What the media got right and wrong with the 2024 preseason ballot, All-SEC Teams

The 2024 Preseason SEC Ballot was released Friday afternoon, with the media’s predicted order of finish and the preseason All-SEC Teams. 

As was the case the last few years, I didn’t fill out a ballot. It’s not that I didn’t want to, but I ran my own straw poll on the best quarterback in the SEC and was busy cranking out other columns.

That doesn’t mean I don’t have opinions, though!

Overall, Georgia being picked to win the conference was expected, same for Texas, Alabama and Ole Miss checking in a 2-3-4. Remember: The media is actually terrible at predicting who actually will win the SEC Championship, so we’ll see if the results prove better in a division-less league in 2024. 

I would’ve had Tennessee and Missouri ahead of LSU — not behind the Tigers from Baton Rouge. Auburn being in the same neighborhood as Texas A&M (re: points) was notable. Vandy getting two hanky votes to win the league was just that. 

But the more interesting debates are the preseason All-SEC selections. These are not easy votes because to the way the league organizes the ballots. For one thing, the schools control who gets nominated (for example: Georgia didn’t submit Carson Beck’s name as an eligible pick last season and he wound up on the postseason team). The other is the numbers for each position. 

For some reason, the SEC continues to refuse to designate edge rusher from defensive linemen or split offensive tackles and guards. Alas. 

Here’s a rundown of thoughts on what the media got right and wrong on the 2024 Preseason All-SEC Teams:

Uh, Bueller? The worst MIA misses

The most egregious snub was the absence of Alabama guard Jaeden Roberts. He’s among the best road-grading maulers in the country — much less the SEC. He’s a Top 10 overall interior lineman, per PFF, so him not even meriting mention on a single preseason team is a major whiff.

The same can be said for Florida wideout Tre Wilson III. The SEC has a lot of really quality receivers, but Wilson led all FBS true freshmen in receptions per game (6.1) last season, finishing with 61 catches and six touchdowns (also tied for second among all rookies). 

Some Ole Miss fans were outraged at Jaxson Dart’s omission, but it’s a loaded slate of quarterbacks this fall. Someone (perhaps more than one if you ask Mizzou’s Brady Cook or Florida’s Graham Mertz) was going to get squeezed out. 

The SEC is loaded in the trenches

A year ago, the SEC placed three offensive tackles on its First-Team OL, but fortunately, the results spit out a true five-man unit this preseason. I would’ve had Alabama center Parker Brailsford and Texas’ Jake Majors over Tennessee’s Cooper Mays, who made the First-Team. 

Still, Mays is an All-SEC player and is the centerpiece to making Josh Heupel’s system hum (go back and watch last season what happened with Tennessee had to play without their starting center). Watch for Kentucky’s Eli Cox to potentially play his way into the All-SEC conversation this fall. 

Lastly, the fact that guys like LSU tackle Emery Jones, a potential Day 1-2 NFL Draft pick, Georgia tackle Earnest Greene III and Alabama’s Kaydn Proctor didn’t sniff the First-Team speaks to the league’s tackle depth this fall. Missouri guard Cam’Ron Johnson was a postseason All-SEC selection a year ago and didn’t make any of the three squads. 

Defensively, the SEC always has the most defensive linemen, and 12 earned votes among the three teams — and somehow none of the dozen were Vols, which may have the deepest set of tackles (Omari Thomas probably should’ve received a spot) in the league this year. Ole Miss edge Princely Umanmielen being a Third-Team selection is another example of the SEC’s volume of awesome edge rushers this year.

Walter Nolan as a first-team guy over Nic Scourton and Landon Jackson is among name recognition over previous production. The former 5-star and No. 1 overall recruit absolutely could play his way onto the First-Team come season’s end, but the preseason pick was a miss. 

Final Thoughts

Please explain to me why — in 2024 — there are as many running back picks (four) as receivers?

If the SEC wants two tailbacks on each preseason team, then expand the overall number to 12 — and add a third receiver. Otherwise, go to just a single tailback on each team with three wideouts. 

With that, it’s hard to truly gripe about 3rd-team Preseason All-SEC tailback picks (again, especially when seven other tailbacks already received honors), but I probably would’ve had Tennessee’s Dylan Sampson somewhere on the ballot. 

Oklahoma wideout Nic Anderson didn’t make the cut, but he could be on a postseason team come December. Same for Ole Miss wideouts Juice Wells or Jordan Watkins, or Georgia’s Rara Thomas.  

Vandy defensive safety CJ Taylor and Georgia linebacker CJ Allen were interesting omissions and both have strong chances to play their way onto the postseason teams.