Florida Gators picked to finish 12th in SEC, place 4 on All-SEC teams
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators were picked to finish 12th in the SEC as voted on by the media in Dallas at SEC Media Days. Four Gators were also picked to the preseason All-SEC teams. Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. was selected to the second team, while senior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., junior kicker Trey Smack, and redshirt senior punter Jeremy Crawshaw were named to the third team.
Johnson Jr. enters his senior season after starting 11 games in 2023 and leading the Gators in rushing each of the last two seasons. His 817 rushing yards was good for 10th in the conference last season, and the Louisiana native is one of just two players in last season’s top-10 that will be returning to the conference next season. Johnson was second among SEC running backs in receiving yards in the 2023 season. He has recorded six 100-yard rushing games as a Gator and enters this season with 2,496 career rushing yards, with three consecutive seasons of 800 yards or more.
Marshall Jr. enters his senior season at Florida after 28-straight starts at CB for Florida over the last three seasons. He led the team with 10 pass breakups in his junior season, the most of any player returning to the Southeastern Conference next season. He was also named to other preseason all-conference lists, including the Athlon Sports second-team defense and Phil Steele second-team defense.
A Lou Groza Award Semifinalist in 2023, Smack is entering his junior season as the Gators primary kicker after a 2023 campaign that saw him make 17-21 field goal attempts while being a perfect 29-29 on extra points. He earned SEC Special Teams player of the Week nods for his performance week four against Charlotte and week seven against South Carolina. Smack was also named to Athlon Sports and Phil Steele’s ALL-SEC Preseason Teams.
Crawshaw returns for his fifth season with Florida and third as the Gators starting punter. The 2023 campaign saw Crashaw set career and single season program records in average yards per punt (46.7) and yards per attempt (48.9). The Australia native was named to the AP All-SEC Second Team in 2023. Crashaw also earned preseason honors from Athlon Sports and Phil Steele.
Predicted order of finish
- Georgia
- Texas
- Alabama
- Ole Miss
- LSU
- Missouri
- Tennessee
- Oklahoma
- Texas A&M
- Auburn
- Kentucky
- Florida
- South Carolina
- Arkansas
- Mississippi State
- Vanderbilt
2024 PRESEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM
OFFENSE
First-Team
QB – Carson Beck, UGA
RB – Trevor Etienne, UGA
RB – Jarquez Hunter, AU
WR – Luther Burden III, MIZ
WR – Tre Harris, UM
TE – Caden Prieskorn, UM
OL – Tyler Booker, UA
OL – Will Campbell, LSU
OL – Kelvin Banks Jr., TEX
OL – Tate Ratledge, UGA
C – Cooper Mays, UT
Second-Team
QB – Quinn Ewers, TEX
RB – Raheim Sanders, ARK
*RB – CJ Baxter, TEX
*RB – Montrell Johnson Jr., UF
WR – Isaiah Bond, TEX
WR – Kyren Lacy, LSU
TE – Mason Taylor, LSU
OL – Emery Jones, LSU
OL – Kadyn Proctor, UA
OL – Xavier Truss, UGA
OL – Dylan Fairchild, UGA
C – Parker Brailsford, UA
Third-Team
QB – Jalen Milroe, UA
RB – Justice Haynes, UA
RB – Ulysses Bentley, UM
WR – Deion Burks, OU
WR – Dominic Lovett, UGA
TE – Oscar Delp, UGA
OL – Earnest Greene III, UGA
OL – Marques Cox, UK
OL – Trey Zuhn III, TAMU
OL – Jaeden Roberts, UA
C – Jake Majors, TEX
DEFENSE
First-Team
DL – James Pearce Jr., UT
DL – Walter Nolen, UM
DL – Deone Walker, UK
DL – Nazir Stackhouse, UGA
LB – Harold Perkins, LSU
LB – Danny Stutsman, OU
*LB – Deontae Lawson, UA
*LB – Mykel Williams, UGA
DB – Malaki Starks, UGA
DB – Malachi Moore, UA
DB – Billy Bowman, OU
DB – Maxwell Hairston, UK
Second-Team
DL – Shemar Turner, TAMU
DL – Landon Jackson, ARK
DL – Nic Scourton, TAMU
*DL – Tim Smith, UA
*DL – Jared Ivey, UM
LB – Debo Williams, SC
LB – Anthony Hill Jr., TEX
LB – Smael Mondon Jr., UGA
DB – Jahdae Barron, TEX
DB – Major Burns, LSU
DB – Andrew Mukuba, TEX
DB – Malik Muhammad, TEX
Third-Team
DL – Tim Keenan III, UA
DL – Princely Umanmielen , UM
DL – Trey Moore, TEX
DL – Tonka Hemingway, SC
LB – Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson, UK
LB – Jihaad Campbell, UA
LB – Eugene Asante, AU
DB – Domani Jackson, UA
DB – Daylen Everette, UGA
DB – Jason Marshall Jr., UF
*DB – Keon Sabb, UA
*DB – Nick Emmanwori, SC
SPECIALISTS
First-Team
P – James Burnip, UA
PK – Bert Auburn, TEX
LS – Kneeland Hibbett, UA
KS – Alex McPherson, AU
RS – Barion Brown, UK
AP – Zavion Thomas, LSU
Second-Team
P – Brett Thorson, UGA
PK – Graham Nicholson, UA
LS – Hunter Rogers, SC
KS – Will Stone, TEX
RS – Zavion Thomas, LSU
AP – Dillion Bell, UGA
Third-Team
P – Jeremy Crawshaw, UF
PK – Alex McPherson, AU
LS – Slade Roy, LSU
KS – Trey Smack, UF
RS – Keionte Scott, AU
*AP – Barion Brown, UK
*AP – Jaydon Blue, TEX
* – Indicates a tie