 5. Bo Scarbrough – RB, Alabama: The bruising back ran for 812 yards and 11 TDs a season ago and toward the end of the year looked like one of the best backs in the country. He should find the spotlight with his powerful style despite being in a star-studded backfield that includes Hurts and RB Damien Harris.

4. Jarrett Stidham – QB, Auburn: Given the stable of running backs at Auburn, Stidham could complete one of the most prolific backfields in the country. In 2015, Stidham threw for 1,265 yards and 12 TDs in 10 games for Baylor.

3. Kamryn Pettway – RB, Auburn: He’ll need to stay healthy, but in what appears to be a strong Auburn run game, Pettway could be a leader in an offense that looks to roll up the yardage with the addition of Stidham. The only thing that could take away from Pettway’s numbers would be sharing his touches with talented running-mate Kerryon Johnson.

2. Derrius Guice – RB, LSU: Picking up where Leonard Fournette left off without missing a beat, Guice returns after an SEC-best 1,387 rushing yards and 15 TDs. In a traditionally run-heavy offense, Guice should get enough touches to surpass 1,000 yards again and become one of the most dynamic players in the division.

1. Jalen Hurts – QB, Alabama: After a record-breaking season as a freshman, Hurts could be the best player on the best team again in 2017. Which means he could repeat as the SEC’s Offensive Player of the Year. He looks to improve on his 2,780 passing yards (23 TDs) and 812 rushing yards (11 TDs) from a year ago when he led the Tide to the National Championship Game.