HOOVER, Ala. — The LSU Tigers were picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference Western Division and five LSU players were selected to the preseason All-SEC as chosen by a panel of 64 media members attending the SEC football media days here Friday.
Coach Les Miles and players Ciron Black and Jacob Cutrera appeared Friday morning on the final day of the three-day event at the Wynfrey Hotel.
LSU was chosen second behind Alabama in the voting with 145 points to the Tide’s 109. Ole Miss was picked third (149), followed by Arkansas (245), Auburn (309) and Mississippi State (387). In the vote for SEC West winner Alabama received 33 first-place votes, Ole Miss 16 and LSU 15.
Black was named a first-team offensive tackle receiving 60 votes and the senior from Tyler, Texas received only one less vote on the first team offense than Florida quarterback Tim Tebow who received the most votes on the first team offense, 61.
Senior Charles Scott was the leading first-team vote getter at running back as the Saline, La., product received 59 votes as LSU’s other first team selection.
Senior wide receiver Brandon LaFell of Houston, Texas was named a second-team pre-season All-SEC wide receiver.
On defense, LSU had two second team pre-season selections ? senior defensive lineman Charles Alexander and junior defensive back Chad Jones. Alexander is from Breaux Bridge and Jones from New Orleans.
The Florida Gators were on 63-of-64 ballots for the winner of the SEC Championship Game and were on all 64 ballots to win the Eastern Division. Ole Miss was the only other team to receive an SEC Championship vote. Filling out the Eastern Division, Georgia was predicted to finish second, South Carolina third, Tennessee fourth, Vanderbilt fifth and Kentucky sixth.
Florida is the first team to be a unanimous selection to win a division since the league started divisional play in 1992.
Ten of the 12 SEC schools had a member on the first-team All-SEC squad. Florida had a league-high 12 representatives on the two teams, while Alabama had eight total selections. Georgia, LSU and Ole Miss each had five student-athletes on either of the teams followed by Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky and Tennessee with three each.
The 2009 SEC Media Day Pre-Season All-SEC Football Team and predicted order of finish is listed below:
2009 SEC MEDIA DAYS PRE-SEASON ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM
OFFENSE
First-Team Offense
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
TE D.J. Williams, Arkansas (38) 6-2 251 Jr. Little Rock, Ark.
OL Ciron Black, LSU (60) 6-5 325 Sr. Tyler, Texas
OL Mike Johnson, Alabama (55) 6-6 305 Sr. Pensacola, Fla.
OL John Jerry, Ole Miss (49) 6-5 350 Sr. Batesville, Miss.
OL Mike Pouncey, Florida (35) 6-5 312 Jr. Lakeland, Fla.
C Maurkice Pouncey, Florida (39) 6-5 312 Jr. Lakeland, Fla.
WR Julio Jones, Alabama (58) 6-4 210 So. Foley, Ala.
WR A.J. Green, Georgia (53) 6-4 207 So. Summerville, S.C.
QB Tim Tebow, Florida (61) 6-3 240 Sr. Jacksonville, Fla.
RB Charles Scott, LSU (59) 5-11 233 Sr. Saline, La.
RB Michael Smith, Arkansas (48) 5-7 176 Sr. Tallahassee, Fla.
Second-Team Offense
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
TE Aaron Hernandez, Florida (18) 6-3 255 Jr. Bristol, Conn.
OL Clint Boling, Georgia (12) 6-5 297 Jr. Alpharetta, Ga.
OL Trinton Sturdivant, Georgia (8) 6-5 306 So. Wadesboro, N.C.
OL Lee Ziemba, Auburn (6) 6-8 285 Jr. Rogers, Ark.
OL Zipp Duncan, Kentucky (4) 6-5 291 Sr. Magnolia, Ky.
C Josh McNeil, Tennessee (12) 6-4 280 Sr. Collins, Miss.
WR Brandon LaFell, LSU (9) 6-3 209 Sr. Houston, Texas
WR Dexter McCluster, Ole Miss (6) 5-8 165 Sr. Largo, Fla.
QB Jevan Snead, Ole Miss (2) 6-3 215 Jr. Stephenville, Texas
RB Mark Ingram, Alabama (6) 5-10 215 So. Flint, Mich.
