KJ Jefferson-Kansas-Liberty Bowl — Nelson Chenault / USA TODAY Sports

Heading into SEC Media Daze, Guess Where Hogs Get Picked

Fans shouldn't be expected to hear gushing over prospects for 2023 season

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jul 15, 2023 8:33 PM EDT
Original:
Jul 15, 2023

In this story:

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — There will likely be some juggling in where the media picks Arkansas to finish, but the initial guess is it won't be that high. Maybe more interesting is seeing whether they think KJ Jefferson is the preseason choice for All-SEC quarterback at the annual Media Daze (sorry, but you would have to be there to know what I'm talking about).

To be honest, I wouldn't be surprised at anything that happens there. I quit going seven years ago because everything I need to get is broadcast on the SEC Network and available on FTP. Besides, I've been to Nashville a few times and probably still have a couple of T-shirts in a drawer somewhere to remember that. Besides, I miss the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. Everything is pretty much in the same place as it's been for years.

It's always interesting to see if anything changes in what the media picks for the rankings. Since the media tend to base this year on what they did last year, Georgia and Alabama will be picked as the division champions. The Razorbacks usually end up from the middle down in the voting with some notable exceptions over the years. I personally have taken Alabama and Florida every year since 1992 (it became tradition in the '90's) and I won't change this year because I've been right 10 times.

There's also the all-SEC preseason pick and it will be interesting to see if Razorbacks quarterback KJ Jefferson is projected as as the No. 1 pick. He may or may not be the best, but he probably should be picked there in the preseason simply based on how long he's been around and the lack of stats anywhere else.

The likely candidate to be underrated this year is Texas A&M. I know most Hog fans are, which is primarily based on a win in 2021 and last season's unfortunate bounce off the upright of the goal post at the end. The Aggies have been stockpiling defensive linemen and have enough 5-stars to nearly go three-deep with them at that position. If they produce points with new offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino (very likely), they will be able to beat the top teams in the league.

You can guess the rest of things however you want, but Alabama (LSU will likely be second) and Georgia will likely be picked as the division champions with the Bulldogs probably picked to win another league title. That's a solid bet that's who the media picks this year. The intrigue is with where they rank the players now.