BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The LSU Tigers led all teams with 14 players selected to the 2008 Southeastern Conference Coaches Pre-Season All-SEC Football Team, announced today.
Florida was the only other SEC team with double figure selections with ten. There were first, second and third-teams selected for this year's coaches pre-season squad.
Georgia had nine players selected to the three squads followed by Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina with eight and Tennessee had seven. Kentucky had five selections while Ole Miss and Mississippi State had four each, Arkansas had three and Vanderbilt had two.
Read the rest here.
Notice Batesville, Mississippi? In addition to the being the home of Soulja Boy, Batesville is home of three on the All-SEC team. South Panola High is the state's reigning powerhouse, with one of the nation's longest running winning streaks. Make that the longest.
South Panola High School is known for its impressive football tradition. As of the conclusion of the 2007 high school football season, the Tigers own the longest active winning streak in all of football at 75 consecutive victories dating back to 2003.They've also won five straight state titles, including last year's barnburner over George County (Lucedale). With such great former NFL veterans like Fernando Bryant and Dwayne Rudd coming out of Batesville, it's little wonder the place collects trophies like Clint Eastwood's soft side gathers dust on the shelf.
LaGrange, Georgia, which had two players on this list that I covered at my first journalism job out of college and which is an equally small town, also is big contributor on this august list. LaGrange is also home to rapper Bubba Sparxx, who played for LaGrange's crosstown archrival, Troup.
I proof that some of the best football players come from some of the most out-of-the-way places. It's a good bet in those towns where everything closes at game time and most of the population is at the ball game, you're going to see some serious talent on display.
2008 SEC COACHES PRE-SEASON ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM
(#-Ties / *-Unanimous Selection) (Coaches could not vote for themselves or their own players)
| Pos. | Name | School | Ht. | Wt. | Class | Hometown |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC -- OFFENSE | ||||||
| TE | Cornelius Ingram | Florida | 6-4 | 223 | Sr. | Hawthorne, Fla. |
| OL | *Andre Smith | Alabama | 6-5 | 340 | Jr. | Birmingham, Ala. |
| OL | *Michael Oher | Ole Miss | 6-5 | 318 | Sr. | Memphis, Tenn. |
| OL | *Anthony Parker | Tennessee | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. | Jonesboro, Ga. |
| OL | Herman Johnson | LSU | 6-7 | 351 | Sr. | Olla, La. |
| C | *Jonathan Luigs | Arkansas | 6-4 | 314 | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark. |
| WR | Percy Harvin | Florida | 5-11 | 178 | Jr. | Virginia Beach, Va. |
| WR | Kenny McKinley | South Carolina | 6-0 | 182 | Sr. | Mableton, Ga. |
| QB | Tim Tebow | Florida | 6-3 | 232 | Jr. | Jacksonville, Fla. |
| RB | *Knowshon Moreno | Georgia | 5-11 | 207 | So. | Belford, N.J. |
| RB | Arian Foster | Tennessee | 6-1 | 215 | Sr. | San Diego, Calif. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC -- OFFENSE | ||||||
| TE | Richard Dickson | LSU | 6-3 | 237 | Jr. | Ocean Springs, Miss. |
| OL | Ciron Black | LSU | 6-5 | 314 | Jr. | Tyler, Texas |
| OL | Tyronne Green | Auburn | 6-2 | 307 | Sr. | Pensacola, Fla. |
| OL | #Ramon Foster | Tennessee | 6-6 | 325 | Sr. | Henning, Tenn. |
| OL | #Lee Ziemba | Auburn | 6-8 | 288 | So. | Rogers, Ark. |
| OL | #Mitch Petrus | Arkansas | 6-4 | 305 | Sr. | Carlisle, Ark. |
| OL | #Garry Williams | Kentucky | 6-3 | 300 | Sr. | Louisville, Ky. |
| C | #Antoine Caldwell | Alabama | 6-3 | 292 | Sr. | Montgomery, Ala. |
| C | #Brett Helms | LSU | 6-2 | 283 | Sr. | Stuttgart, Ark. |
| WR | Demetrius Byrd | LSU | 6-2 | 195 | Sr. | Miami, Fla. |
| WR | Mohamed Massaquoi | Georgia | 6-2 | 198 | Sr. | Charlotte, N.C. |
| QB | Matthew Stafford | Georgia | 6-3 | 237 | Jr. | Dallas, Texas |
| RB | Anthony Dixon | Mississippi State | 6-1 | 240 | Jr. | Jackson, Miss. |
| RB | Ben Tate | Auburn | 5-11 | 215 | Jr. | Newark, Md. |
| THIRD-TEAM ALL-SEC -- OFFENSE | ||||||
| TE | Jared Cook | South Carolina | 6-5 | 242 | Jr. | Suwanee, Ga. |
| OL | Phil Trautwein | Florida | 6-6 | 301 | Sr. | Voorhees, N.J. |
