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If you’re part of the Anybody But Alabama crowd, here’s your chance to gloat:
The Tide will not return one of the top 10 tacklers in the SEC in 2016.
Reggie Ragland is off to the NFL after leading Alabama in tackles last season. And don’t mistake the Tide’s absence from this list as a potential weakness. Ragland was their only member of the top 20 returning tacklers in 2015, and they survived just fine.
Here are the Top 10 returning SEC defensive players ranked by their tackles in 2015.
| Player | ’16 Class | School | ’15 Tackles |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Armani Watts | Junior | Texas A&M | 126 |
| 2. Johnathan Ford | Senior | Auburn | 118 |
| 3. Skai Moore | Senior | South Carolina | 111 |
| 4. Richie Brown | Senior | Miss. State | 109 |
| 5. Jalen Reeves-Maybin | Senior | Tennessee | 105 |
| 6. Zach Cunningham | Junior | Vanderbilt | 103 |
| 7. Brooks Ellis | Senior | Arkansas | 102 |
| 8. Jarrad Davis | Senior | Florida | 98 |
| 9. Dre Greenlaw | Sophomore | Arkansas | 95 |
| 10. Michael Scherer | Senior | Missouri | 93 |
Several on the list chose to return for their senior season, most notably South Carolina’s Skai Moore and Tennessee’s Jalen Reeve-Mabin.
Let's ride 10! @SkaiMoore_10 pic.twitter.com/KAm7hZ6aJH
— Connor Mitch (@Connor_Mitch3) January 7, 2016
No Rearview!! pic.twitter.com/CDe8HYdtP4
— Jalen Reeves-Maybin (@ReevesMaybin) January 12, 2016
Dre Greenlaw is the youngest player on the list. He led SEC freshmen with 95 tackles last season.
Overall, 10 of the top 18 tacklers from 2015 will be back.
Ragland (102 tackles), Beniquez Brown (99) and Keanu Neal (96) left early for the NFL.
Managing Editor
A 30-time APSE award-winning editor with previous stints at the Miami Herald, The Indianapolis Star and News & Observer, Executive Editor Chris Wright oversees editorial operations for Saturday Down South.
