Florida Gators

Several of RecruitingNation's SEC sites will look this week at the players headed to the NFL combine, which begins Friday in Indianapolis, and other predraft camps. Today: Offensive linemen.

Florida Gators

The Gators are represented by a player who never reached his potential (offensive tackle Xavier Nixon) and another who is just scratching the surface of what he could become (tight end Jordan Reed). Nixon started the last five games at left tackle as a freshman in 2009 and appeared ready to become a mainstay at that spot, but he spent time at right tackle in 2010 and then suffered through a mysterious illness after the season that caused him to lose about 55 pounds. Doctors were unable to diagnose his problem and he recovered before the 2011 season and was able to gain back most of the weight but was never quite the player he was as a freshman. Reed came to UF as a quarterback, starred in a wildcat role in 2010, but was moved to tight end in 2011. He's still learning the position but caught 73 passes for 866 yards and five touchdowns in the past two seasons.

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Well, Nick Saban and his gang of future NFL ballers proved to us once again that it is indeed Alabama's world, after claiming their second consecutive national title and third in four years Monday night. That ringing in your ears is just the sound of "Roll Tide" being repeated over and over in your head. I've learned there's nothing we can do about it.

But will 2013 bring college football a team that can really stop the Tide? I mean, REALLY stop Alabama from winning a third straight national championship? Well, ESPN's Mark Schlabach seems to believe that the road to Pasadena is paved in crimson and white, as he has Alabama No. 1 in his Way-Too-Early-Top 25 for 2013.

It's hard to blame him at this point. Sure, Alabama's offensive line won't be nearly as good with Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack leaving. And it will take even more of a hit if/when D.J. Fluker decides to turn pro. But with quarterback AJ McCarron, running back T.J. Yeldon (we're assuming Eddie Lacy and his sweet spin move are headed to the NFL), wide receiver Amari Cooper and a host of studs on the defense returning, Alabama will again be the team to beat.

Oh, and a not-so-tretcherous schedule won't hurt the Tide's chances either.

But there are some quality teams in the SEC that will fight to dethrone Alabama, and Schlabach has four in his top 10. Texas A&M, which returns the Heisman-winning Johnny Football, ranks fifth, Georgia is sixth, South Carolina is seventh and Florida is 10th. The thing about all those teams is that they all return their starting quarterbacks, with Georgia's Aaron Murray being one of the best in the country alongside Johnny Manziel.

South Carolina will be one of the more balanced teams in the SEC next fall, and if Florida can actually find a passing game in 2013, watch out because that defense will still be fierce, even with a few junior defections.

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In what was easily the toughest individual award to give out this year, Florida's Will Muschamp and Texas A&M's Kevin Sumlin were voted by their peers as SEC co-Coaches of the Year.

During Muschamp's second season at Florida, he helped lead the Gators to an 11-1 record and a 7-1 record in SEC play. Florida ended the season No. 3 in the BCS standings and will play Louisville in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. The Gators also defeated four teams that finished the season ranked in the top 12 of the BCS standings.

As for Sumlin, in his first year at Texas A&M, the Aggies went 10-2 (6-2 SEC) and upset No. 1 Alabama in Tuscaloosa. A&M also owned the SEC's No. 1 offense and quarterback Johnny Manziel broke the SEC record for total offense in single season and is a Heisman Trophy finalist. The Aggies are headed to the AT&T Cotton Bowl to take on Oklahoma.

The coaches also named Manziel, who threw for 3,419 yards and 24 touchdowns to eight interceptions and rushed for an SEC-high 1,181 yards and 19 touchdowns, the SEC's Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.

Here are the individual awards voted on by the SEC's coaches:

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina

CO-SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
*Caleb Sturgis, Florida
*Ace Sanders, South Carolina

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Manziel

SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Barrett Jones, Alabama

JACOBS BLOCKING TROPHY
Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
*Kevin Sumlin, Texas A&M
*Will Muschamp, Florida

* ties

Our ESPN.com preseason All-America team is out today, and 10 of the 25 players on the team play in the SEC.

Alabama and LSU each had three players selected.

Center Barrett Jones, offensive guard Chance Warmack and noseguard Jesse Williams are the Crimson Tide players on the team.

The LSU players who made it are defensive end Sam Montgomery, safety Eric Reid and punter Brad Wing.

South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore, Georgia outside linebacker Jarvis Jones, Mississippi State cornerback Johnthan Banks and LSU punter Brad Wing round out the SEC representatives.

HOOVER, Ala. -- The 2012 SEC media days All-SEC team was announced Thursday, and LSU led the conference with the most first-team selections with seven. The media has voted for a preseason All-SEC team and predicted the order in which each team would finish since 1992.

