BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Southeastern Conference released on Friday the 2016 Preseason Media Days All-SEC Football Teams, as voted on by the media in attendance at the 2016 SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala., July 11-14. Nine Volunteers were selected to preseason All-SEC teams, while the Tennessee football program was also predicted to finish first in the SEC Eastern Division in 2016.
Among the nine preseason All-SEC nods, senior linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, senior defensive back Cameron Sutton and junior defensive end Derek Barnett each received first team honors, while senior quarterback Joshua Dobbs and junior running backJalen Hurd were named second-team offensive selections.
Dobbs started all 13 games for the Vols last season and is 14-5 in his last 19 starts. During that span, Tennessee has averaged 34.2 points and more than 424 yards of total offense per game. Last season, he threw for 2,291 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 671 yards — the most ever by a quarterback at Tennessee. Dobbs was selected as a 2016 team captain by head coach Butch Jones.
Hurd led Tennessee in rushing for the second consecutive year with 1,288 yards in 2015, making him UT’s first-ever true sophomore to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. He finished fourth in the SEC in rushing in 2015 and enters his junior season with 2,291 yards — only 891 yards behind Travis Henry for Tennessee’s best all-time career rushing mark.
Jashon Robertson started 10 games at left guard for the Vols in 2015, helping anchor a line that paved the way for a Tennessee offense that averaged 422.3 yards per game and 223.7 yards rushing (second-most in the SEC) per game. The Vols produced the second-most rushing yards in program history with 2,908 in 2015.
Barnett ranked third in the SEC with 10.0 sacks in 2015 and will enter his junior season tied for eighth in career sacks at Tennessee with 20. He currently trails the legendary Reggie White, UT’s all-time sacks leader, by only 12. The Nashville native was third on the team in total tackles last season with 69.
Reeves-Maybin is one of the most consistent linebackers in the SEC. In 2015, he ranked seventh in the SEC in total tackles (105) and ninth in tackles per game (8.1). Reeves-Maybin led the Vols in tackles and tackles-for-loss (14.0). He has started each of his last 26 games and was selected as a 2016 team captain by head coach Butch Jones.
Sutton has started all 38 games of his career, including 13 games in 2015 in which the shutdown corner posted 28 tackles, 3.0 TFLs, an interception, two pass break-ups, and two forced fumbles. He is tied for fourth in Tennessee history with 32 career passes defended. Last season, Sutton earned All-American honors after leading the nation with a punt return average for 18.7 yards per return with two touchdowns. He was selected as a 2016 team captain by head coach Butch Jones.
Evan Berry was the 2015 SEC Special Teams Player of the Year and earned All-American honors after leading the nation with a 38.3 kickoff return average. He was one of just four players in the country with three kickoff return touchdowns in 2015. Berry enters 2016 as UT’s leader in career kickoff return average (34.8).
Alvin Kamara tallied 1,089 all-purpose yards in 2015 and ranked second on the team with 698 rushing yards (6.5-yard average) and 291 receiving yards. He totaled 11 touchdowns as a redshirt junior last year with seven rushing scores, three receiving scores and one on a punt return. Kamara was selected as one of UT’s four 2016 team captains by head coach Butch Jones.
Trevor Daniel is coming off of a breakout 2015 season in which he ranked eighth in the nation and second in the SEC with a Tennessee-record 45.7-yard punting average (minimum 50 punts). Daniel had 60 punts for 2,742 yards with 22 punts of 50 or more yards and 25 punts inside the opponent’s 20-yard line.
Tennessee opens the 2016 season on Thursday, Sept. 1 when Appalachian State makes the trek to Knoxville. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.
PRESEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAMS
(Total points earned in parenthesis)
OFFENSE
- First Team
QB: Chad Kelly, Ole Miss (321)
RB: Leonard Fournette, LSU (329)
RB: Nick Chubb, Georgia (308)
WR: Calvin Ridley, Alabama (318)
WR: Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (223)
TE: O.J. Howard, Alabama (294)
OL: Cam Robinson, Alabama (315)
OL: Dan Skipper, Arkansas (228)
OL: Greg Pyke, Georgia (171)
OL: Alex Kozan, Auburn (165)
C: Ethan Pocic, LSU (188) - Second Team
QB: Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee (313)
RB: Jalen Hurd, Tennessee (278)
RB: Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt (151)
WR: Malachi Dupre, LSU (167)
WR: Fred Ross, Mississippi State (139)
TE: Evan Engram, Ole Miss (214)
OL: Martez Ivey, Florida (152)
OL: William Clapp, LSU (143)
OL: David Sharpe, Florida (138)
OL: Alphonse Taylor, Alabama (137)
C: Brandon Kublanow, Georgia (121) - Third Team
QB: Brandon Harris, LSU (25)
RB: Stanley “Boom” Williams, Kentucky (60)
RB: Jovon Robinson, Auburn (55)
WR: Ricky Seals-Jones, Texas A&M (78)
WR: Drew Morgan, Arkansas (49)
TE: Jeremy Sprinkle, Arkansas (65)
OL: Avery Gennesy, Texas A&M (120)
OL: Jashon Robertson, Tennessee (119)
OL: Braden Smith, Auburn (118)
OL: Javon Patterson, Ole Miss (113)
C: Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama (101)
DEFENSE
- First Team
DL: Jonathan Allen, Alabama (301)
DL: Myles Garrett, Texas A&M (286)
DL: Carl Lawson, Auburn (253)
DL: Derek Barnett, Tennessee (171)
LB: Reuben Foster, Alabama (265)
LB: Kendell Beckwith, LSU (231)
LB: Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Tennessee (223)
DB: Eddie Jackson, Alabama (293)
DB: Jalen Tabor, Florida (249)
DB: Tre’Davious White, LSU (221)
DB: Cameron Sutton, Tennessee (213) - Second Team
DL: Montravius Adams, Auburn (167)
DL: Bryan Cox, Florida (105)
DL: Davon Godchaux, LSU (105)
DL: Charles Harris, Missouri (103)
LB: Tim Williams, Alabama (196)
LB: Zach Cunningham, Vanderbilt (178)
LB: Jarad Davis, Florida (160)
DB: Jamal Adams, LSU (193)
DB: Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama (188)
DB: Tony Conner, Ole Miss (146)
DB: Dominick Sanders, Georgia (145) - Third Team
DL: Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss (102)
DL: Deatrich Wise, Arkansas (95)
DL: Cece Jefferson, Florida (85)
DL: A.J. Jefferson, Mississippi State (84)
LB: Lorenzo Carter, Georgia (92)
LB: Richie Brown, Mississippi State (84)
LB: Arden Key, LSU (76)
DB: Marcus Maye, Florida (139)
DB: Marlon Humphrey, Alabama (120)
DB: Johnathan Ford, Auburn (105)
DB: Armani Watts, Texas A&M (74)
SPECIALISTS
- First Team
P: JK Scott, Alabama (252)
PK: Daniel Carlson, Auburn (198)
RS: Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (214)
AP: Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (240) - Second Team
P: Johnny Townsend, Florida (124)
PK: Adam Griffith, Auburn (174)
RS: Evan Berry, Tennessee (163)
AP: Alvin Kamara, Tennessee (152) - Third Team
P: Trevor Daniel, Tennessee (97)
PK: Elliott Fry, South Carolina (91)
RS: Isaiah McKenzie, Georgia (100)
AP: Isaiah McKenzie, Georgia (112)