Passing has become the way to win in the modern era of college football, but just as important as having a good passing game is having a good secondary to limit opponents through the air.

The SEC laid claim to some incredible cornerbacks in 2014, many of whom play for bowl-eligible teams. Here are our top 10 cornerbacks from around the SEC in 2014.

Player rankings:
Offensive linemen

Just made the list
10. Deshazor Everett, Texas A&M
9. Tre’Davious White, LSU

There were a number of star corners considered for this list, and there wasn’t much separating these two names and a handful of others who failed to crack the top 10. Texas A&M had one of the worst defenses in the SEC in 2014 (defensive coordinator Mark Snyder has since been fired), but senior corner Deshazor Everett was one of the few bright spots on that side of the ball. Everett was one of only three Aggies to record an interception in 2014, and although corners are not known for their tackling abilities Everett was one of the best tacklers on the team, recording a whopping 72 on the year including 2.5 for loss. … LSU’s Tre’Davious White did a little bit of everything for the Tigers this year, recording a pair of interceptions, three tackles for loss and one of the best punt return averages in the conference. White was as athletic as he was versatile, adding five pass breakups in coverage and a sack and a quarterback hurry as part of the Tigers’ dangerous pass rush. With White leading the way, LSU closed the year with the SEC’s No. 2 pass defense, holding opponents to just 162 yards per game through the air.

Related: Coaches’ All-SEC team

Beasts from the East
8. Cameron Sutton, Tennessee
7. Brian Poole, Florida

Tennessee sophomore Cameron Sutton was named a freshman All-American in 2013, and followed that season with an even better season in 2014. The Vols’ top defensive back was as dangerous as any corner in the conference, intercepting three passes and breaking up 11 more in addition to a forced fumble. Sutton is a sure tackler who recorded four tackles for loss on the season, and he even uses his athleticism on special teams as one of the conference’s better punt returners. … Florida’s Brian Poole was overshadowed by teammate Vernon Hargreaves for much of the season (we’ll get to Hargreaves in a bit), but he also served as one of the premier cornerbacks in the conference. Along with Hargreaves, Poole helped Florida hold opponents to fewer than 200 yards per game through the air, and his three interceptions were tied for the team lead. Poole was an active cover corner with 11 passes defended, but he was also aggressive when asked to play inside, recording 41 tackles, three tackles for loss, a forced fumble and two quarterback hurries on well-executed corner blitzes.

Related: Associated Press All-SEC team

The all-conference guys
6. Cyrus Jones, Alabama
5. Jonathon Mincy, Auburn
4. Jonathan Jones, Auburn
3. Damian Swann, Georgia

The following players were all named All-SEC second-teamers by the Associated Press or the SEC’s coaches. The top two players on this list were the two first-team selections on both All-SEC teams. Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones was a playmaker in the back-end of the Crimson Tide’s secondary, recording two interceptions, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery run back for a touchdown. He had a knack for being in the right place at the right time, and was more than capable in coverage with nine passes defended. … Auburn’s starting cornerback tandem of Jonathan Jones and Jonathon Mincy may have been part of the SEC’s second-worst pass defense, but the Tigers lacked a force up front on defense, leaving Jones and Mincy on islands for much of the season. Jones responded with a team-high six interceptions and 11 pass breakups, while Mincy contributed one interception, eight breakups and plenty of versatility close to the line of scrimmage (61 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble). … Georgia cornerback Damian Swann was exceptional in making plays when the Dawgs needed them most, even if he wasn’t always playing his position “by the book.” Swann recorded three interceptions on the year, and although he added just four pass breakups he also added a whopping four forced fumbles, four quarterback hurries, 4.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and 62 total tackles. That doesn’t even include his 99-yard fumble return for a touchdown in UGA’s season finale against Georgia Tech. Few players on the defensive side of the ball were as complete in every area of the game as Swann was this season.

Related: The SDS All-SEC team

The best of the best
2. Senquez Golson, Ole Miss
1. Vernon Hargreaves, Florida

There’s a reason these two stars were the obvious choices as the two first-team All-SEC corners on the coaches’ and media’s all-conference squads. No corner in the SEC played balls in the air better than Ole Miss senior Senquez Golson, who led the conference with nine interceptions on the season. Golson wasn’t always the purest when it came to coverage on the outside, but his ability to recover and turn a bad play into a great one is what made him so special in 2014. His late interception against Alabama sealed an Ole Miss victory (Alabama hasn’t lost since), and Golson had to go over a player nine inches taller than him (O.J. Howard) to pluck the ball out of the air in the end zone. Regardless of what his future holds at the next level, Golson was a star among stars for the nation’s No. 1 scoring defense this season. … The only corner better than Golson this season was Florida sophomore Vernon Hargreaves. The Gators’ No. 1 cornerback locked down his side of the field on virtually every snap of the season, recording two interceptions and 13 passes defended despite being thrown at fewer times than most corners throughout the conference. No player was able to eliminate a wideout from a game the way Hargreaves did at times this season, and the scariest element to his game is how much better he stands to improve in the coming years. Florida’s defense kept its inept offense in games time and time again this season, and Hargreaves ability to blanket receivers in obvious passing situations is the reason he’s the top corner in the conference this year.