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2014 SEC Secondary Rankings: We're Number One!

Ole Miss tops our ballot for the best secondary in the conference.

By The Ghost of Jay Cutler
Stacy Revere

As always, let us know where we went wrong this week. After we do quarterbacks next week, we'll be able to have a pretty solid view of what each team looks like. At that point, we'll cast our first SEC Power Poll ballot of the year.

Here they are, the SEC's secondaries ranked from first to worst:

  1. Ole Miss - Even with three season-ending injuries - safety Chief Brown and cornerbacks Carlos Davis and Tee Shepard - this is still a salty, experienced secondary. Brown and Davis, mind you, were never permanent starters, and Shepard is yet to play a down of SEC football, so their injuries rob this unit of some depth, but nothing proven or immediately valuable. All-American safety Cody Prewitt and his SEC-leading six interceptions from last season are back, as is freshman all-American safety Tony Conner. Senquez Golson and Derrick Jones, both starters from last year at corner, are back as well. Ole Miss will also use Anthony Alford, Trae Elston, Mike Hilton, and C.J. Hampton a lot in the rotation.

  2. Florida - Vernon Hargreaves III could make a case for the SEC's best defensive player, and is undoubtedly the conference's best cornerback. He's a true lockdown threat, which is immensely valuable at this level.

  3. LSU - Jalen Mills could be valuable this year (if he stays out of trouble) and Jalen Collins should be an NFL-ready back soon.

  4. Alabama - The Tide is unusually thin at cornerback, but Landon Collins is arguably the SEC's best safety alongside Cody Prewitt.

  5. Mississippi State - Taveze Calhoun continues the tradition of oddly named and highly successful Bulldog defensive backs.

  6. Auburn - You'd think the Tigers are really talented, but they gave up a lot of yards last year through the air. They do return a lot of experience, including Jermaine Whitehead at safety.

  7. Georgia - Georgia lost so much from last year, including Shaq Wiggins and Tray Matthews.

  8. South Carolina - The Gamecocks have experienced safeties and green cornerbacks.

  9. Mizzou - Braylon Webb, one of the team's top tacklers, is back at safety. Other than that, Mizzou's replacing a bunch of starters.

  10. Tennessee - Cameron Sutton is a bright spot, but the Vols gave up 280-something yards a game last year through the air.

  11. Arkansas - Bo Wallace threw for 400+ on Arkansas last year. I should really rank them lower, but...

  12. Texas A&M - ...these guys are in the conference too. Cornerback Deshazor Everett is impressive but what else is there beyond that? Floyd Raven? Lulz.

  13. Kentucky - The Wildcats struggled to create turnovers last year, and this year should be no different. I am willing to wager that their defensive line, however, could make their defensive backs look better than they are.

  14. Vanderbilt - Vandy's got to replace every starter in their secondary this year. Wow.