The All-SEC Project, Part 4: Who’s the Real _ _ U?

It’s been a while since Gator football fans enjoyed that top-of-the-mountain feeling from winning the SEC, but in recent years they have at least enjoyed the pride that accompanies being the unquestioned national leader in producing elite defensive backs. People often refer to UF as “DBU”, because nobody has dominated the position group like the Gators have… Well, unless you ask an LSU fan that is.

According to Tigers fans, it’s their own beloved program which is the rightful DBU. The truth of the matter is that both schools have produced a laundry list of elite performers in the secondary, with the debate over positional supremacy being far from an “unquestioned” matter. In fact, the resulting dispute has moved beyond a mere argument between fan-bases, even spilling over into the national media with regularity. Outlets such as ESPN, Saturday Down South, and others have opined on the issue, sometimes even propping up outlanders like Ohio State for the title.

Unfortunately, we Gator fans haven’t had as much to say about it this fall, after an at-times nightmarish secondary performance that resulted in UF finishing 96th nationally in team pass-efficiency defense. Indeed, watching the misaligned, miscommunicated, shoe-throwing performance by the Gators’ defensive back end was downright groan inducing. But then again, LSU was even worse in pass efficiency defense this year, ranking at 115th nationally. Ironically, the 2 primary DBU contender schools have suddenly become known for leaky pass defense while putting up historic offensive passing performances instead (Joe Burrow & Kyle Trask now rank 1st & 3rd all-time in SEC single season pass yards). The times, as Bob Dylan said, they are a changin’. Or, it could just be a 1-year fluke. Who knows?

Regardless, being at the start of a new year, with so much change occurring (in football and otherwise), this seems like an opportune time to pause and add factual clarity to the SEC’s “positional U” debates. So, in this part 4 of the All-SEC project, we’ll use 10 years of Associated Press All-SEC team data (549 player profiles) to find out Who’s the Real _ _ U?

By breaking down the numbers at each of 13 awarded positions, a positional U title will be bestowed to the top program at each spot. A full top-to-bottom conference ranking will also be provided at each position, along with contextual analysis for UF’s place in the rankings. Once this is all done at each position, the article will conclude with an overall summary of UF’s recent All-SEC player identity.

This one is going to be fun and probably not without controversy. As you’ll notice below, some of the rankings essentially resulted in statistical ties. But, life in the SEC is pretty much like that Highlander Movie: There can be only one. So, I came up with tiebreakers, which will be detailed as their use arises. For now, here’s how the scoring system works:

At each position, programs were awarded 3 points for 1st team Associated Press All-SEC selections and 2 points for 2nd Team selections. Whoever had the most points in the conference over the 10-year period earned the positional U title. Yes, I know, it’s a complex formula. Also, I fully understand that my work presents only a partial view of the “positional U” issue, without factoring NFL success or overall unit performance. But hey, this is The All-SEC Project, not the NFL Draft project. So get ready, because here comes part 4!

Quarterback U:

Even if you knew in 2009 that Alabama was beginning a decade of SEC dominance, you probably would’ve never guessed that they would end up as Quarterback U. But with 5 AP All-SEC selections at the position over the next 10 years, excellence at QB has become a hallmark of Nick Saban’s program. Alabama not only had twice as many All-SEC QB selections as the next-best program (Mississippi State and Texas A&M each had 2), but they were also the only one with more than one passer named to the first team (Jalen Hurts in 2016 & Tua Tagavailoa in 2018).

UF outlook: Unfortunately, the Gator football program was one of only 4 in the SEC without at least 1 All-SEC QB selection during the last decade. The others were Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and South Carolina. Considering how prevalent All-SEC QBs are on SEC champion teams (as identified in part 1 of this series), it’s not exactly surprising that UF didn’t have a single conference championship during the decade. The good news is that the drought is now officially over. While Kyle Trask’s 2020 inclusion on the AP’s 2^nd team didn’t fall within the scope of this project, it stands as a tremendous mark of relief for the Gator nation. High quality play has finally returned to the UF program at the game’s most important position.

