We’re down to our 10 best players from the 2010 season, and this is where it really gets difficult. The No. 10 guy on our countdown emerged from the shadows to rush for more yards than any other running back in the SEC:
No. 10: Knile Davis, RB, So., Arkansas
2010 numbers/honors: Second in the SEC in rushing, averaging 101.7 yards per game and piling up 1,322 yards for the season. Davis scored 14 touchdowns -- 13 rushing and one receiving. A first-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press and a second-team All-SEC selection by the coaches.
Preseason ranking: Not ranked in the 2010 preseason countdown.
Making the case for Davis: When the 2010 season began, Davis was simply trying to separate himself from everybody else in a crowded Arkansas running back stable. Mission accomplished and then some. The 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore ended the season as the SEC’s top rusher among running backs. Only Auburn quarterback Cam Newton rushed for more yards. Davis averaged 6.5 yards per carry, which led all running backs nationally who carried the ball at least 200 times last season. He racked up his big numbers despite carrying the ball only 20 times in the Hogs’ first four games. It wasn’t until midway through the season that he became Arkansas’ go-to running back, and when he got going, he took the Hogs’ offense to another level. Davis rushed for 833 yards against SEC teams, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He showed off the kind of speed to break long touchdown runs and yet was also able to get the tough yards. Arkansas’ offense became much more difficult to defend once the Hogs turned Davis loose, and you can’t help but wonder if Arkansas would have beaten Alabama in September had Davis been playing a more prominent role at that point in the season.
The rundown
No. 11: Georgia WR A.J. Green
No. 12: LSU DT Drake Nevis
No. 13: Auburn OT Lee Ziemba
No. 14: LSU LB Kelvin Sheppard
No. 15: South Carolina DE Devin Taylor
No. 16: Florida S Ahmad Black
No. 17: Arkansas TE D.J. Williams
No. 18: Alabama S Mark Barron
No. 19: Florida CB Janoris Jenkins
No. 20: Mississippi State LB Chris White
No. 21: LSU RB Stevan Ridley
No. 22: Mississippi State OT Derek Sherrod
No. 23: Alabama DE Marcell Dareus
No. 24: Kentucky LB Danny Trevathan
No. 25: Alabama LB Courtney Upshaw
No. 10: Knile Davis, RB, So., Arkansas
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AP Photo/Rogelio V. SolisKnile Davis, an All-SEC selection, scored 14 TDs during the 2010 season.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. SolisKnile Davis, an All-SEC selection, scored 14 TDs during the 2010 season.Preseason ranking: Not ranked in the 2010 preseason countdown.
Making the case for Davis: When the 2010 season began, Davis was simply trying to separate himself from everybody else in a crowded Arkansas running back stable. Mission accomplished and then some. The 6-foot, 220-pound sophomore ended the season as the SEC’s top rusher among running backs. Only Auburn quarterback Cam Newton rushed for more yards. Davis averaged 6.5 yards per carry, which led all running backs nationally who carried the ball at least 200 times last season. He racked up his big numbers despite carrying the ball only 20 times in the Hogs’ first four games. It wasn’t until midway through the season that he became Arkansas’ go-to running back, and when he got going, he took the Hogs’ offense to another level. Davis rushed for 833 yards against SEC teams, averaging 5.7 yards per carry. He showed off the kind of speed to break long touchdown runs and yet was also able to get the tough yards. Arkansas’ offense became much more difficult to defend once the Hogs turned Davis loose, and you can’t help but wonder if Arkansas would have beaten Alabama in September had Davis been playing a more prominent role at that point in the season.
The rundown
No. 11: Georgia WR A.J. Green
No. 12: LSU DT Drake Nevis
No. 13: Auburn OT Lee Ziemba
No. 14: LSU LB Kelvin Sheppard
No. 15: South Carolina DE Devin Taylor
No. 16: Florida S Ahmad Black
No. 17: Arkansas TE D.J. Williams
No. 18: Alabama S Mark Barron
No. 19: Florida CB Janoris Jenkins
No. 20: Mississippi State LB Chris White
No. 21: LSU RB Stevan Ridley
No. 22: Mississippi State OT Derek Sherrod
No. 23: Alabama DE Marcell Dareus
No. 24: Kentucky LB Danny Trevathan
No. 25: Alabama LB Courtney Upshaw
- ESPN.com SEC blogger
- Joined ESPN.com in 2007
- Wrote for The (Nashville) Tennessean
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Chris Low
Low joined ESPN.com in 2007 after 10 years with The (Nashville) Tennessean covering the University of Tennessee and SEC. The Rock Hill, S.C., native lives with his wife in Knoxville and has three sons.
Edward Aschoff
Aschoff joined ESPN.com in 2011 after spending four years covering the University of Florida for The Gainesville Sun. He grew up in Oxford, Miss., before attending UF, graduating with a B.S. in journalism.
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