2011 SEC Media Days: Four Gators Named Preseason All-SEC, Florida Picked Third In East Division

by Andy Hutchins on Jul 22, 2011 10:15 AM EDT in Florida Football

Florida's luck with the media at SEC Media Days was even worse than its luck with the SEC's coaches, at least when it comes to esteem for the players: Just four Gators were named to All-SEC teams by the media, and none to the All-SEC first team.

Team Speed Kills has a breakdown of the All-SEC teams by team and school, and it looks very bleak for Florida, which placed kicker Caleb Sturgis on the second team and linebacker Jon Bostic, defensive tackle Dominique Easley, and all-purpose player Trey Burton on the third team.

Consider that from the obvious angle — Florida doesn't have an offensive or defensive player among the SEC's 22 best in either category — and it's bad. Really bad.

Florida's got a lot of talent, at least according to recruiting rankings and Florida's own coaches. But these coaches' and media members' votes suggest that talent is not expected to perform to its maximum in 2011.

There are good things about snubs like this. You think Jaye Howard isn't fired up to be the star that people seemingly don't expect him to be? Think John Brantley, forever pilloried, isn't ready to prove people wrong? But, on the whole, one would rather have the talent that Alabama does — 16 selections, including nine first-teamers, as many as any other team has selections — than the motivation that Florida will.

Florida was also picked third in the SEC East by the media, confirming some of our bewilderment at its status as a betting favorite in the division, and received two votes to win the SEC, probably from people who don't own 2011 calendars.

South Carolina earned 114 first-place votes in the SEC East, giving it a massive advantage over Georgia (38 votes) and Florida (12). Alabama led all teams in votes for SEC West champion (111) and SEC champion (98).

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Which of course means ‘Bama doesn’t have a shot at winning the SEC…

http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/24756/picking-the-sec-champion-at-media-days

Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.

by FlaGators on Jul 22, 2011 10:52 AM EDT reply actions

Yeah I dont quite understand the obsession with the fightin sabans or the fightin mad hatters. It is just august, but my gut feeling is that there wont be a SEC team in the NC game, unless of course its vanderbilt. Watch out for Miss St and Arkansas tho. They should be tough.

If you're not a Gator, you're Gatorbait!

by Gators1 on Jul 22, 2011 4:24 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions

Yep. I think Miss State and Arky are going to give LSU and ’Bama a run for their money as well.

Editor at Alligator Army - The Florida Gators Blog
The Florida Gators - The most despised team in all of college football - Which is fantastic.

by FlaGators on Jul 22, 2011 5:54 PM EDT up reply actions

I like the non pressure we have this year

I feel like around the league and the country we are seen as a mediocre team with a weak offense and a unsure defense. Now it would be crazy of me to think we will be one of the best teams because we are definitely rebuilding and we don’t necessarily have the right players to truly do what Boom Boom or Weis want to do. With all of that, going into games as underdogs helps younger players in my mind. We could have some breakout offensive players this year due to the fact that we might actually have an offense. For the past few years you couldn’t truly judge if there was a good offense because Addazio completely took away it from the team. Even with Tebow there it was non-existent. I’ve seen teams with far less talent have good offenses if they are doing it the right way and I think there is a good chance some random players on Florida will step up and make a name for themselves.

On defense, we have Muschamp taking control and even if we don’t have his type of players I’m sure they will be ready. They are young, but the one thing we have consistently recruited well over the past year is defensive players. Might not be the big boys he was used to in Texas, but he has DBs and DL full of 5 star recruits and I think he can figure it out.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the season. The Gators could be that mediocre team with a bunch of losses or could really surprise people and win the SEC if the players get behind the new system and are able to step up with an actual offense not an Addazio offense. I truly think it’s unfair for us to judge the offense when even Tebow could not make Addazio’s offense work.

by MPDevils on Jul 22, 2011 11:44 AM EDT reply actions