ATHENS, Ga. – When Georgia standout A.J. Green isn’t laying out for acrobatic catches or tossing footballs to the turf following touchdowns, he’s checking out his fellow Southeastern Conference receivers.
Green said South Carolina’s Alshon Jeffery, Alabama’s Julio Jones and Arkansas’s Greg Childs have been his favorites to track this season and that he occasionally talks to Jeffery on Facebook. It was Jeffery who former Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin reportedly told that signing with the Gamecocks would result in him pumping gas for a living.
“He’s not pumping gas,” Green said, smiling. “Trust me.”
After producing only one first-round receiver (Florida’s Percy Harvin in 2009) in the past three NFL drafts, the SEC is on the verge of making amends. Green and Jones will be first-round selections in the 2011 draft should they elect to bypass their senior seasons, as will Jeffery in the 2012 draft should he play three years for the Gamecocks.
Until then, they will continue wreaking havoc against even the best SEC teams. Auburn, the lone league unbeaten this season, gave up 164 yards and two touchdowns to Green on Nov. 13 and must face Jones and Jeffery the next two weekends.