Running Back U:

The Running Back U race was fairly close, as the top 4 contenders (LSU, Auburn, Alabama, and Georgia) each had All-SEC RB selections in at least 5 of the last 10 years. Of this group however, LSU stands out, with a whopping 7 All-SEC RB selections over the past decade. Those awards went to 5 different players (both Leonard Fournette and Derrius Guice were repeat winners), with 4 being named to the AP’s 1st team.

UF outlook: The only Gator RB to earn AP All-SEC recognition during the past decade was Mike Gillislee. As the centerpiece of Will Muschamp’s 2012 bludgeon-ball offense, Gillislee ran into crowds of defenders for 1152 yards and 10 TDs. And when I say “centerpiece”, it’s important to remember that the team’s QB, Jeff Driskel, only passed for 1646 yards. Somehow, Gillislee’s performance gave the stellar Gator defense just enough help to amass 11 wins that year. Given that 9 of decade’s 10 SEC champions had either an All-SEC QB or RB, it’s interesting that the 2012 season was arguably UF’s best during the period. It was the only season marked by a Gator All-SEC player at either position.

Tight End U:

Determining Tight End U for the past decade was tough, because 3 teams (Florida, Ole Miss, and Arkansas) each had 3 All-SEC selections at the position. Given that each of the 3 programs also boasted 2 first team awardees, breaking the tie required further investigation. Ultimately, recognition was granted to the Gators, since their 3 awards went to 3 different players. Arkansas featured only 2 (DJ Williams and 2-time winner Hunter Henry), while Ole Miss featured only 1 (3-time winner Evan Engram). Since the Position U awards are intended to recognize a culture of All-Conference-level production at each position, UF stands as the clear choice.

 UF Outlook: The Gator Tight Ends who earned AP All-SEC recognition over the past 10 years were Jordan Reed (2012), Jake McGee (2015), and Kyle Pitts (2019). While the position struggled at times during the decade (along with the rest of the offense), elite players continue to pop up at the position for each UF head coach. In fact, the Gators claim on being the SEC’s Tight End U would be even stronger if a few additional years of data were added to this project. As evidence, consider that the AP also recognized Gator TEs to its All-SEC teams in 2007 (Cornelius Ingram), 2009 (Aaron Hernandez), and again this fall (Kyle Pitts).

Wide Receiver U:

Looking for evidence that Nick Saban has opened up his offensive attack in recent years? Well, consider that Alabama WRs have now been featured on each of the past 7 AP All-SEC teams, including 2 players at the position last season (2019). In total, Alabama had 8 All-SEC WR selections from 2010 to 2019, including 5 on the AP’s 1st team. One aspect of the Tide’s success at this position should hit especially close to home for Gator fans reading this article: Over the past decade, 5 of Alabama’s 8 All-SEC WR selections were earned by players originally from Florida.

UF Outlook: Meanwhile in Gainesville, UF was the only team in the SEC without an All-SEC WR over the past decade. There were a few quality performances, including those from Demarcus Robinson (810 yards and 7 TDs in 2014) and Antonio Callaway (721 yards and 3 TDs in 2016). But overall, it was generally another sub-par element of a systemically-terrible offensive culture. For the decade, UF’s reception leaders at WR averaged only 40 catches, 539 yards, and 4 TDs per season. For comparison, consider that 2020 All-SEC Gator WR Kadarius Toney amassed 984 yards on 70 catches, with 10 TDs. After almost 10 years of “yuck” at the position, the outlook has taken a sudden and dramatic upward turn under Dan Mullen.

