ESPN College Football

Bruce Feldman has unveiled his annual list of "Freaks," which is his look at the 20 craziest athletes in college football.

Guess who's No. 1 on that list?

South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney has redefined what a "freak" is in football. As Feldman notes, Clowney ran a 4.54 40-yard dash this spring weighing 275 pounds and also recorded a 38-inch vertical leap.

There just aren't many of those guys walking around on the planet anywhere.

But what sets Clowney apart is his explosive first step, especially at that size.

Joe Connolly, the Gamecocks' strength and conditioning coordinator, told Feldman that Clowney has also become a harder worker.

"The difference is he sees the light at the end of the tunnel," Connolly said. "He's always been an average worker. But when you see, 'The draft before my draft is now done,' he's kind of flipped the switch. There's no question he's been very upfront and forward about the different things he wants to accomplish this year, and he realizes that strength and conditioning is a very important factor to getting to those goals."

Clowney was one of six players from the SEC on Feldman's list of "Freaks."

Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel was No. 6, Mississippi State linebacker Benardrick McKinney No. 8, Arkansas center Travis Swanson No. 11, Ole Miss receiver Donte Moncrief No. 13 and Auburn fullback Jay Prosch No. 20.

Among those who just missed the cut were Florida linebacker Antonio Morrison and Vanderbilt defensive tackle Vince Taylor.

Spreading a little "propaganda" in the SEC:

• Vanderbilt offensive line coach Herb Hand calls out a profane Tennessee fan on Twitter.
• Prominent Vanderbilt booster John Rich dies. He was 85.
• Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart is ahead of schedule with his hires, writes John Adams of The Knoxville News-Sentinel.
• There's no need for LSU fans to worry about the decommitment of top junior college prospect D'haquille Williams, writes Scott Rabalais of The Baton Rouge Advocate.
• Seth Emerson of The Macon Telegraph ranks place-kicker Marshall Morgan No. 8 in his countdown of Georgia's 10 most important players.
• Even in a blindfold, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel is pretty accurate.
• Don't ask Alabama coach Nick Saban for his favorite memory over the last four years. Said Saban, "We don't look back."
• Former NFL executive Scott Pioli blasts Florida offensive line coach Tim Davis for calling Nick Saban the devil.

In this episode of the Official Visit, touted receiver Ryeshene Bronson and Florida part ways, ESPN 150 linebacker Jacob Pugh names a top three, and more.

Monday, we took a look at the 100-days checklist for the SEC. Today, we're taking a look back at what the SEC was able to do during the BCS era. In short, the conference has had a ton of success and is hoping to close out the BCS the way it began it -- with yet another national championship.

Here's a look at the best and worst for the SEC during the BCS era:

Best

1. Rings/crystals for days: The SEC and the BCS have had a great relationship. The SEC kicked the BCS era off with a bang in 1998 when Tennessee took home the first BCS national championship with its 23-16 win over Florida State in the Fiesta Bowl. Five years later, LSU won the conference's second BCS title with a 21-14 win over Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl. But things really got out of hand starting in 2006, when Florida's 41-14 win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl sparked a string of seven straight BCS national titles for the SEC. Florida won again in 2008, Alabama has won three (2009, 2011, 2012), two-loss LSU won in 2007 and Auburn won in 2010. The SEC has won nine of the 15 BCS national championships, and its only loss came to itself when Alabama beat LSU 21-0 in the Allstate BCS National Championship in 2011.

2. Two's company: If five straight championships wasn't enough, the SEC got really greedy in 2011, when Alabama and LSU met in New Orleans, shutting the rest of the country out of a chance at the belt. This game sparked a ton of controversy after LSU had already defeated Alabama 9-6 in Tuscaloosa earlier in the season. But the Crimson Tide went unbeaten afterward and jumped up to the No. 2 spot in the BCS standings after Oklahoma State was upset by Iowa State. After LSU beat Georgia in the SEC championship game, the all-SEC title game was set, in which Alabama would have its revenge.

