50 greatest SEC football players this century, ranked

Best SEC football players this century – 48. Dont’a Hightower, Alabama, Linebacker (2008-2011)

There has been a laundry list of amazing defensive players to go through Nick Saban’s program at Alabama. When he first came to Tuscaloosa, he made sure to make stopping SEC offenses priority number one. That’s led to an increased recruiting effort to bolster that side of the ball. Dont’a Hightower came to Alabama in Saban’s second season and he started immediately.

Hightower was good in his first three seasons at Alabama, but he became great in his fourth year. He was named a consensus All-American after recording 85 total tackles including 11 tackles for loss. Hightower established himself as one of the best linebackers in college football. He won two national championships in college (although he missed his first with an injury) and when he got to the NFL, he was the catalyst for the Patriots defense that won three Super Bowls. Hightower is a championship player. That much is undeniable.

Best SEC football players this century – 47. Cam Robinson, Alabama, Offensive Tackle (2014-2016)

It’s rare to have a true freshman offensive lineman in the SEC. There are so many talented men of huge size being recruited in the South that it seems like there s always a line to get a starter’s job at these programs. That didn’t phase Cam Robinson who started for Alabama of all teams in his true freshman season. He started all 14 games as a freshman, the first freshman left tackle since Andre Smith in 2006.

Robinson helped Alabama win the National Championship in 2015 and he got even better his junior season. He won the Outland Trophy and Jacobs Blocking Trophy in 2016. He was also a unanimous All-American that season. Facing Robinson was one of the hardest matchups any defensive lineman faced all season. He led Alabama with 37 knockdown blocks in 15 games. He would knock anyone’s head off who was trying to get to his quarterback.