Offensive Line U:

Back in part 1 of this article series, it was revealed that recent SEC Champion teams each had at least 1, but on average 2.1 All-SEC OL selections per title year.  Over the past decade however, Alabama teams eclipsed these marks with an annual average of 2.4 All-Conference OLs annually. In yet another mark of their recent supremacy, The Tide’s conference-leading total of 17 1st team OL selections is more than that of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th place teams combined (Georgia, Auburn, LSU). As consistent as it is commanding, the program’s success at the position yielded at least 2 AP All-SEC OL selections in every single year of the past decade… and that was before they produced 3 more this fall.

UF Outlook: While UF struggled mightily at other offensive positions during the post-Tebow hangover period, it often felt as if OL futility was the biggest culprit. The Gator program seemingly never had enough bodies or enough talent at the position to consistently protect QBs and open running lanes. So, it’s no shock that UF finished 11th in the conference for All-SEC OL selections over the past decade. In fact, they were one of only 2 programs (along with Vanderbilt) without a single 1st team selection at the position. The only players to achieve AP All-SEC status during the period were Mike Pouncey (way back in 2010) and 3-time winner Martez Ivey (2016, 2017, & 2018).

All Purpose U:

The All-Purpose U contest was tight, with the decade’s 2 most-decorated All-SEC players leading their teams to a point-total tie. For Texas A&M, that player was Christian Kirk, who was named as the AP’s 1st team All-Purpose selection in 3 different seasons (2015, 2016, 2017). Having also earned All-SEC recognition as a WR in 2 of those seasons (2016, 2017), his 5 overall awards were unmatched in the conference over the past 10 years. At South Carolina, Pharoh Cooper earned 2nd team All-SEC recognition as an All-Purpose player in both 2014 and 2015, with WR recognition in the same seasons (for a total of 4 awards). The difference between the 2 programs in this race was that Kirk was the only Texas A&M player to earn all-conference recognition at the position. At South Carolina, Cooper’s performances were flanked by those of Ace Sanders (in 2012) and Deebo Samuel (in 2018). With the most All-Purpose award seasons by the most players, South Carolina is the pick for All-Purpose U.

UF Outlook: While UF finished in a tie for 11th in the SEC with no All-Purpose selections, this represents a bit of mixed news. On the one hand, it’s rough finishing with yet another 10-year goose egg at a position that helps put points on the board. This is especially true when 2 of the 3 teams you’re tied with are Ole Miss and Vanderbilt. On the other hand however, it’s a position where All-SEC selections have rarely correlated with team championships. As identified in in part 1 of this series, Georgia’s Mecole Hardman (in 2017) was the decade’s only All-Purpose All-SEC selection to play for a conference champ. Either way, the Gators’ 10-year drought is over at this position. Following a spectacular effort this fall, Kadarius Toney was chosen as the AP’s 1st team All-Purpose performer (in addition to his 2nd team award at WR).

Defensive Tackle U:

Another position, another display of dominance by the Crimson Tide. Alabama has been outstanding with the defensive bigguns’ in recent years, leading the SEC with 9 total All-Conference DT selections. Meanwhile, no other SEC program had more than 4 for the entire decade. It is important to remember however, that there is fuzziness in the data here. As mentioned earlier in this series however, the lines between who is a DT and who is a DE have recently become blurred. The AP’s award structure has a hard time accounting for 3-4 defenses and today’s niche defensive positional roles. As evidence, note that 2 of Alabama’s 9 All-SEC DT Selections (Jon Allen and Raekwon Davis) were also awarded as defensive ends during their careers. As a result, these numbers may be skewed upward in Alabama’s favor.

UF Outlook: Although UF continuously fielded tremendous defenses from 2010-2019, the program was only 6th in the SEC for producing all-conference DTs. Three Gators earned recognition at the position during the period, including Sharrif Floyd (2012), Caleb Brantley (2016), and Taven Bryan (2017). Of those 3, only Floyd made the AP’s 1st team.

