O’Gara: 5 players from both Oklahoma and Texas who deserve preseason All-SEC consideration
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I know how this goes. If you haven’t done it in the SEC, have you really done it?
That’s often the mindset when it comes to filling out preseason All-SEC ballots. Take those for what they are. As someone who does one every year, I try not to project as much. I care more about what a player has already shown to deserve that honor.
There are plenty of guys on Oklahoma and Texas who haven’t necessarily dominated SEC competition, but they’ve already been standouts in the Big 12. Yes, you can be a Big 12 standout and be worthy of preseason All-SEC love.
Here are 5 players from each new SEC squad who should be in that preseason all-conference discussion:
Oklahoma
1. Danny Stutsman, LB
The third-team All-American was the heart and soul of Brent Venables’ defense, which was why it was a major boost for the Sooners when he returned instead of leaving for the NFL. Stutsman will be the guy who looks like he should be playing on Sundays instead of torturing college offenses on Saturdays. After leading the Big 12 in tackles as a true sophomore in 2022, he had 104 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 2 pass breakups, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery in 2023. Forget preseason All-SEC love. Stutsman should be a preseason first-team All-American.
2. Billy Bowman Jr., S
Speaking of guys who held off the NFL Draft and returned to Venables’ defense, Bowman is that dude. The first-team All-Big 12 selection was a menace in his third season as a starter. He filled up the stat sheet with 6 interceptions (T-No. 3 in FBS), 3 of which were pick-6s (an Oklahoma record). That gave him an FBS-best 238 interception return yards (another Oklahoma record). Bowman was also a sure-handed tackler in space with 63 stops. Bowman and Georgia’s Malaki Starks could earn the safety spots not just for preseason All-SEC, but for preseason All-American.
3. Deion Burks, WR
If you don’t know the name, now is your chance. Well, the spring game should’ve been a coming-out party for those who didn’t know about Burks’ skill set. The Purdue transfer is exactly what an already deep receiver room needed to fill the void left by Drake Stoops. He’ll play a ton in the slot and become a matchup nightmare for SEC secondaries. I doubt he’ll get preseason All-SEC love because the 2023 numbers (629 receiving yards, 7 TDs) don’t jump off the page, but with improved quarterback play, Burks will vault to the top of every scouting report at Oklahoma.
4. Nic Anderson, WR
Did I mention that Oklahoma was loaded at receiver? Yeah? It’s worth another mention. Anderson took off as a redshirt freshman. He’s the only Power 5 receiver who averaged 20 yards per catch while recording double-digit receiving touchdowns, and he racked up 7 catches of 40 yards. In 9 games last year, he either had a receiving touchdown or 90 receiving yards. That’s impressive. Oh, and he also had the game-winning score against Texas. Between Anderson, Burks, a healthy Andrel Anthony and Jalil Farooq, Oklahoma will enter the SEC much like A&M did in 2012 with an embarrassment of riches at receiver.
5. Gavin Sawchuk, RB
You’re gonna tell me that a Big 12 running back who had 744 rushing yards isn’t worthy of getting one of those coveted preseason All-SEC running back slots. I get it. Now I’m gonna tell you that a guy who had nothing but 100-yard games in Oklahoma’s final 5 contests after taking over the bell-cow role mid-season is very much worthy of that kind of buzz. That guy also led all freshmen (he was a redshirt freshman) with 9 rushing scores. Remember that only 2 of the SEC’s 10 leading rushers are back in 2024. Sawchuk earning preseason second-team honors would be justified.
Texas
1. Kelvin Banks, Jr., OT
Outside of LSU’s Will Campbell, I think Banks is the most likely SEC player who’ll be a Round 1 guy in the 2025 NFL Draft. Like Campbell, Banks is a 2-year starter at left tackle. There might not be a better returning pass-protector in the sport. After he allowed just 1 QB hit as a true freshman left tackle in 2022, he was a second-team All-American in 2023 for a Texas team that ranked in the top 25 in both passing and rushing. By the way, Banks was a massive reason Alabama didn’t register a single sack on Quinn Ewers when the Longhorns handed Nick Saban most lopsided home loss in 17 seasons in Tuscaloosa. Speaking of Ewers …
2. Quinn Ewers, QB
You could argue that the 3 best returning quarterbacks in the sport are in the SEC in Ewers, Carson Beck and Jalen Milroe. Including Jaxson Dart and Brady Cook, the SEC has 5 returning quarterbacks who started in a New Year’s 6 bowl or a Playoff game last year. Ewers is obviously 1 of them. The former No. 1 overall recruit had a breakout season wherein he played the 2 best games of his career at Alabama and in the Big 12 Championship. Among QBs with 3 games vs. teams who finished ranked in the AP Poll, Ewers was No. 4 in quarterback rating. His return delayed the Arch Manning era, but the hype for Ewers is more justified than ever.
3. Anthony Hill Jr., LB
If you’re sensing a theme here, you know what I’m about to say — this is another Texas standout balled out against Alabama. Hill had that all-important sack in the 4th quarter against the Tide, which forced a punt and ultimately allowed Texas to hold onto the ball for the final 7:14. Not only did Hill have a 2-sack night in Texas’ biggest win in 14 years, but he was out there for 59 snaps in a Playoff game … as a true freshman middle linebacker. Unreal. The Big 12 co-Defensive Freshman of the Year is already the face of Texas’ defense heading into Year 2.
4. CJ Baxter, RB
You had me at “Steve Sarkisian running back.” The aforementioned lack of proven SEC depth at running back heading into 2024 is partially why Baxter deserves preseason All-SEC consideration, even though he only had 659 rushing yards. The former No. 1 running back recruit in the 2023 class saw an uptick in work after the Jonathan Brooks injury, and while he wasn’t Bijan Robinson 2.0 just yet, he was still extremely productive as an 18-year-old on a Playoff team. He’s the only returning SEC player who can make the claim “I had 100 scrimmage yards in a Playoff game.” If that’s not a résumé-booster, I don’t know what is.
5. Bert Auburn, K
I mean, the name alone makes him worthy of preseason All-SEC love. He’s a 2-year starter who set Texas’ single-season record for field goals in a season (29). That earned him first-team All-Big 12 honors after he drilled 29 of 35 kicks, which marked his second consecutive season with better than an 80% clip. In a post-Will Reichard/Harrison Mevis world, Auburn and Miami (Ohio) transfer Graham Nicholson (now at Alabama) are both worthy of first-team All-SEC consideration. If there’s any debate for that top spot, it should be settled by the fact that a man named “Bert Auburn” was put on this planet to kick in the SEC.
Connor O'Gara is the senior national columnist for Saturday Down South. He's a member of the Football Writers Association of America. After spending his entire life living in B1G country, he moved to the South in 2015.
