One of the first preseason All-Conference lists made its way to social media on Tuesday, as Athlon Sports dropped its 2017 All-SEC Team. Regardless of talent gone to the National Football League, Alabama head coach Nick Saban and the Crimson Tide were tops on this list with 15 players named – including a conference-best 10 first team selections.
Sophomore quarterback Jalen Hurts kicks off the first-team offense, and he’s joined by wide receiver Calvin Ridley, offensive tackle Jonah Williams and offensive guard Ross Pierschbacher. Hurts, the SEC’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year, totaled 2,780 passing yards, 954 rushing yards and 36 touchdowns – school record – in helping the Tide win a conference championship and a Peach Bowl Trophy in 2016.
Although his numbers dropped a season ago, Ridley was still productive.
He caught a team-high 72 passes for 769 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. As for Williams and Pierschbacher, both assisted the Tide’s rushing attack to 11 100-yard games. The duo cleared the way for an SEC-best 38.8 points per game, while Alabama averaged 455.3 yards offensively.
Defensively, the Tide stacked Da’Ron Payne, Shaun Dion Hamilton, Anthony Averett, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Ronnie Harrison as first-team honorees. While Hamilton led all five guys in tackles with 64, Fitzpatrick carried a team-high six interceptions – including two returned for touchdowns. Harrison finished second in tackles with 85, and Payne totaled 36 stops with 3.5 coming for loss in 2016. As a first-year starter, Averett became pleasant surprise in the secondary. He turned in a team-best eight pass breakups to pair alongside 48 tackles.
Rounding out the first team was punter JK Scott.
He earned first team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches and Associated Press, following his performance as a junior. The 6-foot-6, 204-pound specialist averaged 47.2 yards a punt, with his longest boot traveling 66 yards. Twenty-seven of his 64 attempts were not returned (42.2 percent) and 29 of his punts traveled in excess of 50 yards. Despite not making the cut for the Ray Guy Award, Scott did garner second team All-American honors from Walter Camp, American Football Coaches Association and Sports Illustrated.
Second Team All-SEC
RB Bo Scarbrough
OL Bradley Bozeman
LB Rashaan Evans
Third Team All-SEC
None
Fourth Team All-SEC
DL Da’Shawn Hand
PR Trevon Diggs
Stephen M. Smith is a managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @Smsmith_TDALMag.
