The SEC's successes reach far beyond the college football landscape. Sure, the seven consecutive BCS titles -- which came to an end this year thanks to a pretty darn good Florida State team -- are well-documented, but most of the studs in this league eventually make it to the big leagues, where they continue to strut their stuff.
The NFL has always had an affinity for SEC players, and this year's Pro Bowl rosters blare that loud and clear, as 24 players from the SEC were selected for the all-star game in Hawaii. The SEC was represented by at least one player at every position except kicker and punter.
This year, the Pro Bowl changed its selection format. Former NFL greats Jerry Rice and Deion Sanders drafted from a pool of Pro Bowl players who were selected earlier in the season. Team Rice and Team Sanders went back-and-forth with their picks, and four of the first 10 players in the first Pro Bowl draft were former SEC players, including former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton (Carolina Panthers), who went No. 3 overall to Sanders.
Tennessee led the SEC with four selections. The game is Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The 24 former SEC players selected to this year's Pro Bowl:
QB
Cam Newton, Auburn (Carolina Panthers)
Peyton Manning, Tennessee (Denver Broncos)
RB
Eddie Lacy, Alabama (Green Bay Packers)
WR
A.J. Green, Georgia (Cincinnati Bengals)
Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina (Chicago Bears)
TE
Jason Witten, Tennessee (Dallas Cowboys)
OL
Jason Peters, Arkansas (Philadelphia Eagles)
Mike Pouncey, Florida (Miami Dolphins)
Ben Grubbs, Auburn (New Orleans Saints)
Evan Mathis, Alabama (Philadelphia Eagles)
DL
Greg Hardy, Ole Miss (Carolina Panthers)
Kyle Williams, LSU (Buffalo Bills)
Justin Smith, Missouri (San Francisco 49ers)
Marcell Dareus, Alabama (Buffalo Bills)
LB
Justin Houston, Georgia (Kansas City Chiefs)
John Abraham, South Carolina (Arizona Cardinals)
Patrick Willis, Ole Miss (San Francisco 49ers)
CB
Patrick Peterson, LSU (Arizona Cardinals)
Joe Haden, Florida (Cleveland Browns)
Tim Jennings, Georgia (San Francisco 49ers)
S
Eric Berry, Tennessee (Kansas City Chiefs)
Eric Reid, LSU (San Francisco 49ers)
RS
Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss (Kansas City Chiefs)
Cordarrelle Patterson, Tennessee (Minnesota Vikings)
