Rece Davis reveals all-time favorite player from each SEC football program
There have been plenty of notable players to play in the SEC, but it can be hard to pick favorites. ESPN College GameDay host Rece Davis tried his hand at picking his favorite SEC players, doing so from each team.
Davis went down the list of the 14 SEC programs and picked out a respective favorite player. There was one exception, though, as he picked three favorites from Florida — partly because he works with two of his selections.
These are his favorites and not necessarily who Davis thinks are the best players in each program’s history. Still, it’s an impressive collection of names.
Rece Davis’ all-time favorite players from each SEC football program
Alabama — Derrick Thomas
A member of the College and Pro Football Halls of Fame, Thomas won the Butkus Award in 1988 as he became a consensus All-American. The Kansas City Chiefs drafted him No. 4 overall and he played his entire career there, winning NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year in 1989 and making nine Pro Bowls.
Thomas died of a pulmonary embolism as he recovered from a car crash in 2000. He’s the only player to pass away during his career and be inducted into the Hall of Fame.
McFadden was a two-time Doak Walker Award and Jim Brown Trophy winner at Arkansas in 2006 and 2007. He rushed for nearly 4,600 yards in three years in Fayetteville as a two-time SEC Player of the Year en route to a College Football Hall of Fame selection.
McFadden became the No. 4 overall pick of the Oakland Raiders in 2008 and played in the NFL until 2015 with the Raiders and the Dallas Cowboys.
Auburn — Pat Sullivan
Sullivan is one of the most notable players in Auburn history. He won the 1971 Heisman Trophy as part of a consensus All-American season, throwing for 2,012 yards and 20 touchdowns. All told, he total over 6,000 yards and 54 touchdowns before embarking on a brief NFL career.
Sullivan returned to Auburn as quarterbacks from 1986-91 before becoming the head coach at TCU. He also worked as the offensive coordinator at UAB from 1999-2006 and was the head coach at Samford from 2007-14. Sullivan died of cancer in 2019, and his No. 7 was retired.
Florida — Tim Tebow/Danny Wuerffel/Jesse Palmer
Davis joked he didn’t “want to take the phone calls from the other two” by listing three former Florida players. Still, all three had impressive careers in Gainesville.
Tebow was the most decorated of the three, winning two national championships and the 2007 Heisman Trophy as he became a College Football Hall of Famer. He currently works as an analyst for the SEC Network along with Palmer, who threw for more than 3,700 yards from 1997-2000.
Wuerffel is also in the College Football Hall of Fame after leading Florida to the 1996 national championship amid a Heisman Trophy-winning season. He was also a two-time SEC Player of the Year and threw for over 3,000 yards in 1995 and 1996.
Pollack starred at Georgia from 2001-04, becoming a three-time All-American and two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year. The Cincinnati Bengals selected him in the first round of the 2005 NFL Draft, but only played two years in the league before a back injury cut his career short.
He then entered the media landscape and worked with Davis on College GameDay until this past season. Pollack was part of ESPN’s massive round of layoffs last week.
Kentucky — Derrick Ramsey
Ramsey played quarterback and tight end at Kentucky, helping the Wildcats to the 1976 SEC Championship and becoming a third-team All-American in 1977. The Oakland Raiders drafted him in the fifth round of the 1978 NFL Draft and he played in the league until 1987.
After his playing days, Ramsey worked as the state of Kentucky’s Deputy Secretary of Commerce from 2003-07 before taking over as the athletic director at Coppin State from 2008-15. He returned to Kentucky as the Secretary of Education and Workforce Development from 2015-19 and serves on UK’s Board of Trustees.
LSU — Bert Jones
Jones — nicknamed “The Ruston Rifle” — was a consensus All-American in 1972 at LSU and finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting. He threw for 3,225 yards and 28 touchdowns that season to finish as the Tigers’ all-time passing yards and touchdowns leader. He is also a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Baltimore Colts drafted Jones No. 2 overall in 1973 and he won the NFL MVP award in 1976. That proved to be his best season in the league before injuries piled up.
Mississippi State — Dak Prescott
A two-time All-SEC selection, Prescott became a fourth-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 following his career at Mississippi State. With the Bulldogs, Prescott finished his career third on the SEC’s all-time total yards list and fourth all-time in touchdowns.
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Prescott won the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year after taking over for Tony Romo and has played in two Pro Bowls during his career. He’s gearing up for his eighth season in the league this year.
Mizzou — Tony Galbreath
Galbreath started his career at the junior college level, but later earned All-Big Eight honors at running back at Mizzou in 1974. He then set the Tigers’ all-time rushing record in 1975 as he became a second-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1976.
Galbreath played in the NFL from 1976-87 with the Saints, Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants. He’s a member of the University of Missouri Athletics Hall of Fame and the Saints Hall of Fame.
Ole Miss — Archie Manning
The patriarch of one of the most notable families in football, Manning’s No. 18 is retired by Ole Miss after a standout career in Oxford from 1968-70. He was the SEC Player of the Year in 1969 and the New Orleans Saints drafted him No. 2 overall in 1971 after a College Football Hall of Fame.
Manning played in the league from 1971-84, playing in two Pro Bowls, and was inducted into the Saints’ Ring of Honor and Hall of Fame. His sons, Peyton and Eli, also put together noteworthy careers and his grandson Arch is preparing for his freshman year at Texas.
South Carolina — Marcus Lattimore
Lattimore burst onto the scene at South Carolina in 2010, winning the SEC Freshman of the Year award as he rushed for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns. He was a second team All-SEC selection in 2011, but knee injuries hampered his career and he eventually played two seasons in the NFL for the San Francisco 49ers.
Lattimore is currently the running backs coach at Division III Lewis & Clark College — a position he’s held since 2020.
Tennessee — Reggie White
One of the most decorated NFL players of the last 40 years, White got his start at Tennessee from 1980-83. A College Football Hall of Famer, he was the SEC Player of the Year and a consensus All-American in 1983 before going No. 4 overall in the 1984 NFL Supplemental Draft. His professional career started in the USFL, but he ended up joining the Philadelphia Eagles in 1985.
In the NFL, White was a two-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year and made 13 Pro Bowl appearances. He also helped lead the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl XXXI title as part of his Pro Football Hall of Fame career.
Texas A&M — Leeland McElroy
McElroy was a consensus All-American in 1995 at Texas A&M when he became the Aggies’ starting running back. That was his first season at the position, and he rushed for 1,122 yards that year.
The Arizona Cardinals selected him in the second round of the 1996 NFL Draft, but injuries piled up and he only played two seasons in the league.
Vanderbilt — Whit Taylor
Taylor played quarterback at Vanderbilt from 1979-82 and set multiple records during his time with the Commodores. In the 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl, he threw for 452 passing yards and four touchdowns in a 36-28 loss to Air Force.
Taylor went undrafted in 1983 but played professionally in the USFL and Arena Football League from 1983-87.