We conclude our series previewing breakout players for the 2026 SEC season with a best of the rest list. The league is more loaded with elite recruits and transfer portal talent than ever before. Here are five guys set to make their mark this season.
Here’s a look at everyone featured in the series so far:
- LSU S Ty Benefield
- South Carolina LB Fred JayR Johnson
- Alabama DB Dijon Lee
- Tennessee RB DeSean Bishop
- Georgia WR Talyn Taylor
LSU RB Dilin Jones
I love Harlem Berry and we all know what Caleb Durham is capable of doing as a running back at LSU. But, anyone that watched spring practice noticed that No. 13 was different from everyone else in that backfield.
Dilin Jones doesn’t have gaudy numbers or a recruiting resume loaded with stars and accolades. He does run harder than anyone else in purple and gold, though. Jones will almost certainly split time with Berry and Durham. But in an offense built around the run and getting the ball into the hands of its playmakers, don’t be surprised if he’s the first back on the field Sept. 5.
Ole Miss TE/WR Caleb Odom
To put it simply, Odom is a freak. He’s 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds, he can play tight end or wide receiver, and regardless of where he lines up, he’s a matchup nightmare for defenses.
Ole Miss has to replace Charlie Weis Jr. and Lane Kiffin, who repeatedly used the tight end better than most teams in the country. New offensive coordinator John David Baker will almost certainly try to replicate that this season, as well.
Odom will be a big part in replacing the production lost from last season’s team that went to the CFP Semifinals.
Georgia DL Elijah Griffin
Elijah Griffin plays for a team that is loaded to the gills with roster talent. On a team full of that, he may be the most talented of all of them.
The 6-foot-4, 310 pound sophomore is the next in a long line of elite defensive lineman that Georgia has produced. He’s the former No. 3 ranked player in the country from the 2025 recruiting cycle and was a freshman All-American last season. He should make a huge jump this season and has drawn comparisons to former first round draft picks Javon Kinlaw (South Carolina) and Jalen Carter (UGA).
Alabama LB Caleb Woodson
The story for Alabama this offseason has centered around the quarterback position. The battle between Austin Mack and Keelon Russell will continue to garner a majority of the headlines as the season begins, but the player who’s drawn the most rave reviews this offseason is LB Caleb Woodson.
Woodson was a transfer from Virginia Tech and has been one of the best playmakers on Alabama’s defense all spring. At 6-foot-3, 240 lbs he passes the eyeball test, but more importantly he steps into a position looking to fill a big void.
Alabama lost all of its starting linebackers from last season and is in desperate need of a playmaker at the position and leader in the front seven as well. Woodson fits both of those needs.
Kentucky QB Kenny Minchey
Physically he has all the tools, and he carries himself with a confidence that you want in, not just your signal caller, but your team leader. People forget that Minchey was a four-star recruit and barely lost the starting job to CJ Carr last year at Notre Dame.
He will be playing for one of the best offensive minds in college football over the last several years in Will Stein and has a lot more talent around him than people realize thanks to the transfer portal.
