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As CDA recently reported, the SEC media snubbed Vanderbilt and gave us not one player on any of their three all-SEC teams. That snub not being enough for the hate-Vandy express, picked us to finish 6th in the East, just above Kentucky.
A small bit of good news though - Athlon Sports was slightly more favorable to Vanderbilt in their rankings from about a month ago. Slightly. Athlon gave DT Vince Taylor 3rd team all-SEC honors. Athlon Sports also does a "4th team", for which two Vanderbilt players were listed: LB Caleb Azubike and KR Darrius Sims.
In that same article, Athlon gives pre-season national ranks, putting Vanderbilt at 44, on par with Tennessee (42). The only two schools Athlon ranks as worse than Vanderbilt are Arkansas (63) and Kentucky (70).
The people at Athlon sports also agree with the SEC media in a separate article which places Vanderbilt 6th in the East. Athlon projects Vanderbilt to win only 2 conference games, and sweep our non-Conference opponents for an overall record of 6-6. In the same article, they give Tennessee 3 wins in the conference, but project they will also finish at 6-6 overall.
The moral of the story? It's not an uncommon opinion that Vanderbilt will return to "same old Vandy" this year. The credit for our success is getting put entirely on the ol' Bald Poach. Couple that with what we lost this last offseason, and you have plenty of reason for these types of outlooks. Do not be surprised to hear "I told you so" even if we finish 6-6. We need to get used to these kinds of projections, as they will be commonplace for many more years before we can prove that we've truly turned it around.
Below, is the full listing of the Athlon All-SEC team honors. Again, you can read the full article here.
| 1ST TEAM | 2ND TEAM | 3RD TEAM | 4TH TEAM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OFFENSE | ||||
| QB |
Nick Marshall Auburn |
Bo Wallace Mississippi |
Maty Mauk Missouri |
Dak Prescott Miss. State |
| RB |
Todd Gurley Georgia |
Alex Collins Arkansas |
Derrick Henry Alabama |
Leonard Fournette LSU |
| RB |
T.J. Yeldon Alabama |
Mike Davis South Carolina |
Kelvin Taylor Florida |
Jonathan Williams Arkansas |
| WR |
Amari Cooper Alabama |
Sammie Coates Auburn |
Jameon Lewis Miss. State |
Malcome Kennedy Texas A&M |
| WR |
Laquon Treadwell Mississippi |
Malcolm Mitchell Georgia |
Marquez North Tennessee |
Shaw Roland South Carolina |
| TE |
O.J. Howard Alabama |
Hunter Henry Arkansas |
Evan Engram Mississippi |
Malcom Johnson Miss. State |
| C |
Reese Dismukes Auburn |
David Andrews Georgia |
Evan Boehm Missouri |
Ryan Kelly Alabama |
| G |
A.J. Cann South Carolina |
Jarvis Harrison Texas A&M |
Vadal Alexander LSU |
Denver Kirkland Arkansas |
| G |
Alex Kozan Auburn |
Aaron Morris Mississippi |
Chad Slade Auburn |
Arie Kouandijo Alabama |
| T |
Cedirc Ogbuehi Texas A&M |
La'El Collins LSU |
Corey Robinson South Carolina |
Mitch Morse Missouri |
| T |
Laremy Tunsil Mississippi |
Austin Shepherd Alabama |
John Theus Georgia |
Dan Skipper Arkansas |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| DE |
Dante Fowler Florida |
Trey Flowers Arkansas |
Alvin Dupree Kentucky |
Ray Drew Georgia |
| DE |
A'Shawn Robinson Alabama |
Markus Golden Missouri |
Carl Lawson Auburn |
Danielle Hunter LSU |
| DT |
Chris Jones Miss. State |
Jonathan Bullard Florida |
Darius Philon Arkansas |
Christian LaCouture LSU |
| DT |
Robert Nkemdiche Mississippi |
Gabe Wright Auburn |
Vince Taylor Vanderbilt |
Brandon Ivory Alabama |
| LB |
Trey DePriest Alabama |
Leonard Floyd Georgia |
Serderius Bryant Mississippi |
Caleb Azubike Vanderbilt |
| LB |
A.J. Johnson Tennessee |
Jordan Jenkins Georgia |
Benardrick McKinney Miss. State |
Denzel Devall Alabama |
| LB |
Ramik Wilson Georgia |
Skai Moore South Carolina |
Cassanova McKinzy Auburn |
Amarlo Herrera Georgia |
| CB |
Vernon Hargreaves III Florida |
Deshazor Everett Texas A&M |
Taveze Calhoun Miss. State |
Cam Sutton Tennessee |
| CB |
Tre'Davious White LSU |
Rashard Robinson LSU |
Damian Swann Georgia |
Jonathan Mincy Auburn |
| S |
Landon Collins Alabama |
Tony Conner Mississippi |
Braylon Webb Missouri |
Brian Randolph Tennessee |
| S |
Cody Prewitt Mississippi |
Robenson Therezie Auburn |
Jermaine Whitehead Auburn |
Kwon Alexander (LB) LSU |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| K |
Marshall Morgan Georgia |
Colby Delahoussaye LSU |
Elliott Fry South Carolina |
Andrew Baggett Missouri |
| P |
Drew Kaser Texas A&M |
Sam Irwin-Hill Arkansas |
Landon Foster Kentucky |
Jamie Keehn LSU |
| KR |
Christion Jones Alabama |
Trey Williams Texas A&M |
Andre Debose Florida |
Darrius Sims Vanderbilt |
| PR |
Christion Jones Alabama |
Marcus Murphy Missouri |
Speedy Noil Texas A&M |
DeMarco Robinson Kentucky |