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Mike D’s 2015 Preseason All-SEC Team
By Mike Detillier
The SEC is loaded with great talent and there were some very tough decisions to make on who would make my first team All-SEC squad, but below are my selections.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
Prescott's arm, leadership and running skills have helped put Mississippi State football back on the college football map.
Halfbacks
Leonard Fournette, LSU
Leonard Fournette is the most dominant offensive player in the SEC.
Nick Chubbs, Georgia
Chubbs is a hard-charging back with breakaway skills, outstanding field vision and one of the dominant players in college football.
Wide Recievers
Duke Williams, Auburn
Duke is not the most focused or the most detailed oriented, but his skillset is at the highest level as a receiver.
Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss
Treadwell is coming back from a horrendous leg injury suffered late against Auburn, but he is a "playmaker" in both the short and deep areas of the field.
Tight End
Hunter Henry, Arkansas
Hunter Henry is one of the most underrated football players in America. Henry has excellent size, sure hands and a knack for finding the open areas in the secondary.
Offensive Tackles
Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
Tunsil, if healthy, is the best offensive lineman in the SEC, and arguably the college football world.
Cam Robinson, Alabama
Robinson has quickly developed into one of the elite offensive linemen in college football. He is a superstar talent.
Offensive Guards
Greg Pyke, Georgia
Pyke has great size, quick feet and when the Bulldogs need the tough conversion yards Chubbs and Company run behind Pyke.
Ethan Pocic, LSU
The second most valuable player on the Tiger team behind Fournette. Pocic can play guard, center and if he stays another season he will play left tackle for LSU.
Offensive Center
Evan Boehm, Missouri
Boehm is tough, smart, a leader and a very accomplished run blocker and pass protector.
All-Purpose Player
Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina
He is the offense for the Gamecocks. Can play quarterback, halfback, wide receiver, return kicks and sell concessions at halftime. Cooper is to South Carolina what Randall Cobb was to Kentucky football.
Defensive Ends
Myles Garrett, Texas A&M
As a sophomore Garrett is the most feared pass rusher in the SEC. He recorded 11 1/2 quarterback sacks as a freshman in 2014.
Jordan Jenkins, Georgia
Jenkins is built like a defensive end and runs like a strong safety. Very instinctive player with a nose for the football.
Defensive Tackles
A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama
A'Shawn is a force in the middle and he pushes the inside pocket right back into the lap of a quarterback. His quickness and speed for a big man is remarkable.
Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
Nkemdiche is quite an interior force due to his pass rush skills and quickness off the snap. Watch for a huge junior season for the highly touted defensive lineman.
Linebackers
Kentrell Brothers, Missouri
Brothers has his football GPS always on and he tracks down opponents in a flash. He recorded 122 tackles for the Tigers in 2014.
Leonard Floyd, Georgia
Another hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end type produced by the Bulldogs. He has flashed some scary edge rush ability and he is learning how to use his long arms better to get off of a block.
Reggie Ragland, Alabama
Ragland is one of the most instinctive defensive players in the country. He rarely takes a false step to the ball and he recorded 95 tackles and 10 1/2 tackles for losses as a junior.
Cassanova McKinzy, Auburn
Explosive interior linebacker who has excellent size, quick feet and 1st rate diagnostic skills. McKinzy piled up 91 tackles at the "Mike" spot in 2014.
Cornerbacks
Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
Bar none, Hargreaves is the best cornerback in college football. He is college football's version of Darrelle Revis.
Cameron Sutton, Tennessee
Sutton is on the verge of greatness as a cover cornerback. Cameron has the size, long arms, quick recovery and ball skills that will make him a premier college and pro prospect
Safeties
Tony Conner, Ole Miss
The most underrated defensive player in the SEC. Conner is superb in run defense, can get off the edge with great speed as a pass rusher and he matches up very well in one-on-one coverage sets.
Jamal Adams, LSU
DBU strikes again. I believe that Adams is a better player than Eric Reid was at LSU. Jamal Adams is a special football player.
Kicker
Austin McGinnis, Kentucky
Punter
JK Scott, Alabama
Saints Notes
If there was an MVP in the New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots game that title belongs to 2015 second round pick outside linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha. The former University of Washington outside linebacker was active, quick to diagnose plays, he played with great intensity and while he didn’t get a quarterback sack he seemed to consistently be in the backfield and being a disruptive presence. Kikaha was in on 5 tackles, 2 tackles for losses and one quarterback hurry in the first half against the Patriots. Teams will try to run the ball at the undersized Kikaha, but look for the Saints to try and position him in a spot like the “elephant” spot and use him outside of the box to fully utilize his pass rush skills and closing speed.
