SEC's Best Defender: South Carolina's Melvin Ingram or LSU's Tyrann Mathieu?

How does Melvin Ingram do it? The 6'2", 276 pound senior defensive end from South Carolina is having a monster season. Everybody's seen his 68-yard fake punt touchdown, but his contributions extend far beyond that isolated incident.

Through five games, Ingram has five and a half sacks, two interceptions, and three touchdowns. Did I mention he's a defensive lineman?

That said, he may not even be the best defensive player in his own conference. LSU's all-world defense is anchored by sophomore cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, who has filled in spectacularly for the graduated Patrick Peterson. Mathieu leads his team in tackles, holds the Tigers' career record for forced fumbles, has a couple of touchdowns, and is an explosive punt returner to boot.

Yeah, he's that good.

We are only five games into the year, but these two players have already generated a ton of hype. We've even seen some Heisman conversation surrounding them, which is fairly unusual for defenders at this stage of the season. Then again, these are fairly unusual defenders. Check out their ridiculous numbers:

Melvin Ingram vs. Tyrann Mathieu: By the Numbers

	G	T	S	FF	FR	Ints	TDs
Ingram	5	26	5.5	0	2*	2	3
Mathieu	5	35	1.5	4	3	1	2

*Ingram recovered his own teammate's fumble for a touchdown vs. Vanderbilt, which for some reason isn't listed as a fumble recovery in USC's official stats. I've included it as a fumble recovery here.

So who's better? These numbers are only part of the tale, but let's look here first.

What stands out the most is that both of these players defy traditional positional roles. Ingram's two interceptions are very unusual as a defensive lineman, while Mathieu's ridiculous tackle and fumble stats are uncharacteristic of a defensive back. Each of them has a nose for the ball, and are more than capable of capitalizing on their limited touches.

How about some mitigating circumstances? After all, not all stat lines are created equally. LSU has faced one of the toughest schedules in the country, beating Oregon, Mississippi State and West Virginia on its way to a 5-0 record. South Carolina has played Georgia and Auburn, which are both good teams, but across the board Mathieu has faced much tougher offenses than Ingram.

But the biggest difference between the two players might be the impact of a true freshman.

Ingram's defensive stats are buoyed by the impact of fellow DE Jadeveon Clowney, who has been a huge factor in South Carolina's pass rush. 2011's top recruit has comparable sack stats to Ingram, and has forced four fumbles to Ingram's zero. Two of Ingram's TDs came after Clowney hits, and the freshman takes the offensive line's focus off the senior to some degree. We shouldn't necessarily penalize Ingram for Clowney's talent, but we do need to take it into account.

The Verdict

Look, differentiating these two guys isn't easy. They're both amazing talents and have had fantastic seasons so far. But Melvin Ingram's season has been boosted into the national spotlight by an amazing highlight-reel play, the forced fumbles of Jadeveon Clowney, and a manageable schedule.

Tyrann Mathieu is on an island at DB, and keeps coming up with big plays all by himself against some of the nation's best teams. So in a close decision, I'm going to go with Mathieu. Feel free to prove me wrong in the comments.