Nice writeup: Which SEC school claims the ‘Wide Receiver U’ title for the last decade? You hear it around college football all the time as a point of pride. Churn out enough All-Americans or NFL draft picks at a certain position, and you get to claim the title. LSU proudly calls itself Defensive Back U. Penn State lays claim to Linebacker U, although schools like Florida State and Ohio State nip at the Nittany Lions’ heels. Nationally, Southern California likely lays claim to Wide Receiver U, as the Trojans place players on All-America lists seemingly every year. Who in the SEC holds that title over the last decade? To figure it out, we did some simple tallying. We looked back at the last 10 recruiting cycles (2006-15), seasons and NFL drafts (2005-14). Each four- or five-star wide receiver recruit a school signed earned a half-point, each AP first-team All-SEC selection earned two points, AP All-American selections were worth four points and NFL draft picks were worth three. In the cases of Missouri and Texas A&M, both of which joined the conference in 2012, we included any AP first-team Big 12 selections from 2006-11. Here’s how that scoring shook out: Team 4- and 5-star signees 1st team All-SEC AP All-Americans NFL draft picks Total points Alabama 16 2 2 2 26 Arkansas 6 2 1 6 29 Auburn 8 0 0 3 13 Florida 16 2 0 6 30 Georgia 11 2 0 6 27.5 Kentucky 2 0 0 1 2 LSU 19 0 0 11 42.5 Miss. State 4 0 0 0 2 Missouri 2 4 1 3 23 Ole Miss 11 1 0 2 13.5 South Carolina 6 4 1 6 33 Tennessee 15 2 1 4 33.5 Texas A&M 11 1 1 1 14.5 Vanderbilt 1 4 1 2 18.5 It shouldn’t be any surprise that LSU crushes the rest of the SEC by a wide margin. Reigning NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odell Beckham Jr. and former running mate Jarvis Landry are fresh in everyone’s mind after the way they tore up the pros this season. It’s not just those two, though. LSU has nearly double the number of players drafted over the last decade of any other SEC team. It’s a remarkable phenomenon, considering the struggles the Tigers have had at quarterback for much of the last decade under Les Miles. Save for a Jamarcus Russell season here or Zach Mettenberger season there, LSU has been a run-dominant offense. Yet every year, top wideouts flock to Baton Rouge. Tennessee came the closest to LSU, finishing nine points behind the leaders. While the majority of the Volunteers’ touted recruits haven’t panned out, Robert Meachem played his way to All-SEC and All-America status, while four players have made their way to the NFL. In a bit of a surprise, South Carolina finished third on the list, just behind Tennessee, in large part thanks to their six receivers drafted over the last 10 seasons, including first round selection Troy Williamson. On top of that, Alshon Jeffery is one of the eight SEC receivers to make an appearance on the AP’s All-America team over the last decade.
just so you know, there are other positions lsu has been less proficient at than qb. if you go by players drafted in last 10 yrs. qb 3, ot 3, g 1, c 0, te 1. qb from other sec schools. bama 3, au 2, ark 2, om 0, msu 0, uf 1, usc 0, uga 3, and ut 2.
Just so you know no true Lsu fan gives a rats ass how many players LSU sends to the NFL. I don't care if after their eligibility they all become park rangers. What I care about is having to watch the ass clown we have playing the position right now. Get off this 'how many players drafted wet dream.' Nobody gives a fornication.
When I think of underperforming at positions for LSU, obviously quarterback comes to mind. I mean Zach Mettenberger is revered as a god and comparatively speaking he wasn't even close to beating Jamarcus Russell's single season TD record. Or even yardage I don't think. But there are 2 other spots in which LSU has underperformed. On the offensive line, and at linebacker. Yeah we put a few in the NFL here and there from the O line and Minter, Eric Alexander, Sheppard, and Riley made the NFL, but they were just role players or special teamers. Minter obviously still has time to be a star and Riley has been consistent. Oh and Bradie James was great, but you gotta admit. Those positions haven't produced a stable of studs in the NFL like the DB position or Defensive Line, or Safety, or Wode Receiver. I'm not counting tailback or tight end because tailbacks are a dime a dozen in the NFL and we don't even know what a tight end is at LSU.
Grimes is going to change that for the oline, even though we have had more than a few in the NFL in the past decade. But I think Stud was somewhat of a dud. We'll recruit better and coach better I believe. As for LB's, I think we need to focus more on OUT of state guys. Even the highly ranked in state guys usually never lived up to the billing.The best ones in LA all stayed ar RB. Devin White might be the next one.
I for one love following my Tigers throughout there careers, so I guess maybe I'm an idiot. But that's ok as I am a happy idiot.
