10 Players Every SEC Coach Wishes Were on His Team
One of the great things about college football is that on every team there are certain players nearly every fan can’t help but root for, even in the Southeastern Conference.
In recent history maybe it was Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones, Georgia running back Todd Gurley or South Carolina walk-on Carlton Heard.
We’re talking players who have overcome extreme adversity, excelled in the classroom or are just a great story.
The following are 10 of them, some of whom may or may not be the best players on their team or game-winning playmakers on the field this fall.
But if someone suddenly had to start an SEC team from scratch, these are the kinds of players he or she should want on it:
Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee
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Although the initial plan was for Joshua Dobbs to redshirt last season, he came off the bench during Tennessee’s third possession against Alabama and subsequently went 4-1 as the starting quarterback.
He compiled 1,675 total yards of offense and 17 touchdowns (nine passing and eight rushing) in six games.
Oh, and Dobbs is also an aerospace engineering major who plans on building airplanes and flying them after his football career ends.
“My goal is to be the best motivator I can be for this team," Dobbs said. "I know I do that. I push the players and hold them accountable and hold them to a high standard, then I’ll get the most out of them. If I put in the extra hours, it motivates them to do the same, so if we do that and take advantage of all our opportunities this year, we will be successful.”
Vernon Hargreaves III, Florida
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There may be no bigger compliment one can give Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III than he essentially gives the Gators a coach on the field.
Hargreaves’ father is a coach who oversees the linebackers at Arkansas.
“I love the way this guy comes to work every day,” Florida head coach Jim McElwain said. “The way he practices, the way he thrives in competition, and not only that, the way he takes care of himself in the classroom and other things that go along with being successful in life. Growing up the son of a coach, he obviously has been around it, and I think that that is huge.
“I'll tell you, here's the best thing, he's fun to watch practice. The guy loves it.”
In addition to his 13 pass breakups, which led the SEC last season, one of the things Hargreaves is known for is making teammates do push-ups when they make a mistake.
“That is something I learned when I was younger, watching my dad coach at Miami,” he said. “The first time I told them to do push-ups, they kind of looked at me like, ‘Are you serious?’, and I said, ‘Yes I’m serious.’ They understood where I was coming from. They know I wasn’t trying to be an arrogant leader, and I do my fair share of push-ups. I think they respected me enough to do them.”
Mike Hilton, Ole Miss
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It’s rare to have a player who could start at every position in a defensive backfield. It’s almost unheard of to have someone do it and not complain.
By moving from cornerback to the rover safety position this season, Mike Hilton has done just that to give his team a chance to have its best five or six defensive backs on the field together.
“Mike is a great story,” Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze said. “The fact that he can move around and play our husky, our nickel, corner, safety—he's invaluable to us.”
Coaches also made the latest switch after Hilton led the Rebels in tackles last season with 71 while also making three interceptions. Consequently, they presented him with this year’s Chucky Mullins Courage Award, which includes wearing the late former player’s No. 38.
“They give this award to guys who show courage, so he means a lot to Ole Miss football,” Hilton said. “It’s a lot of responsibility, and we have to do things outside the normal, like community service and talking to kids. I really embrace it, and I’m blessed that the coaches decided on me for the award.”
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Melvin Lewis, Kentucky
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Kentucky nose guard Melvin Lewis didn’t grow up in SEC country, but rather Compton, California, and around a lot of adversity.
“My father, he was on drugs and stuff a lot when we were young, but he made sure that we didn’t make the same mistakes that he made,” Lewis said in an interview with the SEC Network as part of the league’s “Beyond the Field” initiative. “Seeing my mom struggle while he was in prison and seeing all the things my father went through, I just wanted something better for my life.”
Sports were his ticket to getting a college degree. After two years at Fullerton College, he signed with the Wildcats and became a starter last season.
Lewis (6’4”, 332 lbs) has already completed his bachelor's degree in community and leadership development and uses his past to try and inspire kids.
“It’s very important to me,” he said at SEC media days. “When I go back home, I like to go talk to different groups of guys that are in similar situations that I was in growing up. I just want to help them realize that they have a choice. Get them to take steps forward in the right direction.”
Mike Matthews, Texas A&M
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For Texas A&M center Mike Matthews, the only thing tougher than getting through the grind of an SEC season may be growing up in his family.
Matthews’ father is Pro Football Hall of Fame lineman Bruce Matthews, who was not known for his gentle demeanor. Two older brothers played for Texas A&M, with Kevin going from being a walk-on to a starter and Jake a first-round NFL draft pick in 2014. Younger brother Luke has already committed to the Aggies’ recruiting class of 2018.
There are seven siblings in all, but Mike is the smallest of the football players (6’2”, 290 lbs). He was a starter last year at center and is a team captain.
"There was definitely a lot of fighting that went on, but my dad never let it get too out of hand," Matthews said. "With all that testosterone in that house with all those big boys, you can't stop it. Our backyard games always started out as two-hand touch, but the next thing you knew, people were getting laid out."
Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia
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When Malcolm Mitchell enrolled at Georgia, he admittedly had a sub-standard reading level, only to discover how much he loved books.
