Nation wises up to SEC depth, balance of power

Promoting football has never been difficult for the Southeastern Conference. But an easy job will be even easier this season.

Georgia and Florida each has been ranked No. 1 in more than one preseason poll. Defending national champion LSU, Auburn and Tennessee all have top-10 potential.

Such depth and balance of power aren't uncommon in the SEC. But those virtues are being recognized more nationally.

That was reflected in the final Associated Press last January when LSU and Georgia finished one-two. It was reflected even more in a myriad of post-season individual awards, the most telling of which was the Heisman Trophy.

A popular Heisman theory took a beating in last year's balloting. Having two strong candidates from the same region of the country is supposed to work against both candidates.

Not last year. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow won the award, and Arkansas running back Darren McFadden was the runner-up.

As strong as the SEC has been lately in football, it went 11 years without producing a Heisman winner. Then, its players placed first and second in the same season. What does that tell you?

It tells SEC fans that the rest of the country is wising up.

You could argue that the Heisman race would have gone differently if the Big Ten could have provided a more attractive candidate. But the SEC didn't just win the Heisman. It dominated the post-season awards.

LSU defensive tackle Glenn Dorsey was recognized as the best lineman in the country. Arkansas' Jonathan Luigs was honored as the nation's outstanding center.

Tebow and Luigs were at the SEC media days in Birmingham, Ala. this week. So were several other preseason All-Americans, including Tennessee offensive guard Anthony Parker.

But you can't judge the SEC's star power solely by who was in Birmingham. Most of the SEC's most touted players are underclassmen, and schools usually prefer to bring seniors to media days.

Florida was media savvy enough to make an exception for a Heisman winner. It also could have made an exception for junior wide receiver Percy Harvin, who will give the Gators a second Heisman candidate.

Georgia's two best players are sophomore running back Knowshon Moreno and junior quarterback Matthew Stafford. Tennessee's best player is sophomore safety Eric Berry.

One preseason magazine ranked five SEC players as the best at their position nationally. Four other SEC players were ranked second best at their position.

Tebow, Harvin and Moreno are the SEC's highest-profile players, but the league has more overall talent at the less-glamorous positions.

For example, the SEC has never looked stronger in the offensive line, where three guards, three tackles and two centers are ranked in the top five nationally at their positions.

The SEC's most underrated position is probably safety, where Mississippi State free safety Derek Pegues and Alabama strong safety Rashad Johnson are returning first-team All-SEC players. But they will be hard-pressed to repeat.

Berry made a name for himself last season as a true freshmen. Florida's Major Wright, who also started last season as a freshman, hits as hard as most linebackers. One of the reasons for Georgia's improvement in the second half of last season last year was the play of freshman safety Reshad Jones.

LSU's Harry Coleman starred in the national championship game after replacing injured safety Craig Steltz, and sophomore safety Chad Jones is one of the team's most athletic players. South Carolina has a pair of proven safeties in Darian Stewart and Emanuel Cook.

Those players will combine to make safety one of the conference's strongest positions. But in this league, there's no weak position.

The final rankings should again bear that out. And so should the individual awards.

(Contact John Adams of The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee at adamsj(at)knoxnews.com.)