After much debate, it’s been made official. This fake SEC MVP award we give out every year since we launched this brand is going to Missouri quarterback Drew Lock for an outstanding 2017 season.
When you hear ‘SEC,’ you’re likely thinking about Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, or LSU. But, scanning over their rosters, you won’t find one solitary guy that makes the whole thing tick. That’s what made it so hard to pick someone from a team higher in the standings. Was it Damien Harris or Jalen Hurts? Minkah Fitzpatrick? Jarrett Stidham or Kerryon Johnson? No one stood out compared to what Lock did this season.
It came down to the most important word in MVP: ‘valuable.’ Sure, numbers and expectations mattered. Lock’s yardage and touchdown totals were staggering. What this Tigers team did compared to what was expected of them was amazing. At one point in the season, they’d lost five games in a row and appeared to be the laughingstock of the SEC. Even in the abysmal SEC East, 1-5 seemed insurmountable. But, thanks in large part to Lock’s performance, they rattled off six straight wins. They made a bowl game (where they’ll play the Texas Longhorns), but more importantly, they ensured a winning season.
The Mizzou quarterback finished first in the SEC in passing yards (good for 11th nationally) with 3,695. His 43 passing touchdowns lead the SEC and the entire country (and are actually two more than Heisman winner Baker Mayfield). Lock’s passer rating of 169.4 is the fifth best in the entire country, but guess what – leads the SEC.
In six games this season, Lock threw for at least four touchdowns. That’s half the season! Furthermore, two of those games were five-touchdown performances. And, to top it all off, he had games with six touchdowns and seven touchdowns.
He topped 300 passing yards five times this year, including games of 448, 467, and 521 yards. The guy was flat out one of the best quarterbacks in the entire country. But, I don’t think anyone meant more to his team this season than Lock did to Missouri. That’s why he’s our SEC MVP for 2017.
Now, some will say he’s the product of the system up there in Missouri. But, I don’t buy it. Lock is a talented kid, and the system is built around his strengths. Without him, I don’t know that this Tigers overachieves the way that it did.
Past Honors
2013 – Tre Mason, Jordan Matthews
2014 – Amari Cooper
2015 – Derrick Henry
2016 – Reuben Foster
Catch y’all next season.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Alabama Crimson Tide football, the WWE, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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