Along with inside linebacker Stephone Anthony the Saints looked to have hit well come draft day with both linebacker picks. With the release of Junior Galette the Saints need someone to step up and be that designated pass rusher on obvious 3rd down passing plays and Kikaha may well be the guy as a rookie.
One thing to watch as the regular season starts is that the Saints will utilize Khiry Robinson much more as a receiver coming out of the backfield. With C.J. Spiller rehabbing from minor knee surgery Robinson is seeing more balls thrown his way coming out of the backfield. And the former West Texas A&M performer is one very good pass catching target.
Robinson is sure-handed, he quickly turns up the field after the catch and he has learned a few nifty moves to be used more as a “match-up” downfield receiver and along with Spiller the Saints have a really good one-two halfback receiving punch in 2015, if both can stay healthy.
Robinson is the Saints “power” runner, but he is also a terrific receiver and along with a healthy Spiller will help fill the short passing game void tight end Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles had in the past. Sean Payton has seen that very few linebackers in the NFL match up well downfield with halfbacks and he is going to take advantage and use it fully in 2015.
Devastating Blow to the Panthers
Throughout the summer I have written many times that I firmly believe the winner of the NFC South would have no more than 9 wins. After watching the four teams play I am more convinced than ever that will be the case, but one incident last week may have just sealed that deal.
Carolina Panthers second year wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin tore ligaments in his knee and he will miss the entire 2015 NFL season.
Just the week before Panthers end Stephen Hill also suffered a season-ending knee injury.
The loss of Benjamin is devastating to the Panthers.
Carolina is still one of the more talented defensive teams in the NFC, but Benjamin was on the verge of being a “special” football player.
Last year as a rookie the former Miami (Fla.) end caught 73 passes for 1,008 yards and 9 touchdown grabs.
Last season Benjamin did have some occasional lapses in concentration and he was not the most precise route-runner, but he had worked hard this off-season to catch the ball strongly before taking off downfield and he put in great time in being a better route runner.
Now he will not be on the football field in 2015 and that means more pressure will be put on quarterback Cam Newton to not have just a good season, but a special one if the Panthers hope to win the division for the third straight season.
Since the draft nothing personnel wise has affected the division like the loss of Kelvin Benjamin. 7-8-1 won the division for the Panthers in 2014 and I suspect 8-8 may just win it in 2015 and 9-7 would guarantee you the division high spot.
That old coach talk of “next man up” will be said many times about the loss of Benjamin, but I always counter with “it depends on who that next man is.” No one on that Panther offensive quad is even close to Benjamin’s football zip code.
NFL Pay Day
Have your kids grow up to play quarterback in the NFL? In a look at the average of the top salaries in the NFL based on the contracts given to players 11 of the top 12 highest paid players play the quarterback spot. Below is the average amount given to the highest paid NFL players when it is averaged out over the course of their contract.
1. Aaron Rodgers, Quarterback, Green Bay Packers, $22.0 million per season, 31 years old
2. Russell Wilson, Quarterback, Seattle Seahawks, $21.9 million per season , 26 years old
3. Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback, Pittsburgh Steelers, $20.85 million per season, 33 years old
4. Philip Rivers, Quarterback, San Diego Chargers, $20.80 million per season, 33 years old
5. Cam Newton, Quarterback, Carolina Panthers, $20.76 million per season, 26 years old
6. Matt Ryan, Quarterback, Atlanta Falcons, $20.75 million per season, 30 years old
7. Joe Flacco, Quarterback, Baltimore Ravens, $20.1 million per season, 30 years old
8. Drew Brees, Quarterback , New Orleans Saints, $20.0 million per season , 36 years old
9. Ryan Tannehill, Quarterback, Miami Dolphins, $19.25 million per season, 27 years old
10. Ndamukong Suh, Defensive Tackle, Miami Dolphins, 19.05 million per season, 28 years old
11. Colin Kaepernick, Quarterback, San Francisco 49ers, $19.0 million per season, 27 years old
12. Jay Cutler, Quarterback, Chicago Bears, $18.1 million per season , 32 years old
Ladies and Gentlemen just hold up just a little while longer and watch how Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck will come up with the highest paid contract in the history of the NFL.
Follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeDetillier