The unofficial kickoff of the SEC football season doesn’t take place in the Swamp, between the hedges, on the checkerboard endzones in Rocky Top, or even in the house that Bear Bryant built in Tuscaloosa. The unofficial start of the SEC football season doesn’t even start on a football field at all.
It starts this week at the Hyatt Regency – the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama.
That’s right, the most powerful conference in all of college football starts their season this week in hotel ballrooms and conference rooms as the entire nation looks on. Players will look decidedly different, clad in suit and tie rather than helmet and pads and we’ll all appreciate the air conditioning.
There are over 1,200 credentialed members of the media set to be in attendance for SEC Media Days – the most ever for the event. Part of the responsibility of being credentialed for the event is filling out your SEC ballot.
The first portion of the ballot has the media members fill out their preseason All-SEC teams. While the three of us at Gatorcountry.com all filled out our own ballots to send in separately, we also came to a consensus All-SEC team based on our individual picks.
While a lot of the selections were unanimous, we each at one point had to go to bat for a player that we thought deserved to be on the team. The debate gave us – in our opinion – a very deserving and talented preseason All-SEC team.
Quarterback
A.J. McCarron – Alabama
Running Back
Todd Gurley – Georgia
T.J. Yeldon – Alabama
Wide Receiver
Amari Cooper – Alabama
Jordan Matthews – Vanderbilt
Tight End
Arthur Lynch – Georgia
Offensive Guard/Offensive Tackle
Anthony Steen – Alabama
Gabe Jackson – Mississippi State
Jon Halapio – Florida
Jake Matthews – Texas A&M
Center
Jonotthan Harrison – Florida
Defensive Line
Jadeveon Clowney – South Carolina
Dominique Easley – Florida
Kelcy Quarles – South Carolina
Chris Smith – Arkansas
Linebacker
C.J. Mosley – Alabama
A.J. Johnson – Tennessee
Avery Williamson – Kentucky
Defensive Backs
Marcus Roberson – Florida
HaHa Clinton Dix – Alabama
Deion Bleu – Alabama
Andre Hal – Vanderbilt
Placekicker
Carey Spear – Vanderbilt
Punter
Kyle Christy – Florida
Returner
Andre Debose – Florida
All-Purpose
Odell Beckham Jr. – LSU