Happy 4th of July, America.

I hope your day is full of eating grilled meats and watching other people (responsibly) blow things up. Again, responsibly. Fireworks are great, losing fingers is not so great.

What is great is breaking down the most explosive players in the SEC.

Here are the 10 I’ve settled on:

Joe Milton, Tennessee QB

The title of “best arm in college football” isn’t really a debate this year. It belongs to Milton. And if you think I’m wrong, tell me who else needs to take something off a 60-yard pass?

Milton’s arm is somewhere in the 80-90 yard range, which has been confirmed by several members of the program. His arm is a cannon unlike any we’ve seen in the SEC in recent memory, and it could very well be in the conversation with the late Ryan Mallett and JaMarcus Russell among “best SEC arms ever.” Of course with Milton, those explosive plays will only come if he has the touch necessary to lock down the starting job. But consider this. As a backup who got 2 starts for the injured Hendon Hooker in 2022, he was No. 5 in the SEC in passes of 40 yards (9). He can be all sorts of explosive in 2023.

Squirrel White, Tennessee WR

The guy on the receiving end of that long pass from Milton was White, AKA the guy who finished No. 2 in the SEC with 6 catches of 40 yards. Who was No. 1? Jalin Hyatt, AKA the Biletnikoff Award winner who started in the slot ahead of White, who got 20 snaps in a game once in the first 11 weeks. The dude can flat out jet. He’s a great bet to be on the receiving end of some long Tennessee touchdowns in 2023 … and a sneaky bet to lead the conference in receiving.

Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss RB

Judkins was a revelation as a true freshman. Not only did he have the most rushing yards by an SEC true freshman since Herschel Walker (good for No. 2 all-time), he also racked up a Power 5-best 19 runs of 20 yards. Judkins is an ideal fit in Lane Kiffin’s offense. His ability to accelerate at the second level is already at an All-American level. While it’s fair to have questions about his workload — he averaged the most carries per game of any Power 5 true freshman since 2017 — we shouldn’t have questions about what he’s capable of when he gets the rock.

Rocket Sanders, Arkansas RB

His name is Rocket. We’re done here.

OK, fine. I’ll provide some context. Sanders led the SEC with 5 runs of 40 yards, and he was tied for No. 3 in FBS with 4 scrimmage plays of 60 yards. The Razorback tailback took off last year. Even though he’s undergoing a scheme change that’ll probably impact his workload with the transition from Kendal Briles to Dan Enos, there’s still an expectation that Sanders is poised for a monster year. Last year was really his first time becoming an every-down back playing competitive football. In other words, Rocket hasn’t reached his apex yet.

Brock Bowers, Georgia TE

A tight end … explosive? Yes. All you need to know about how explosive Bowers is this — he led the SEC with 3 plays of 70 yards. Even crazier? One of those was a running play. The guy gets his number called on end-arounds. That’s how explosive he is. Ever since his career began, Bowers has been making jaw-dropping plays that have us all questioning the physical limitations of the tight end position. I still think the touchdown at Georgia Tech his freshman year was the single most explosive play I’ve ever seen from a college tight end.

That’s not fair. Bowers is a cheat code.

Antwane “Juice” Wells, South Carolina WR

If you’re gonna go by “Juice,” you’d better have some explosion to your game. Fortunately for Wells, that’s not in doubt. The aforementioned Hyatt was the only SEC player with more 60-yard catches than Wells (4), who became an ideal fit to pair with Spencer Rattler’s big arm. Rattler developed a trust to lead Wells into deep throws and more times than not, the receiver would find a way to wind up with it. After he was one of the better transfers in all of college football coming from James Madison, Wells elected to run it back for another year with Rattler. If they can build off last year’s late-season dominance, they’ll be one of best, most explosive duos in the country.

Also, expect true freshman Nyckoles Harbor to be on this list next year.

Barion Brown, Kentucky WR

Brown might not be on the national radar yet, but Kentucky fans watched him burst onto the scene as a true freshman. He was tied for No. 3 in the SEC with 9 catches of 30 yards, and he was also responsible for 1 of the SEC’s 4 kickoff return touchdowns. More impressive? Like, besides the fact that he ran the 100-meter in 10.49 seconds? He went off for 245 all-purpose yards on just 5 (!) touches against Ole Miss.

And against Georgia, all Brown did was rack up 145 receiving yards on 10 catches. The guy is a home-run play in the making. He and classmate Dane Key could be in for a huge year working with Devin Leary.

Dallas Turner, Alabama LB

Yes, it’s about time I got to a defensive player. Turner might not have had the 2022 that some (myself included) expected, but don’t get it twisted. He’s still as dangerous as any edge rusher in America. Perhaps with Will Anderson off to the NFL, we’ll see Turner shine in a different way this year. There’s a reason why he’s still showing up all over the way-too-early mock drafts. Anderson said that Turner “is gonna be the next Alabama great.” The former 5-star recruit has a unique combination of power and speed that’ll put him at the top of every opposing scouting report this year.

Harold Perkins, LSU LB

I don’t care where you want to put Perkins. In the box, off the edge, heck, put him in the locker room at the start of the play. He’ll find a way to come off the snap like he’s shot out of a cannon and destroy a ball-carrier. That’s what he does. Go ask Arkansas, who had to witness Harold Perkins Day in Fayetteville last year when he had 6 solo tackles, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and it felt like he hurried Malik Hornsby every other play. But Perkins was far more than just 1 game. He had 13.5 tackles for loss as a true freshman. Never mind the fact that he didn’t really become an every-down player until the latter half of the season. You could make a strong case that he’s already the best defensive player in the sport. He’s certainly one of the most explosive.

Maason Smith, LSU DL

If you disagree with Smith being on this list because he’s yet to play a full season as a starter, you’re basically saying you’re only looking at the box score. Watch the guy play this year and tell me he’s not one of the most explosive players in America. Even in those 8 snaps he played before going down with a season-ending ACL tear celebrating someone else’s play on the first series against Florida State, you saw it. His ability to shed blocks and play inside or outside at his size is Jalen Carter-like. Does that mean he’ll be Carter 2.0? No, but he’s got the best chance of any player in the SEC to follow in the footsteps of the Georgia All-American.

If you can buy stock in any SEC player, go with Smith and watch him take off.