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Jahdae Barron ahead of Texas-Mississippi State game.
College Football

Ranking the Top 10 players in the SEC entering Championship Week

Neil Blackmon

By Neil Blackmon

Published:

Drop a bookmark or … plant a flag (too soon?) in this hot take, but did we just witness the best Rivalry Week ever?

It was certainly the most unhinged.

Clean, Old Fashioned Hate went to 8 overtimes, just 2 short of a 10th overtime where under Georgia law, the winner of the game would have been decided by an Oklahoma drill between Georgia and Georgia Tech head coaches. I don’t make the rules, y’all. The Georgia Legislature does. We missed Kirby vs. Key but were blessed with an astounding football game where the Yellow Jackets largely controlled the line of scrimmage but the Bulldogs, consummate winners that they are, kept fighting and clawing until they finally made one more play than the visitors. They do say the 31st consecutive win at home is always the toughest.

There was no brawl at the end of Georgia-Georgia Tech, only Kirby Smart engaged in one of the classiest postgame gestures I’ve seen in my 3 decades of watching this sport.

In hindsight, wasn’t it ironic seeing a moment that defined sportsmanship on a weekend when what constitutes good sportsmanship became a theme imbued with saltiness and sadly, pepper spray?

Flag planting celebrations were the hot topic of a weekend that produced at least 4 such incidents.

Michigan upset a top-5 Ohio State team in Columbus, prompting a flag planting ceremony that the Buckeyes took umbrage to, initiating a midfield brawl. The fight ended with pepper spray at midfield, a regrettable outcome that could have been avoided if Ohio State had simply won the football game played on their home field.

NC State ended Mack Brown’s career with a L in Chapel Hill. Another fight ensued at midfield. No mace was sprayed, but if North Carolina’s defense had managed one stop in the 4th quarter against a 3rd-string Pack quarterback, perhaps no flag gets planted?

The most embarrassing might have occurred in Tallahassee. After Florida dominated Florida State 31-11, Seminoles coach Mike Norvell took issue with Florida planting a Florida flag in the middle of Bobby Bowden Field. I guess after a preseason top-10 team took loss No. 10, Florida State finally found something to fight about?

Here’s a thought: If you don’t want a rival opponent to celebrate on your home field, win the game.

Speaking of winning, it’s crunch time here at “The List.” The expanded Playoff will allow us a little longer than in the past to crown a champion, and this is probably the closest season to date. At least 5 players are legitimately in title contention — and all but 1 might get a Playoff spotlight. Who will join past champions DeVonta Smith, Nakobe Dean, Bryce Young and Jayden Daniels?

Read on and find out. As always, we begin with Honorable Mentions. The limit is 2 per school, though some schools may only get 1 nominee.

Last week’s list is here. As has become customary this season, there is plenty of turnover in the top 10. I can’t remember a season where ranking the 10 best players in the best conference in college football has been tougher, but the readers tell me they could do a much better job.

Alabama: Jalen Milroe, QB; Jihaad Campbell, LB. Arkansas: Joshua Braun, OL; Andrew Armstrong, WR. Auburn: Jalen McLeod, DL; Jarquez Hunter, RB. Florida: Jake Slaughter, C; Tyreak Sapp, DL. Georgia: Carson Beck, QB; CJ Allen, LB. Kentucky: Maxwell Hairston, DB. LSU: Will Campbell, OT; Aaron Anderson, WR/KR. Mississippi State: Isaac Smith, S. Missouri: Corey Flagg Jr., LB; Daylan Carnell, S. Oklahoma: Gracen Halton, DL; Kip Lewis, LB. Ole Miss: Princely Umanmielen, Edge; Chris Paul Jr., LB. South Carolina: Kyle Kennard, Edge; Demetrius Knight Jr., LB Tennessee: Cooper Mays, C; James Pearce Jr., Edge. Texas: Michael Taaffe, DB; Kelvin Banks Jr., OT. Texas A&M: Ar’maj Reed-Adams, OL; Taurean York, LB. Vanderbilt: Diego Pavia, QB. Langston Patterson, LB.

10. Jermod McCoy, DB (Tennessee)

McCoy was masterful in Tennessee’s 36-23 win at Vanderbilt, collecting 6 tackles and intercepting Diego Pavia on this momentum-changing play.

On the season, McCoy intercepted an SEC-high 4 passes (tied for SEC lead), deflected 7 and made 39 tackles. McCoy allowed completions on just 46% of targets against, ranking in the top 5 in the SEC in that category, and he surrendered just 1 touchdown in one on one coverage all season.

9. Malaki Starks, S (Georgia)

The Georgia captain made 10 tackles and had a huge pass breakup in Georgia’s thrilling rivalry win over Georgia Tech. Starks leads the Dawgs with 66 tackles and ranks 2nd in pass breakups (3). He’s about to play in his 3rd consecutive SEC Championship game as the anchor of a defense that ranks 13th in SP+ efficiency and 15th nationally in success rate defense. Starks is also Georgia’s representative on the SEC’s All Good Works team, honored for his community service and leadership in youth mentorship programs. The consummate leader — on and off the field.

