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Peterson: My preseason All-SEC ballot, league order, and predicted champ

Published: Jul 19, 2024 · 8:00 AM EDT

It’s an interesting time in the SEC. The job of every legacy coach in the league just got tougher with the additions of Texas and Oklahoma. Meanwhile, the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, bringing with it a better margin for error for every team in the SEC.

At Media Days in Dallas this week, several coaches were asked about the way the new 12-team CFP affects programs outside the Georgia/Alabama tier. Kentucky’s Mark Stoops said games in November are going to be better across the board as teams fight for their Playoff lives. Stars are going to matter.

And the league has a number of those entering the 2024 season. More will surely break out during the regular season. But as we look at things now, returning star power is surprisingly lacking across the Southeastern Conference. Six of the top 7 tailbacks in the league last year are gone, including each of the 4 leading rushers. Seven of the top 10 receivers in the league last year are gone. Five of the top 7 TFL producers in the league last year are gone.

But the league will never want for talent. And key figures return at quarterback all over the footprint.

At Media Days, we’re asked to fill out preseason All-SEC ballots. The process is a little clunky. At several positions, the players I wished to name weren’t even available to be selected. Position fluidity in the front seven also makes things a little challenging when we’re ticking preset boxes rather than writing down names. Nevertheless, we each named 2 quarterbacks, 4 running backs, 4 receivers, 2 tight ends, 8 guards/tackles, 2 centers, 8 defensive linemen, 6 linebackers, 8 defensive backs, and specialists.

I attempted to make my ballot forward-thinking throughout the first and second teams. A snapshot-in-time ballot would feel a little too close to the postseason awards the league reveals at the end of the regular season, and it is talking season after all. We’re all doing a lot of prognosticating. Here’s who I named to my first team:

Offense

Quarterback: Carson Beck, Georgia
Running back: Jarquez Hunter, Auburn; Montrell Johnson Jr., Florida
Wide receiver: Luther Burden III, Missouri; Tre Harris, Ole Miss
Tight end: Caden Prieskorn, Ole Miss
Offensive line: Will Campbell, LSU
Offensive line: Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas
Offensive line: Tyler Booker, Alabama
Offensive line: Tate Ratledge, Georgia
Center: Parker Brailsford, Alabama

Defense

Defensive line: Deone Walker, Kentucky
Defensive line: James Pearce Jr., Tennessee
Defensive line: Landon Jackson, Arkansas
Defensive line: Nic Scourton, Texas A&M
Linebacker: Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma
Linebacker: Harold Perkins, LSU
Linebacker: Mykel Williams, Georgia
Defensive back: Malaki Starks, Georgia
Defensive back: Maxwell Hairston, Kentucky
Defensive back: Billy Bowman Jr., Oklahoma
Defensive back: Malachi Moore, Alabama

Several points of contention worth discussing: First, there was a ton of back-and-forth for my second-team quarterback. I considered Jaxson Dart of Ole Miss, Jalen Milroe of Alabama, and Quinn Ewers of Texas. I sided with Dart as my No. 2 quarterback. He had more passing touchdowns, a lower interception rate, and I believe he’s in line for a monster statistical season in 2024.

Second, my other 2 running backs were Georgia’s Trevor Etienne and South Carolina’s Rocket Sanders. I wished to name Missouri’s Marcus Carroll on my ballot, but he wasn’t available to be chosen. I’m optimistic about what Carroll can do within Missouri’s offense. Perhaps he isn’t Cody Schrader, but he’ll get plenty of opportunities to try for a Missouri team intent on growing from last year.

Finally, Jay’Vion Cole and Mark Davis Jr. were on my list for 2 of my 8 defensive back spots. Cole transferred to Texas from San Jose State this offseason to fill a major need in the Longhorns’ secondary. Last year, he had 38 tackles, 3 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 3 interceptions, and 10 pass breakups. He gave up receptions on only 49% of his targets and allowed just 1 touchdown as the Spartans’ top cover corner. I think he has a big year. Davis is another incoming transfer in the SEC, jumping up from FCS Southern Illinois to join Vanderbilt. He was one of the 15 highest-graded corners at the FCS level last season (per PFF). The 6-2 defender gave up receptions on just 45% of his targets and went the entire year without surrendering a touchdown. Davis had 32 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 3 interceptions, and 7 pass breakups. Unfortunately, neither was available to be selected, but I think both deserve mentioning.

This is an incredibly subjective process, but one that means something to programs and players, so I made sure to treat it with the proper respect. I appreciate the league casting such a wide net throughout the voting process to generate a more accurate consensus.

We’re also asked to predict the order of finish in the league. Here’s how I voted, with projected records in parentheses:

Texas (7-1 SEC)
Georgia: (7-1 SEC)
Ole Miss (7-1 SEC)
LSU (6-2 SEC)
Alabama (6-2 SEC)
Missouri (6-2 SEC)
Tennessee (5-3 SEC)
Texas A&M (5-3 SEC)
Oklahoma (4-4 SEC)
Auburn (3-5 SEC)
Florida (3-5 SEC)
Kentucky (3-5 SEC)
South Carolina (1-7 SEC)
Arkansas (1-7 SEC)
Mississippi State (0-8 SEC)
Vanderbilt (0-8 SEC)

I like the Longhorns in their new league, and I’ve got Texas winning an Oct. 19 meeting with the Bulldogs at home (Georgia is favored by 1.5 at bet365). I voted for Georgia to beat Texas in a rematch at the SEC Championship Game and capture the league’s title.

And don’t worry about saving this in order to laugh at the misses in 5 months. I’ll return to this piece in December and recap what I got wrong. The media’s poor record predicting the conference champion in recent years has been well-documented, so there are bound to be plenty of misses here.

Derek Peterson

Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.