LIKE IT IS: Evaluating who is best in West no easy task

By Wally Hall

Posted: July 28, 2009 at 6:53 a.m.

• Print item
• E-mail
• Share
• Tweet

LITTLE ROCK — Last week when the media attending the SEC football media days cast their votes for preseason All-SEC, they were very similar to the teams the coaches had selected.

There was one marked difference and that involved D.J. Williams, Arkansas' tight end, whom the media voted first team and the coaches had second team. The coaches voted LSU's Richard Dickson first team, and he didn't make either of the teams chosen by the media.

Williams was first with 38 of the 64 total votes, Aaron Hernandez of Florida was second with 18 and that left a total of eight votes for the others.

Tim Tebow was not a unanimous selection at quarterback with the media, either, garnering 61 of 64 votes. Jevan Snead gottwo and Ryan Mallett one.

There will not be an investigation into who didn't vote for Tebow (yours truly did).

Coaches don't vote on a predicted order of finish for the teams, which would be eschewed anyway since there's no way a guy could vote himself to finish last and then go home and speak to a booster club, unless he's got a huge buyout in his contract.

More than 900 credentialswere issued for media days, but only 64 votes were cast, and this is the way they saw the order of finish (with No. 1 votes in parentheses): EASTERN DIVISION WESTERN DIVISION 1. Florida (64) 1. Alabama (33) 2. Georgia 2. LSU (15) 3. South Carolina 3. Ole Miss (16) 4. Tennessee 4. Arkansas 5. Vanderbilt 5. Auburn 6. Kentucky 6. Mississippi State

Your trusty scribe's vote was very similar.

The Eastern Division was exactly the same, but this is how yours truly voted the West and why: 1. OLE MISS The Rebels have a favorable schedule (they don't play Florida or Georgia and get Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and LSU athome). They have the second best quarterback in the SEC and perhaps the top pro prospect. They have a great schedule. They have 14 starters returning, including Dexter McCluster and Greg Hardy. The schedule is very favorable. The Rebels were one of only two teams to receive a vote (1, Florida got the other 63) to win the SEC championship. And don't forget the schedule.

2. LSU The Tigers have 14 starters back, seven on each side of the ball. But they have their top four running backs, top two quarterbacks and top four tacklers returning. In what could be huge games, the Tigers go to LSU on Nov. 7 and Ole Miss on Nov. 21. They lost to the Rebels at home last year 31-13. Incidentally, their finalthree regular-season opponents last year each scored 31 points.

3. ALABAMA The Tide have huge holes to fill on the offensive side with only four starters back. But they have nine starters back on defense, and defense is Nick Saban's forte. Key game for them could be Oct. 10 when they travel to Oxford, Miss.

4. ARKANSAS Can't really explain it, but the Razorbacks seem to be a team that is getting a lot of respect from a lot of coaches and media. They are being labeled as a dangerous underdog. During media days, Williams, Malcolm Shepherd and Bobby Petrino all mentioned that the chemistry was better this year. Everyone seems to be on the same page at Arkansas for the first time in quite a while.

5. AUBURN There's a lot of question marks surrounding the Tigers - how do you hire a head coach who was 5-19 as a head coach is one - but they do have 15 starters back, including eight on defense. Look for offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn to lean toward a run-oriented attack, which is what the fans love down on the Plains.

6. MISSISSIPPI STATE The Bulldogs have only 10 starters back. The tone for the season could be set in the second game when they go to Auburn for what could be the cellar-dweller bowl. New coach Dan Mullen will earn every penny this season.

Sports, Pages 13 on 07/28/2009

Comments

To report abuse or misuse of this area please hit the "Suggest Removal" link in the comment to alert our online managers. Please read our comment policy.

Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.