2009 Players to Know: SEC

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We’ve told you about the teams.  We’ve told you about the conferences, and the coaches, and the championship games, but any head man worth his weight in Gordon Bombay coaching loafers will tell you that it’s easy to look good when you’ve got the right players.  So here they are, the 15 athletes you have to know this season conference-by-conference.

We’ve got the five best each league has to offer.  The stars, the frontmen, the cover boys.  These are the guys that you’ve already heard of, and they’re likely to wallow in the limelight for at least one final season before rocketing to the NFL.

Then there are the shoe-fillers.  The players who might be stepping up into the role of a guy who fit in the first category last season.  When one star departs, it’s up to these athletes to stop the gap and keep the wins coming.  They may be the most pivotal of the young men listed here.  It’s the stars that will get the glory, but these are the players who will create the subtle differences between 9-3 and 12-0.

And finally, just because we’re such seers, we’ve gone ahead and listed five players likely to live on the tongues of every pundit around by the end of the year.  The players who either flashed just enough potential as freshman, or are heading into a perfect collegiate situation with a deadly blend of talent and opportunity.

Today, we take a look at the SEC’s 15 Players to Know.  So go ahead, and you know, know them.

The Best:

1.)  Tim Tebow, QB, Florida — What’s left to say that hasn’t already been said by everyone everywhere, every time?  Tebow’s the best player in the nation playing for the best team in the nation.  He’s his own brand of punishing ground game meets clutch passer.  I don’t care that he only has one come-from-behind victory in his career, is there honestly anyone out there who would doubt the Gators with Tebow at the helm?  He’ll get his third national title this season, and if the voters don’t screw it up, he’ll probably get his second Heisman.  Whether you agree with his exposure or not, you can’t argue (logically at least) that he doesn’t deserve it.

2.)  Eric Berry, S, Tennessee — In any other conference (except maybe the Big 12) Berry would be the number one guy.  There hasn’t been a safety in recent memory that can change the game the way Berry can.  Whether it’s returning a kick, plucking a pass from the sky, or laying out the best running backs in the country Berry is making plays at full throttle with reckless abandon and controlled chaos.  Now he’s got safety guru and defensive mastermind Monte Kiffin molding him into a more explosive version of himself, if that’s even possible.  He won’t sniff the Heisman, even with this, but he’ll be the most deserving safety in the history of the sport.

3.)  Brandon Spikes, MLB, Florida — As much as Tebow commands the offense, Spikes is the pilot of the downright scary Gators’ D.  He hits like a rabid hurricane and leaves opponents scattered like trees in the rainforest every time he takes the field.  And in case you didn’t notice, he really stepped up his coverage skills last season picking off four ball and returning two of them for scores.  He didn’t win any stat games in 2008, but his presence on this stop unit is one of the most underrated in the country.  The talent is there at every position, but the flow is a pure product of Spikes’ leadership and force.

4.)  Charles Scott, RB, LSU — Charles Scott has a big task ahead of him.  For years, LSU running backs have dropped eye-popping stats on the rest of the SEC only to be beaten out by the next five-star recruit the following season.  It happened with LaBrandon Toefield, it happened with Alley Broussard, and it happened with Keiland Williams.  But Scott’s 18 touchdowns last year should speak for themselves.  Yes, he wore down a bit last season after opening up with four straight 100+ yard rushing games (he only broke that mark twice in the next nine), but with an improved passing game and a bounty of freakish athletes to steal attention he should become a more consistent back even if he doesn’t match his TD total.

5.) Rennie Curran, LB, Georgia — I’ll admit I was a victim of the trend.  Earlier this season I left Curran off of my All-SEC team, and I’m here to admit that monumental pooch-screwing (pun intended).  Curran is one of the most underrated players at any position in any conference, and he deserves the attention that so many others are garnering.  After watching a good deal of tape, it’s nearly impossible to find anyone who throws their body around like Curran.  He’s a relentless, scintillating, shiver-inducing scythe in the UGA linebacker corps and he punishes the rest of the league every single Saturday.  If the old “pinball” cliche has ever been more deserved, I haven’t seen it.  The guy is an explosion.

The Shoe-Fillers:

1.)  Greg Hardy, DE, Ole Miss — There’s a lot of talk about how great the Ole Miss defensive line could be in 2009, and that discussion starts with Hardy.  But I keep thinking about how the same pundits said the same thing about LSU’s D line last season.  The Tigers lost Glen Dorsey, but everyone wanted to croon about how good Tyson Jackson could become.  Well losing Peria Jerry could have the same effect here.  If Ole Miss wants to earn their likely lofty preseason ranking, Hardy will have to continue to produce over one sack per game.  The first step?  Finally staying healthy for an entire season.

2.)  Deonte Thompson, WR, Florida — First things first — Thompson is not Percy Harvin.  He won’t be moved around to five different skill positions carrying and catching the Gators to another title in the Harvin mold.  But he is an explosive athlete who has the kind of speed UF fans have gotten used to watching.  And he can catch.  He’ll get the opportunities, now he just has to step up and create some electricity with the ball in his hands.  Tim Tebow needs a new top target, and while David Nelson and Riley Cooper will be in the mix, Thompson is the closest thing to Harvin on the roster at receiver outside of Andre Dubose, and he’s already taken his freshman lumps.

