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Each season, a few players emerge as key contributors or sometimes stars, taking SEC followers by surprise. This season is no exception.
Here’s a list of players who were either unproven at the college level or have emerged from preseason obscurity in the first half of the schedule:
THE GOOD
Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk — Also a highly-sought recruit, Kirk can get open against the best as proven with his punt return for a touchdown against Alabama. Perhaps the league’s most dangerous deep threat, the true freshman has 39 receptions for a whopping 609 yards and 4 TDs to go along with 2 TDs on punt returns.
Alabama WR Calvin Ridley — Yes, Ridley was widely considered the nation’s best receiver in his high school class. Yet, it’s impressive for a freshman to be the top target at Alabama. Ridley has 38 receptions for 437 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first seven games.
LSU DE Lewis Neal — The junior, who had only 10 career tackles in limited playing time before this season, leads the Tigers in sacks with 7 and is third in tackles with 30.
Arkansas OLB Dre Greenlaw — A true freshman from Fayetteville, Greenlaw is second on the team with 37 tackles. Weighing only 206 pounds as a high school senior, he often tackles much bigger running backs.
THE BAD
Auburn QB Jeremy Johnson — Heralded as a “Heisman candidate” before the season and praised for his “leadership” and “NFL arm” by coach Gus Malzahn, Johnson was replaced in the starting lineup by Sean White after throwing 6 interceptions in four games.
Missouri QB Maty Mauk — A playmaker on two East Division championship teams, Mauk has been bad on and off the field. He completed only 51.8 percent of his passes with 6 TDs and 4 interceptions in five games. Tigers fans were calling for freshman Drew Lock before Mauk was suspended for undisclosed violations of team rules.