3. Alabama's dominance: Nick Saban brought LSU a national title in 2003, but he's done real wonders at Alabama. With Alabama's 42-14 win over Notre Dame in last season's Discover BCS National Championship Game, the Crimson Tide became the first team in modern history to win three national championships in four seasons. Alabama has won two straight national championships, has dynasty status and should be one of the favorites to win it all in 2013.

4. Heisman collection: The SEC's dominance during the BCS era hasn't just been about bling. The league also has a nice collection of bronze statues, as four of the past seven Heisman Trophy winners have come from the SEC. Last season, Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel became the first freshman to win the award, while Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win it in 2007 when he became the first player to rush and throw for 20-plus touchdowns in a single season. Alabama running back Mark Ingram took home the trophy in 2009, while Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, who became the first SEC player to run for at least 1,000 yards and pass for at least 2,000 in the same season, won in 2010.

5. Dominating the NFL draft: The SEC couldn't have won all those BCS titles without a little talent here and there. In last month's NFL draft, the league had 63 players drafted. That's a record for any league. The next closest was the ACC with 31 picks. The SEC had 32 players drafted within the first three rounds, including 12 in the first round.

Worst

1. Auburn getting snubbed: It wasn't often that the SEC got the short end of the BCS stick, but it certainly did in 2004 when Auburn was left out of the national championship after going undefeated during the regular season and winning an SEC title. Auburn went on to beat Virginia Tech in the Sugar Bowl, while Oklahoma, which passed Auburn in the BCS standings late, was blown out by USC in the national championship.

2. Not showing up: The SEC had two Sugar Bowl appearances it would love to get back. Fresh off its only blemish of the season in its loss to Florida during the 2008 SEC championship game, Alabama truly looked uninspired a month later in its 31-17 loss to Utah in the Sugar Bowl. Last season, Florida, which was No. 3 in the BCS standings at the time, laid a real egg with its 33-23 loss to Louisville in the Sugar Bowl. Both Alabama and Florida were favorites and the more talented teams.

3. The Albert Means scandal: Back in 2002, the NCAA placed Alabama on five-year probation, gave the Tide a two-year bowl ban and reduced football scholarships by 21 over three years for major recruiting violations. The NCAA said a booster agreed to give Means' high school coach more than $100,000 to get Means, a highly-rated defensive lineman, to sign with Alabama. He signed with the Tide but later transferred to Memphis. Alabama narrowly missed getting the death penalty, but, as chairman of the infractions committee Thomas Yeager said, it was "absolutely staring down the barrel of the gun."

4. Tennessee's fall: The Vols might have captured the first BCS title, but Tennessee's program has been a shell of its former self since. Tennessee has endured losing seasons in four of the past five, has missed out on bowl trips in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the late 1970s and will enter the fall with its fourth different head coach in the past six seasons. Since winning it all in 1998, the Vols have been to the SEC championship game three times -- all losses.

5. Bobby Petrino's disgraceful exit: Last spring, Arkansas felt like a legitimate national championship contender. With the talent Bobby Petrino had assembled, the Razorbacks appeared equipped with the team ready to take the SEC West and more. However, Petrino's motorcycle accident in early April changed everything. He was caught lying about an affair he was having with a woman he hired and was later fired. Arkansas hired former special teams coach John L. Smith, who brought more giggles than wins, as Arkansas fell from contender to pretender with a 4-8 season. Petrino completely embarrassed himself and the program, but confidence seems to have been restored with the hiring of former Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema.

Florida is the class of SEC athletics ... again.

For the 23rd time, the Gators have walked away with the SEC All-Sports Trophy as presented by the Halifax Media Group.

Florida won eight SEC championships this past year. Georgia was second, and Texas A&M was third in its first year in the league.

Florida won SEC titles in men's basketball, women's cross country, gymnastics, soccer, softball, men's swimming and diving, women's tennis and volleyball.

