Dawgs on top. That was the message from the media when the SEC Preseason Awards were announced last week. Georgia took the top spot in the SEC Preseason poll, number of players selected for the All-SEC on offense, and had the second most selections on defense. We’ll take a closer look at each SEC Preseason Award category and offer our key insights for each category.
SEC Preseason Awards
SEC Preseason Media Poll
| School | Points |
| Georgia | 165 |
| Texas | 27 |
| Alabama | 12 |
| Ole Miss | 4 |
| Vanderbilt | 2 |
| LSU | 2 |
| South Carolina | 1 |
Insights:
- Nick Saban continues to influence the media. Saban Predicted Georgia and Texas will meet in Atlanta on December 7th. The Bulldogs and Longhorns locked out the two top spots.
- We’re not in Kansas, err the Big 12 anymore. Welcome to the SEC, Oklahoma. After being perennial favorites in the Big 12, the Sooners didn’t even garner a single vote to win the conference.
- Who voted for Vanderbilt and South Carolina? We love our friends in Columbia (South Carolina) and Nashville, but we find it difficult to take these votes seriously. Missouri could use this as bulletin board material and look to build off a strong 2023 season.
Predicted Order of Finish
| School | Points | |
| 1 | Georgia | 3,330 |
| 2 | Texas | 3,041 |
| 3 | Alabama | 2,891 |
| 4 | Ole Miss | 2,783 |
| 5 | LSU | 2,322 |
| 6 | Missouri | 2,240 |
| 7 | Tennessee | 2,168 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 2,022 |
| 9 | Texas A&M | 1,684 |
| 10 | Auburn | 1,382 |
| 11 | Kentucky | 1,371 |
| 12 | Florida | 1,146 |
| 13 | South Carolina | 923 |
| 14 | Arkansas | 749 |
| 15 | Mississippi State | 623 |
| 16 | Vanderbilt | 293 |
Insights:
- There are no longer divisions. The top two teams will now meet in Atlanta. The SEC has done away with the “East” and “West” divisions. It will take some time to get used to. The league is still working out the details of potential tie-breakers.
- Kalen DeBoer and Mike Elko got plenty of love from the Media. DeBoer has Alabama among the top of the league. The Aggies’ 9th-place selection demonstrates the media’s faith in Elko to bring stability to College Station. Jeff Lebby must have missed the memo. The Cowbells might be quiet in 2024 with a projected 15th-place finish.
- A 12th-place predicted finish will not bode well for Billy Napier and the Gators. Florida has one of the nation’s most difficult schedules, but the votes show low confidence in Napier turning the Gators around in 2024. Can he at least take them bowling?
All-SEC Offense
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team |
| QB – Carson Beck, Georgia | QB – Quinn Ewers, Texas | QB – Jalen Milroe, Alabama |
| RB – Trevor Etienne, Georgia | RB – Raheim Sanders, Arkansas | RB – Justice Haynes, Alabama |
| RB – Jarquez Hunter, Auburn | *RB – CJ Baxter, Texas | RB – Ulysses Bentley, Ole Miss |
| WR – Luther Burden III, Missouri | *RB – Montrell Johnson Jr., Florida | WR – Deion Burks, Oklahoma |
| WR – Tre Harris, Ole Miss | WR – Isaiah Bond, Texas | WR – Dominic Lovett, Georgia |
| TE – Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss | WR – Kyren Lacy, LSU | TE – Oscar Delp, Georgia |
| OL – Tyler Booker, Alabama | TE – Mason Taylor, LSU | OL – Earnest Greene III, Georgia |
| OL – Will Campbell, LSU | OL – Emery Jones Jr., LSU | OL – Marques Cox, Kentucky |
| OL – Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas | OL – Kadyn Proctor, Alabama | OL – Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M |
| OL – Tate Ratledge, Georgia | OL – Xavier Truss, Georgia | OL – Jaeden Roberts, Alabama |
| C – Cooper Mays, Tennessee | OL – Dylan Fairchild, Georgia | C – Jake Majors, Texas |
| C – Parker Brailsford, Alabama |
Team Breakdown
| Multiple Players | Single Players |
| Georgia: 8 | Arkansas |
| Alabama: 6 | Auburn |
| Texas: 5 | Kentucky |
| LSU: 4 | Florida |
| Ole Miss: 3 | Missouri |
| Oklahoma | |
| Tenessee | |
| Texas A&M |
Insights:
- Jaxson Dart being left off the list is a miss. The third-year signal caller reminds us of last year’s Heisman winner, Jayden Daniels. His ability to make plays with his arms and legs may lead the Rebels to their first SEC Championship and College Football Playoff appearance.
- Texas A&M had the number one recruiting class in 2022. Yet, they have just two All-SEC players when looking at the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Just head-scratching.
- We wrote about it during Spring camp, but the key to the Georgia offense will be Etienne. Beck can chuck the ball over the field. They were missing that dynamic back in 2023. Etienne will be the difference-maker in 2024.
All-SEC Defense
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team |
| DL – James Pearce Jr., Tennessee | DL – Shemar Turner, Texas A&M | DL – Tim Keenan III, Alabama |
| DL – Walter Nolen, Ole Miss | DL – Landon Jackson, Arkansas | DL – Princely Umanmielen, Ole Miss |
| DL – Deone Walker, Kentucky | DL – Nic Scourton, Texas A&M | DL – Trey Moore, Texas |
| DL – Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia | *DL – Tim Smith, Alabama | DL – Tonka Hemingway, South Carolina |
| LB – Harold Perkins Jr., LSU | *DL – Jared Ivey, Ole Miss | LB – Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson, Kentucky |
| LB – Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma | LB – Debo Williams, South Carolina | LB – Jihaad Campbell, Alabama |
| *LB – Deontae Lawson, Alabama | LB – Anthony Hill Jr., Texas | LB – Eugene Asante, Auburn |
| *LB – Mykel Williams, Georgia | LB – Smael Mondon Jr., Georgia | DB – Domani Jackson, Alabama |
| DB – Malaki Starks, Georgia | DB – Jahdae Barron, Texas | DB – Daylen Everette, Georgia |
| DB – Malachi Moore, Alabama | DB – Major Burns, LSU | DB – Jason Marshall Jr., Florida |
| DB – Billy Bowman, Oklahoma | DB – Andrew Mukuba, Texas | *DB – Keon Sabb, Alabama |
| DB – Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky | DB – Malik Muhammad, Texas | *DB – Nick Emmanwori, South Carolina |
Team Breakdown
| Multiple Players | Single Players |
| Alabama: 7 | Auburn |
| Georgia: 5 | Arkansas |
| Ole Miss: 3 | Florida |
| South Carolina: 3 | Tennesse |
| Kentucky: 2 | Texas |
| LSU: 2 | Texas A&M |
| Oklahoma: 2 |
Insights:
- Alabama takes the top spot from Georgia. We’ve heard this somewhere before. The Tide have two more selections than the Bulldogs on defense.
- Texas A&M had the number one recruiting class in 2022. Coaching changes and uncertainty have them with only two All-SEC selections. Some of that talent has left, but it illustrates the uncertainty in College Station.
- Will the Longhorns’ defense be its downfall? Just one Texas player on the defensive side of the ball earned an All-SEC defensive selection. The offense is nice, but defense is still king in this league.
