Hutch's Ballot for Preseason All-SEC, Predicted Order of Finish
Much like the coaches’ selections, Arkansas had just one player chosen on the three preseason All-SEC teams voted on by the media, the conference announced Wednesday.
Running back Rakeem Boyd landed on the second team, behind first-teamers Kylin Hill from Mississippi State and Najee Harris from Alabama.
The media also submitted their picks for the predicted order of finish in each division and unsurprisingly, the Razorbacks were picked to finish last in the SEC West.
Alabama is the overwhelming favorite to capture the SEC title this season, receiving 77 votes. Georgia and LSU tied for second with seven votes, while Florida also got five votes.
Click here for the complete preseason All-SEC teams. Here is how the voting went for each division…
Eastern Division
1. Florida (53) - 624
2. Georgia (43) - 613
3. Tennessee - 434
4. Kentucky - 405
5. South Carolina - 287
6. Missouri - 224
7. Vanderbilt - 101
Western Division
1. Alabama (86) - 660
2. LSU (8) - 489
3. Auburn - 488
4. Texas A&M (2) - 454
t-5. Ole Miss - 238
t-5. Mississippi State - 238
7. Arkansas - 121
Here is the ballot from HawgBeat’s own Andrew Hutchinson…
Hutch's Ballot
Quarterback
1. Kellen Mond - Texas A&M
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2. Kyle Trask - Florida
It was pretty easy to single these two guys out for my ballot, but determining their order was a little more difficult. Ultimately, I went with Mond because he’s entering his fourth year as a starter and his numbers have improved each year, plus he is dangerous with his legs. Trask will undoubtedly have a good year with a full offseason as the unquestioned starter under Dan Mullen, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him end up as the first-team pick after the season.
Running Back
1. Kylin Hill - Mississippi State
2. Rakeem Boyd - Arkansas
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3. Najee Harris - Alabama
4. Isaiah Spiller - Texas A&M
The SEC’s leading returning rusher, I’m not sure Hill will duplicate his 1,350-yard performance in Mike Leach’s air raid offense, but I full anticipate him catching a lot of passes. He had just 18 receptions for 180 yards last season, so I bet that would increase enough to offset any yardage he loses on the ground.
Most places give Harris the other first-team nod, but I went with Boyd. If you actually look at the numbers, there’s a legitimate case to make for that. The yardage difference (1,224 for Harris vs. 1,133 for Boyd) can be attributed to the fact that Alabama had a bowl game. In yards per game, Boyd actually had a slight advantage (94.4 vs. 94.2), and that was while playing in an incompetent offense with zero passing threat. He was also more of a home run threat, averaging 6.16 yards per carry compared to Harris’ 5.86.
The Crimson Tide might rely more on the run game this year with Tua Tagovailoa gone, but I still think Boyd will be the better running back, especially if teams have to actually defend the pass this year.
My fourth spot came down to Spiller or Missouri’s Larry Rountree III and I went with Spiller because he put up 946 yards and 10 touchdowns as a true freshman.
Wide Receiver
1. DeVonta Smith - Alabama
2. Terrace Marshall - LSU
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3. Jaylen Waddle - Alabama
4. Seth Williams - Auburn
It’s unfortunate we won’t get to see another year of Ja’Marr Chase, but there’s no shortage of star power at wide receiver in the SEC. Smith actually put up better numbers than Alabama’s top-15 NFL Draft picks last year, so he’s an obvious choice for the top spot.
The coaches’ preseason All-SEC team had his teammate, Waddle, as the other first-teamer, but I went with Marshall instead. Although he didn’t receive as much attention as Chase or Justin Jefferson, he was still a highly productive receiver and will probably be even more so without those guys competing for catches this year. (Think Cobi Hamilton in 2012.)
Waddle should also see his numbers increase without Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, so he’s still worthy of second-team consideration, while Williams will once again be a key target for Bo Nix at Auburn.
Tight End
1. Kyle Pitts - Florida
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2. Jalen Wydermyer - Texas A&M
This was another relatively easy position to pick. Pitts was a consensus first-team All-SEC selection last season, when he led all SEC tight ends in receptions (54) and yards (649). Another year in the Mullen offense couldn’t hurt.
