University of Florida head football coach Jim McElwain leads his football team into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium before the Orange and Blue Debut- Florida Gators football- 1280x854
University of Florida head football coach Jim McElwain leads his football team into Ben Hill Griffin Stadium before the Orange and Blue Debut / Gator Country photo by David Bowie

The annual SEC preseason picks and awards were announced on Friday after the media voted during SEC Media Days this past week.

The Florida Gators were picked to finish second to Georgia in the SEC but it was a close race. The Gators received 1,526 votes to the Bulldogs 1,572 votes. Florida however only received three votes to win the SEC championship, while Alabama was picked to win the championship with 217 votes.

Despite not picked to win the conference; Florida totaled 10 players on the preseason All-SEC team that was also announced on Friday.

Florida had two members make the first team as left tackle Martez Ivey and cornerback Duke Dawson were selected.

Four players were selected to the second team All-SEC team with two of those guys being special team players. Senior punter Johnny Townsend and kicker Eddy Pineiro made the team and are two of the best in the country and their respective positions.

Joining Townsend and Pineiro on the second team were receiver Antonio Callaway and defensive lineman CeCe Jefferson.

Callaway was also named to third team as a return specialist for his work as a punt returner/kick returner.

Joining Callaway on the second team was tight end DeAndre Goolsby , defensive end Jabari Zuniga and safety Marcell Harris.

Here’s how the media voted for the All-SEC teams

First-Team

*         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)

Second-Team

*         QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State (121)

*         RB Bo Scarbrough, Alabama (151)

*         RB Kamryn Pettway, Auburn (141)

*         WR Antonio Callaway, Florida (152)

*         WR J’Mon Moore, Missouri (91)

*         TE Hayden Hurst, South Carolina (115)

*         OL Isaiah Wynn, Georgia (116)

*         OL Jashon Robertson, Tennessee (108)

*         OL K.J. Malone, LSU (101)

*         OL Martinas Rankin, Mississippi State (101)

*         C Bradley Bozeman, Alabama (155)

Third-Team

*         QB Austin Allen, Arkansas (102)

*         RB Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt (105)

*         RB Sony Michel, Georgia (30)

*         WR Deebo Samuel, South Carolina (64)

*         WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee (42)

*         TE DeAndre Goolsby, Florida (76)

*         OL Lester Cotton, Alabama (96)

*         OL Greg Little, Ole Miss (94)

*         OL Javon Patterson, Ole Miss (87)

*         OL Koda Martin, Texas A&M (69)

*         C Will Clapp, LSU (66)

DEFENSE (1st Place votes in parenthesis)

First-Team

*         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)

Second-Team

*         DL Cece Jefferson, Florida (151)

*         DL Marlon Davidson, Auburn (120)

*         DL Christian LaCouture, LSU (107)

*         DL Denzil Ware, Kentucky (78)

*         LB Shaun Dion Hamilton, Alabama (156)

*         LB Skai Moore, South Carolina (128)

*         LB Tre’ Williams, Auburn (103)

*         DB Tray Matthews, Auburn (126)

*         DB Donte Jackson, LSU (123)

*         DB Carlton Davis, Auburn (109)

*         DB Dominick Sanders, Georgia (109)

Third-Team

*         DL Marcell Frazier, Missouri (77)

*         DL Jabari Zuniga, Florida (76)

*         DL Dontavius Russell, Auburn (70)

*         DL Rashard Lawrence, LSU (54)

*         LB Jordan Jones, Kentucky (91)

*         LB Lorenzo Carter, Georgia (82)

*         LB Oren Burks, Vanderbilt (58)

*         DB Anthony Averett, Alabama (104)

*         DB Marcell Harris, Florida (83)

*         DB Mike Edwards, Kentucky (71)

*         DB Tony Brown, Alabama (62)

SPECIALISTS (1st Place votes in parenthesis)

First-Team

*         P JK Scott, Alabama (222)

*         PK Daniel Carlson, Auburn (218)

*         RS Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (176)

*         AP Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (161)

Second-Team

*         P Johnny Townsend, Florida (99)

*         PK Eddy Piniero, Florida (106)

*         RS Evan Berry, Tennssee (117)

*         AP Derrius Guice, LSU (133)

Third-Team

*         P Trevor Daniel, Tennessee (58)

*         PK Gary Wunderlich, Ole Miss (94)

*         RS Antonio Callaway, Florida (84)

*         AP Kerryon Johnson, Auburn (66)

 

Here are the final tallies for how the media sees the conference standings shaken out
School                                   Points

Georgia (138)                       1572

Florida (96)                          1526

Tennessee (3)                      998

South Carolina (5)               897

Kentucky                               869

Vanderbilt                             554

Missouri                                 388

WESTERN DIVISION (1st Place votes in parenthesis)

School                                   Points

Alabama (225)                     1683

Auburn (13)                           1329

LSU (4)                                  1262

Arkansas (1)                         796

Texas A&M                           722

Mississippi State                  633

Ole Miss                                379

SEC CHAMPION

School                                   Points

Alabama                                217

Auburn                                   11

Georgia                                 6

Florida                                   3

LSU                                        3

South Carolina                     1

Vanderbilt                             1

Arkansas                               1

 

Andrew Spivey
Andrew always knew he wanted to be involved with sports in some capacity. He began by coaching high school football for six years before deciding to pursue a career in journalism. While coaching, he was a part of two state semifinal teams in the state of Alabama. Given his past coaching experience, he figured covering recruiting would be a perfect fit. He began his career as an intern for Rivals.com, covering University of Florida football recruiting. After interning with Rivals for six months, he joined the Gator Country family as a recruiting analyst. Andrew enjoys spending his free time on the golf course and watching his beloved Atlanta Braves. Follow him on Twitter at @AndrewSpiveyGC.