Another college and SEC football season has come to a close and what better way to cap it off than to start looking forward to next year?!
The offseason is the best time to be a fan after all. Everyone is 0-0 in the offseason and you get months to convince yourself that your team might actually be the one to dethrone the mighty Georgia Bulldogs.
What gives you that hope? The elite players who opposing coordinators spent all night scheming for who are coming back for unfinished business.
Everybody’s got them.
Those guys who can wreck a game in one fluid motion be it with a throw, a catch, a sack, etc. Those guys who give you the hope that next year is so going to be your year.
SEC football is the most talent rich conference in the country. While nobody puts as many prospects in the NFL as the Southeastern Conference, there’s a gold rush of players who aren’t able to get their names called by Commissioner Goodell, yet, who are coming back to wreak more havoc in the 2023-24 season.
These are the top eight SEC football players coming back for more.
Note: With the nature of the transfer portal, any one these players (as unlikely as it is) could be calling somewhere else home by the time of this publication. The goal was to include as many teams as possible and abstain from including incoming transfers.
The 8 Best Returning SEC Football Players in 2023-24
8. LB Dallas Turner – Alabama
In the past couple years, Dallas Turner has definitely played “Robin” to Will Anderson Jr.’s “Batman”. But with Anderson taking his talents to the NFL, Turner is about to pick up the baton as Alabama’s preeminent linebacker.
After a dominant freshman season that saw Turner nab 30 total tackles, 8.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss, he experienced a slight sophomore slump totaling only 4 sacks and 8 TFLs in 2022.
Although it was a relatively down year for Turner, it was still a solid year and with Anderson leaving for the draft, Turner will be ready to run the show. The junior will certainly garner more attention from opposing offenses next season, but if he gets his sack numbers back to his freshman year mark, he will become one of the most feared linebackers in the country.
7. LB Ty’Ron Hopper – Missouri
The Missouri Tigers got some good news recently as standout linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper announced his intention to return to Columbia for another season.
Hopper ranked second on the team in total tackles and TFLs with 77 and 13.5 respectively in 2022. He only garnered three sacks, though, and will surely look to get his sack numbers up in his second season with the Tigers.
Hopper will be the star of the show for the 2023 Missouri defense and will likely be on plenty of pre-season All-SEC ballots as we get closer to Media Days.
6. QB Spencer Rattler – South Carolina
South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler shocked many recently when he announced that he was coming back for one more year with the Gamecocks. No one is more elated than the Gamecock faithful and the return of Rattler will add some high expectations for a South Carolina program hoping to build off their fantastic 2022 season that included two top ten wins.
Rattler was shaky for much of the first half of the season, but turned it on late helping the Gamecocks win seven of their last nine regular season games. He passed for a ridiculous 792 yards and eight touchdowns in the Gamecocks’ massive wins over Tennessee and Clemson, respectively.
Overall, he threw for 3,026 passing yards (5th in SEC football) and 21 total touchdowns.
The one downside to Rattler’s 2022 campaign was turnover issues as he led the conference in interceptions with 12. If he can cut those in half in 2023, watch out for Rattler and the Gamecocks.
5. WR Bru McCoy – Tennessee
USC transfer Bru McCoy made waves this season in Josh Heupel’s high-powered Tennessee offense. McCoy was the Vols’ second leading receiver hauling in 52 receptions for 667 yards and 4 touchdowns.
While much of the attention fell on leading receiver Jalin Hyatt, McCoy was able to feast on inferior match ups and made a big catch practically every game. With Hyatt and Cedric Tillman heading off to the NFL, McCoy finds himself likely the No. 1 wide-out on one of the most explosive offenses in the country.
If last season’s highlights are anything to judge by, McCoy could very well find himself as the second straight Volunteer vying for the Biletnikoff Award.
4. QB KJ Jefferson- Arkansas
After the departure of Treylon Burks to the NFL following the 2021 season, many wondered if KJ Jefferson’s success as a quarterback was in large part due to the safety blanket of Burks. However, any qualms were quieted this season as Jefferson threw for more touchdowns (8) and had a higher completion percentage (68.0 percent) in his second year behind center for the Razorbacks. The only statistics that were inferior were his 2,648 yards (28 less than last year) and 5 interceptions (one more than last season).
With Arkansas having a disappointing 6-6 year, Jefferson’s season tended to fly under the radar and it didn’t help matters that he spent stretches of the second half of the season injured, causing him to sit out a couple games. Statistically speaking, Jefferson was still clearly one of the top quarterbacks in SEC football.
The knock on Jefferson, as it has been for much of his career, is accuracy in the intermediate passing game. Going into his third year as a starter, he will certainly need to make significant strides on that front. If he does and the rest of his play stays consistent if not better, there is no reason why Jefferson can’t be one of if not the best quarterback in the conference.
3. OL Layden Robinson – Texas A&M
The Texas A&M Aggies picked up some awesome news last week when star right guard Layden Robinson announced he was coming back to College Station for one more year. Robinson is known as one of the best run blocking linemen in America and could have been a potential Day 2 NFL Draft pick if he had declared.
Robinson has started the past two years for the Aggies and has played in 31 games overall during his time in Aggieland.
With Robinson’s announcement, Texas A&M is now returning all 5 of its offensive linemen who played significant snaps this past season. In new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino’s power-spread style offense, expect Robinson to lead the charge in a reignited Aggie run game.
2. WR Malik Nabers – LSU
In his sophomore campaign, LSU wide receiver Malik Nabers surprisingly led the Tigers in receiving with 1,017 yards and three touchdowns. Going into the year, much of the attention was on fellow wideout Kayshon Boutte to be the clear WR1 but Nabers quickly established himself as Jayden Daniels’ favorite target. Nabers constantly showed up whenever the Tigers needed a play and expect him to do more of the same next season.
He’s already got some momentum as evidenced by his Citrus Bowl MVP honors where he hauled in nine catches for 163 yards and a touchdown. He even threw one for good measure. Nabers will undoubtedly be one of the most exciting players in SEC football in 2023.
1. TE Brock Bowers – Georgia
It’s absurd that Brock Bowers is coming back for another year of college football. Bowers was NFL ready even after his freshman year, but now? He’s truly going to be a man amongst boys.
Bowers was the leading receiver for the national champion Bulldogs with 942 yards and 7 touchdowns on 63 receptions. He averaged 15 yards per catch and has been arguably the most dangerous red zone target in all of college football as evidenced by his 8 red zone touchdowns during his freshman year.
The only thing left to accomplish for Bowers is a 1,000 yard receiving season. He’s gotten quite close each of his first two years of college and rest assured he will do everything he can to become Georgia’s first 1,000 yard receiver since 2002 in the Dawgs’ quest for a three-peat.