Silver All-SEC: The Conference's Best Players From The Past 25 Years

That the SEC is the strongest conference in all of college football, there is no doubt.  Other colleges can lay claim to great players, great teams, and great coaches, but none of them can lay claim to the sheer mass of great players and teams that the SEC has produced in the last 25 years.

For that reason I thought it would be fun to come up with a All-SEC team for the last quarter century. 

It's going to be a very tough call to come up with just one player at each position considering the sheer amount of talent that has come through the SEC in that time frame. 

I will be focusing on their complete playing career, though I won't discount players that didn't have successful NFL careers.

In order to be eligible for placement on the team, players' college careers must have ended no earlier than the 1985 season.

I'm sure there will be many different opinions regarding player selection, so feel free to comment and let me know the spots you disagree with.

The team is based off a pro-set offense.  The defensive set is a 4-3.

OFFENSE

Quarterback: Peyton Manning

There have been so many great quarterbacks in the last 25 years that choosing jut one is difficult.  From gunslingers like Matt Stafford and Peyton's little brother Eli, to atypical quarterbacks like Tim Tebow, it's tough to come up with just one guy. 

You have a guy like Jason Campbell, who had just one great year, to guys like Jay Barker and David Greene, who did nothing but win over several seasons under center.

For me personally, it's a bitter pill to swallow in having to make this decision.  I had to watch the Tide start a long losing streak to the Volunteers with Peyton at quarterback.  As hard as it is though, you can't dismiss Manning's poise, polish, and determination as a quarterback for the Volunteers.

He threw for over 11,000 yards and 90 touchdowns in his college career with a 63 percent completion percentage.  You can't argue with numbers like that.

Running Back: Bo Jackson

No other position in the SEC has shown more talent than the running back position. Herschel Walker was not considered, as his college career ended just outside the quarter century mark.  Just for the record, he would have taken the top spot had he been included.

The past 25 years is littered with great talent at tailbacks.  Guys like Carnell Williams, Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Terrell Davis, Bobby Humphery, Ronnie Brown, Garrison Hearst, Darren McFadden, Emmit Smith, and Felix Jones were all great college tailbacks.  All of them went on to success in the NFL.

Jackson did rush for 4300 yards for the Tigers and won the Heisman Trophy his senior year.  He did all that at a time when Auburn was loaded with talent at the tailback position, forcing him to split game time and carries with talented backs like James Joseph, Brent Fullwood, and Lionel James.

Jackson later went on to successful careers in the NFL and MLB.  Health issues ended his career early.  Nobody knows what kind of career he could have had if he had remained healthy.

Fullback: Peyton Hillis

With other candidates like LeRon McClain, Jacob Hester, Kevin Turner, Carl Stewart, Mack Strong, Heath Evans, Brannan Southerland, Tony Richardson, and others to choose from, this was another tough choice.

Hillis showed great versatility during his time as a Razorback.  Leading the way for tailbacks Felix Jones and Darren McFadden gave him ample time to hone his blocking skills. 

Hillis was also a solid ground gainer, not the bruiser that McClain or Hester were, but still very accomplished.  Perhaps the biggest thing that set him apart from other candidates was his ability to catch the ball coming out of the backfield.  He has the hands of a receiving tight end.

Tight End: Jason Witten

Whitten was the prototypical tight end during his time with the Volunteers.  A solid blocker and extremely talented receiver, he was a nightmare for defensive coordinators around the league. 

Witten beat out other talented tight ends such as Ben Troupe, Patrick Hape, Randy McMichael, Kris Mangum, and several others.

Whitten is currently in the midst of an All-Pro career in the NFL.

Wide Receivers: Hines Ward and Percy Harvin

Both players did it all at their respective schools.  Ward even started several games at quarterback for the Bulldogs, including a Peach Bowl where he threw for over 400 yards.

His true calling, though was at split end, where he ran great routes and caught nearly everything that came his way.

Harvin was one of the main catalyst for a high-powered Florida offense.  Not only was he a great receiver, he was deadly on reverses and in any other way the Gators could get the ball into his hands.

Ward has gone on to an All-Pro career, while Harvin was a first round choice in the NFL's most recent draft.

Offensive Tackles: Chris Samuels and Wayne Gandy

These two would make great bookends on any team.  Both were equally adept at both run blocking and pass blocking.  Both went on to long NFL careers, earning All-Pro honors.

There were so many others to choose from some of which were Shawn Andrews, Andre Smith, Micheal Oher, Ciron Black, Everett Lindsay, Stacy Searels, and Chad Clifton.  These two stood out though because of what they had accomplished over the long term.

Offensive Guards: Randy Thomas and Alan Faneca 

The big uglies in the middle seldom get any recognition.  I'd be willing to bet if you asked most so-called college football fans to name their interior linemen, at least half of them would be unable to name their starters.

