John Pennington takes a look at which current SEC schools have produced the most pro talent and compiles this chart:
SEC Rank Picks ’93-’12 Picks ’03-’12 Picks ’08-’12 Picks ’12 1st Rd Picks ’03-’12 1 Georgia 101 Georgia 56 LSU 30 Alabama 8 LSU 12 2 Tennessee 101 LSU 56 Georgia 28 Georgia 7 Alabama 11 3 Florida 98 Florida 48 Alabama 24 S. Carolina 6 Florida 9 4 Alabama 85 Alabama 45 Florida 20 LSU 5 Georgia 8 5 LSU 82 Tennessee 39 S. Carolina 18 Arkansas 4 Auburn 7 6 Texas A&M 66 Auburn 33 Arkansas 15 Texas A&M 4 Tennessee 7 7 Auburn 62 S. Carolina 31 Auburn 15 Miss. State 3 Arkansas 6 8 Arkansas 48 Arkansas 29 Missouri 13 Florida 2 Missouri 5 9 Miss. State 47 Texas A&M 25 Tennessee 13 Kentucky 2 Ole Miss 5 10 S. Carolina 46 Missouri 21 Texas A&M 13 Vanderbilt 2 S. Carolina 5 11 Ole Miss 40 Ole Miss 21 Kentucky 11 Auburn 1 Texas A&M 4 12 Kentucky 35 Miss. State 16 Ole Miss 10 Missouri 1 Miss. State 2 13 Missouri 29 Kentucky 15 Miss. State 9 Ole Miss 1 Vanderbilt 2 14 Vanderbilt 21 Vanderbilt 12 Vanderbilt 8 Tennessee 1 Kentucky 1
That is some remarkable consistency – through three head coaches – for Georgia. And some of you might try reading between the lines to see what that chart says about one Rodney Garner.
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UPDATE: It’s not just about recruiting. Check out what Mike Tomlin had to say about Jarvis Jones.
“When you look at the outside linebackers in 3-4 defenses, generally there is some projection and so forth involved in the evaluation,” said Coach Mike Tomlin. “This was an easy evaluation from that standpoint. He plays in a very similar scheme, he’s asked to do things in a manner in which he’ll be asked to do it here in Pittsburgh. Very little guesswork in that regard made it a fun evaluation and made it a comfortable evaluation. He excelled in what they asked him to do, and he’ll be asked to do similar things here.”