SDS Roundtable: Who is your favorite SEC football player of all-time?
Each SDS roundtable discussion involves the SDS staff providing individual answers and comments to questions covering a wide range of sports and non-sports topics. In this discussion, we turn back to college football, and ask the question: Who is your favorite SEC player of all-time?
Previous roundtable discussions:
- If you could change 1 thing about college football, what would it be?
- What are you watching right now?
Jon Cooper, SDS co-founder
Man, this is a tough one. Favorite and best would be 2 critical words here. Three of my top 4 players are Tim Tebow, Johnny Manziel and Cam Newton, all for different reasons. Tebow transcended the game with his ability, leadership, determination and will. Manziel was the most electrifying player to watch, and Newton had more sheer talent than anyone I can remember at the position.
And then there’s Percy Harvin. The Virginia boy is my favorite SEC player of all-time.
Yes, Harvin had some off-the-field issues; however, his on-the-field ability was absolutely ridiculous. He could play any receiver position, running back or special teams.
I’m completely convinced that Harvin could have been an All-American at corner or safety, too. The former Gators star literally got to top speed in 1 quick step and left everyone in the dust. There hasn’t been a playmaker like him in the SEC since, and there likely won’t be.
Connor O’Gara: Senior national columnist
Call me basic, but Tim Tebow has always been at the top of the list. I found myself rooting for him as a 17-year old kid despite the fact that I didn’t have any sort of connection to Florida. The style that he played and the passion that he brought was and still is, second to none. He redefined how we talk about the quarterback position. There’s just something about the way he could take over a game that was intoxicating. There’s a reason he ignited so many opinions. Anybody who can deliver a postgame speech after a loss with that kind of a guarantee and then deliver, well, that’s legend stuff.
Is the legend of Tebow a bit overblown? Maybe. I thought the attention he got in his post-collegiate life was certainly overblown, but at the root of that was how he made someone like me — a 17-year old kid in the Midwest — want to root for him. That’s rare.
Dustin Schutte, Saturday Tradition editor
This is probably going to be a little recency bias on my part, but I’ll go with Kentucky running back Benny Snell. It was probably the spinner in his mouthpiece that put him over the edge.
It’s always fun to watch players thrive with a program that hasn’t spent much time on the college football radar and lead the team to unprecedented heights. I felt like Snell accomplished that in 2018 at Kentucky.
Snell ended the year as the SEC’s 2nd-leading rusher and the Wildcats spent a good chunk of the season ranked in the Top 25. Kentucky had an incredibly fun season and Snell brought a ton of personality to the field. Lexington made a slight shift from a basketball town to a football city, even if it was just temporarily, while Snell was toting the rock.
Adam Spencer, Football Saturday newsletter
The answer to this question is Drew Lock. He had a cannon for a right arm, had fun playing the game and led Mizzou to a couple of solid years in 2017 and 2018. He’s been my favorite player to come through Mizzou since I went to school at the end of the Chase Daniel era, but since Daniel didn’t play in the SEC, Lock is the answer.
Lock’s 44 touchdown passes in 2017 set the SEC single-season record (until Joe Burrow shattered it by tossing 60 in 2019). He also finished with 99 career touchdown passes, good for 3rd in SEC history. It was a ton of fun watching him play, and I hope the Tigers can recapture some of that excitement during Eliah Drinkwitz’s tenure as head coach.
Michael Bratton, News editor
Johnny Manziel, the human highlight reel. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a player at this level consistently manufacture as many successful plays while seemingly making it up as he was going. He was the SEC’s Michael Vick and his emergence led to Texas A&M becoming an instant success in the league. When you consider all he did for the Aggies, Manziel deserves a statue outside of Kyle Field.
Chris Wright, Executive editor
I’m the oldest guy on staff and the only one alive when Herschel Walker was doing his thing at Georgia.
I’ve often said watching Herschel must have been like my dad watching Willie Mays’ over-the-shoulder World Series catch in 1954. You didn’t see plays like that, quite literally, because games weren’t on TV. By the time I was in high school, SportsCenter was on every night, which meant highlights, which meant highlights of catches like the one Mays made famous. It didn’t necessarily diminish what Mays did, but I was seeing catches like that a couple of times a week.
