BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A trio of Aggies earned Preseason All-SEC accolades and the Texas A&M football team was picked second in the Southeastern Conference Western Division, the league office announced Thursday.
Sophomore quarterback and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel joined senior All-American offensive lineman Jake Matthews on the first-team offense. Meanwhile, sophomore wide receiver Mike Evans represented Texas A&M on the second-team offense.
As a team the Aggies received 1,333 total points and 11 first-place votes in the SEC Western Division to finish a slot behind defending national champion Alabama (1,681 total / 225 first-place votes) and ahead of LSU, Ole Miss, Auburn, Mississippi State and Arkansas.
Georgia (1,570 total / 149 first-place votes), edged South Carolina (1,474 total / 75 first-place votes) to garner the top pre-season spot in the Eastern Division, followed by Florida, Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Missouri and Kentucky, respectively.
2013 PRE-SEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM
(243 voters – most voters in SEC Media Days history / * - Ties)
OFFENSE
First-Team
QB - Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (119)
RB - T.J. Yeldon, Alabama (221)
RB - Todd Gurley, Georgia (206)
WR - Amari Cooper, Alabama (194)
WR - Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt (106)
TE - Arthur Lynch, Georgia (148)
OL - Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama (193)
OL - Jake Matthews, Texas A&M (176)
OL - Anthony Steen, Alabama (109)
OL - Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State (88)
C - Travis Swanson, Arkansas (92)
Second-Team
QB - AJ McCarron, Alabama (67)
RB - Tre Mason, Auburn (15)
RB - *LaDarius Perkins, Mississippi State (12)
RB - *Keith Marshall, Georgia (12)
WR - Donte Moncrief, Ole Miss ( 46)
WR - Mike Evans, Texas A&M (33)
TE - Rory Anderson, South Carolina (33)
OL - Antonio Richardson, Tennessee (76)
OL - Jon Halapio, Florida (51)
OL - Chris Burnette, Georgia (50)
OL - Ja'Wuan James, Tennessee (50)
C - Reese Dismukes, Auburn (33)
Third-Team
QB - Aaron Murray, Georgia (52)
RB - *Matt Jones, Florida (5)
RB - *Jeff Scott, Ole Miss (5)
RB - *Alfred Blue, LSU (5)
WR - Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia (28)
WR - Jarvis Landry, LSU (19)
TE - Brian Vogler, Alabama (18)
OL - La'el Collins, LSU (37)
OL - Josh Williford, LSU (30)
OL - Wesley Johnson, Vanderbilt (18)
OL - *A.J. Cann, South Carollina (14)
OL - *Zach Fulton, Tennessee (14)
C - *James Stone, Tennessee (30)
C - *Jonotthan Harrison, Florida (30)
DEFENSE
First-Team
DL - Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (223)
DL - Dominique Easley, Florida (162)
DL - Anthony Johnson, LSU (127)
DL - Chris Smith, Arkansas (56)
LB - C.J. Mosley, Alabama (231)
LB - A.J. Johnson, Tennessee (107)
LB - Denzel Nkemdiche, Ole Miss (94)
DB - Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama (203)
DB - Craig Loston, LSU (135)
DB - Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida (117)
DB - Deion Belue, Alabama (77)
Second-Team
DL - Xzavier Dickson, Alabama (49)
DL - Ed Stinson, Alabama ( 39)
DL - Dee Ford, Auburn (38)
DL - Jeoffrey Pagan, Alabama (31)
LB - Adrian Hubbard, Alabama (66)
LB - Jordan Jenkins, Georgia (64)
LB - Lamin Barrow, LSU (29)
DB - Damian Swann, Georgia (70)
DB - Andre Hal, Vanderbilt (69)
DB - Marcus Roberson, Florida (50)
DB - Vinnie Sunseri, Alabama (36)
Third-Team
DL - Garrison Smith, Georgia (26)
DL - Daniel McCullers, Tennessee (23)
DL - Alvin Dupree, Kentucky (23)
DL - C.J. Johnson, Ole Miss (22)
LB - Ronald Powell, Florida (24)
LB - Tahj Jones, LSU (20)
LB - *Trey DePriest, Alabama (16)
LB - *Avery Williamson, Kentucky (16)
DB - E.J. Gaines, Missouri (34)
DB - Charles Sawyer, Ole Miss (25)
DB - Jalen Mills, LSU (22)
DB - Chris Davis, Auburn (20)
SPECIALISTS
First-Team
P - Kyle Christy, Florida (108)
PK - Carey Spear, Vanderbilt (100)
RS - Odell Beckham Jr., LSU (74)
AP - Bruce Ellington, South Carolina (69)
Second-Team
P - Cody Mandell, Alabama (54)
PK - Cody Parkey, Auburn (71)
RS - Bruce Ellington, South Carolina (62)
AP - Odell Beckham Jr., LSU (44)
Third-Team
P - Steven Clark, Auburn (33)
PK - Zach Hocker, Arkansas (39)
RS - Andre Debose, Florida (53)
AP - Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida (36)
PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
SEC CHAMPION
Alabama - 182
Georgia - 38
South Carolina - 18
Texas A&M - 4
LSU - 1
EASTERN DIVISION
Georgia (149) - 1570
South Carolina (75) - 1474
Florida (19) - 1300
Vanderbilt - 858
Tennessee - 694
Missouri - 577
Kentucky - 331
WESTERN DIVISION
Alabama (225) - 1681
Texas A&M (11) - 1333
LSU (7) - 1324
Ole Miss - 883
Auburn - 579
Mississippi State - 516
Arkansas - 488
NOTES:
* - Official attendance at 2013 SEC Media Days is 1,239, a new high for the event. The previous high was 1,085 in 2012.
* - 243 voters Is an all-time high for SEC media days. The previous high was 222 voters in 2012.
* - The top two vote-getters were defensive players: C.J. Mosley, Alabama and Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina.
* - Since 2000, Arkansas' Darren McFadden is the only unanimous selection to the SEC Media Days Team, collecting all 80 votes.
* - Alabama had the most first-team selections this season with 7. Since 1992, the most players on a first-team were 9 by Alabama in 2011 and 8 by Alabama (2010) and Florida (2009).