In the men's competition, Florida was also first followed by Alabama in second and Georgia in third.

It was the 13th time that Florida had swept all three titles. The Gators are the only school ever to sweep.

Here's a look at the overall standings:

1. Florida .7230
2. Georgia .6372
3. Texas A&M .6284
4. Tennessee .5491
5. Arkansas .5448
6. LSU .5225
7. Alabama .5023
8. South Carolina .4794
9. Kentucky .4730
10. Vanderbilt .4354
11. Missouri .4234
12. Auburn .3916
13. Ole Miss .3516
14. Mississippi State .3359

If the 2013 Rimington Trophy watch list is any indication, the SEC will be stout up the middle next season on the offensive line.

The Rimington Trophy is awarded each year to the top center in college football, and nine of the 44 players on the preseason watch list are from the SEC -- which is the most in the country.

Alabama's Barrett Jones won the award last season.

Here's a look at the nine SEC centers on the 2013 list:

• David Andrews, Georgia
• Evan Boehm, Missouri
• Dillon Day, Mississippi State
• Reese Dismukes, Auburn
• Jonotthan Harrison, Florida
• Ryan Kelly, Alabama
• James Stone, Tennessee
• Travis Swanson, Arkansas
• Evan Swindall, Ole Miss

DawgNation
From Kipp Adams: D’Andre Walker racked up 105 tackles in his junior season. Then the offers started pouring in.

From Radi Nabulsi : Speedy 2014 CB Kendarious Webster added an offer from in-state Georgia.

GatorNation
From Derek Tyson : Four-star WR Moral Stephens is wide open with the big programs coming after him.

GeauxTigerNation
From Gary Laney : Baton Rouge (La.) Catholic, the alma mater of Warrick Dunn and Travis Minor, are known for churning out running backs. The tradition continues in the 2014 class with 2015 RB Derrius Guice, who already has an offer from LSU.

GigEmNation
From Sam Khan Jr. : Class of 2014 kicker Aaron Medley talks about being offered by Texas A&M.

TideNation
From Alex Scarborough: Starting with Logan Thomas and Johnny Manziel in the opening few weeks, the Tide face a litany of elite offensive players.

From Greg Ostendorf : ESPN 150 athlete Ronnie Clark talks about where he might play at the next level and his spring visits.

DawgNation
From David Ching: Georgia had success in 2012 relying on its freshman running backs, but just because they are now sophomores doesn’t mean the Bulldogs won’t put newcomers Brendan Douglas and A.J. Turman to good use.

From Radi Nabulsi : ESPN 150 DT Dante Sawyer, who is down to Alabama and Georgia, is putting his self-imposed decision date on the shelf.

From Kipp Adams : With basketball season over, David Sharpe, the top prospect in Florida is hitting the road. He spent part of his weekend in Athens visiting UGA.

GatorNation
From Michael DiRocco : Kicking off the Gator Breakdown look at UF’s roster with Quinton Dunbar. He is the Gators’ leading receiver, but the position has been so overwhelming, Dunbar will have to be better in 2013.

GeauxTigerNation
From Gary Laney : Louisiana high school spring games featured noteworthy performances from Brandon Harris and eighth-grader Dylan Moses.

GigEmNation
From Sam Khan Jr. : Recapping the inaugural Crosby Cougar 7-on-7 tournament in Crosby, Texas.

TideNation
From TideNation staff : The TideNation Question of the Week looks at recent comments referring to Nick Saban as the devil and whether this really has any effect on his reputation.

From Alex Scarborough: Ranking the Tide’s FBS opponents from top to bottom.

From Greg Ostendorf : ESPN 150 RB Racean Thomas talks about his recent offers and visits from Alabama and Auburn.

