Four Kentucky Wildcats named to Preseason All-SEC Teams

The media has spoken and four Kentucky Wildcats have been tabbed to Preseason All-SEC Teams. Sophomore defensive lineman Deone Walker and sophomore wide receiver/returner Barion Brown were named to the Second Team Defense and Specialists, respectively, with Brown getting the nod at kickoff specialist. Senior offensive lineman Eli Cox and senior outside linebacker JJ Weaver were named Third Team Offense and Defense, respectively.

Walker, a 6’6″ 330 lbs. giant from Detroit, was a rockstar in his first season at Kentucky, playing in all 13 games with 11 starts. The former three-star prospect finished with 40 total tackles, 4.5 for loss, five quarterback hurries, two pass breakups, one sack, and one forced fumble. He earned freshman All-America honors from the Football Writers Association of America, The Athletic, College Football News, on3.com, 247Sports.com and Pro Football Focus. 

Additionally, Walker was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, was named second team All-SEC by the Associated Press, Pro Football Focus and Phil Steele’s College Football and was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. He is currently on the watch list for the Lott IMPACT Trophy. 

Brown ranked fourth in the nation and second in the SEC last season in kick return average with 27.5 yards per return. In addition to finishing the season as the freshman record holder in most receiving yards (628) and pass receptions (50), he ranked 24th nationally and third in the SEC in combined kick return yardage (440) and fourth in the SEC in kick returns (16). Brown won SEC Special Teams Player of the Week on Sept. 5 after scoring his first career touchdown on a 100-yard kickoff return vs. Miami (OH). He’s only the sixth Wildcat in program history with a 100-yard kickoff return and the first since Derrick Locke vs. Louisville on Sept. 19, 2009.

Cox, a native of Nicholasville, Kentucky, has played in 30 career games with 22 starting assignments during his career as a Wildcat. Last season, he moved to center and started in all 13 games, earning a spot on the Outland Trophy Watch List and the Comeback Player of the Year Award Watch List. He will move back to his natural position at right guard in 2023. 

Weaver, a native of Louisville, Kentucky, decided to return to the program for a senior year after considering the NFL Draft. As a junior, he played in 11 games with eight starting assignments. He was listed on the Lott IMPACT Trophy Watch List after tallying 47 tackles, 6.0 tackles for loss, a team-high 3.0 sacks, three quarterback hurries, a team-high three fumbles recoveries, a team-high tying two forced fumbles and a blocked kick.  

Check out the complete 2023 Preseason All-SEC Teams below.

OFFENSE

First-Team

• QB – Jayden Daniels, LSU
• RB – Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss
• RB – Raheim Sanders, Arkansas
• WR – Malik Nabers, LSU
• WR – Ladd McConkey, Georgia
• TE – Brock Bowers, Georgia
• OL – JC Latham, Alabama
• OL – Amarius Mims, Georgia
• OL – Tate Ratledge, Georgia
• OL – Will Campbell, LSU
• C – Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia

Second-Team

• QB – KJ Jefferson, Arkansas
• RB – Jase McClellan, Alabama
• RB – Kendall Milton, Georgia
• WR – Antwane Wells, South Carolina
• *WR – Bru McCoy, Tennessee
• *WR – Ja’Corey Brooks, Alabama
• TE – Mason Taylor, LSU
• OL – Tyler Booker, Alabama
• OL – Brady Latham, Arkansas
• OL – Javon Foster, Missouri
• OL – Xavier Truss, Georgia
• C – Seth McLaughlin, Alabama

Third-Team

• *QB – Joe Milton III, Tennessee
• *QB – Will Rogers, Mississippi State
• RB – Jarquez Hunter, Auburn
• RB – Trevor Etienne, Florida
• WR – Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
• WR – Jermaine Burton, Alabama
• TE – Trey Knox, South Carolina
• OL – Emery Jones, LSU
• OL – Eli Cox, Kentucky
• OL – Javontez Spraggins, Tennessee
• OL – Layden Robinson, Texas A&M
• C – Cooper Mays, Tennessee

DEFENSE

First-Team

• DL – Mekhi Wingo, LSU
• DL – Mykel Williams, Georgia
• DL – Maason Smith, LSU
• DL – Nazir Stackhouse, Georgia
• LB – Dallas Turner, Alabama
• LB – Harold Perkins, LSU
• LB – Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
• DB – Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
• DB – Malaki Starks, Georgia
• DB – Kamari Lassiter, Georgia
• DB – Javon Bullard, Georgia

Second-Team

• DL – Jaheim Oatis, Alabama
• DL – McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M
• DL – Justin Eboigbe, Alabama
• DL – Deone Walker, Kentucky
• LB – Smael Mondon, Georgia
• LB – Nathaniel Watson, Mississippi State
• LB – Ty’Ron Hopper, Missouri
• DB – Malachi Moore, Alabama
• DB – Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas
• DB – Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
• DB – Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri

Third-Team

• DL – Princely Umanmielen, Florida
• DL – Tonka Hemingway, South Carolina
• DL – Tim Smith, Alabama
• DL – Darius Robinson, Missouri
• LB – Chris Braswell, Alabama
• LB – Jalon Walker, Georgia
• LB – JJ Weaver, Kentucky
• DB – Major Burns, LSU
• DB – D.J. James, Auburn
• DB – Nehemiah Pritchett, Auburn
• DB – Jason Marshall Jr., Florida

SPECIALISTS

First-Team

• P – Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
• PK – Will Reichard, Alabama
• LS – Kneeland Hibbett, Alabama
• KS – Brian Battie, Auburn
• RS – Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
• AP – Ainias Smith, Texas A&M

Second-Team

• P – Nik Constantinou, Texas A&M
• PK – Harrison Mevis, Missouri
• LS – Slade Roy, LSU
• KS – Barion Brown, Kentucky
• RS – Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
• AP – Tulu Griffin, Mississippi State

Third-Team

• P – Oscar Chapman, Auburn
• PK – Alex McPherson, Auburn
• LS – William Mote, Georgia
• KS – Mitch Jeter, South Carolina
• RS – Tulu Griffin, Mississippi State
• AP – Dakereon Joyner, South Carolina

* – Indicates a tie