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RELATED: Most indispensable players on offense
Much like on the offensive side of the ball, highlighting the most indispensable players on defense in the SEC isn’t just pointing out the best players in the conference. Some programs are so talented they can lose an All-SEC performer and not miss a beat. Others need their best defensive player to not only produce, but dominate, to be able to contend in their division.
Here are five indispensable SEC defensive players:
5. DT Trenton Thompson, Georgia
The Bulldogs are expected to have one of the best defenses in the nation, with 10 starters returning from last season’s top-20 unit. So why is one person deemed so indispensable?
Because if the Bulldogs truly want to compete for an East Division title, if they want to play in the SEC Championship Game for the first time since 2012, they need Trenton Thompson to be their best player.
And in the eyes of many, he is. As a sophomore in 2016, Thompson led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with five sacks. He came up big in the Liberty Bowl against TCU, recording three sacks and earning MVP honors.
Thompson’s offseason has been much-publicized, especially after he withdrew from school in February to deal with an unspecified medical issue. But assuming Thompson is back in class when Week 1 of the season begins, his presence in the lineup could be the difference between Georgia being a contender or an also-ran.
4. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
Alabama figures to be the favorite again to win the national championship. But do not immediately dismiss the impact of the loss of front seven superstars such as Jonathan Allen and linebackers Reuben Foster and Tim Anderson. While no team in the FBS reloads better than the Crimson Tide, having some experience on the defensive side of the ball will go a long way toward making it 4-for-4 in CFP appearances.
Enter the secondary, or specifically, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. The junior is coming off a remarkable 2016 season in which he earned first-team AP All-America honors. He led the team with six interceptions, returning two for touchdowns. In just two seasons with the Tide, Fitzpatrick is already the school’s all-time leader in career interceptions returned for TDs (4).
True, head coach Nick Saban has enough talent every year to just plug in someone productive when losing an All-American. But with so many losses on the defensive side, having perhaps the best defensive back in the FBS allows the Tide to keep thinking national championship.
3. DE Arden Key, LSU
Having Arden Key on the field doesn’t guarantee anything in the SEC for head coach Ed Orgeron and the LSU Tigers. Certainly not when you play in the same division as Alabama.
But whether or not Key plays could make the difference between last year’s 8-4 season and a possible 10-win campaign.
The junior defensive end, who missed spring practice for personal reasons, led the SEC in sacks per game last season (1.1), and his 12 sacks overall were second-most in the conference. Key also performed in the big moments, coming up with 6.5 of his 12 sacks against ranked opponents.
With the Tigers needing to make up for losses at the linebacker and defensive back positions, having one of the nation’s best pass rushers on the field could be “key” to the Tigers’ overall success.
2. LB Jordan Jones, Kentucky
Kentucky took a major step in the improvement of its program in 2016 when it made its first bowl appearance in six seasons.
Now, can the Wildcats build off that momentum?
To do so, their defense, which ranked ninth in the SEC in total defense last season (highest rank for UK since 2010) will need to continue to climb. And fortunately for the Wildcats, their best defensive player returns.
Linebacker Jordan Jones turned in an impressive sophomore season in 2016, finishing third in the SEC in tackles per game (8.4) and recording more tackles for loss (15.5) than more heralded SEC stars Myles Garrett, Carol Lawson and Reuben Foster. Jones’ production helped him earn second-team All-SEC honors.
In the SEC, only Georgia returns more starters on defense than Kentucky’s nine. And if the best of the bunch is Jones, then his production will go a long way toward determining if Kentucky is ready to take another step forward as a program.
1. Skai Moore, South Carolina
So, how is it that a player who didn’t even play in 2016 becomes the conference’s most indispensable player?
Because in linebacker Skai Moore, the Gamecocks bring back a tackling machine to a defensive unit that is desperate for experience among the front seven. Before missing all of last season with a herniated disk in his neck that required surgery, Moore was the team’s leading tackler for three straight seasons. In 2015, Moore was third in the SEC in tackles per game (9.3) and was a second-team All-SEC performer.
South Carolina surprised many by reaching a bowl game last season in head coach Will Muschamp’s first season with the Gamecocks. Muschamp helped improved a defense that ranked last in the SEC in the season before his arrival to seventh in 2016.
If the Gamecocks want to contend in the SEC East, if they want to return to the 10-plus win seasons they had from 2011-13, having perhaps the top tackler in the conference healthy for the entire season would be huge.
Michael covers SEC football for Saturday Down South.