A check of what's shaking in and around the SEC:

• Outgoing Georgia president Michael Adams leaves a big imprint on Georgia athletics, writes Marc Weiszer of The Athens Banner-Herald.
• The son of former Auburn assistant coach Trooper Taylor has a handful of SEC offers.
• Butch Jones stays on the go in rebuilding Tennessee's football team.
• Vanderbilt has plenty of space for linemen in the 2014 class.
• LSU goes on a spending spree in facility upgrades.
• Top linebacker prospect Christian Miller backs off his commitment to Florida and reopens his recruitment.
• Auburn receiver Jaylon Denson has a breakout spring for the Tigers.
• Missouri is poised for an SEC rebound in 2013.
• Can Texas A&M win 11 games again in its second season in the SEC?

Playing off the immortal words of Lynyrd Skynyrd, what song (game) is it you want to hear (see)?

We threw out a few dream possibilities involving SEC teams a week ago in our SportsNation poll. These were potential nonconference matchups.

With more than 11,200 votes cast, the winner was Alabama vs. Oregon. That was certainly the game I wanted to see last season in the BCS National Championship Game. I think it's the game most college football fans wanted to see -- the classic high-octane, speed-of-light offense versus a suffocating defense that's been in the top 5 nationally in most major statistical categories for five years running.

The Alabama-Oregon matchup received 31 percent of the vote. A close second was Texas vs. Texas A&M, which received 28 percent of the vote. Surely, the Longhorns and Aggies will play again at some point. I guess we'll have to wait until Texas athletic director DeLoss Dodds decides the time is right since Texas "gets to decide" when the two old rivals will meet again.

The way Kevin Sumlin has it going in College Station, Dodds might want to wait a long while.

Coming in third place in our poll was Florida vs. Ohio State, which got 18 percent of the vote. We could dub it the Urban Meyer Bowl.

Fourth place in the voting was South Carolina vs. USC (15 percent), while fifth place was LSU vs. Notre Dame (8 percent).

What are some other dream nonconference matchups?

A few that come to mind: Alabama vs. USC, South Carolina vs. Oklahoma (Steve Spurrier vs. Bob Stoops), Georgia vs. Florida State, LSU vs. Michigan, Texas A&M vs. Oregon, Tennessee vs. Virginia Tech, Florida vs. Texas and Arkansas vs. Wisconsin (the Bret Bielema Bowl).

Greg Ostendorf talks about where recent Florida decommit Christian Miller stands with the Crimson Tide, what top pocket passer David Cornwell’s timeframe means for Alabama and how Missouri is using the SEC name to its benefit.

ESPN draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. is rolling out his early top five rankings at each position this week.

Here are the positions he's looked at so far:

• Wide receivers and defensive ends
• Running backs and safeties
• Quarterbacks
• Cornerbacks
• Tight ends

Now, we're checking out the top linebacker prospects for next year's NFL draft. Kiper divided things up to look at outside linebackers and inside linebackers . I'm just combing the two to make things easier for everyone.

When it comes to outside linebackers, Alabama's Adrian Hubbard comes in at No. 2 on Kiper's list. Hubbard led Alabama with seven sacks and 11 tackles for loss last season. He has what it takes to be an elite pass-rusher in the SEC, but he still has some growing to do. He has great speed, but just has to stay consistent with his speed off the edge. He's a player who Nick Saban is very excited about in 2013.

Other draft-eligible outside linebackers I'll keep an eye on this fall:

• Tahj Jones, LSU: An academic issue kept him out of all but one game last year, but Jones should start at one of the outside spots for the Tigers this fall. He's been very productive in the 28 games he's appeared in.
• Ronald Powell, Florida: He's coming off two ACL injuries and will be a hybrid defensive end as well. Powell was the top recruit a couple of years ago and had his best spring last year before his injury. He has all the skill to be a top-notch pass-rusher.
• Steven Jenkins, Texas A&M: He's versatile and experienced enough to play both outside and inside. He grabbed 79 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and two sacks last year.
• Deontae Skinner, Mississippi State: He was a little overlooked last year at his position, but Skinner is a player. He grabbed 62 tackles last year, including five for loss and forced a fumble.