Defensive End U:

South Carolina’s All-SEC defensive end production was best in the conference over the past 10 years, as the program’s ranks included 6 awards at the position. While 2 other programs (Auburn & Missouri) matched this overall total, the Gamecocks led the way in 1st team selections with 4.  Most of Mustard Sauce University’s all-conference awards at DE were during the Steve Spurrier years, including 4 consecutive years with players earning recognition at the position (2010-2013). This included back-to-back All-SEC seasons from Jadeveon Clowney, one of the SEC’s best players during the period at any position.  As good as South Carolina was in producing all-conference DEs however, Missouri’s output is also notable. The Tigers were a single 1st team selection short of claiming the DE U title, but weren’t even in the conference until 2012.

UF outlook: The Gators finished a very respectable 4th in the DE U standings, with 2 fewer All-SEC selections at the position than those programs ranked higher. However, the Gator DEs who did make All-SEC were mostly named to the 1st team. Those include Jon Bullard (2015), Jachai Polite (2018), and Dan Mullen’s 1st transfer acquisition to earn All-SEC recognition, Jon Greenard (2019). Additionally, Dante Fowler made the AP’s 2nd team at the position back in 2013, during the Will Muschamp era.

Linebacker U:

Given what you’ve read so far, it shouldn’t exactly be surprising that Alabama was the SEC’s LBU. What is surprising however, is how many All-SEC LBs Alabama finds within its own state. Of the 10 players who earned All-SEC awards at the position for The Tide, 7 were from Alabama. This may not sound abnormal, but as college football’s premier national recruiting power, only 29% of Alabama’s overall SEC Awards (all positions combined) went to players from within its home state borders. Overall, the Tide had 13 LB selections and 9 players named to the 1st team. If there is a surprise at the position, it came from Kentucky’s 4th place finish. Although the Wildcats’ 6 selections (3 on the 1st team) didn’t put them in the lead pack, it was still double that of 6 SEC teams.

UF Outlook: Unfortunately, UF was one of the teams with only half of Kentucky’s All-SEC LB award count. With only 3 All-SEC LB awards over the past 10 years (and none on the 1st team), the Gators finished only 11th in the SEC’s LB U standings. The only LBs to earn the recognition during the period were 2-time winner Antonio Morrison (2nd team in both 2014 & 2015) and David Reese (2nd team in 2019).

Cornerback U:

At this point, I’d like to welcome those who immediately skipped down to this section, eager to find out what I had to say about the ever-burning “DBU debate”. With that said, I’ve got great news for our Gator fan readers, along with some not so great news for the corndogs LSU fans. While the race was extremely tight, UF is the SEC’s CB U of the past 10 years. The 2 programs were neck and neck, with both featuring at least twice as many All-SEC CB selections than the 3rd place program (Alabama). In fact, UF’s 1st place total was only a single point higher than LSU, according to my proprietary grading scale. And fitting with this hotly contested issue, it could be viewed as controversial. UF after all had 11 All-SEC selections with 6 named to the 1st team. LSU had one-fewer overall awards with 10, but one more 1st team selection than UF. You could make a good case for either team here, but the scoreboard is the scoreboard. Also, UF’s awards came from 8 different CBs, while those at LSU came from just 7. As mentioned earlier, this is about a culture of producing elite performers at each position. As it pertains to CBs, nobody did that better than UF over the past decade.

UF Outlook: In recent years, UF has seemingly produced All-SEC CBs from almost every possible angle. They’ve found them just up the road from Gainesville in Cross City (Duke Dawson) and from as far away as Washington D.C. (Teez Tabor). They’ve produced them from their ranks of 5-star prospects (Vernon Hargreaves) and even had a 3-star gem at the position (Quincy Wilson). No matter how they got it done, premier CB play became an integral part of Gator football over the past decade. Unfortunately, the trend has taken a dip since Dan Mullen arrived in Gainesville, with no AP All-SEC selections in either 2018 or 2019 (CJ Henderson only made the coaches team in those years). The good news is that despite an oft-horrid overall defensive performance this fall, Kair Elam earned 2nd team recognition on the AP’s 2020 All-SEC team. Hopefully this and upcoming staff changes in the secondary will restore UF CB play to a level of play more befitting of the brand.

