The SEC has been a goldmine for the NFL. Players from all over the South (and Missouri) descend to the Professional-land, and every year, the leagues are stacked. Some are megastars (Odell Beckham Jr, Mark Ingram), some are bit players, but all of them played for the most passionate conference in college football.

To off-quote New York: If you can make there, you can make it anywhere.

Anyway, the SEC Football Blog has identified 10 players that we can’t wait to tear up the professional leagues – mainly because they are so damned exciting. Oh, and Alabama and Georgia fans: We weren’t going to put all of your players onto this list, so apologies if some of your competitors make it.

Oh, and by the word “wait”, we mean exciting, not “who we think will be successful”. Hence the Order.

Fun Fact: One of them’s not Danny Etling.

1. Derrius Guice (RB, LSU): We put Guice first on our list because he put up back-to-back 1,000 yards seasons (1,387 in 2016 and 1,251 in 2017, despite being injured). He should be picked as the lightning to someone else’s thunder. Think Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara, where Guice will be the Kamara. A LSU assistant coach told NFL.com: “Don’t waste your time on 2017 film because he wasn’t even back up to his top speed until the bowl game. He will be the same player he was in 2016. If you had a grade on him after last year, you should use that.” If that’s right, Guice will be one of the most exciting rookies in the NFL – and perhaps more exciting than the possible No.1 pick, Penn State’s Saquon Barkley.
2. Calvin Ridley (WR, Alabama): Ridley’s fast, smooth and will probably be the top wide receiver taken in the draft (or close to it), and so will terrorise secondaries for years to come. Because Amari Cooper is also an Alabama alum, there are already comparisons being drawn out to Ridley’s skills against Cooper’s when he came out to the NFL. Could be good for Atlanta, New York, San Francisco or Oakland, who all struggled with catching the ball last year.
3. Christian Kirk (WR/PR, Texas A&M): Kirk has been one of the most exciting players in college football, let alone the SEC. Kirk was a brilliant punt and kick returner, and wasn’t too shabby as a receiver either, averaging 13 yards a reception while posting 10 TDs over all. NFL Scouts might not like his route-running, but they’ll love his speed. If you want to draw a comparison, make it to fifth-year WR Cordarelle Patterson (also a SEC alum with Tennessee) – except better.
4. Minkah Fitzpatrick (CB, Alabama): Fitzpatrick’s numbers were a little down from an exceptional 2016, but it’s not surprising. Quarterbacks were making every effort to throw away from him. There are no places in a secondary where Fitzpatrick wouldn’t fit, and that’s why he’s going to be a top-five NFL Draft pick. People are already talking about him being a potential Pro Bowl player.
5. Sony Michel (RB, Georgia): What we like about Michel is his speed. He worked extremely well with Nick Chubb in 2017, helped by the fact that both players actually made it through a season without injury. Michel’s lightning-quick and can catch the ball, which is essential if you think about the trends in which the NFL’s moving. He won’t take 10 guys to take him down, but give him a few yards and he’ll gash a secondary.
6. Roquan Smith (LB, Georgia): There was no defensive player that was more exciting than Smith, who seemed to pop up everywhere during Georgia’s run to the National Championship. He was exceptional last year in Athens, posting an eye-popping 137 tackles including 14 tackles for loss, and garnering him with a Butkus Award, a SEC Defensive Player-Of-The-Year Award, and an All-American selection. He’s going to be a Round 1 prospect, and even if he doesn’t start in his first season, he’ll definitely come on strong.
7. J’Mon Moore (WR, Missouri): IF Moore can get through the practice squads without fumbling or dropping the damned ball, his speed could make him an under-the-radar sensation in the pro leagues. The ability is there: He had back-to-back 1,000 yard receiving seasons, despite Drew Lock increasing catches to WRs like Emmanuel Hall as the season went on. Here, a Redskins fan is keen on him.
8. Carlton Davis (CB, Auburn): Like Fitzpatrick, Davis was another CB that QBs threw away from in the SEC. Still, he totalled 136 tackles and 4 INTs in his time on the Plains. The argument from NFL Scouts is that CBs are meant to be good on takeaways, which wasn’t Davis’ speciality. Davis prided himself knocking the ball down (he led the Tigers 11 pass break-ups last year), but he was great at shutting down talent. Just ask Alabama’s Calvin Ridley.
9. Bo Scarbrough (RB, Alabama): If he’s given a good offensive line, he could be a brute for teams and a red zone nightmare for defenders. He’s actually quicker than people think he is, but he’s the type of offensive player that’ll run you over rather than around you. There are concerns about his pass-catching ability (as discussed a major trend in the NFL right now), but if a team likes an old-school battering, Scarbrough could be one to get – especially if he’s a bargain 4-5th round pick, as he’s projected to be.
10. Hayden Hurts (TE, South Carolina): At 25, Hurts will probably be the oldest man at the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft, and no doubt will have everyone talking about the MLB career he missed out on too (it was a bad case of the yips that sank his hopes), but he’s 6-5, 250, and is quoted having enough ‘size and quickness’ to compete in the big leagues. Some people don’t like his age, but isn’t that a little bit, erm, ageist?

