SEC Media Days: All-SEC teams announced

SEC Media Days have officially wrapped up in Hoover, Ala. and its’ conclusion marks the annual release of the conference’s preseason All-SEC team predictions.

The number 10 has been a significant number for Alabama lately. Back in April, the Tide set a record when Nick Saban saw 10 of his former players get selected at the 2017 NFL Draft. Well, Alabama set yet another record when 10 of it’s current players were granted first-team All-SEC honors. To put that into perspective, Alabama players made up 10 of the possible 26 spots on the first-team All-SEC list.

Georgia was second with four first-teamers, while LSU, Florida, and Texas A&M each got two players on first-team All-SEC. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Calvin Ridley, and Derrius Guice were the top vote-getters in the SEC. Let’s take a look at the pre-season first team All-SEC selections.

(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)s /

OFFENSE

QB Jalen Hurts, Alabama (196)
RB Derrius Guice, LSU (223)
RB Nick Chubb, Georgia (211)
WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama (232)
WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (197)
TE Isaac Nauta, Georgia (134)
OL Braden Smith, Auburn (201)
OL Martez Ivey, Florida (198)
OL Jonah Williams, Alabama (187)
OL Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama (174)
C Frank Ragnow, Arkansas (174)

Leading the way for the first team offense is the SEC’s reigning player of the year — Jalen Hurts. In 2016, Hurts introduced himself to the college football world by racking up 2,780 passing yards, 954 rushing yards, and accounting for 36 touchdowns en route to a national championship appearance.

The first-team running back duo is headlined by the SEC’s leading returning rusher in Guice and the SEC’s active career rushing leader in Nick Chubb. Guice bursted onto the scene as a sophomore in 2016 with 1,387 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, including a 285 yard performance against Arkansas that set an LSU single game rushing record.

Chubb is currently 17th in SEC history with 3,424 career rushing yards, and as we talked about in our Southbound and Down College Football Countdown, he needs to average 97.25 yards per game to pass Darren McFadden for second in SEC history.

Christian Kirk was named to first-team All-SEC as a wide receiver and a return specialist, proving that he’s the SEC’s most dynamic playmaker. Ridley surpassed 1,000 receiving yards as a true freshman in 2015, but his production took a slight decline last season.

(Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

The first team All-SEC offensive linemen is headlined by Auburn’s Braden Smith, who earned first-team All-SEC honors last year. The rising senior has made 27 consecutive starts at right guard for the Tigers, however, he could be moving to right tackle this fall. Arkansas’s Frank Ragnow is the first-team All-SEC center. Last season, Pro Football Focus graded Ragnow as the best offensive lineman and best run blocker in the country.

DEFENSE

DL Da’Ron Payne, Alabama (196)

DL Da’Shawn Hand, Alabama (180)
DL Trenton Thompson, Georgia (172)
DL Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss (159)
LB Arden Key, LSU (191)
LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama (180)
LB Roquan Smith, Georgia (157)
DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama (232)
DB Ronnie Harrison, Alabama (156)
DB Armani Watts, Texas A&M (137)
DB Duke Dawson, Florida (137)

SPECIALISTS

More from Southbound and Down

P JK Scott, Alabama (222)
PK Daniel Carlson, Auburn (218)
RS Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (176)
AP Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (161)

Alabama led the way with five players on All-SEC first team defense. Fitzpatrick is the big name in the secondary. He led the Crimson Tide with six interceptions last season, while Ronnie Harrison got the second-most votes among secondary players. Da’Ron Payne, Da’Shawn Hand, and Rashaan Evans also made first-team.

LSU’s Arden Key leads the way for the linebackers who made the list. Last season, Key set an LSU single season sack record with 12.5, and helped established himself as one of college football’s premier pass rushers. Key mysteriously took a leave of absence from the football program during the offseason but all signs indicate that the elite defender should be ready for the start of the season.

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