Guys like Fred Weary, Herman Johnson, Larry Rose, Max Jean-Gilles, Ben Grubbs, Aarron Sears, Cosey Coleman, Bobbie Williams, and Todd Perry were all big-time players that paved the way for their teams running games.

Thomas and Faneca both went on after college to long and productive NFL careers.  Thomas has started 141 straight games with the Jets and Redskins.  Faneca has made 169 starts in a 10-year NFL career with the Steelers and Jets.

Center: Todd McClure, LSU

Centers are usually considered the most intelligent of offensive lineman because of the pre-snap reads they have to make in order to call blitz pickups. 

McClure was a first team All-SEC pick his junior and senior years.  He's also in the midst of a 10-year NFL career with the Atlanta Falcons. 

McClure beat out other center stalwarts such as Dermontti Dawson, Scott Wells, Chris Spencer, Antoine Caldwell, and Jonathan Luigs.

DEFENSE

Defensive Tackles: Glenn Dorsey and John Henderson

You can't play defense without the big monsters on the interior of the defensive line.  Dorsey was one of the most dominant players in SEC history defensively. 

He whipped most every offensive lineman put in front of him, including a lot of double teams.  Henderson had a strong college career and has added to it a long, highly successful career in the NFL.

They had to beat out guys like Michael Myers, Anthony McFarland, Dewayne Robertson, Albert Haynesworth, Richard Seymour, Marcus Stroud, Cornelius Griffin, Tim Bowens, and Tracy Rocker, all of whom were top-notch players themselves.

Reggie White would have been an easy selection here, but much like Herschel Walker, his college career ended just outside the quarter century time frame.

Defensive Ends: Eric Curry and Jevon Kearse

There were a lot of great ends to choose from.  Curry was a monster for Stallings Alabama teams in the early 90's.  He was a key part to Alabama's 92 Championship team, terrorizing quarterbacks all year long totaling 10.5 sacks on the season.

Kearse totaled 16.5 sacks over his college career helping lead the Gators defense.  Kearse was drafted by the Tennessee Titans and went on to an All-Pro career. 

Linebackers: Cornelius Bennett, Derrick Thomas, Kevin Greene

Cornelius Bennett was one of the most dominating and complete linebackers ever to play the game.  After dominating SEC offenses for four years, Bennett went on to a long NFL career with the Buffalo Bills and Atlanta Falcons.

Derrick Thomas terrorized quarterbacks his entire college career.  In 1998, Thomas recorded 28 sacks on the season.  Thomas had a long NFL career with the Kansas City Chiefs, where he recorded well over 120 sacks.

Kevin Greene had a solid career at Auburn before becoming a sack specialist in the NFL with several NFL teams.  Greene had some of the highest sack totals ever recorded in the NFL.

Cornerbacks: Champ Bailey and Walt Harris

Bailey led the Bulldogs secondary during his college career while also playing offense.  He won the Bronco Nagurski award in 1998 as the nation's top defensive player.  Bailey later went on to a long NFL career.

Harris was one of the top corners in Miss. State history holding the school interception record with 17.  He lettered all four years and was awarded All-SEC honors his final three.  Harris went on to a long, successful career in the NFL. 

Other SEC greats included Carlos Rogers, Lito Sheppard, Corey Webster, Jason Allen, Chris Houston, Antonio Langham, Fernando Bryant, Dale Carter, Deshea Townsend, Corey Chavous, and Fred Smoot.

Safeties: Laron Landry and Deon Grant

Landry made 48 starts in his college career and was a fierce run stopper.  Unlike many safeties Landry also showed great pass coverage abilities.  He was a top 10 draft choice in the NFL draft.

Grant was named an All-American following his junior year, a year in which he tied for the NCAA lead with nine interceptions.  That season, he had two picks in three different games. 

His final three picks on the season came in one game against the Auburn Tigers. Grant just completed the 10th season of his NFL career.

More great SEC Safeties included George Teague, Kenoy Kennedy, Ken Hamlin, Sean Jones, Roman Harper, and Marquand Manuel.

Placekicker:John Kasay

It seems there are great kickers in the SEC every season.  That being said it really wasn't all that hard to make this choice.

Kasay had a great career at UGA that has carried over to the NFL where he is headed into his 19th season.  In that time, he has been good on nearly 82 percent of his kicks.

Punter: Dustin Colquitt

This one was a tough call, coming down to Colquitt and former Alabama punter Chris Mohr.  In the end Colquitt's college stats and stronger leg won out.

It seems as though a Colquitt has been kicking at UT for the last century and Dustin was the best of them.  He has now completed five years as punter for the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs.