Surely, this is the year for Derrick Thomas.
The former Alabama great is back on the College Football Hall of Fame ballot for a fourth consecutive year after inexplicably not being voted into the Hall each of the last three years. Thomas, who died in 2000 following a car accident, ended his college career with an NCAA-record 52 sacks. He was a unanimous All-American in 1988 and won the Butkus Award that season as college football's best linebacker.
Thomas, who had 27 sacks during his final season at Alabama, is easily the SEC's greatest player (who's eligible) who hasn't been inducted to the College Football Hall of Fame. One of the game's most feared pass rushers, Thomas was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Here's a list of other players and coaches with SEC ties on this year's ballot:
PLAYERS
Wes Chandler, WR, Florida
Tim Couch, QB, Kentucky
Paul Crane, C/LB, Alabama
Willie Gault, WR, Tennessee
Bobby Humphrey, RB, Alabama
Larry Seivers, WR, Tennessee
Sterling Sharpe, WR, South Carolina
Art Still, DE, Kentucky
Jackie Walker, LB, Tennessee
Wesley Walls, TE, Ole Miss
COACHES
Jim Carlen, South Carolina
Danny Ford, Arkansas
