Florida Picked to Win SEC East, Six Gators Named All-SEC by Media
The Florida Gators have been voted as the favorites to win the SEC East in 2020, and to finish fourth overall in the conference, in a poll of conference-affiliated media. Six members of the team were named to All-SEC teams in the same poll.
Florida received 53 first-place votes and 624 points, awarded on a 7-6-5-4-3-2-1 scale, to win the SEC East over Georgia, which finished with 613 points and 43 votes. Florida was last picked by the media to win the SEC East in 2010.
The Gators received five points to win the SEC, finishing behind Alabama (77), Georgia and LSU (seven each).
Florida has lost out on SEC Championship appearances thanks to three consecutive losses against Georgia, but the Gators look to turn the tide in one of the most unique seasons of college football we've ever seen. Florida enters the season comfortable as can be at quarterback with redshirt senior Kyle Trask and redshirt junior Emory Jones at the helm, along with four returning starters on the offensive line and even more scattered across the defense. The Gators also retained their entire coaching staff this offseason, while the Bulldogs did some significant shuffling prior to coronavirus pandemic canceling spring camp.
Trask and junior tight end Kyle Pitts were both named First Team All-SEC. Trask enters the season as a starter for the first time since he was a freshman in high school, feeling lighter on his feet after losing 13 pounds this offseason and improving his ability as a rusher. And of course, eyes will be on his progression as a passer after tossing for 2,941 yards and 25 touchdowns a year ago, with 649 of those yards, and five scores, going to Pitts.
Defensive lineman Zachary Carter and cornerbacks Marco Wilson and Kaiir Elam received Second Team honors. Carter plays inside and out on Florida's defensive line, and was named the starting three-technique defensive tackle in UF's initial depth chart ahead of its season-opening game against Ole Miss. Elam will step up in place of CJ Henderson as a full-time starter, arguably outplaying the 2020 first-round pick last year, with Wilson looking to shadow premier route-runners outside and in the slot.
Linebacker Ventrell Miller made the Third Team. Miller is set to start at middle linebacker, replacing former All-SEC linebacker David Reese II. Miller finished second on the team with 55 tackles a year ago and looks to improve as a coverage defender this season, having lost 15 pounds and improving his speed according to linebackers coach Christian Robinson.
Below, you can find the entire preseason media All-SEC team.
OFFENSE
First-Team
QB – Kyle Trask, Florida
RB - Najee Harris, Alabama
RB – Kylin Hill, Mississippi State
WR - DeVonta Smith, Alabama
WR - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
TE - Kyle Pitts, Florida
OL - Alex Leatherwood, Alabama
OL - Trey Smith, Tennessee
OL - Landon Dickerson, Alabama
OL - Landon Young, Kentucky
C - Drake Jackson, Kentucky
Second-Team
QB – Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
RB - Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas
RB - Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
WR - George Pickens, Georgia
WR - Terrace Marshall, LSU
TE - Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
OL - Deonte Brown, Alabama
OL - Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
OL - Sadarius Hutcherson, South Carolina
OL - Ed Ingram, LSU
C - Trey Hill, Georgia
Third-Team
QB – Mac Jones, Alabama
RB - Zamir White, Georgia
RB - Larry Rountree, Missouri
WR - Seth Williams, Auburn
WR - Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
TE - Arik Gilbert, LSU
OL - Austin Deculus, LSU
OL - Brodarious Hamm, Auburn
OL - Evan Neal, Alabama
OL - Wanya Morris, Tennessee
C - Landon Dickerson, Alabama
DEFENSE
First-Team
DL - Big Kat Bryant, Auburn
DL - LaBryan Ray, Alabama
DL - Jordan Davis, Georgia
DL - Malik Herring, Georgia
LB - Dylan Moses, Alabama
LB - K.J. Britt, Auburn
LB - Nick Bolton, Missouri
DB - Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
DB - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
DB - Richard LeCounte, Georgia
DB - Jacoby Stevens, LSU
Second-Team
DL - Bobby Brown, Texas A&M
DL - Dayo Odeyingbo, Vanderbilt
DL - Kobie Whiteside, Missouri
DL - Zachary Carter, Florida
LB - Henry To'o To'o, Tennessee
LB - Monty Rice, Georgia
LB - Jabril Cox, LSU
DB - Kaiir Elam, Florida
DB - Eric Stokes, Georgia
DB - Marco Wilson, Florida
DB - Israel Mukuamu, South Carolina
Third-Team
DL - Aaron Sterling, South Carolina
DL - Glen Logan, LSU
DL - Josh Paschal, Kentucky
DL - DJ Dale, Alabama
LB - Ventrell Miller, Florida
LB - Erroll Thompson, Mississippi State
LB - Boogie Watson, Kentucky
DB - Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
DB - Smoke Monday, Auburn
DB - Tyree Gillespie, Missouri
DB - Christian Tutt, Auburn*
DB - Bryce Thompson, Tennessee*
SPECIALISTS
First-Team
P - Max Duffy, Kentucky
PK - Brent Cimaglia, Tennessee
RS - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
AP - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
Second-Team
P - Jake Camarda, Georgia
PK - Cade York, LSU
RS - Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
AP - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
Third-Team
P - Zach Von Rosenberg, LSU
PK - Anders Carlson, Auburn
RS - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
AP - Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
* indicates a tie
