After grading and analyzing every player on every play of every game during the 2018 college football season, it’s time we unveil the 2019 Preseason PFF All-SEC first team, second team and honorable mention for every position on offense and defense as well as for the first time ever, specialists.
The Preseason All-SEC list may differ a bit from any year-end look back at the previous season as we project to the 2019 season ahead of us. Find out which of these athletes made the PFF All-American team as well.
First-Team Offense
QB
Tua Tagovailoa, Alabama
Second-Team: Jake Fromm, Georgia
Honorable Mention: Jarrett Guarantano, Tennessee
RB
Najee Harris, Alabama
Averaging 4.38 yards after contact per carry is one thing, breaking off 28 of your 117 carries for at least 10 yards is another. Harris is on another level.
Second-Team: Larry Rountree III, Missouri
Honorable Mention: Clyde Edwards-Helaire, LSU
RB
Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Vanderbilt
Vaughn ranks fourth among Power-5 running backs with 829 yards after contact from last year, while averaging a ridiculous 7.9 yards per carry.
Second-Team: D'Andre Swift, Georgia
Honorable Mention: Lamical Perine, Florida
WR
Jerry Jeudy, Alabama
Jeudy runs the nation's best routes as the reigning Biletnikoff Award winner is one of the more dominating receiving threats we've seen in a while.
Second-Team: Lynn Bowden Jr., Kentucky
Honorable Mention: Kendrick Rogers, Texas A&M
WR
Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
A shifty guy with the ball in his hands, Waddle is a reliable target that could very easily be a WR1 for the majority of other college football programs.
Second-Team: Justin Jefferson, LSU
Honorable Mention: Marquez Callaway, Tennessee
WR
Kalija Lipscomb, Vanderbilt
Catching over 70.0% of your passes is one thing, catching 71.0% of a ridiculous 124 passes thrown your way is another and Lipscomb did all of that with just five dropped balls on 93 catchable targets last year.
Second-Team: Henry Ruggs III, Alabama
Honorable Mention: DeVonta Smith, Alabama
TE
Jared Pinkney, Vanderbilt
Pinkney leads all returning tight ends in yards and is a diamond in the rough in terms of his elusiveness after the catch. He can make defenders miss just as easy as he can grab the contested catch over the middle of the field.
Second-Team: Albert Okwuegbunam, Missouri
Honorable Mention: Cheyenne O'Grady, Arkansas
OT
Prince Tega Wanogho, Auburn
The second highest-graded Power-5 tackle returning in 2019, Tega Wanogho was brilliant in pass protection last year, allowing just one sack on 431 pass-blocking reps.
Second-Team: Jack Driscoll, Auburn
Honorable Mention: Yasir Durant, Missouri
OG
Solomon Kindley, Georgia
Kindley is a dominant force on the ground for the Bulldogs rushing attack just as he is strong in pass protection. A well-rounded guard anchors one of the nation's top tackle duos as Kindley's pass-blocking grades is the tops among active Power-5 guards.
Second-Team: Damien Lewis, LSU
Honorable Mention: Darryl Williams, Mississippi State
C
Lloyd Cushenberry III, LSU
Allowing just eight pressures on 480 snaps in pass protection is one way to get yourself noticed and Cushenberry has the Power-5's second-highest pass-blocking grade among active centers.
Second-Team: Drake Jackson, Kentucky
Honorable Mention: Trystan Colon-Castillo, Missouri
OG
Donnell Stanley, South Carolina
Stanley kicks outside to guard full-time as he played 74 snaps at either guard position a year ago. His 81.3 pass-blocking grade ranks inside the top-20 of all returning guards at the Power-5 level.
Second-Team: Cade Mays, Georgia
Honorable Mention: Marquel Harrell, Auburn
OT
Andrew Thomas, Georgia
Thomas has allowed just four sacks in his career and multiple pressures in just three contests a season ago. With another year in the system at left tackle, Thomas will once again be an SEC stalwart along Fromm’s blindside.