As for the inside linebackers, Kiper went SEC-heavy with his top five. Alabama's C.J. Mosley comes in at No. 1 in Kiper's top five, while Trey DePriest ranks second, and Tennessee's A.J. Johnson ranks fourth.

Mosley flirted with leaving early for the NFL this year, but he will likely enhance his draft stock with one more year at Alabama. He can be an extremely aggressive player in the run, but also knows how to drop back into coverage to make plays. He's an extremely smart player and will be relied upon to be the quarterback of Bama's defense.

Joining Mosley in the middle is DePriest, who might be bigger than Mosley but is also pretty good in coverage. He's tough against the run and can get after the quarterback as well. He also puts his strength to good use on the field.

Johnson has really blossomed since arriving at Tennessee in 2011. Last year, he led the SEC with 138 tackles and continued to develop pretty much every area of his game. A lot of people think he could be a first-round draft pick next year.

Other draft-eligible inside linebackers I'll keep an eye on:

• Lamin Barrow, LSU: He's LSU's top returning tackler (104) and he'll take over as the Tigers' defensive captain. He's a very versatile player and can play both inside and outside if needed.
• Chase Garnham, Vanderbilt: He might not have received the same sort of attention as his fellow middle linebackers last year, but Garnham is a solid player. He not only registered 84 tackles last year but he led Vandy with seven sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss.
• Mike Marry, Ole Miss: He's a fierce competitor and worker for the Rebels. He's become a true leader with both his words and play, coming away with 78 tackles, including 10.5 for loss last year.
• Curt Maggit, Tennessee: He's another player who is versatile to play both inside and outside. He's coming off an ACL injury but should be ready to go this fall.
• Benardrick McKinney, Mississippi State: The redshirt sophomore was extremely busy during his first year on the field in 2012, collecting 102 tackles. He should be looked at as one of the top inside linebackers in the SEC this fall.
• Andrew Wilson, Missouri: The old man of Mizzou's linebacking corps has a ton of experience -- and tackles -- under his belt. He can make plays against the run and the pass.

GigEmNation
From Sam Khan Jr. : In this week's recruiting notebook, a quarterback narrows his list down and includes Texas A&M, plus more notes.

More from Khan : Three-star running back James White talks about why he signed with the Aggies.

DawgNation
Ask the Scouts : Craig Haubert and Tom Luginbill look at some of the evaluations for Georgia’s top targets as well as answer a few questions about the Bulldogs' class.

GatorNation
From Derek Tyson : We open the GatorNation mailbag to look at Florida’s buck DE recruiting board and where the Gators stand with some of the OL targets.

TideNation
From Alex Scarborough : Not every person on Alabama’s No. 1-ranked, 26-member 2012 recruiting class contributed last season. Those who did, like T.J. Yeldon and Deion Belue, certainly made their presence felt.

GeauxTigerNation
From Gary Laney : This week's LSU mailbag answers questions on LSU strategy when it comes to recruiting quarterbacks and wide receivers.

I'll be hanging out with Passion Pitt in Atlanta this weekend. Don't act like you're not impressed.

• Auburn legend Terry Beasley's spirits are lifted by the outpouring of support as he battles health problems in Birmingham.
• Auburn's battle at right tackle between Patrick Miller and Avery Young will heat up this fall.
• Kevin Scarbinsky of AL.com writes that while coaches are going after Nick Saban, he's going about his business.
• Rising junior wide receiver DJ Neal commits to South Carolina.
• Tennessee athletic director Dave Hart is already a big Butch Jones fan.
• Florida coaches Will Muschamp and Tim Davis stirred things up this week while on the booster club circuit.
• Can Kentucky's Air Raid 2.0 produce a one-year offensive turnaround for Cats?