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Alabama Football: SEC SID’s with the opposite of rat poison for the Tide

By Ronald Evans

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Raekwon Davis #99 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates a sack during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 08: Raekwon Davis #99 of the Alabama Crimson Tide celebrates a sack during the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs in the CFP National Championship presented by AT&T at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 8, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) /
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For the 72nd time, the SEC SID’s released their preseason ALL-SEC teams and the results should motivate some ignored Alabama football players.

Not that Alabama football coach, Nick Saban will notice a SID poll. If he did, he could use the SEC Sports Information Directors (SIDs) preseason All-SEC team to motivate some Crimson Tide players. The poll is the opposite of rat poison for the Tide.

Are the SIDs good at picking the top players? They probably are as good as any non-coach. They certainly have access to information as insiders. Are they biased in favor of their teams? Perhaps, but so are coaches.

The SIDs picked 48 players from the SEC, two deep on offense and defense, plus punters and placekickers. Based on the results, Alabama football will not dominate the SEC in 2018 because of an abundance of the top players. The Crimson Tide had five players chosen, four first team selections and one second team.

Four more SEC teams had five players selected. From the SEC West, Texas A&M and LSU had five. Among the SEC East teams, Florida and Georgia had five players chosen.

Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Auburn were not far behind with four players each. Schools with only two players selected were Ole Miss, Arkansas and South Carolina. Tennessee had one player make the list. Vanderbilt was the only school to have no players chosen.

The full list is provided below. Summaries of the first team selections from al.com can be read at 2018 Offense and 2018 Defense.

Not rat poison but motivation?

Nick Saban may not care but Alabama football fans and some Alabama football players will notice some ommissions. Neither Jalen or Tua were chosen. Dylan Moses and Mack Wilson were not included. None of the young Alabama football wide receivers made it into a second team selection. Evidently, the SEC SIDs were not swayed by Tua being a top Heisman pick by some odds-makers.

Make no mistake, all the selections are credible. It would be nice to see the actual number of votes at each position. Devin White (LSU) may well be the best linebacker in the league. But, it is hard to see Mack Wilson being anywhere but close to Tyrel Dodson (TAMU) and Josh Allen (UK). Mack not being a second team choice is puzzling.

Players like Mack and Isaiah Buggs. Dylan Moses, Deionte Thompson, Terrell Lewis, Christian Miller, Jalen and Tua may get a bit of added motivation from being snubbed.

OFFENSE

Alabama football players in bold

  • Center – First team, Ross Piersbacher; Second team, Erick McCoy (TAMU)
  • Guard – First team, Hjalte Froholdt (ARK) and Donell Stanley (SCAR); Second team, Trey Smith (UT) and Garrett Brumfield (LSU)
  • Tackle – First team, Jonah Williams and Greg Little (OM); Second team, Lamon Gaillard (UGA) and Martez Ivory (UF)
  • Tight End – First team, Albert Okwuegbunam (MO); Second team, Foster Moreau, LSU
  • Wide Receiver – First team, A.J. Brown (OM) and Deebo Samuel (SCAR); Second team, Ryan Davis (AU) and Emanuel Hall (MO)
  • Quarterback – First team, Drew Lock (MO); Second team, Jake Fromm (UGA)
  • Running Back – Benny Snell (UK) and Damien Harris; Second team, D’Andre Swift (UGA) and Trayveon Williams (TAMU)
  • Punter – First team, Cory Fatony (MO); Second team, Max Duffy (UK)

DEFENSE

  • Defensive Line – First team, Raekwon Davis, Montez Sweat (MSU), Cece Jefferson (UF) and Kingsley Keke (TAMU); Second team, Dontavious Russell (AU), Jeffrey Simmons (MSU), Rashard Lawrence (LSU) and Derrick Browm (AU)
  • Linebacker – First team, Devin White (LSU), Tyrel Dodson (TAMU) and Josh Allen (UK); Second team, Anfernee Jennings, De’Jon Harris (ARK) and Deshaun Davis (AU)
  • Cornerback – First team, Andraez ‘Greedy’ Williams (LSU) and Deandre Baker (UGA); Second team, C.J. Henderson (UF) and Jamal Peters (MSU)
  • Safety – First team, Mike Edwards (UK) and Chauncey Gardner (UK); Second team, Mark McLaurin (MSU) and Jeawon Taylor (UF)
  • Placekicker – First team, Rodrigo Blankenship (UGA); Second team, Daniel LaCamera (TAMU)

Next: 25 Greatest Games in Saban Era

It is important to remember that units are more important to teams than individual players. Coaches sometimes say the difference in championship teams and others is talent on second teams and further down the depth chart.

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