By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
INDIANAPOLIS -- There's a reason SEC teams have won five consecutive national football championships.
Rusty Costanza/The Times-Picayune LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson is one of the top prospects. Four of the top five overall prospects and seven of the top 11 on NFLDraftScout's board are from SEC schools.
They have the best players.
Talk all you want about the rabid fan bases, massive stadiums and seven-figure coaching salaries. The reason the SEC is the dominant league in college football is the Johnnies and Joes more than the Xs and Os.
That's never been more evident than at this week's NFL Scouting Combine. Thanks to a preponderance of southern stars, the league's annual pre-draft talent showcase is essentially a mini-Olympics of SEC athletes.
Fifty-three of the 329 prospects invited are from the SEC, roughly one in every six players. Half of the SEC's 12 members have at least five players who will undergo the battery of mental and physical tests at the annual talent show. LSU and Georgia have eight prospects each.
Amazingly, the roster of SEC prospects is actually fewer in number than last year when 64 players attended the weeklong festivities.
More impressive than the quantity of prospects this year, though, is the quality. Four of the top five overall prospects and seven of the top 11 on NFLDraftScout's board are from SEC schools.
The top-rated cornerback? LSU's Patrick Peterson.
The top wide receiver? Georgia's A.J. Green.
The top quarterback? Auburn's Cam Newton.
The top running back? Alabama's Mark Ingram.
The best defensive tackle? Take your pick, either Auburn's Nick Fairley or Alabama's Marcell Dareus.
It wouldn't be a shocker if Newton, Peterson, Fairley, Dareus and Green were the first five names called when the draft kicks off April 28.
Welcome to the SEC Invitational, otherwise known as the 2011 NFL draft.
"That tells you the SEC is the best league out there," LSU offensive tackle Joseph Barksdale said. "There's no days off in the SEC, man. It's definitely the toughest conference in college football. Five national championships in a row, and you can definitely see why. You've got to have your mind right every week."
Former Saints player personnel director Rick Mueller preferred to draft players from power conferences like the SEC because he knew they faced elite competition on a regular basis, not just on Saturdays, but also daily in practice.
That's certainly true in the SEC.
During his three seasons as a starter, Barksdale has locked horns with the likes of Derrick Harvey, Peria Jerry, Carlos Dunlap, Terrence Cody, Quinton Groves, Sen'Derrick Marks and Corvey Irvin on SEC Saturdays, and also faced NFL talents Tyson Jackson, Glenn Dorsey, Ricky Jean-Francois and Al Woods daily during practices.
"(Playing in the SEC) prepared me very well," Mississippi State offensive tackle Derek Sherrod said. "The SEC is among the best when it comes to athletes and the speed and the physical aspects of the game."
These things tend to run in cycles. The Big 12 had the first four picks in last year's draft and five of the first six overall. The Pac-10 and Big Ten have each had their banner drafts.
But the SEC rarely has an off year. Some years are simply better than others.
The league has had at least six first-round picks in each of the past four drafts. This year could rival 2007 when a record 11 SEC players were selected in the first round, four from LSU.
"I see a lot of familiar faces here," Sherrod said. "It makes me proud to be here and to represent the SEC."
Year after year, the flow of talent continues.
In 2007, it was JaMarcus Russell, LaRon Landry, Patrick Willis, Dwayne Bowe, Robert Meachem, Sidney Rice, Charles Johnson and Le'Ron McClain.
In 2008, it was Darren McFadden, Dorsey, Jerod Mayo, Felix Jones and Peyton Hillis.
In 2009, Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, Percy Harvin and Mike Wallace joined the party.
And last year, Eric Berry, Joe Haden, Maurkice Pouncey, Tim Tebow, Dexter McClusker and Carlos Dunlap made immediate impacts as rookies.
"Every year there's top 10 guys, top five guys coming out of the SEC," Georgia offensive lineman Clint Boling said.
"Coming from the SEC and playing at UF, we played against the best ... high draft picks we faced week in and week out in the SEC," Florida tackle Marcus Gilbert said.
Judging by the national rankings of the SEC's recent recruiting classes, don't look for the talent flow to slow any time soon.
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