It should be noted that the media has only picked the correct SEC champion four times since 1992. Those correct picks were Florida in 1994 and 1995, LSU in 2007 and Florida in 2008.

Here are some notes from the league on the All-SEC team:

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Daniel Shirey/US PresswireSEC members are expecting big things this season for South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore.
• The 222 voters is an all-time high for SEC media days. The previous high was 177 voters in 2010.
• South Carolina running back Marcus Lattimore was the leading vote-getter this season with 201 of 222 votes. He is the fourth running back in the past six years to be the highest vote-getter (2007 – Darren McFadden, Arkansas; 2008 – Knowshon Moreno, Georgia and Percy Harvin, Florida; 2009 – Tim Tebow and Brandon Spikes, Florida; 2010 – Mark Ingram, Alabama; 2011 – Alshon Jeffery, South Carolina).
• Lattimore (2012) and Jeffery (2011) have been the leading vote-getters the last two seasons.
• Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones is a three-time member of the SEC media days first team
• South Carolina has had a sophomore make the media days first team for the third straight season – Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina, DE (2012); Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina, RB (2011); Stephon Gilmore, South Carolina, DB (2010).

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It's almost time for hundreds of media folk to pile into a swanky ballroom and kick off another year of SEC media days.

The festivities begin Tuesday at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Ala., and last until Thursday afternoon. The event serves as the unofficial kickoff to SEC football season.

So what should we be on the lookout for this year?

Well, the biggest news is all the star power that won't be making the trip. Two of the league's top rushers -- Marcus Lattimore and Christine Michael -- won't be in town. Yes, they are both coming off season-ending injuries, but so is Arkansas' Knile Davis, and he'll be in attendance.

One of the league's best, Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray won't be in Hoover, either. Nor will Bulldogs wide receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

Some other big names not on the list include Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, LSU cornerback Tyrann Mathieu, South Carolina defensive end Jadeveon Clowney and Missouri quarterback James Franklin.

There are a lot of interesting storylines revolving around all those players, who serve as faces for their respective programs, and it's disappointing that they won't be around this week.

However, some quality names are on this year's roster, including Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones, Alabama offensive lineman Barrett Jones, Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson, Texas A&M linebacker Sean Porter, Tennessee quarterback Tyler Bray and South Carolina quarterback Connor Shaw.

I'm sure they'll all have plenty to say and should keep us all entertained.

Here are some other things to keep an eye on this week:

• If you're coming into town, make sure you bring your protective gear for Thursday. That's when Alabama's up, and you'd better believe the lobby will be jam-packed with Tide fans. They come out in full force and expect things to be even tighter this year after that championship.
• Arkansas players will have to answer a lot of questions surrounding their former coach, Bobby Petrino. How much of a distraction will his exit be this fall?
• Also, what will new Arkansas coach John L. Smith say? He sure knows how to make a news conference exciting, so don't expect anything to be different in front of all those SEC scribes.
• One coach not afraid to put on a show while at the podium is South Carolina's Steve Spurrier. The Head Ball Coach has been chirping this year, and he probably won't stop in Hoover.
• Last year, there were a lot of questions about the quarterback talent in this league. This year, that isn't the case, as the league is as plentiful at the position as it has been in years.
• Although only Davis will be in town, expect a lot of talk about three of the league's best running backs all coming off major, season-ending injuries.
• Georgia has had an eventful offseason away from the field, and it's time to see how players and coach Mark Richt are feeling about all of the silly distractions. Also, what's in store for the Bulldogs' running game now that Isaiah Crowell is gone?
• I wonder how many times Nick Saban and his players will be asked questions about comparisons to the 2010 team. You know how much Saban loves comparison talk. ...
• Tennessee coach Derek Dooley should field a lot of questions about his job security this week. Regardless of how you feel about the time he's had and all the issues he's had to deal with, his seat is hotter than ever.
• Texas A&M and Missouri are now officially members of the SEC. How will their players and coaches react to being surrounded by all those SEC writers? And how many more questions will they get about adjusting to their new conference?
• LSU was on top of the college football world until last year's national championship. The Tigers bring back a boatload of talent, but can they finish things this year?
• The good news for Auburn, South Carolina and Tennessee is their coaches won't have to deal with NCAA questions, unlike last year.

Alabama placed an SEC-high six players on the preseason watch list for the 2012 Rotary Lombardi Award.

Center Barrett Jones, guard Chance Warmack, offensive tackle D.J. Fluker, noseguard Jesse Williams and linebackers C.J. Mosley and Nico Johnson were all on the list.