As a freshman, Wydermyer caught 32 passes for 447 yards and his six touchdowns were tied for the most among SEC tight ends. That made him my second-team pick.
Offensive Line
1. Darian Kinnard - Kentucky
2. Trey Smith - Tennessee
3. Landon Young - Kentucky
4. Carson Green - Texas A&M
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5. Deonte Brown - Alabama
6. Alex Leatherwood - Alabama
7. Evan Neal - Alabama
8. Sadarius Hutcherson - South Carolina
I am far from an expert when it comes to offensive line play, so I relied heavily on Pro Football Focus to make these picks. What became evident is that Kentucky might have the best offensive line in the SEC. Kinnard posted an incredible 92.7 grade last season and Young gives the Wildcats two really good tackles, as he posted a 78.3 grade. I honestly would have put guard Luke Fortner on the first team, too, but he wasn’t one of the listed options.
Another shoe-in for the first team was Smith, as he likely would have been a first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft had he decided to skip his senior season. Alabama always has a talented offensive line and I’m sure it will end up with a player or two on the first team by the season’s end.
Center
1. Drake Jackson - Kentucky
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2. Landon Dickerson - Alabama
Jackson is a stud at Kentucky, further solidifying the Wildcats’ offensive line as one of the best in the conference - and therefore one of the best in the country. Dickerson was a first-team offensive line selection by the coaches and media, as there’s a chance he could play center and guard, but I viewed him as a center because that’s where he played last year.
Georgia’s Trey Hill is deserving of a mention here and could easily earn one of the top two spots after the season.
Defensive Line
1. Kobie Whiteside - Missouri
2. Big Kat Bryant - Auburn
3. Dayo Odeyingbo - Vanderbilt
4. Malik Herring - Georgia
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5. Aaron Sterling - South Carolina
6. Bobby Brown - Texas A&M
7. Kobe Jones - Mississippi State
8. Zachary Carter - Florida
These are the statistics - traditional and via Pro Football Focus - that jumped out at me when determining my first-team defensive line selections: Whiteside’s 6.5 sacks, Bryant’s 31 total pressures, Odeyingbo’s 12 tackles for loss and Herring’s 90.5 PFF grade. The second-team guys had good numbers, as well, but not quite as good as my first four.
Linebacker
1. Nick Bolton - Missouri
2. Dylan Moses - Alabama
3. Boogie Watson - Kentucky
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4. K.J. Britt - Auburn
5. Monty Rice - Georgia
6. Ventrell Miller - Florida
A lot of the attention has been on Moses, as he’s returning from a season-ending injury suffered in fall camp last year, but Bolton is by far the most impressive returning linebacker in the SEC. His 8.9 tackles/game led the conference last year, plus he had 7.5 tackles for loss, 8 pass breakups, 2 interceptions and earned an incredible 91.1 grade from Pro Football Focus.
When healthy, Moses is certainly among the best linebackers in the SEC and deserving of a first-team spot. Watson might not be as well known at Kentucky, but he had 11.5 tackles for loss - including 6.5 sacks - and an 81.6 PFF grade last season.
Defensive Back
1. Derek Stingley - LSU
2. Richard LeCounte - Georgia
3. Kaiir Elam - Florida
4. Patrick Surtain II - Alabama
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5. Israel Mukuamu - South Carolina
6. Eric Stokes - Georgia
7. Tyree Gillespie - Missouri
8. Jacoby Stevens - LSU
Any ballot that doesn’t include Stingley as the top defensive back should immediately be thrown out. As a true freshman, he more than lived up to his No. 1 ranking as a recruit by playing at an All-American level. Stingley led the SEC with six interceptions and 15 pass breakups, plus earned a 91.7 grade from Pro Football Focus. He is considered a “generational talent.”
Each of my other first- and second-team selections had PFF grades of at least 80, with two exceptions. Mukuamu at South Carolina graded out at 73.1, but was worth including because he had four interceptions and nine pass breakups last season. Stevens at LSU earned a mediocre 62.9 grade, but had three interceptions and is generally considered a first-team caliber player.