Second-Team: Isaiah Wilson, Georgia
Honorable Mention: Alex Givens, Ole Miss
First-Team Defense
Edge
Michael Divinity Jr., LSU
Divinity dropped back into coverage on 158 snaps a season ago and put forth the Power-5's highest coverage grade among qualifying edge defenders. He's also got a top-10 pass-rush grade as well.
Second-Team: Darrell Taylor, Tennessee
Honorable Mention: Malik Herring, Georgia
Edge
Anfernee Jennings, Alabama
Jennings had 36 total QB pressures a year ago and 15 combined sacks and hits while holding the 21st-best run-defense grade in the Power-5.
Second-Team: Marlon Davidson, Auburn
Honorable Mention: Jabari Zuniga, Florida
DI
Derrick Brown, Auburn
A sure-tackler, Brown has missed just four of his 85 tackle attempts over the past two seasons and is fourth among defensive interior players in pressures.
Second-Team: Raekwon Davis, Alabama
Honorable Mention: Jordan Elliott, Missouri
DI
Justin Madubuike, Texas A&M
Leading the nation's interior defenders last season, Madubuike racked up 19 combined sacks and hits while only missing one tackle in run defense as a true three-down interior defensive lineman.
Second-Team: Javon Kinlaw, South Carolina
Honorable Mention: Tyler Clark, Georgia
LB
Cale Garrett, Missouri
On just 62 pass-rushes, Garrett brought down 15 QB pressures while recording 46 defensive stops and plus grades across the board.
Second-Team: Tae Crowder, Georgia
Honorable Mention: David Reese, Florida
LB
Erroll Thompson, Mississippi State
On 310 snaps in coverage, Thompson allowed just 7.1 yards per reception allowed and kept quarterbacks to just a 56.2 passer rating on throws as the primary coverage defender.
Second-Team: Dylan Moses, Alabama
Honorable Mention: Daniel Bituli, Tennessee
CB
Kristian Fulton, LSU
Exploding onto the scene, Fulton allowed just 41.5% of the passes thrown his way to be caught, limited receivers to just 49 yards after the catch and made eight total plays on the ball in a dominant year in 2018.
Second-Team: Cameron Dantzler, Mississippi State
Honorable Mention: Javaris Davis, Auburn
CB
Shyheim Carter, Alabama
Playing mainly in the slot, Carter allowed fewer than 50.0% of the passes thrown his way to be caught. His sticky play in coverage allowed him to finish seventh among all active cornerbacks in overall grade a year ago.
Second-Team: Eric Stoke, Georgia
Honorable Mention: Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
S
J.R. Reed, Georgia
Reed has the fifth-highest coverage grade among active safeties and has allowed just 6.1 yards per target as the primary coverage defender.
Second-Team: Daniel Thomas, Auburn
Honorable Mention: Xavier McKinney, Alabama
S
Grant Delpit, LSU
Save for his missed tackles, Delpit flies to the ball like a missile and can bring it on the pass-rush, in run defense and is terrific in coverage.
Second-Team: Brad Stewart Jr., Florida
Honorable Mention: Richard Lecounte, Georgia
Flex
CJ Henderson, Florida
On 36 targeted passes, Henderson allowed just 18 receptions with neither catch allowed going over 41 yards. He didn't allow a touchdown and broke up six passes with an additional two interceptions.
Second-Team: Bryce Thompson, Tennessee
Honorable Mention: Maurice Smitherman, Mississippi State
First-Team Specialists
K
Rodrigo Blankenship, Georgia
Blankenship nailed all 62 of his extra point attempts and made 8-of-10 from at least 40 yards out last season.
P
Braden Mann, Texas A&M
The nation's highest-graded punter by some margin, Mann averaged 51.0 yards per attempt and 44.8 net yards per punt, both tops among returning punters.
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