3.)  Ciron Black, OT, LSU — It may not seem like it on the surface, but LSU’s offensive line underachieved in a big way last season.  Yes, the defense let them down on more occasions than anyone could have predicted.  Yes, Jarrett Lee was a automatic touchdown machine for opponents.  And yes, the rushing game still churned out the yards and scores with Charles Scott leading the way.  But Black has a bigger responsibility now.  He’s the guy who must protect the blindside of yet another new passer.  If Jordan Jefferson wants any chance of leading LSU back to the land of double-digit wins, he’ll need Black to become even better than he’s already been.

4.)  Jordan Jefferson, QB, LSU — Of course, it’s not all on Black.  Jefferson has been handed the reigns, and after his Chick-fil-A Bowl performance he’s created some damn strong expectations for himself.  He’s not the most accurate passer to wear purple and gold, and he doesn’t have Jamarcus Russell’s arm, but he’s got an array of abilities that could be just what the Tigers need to fully utilize their immense arsenal at the skill positions.  He’s just going to have to prove it for 12 games instead of two.

5.)  Greg McElroy, QB, Alabama — I struggled with this one here.  At first I thought that Alabama’s new offensive tackle or center would be the right call in this spot, but the more I mulled it over, the more McElroy became the obvious choice.  Alabama fans have pelted my inbox with myriad emails proclaiming McElroy’s worth and certain eventual stardom.  They could be right, but McElroy’s entering a much dicier situation than his predecessor.  He’s got a green O line, a running back who’s never been asked to carry the full load, and a receiver who could tempt even the headiest of QBs into forcing the ball his way.  The most important task for McElroy?  Do enough in the passing game to open up the rushing lanes for the backs without trying to win the games on his own.  It’s a tricky balance to find for a first year starter facing the best defenses in the nation.  And he’ll have to do that without Glen Coffee, Andre Smith, and Antoine Caldwell.  The season is on his shoulders.

The Next Superstars:

1.)  AJ Green, WR, Georgia/Julio Jones, WR, Alabama — Alabama’s Nick Saban has already stated that he plans to move Jones around more (instead of just playing him a X) in order to create more mismatches and get the ball to him on a more consistent basis.  After a freshman season that saw him grab 58 passes for 924 yards, it’s frightening to think about what he could bring to this offense with a season of experience under his belt.

Then there’s Green, who to me was more impressive last season.  Sure he had Matt Stafford tossing to him, while Jones was stuck with John Parker Wilson, but he still produced touchdowns in a way that Jones didn’t.  Green’s eight TDs were twice as many as Jones managed, and he also racked up a few more yards on fewer receptions.  Joe Cox will experience some growing pains, but Green should be his favorite elixir.

2.)  Carlton Thomas, RB, Georgia — Here’s another Bulldog looking to help fill the void of a departed star.  No, he’s not the only back vying for the honor of becoming the next great UGA tailback (Caleb King looks to start, while Washaun Ealy is a very talented freshman), but he was the most impressive runner in the spring.  At only 5-07 165 he’s not exactly a bulldozer, but watching a few minutes of the G-Day game shows that he’s just fine when it comes to bowling over bigger defenders.

3.)  Russell Sheppard, ATH, LSU — You don’t recruit perhaps the nation’s best athlete to sit him on the bench.  And even with all of the skill stars on this team, Sheppard will make his mark on Baton Rouge this season.  Les Miles has already let the WildTiger out of the bag, and Sheppard’s the guy who’ll quarterback the new formation.  He’s a true freshman, and that’s never an easy situation to produce from in the SEC, but he’s an amazing athlete with a knack for making big plays.  I don’t know of another team with more talented versatility in the country.

4.)  Dexter McCluster, WR, Ole Miss — I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again:  the next Percy Harvin won’t wear a Gators’ uniform.  McCluster is the newest unstoppable dynamo in the SEC.  He’s got sickening speed (reported 4.3 range), great hands (44 receptions in 2008), and he carries the ball like a running back out of hell (655 rushing yards in 2008).  If Ole Miss wants to realize their dreams of taking the Western division they’ll get the ball into McCluster’s hands early and often.  He may not get the same national hype that guy like Harvin received, but you can bet the Grove that every opposing defensive coordinator will know his name.

5.)  Ryan Mallett, QB, Arkansas — When a quarterback is reportedly 6-07, has a howlitzer for an arm, was a former top quarterback recruit and plays in Bobby Petrino’s system, you don’t leave him off of this kind of list.  Sure, there have been some unfounded rumors that Tyler Wilson is still in the mix to earn the starting job, but I don’t see anyway that Mallett doesn’t get the call.  He’s tailor-made to run this system, and with more offensive weapons than advertised Arkansas could ride his right arm to a New Year’s Day bowl.