That’s what Herschel was to me. I didn’t see Jim Brown or O.J. in college. I was in junior high in Raleigh, N.C., when Herschel arrived at Georgia. Not that we really cared, but the Triangle had 3 ACC football teams. Lawrence Taylor was still at UNC in 1980, but so were Dean Smith, James Worthy and Sam Perkins. A kid named Jordan was on the way. Still, somehow, in the middle of basketball country, we still managed to see Herschel Walker play football almost every Saturday afternoon.
I’d never seen anybody that big run that fast. Earl Campbell was a bulldozer and absolutely unstoppable, but I don’t remember him being able to get out of second gear. As a freshman, Herschel already looked every bit like the best running back in the NFL.
Now? Plenty of guys seem to remind us of Herschel. Leonard Fournette probably came the closest, in terms of a sheer physical match. Derrick Henry was bigger than Herschel and probably faster than I thought. Adrian Peterson offered a healthy dose of both attributes. In other words, the youngbloods hear the stories of Herschel, but they also have video proof of Fournette and Henry throwing defenders off him and continuing on for 30 yards.
So, yeah, maybe some of it is nostalgic. But there’s still plenty of statistics, too.
In the early 1980s, there was Herschel. And nobody else.
Favorite is personal, so there is no arguing that. As an older LSU fan, I don’t have to go back very far to identify my favorite player. It’s Burrow. What he did these past two seasons was a joy to watch. All those top ten wins, ending the Alabama streak, and then winning a NC and Heisman was awesome. Geaux Tigers!!!
No shame in picking a recent player
Burrow has to be the greatest transfer in LSU history agreed?
Oh yes. He is a legend.
Lol indeed
Favorite would have to be Shaun Alexander, just a class act on and off of the field. Most recent would have to be Derrick Henry, just a monster that got better, stronger, and just punished opposing defenses as the game progressed into the second half. Who could forget the Derrick Henry vs. Leonard Fournette game…
Derrick Thomas… Man among boys…
No defensive players?
My favorite before this past season was Eric Berry but it would now have to be Jauan Jennings without a doubt.
Jennings did have a respectable career
Eric Berry is my favorite Tennessee player of all time. He was awesome to watch and seems like he is genuinely a good dude.
I’m a homer too…just a little older than most of you guys 8-) I think Reggie White would be a top choice but my favorite to watch was Al Wilson. Most intense LB I ever saw.
Since Herschel is a no-brainer, I’ll go with Hines Ward.
Random – do you know who Tray Matthews is?
Of course. Why?
Doesn’t he play for Pitty?
Troll.
No, he is a young kid. Cut him some slack.
It’s good lol I was just wondering if people know who he is because the people I talk to don’t.
I remember when Leonard Fournette wore him like a backpack on one of the best runs I’ve ever seen.
I have no one favorite. It’s a 3 way tie for me with Cam Newton, Bo Jackson (the goat), and Kerryon Johnson. Cam is just Cam. Nobody else can be Cam. He’s one of the greatest SEC quarterbacks ever. Bo Jackson is arguably the best running back in SEC history and maybe even college football history. He is the fastest player in history also. Kerryon Johnson carried Auburn to the SEC Championship in 2017 and has earned my respect. Outside of Auburn players, I like Tebow a lot. I’m not a fan of Manziel. I like Jalen Hurts too. Jadeveon Clowney was really good too. My favorite former Georgia player is one I know that no one has heard. Tray Matthews. He was involved in the collision that made the Miracle in Jordan-Hare happen. Then he transferred to Auburn and became my favorite Auburn defender ever.
Glossing over the whole getting kicked out of Georgia thing for Tray, aren’t you?
It appears he successfully turned his life around. Good for him. Taking advantage of a second chance is always good to see.
Oh lol I didn’t know about that
1. Herschel Walker
2. Bo Jackson
3. Derrick Thomas
4. Charles Alexander
5. Champ Bailey
That’s a heck of a list.
Fortunately to have seen all of them play in person.
Put Bailey at #4
Replace Charles with Shaun.
Hines Ward. I never saw Herschel play, but it was Hines Ward who cemented me as a Dawg For Life.
I’ve never seen a player do anything and everything his team asked of him in the things Hines was asked and needed to do during his playing career at Georgia. He is the absolute epitome of BIG TEAM, little me. And the thing is, almost all of the Georgia teams he played for were bad football teams, except for that last year.
