If the Preseason Coaches' All-SEC team is on target -- and considering SEC coaches aren't permitted to vote for their own players, it should be -- NFL scouts can largely stick to the SEC West in evaluating the best offensive players in the league. A whopping 10 of 12 first-team choices on offense come from the West, with star running backs Todd Gurley of Georgia and Mike Davis of South Carolina being the two exceptions. Seven of the 10 from the West, in fact, come from rivals Alabama and Auburn, led by Tigers quarterback Nick Marshall and Crimson Tide wide receiver Amari Cooper.
Here are three more takeaways from the coaches' picks:
- College Football 24/7's SEC preview included an All-SEC team that mirrored the coaches' picks closely. Published a day before the coaches' team was released, our offense matched eight of 11, and nine of 11 on defense.
- There was a time when this team was heavily populated by upperclassmen, but this year, SEC coaches showed no hesitation in honoring newcomers. First-teamers who were freshmen last year include Alabama tight end O.J. Howard, Ole Miss tackle Laremy Tunsil, Alabama defensive end A'Shawn Robinson, Florida cornerback Vernon Hargreaves and Ole Miss defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche.
- There is some electrifying talent on the first-team defense on the line and in the secondary, but as NFL draft prospects, the linebacking group isn't as strong as usual. Alabama's Trey DePriest is solid but unspectacular, and an NFC scout told College Football 24/7 that Tennessee's A.J. Johnson and Georgia's Ramik Wilson aren't on the elite level of last year's top SEC linebacker, first-round pick C.J. Mosley of Alabama.
A look at the entire first team:
Offense
QB Nick Marshall, Auburn
RB Todd Gurley, Georgia
RB Mike Davis, South Carolina
WR Sammie Coates, Auburn
WR Amari Cooper, Alabama
TE O.J. Howard, Alabama
OL La'el Collins, LSU
OL Cedric Ogbuehi, Texas A&M
OL Arie Kouandjio, Alabama
OL Laremy Tunsil, Ole Miss
C Reese Dismukes, Auburn
All-Purpose Christion Jones, Alabama
Defense
DL Trey Flowers, Arkansas
DL A'Shawn Robinson, Alabama
DL Robert Nkemdiche, Ole Miss
DL Dante Fowler, Florida
LB Ramik Wilson, Georgia
LB A.J. Johnson, Tennessee
LB Trey DePriest, Alabama
DB Vernon Hargreaves, Florida
DB Cody Prewitt, Ole Miss
DB Landon Collins, Alabama
DB Deshazor Everett, Texas A&M
Special teams
K Marshall Morgan, Georgia
P Drew Kaser, Texas A&M
Return Specialist Christion Jones, Alabama
*Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter **@ChaseGoodbread.*