Remember, we know that the likes of Kerryon Johnson, Nick Chubb, Ronnie Harrison, Da’ron Payne, Lorenzo Carter, Rashaad Evans all exist and could be more-than-decent pros. But this is our ten. We can’t wait for your feedback. 

Nick Saban didn’t have to look hard for his assistants – and there was no real surprise when they were announced.

Mike Locksley has been announced as offensive coordinator, replacing Brian Daboll who left to be OC for the Buffalo Bills after the school’s National Championship win over Georgia. Saban has appointed former Penn State wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Josh Gattis as joint offensive-coordinator and wide receivers coach. Gattis has done incredibly well in his time at State College, and Alabama will be fine.

Tosh Lupoi will be the school’s defensive coordinator, although Saban also hired UTSA assistant coach Pete Golding to be its co-DC and defensive line coach. Lupoi and Golding will replace Jeremy Pruitt, who left Tuscaloosa to be head coach at Tennessee.

The SEC is going to continue a strong tradition of NFL wideouts come to the 2018 NFL Draft.

Calvin Ridley (Alabama), and Christian Kirk (Texas A&M) are both expected to be first or second round picks in April, while it’s expected that there will be takers for DJ Chark (LSU), Antonio Callaway (Florida), JMon Moore (Missouri), Javon Wims (Georgia) and Robert Foster (Alabama).

In 2019 the top wide receiver going is probably going to be Ole Miss’ AJ Brown, although Deebo Samuel (South Carolina), Tyrie Cleveland (Florida) and Terry Godwin (Georgia) could also create some noise if their 2018 seasons go as well as they are hoping for. In our opinion, Samuel was a Heisman contender before he got injured against Kentucky. Yes, he’s that good.

In recent years, the SEC has brought some excellent WRs to the land of the NFL, including Julio Jones (Alabama), Odell Beckham Jr (LSU), AJ Green (Georgia), Jarvis Landry (LSU), Randall Cobb (Kentucky), Mike Wallace (Ole Miss), Mike Evans (Texas A&M),  and Amari Cooper (Alabama). Alshon Jeffrey (South Carolina) made an insane TD catch in Philadelphia’s Super Bowl win over New England. Donte Moncrief (Ole Miss) and Jordan Matthews (Vanderbilt) have both been excellent, and Malcolm Mitchell (Georgia) is maturing nicely.

Oh, and the running backs don’t need any introduction. Alvin Kamara (Tennessee) and Mark Ingram (Alabama) was one the best 1-2 running back combinations in the NFL for New Orleans, Leonard Fournette (LSU), Todd Gurley (Georgia), Derrick Henry (Alabama), Alex Collins (Arkansas) and Kenyan Drake (Miami) all ran for over 600 yards this season. Spencer Ware (LSU) will be back for the 2018 season after a 900-yard season in 2016, while Jeremy Hill (LSU) saw his season cut short by injury.

But the QBs….

But the QBs coming out of the SEC hasn’t lived up to the standard of the receivers and running backs streaming from the Southland into the Professional-Land.

We’re still laughing at the competition between JaMarcus Russell (LSU), and Johnny Manziel as to who was the biggest NFL Draft Bust. Oh, and can someone please tell me what happened to Tim Tebow? Then there’s Quincy Carter (Georgia), the third overall QB taken in 2001 who had more appetite for snorting white lines than throwing the ball over them.

And listen, we know that there are good QBs in the SEC out there. Matt Stafford (Georgia) is killing it in Detroit, Dak Prescott (Mississippi State) is the man-of-the-moment in Dallas, Cam Newton (Auburn) is Superman in Carolina, and Ryan Tannehill (Texas A&M) might be Miami’s future if he remains uninjured. Oh, and Eli Manning (Ole Miss) has won two Super Bowls for the New York Giants, but when is the SEC going to see another first round-pick quarterback?

This year certainly won’t be it. But in 2018, Missouri’s Drew Lock will certainly have the chins wagging as a probably first rounder – even if the Tigers are terrible.