He played, at various times in his career:
Tailback
Wide Receiver
Quarterback
Kick Returner
Punt Returner
If they asked him to play corner, I’m sure he would’ve done that, too. Hines Ward gave everything he could to the University of Georgia, and I’ll love him forever for that.
Good call on Hines Ward and let’s not forget his teammate for two years, Champ Bailey
Joe Burrow is obvious favorite but my nostalgic all time favorite as an LSU fan is #37 Tommy Casanova. What an athlete and great person All American All Pro look him up if you not familiar. Geaux Tigers
Three time first team All American and three time pro bowler. He retired from the nfl after only six seasons and a pro bowl season to complete med school. Dr Casanova even got into politics for one term. He decided to return to medicine and didn’t run for a second term. Quite the gentleman.
Who was that lefty QB #7 at LSU. I always enjoyed watching him sling all over creation.
Never mind. Looked it up. Bert Jones. Liked him a lot for some reason.
Ok now I know I’m not the only boomer here lol
Marcus Lattimore…his career was cut short. Would have been a heisman candidate. Great kid too.
Yes, a shame about his injuries.
The cow pasture in Hillbillyville has ended or impacted far too many careers. Shame on those Vawls and their awful groundskeepers and cheap Athletic Department for allowing this to happen for years and years.
I still have nightmares about that 2013 game.
It happened in Columbia.
One of the times he was hurt was on your cursed cow pasture. You know, the same crap field all you ignorant hillbillies hoped Cade Mays would tear his knee up on before he decided to “come back home.”
Lattimore was and is 100% class act admired by all SEC fans.
Definitely in my Top 10 and a heckuva person too.
Thank goodness someone included Hershel. This is coming from a die hard, bleed orange and blue, name my dogs after Gator players and coaches, Hershel is the most amazing college athlete I have ever seen. Tebow is a close second and Bo is in the discussion, but I have to go with Hershel.
bUt mANzIeL waS elECTRiC
I think I’ll go with specific games/periods:
Obviously Herschel’s the GOAT all around, but these are also some recent favorite moments–
Derrick Henry 2015 vs. Auburn
Roquan Smith 2017 SEC Championship
Todd Gurley 2014 vs. Clemson
Jarvis Jones 2012 vs. Florida
Nick Chubb 2014 vs. Louisville
Jake Fromm 2018 vs. Florida (hehe–any year for that matter)
Marcus Howard 2008 vs. Hawaii
David Pollack 2002 vs. South Carolina
Great list.
It’s difficult to pick my favorite. I loved watching Takeo Spikes, Travis Williams, Cam Newton, and Cadillac Williams play. From the way they handled adversity, it’s got to be Jason Campbell. Kid was booed off the field early in his career (not proud of that). He stuck with it and helped Auburn go undefeated and become a 1st round draft pick. Class act all the way.
Campbell was great. One of the more underrated QBs in SEC History. Pretty amazing that we produced two top five picks in the NFL draft at the same position. The running back position is one that usually only one player stars at. Auburn had two in 2004. Cadillac and Ronnie Brown.
No way as a Gator that I can name Herschel Walker or Bo Jackson as my favorite, but they are in the discussion for greatest of all time. Actually, they are the discussion.
As for favorite SEC player/Gators, it’s hard not to go with Tebow. Jevon Kearse, the Freak, would probably be second. Wes Chandler is probably third. Played against Chandler in a fraternity league softball game once… He was playing second base and a line drive was hit at him, 10-11 feet above the ground. He jumped up and caught it; his feet had to be four feet off the ground. Amazing athlete.
Showing my age but imo the best Gator of the 70s was Chris Collinsworth. Dude could catch anything. In the 1980 Ga Fla Lindsay Scott game he prob caught 10 passes. And who knew the kid OC for the Gators that year would coach 2 Super Bowl champs?
Couple little known facts about Collinsworth: He was recruited as an option quarterback. After his freshman year he was switched to wide receiver… where his first position coach was a former NFL backup quarterback named Steve Spurrier, in his first college coaching job.
Good God, you brought back a memory with Lindsey Scott. The pass by Buck Belue was phenomenal given where his feet were. No one saw that coming. One of the best plays Georgia ever made.
Tebow and Emmitt
The Freak was amazing, but my favorite Gator on the defensive side has to be Wilbur Marshall. Man, that guy was scary. Absolute game changer.