Safety U:

For all the DBU debate that goes on between UF and LSU, Alabama has quietly been the overwhelming leader in production of All-SEC safeties in recent years. The Tide generated 4 times as many 1st team selections as UF at the position and nearly 3 times as many as LSU. As with other positions, their safeties made almost every AP All-SEC team during the period, with 2012 being the only exception. Moreover, 8 of the 9 Alabama players who did earn recognition at the position were drafted into the NFL, including 3 in the 1st round.  The only team which stood as any real competition in this race was LSU, as they had 8 All-SEC safety performances for the decade. While this was well short of Alabama’s 12, it was still twice as many as Georgia and Ole Miss, who tied for 3rd.

UF Outlook: Florida was 5th in the SEC for producing All-SEC safeties during the decade, featuring 3 total selections by 3 individual players. Ahmad Black kicked things off by making the 1st team in 2010, then Matt Elam also earned 1st team recognition in 2012. Marcus Maye was the only safety during the period to earn 2nd team honors, which he did in 2016. As the last safety to earn AP All-SEC recognition at UF, it has now been 4 full seasons since a player broke through to earn All-conference awards at the position. At this point however, the Gator program could just use a little average play at the position, let alone an All-SEC performer. It was bad this fall.

Kicker U:

In another close contest, LSU is Placekicker U for the past decade. While they finished in a statistical tie for 1st place with Georgia, LSU’s 4 All-SEC kicker selections were achieved by 4 different players (as opposed to Georgia’s 3). Even so, the next 2 tie-breaker levels would’ve been National Championships since 1980 and coaches without bowl haircuts, so LSU is definitely the right choice. In all seriousness, 4 teams (Georgia, LSU, Auburn, & Florida) produced 70% of the decade’s overall selections and all but one of the AP’s 1st team kickers. Curiously absent is Alabama, who for all their excellence at other positions, never produced an AP All-SEC placekicker during the decade.

UF Outlook: The Gator placekickers who earned AP All-SEC recognition from 2010-2019 were Caleb Sturgis (1st team in both 2011 and 2012) and Eddy Pineiro (2nd team in 2017). Even when not best-in-conference, placekicking has largely been good or better at UF, including in 2020. Although Evan McPherson was not named to the AP’s all-conference team this fall, he is leaving UF early for the NFL as one of the school’s most accurate kickers ever. For now however, there is little reason to be concerned with UF’s infrequent production of All-SEC performers at the position. As pointed out in part 1 of this series, only 2 of the past decade’s conference champions featured all-conference placekickers. Also, let us not forget that Chris Hetland, the kicker for UF’s 2006 national championship team, was a mere 6 of 15 on field goal attempts.

Punter U: 

As it pertains to elite punting performances, UF reigned supreme from 2010-2019. Featuring All-SEC performers at the position in 6 of 10 years, no program was better during the decade. It’s a good thing too, because UF did a LOT of punting in those years. At one point, the image of a raging Will Muschamp waving the punt team onto the field may have been the most iconic in all of Gator football. Ok, that’s an exaggeration… maybe. Alabama was a relatively close 2nd place with 4 All-SEC punter performances during the period, with the difference over 3rd place Texas A&M being 1 additional 1st team award. The only other schools with 1st team punters during the period were LSU and Kentucky (with 1 each).

