Big Ten vs. SEC

I'm tired of the blanket statement that the SEC has better athletes than any other conference in college football. Did I miss the scientific study that NASA conducted where they proved this theory? I must have, because every sports analyst is throwing it around like as if its fact.

To get to the bottom of this, I've decided to conduct a little experiment of my own. We'll look at the past 5 drafts, excluding the most recent, to see which players from which conference's have had the better NFL career. If the SEC truly has better athlete's, then they should be thriving in the NFL.
Note: To make this blog as fair as possible, I'll be writing it as I look up the drafts. I have a strong feeling that my point will be made so that I don't look like an idiot.

Before we start, we'll judge this based on whether the average sports fan would know who the player is and take into account whether or not the player has lived up to the hype surrounding him. I'll note those players in italics and give the grade below.


2003 NFL Draft
Big Ten
Charles Rogers (Michigan State) - He's not even in the NFL anymore!
Jimmy Kennedy (Penn State)
Michael Haynes (Penn State)
Bryant Johnson (Penn State)
Dallas Clark (Iowa) - Stick with Manning and you'll have a nice career
Larry Johnson (Penn State) - Broke the Penn State RB curse

SEC
Dewayne Robertson (Kentucky)
Johnathan Sullivan (Georgia)
George Foster (Georgia)
Rex Grossman (Florida) - I sometimes feel bad for him

Not a strong year for either conference. Larry Johnson beats Rex Grossman based on his body of work, and Dallas Clark is the topper. I know Grossman is a Superbowl QB, but he wasn't the reason they were in it.
Big Ten 1 - SEC 0


2004 NFL Draft
Big Ten
Robert Gallery (Iowa) - Solid lineman for an abismal team
Lee Evans (Wisconsin) - Showed what he is capable of in 2006
Will Smith (THE Ohio State) - Named to Pro-Bowl in 2006
Chris Perry (Michigan) - May get show what he can do this year
Chris Gamble (THE Ohio State) - Solid career; has failed to duplicate the success he had at OSU
Michael Jenkins (THE Ohio State) - Vick didn't help him out in the stats category...yikes

SEC
Eli Manning (Ole Miss) - Just won himself a Super Bowl
Dunta Robinson (South Carolina)
Michael Clayton (LSU)
Benjamin Watson (Georgia)

Oh boy. If you're only talent is Eli Manning, you've got some problems. While the Big Ten didn't produce a ton of stars and household names, they didn't produce a single disappointment.
Big Ten 2 - SEC 0


2005 NFL Draft
Big Ten
Braylon Edwards (Michigan) - Top 5 wide receiver
Erasmus James (Wisconsin)
Luis Castillo (Northwestern)
Marlin Jackson (Michigan)

SEC
Ronnie Brown (Auburn) - Bust. Injury Prone.
Cadillac Williams (Auburn) - Bust. Injury Prone.
Troy Williamson (South Carolina)
Carlos Rogers (Auburn)
Thomas Davis (Georgia)
David Pollack (Georgia)
Marcus Spears (LSU) - 4.5 sacks for his career
Matt Jones (Arkansas) - Can a coacaine arrest ruin your NFL career?
Jason Campbell (Auburn) - Up until last year, he wasn't anything to write home about
Chris Spencer (Ole Miss)

Only one Pro-Bowler in this group. Braylon's going to win this one for the Big Ten. The only guy out of the SEC that has put together any sort of career is Jason Campbell, and he hasn't proved to be an elite player in NFL.
Big Ten 3 - SEC 0


2006 NFL Draft
Big Ten
A.J. Hawk (THE Ohio State) - Just as good in the NFL as he was in Columbus.
Donte Whitner (THE Ohio State)
Chad Greeway (Iowa)
Bobby Carpenter (THE Ohio State)
Tamba Hali (Penn State)
Laurence Maroney (Minnesota) - Ask any Patriots fan if he's a stud
Santonio Holmes (THE Ohio State) - Slowly becoming a premier wide receiver
Nick Mangold (THE Ohio State) - Will get more recognition now that he snapping the ball to a legend

SEC
Jay Cutler (Vanderbilt) - Great season last year, but he's kind of the anti-SEC quarterback
Jason Allen (Tennessee)
Johnathan Joseph (South Carolina)
Joseph Addai (LSU) - Might be my first pick in fantasy football this year

Joseph Addai is probably the most skilled player in the two groups, but the amount of talent that came out of the Big Ten will win it for them.
Big Ten 4 - SEC 0


NFL Draft 2007
Big Ten
Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) - Has become the cornerstone for the Browns OL in one season
Levi Brown (Penn State)
Ted Ginn Jr. (THE Ohio State) - His blazing speed makes him the anti-Big Ten WR
Leon Hall (Michigan)
Anthony Spencer (Purdue)
Anthony Gonzalez (THE Ohio State) - Colts were a great fit for him and he showed why

SEC
JaMarcus Russell (LSU) - Held out of training camp due to contract dispute
LaRon Landry (LSU)
Jamaal Anderson (Arkansas)
Patrick Willis (Ole Miss) - Fantastic upside. Made the pro-bowl as a rookie linebacker.
Justin Harrell (Tennessee)
Jarvis Moss (Florida)
Reggie Nelson (Florida)
Dwayne Bowe (LSU) - Solid rookie year
Robert Meachem (Tennessee)
Ben Grubbs (Auburn)
Craig Davis (LSU)

Thomas and Willis cancel each other out. Bowe and Gonzalez cancel each other out. Leaving Jamarcus Russell and Teddy Ginn who because of lack of playing time, cancel each other out. I'm going to call this one a tie. Not enough is known about the other guys, but I'm pretty sure in time, we'll see that the Big Ten players end up with the better careers. Points awarded to both sides.
Big Ten 5 - SEC 1


This blog was a lot of work. I don't even remember or care why I started writing it. I'm pretty sure it was to prove that the Big Ten was the more dominant conference, but I think we all knew that before reading this. Be sure to stay tuned for more well written coherent articles that actually have a point, written by me.