Placekicker
1. Brent Cimaglia - Tennessee
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2. Evan McPherson - Florida
Cimaglia made 23 of 27 field goals and was perfect on 35 extra points last season. That includes a 53-yarder. McPherson had a slightly better percentage on field goals, but did so on fewer attempts, making 17 of 19 with a long of 50. He also missed one of his 48 extra point attempts.
Punter
1. Max Duffy - Kentucky
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2. Jake Camarda - Georgia
Probably the easiest vote on the entire ballot was taking Duffy as the first-team punter. He won the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter last season, after all. He led the country with a 48.1-yard average and was sensational against Arkansas. Camarda is a solid second-team pick, averaging 46.8 yards per punt as a sophomore.
Return Specialist
1. Jaylen Waddle - Alabama
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2. Treylon Burks - Arkansas
All-Purpose
1. Derek Stingley - LSU
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2. Jerrion Ealy - Ole MIss
These two spots were tricky and I didn’t really like how our options were limited. Had I been able to do what I wanted, I would have made Burks my first-team all-purpose selection because I think he’s going to be used a variety of ways on offense in addition to being a dangerous returner. He was not an option there, though, so I made him a return specialist. I just couldn’t put him ahead of Waddle, who averaged an incredible 24.4 yards on 20 punt returns and 35.0 yards on five kickoff returns - returning one of each kick for a touchdown.
I also would have liked to make Kylin Hill from Mississippi State my second-team all-purpose guy because, as I mentioned earlier, I think he’ll be catching a lot of passes in addition to running for a lot of yards in Leach’s offense. So I had to adjust and ultimately just wanted to give Stingley another nod because he’s so talented, plus there’s been some talk of him possibly getting some play on offense.
Western Division
1. Alabama - An 11-2 season is a down year in Tuscaloosa, so I fully expect Nick Saban to come back with a vengeance. Plus, the Crimson Tide ranked 13th and 21st nationally in scoring and total defense, respectively, last season. That is bad by Saban standards, so it could be tough on opposing offense this year.
2. Texas A&M - Do I feel good about predicting the Aggies to actually live up to their preseason hype? Absolutely not, especially with them having several opt outs. But I like Mond and what Texas A&M has better than the next couple of teams.
3. Auburn - I went back and forth between the two Tigers of the West for the third spot, but ultimately settled on Auburn. It has some concerns on the offensive line and I’m not convinced Chad Morris will be the savior some fans on the Plains are predicting, but…
4. LSU - The other Tigers lost Joe Burrow…and Joe Brady…and Dave Aranda…and Ja’Marr Chase…and Justin Jefferson…and Grant Delpit…and several others. That is a LOT to replace, even for a place that recruits as well as LSU.
5. Mississippi State
6. Arkansas
7. Ole Miss
I could legitimately see a three-way tie between Arkansas and the two Mississippi schools at the bottom of the standings this year. I’ve already predicted the Razorbacks will lose to the Bulldogs and beat the Rebels. I wouldn’t be shocked if Ole Miss wins the Egg Bowl, and then each team win one crossover game: Missouri for Arkansas, Vanderbilt or South Carolina for Ole Miss and Vanderbilt or Missouri for Mississippi State.
Eastern Division
1. Florida
2. Georgia
The Nov. 7 matchup between Georgia and Florida should be a great game. I was originally leaning toward the Bulldogs, but Jamie Newman’s decision to opt out pushed me back toward the Gators. I think they get it done in Mullen’s third season. Plus, Florida has an easier slate from the West (Ole Miss, Texas A&M, LSU, Arkansas) than Georgia (Arkansas, Auburn, Alabama, Mississippi State).
3. Kentucky
4. Tennessee
After putting together my All-SEC ballot, I realized Kentucky has several pieces - a great offensive line and a very good pass-rusher in Boogie Watson. I’m not sold on the hype for Tennessee, either, so I gave the edge to the Wildcats.
5. South Carolina
6. Missouri
The difference with these two schools is that South Carolina has a more veteran coach. Will Muschamp is not great by any means, but I think Eliah Drinkwitz could have a tough time in his first season in the SEC.
7. Vanderbilt - Poor Vandy.
SEC Championship: Alabama over Florida
As I said earlier, Alabama is going to be on a mission this season. It will get a challenge from Florida, but not only do I believe the Crimson Tide win the SEC title, but I think they win it all with another showdown with Clemson.