Since then, he’s not only become an advocate for children's literacy and founded the "Reading with Malcolm" program, but has also self-published his own children’s book. Mitchell brought a copy of The Magician’s Hat to SEC media days and read some of it to reporters.
“Sometimes I force myself not to think about it because it’s hard to explain,” Mitchell said about his past. “It’s nothing I could have ever envisioned for my own self. It was definitely a plan that somebody already had set for me. Coming into college, football is everything, the only thing. To grow beyond that and still have the same passion for football, it is something I am truly thankful for.”
Last season Mitchell came back from a torn ACL to be named Georgia’s comeback player of the year after making 31 receptions for 248 yards and 11 touchdowns.
He also got head coach Mark Richt to write the forward for the book.
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State
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By finishing eighth for the Heisman Trophy, senior Dak Prescott is already widely considered the best quarterback in Mississippi State history. But this season, he’s trying to be the best leader as well.
“I love having him back,” head coach Dan Mullen said. “He's a great young man. Love being around him. And I know he loves our university and really wants to leave his mark at Mississippi State University on what he's been able to accomplish, what he's been able to do, and I know he wants to come back and try to finish his career off with a championship.”
Prescott has completed 418-of-691 passes for 5,583 yards with 18 interceptions during his career while scoring 75 touchdowns (41 passing and 31 rushing). His .605 completion percentage ranks first in Bulldogs history, and he’s also had 374 rushing attempts for 1,913 yards.
Although Prescott led Mississippi State to its first No. 1 ranking in the middle of last season, he’s looking to have an even better 2015.
"It's just consistency," Prescott said. "I thought I played all right throughout last year but not great all the time. It's like Coach Mullen says: I need to be great from Play 1 all the way to the last play of the season. Can't take a play off or a game off."
JK Scott, Alabama
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Even though he was a true freshman in 2014 and recruited out of Colorado, where the ball can really travel depending on the elevation, JK Scott’s first season was the best by a punter in Crimson Tide history.
Specifically, his 48.0 yards per attempt and 44.7 yards net average both topped the nation as Scott was named a finalist for the Ray Guy Award for punter of the year. No Alabama player had previously won the honor.
“My freshman year was awesome,” Scott said. “The transition from high school to college was amazing. There’s a lot more fans and hype going towards the game and stuff. It was a lot of fun. It was a great experience. Last year, I just focused on what I needed to do to punt well and be a good punter, and that’s what I did. This year, it’s what it’s about now.”
Scott had 31 punts inside the 20, and 23 going 50 yards or more, out of 55 attempts.
His yards per punt, net yards per punt and percentage of punts downed inside the 20-yard line (56.4) didn’t just lead the Football Bowl Subdivision but were better than anyone in the National Football League (although to be fair, they do use a slightly different ball).
Jonathan Wallace, Auburn
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When most football players realize they don’t have much of a future at their position, the result is predictable: They leave. Maybe they transfer to another school or give up football completely, yet Auburn quarterback Jonathan Wallace did something different.
He switched to wide receiver and is essentially starting over as a senior.
"I'm battling for a position every day," Wallace recently told Wesley Sinor of AL.com. "I've transitioned this past spring, and now it is just a matter of going out and executing every day, showing the coaches they can trust me. It's a trust deal. Coach [Gus] Malzahn has set the tone for that. They have to count on us to make plays. They have to count on us to execute out there, give great effort.
"If we can't get that done, we can't play. That's the bottom line. That's where that stands. I'm getting there."
Listed at 6’2”, 207 pounds, Wallace started four games at quarterback as a true freshman in 2012 and won two of them. He served as a backup through last season, but he also started working as a slot receiver and had one catch for 18 yards.
Now he’s trying to be the program’s next Kodi Burns and is doing whatever he can to get on the field for an offense that utilizes numerous receivers.
Tre'Davious White, LSU
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You may think of LSU junior cornerback Tre'Davious White as one of those players who can do a little bit of everything. But did you also know that he was the valedictorian at Shreveport-Green Oaks High School?
“Everybody was used to a girl receiving it, so it was a big deal at my school,” he said, adding that his family’s been his inspiration.
“My parents. I had a brother. He was older than me. He had a 4-year scholarship to Arkansas Tech. He didn’t make the score on his ACT, so he had to go to junior college. He went out there and got into some trouble. Some things just went wrong, and he wasn’t able to continue. They kicked him off, and he came home. That just motivated me. I wanted to be the first grandchild that my grandmother had to graduate from college. It’s a big deal. I’m the first one to go, and I really want to finish up.”
White only needed the third game of his freshman season to win a starting job, a role he never relinquished. Last year he also returned punts for the Tigers.
He was recently awarded LSU's No. 18 jersey, which goes to the player who displays a "selfless attitude while representing the Tigers in a first-class manner both on and off the field."
“Great person, leader in the secondary,” head coach Les Miles said. “One of those guys that just works all the time because that's just who he is.”
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Christopher Walsh is a lead SEC college football writer. Follow Christopher on Twitter @WritingWalsh.
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