SEC All-Decade Team 2001-2009: Defense

It's been a memorable decade of football in the Southeastern Conference, and as it comes to a close let's look back and remember the players who made the nation stand up and take notice.

Coming up with a list of the Southeastern Conference’s best defensive players of the last 10 years is the Bataan Death March of all-star team selections. When you look at the 11 chosen and the honorable mentions, its almost a pick’em of the final 11, aside from a handful of gimmes like Glenn Dorsey, David Pollack and Patrick Willis. The honorable mention list alone is stocked with All-Americans and others who would be on any school’s all-time list. Ultimately that’s a testament to what makes the SEC America’s best college football conference. Defensive talent, especially in the defensive line and front seven.

2001-2009 SEC All-Decade Team

DEFENSE

Defensive Line

DE – David Pollack, Georgia
We all got sick about hearing about his unceasing motor, or his special relationship (insert joke) with David Greene, but there’s no denying that Pollack was an outstanding player. A defensive end that was both an elite pass-rusher and a sideline-to-sideline run defender.

DE – Marcus Spears, LSU
The ultimate run-stuffing, strong-side defensive end, who also plagued quarterbacks in coverage with four career interceptions and two touchdowns.

DT – Glenn Dorsey, LSU
Dominated interior line play and won every award a defensive tackle could possibly win. He drew constant double-teams and dirty blocks and was still the only defensive lineman I’ve ever seen tackle a running back by throwing one of his blockers into him.

DT – John Henderson, Tennessee
When you played Henderson’s Volunteer squad, it was a given that you wouldn’t be running between the tackles. At 6-6 and 320 pounds, he goes down as one of the most imposing linemen this conference has ever known.

Linebackers

LB – Patrick Willis, Ole Miss
Essentially a one-man defense at Ole Miss. Teams would make every effort keep ball-carriers away from him but he always seemed to find his way around the tackle.

LB – Rolando McClain, Alabama
From the second he stepped on the field, McClain spurred Alabama’s defensive resurgence in the latter half of this decade. He did every job asked of him, while making sure his teammates did theirs as well.

LB – Eric Norwood, South Carolina
He’s not the name that’s always first out of experts’ mouths, but Norwood just completed one of the best careers any SEC linebacker has ever had, with 29 career sacks and more than 50 tackles for loss. Those numbers would make you a legend in Baton Rouge, Gainesville or Tuscaloosa.

Defensive Backfield

CB – Corey Webster, LSU
In 2003 Webster played the cornerback position about as well as anybody could possibly play it. A physical ball-hawk who would batter opposing receivers into submission at the line of scrimmage, and still holds the SEC’s career record for passes broken up, Webster bedeviled some of the best passing attacks in the nation that season, including Heisman-Trophy-winner Jason White and future No. 1 pick Eli Manning.

CB – Joe Haden, Florida
As complete a cornerback as you could ask for. He could cover, tackle, blitz and generally do whatever was asked of him by the Gators.

S – Eric Berry, Tennessee
It only took him two years to break the conference’s record for touchdown returns on interceptions. He as simply a pure playmaker, whether he was filling a gap to drill a running back or playing center-field on an errant pass.

S – Rashad Johnson, Alabama
The quintessential quarterback of the secondary, Johnson could read a route or a quarterback’s eyes as well as anybody.

Honorable Mention: Demeco Ryans and Simeon Castille, Alabama; Dontarious Thomas, Karlos Dansby, Carlos Rogers, Junior Rosegreen, Antonio Coleman, Sen’Derrick Marks and Quentin Groves, Auburn; Jamal Anderson, Sam Olajabutu, Chris Houston and Ken Hamlin, Arkansas; Odell Thurman, Rennie Curran, Thomas Davis, Sean Jones and Geno Atkins, Georgia; Alex Brown, Jarvis Moss, Brandon Spikes, Brandon Siler, Channing Crowder, Keiwan Ratliff and Reggie Nelson, Florida; LaRon Landry, Craig Steltz, Bradie James, Chevis Jackson, Kyle Williams, Chad Lavalais, Tyson Jackson and Ali Highsmith, LSU; Greg Hardy and Peria Jerry, Ole Miss; Derek Pegues, Mississippi State; Jasper Brinkley, Captain Munnerlyn and Ko Simpson, South Carolina; Albert Haynesworth, Jerod Mayo and Kevin Burnett, Tennessee.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K – Billy Bennett, Georgia
Rarely misfired in a long career between the hedges.

P – Dustin Colquitt, Tennessee
When the Tennessee offense broke down, Colquitt would routinely help make sure that the defense had plenty of room to operate.

KR – Felix Jones, Arkansas
Jones was easily one of the 10 best running backs in the league this decade despite never being a starter. And his abilities as a kick-returner still stand on their own.

Honorable Mention: Javier Arenas and Leigh Tiffen, Alabama; Gordon Ely-Kelso, Georgia; Derek Abney Kentucky; Donnie Jones, Colt David and Skyler Green, LSU; Joshua Shene and Jonathan Nichols, Ole Miss.

Coach – Nick Saban, Alabama (and LSU)
Two teams, three SEC titles and 1 national title (so far), as well as back-to-back undefeated regular seasons. The numbers speak for themselves.