The Rotary Lombardi Award is given annually to the top lineman or linebacker in college football. Eligibility for the Rotary Lombardi Award is limited to: 1) offensive or defensive end-to-end down linemen who set up no farther than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball and 2) linebackers who set up no farther than 5 yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

Below is a complete list of the SEC players making the preseason cut. Among the most surprising omissions were LSU defensive tackle Bennie Logan, Florida defensive tackle Dominique Easley, Texas A&M defensive end Damontre Moore and Mississippi State defensive tackle Josh Boyd. The list will be periodically revised until the first round of voting is completed.

Here you go:

• Alvin Bailey, OG, Arkansas
• Jon Bostic, LB, Florida
• Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
• Chris Faulk, OT, LSU
• Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida
• D.J. Fluker, OT, Alabama
• Alex Hurst, OT, LSU
• Gabe Jackson, OG, Mississippi State
• Jelani Jenkins, LB, Florida

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Some of my best childhood memories go back to the Major League All-Star Game and sitting around and watching the Midsummer Classic with family members.

That’s what we did last week at our house.

So in keeping with the All-Star theme, we’ll select a preseason SEC All-Star team with the East going up against the West.

Who would win?

EAST

Offense

• QB: Aaron Murray, Georgia
• RB: Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina
• RB: Zac Stacy, Vanderbilt
• WR: Justin Hunter, Tennessee
• WR: Da'Rick Rogers, Tennessee
• TE: Jordan Reed, Florida
• OL: Elvis Fisher, Missouri
• OL: Larry Warford, Kentucky
• OL: Wesley Johnson, Vanderbilt
• OL: Dallas Thomas, Tennessee
• C: T.J. Johnson, South Carolina

Defense

• DE: Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina
• DE: Devin Taylor, South Carolina
• DT: Dominique Easley, Florida
• DT: John Jenkins, Georgia
• LB: Jarvis Jones, Georgia
• LB: Jelani Jenkins, Florida
• LB: Alec Ogletree, Georgia
• CB: E.J. Gaines, Missouri
• CB: Prentiss Waggner, Tennessee
• S: Bacarri Rambo, Georgia
• S: Matt Elam, Florida

Special Teams

• PK: Caleb Sturgis, Florida
• P: Richard Kent, Vanderbilt
• RS: Andre Debose, Florida

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The SEC has a nation-leading 19 players on the 2012 preseason watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which is awarded annually to the nation's best defensive player. Alabama leads the SEC with five players on the list, while LSU is second with four.

Here are all 19 SEC players on the Nagurski Trophy list:

• Johnthan Banks, CB, Mississippi State
• Jadeveon Clowney, DE, South Carolina
• Matt Elam, S, Florida
• Sharrif Floyd, DT, Florida

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The SEC has seven players on the 2012 preseason watch list for the John Mackey Award, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding tight end.

Here are the seven SEC players who made the Mackey watch list:

• Chase Clement, Sr., LSU
• Chris Gragg, Sr., Arkansas
• Malcolm Johnson, So., Mississippi State
• Philip Lutzenkirchen, Sr., Auburn
• Mychal Rivera, Sr., Tennessee
• Jordan Reed, Jr., Florida
• Michael Williams, Sr., Alabama

For the full Mackey watch list, go here.

The SEC leads the nation with 10 players on the 2012 preseason watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which is presented annually to the nation's most outstanding center.

Here are the 10 SEC players:

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If the 2012 Rimington Trophy watch list is any indication, it should be a banner year for centers in the SEC.

Nine SEC players were named on the list of 50. The Rimington Trophy is awarded annually to the top center in college football.

The last SEC player to win the Rimington Trophy was Florida's Maurkice Pouncey in 2009.

The nine SEC players making the watch list this year were:

• Reese Dismukes, Auburn
• Jonotthan Harrison, Florida
• T.J. Johnson, South Carolina
• Barrett Jones, Alabama
• Patrick Lewis, Texas A&M
• P.J. Lonergan, LSU
• Matt Smith, Kentucky
• Travis Swanson, Arkansas
• Evan Swindall, Ole Miss

We're taking one last look at the SEC's postseason by putting together our All-SEC bowl team:

OFFENSE

QB: Connor Shaw, South Carolina: Shaw didn't seem to feel the pressure of a bowl game, completing 11 of 17 passes for 230 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for 42 yards and another score in the Gamecocks' win against Nebraska in the Capital One Bowl. He even gave South Carolina the momentum going into the second half with a touchdown on a Hail Mary to end the first half.

RB: Vick Ballard, Mississippi State: Ballard ended his career with the Bulldogs with one of his best performances, as he rushed for 180 yards and two touchdowns on just 14 carries in Mississippi State's win against Wake Forest in the Music City Bowl. His touchdowns went for 72 and 60 yards.

RB: Onterio McCalebb, Auburn: As the Tigers' lead back in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, McCalebb had a game-high 109 rushing yards, including a long of 60. He also recorded a three-yard touchdown run and caught two passes for 53 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown in Auburn's win against Virginia.

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