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Nobody in the conference — and maybe the country — is playing better than Alabama right now, and that’s reflected more than ever our SEC MVP rankings this week. Previous frontrunners Leonard Fournette and Dak Prescott each ran into Alabama meatgrinder in consecutive weeks and had their postseason award campaigns severely damaged in the process.
For the first time this year, that’s left us with two members of the same team occupying the top spots on our list. It’s not the way we’d prefer it, but wedging anybody else into the top two would require more logical gymnastics than we’re comfortable with or capable of.
For first-timers, here’s our mission statement:
We’re endeavoring to sort out the conference’s best players by taking into account all the things the Heisman Trophy voters tend to leave out. To top our list, you don’t need to be a household name playing for a national title contender — though, if we’re being honest, it doesn’t hurt. We aim to find the best player in the conference who is also his team’s most indispensable piece.
We consider a player’s track record because past results tend to be a pretty good predictor of future performance, but as we move deeper into the season, the reputation a player has developed over the course of a career will fade in the equation, replaced proportionately by what they’ve done for their teams lately.
On to top 10:
10. MYLES GARRETT, TEXAS A&M
Last week: No. 8
The skinny: The Aggies sophomore had a relatively quiet week in an easy win over Western Carolina, yet remains the SEC sack leader with 10.5 on the season.
9. JONATHAN BULLARD, FLORIDA
Last week: 10
The skinny: The Gators run defense, ranked in the top 10 nationally, isn’t reliant on individual star power as much as across-the-board excellence. But if we’re singling somebody out, Bullard gets our vote. The senior has 5.5 sacks and ranks third in the conference with 13.5 tackles for loss.
8. LAQUON TREADWELL, OLE MISS
Last week: 7
The skinny: Even with after a week off, Treadwell still leads the SEC in receptions (68) and receiving yards (1,002).
7. JONATHAN ALLEN, ALABAMA
Last week: Not ranked
The skinny: Allen’s appearance on this week’s list marks the first of the year for any Alabama defensive lineman. Even among a deep group with numerous potential stars, Allen is emerging as a standout. His three sacks in last week’s win over Mississippi State give him nine on the season and he leads the team with 11.5 tackles for loss.
6A. BRANDON ALLEN, ARKANSAS
Last week: 6
6B. ALEX COLLINS, ARKANSAS
Last week: Not ranked
The skinny: It’s all but impossible to separate these two in terms of their importance to the Hogs. Based largely on the talents of Allen and Collins (not to mention an offensive line that’s living up to the preseason hype), Arkansas has developed one of the SEC’s most balanced offenses. Allen leads the conference in passing efficiency and yards per attempt, and Collins ranks third in the league in nearly every major rushing category.
5. VERNON HARGREAVES III, FLORIDA
Last week: 5
The skinny: To look at the box score, you’d hardly know Hargreaves was on the field — and that’s perhaps the greatest measure of his success. One of the nation’s top cornerbacks, Hargreaves forces the action away from his side of the field and he’s a major reason why Florida ranks second in the SEC in passing yards allowed, pass defense efficiency and interceptions.
4. DAK PRESCOTT, MISSISSIPPI STATE
Last week: 3
The skinny: The Bulldogs senior managed to throw for 300 yards in Mississippi State’s 31-6 loss to Alabama on Saturday, but it never felt like the Tide was truly challenged, even when the game hung in the balance for much of the first half. Of course, there wasn’t much Prescott could do. The Bulldogs’ front was powerless to stop the Alabama pass rush, which finished with nine sacks.
3. LEONARD FOURNETTE, LSU
Last week: 2
The skinny: The former Heisman frontrunner was held to less than 100 yards for the second straight game, both LSU losses. The Tigers are dealing with two critical injuries at tight end and one at fullback, somewhat hampering their ability to run from power sets as frequently as they might prefer. Running often from the shotgun against Arkansas, Fournette wasn’t able to churn out yardage consistently and was never able to break free on the kind of long scoring run that was so common in the first half of the season. Nonetheless, he remains the nation’s leading rusher, which shows how dominant he’s been this year, the last two weeks notwithstanding.
2. REGGIE RAGLAND, ALABAMA
Last week: 4
The skinny: Ragland leads one of the nation’s best defenses in tackles, which in itself is enough to earn a spot on this list. But the Alabama senior has ascended to the No. 2 spot here based on more than stats. He’s not just the face of the defense, he’s its heart, soul and central nervous system. Put simply, on a defense performing at an astoundingly high level, Ragland is the most important piece.
1. DERRICK HENRY, ALABAMA
Last week: 1
The skinny: He might be the nation’s second-leading rusher behind Fournette, but nobody can match Henry’s output in recent weeks. He went over the 200-yard mark for the second straight game in Alabama’s win over Mississippi State and has now scored a touchdown in every game he’s played in over the last calendar year. In his last four games alone, Henry has run for 793 yards and nine touchdowns. For perspective, consider that Florida’s Kelvin Taylor ranks 10th in the conference with 736 rushing yards on the entire season.
Brent Holloway is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers Georgia, LSU and Mississippi State.
