The forgotten men of great SEC teams
For good or for bad, SEC people can bend your ear until they’ve practically ripped it off about the Cam Newtons, Tim Tebows, Reggie Whites, Trent Richardsons and Tuas of memory. Of course Georgia fans will regale you with stories about Herschel, ‘Florida men’ will even talk about Spurrier’s frighteningly good offenses, and someone from Arkansas might chime about Darren McFadden.
But there are the forgotten men. It goes without saying that most offensive and defensive linesmen are these ‘forgotten men’, but every team who’s won a National Championship tend to have a good offensive line. It helps with putting up the points. So please don’t get annoyed if we ignore them.
We’re not going to just doing National Championships teams, because then we’d not bother with the Vanderbilts, Missouris or Mississippi States of this world. We’ll probably stick to times with Color TV, too.
Anyway, so here we go.
ALABAMA
Damien Harris: Because of the amount of high-profile running backs Alabama had in the four years that Harris was on campus, his career has been somewhat ignored. But when in 2016 and 2017 he had two 1,000 yard seasons, and three straight seasons of 1,000 + yards. His two touchdowns in 2018 in the play-off win against Oklahoma have largely been ignored….But then again, so were his 25 total touchdowns in his four-year career.
ARKANSAS
Jamaal Anderson: In 2006, Arkansas won the SEC West but lost the SEC Championship to Florida. On that team, all everyone could talk about Darren McFadden and Felix Jones (with good reason). Despite leading the SEC in sacks (13 1/2, good for FIFTH in the NCAA that year) and fifth in passes defended in the SEC, in 2006, he was ignored as an All-American, too.
AUBURN
Ontario McElebb: Cam Newton was God in Auburn’s 2010 National Championship year, taking the Tigers on his back every single game. But you want another forgetten man in the running game, let’s not forget Ontario McElebb, who put up nearly 1,000 on the ground and 86 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns.
FLORIDA
Dallas Baker: It’s easy to remember to the likes of Tebow, Percy Harvin and even Carlos Dunlap in those dominant Urban Meyer teams, but Baker never seems to be remembered. In this 2006 season he grabbed 920 yards and 10 touchdowns (he was the top receiver by some margin), and was a stud. But no-one seemed to care less.
GEORGIA
Marcus Howard: On the 2007 team that finished 2nd in the AP Poll, we were arguing the toss between ourselves between Howard and Thomas Brown, but with Howard, this was the poster mark of his Georgia carer. In an unbelievable season where he led the SEC in sacks (10 1/2) and forced fumbles (3) and scored a fumble, he was……not even considered for an all-SEC spot.
KENTUCKY
Avery Williamson: On an awful Kentucky team that went 0-8 in the SEC and 2-10 in the SEC, Williamson shone like a light within the dark, leading the SEC in solo tackles (70) and second in the SEC in total tackles (135). Like that Kentucky team, no-one will remember that team….or Williamson.
LSU
Justin Vincent: Vincent starred on Nick Saban’s 2003 National Championship-winning team, putting up 1,001 rushing yards on 154 attempts, and yet wasn’t mentioned. He also put up 10 touchdowns. Yet no-one seems to remember him.
MISSISSIPPI STATE
Josh Robinson: In Dan Mullen’s 2014 team that effectively launched Dak Prescott’s name in the College Football biosphere, you would be forgiven for thinking no-one really played on the team. Robinson was a hero on that team, putting up 1,200 yards and 370 receiving yards and 12 total TDs. Robinson’s biggest game was a 197-yard, 1 TD performance against LSU – the Tigers were major favorites, and the Bulldogs hadn’t beaten the Bayou Bengals in 14 years.
MISSOURI
Andrew Wilson: Wilson was a hero and yet not-particularly-recognised player of the 2013 team that ended up 5th in the AP Poll and won the SEC East title. On that team, Wilson clocked up 114 tackles (including 70 solo) – 25 better than the 2nd-best Tigers player. He also had 6 1/2 sacks, three passes defended and a fumble recovery. In 2012 he led the SEC and was fourth in the country in forced fumbles. Yet, he only made second-team SEC.
OLE MISS
Jaylen Walton: On the 2015 Ole Miss team (yes, the one that beat Alabama), Chad Kelly and Laquon Treadwell were no doubt the heroes on the team. But Walton himself was the ultimate under-the-radar player of an offense that was nuclear, never mind high-octane. Anyway, Walton put up 730 yards rushing (and 5 TDs), and had 23 receptions for a further 164. He led the team in non-passing plays by 6o. Talk about a workhorse.
SOUTH CAROLINA
Connor Shaw (2012): It’s weird to say this about the quarterback on a 2012 team that went 11-2, but when Marcus Lattimore put the team on his back, Shaw was almost an afterthought. In fact, his 22 total touchdowns – 14 from the air and 8 from the floor – were excellent.
TENNESSEE
Kelley Washington (2001): The 2001 team was led by RB Travis Stephens, QB Casey Clausen and WR Donte Stallworth, but people forget about one of the heroes of that team – Kelley Washington. Washington had 1,010 yards in receptions and 5 TDs. He seemed to do the ‘lump work’, while Stallworth seemed to do the ‘housework’ (10 TDs).
Texas A&M
Ben Malena (2012): This was Johnny Manziel’s Heisman season, so no-one’s going to remember a lot of other people from that team, apart from Mike Evans and Damontre Moore. But how about Malena? The 5-8 running back put up 808 valuable yards and 8 TDs on 138 carries.
VANDERBILT
Ke’Shawn Vaughn: On a 2019 team that was utterly crap, no-one will remember a player who put up 1,028 yards and 9 TDs. That’s because Vaughn’s work was like putting lipstick on a very ugly pig.