As April's National Football League draft played out, the least surprised spectator was Gil Brandt.

Brandt, now a draft consultant for the NFL and former player personnel director for the Dallas Cowboys in 1970s and '80s, didn't raise an eyebrow when the SEC dominated the selections.

The SEC led the all conferences with the most first-round draft selections (10), most first-day selections (20) and most overall draft selections (37). Every SEC team had at least one player selected, all by the end of the sixth round of the seven-round draft.

On the NFL's opening weekend, the SEC led all conferences with 261 players on rosters. Florida and Tennessee each had 37 players, which tied for second in the nation, behind Florida State's 42. Georgia tied with Ohio State for fourth with 35 players while Auburn was eighth with 31 and LSU tied Notre Dame for ninth with 30 players.

"SEC players have a true love of the game," Brandt said. "It goes beyond football ability. I think it's important that you play the game because you love the game and not because of the money.

"Also, the conference has been ahead of its time with strength and conditioning programs. And the SEC also has great coaches and staffs who do tremendous jobs. Schools are willing to pay top dollar for coordinators and assistants. Getting coaches in the SEC is like recruiting players - they don't hire coaches, they select them."

Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville, who had four players drafted in this year's first round, including three in the top 10, feels that location and tradition has everything to do with the SEC's pipeline to the NFL.

"For guys in the South, there's a natural love of the game," Tuberville said. "They enjoy playing it and enjoy working at it, and we're lucky that we're in weather that allows us to work 365 days a year.

"I've had many NFL scouts tell me they like the way this guy or that guy works. Guys down here work hard. You see guys in other conferences work out seven or eight months a year. Guys in the SEC do it 12 months a year. It's a way of life."

Former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning said his time spent in the SEC prepared him for the NFL. But even more so, he feels the same about sons Peyton and Eli having played at Tennessee and Ole Miss respectively before moving on to the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and New York Giants respectively.

"When you think about the SEC, you think about speed," Archie said. "If you're a quarterback and you get to pro ball, you see some serious speed. You play against pretty good speed in the SEC. There are some cornerbacks that flat run, there are some linebackers that can run."

Manning also noted that the complex defenses his sons faced in the SEC schooled them well for the NFL.

"An SEC defensive coordinator doesn't bat an eye in getting complex with his defense," Manning said. "Two years ago, some of the coverages Eli saw from (former LSU coach) Nick Saban were exactly what he saw last year with the Giants. Almost every defensive coordinator in the SEC could coach in the NFL."