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SEC Football 2023 Preseason Predictions: All-SEC teams, Conference Champion & More

By Elliot Reeder

BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 22: Harold Perkins Jr. #40 of the LSU Tigers celebrates a sack during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 22, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
BATON ROUGE, LOUISIANA - OCTOBER 22: Harold Perkins Jr. #40 of the LSU Tigers celebrates a sack during the first half against the Mississippi Rebels at Tiger Stadium on October 22, 2022 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) /
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Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry (Photo by Brandon Sumrall/Getty Images) /

First Team Defense:

  • DL Dallas Turner (Alabama) (unanimous)
  • DL Mykel Williams (Georgia) (unanimous)
  • DL Nazir Stackhouse (Georgia)
  • DL Mekhi Wingo (LSU) (Tied)
  • DL Maason Smith (LSU) (Tied)
  • LB Harold Perkins Jr. (LSU) (unanimous)
  • LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson (Georgia)
  • LB Ty’Ron Hopper (Missouri) (Tied)
  • LB Nathaniel Watson (Mississippi State) (Tied)
  • DB Kool-Aid McKinstry (Alabama) (unanimous)
  • DB Malaki Starks (Georgia) (unanimous)
  • DB Javon Bullard (Georgia)
  • DB Kamari Lassiter (Georgia) (Tied)
  • DB Dwight McGlothern (Arkansas) (Tied)

First Team Specialists:

  • K Will Reichard (Alabama)
  • P Kai Kroeger (South Carolina)
  • Returner Lideatrick “Tulu” Griffin (Mississippi State)

While it’s not quite as many as there were on the offensive side of the ball, our First Team Defense features five unanimous First Team selections. McKinstry is the lone returning First Team All-SEC player on defense from last year in the conference. Perkins, McGlothern, Stackhouse, Watson, and Wingo were all Second Team selections last year and get the bump up to preseason First Team selections in this poll. In the specialists group, Kroeger returns as last year’s first team All-SEC punter and Griffin returns as the first team returner. Reichard was the second team All-SEC kicker a year ago.

Turner is expected to step in as Alabama’s premier pass-rusher this season after Will Anderson went to the NFL. Turner had 4 sacks a year ago (8.5 in 2021), but is expected to improve on that number this year. Williams appears to be next in-line in the growing list of star Georgia defensive linemen. He had a strong freshman season a year ago in which he had 4.5 sacks.

Stackhouse and Wingo are two of our returning second team All-SEC players from a year ago. Stackhouse emerged in his first season of significant playing time as one of Georgia’s best defenders with 33 tackles and 3 TFL along the interior. Wingo was a key reason why LSU made a trip to Atlanta last season as he broke-out with 46 tackles, 6 TFL, and 3 sacks. Wingo tied with his teammate Maason Smith for a spot on our preseason First Team. Smith tore his ACL in Week 1 last year, and missed the rest of the season. He had a solid freshman season the year before that, totaling 19 tackles, 5 TFL, and 4 sacks across 7 games.

Speaking of LSU, Harold Perkins (as previously mentioned) is our pick for the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. The do-it-all defender had a stellar freshman season in which he had 72 tackles, 13 TFL, 7.5 sacks, and 1 INT. Dumas-Johnson stepped up in his first season as a starter for Georgia as he made 70 tackles, 9 TFL, and 4 sacks while patrolling the middle of the field for the national champs. Hopper made 77 tackles and 13.5 TFL a year ago, and should be a leader on a strong Mizzou defense this year. Watson tied with Hopper for the final spot on the First Team list at linebacker after a very strong statistical season a year ago at Mississippi State. He had 113 tackles, 12 TFL, 6 sacks, 1 INT, and 1 Forced Fumble in 2022.

McKinstry returns as a First Team selection from a year ago and arguably the top corner in college and SEC football. He had 35 tackles and 1 INT in 2022. Starks burst onto the scene for Georgia as a freshman a year ago and ended up being a really good starting safety for the Dawgs. Starks had 68 tackles and 2 INT’s last year. Bullard played the STAR position last year for Georgia and shined while doing it, to the tune of 46 tackles, 7 TFL’s, 3.5 sacks, and 2 INT’s. He’ll likely slide into the strong safety position this season.

Corners Dwight McGlothern and Kamari Lassiter tied for the final spot in our First Team Defensive backfield. McGlothern was a bright-spot on defense for the Razorbacks in his first season at Arkansas. On the year he had 52 tackles and 4 INT’s. Lassiter stepped into a starting role a year ago for Georgia opposite Kelee Ringo as he had 38 tackles and 5 TFL’s on the year. He’ll be Georgia’s #1 corner this season.

Reichard returns as one of top kickers in the nation coming off a 2022 season in which he went 22/26 on FG’s (including three made from 50+) and was a perfect 64/64 on PAT’s. Reichard is third in SEC history in points with 426 (just 55 away from breaking the record). Kroeger returns after a great season punting a year ago in which he averaged 46.1 yards per punt on 58 punts. Griffin rounds out the strong specialists group after a 2022 season where he averaged 32.3 yards per kickoff return (613 total KO return yards) and took one back for a TD.

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