| OL | Jim Tartt | Florida | 6-3 | 300 | Sr. | Sochoppy, Fla. |
| OL | John Jerry | Ole Miss | 6-5 | 350 | Jr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| OL | Anthony Strauder | Mississippi State | 6-3 | 290 | Sr. | Natchez, Miss. |
| C | Josh McNeil | Tennessee | 6-4 | 280 | Jr. | Collins, Miss. |
| WR | Lucas Taylor | Tennessee | 6-0 | 185 | Sr. | Carencro, La. |
| WR | Brandon LaFell | LSU | 6-3 | 194 | Jr. | Houston, Texas |
| QB | John Parker Wilson | Alabama | 6-2 | 213 | Sr. | Hoover, Ala. |
| RB | Keiland Williams | LSU | 5-11 | 223 | Jr. | Lafayette, La. |
| RB | Terry Grant | Alabama | 5-10 | 188 | So. | Lumberton, Miss. |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC -- DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | *Greg Hardy | Ole Miss | 6-4 | 265 | Jr. | Millington, Tenn. |
| DL | Sen'Derrick Marks | Auburn | 6-1 | 288 | Jr. | Mobile, Ala. |
| DL | Tyson Jackson | LSU | 6-5 | 292 | Sr. | Edgard, La. |
| LB | *Brandon Spikes | Florida | 6-3 | 245 | Jr. | Shelby, N.C. |
| LB | Rico McCoy | Tennessee | 6-1 | 215 | Jr. | Washington, D.C. |
| LB | Darry Beckwith | LSU | 6-1 | 232 | Sr. | Baton Rouge, La. |
| LB | Dannell Ellerbe | Georgia | 6-1 | 232 | Sr. | Hamlet, N.C. |
| DB | Eric Berry | Tennessee | 5-11 | 195 | So. | Fairburn, Ga. |
| DB | Derek Pegues | Mississippi State | 5-10 | 196 | Sr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| DB | #Rashad Johnson | Alabama | 6-0 | 187 | Sr. | Sulligent, Ala. |
| DB | #Captain Munnerlyn | South Carolina | 5-9 | 185 | Jr. | Mobile, Ala. |
| DB | #D.J. Moore | Vanderbilt | 5-10 | 182 | Jr. | Spartanburg, S.C. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC -- DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | Ricky Jean-Francois | LSU | 6-3 | 281 | Jr. | Miami, Fla. |
| DL | Geno Atkins | Georgia | 6-1 | 290 | Jr. | Pembroke Pines, Fla. |
| DL | #Jeremy Jarmon | Kentucky | 6-3 | 277 | Jr. | Collierville, Tenn. |
| DL | #Peria Jerry | Ole Miss | 6-2 | 290 | Sr. | Batesville, Miss. |
| LB | Jasper Brinkley | South Carolina | 6-2 | 275 | Sr. | Thomson, Ga. |
| LB | Rolando McClain | Alabama | 6-4 | 255 | So. | Decatur, Ala. |
| LB | Eric Norwood | South Carolina | 6-1 | 270 | Jr. | Acworth, Ga. |
| LB | #Tray Blackmon | Auburn | 6-2 | 220 | Jr. | LaGrange, Ga. |
| LB | #Jamar Chaney | Mississippi State | 6-1 | 236 | Sr. | Fort Pierce, Fla. |
| DB | Emanuel Cook | South Carolina | 5-10 | 214 | Jr. | Riviera Beach, Fla. |
| DB | Asher Allen | Georgia | 5-10 | 198 | Jr. | Tucker, Ga. |
| DB | Trevard Lindley | Kentucky | 6-0 | 175 | Jr. | Hiram, Ga. |
| DB | Jerraud Powers | Auburn | 5-9 | 188 | Jr. | Decatur, Ala. |
| THIRD-TEAM ALL-SEC -- DEFENSE | ||||||
| DL | Antonio Coleman | Auburn | 6-2 | 250 | Jr. | Mobile, Ala. |
| DL | #Antwain Robinson | Arkansas | 6-2 | 258 | Sr. | Little Rock, Ark. |
| DL | #Kirston Pittman | LSU | 6-4 | 254 | Sr. | Garyville, La. |
| DL | #Jeff Owens | Georgia | 6-3 | 298 | Sr. | Sunrise, Fla. |
| LB | Rennie Curran | Georgia | 5-11 | 220 | So. | Snellville, Ga. |
| LB | Micah Johnson | Kentucky | 6-2 | 250 | Jr. | Ft. Campbell, Ky. |
| LB | Braxton Kelley | Kentucky | 6-0 | 230 | Sr. | LaGrange, Ga. |
| DB | #Reshard Langford | Vanderbilt | 6-2 | 208 | Sr. | Tanner, Ala. |
| DB | #Chad Jones | LSU | 6-3 | 222 | So. | Baton Rouge, La. |
| DB | #Major Wright | Florida | 6-0 | 194 | So. | Miramar, Fla. |
| DB | #Joe Haden | Florida | 5-11 | 180 | So. | Ft. Washington, Md. |
| DB | #Wondy Pierre-Louis | Florida | 6-0 | 182 | Jr. | Naples, Fla. |
| FIRST-TEAM ALL-SEC -- SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Colt David | LSU | 5-9 | 175 | Sr. | Grapevine, Texas |
| P | Ryan Shoemaker | Auburn | 6-0 | 192 | So. | Birmingham, Ala. |
| RS | Brandon James | Florida | 5-6 | 179 | Jr. | St. Augustine, Fla. |
| SECOND-TEAM ALL-SEC -- SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Ryan Succop | South Carolina | 6-3 | 224 | Sr. | Hickory, N.C. |
| P | Ryan Succop | South Carolina | 6-3 | 224 | Sr. | Hickory, N.C. |
| RS | Javier Arenas | Alabama | 5-9 | 193 | Jr. | Tampa, Fla. |
| THIRD-TEAM ALL-SEC -- SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||||
| PK | Leigh Tiffin | Alabama | 6-1 | 198 | Jr. | Muscle Shoals, Ala. |
| P | Brian Mimbs | Georgia | 5-11 | 205 | Sr. | Dublin, Ga. |
| RS | Trindon Holliday | LSU | 5-5 | 159 | Jr. | Zachary, La. |
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