Tweet
Friday it was announced that Alabama was the media’s overwhelming favorite to wear the SEC crown in 2011.
On the same day, it was the Tide’s turn to dominate the conference’s preseason squad as well.
A total of 16 ‘Bama players — OK, Trent Richardson was on the list twice — were named to one of the three All-SEC teams as selected by the media, including nine first-rounders (five on defense, three on offense, one specialist). Both totals were conference records, with the nine first-team honors breaking the record of eight set in 2010 by Alabama and Florida in 2009.
Next up after ‘Bama was West rival Arkansas, which placed 14 players — two first-team, four second-team and a whopping eight on the third team — on the three squads. South Carolina was the only other school in double digits with 10, including three each on the first and second teams.
Georgia had six players named to the first-team squad, although three of those were specialists.
Florida placed just four players on the three teams, and three of them came from the third team. The only other schools with fewer representatives were Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, which had three players each. The Gators, MSU and Vandy were the only schools without a player on the first team.
LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne was the closest thing to a unanimous selection, garnering 163 of the 167 votes. South Carolina wide receiver Alshon Jeffery was also in the general area of unanimity, receiving 152 votes, although it boggles the mind to think that 15 people thought that Jeffery, arguably the most talented receiver in the country, wasn’t one of the top two receivers in his own conference.