RB Anthony Dixon, Miss. State (5) 6-1 235 Sr. Jackson, Miss.
DEFENSE
First-Team Defense
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
DL Terrence Cody, Alabama (55) 6-5 365 Sr. Fort Myers, Fla.
DL Greg Hardy, Ole Miss (53) 6-4 265 Sr. Millington, Tenn.
DL Carlos Dunlap, Florida (46) 6-6 290 Jr. North Charleston, S.C.
DL Antonio Coleman, Auburn (32) 6-3 250 Sr. Mobile, Ala.
LB Brandon Spikes, Florida (61) 6-3 245 Sr. Shelby, N.C.
LB Rolando McClain, Alabama (50) 6-4 249 Jr. Decatur, Ala.
LB Eric Norwood, South Carolina (38) 6-1 252 Sr. Acworth, Ga.
DB Eric Berry, Tennessee (62) 5-11 203 Jr. Fairburn, Ga.
DB Trevard Lindley, Kentucky (50) 6-0 179 Sr. Hiram, Ga.
DB Joe Haden, Florida (45) 5-11 185 Jr. Ft. Washington, Md.
DB Javier Arenas, Alabama (23) 5-9 198 Sr. Tampa, Fla.
Second-Team Defense
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
DL Geno Atkins, Georgia (21) 6-1 290 Sr. Pembroke Pines, Fla.
DL Malcolm Sheppard, Arkansas (12) 6-2 280 Sr. Bainbridge, Ga.
DL Jermaine Cunningham, Florida (10) 6-3 257 Sr. Stone Mountain, Ga.
DL Charles Alexander, LSU (7) 6-3 310 Sr. Breaux Bridge, La.
LB Rennie Curran, Georgia (25) 5-11 222 Jr. Snellville, Ga.
LB Rico McCoy, Tennessee (4) 6-1 220 Sr. Washington, D.C.
#LB Micah Johnson, Kentucky (3) 6-2 258 Sr. Ft. Campbell, Ky.
#LB Jamar Chaney, Miss. State (3) 6-1 245 Sr. Fort Pierce, Fla.
DB Ahmad Black, Florida (20) 5-9 190 Jr. Lakeland, Fla.
DB Chad Jones, LSU (12) 6-3 214 Jr. New Orleans, La.
DB Myron Lewis, Vanderbilt (12) 6-2 205 Sr. Pompano Beach, Fla.
DB Major Wright, Florida (7) 6-0 200 Jr. Miramar, Fla.
SPECIALISTS
First-Team Specialists
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
PK Leigh Tiffin, Alabama (31) 6-1 199 Sr. Muscle Shoals, Ala.
P Chas Henry, Florida (43) 6-4 215 Jr. Dallas, Ga.
RS Brandon James, Florida (35) 5-7 186 Sr. St. Augustine, Fla.
Second-Team Specialists
Pos. Name, Team Ht. Wt. Class Hometown
PK Joshua Shene, Ole Miss (26) 5-8 170 Sr. Oklahoma City, Okla.
P Clinton Durst, Auburn (10) 6-1 192 Sr. Destin, Fla.
RS Javier Arenas, Alabama (21) 5-9 198 Sr. Tampa, Fla.
# – Ties
By School
School 1st 2nd Total
Alabama 6 2 8
Arkansas 2 1 3
Auburn 1 2 3
Florida 8 4 12
Georgia 1 4 5
Kentucky 1 2 3
LSU 2 3 5
Ole Miss 2 3 5
Mississippi State 0 2 2
South Carolina 1 0 1
Tennessee 1 2 3
Vanderbilt 0 1 1
SEC PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
64 total votes
SEC Champions ? Florida (63), Ole Miss (1)
Eastern Division
1. Florida (64) 64
2. Georgia 133
3. South Carolina 217
4. Tennessee 258
5. Vanderbilt 317
6. Kentucky 355
Western Division
1. Alabama (33) 109
2. LSU (15) 145
3. Ole Miss (16) 149
4. Arkansas 245
5. Auburn 309
6. Mississippi State 387