I’m gonna cast my defensive vote for Reggie Nelson. The Eraser was really something else
Herschel, Bo, Tbow in that order.
Just a tick behind would be Emmett Smith and Peyton Manning
It’s got to be those three and then a bunch of(deserving) others, you ask any college football fan in the country to name 5 great SEC players those 3 will be on every list. They all transcended the game in their own ways and it’s not just SEC fans or hell even cf fans who know who they are…they were great at the game but they were bigger than it too.
I’d have to go Matt Elam here. Nothing like watching a safety lay someone out, and no one did it like Matt
Gator safety Major Wright hit on Georgia wide receiver A.J. Green was pretty memorable.
I can name two whose hits hit much harder than Elam:
Thomas Davis and Baccari Rambo.
That’s funny.
I will never forget being in Legion Field and watching Derrick Thomas turn the Penn State game into a field goal contest before winning it with a safety. I can’t believe more people have not mentioned him.
It is also hard to imagine that Tua has entirely avoided the discussion.
I think all you gator fans forgot about Emmitt Smith…very surprising…
Didn’t forget him. It’s probably just that he didn’t play on particularly great teams, which were overshadowed by the Spurrier era… which began the year after Smith left for the NFL. Emmitt left early at least in part because he was concerned about Spurrier’s reputation for throwing the ball. Emmitt was the focal point of the offense during his time at Florida.
Most of the time I ignore poll question columns but this one was fun. So many great players .
Joe Burrow. Before the season started, he told reporters LSU was going to score 40, 50, 60 points per game. I think almost everyone doubted him when he said that. I’m sure some people laughed. I don’t think I ever saw a player more driven to succeed. That includes Tebow. I also don’t think I ever saw a player more capable of running an offense. Put that drive and capability together, and you get 15-0.
Given my recency bias and extreme homerism, give me Cool Hand Joe Burrow.
But for the majority of my life, it’s been Bo and Herschel. I took this as favorite player to watch. Bo certainly wasn’t my favorite when he played my Tigers. Before Joe, I liked Glen Dorsey and Wendell Davis.
Joe Burrow
1. Tony George, the “original” #1
2. Percy Harvin, offensive player
3. Danny Wuerffel, my QB
4. Elijah Williams, do-everything
5. Matt Elam, but it’s close with about 50 other players.
Didn’t expect anyone to pick Percy, who is also my favorite. Probably the greatest player from UF and would have been dominant in the NFL except for the migraines and injuries.
Mine’s predictable: Dak Prescott.
If we are talking favorites to watch, I loved watching Jared Lorenzon at UK . The hefty lefty was epic .
Who is your favorite SEC football player of all-time? If you take into account their lives off the field, it’s Archie Manning and it’s not even close.
Gotta be Derrick Brown. Very recent player but I mean he was a beast. He’s gonna go in the early first round this year and if you watch his highlights… Man, the kid is really something. Also a really good kid.
Little bit of a bias there being an Auburn fan there though.
#1 Peyton Manning. #2 Joe Burrow.
South Carolina had quite a character that I enjoyed watching on Saturdays…Steve Taneyhill. Loads of personality.
I will never forget tge 45 – 3 thrashing that Tennessee put on Florida during a downpoor in Knoxville in 1991. When Florida’s offense took the field, Tennessee Free Safety Dale Carter walked the full 15 yards to the line of scrimmage, pointed at Florida QB Shane Matthews, and delivered a few choice words. I d k what he said, but Carter picked off 2 passes and returned a punt for a TD and solidified himself as a Tennessee Legend while Steve Spurrier threw clipboards, visors, whistles and maybe the shirt off his back as Tennessee demoralized a very good Florida squad. I was 14 yrs old, and Dale Carter is still my favorite player of all time.
This dude said Drew Lock?!?…
Late to the show, but this would be a MORE interesting comment section if the discussion could be an honest – who is the best SEC player of all time NOT on your chosen team. As it is everyone is listing 3 (which is MUCH easier than ONE) or so of their favorites from their team. So, I’ll start us, I’m Alabama all the way every day. I’d have to say the best is Bo Jackson.
Tommy Casanova was surely special. I’d have to have Bo and Herschel up at the top.
Tommy Casanova was surely special. I’d have to have Bo and Herschel up at the very top.