The SEC West stole the spotlight once again in 2016 and rightfully so with Alabama leading arguably the most talented division in all of football. The SEC West projects to be just as dominant in 2017 with LSU poised to challenge the Crimson Tide’s superiority while on the other side of the equation the SEC East could be a lot more intriguing based on the returning talent that is set to lead the way. With the NFL underclassmen declaration lists now finalized we have a pretty good idea of what to expect moving forward. Here is a look at the top returning players in the SEC East for 2017.
RB: Nick Chubb, Georgia Bulldogs
Chubb rushed for 1,130 yards as a junior while splitting touches with Sony Michel in the Georgia backfield in 2016. Now he will have another opportunity to be the No. 1 running back for the Bulldogs and more importantly he will be another year removed from the serious knee injury that he had to overcome in 2015 to get back in to the lineup a year ago. Chubb has all of the tools to be a dominant running back and based on his sheer talent and potential he deserves the top spot on this list of the top returning stars in the SEC East for 2016.
DT: Trenton Thompson, Georgia Bulldogs
The 6’4’’, 309-pound Thompson emerged as a dominant force on the interior of the Georgia defensive line in 2016 when he led the Bulldogs with 9.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with five sacks. Thompson’s incredible combination of power, speed and athleticism makes him extremely difficult to hold off inside and makes him an incredible run stopper and pass rusher. Thompson has the potential to be one of the most dominant defensive tackles in the SEC this season.
RB: Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt Commodores
Webb decided to return to Vanderbilt for one more season, so he will look to build on his career numbers as the program’s all-time leading running back with 3,347 rushing yards. Webb ran for 1,283 yards and 13 touchdowns as a junior last season and will look to top those numbers in 2017 in an effort to boost his NFL Draft stock.
The challenge is that Webb often has to do things on his own as the team around him is pretty bad. They did make some progress in 2016, beating Georgia, Ole Miss and No. 17 Tennessee, which is quite impressive for them. Maybe the team is turning it around, which would really help Webb’s cause.
LB: Jordan Jones, Kentucky Wildcats
One of the breakthrough stars in the SEC in 2016 was Jones, who thrived in the linebacker role at Kentucky where he was absolutely dominant as a sophomore last season. Jones registered 109 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss and four sacks while helping the Wildcats return to postseason play. The feeling is that Jones has the potential to be that much more dominant with another year of experience and maturity under his belt so look for him to return as one of the top linebackers in the SEC East for 2017. We’ll see if he can help the Wildcats climb the ladder in the SEC next year.
LB: Skai Moore, South Carolina Gamecocks
A neck injury prevented Moore from playing in 2016 but he has been cleared to return to the field for 2017 when he will look to pick up from where he left off after leading the Gamecocks in tackles each season between 2013 and 2015. The senior linebacker can be absolutely dominant in the South Carolina front seven and it won’t be a surprise if he plays this year with a chip on his shoulder as one of the leaders of the Gamecocks defense.
The Gamecocks – and the defense in particular – had a really sour end to the season, so we’ll see if they can bounce back in 2017. The team lost three of their last four games, falling at Florida, losing to rival Clemson (by a count of 56-7) and then allowing 46 points in a blow game loss to South Florida. They’ll have to do better than that next year or they’ll be in the SEC basement again.
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