Hayes: My preseason All-SEC ballot and predicted order of finish for 2023

NASHVILLE — I’ve tried all offseason to convince myself that Georgia has better players. And all else being equal, better players win.

But all else isn’t equal anymore. Not after Georgia’s drama-filled offseason, not after week after week, month after month, we’re reminded over and over that the program without flaws the past 2 seasons has hit a few speed bumps.

No pun intended.

The overriding question is this: Does the offseason bleed into the season, where Georgia starts a new quarterback with a new offensive coordinator — with no room for error. If Georgia doesn’t win the SEC Championship Game, it won’t reach the Playoff without an extraordinary set of circumstances.

A nonconference schedule of UT-Martin, Ball State, UAB and Georgia Tech took care of that.

Meanwhile, there is LSU, growing and gaining confidence with each month since coach Brian Kelly arrived in December 2021. The talent is there, the quarterback (Jayden Daniels) is hot, and it’s time for the Tigers to reemerge at the top of the best conference in college football.

Using that as a backdrop, here’s how I’ll be filling out my preseason ballot at SEC Media Days.

All-SEC team

Offense

QB: Jayden Daniels, LSU
RB: Raheim Sanders, Arkansas
RB: Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss
WR: Malik Nabors, LSU
WR: Evan Stewart, Texas A&M
TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia
OL: Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
OL: Will Campbell, LSU
OL: Javon Foster, Missouri
OL: JC Latham, Alabama
OL: Gerald Mincey, Tennessee
AP: Barion Brown, Kentucky

Defense

DL: Princely Umanmielen, Florida
DL: John Morgan, Arkansas
DL: Mekhi Wingo, LSU
DL: McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M
LB: Harold Perkins, LSU
LB: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
LB: Dallas Turner, Alabama
DB: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
DB: Kris Abrams-Draine, Missouri
DB: Dwight McGlothern, Arkansas
DB: Malaki Starks, Georgia

Specialists

K: Will Reichard, Alabama
P: Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
KR: Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State
PR: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

SEC predicted order of finish

East Division

1. Georgia
2. Tennessee
3. Kentucky
4. South Carolina
5. Florida
6. Missouri
7. Vanderbilt

West Division

1. LSU
2. Alabama
3. Texas A&M
4. Ole Miss
5. Arkansas
6. Auburn
7. Mississippi State

SEC Championship

LSU 31, Georgia 28

SEC Offensive Player of the Year

Jayden Daniels, LSU QB

SEC Defensive Player of the Year

Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia LB

Matt Hayes

Matt Hayes is a national college football writer for Saturday Down South. You can hear him daily from 12-3 p.m. on 1010XL in Jacksonville. Follow on Twitter @MattHayesCFB