Top Five SEC Defensive Players

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The top five defensive players in the SEC

Written by JOSEPH PERSON
jperson@thestate.com

Posted on 07.08.10

Dave Martin/ASSOCIATED PRESS

LSU defender Patrick Peterson (7) breaks up a pass intended for Alabama's Julio Jones ( during the first quarter of an NCAA college football game at Bryant Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)


In The State’s second installment of the SEC’s crème de la crème, the attention shifts to defense, which this conference does pretty well.

Alabama and Florida, which have met for the conference title the past two years, were ranked No. 2 and No. 4 nationally in total defense last year, while South Carolina finished in the top 15 for the second consecutive season.

The Crimson Tide lost 10 starters from last year’s national championship defense, but ’Bama’s backups weren’t bad last year: One of them was named defensive MVP of the BCS title game last season and has a spot on our preseason top-5 list.

5. Stephon Gilmore, CB, USC

From the moment he arrived on campus, when it took him about two practices to lock down a starting job, to his first game, a 7-3 win at N.C. State he preserved with a pass breakup in the end zone, Gilmore has lived up to the hype that accompanied his signing with the Gamecocks.

Steve Spurrier called Gilmore one of the best players to come to USC, and Gilmore began building his legacy by earning Freshman All-American honors last year. Gilmore also adds a wrinkle to the Gamecocks’ offense as a WildCock quarterback and the special teams as a punt returner. But the Rock Hill product made it clear his priority is corner.

Gilmore plans to get his hands on more passes after snagging one interception in 2009. That seems like a safe bet.

4. Kelvin Sheppard, LB, LSU

If you polled SEC observers about the conference’s best linebacker, many would go with Alabama’s Dont’a Hightower, who returns from a knee injury that sidelined him in 2009. But with Hightower shaking off the rust early in the season, The State will stick with Sheppard, who was a one-man hitting machine last year in Baton Rouge. Sheppard is big (6-foot-3 and 239 pounds) and athletic. The fifth-year senior from Stone Mountain, Ga., was third in the SEC last season with 110 tackles, nearly half of which were solo hits. Sheppard had at least seven tackles in 11 of LSU’s 13 games last season.

3. Marcell Dareus, DE, Alabama

A lot of Alabama linemen were lost in the shadows of Mt. Cody — mammoth tackle Terrence Cody. But with Cody part of the Tide’s exodus to the NFL, the Tide needs a physical playmaker up front. And based on his performance against Texas in the BCS championship game, Dareus appears up to the challenge. The 6-foot-3, 306-pounder knocked Longhorns quarterback Colt McCoy out of the game in the first half, and took an interception 28 yards for a touchdown that all but sealed things by halftime. Dareus led Alabama with 6.5 sacks in part-time duty last year. All he needs is a nickname.

2. Mark Barron, S, Alabama

College football rosters are filled with safeties who possess tremendous ball skills or sound tackling ability. Barron has both. The junior was the SEC leader with seven interceptions in 2009 and tied for the lead with 18 passes defended. But Barron knows how to hit, too, finishing behind only Rolando McClain for team tackling honors with 77 stops. There may be safeties around the country who are faster or bigger than Barron. But you’ll be hard-pressed to find one as versatile.

1. Patrick Peterson, CB, LSU

Peterson, a junior from Pompano Beach, Fla., is that blue-chip athlete who has been as good as advertised. Peterson led all SEC corners in 2009 with 13 passes defended while coming up with 52 tackles, including 43 solo stops. Peterson also had two interceptions, a number that is deflated because so few teams challenge him and throw his way. Peterson, the USA Today Defensive Player of the Year as a high school senior, is regarded as the SEC’s best cover corner — and might be the best in the country.