UF outlook: Gator football has been blessed with a couple of superb, multi-year winners at punter. Before Johnny Townsend was recognized for 3 years straight (2015, 2016, & 2017), Kyle Christy won twice (2012 & 2014). Prior to them, Chas Henry kicked the decade off with 1st team recognition in 2010. Since Dan Mullen arrived, the punting effort has faded from the spotlight (which disappoints exactly no one) as the offense has improved. I must admit, I literally couldn’t remember Jacob Finn’s name until about week 3 (he’s the current Gator punter). I consider that a good sign.  **pre-publication edit: Apparently the diminishing role of UF punters did disappoint 1 person. Jacob Finn has entered the transfer portal**

Overall UF Outlook

As much fun as it is to look back at which programs have excelled at each position, this data also provides insight as to UF’s recent program identity. And while there were some surprises in that regard (I had no idea UF would be the only SEC team without an All-Conference WR), it largely confirmed what most fans likely expected. Namely, that UF’s elite performers were disproportionately on the defensive side, led by cornerbacks, and woefully sparse on offense.

But, here’s the good news: Through 3 years of Dan Mullen at UF, a new All-SEC identity is emerging. Instead of lopsided award counts in favor of the defense, the distribution has been evenly balanced (6 awards for offensive players, 5 for those on defense). After a decade of zero selections at QB, WR, and AP, Gator players were awarded by the Associated Press at all 3 positions this fall. And though the kicker/punter awards have disappeared, I think we’re all ready to be a little less-familiar with the field goal & punt departments of the program.

2020 Championship Template update

Considering that such balance and All-SEC QBs are key benchmarks within the Championship Template, it’s fair to say that Dan Mullen is moving toward a Championship-like distribution of his All-Conference talent. The question now becomes whether he can simultaneously produce such talent at a championship-level volume. In 2020 after all, UF successfully met 6 of the Template’s 7 standards (albeit at the minimum level in 4 categories). In fact, the numbers suggest that adding only 2 additional 1st team selections would’ve put UF well within a statistically-ideal position. If those 2 players were an All-SEC offensive lineman and a defensive back, the 2020 Gators would have met every single requirement of the template, with 3 of 7 at the ideal level. If a 3rd player was added (preferably to the defense), UF would meet the ideal standards in 6 of 7 categories.

If you think about it, this pretty well matches up with what we all saw from the team this fall. It’s not difficult to imagine how much it would’ve helped to have a single All-SEC player on the right side of the Gator OL. Or what if the team had an All-SEC safety next to Kair Elam? While this is admittedly a “coulda, woulda, shoulda” exercise, the Gators are likely your SEC champions in that scenario.

What’s Next?

With that in mind, the time has arrived to tackle the elephant in the room… and no, I’m not talking about the Alabama mascot. In Recruiting All-SEC Players by the Numbers, the upcoming part 5 of this series will take a deep dive into the links (if any) between star ratings and elite-level player success. By examining the recruiting profiles from 10 years of AP All-SEC team data (549 player profiles), we’ll identify the caliber of recruits that Mullen will typically need to meet the requirements of the Championship Template. Going far beyond the “stars matter” debate, part 5 will identify if (and how much) stars matter at each position. We’ll also find out whether star ratings correlate to earlier success, which programs find the “hidden gems” most often, and much more. Until then, God bless, and go Gators!

***IMPORTANT NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR. PLEASE READ!!!***

This is by far the most ambitious research/writing project I’ve ever undertaken. Whether or not I pull it off, I’m swinging for the fence for one simple reason: I’m not playing for me this time. All of the writing proceeds from this series will be donated to a non-profit organization called First Coast Women’s Services. Located in Florida, FCWS provides 100% free care, support, and advocacy to young women who have experienced unplanned pregnancies. The women they serve face extremely difficult circumstances and the help they receive can both save and change lives.

My challenge to you, Gator Nation, is this: Will you please team up with me, change lives, and win a championship that matters? Thousands of people are going to read this article and together we can fully fund young mothers to benefit from this program. Having met our original goal of $1200 through your incredible generosity, we now hope to raise $2000 for those in need. With that in mind, if you’ve enjoyed reading the article, please click HERE to check out the GoFundMe page. I know things are tough for a lot of people right now, but if you have some extra cash, please consider giving what you can to change a life. Thank you so much in advance.

God bless & Go Gators,

Bill Sikes