3 Freshmen honored as All-SEC

Lost in the shuffle of six players deciding to transfer away from Florida was a bit of good news for the Gators as three players were honored on the SEC All-Freshmen team.

Cornerback Vernon Hargreaves running back Kelvin Taylor and punter Johnny Townsend were all honored on Thursday. Florida’s three players named to the team is fourth best in the conference behind Arkansas, Ole Miss and South Carolina – who each had four freshmen named.

Hargreaves came into Florida with sky-high expectations and the true freshman somehow lived up to the hype. Hargreaves played in all 12 games while leading the team with 11 passes broken up. He added 38 tackles and a team-high three interceptions. He was also honored earlier in the week as the only freshmen included on the AP’s First Team All-SEC roster. Hargreaves three interceptions were tied for seventh best in the SEC regardless of class.

Kelvin Taylor, like Hargreaves, came to Florida with unbelievable expectations. The son of Gator Great and former NFL running back, Kelvin took some time to settle into the college game but finished the season playing in 10 games, carrying the ball 11 times for 508 yards and four scores. Taylor took over the starting running back job for the last month of the season and looks poised to hold on to that distinction as the team heads towards spring camp.

Unlike his two aforementioned teammates, Johnny Townsend came to Florida with no expectations. Florida had an All-American punter in Kyle Christy on the roster and it was presumed that Townsend would redshirt this season and wait his turn.

That changed when Christy worked himself into a funk and Townsend was given the opportunity to punt for the first time against Missouri. He averaged a season-high 45.63 per-punt average in his debut and finished the year at 41.97 per-kick, which would have placed him seventh in the conference if he had more kicking opportunities.

Offense

TE – Hunter Henry, Arkansas

OL – Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss

OL – Andrew Jelks, Vanderbilt

OL – Alex Kozan, Auburn

OL – Denver Kirkland, Arkansas

C – Jon Toth, Kentucky

WR – Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss

WR – Marques North, Tennessee

QB – Maty Mauk, Missouri

RB – Alex Collins, Arkansas

RB – Kelvin Taylor, Florida

All-Purpose – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina

Defense 

DL – Chris Jones, Mississippi State

DL – A’Shawn Robinson, Alabama

DL – Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss

DL – Darius Philon, Arkansas

LB – Darian Claiborne, Texas A&M

LB – Leonard Floyd, Georgia

LB – Skai Moore, South Carolina

DB – Vernon Hargreaves, Florida

DB – Tony Conner, Ole Miss

DB – Tre’Davious White, LSU

DB – Cameron Sutton, Tennessee

Special teams

PK – Elliott Fry, South Carolina

P – Johnny Townsend, Florida

Return Specialist – Pharoh Cooper, South Carolina