8. Walter Nolen, DT (Ole Miss)

Nolen has been one of the most dominant forces in college football this November. In a rout of Georgia, Nolen graded out as Ole Miss’ best defensive linemen against the run, helping the Rebels hold Georgia to just 59 yards rushing. In a losing effort at Florida, Nolen had 4 pressures, 2 sacks and 2 additional hits on Florida’s freshman phenom DJ Lagway. Finally, Nolen dominated the Egg Bowl, sacking Miss State quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. once and picking up a key tackle to end another State possession. Nolen’s PFF grade of 86.1 on the season ranks 4th among SEC linemen, but none have been as productive down the stretch.

7. DJ Lagway, QB (Florida)

Lagway threw 2 touchdown passes in Florida’s 31-11 rout of Florida State. The true freshman is now 5-0 in games he has started and finished, helping drive Florida’s late season turnaround that now includes 2 rivalry wins and a victory over then No. 9 Ole Miss. Lagway leads the country in average depth of target (12.0) and he would rank No. 2 in yards per attempt (10.3) if he had made enough throws to qualify. Florida led the only start he did not finish (Georgia) when Lagway left with an injury.

Lagway finishes the regular season with 1,610 yards passing and 11 touchdowns in his 6 starts. Those numbers are fine, but it’s his leadership and throws like the under pressure dime to Chimere Dike above that have Gators fans wildly optimistic about their program’s future for the first time in years.

6. Nick Emmanwori, S (South Carolina)

South Carolina’s outstanding safety was snubbed from Jim Thorpe Award finalist consideration, but that didn’t stop him from making 7 tackles in the Gamecocks 17-14 win at No. 12 Clemson. Emmanwori leads the team in tackles (83) and the SEC in interceptions (4), with 2 of those picks headed to the house for 6 Gamecock points. His PFF coverage grade of 89.9 ranks in the top 5 of college football for a defense that ranks 12th in SP+ efficiency and 13th in success rate defense.

5. Armand Membou, OT (Missouri)

The Missouri junior closed out the regular season by paving the way for 3 rushing touchdowns in a 28-21 win over Arkansas in snowy CoMo. Membou did not allow a sack all season and surrendered an SEC-low 7 pressures. He also committed just 3 penalties this season, a low among SEC tackles. Membou’s PFF grade of 85.8 was the best in the SEC.

4. LaNorris Sellers, QB (South Carolina)

The Gamecocks have a budding superstar in Sellers, who posted 330 yards (164 passing, 166 rushing) in South Carolina’s rivalry win at Clemson. Sellers made several ridiculous scrambles throughout the game, but none was bigger than this game winner late. And yes, this came on 3rd-and-16 — amazing!

Sellers is approaching 3,000 total yards for the season and he’s played all his best football down the stretch, producing over 300 yards per game in 4 of South Carolina’s past 5 games — all Gamecocks’ dubs.

3. Jaxson Dart, QB (Ole Miss)

Dart won his final game in Oxford by taking what the defense gave him. With Mississippi State playing 2 high safeties to prevent any big plays over the top, Dart threw for 143 yards and ran for 77 more as the Rebels won the Egg Bowl 26-14. Dart finished the regular season the SEC leader in passing yards, yards per attempt (10.7), and TD/INT ratio (4.25-1). Dart also ranked No. 2 in touchdown passes (25) and average depth of target (11.9). Dart was named a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Award, honoring the nation’s best quarterback, on the strength of these accomplishments.

2. Jahdae Barron, DB (Texas)

Barron, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award, allowed 2 receptions on 3 targets in coverage in Texas’ 17-7 win over rival Texas A&M that clinched a spot in the SEC Championship. On the season, Barron’s coverage grade of 90.9 led the SEC, and his completion percentage against in league play was a miniscule 39.4%. Barron was targeted on fewer occasions in solo coverage than any corner in the country — an homage to his 1-on-1 coverage skills. Even so, he finished the season with 5 pass breakups, 4 interceptions, and the unquestioned leader of a defense that ranked 2nd in SP+ defensive efficiency and No. 1 in success rate pass defense. An All-American who could be the first corner to top “The List.”

1. Dylan Sampson, RB (Tennessee)

Dylan Sampson wasn’t a Doak Walker Award finalist, but if you don’t think he’s 1 of the 3 best running backs in America, I have some oceanfront property in Arizona I’d like to sell y’all real cheap. Sampson is “Him,” and was again in Tennessee’s win over Vanderbilt, rushing for 178 yards on 25 carries. Sampson forced a season-high 11 missed tackles in the Vanderbilt game, a number that led all running backs in the country last week. He’s the most underappreciated cog in a Playoff offense and has done it despite a quarterback who has been up and down (Nico Iamaleava was up on Saturday, to Tennessee’s great benefit).

https://twitter.com/TheDraftRoomNFL/status/1862171012499980518

While Sampson didn’t reach the end zone for the first time this season, he still finished the regular season with 22 rushing touchdowns, a school record and tied for the 5th-most in SEC history. He also finished the regular season with 1,485 yards, breaking the school record of 1,464 yards previously held by Travis Stephens in 2001. He is the best player in this league as postseason play begins.

Neil Blackmon

Neil Blackmon covers Florida football and the SEC for SaturdayDownSouth.com. An attorney, he is also a member of the Football and Basketball Writers Associations of America. He also coaches basketball.

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