SEC players expected to stockpile NFL yet again

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The Southeastern Conference has dominated college football with seven consecutive national championships, and the "SEC on CBS" was the sport's highest-rated television package for a fourth straight year.

With so much success amid so much exposure, do players from the SEC have an advantage in the NFL draft?

"All those kids are getting a lot of publicity, and they're all coming out after getting tremendous acclaim and tremendous notoriety at their various SEC schools," ESPN draft analyst Mel Kiper said. "You see this year's draft board dominated at the top with Texas A&M [left tackle Luke Joeckel] and Florida [defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd], and you think about what Alabama does year after year and what LSU does year after year.

"There is really no way around it. The SEC has won all these national championships in a row for a reason. A lot of great players have been produced by those schools, but you evaluate them as individuals and you really don't worry about all that other stuff."

The SEC had 11 first-round selections in the 2007 draft, a total that could be matched or topped tonight, and provided five of the top six picks in 2011 with Auburn quarterback Cam Newton, Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, Georgia receiver A.J. Green, LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson and Alabama receiver Julio Jones.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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