Alabama Players Sweep SI SEC Publishers Preseason Awards, but LSU Pair Head Top 10 List

With the equivalent of a split decision, Sports Illustrated's Southeastern Conference publishers voted Alabama a clean sweep of their preseason player awards for the 2020 college football season, but two from LSU topped their rankings of the league's top-10 players overall.

Crimson Tide running back Najee Harris was selected the preseason SEC Offseason Player of the Year.

Linebacker Dylan Moses, who missed last season with a knee injury, topped the voting for the Defensive Player of the Year.

Wide receiver and return specialist Jaylen Waddle was tabbed the Special-Teams Player of the Year.

Perhaps thinking the SEC East might be ripe for a change at the top, Florida's Dan Mullen was the choice for Coach of the Year.

In 11 years as a head coach in the league (nine at Mississippi State), he's never won a division title. However, his teams finished second three times, including the last two with the Gators.

Despite the honors, when asked to rank the top-10 players in the league, two from LSU stood out, with six Crimson Tide players helping round out the top finishers:

Ja'Marr Chase, WR, LSU
Derek Stingley Jr., CB, LSU
Dylan Moses, LB, Alabama
Najeh Harris, RB, Alabama
Patrick Surtain II, CB, Alabama
DeVonta Smith, WR, Alabama
Kylin Hill, RB, Mississippi State
Alex Leatherwood, T, Alabama
Kyle Trask, QB, Florida; (tie) Jaylen Waddle, WR/RS Alabama

Also received votes (in alphabetical order): Nick Bolton, LB Missouri; KJ Costello, QB, Mississippi State; Jerrion Ealy, RB, Ole Miss; Richard LeCounte, S, Georgia; Israel Mukuamu, CB, South Carolina; Jamie Newman, QB, Georgia; George Pickens, WR, Georgia; Kyle Pitts, TE, Florida; Tyler Shelvin, DL, LSU; Trey Smith, T, Tennessee; Jacoby Stevens, S, LSU; Seth Williams, WR, Auburn

The group had previously announced its preseason All-SEC teams and predicted order of finish, both of which were led by the Crimson Tide.

Vanderbilt Notes

Vanderbilt athletics has been under fire of late with media reports concerning recent rape allegations against both current and former players. That along with other published stories about the turmoil surrounding the recent firing of the athletic communications staff and facilities issues have replaced mention of football in Nashville.

As for their part, the university has had little to say on these reports, preferring only to release vague statements that touch on those issues but have done little to address them in any meaningful way. It looks like it's going to be a long year on West End as these issues continue to make the rounds, and are seemingly growing with each day.

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