Media picks Ole Miss to finish sixth in SEC West
Published 10:17 am Friday, July 20, 2018
The media don’t expect Ole Miss to make a move in the SEC this season.
The Rebels were picked to finish sixth in the Western Division by media members in attendance at SEC Media Days, which concluded Thursday. Alabama was predicted to win the division while Georgia was predicted to win the East.
The defending national champions were also pegged to win the SEC championship, receiving 193 votes. Georgia, the defending league champion, received 69 votes to repeat while Auburn was next with 14 votes. Only six times since 1992 has the media correctly predicted the league champion.
Ole Miss finished sixth in the division last season after going 6-6 with a 3-5 mark in SEC play. The Rebels, who are entering the first season of the Matt Luke era, have combined for five conference wins the last two seasons.
The Rebels, who return 16 starters (10 offense, six defense), will start fall camp early next month before opening the season against Texas Tech in Houston on Sept. 1 (11 a.m., ESPN).
Trio of Rebels earn All-SEC honors
Ole Miss was represented on the media’s preseason All-SEC team by three players, including first-teamers A.J. Brown and Greg Little. Senior offensive lineman Javon Patterson was voted to the third team.
The first-team selections of Brown and Little weren’t surprising. Brown set a single-season school record with an SEC-leading 1,252 receiving yards last season while also tying the school record with 11 touchdown receptions. A former five-star recruit, Little has been entrenched as the Rebels’ left tackle since grabbing the starting job midway through his freshman season.
Both are widely projected to be top-10 picks in next year’s NFL Draft.
One of the veterans of an offensive line that returns all five starters, Patterson enters his final season with 30 career starts. Most of those have come at left guard while he’s also drawn starts at right guard and center.
See the complete predicted order of finish and preseason All-SEC teams are below.
SEC PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH (first-place votes in parentheses)
Western Division
Alabama (263)
Auburn (19)
Mississippi State (2)
LSU
Texas A&M
Ole Miss
Arkansas
Eastern Division
Georgia (271)
South Carolina (8)
Florida (4)
Missouri
Kentucky (1)
Tennessee (1)
Vanderbilt
SEC Champion
Alabama (193 votes)
Georgia (69)
Auburn (19)
South Carolina (4)
Florida (2)
Mississippi State (1)
Missouri (1)
ALL-SEC TEAM
OFFENSE
First Team
QB Drew Lock, Missouri
RB Damien Harris, Alabama
RB Benny Snell Jr., Kentucky
WR A.J. Brown, Ole Miss
WR Deebo Samuel, South Carolina
TE Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri
OL Jonah Williams, Alabama
OL Greg Little, Ole Miss
OL Martez Ivey, Florida
OL Trey Smith, Tennessee
C Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama
Second Team
QB Jarrett Stidham, Auburn
RB D’Andre Swift, Georgia
RB Trayveon Williams, Texas A&M
WR Terry Godwin, Georgia
WR Ryan Davis, Auburn
TE Isaac Nauta, Georgia
OL Andrew Thomas, Georgia
OL Lester Cotton, Alabama
OL Hjalte Froholdt, Arkansas
OL Garrett Brumfield, LSU
C Lamont Gaillard, Georgia
Third Team
*QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State
*QB Jake Fromm, Georgia
RB Aeris Williams, Mississippi State
RB Jordan Scarlett, Florida
WR Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
WR Emanuel Hall, Missouri
TE C.J. Conrad, Kentucky
OL Matt Womack, Alabama
OL Zack Bailey, South Carolina
OL Javon Patterson, Ole Miss
OL Marquel Harrell, Auburn
C Erik McCoy, Texas A&M
DEFENSE
First Team
DL Raekwon Davis, Alabama
DL Cece Jefferson, Florida
DL Montez Sweat, Mississippi State
DL Jeffery Simmons, Mississippi State
LB Devin White, LSU
LB Anfernee Jennings, Alabama
LB Mack Wilson, Alabama
DB Deandre Baker, Georgia
DB Greedy Williams, LSU
DB J.R. Reed, Georgia
DB Deionte Thompson, Alabama
Second Team
DL Jonathan Ledbetter, Georgia
DL Terry Beckner, Missouri
DL Derrick Brown, Auburn
DL Isaiah Buggs, Alabama
LB Josh Allen, Kentucky
LB Deshaun Davis, Auburn
LB D’Andre Walker, Georgia
DB Mike Edwards, Kentucky
DB Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Florida
DB Jamel Dean, Auburn
DB CJ Henderson, Florida
Third Team
DL Dontavius Russell, Auburn
DL Rashard Lawrence, LSU
DL Marlon Davidson, Auburn
*DL Kingsley Keke, Texas A&M
*DL Landis Durham, Texas A&M
LB Dylan Moses, Alabama
LB David Reese, Florida
LB De’Jon Harris, Arkansas
DB Mark McLaurin, Mississippi State
DB Marco Wilson, Florida
DB Javaris Davis, Auburn
DB Santos Ramirez, Arkansas
SPECIALISTS
First Team
P Corey Fatony, Missouri
PK Rodrigo Blankenship, Georgia
RS Deebo Samuel, South Carolina
AP Deebo Samuel, South Carolina
Second Team
P Joseph Charlton, South Carolina
PK Daniel LaCamera, Texas A&M
RS Mecole Hardman, Georgia
AP Trevon Diggs, Alabama
Third Team
P Zach Von Rosenberg, LSU
PK Tucker McCann, Missouri
RS Trevon Diggs, Alabama
AP Kadarius Toney, Florida
*-indicates a tie