Tennessee football: Four Vols make Coaches 2017 Preseason All-SEC teams
Tennessee football did not have many players make 2017 preseason Coaches All-SEC teams. Four Volunteers were named overall, but none made first team.
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Well there’s not a lot of creativity here. If you go back in July and take a look at the four Tennessee football players who made the media’s Preseason All-SEC teams, you’ll notice it looks oddly similar to the Coaches 2017 Preseason All-SEC team, which is now out.
That’s because it is. The same four Vols made it onto both: Jauan Jennings, Jashon Robertson, Trevor Daniel and Evan Berry.
In fact, the only difference is where they came in. As much skepticism as there is for the Vols outside of the college football world, there’s even more skepticism inside that circle.
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In both instances, zero Vols made first-team All-SEC. But the media’s picks had two Vols make second-team: Berry and Robertson. The other two made third-team.
However, the coaches, on the other hand, only had one Vol make second-team, Berry. The other three were all third-teamers.
With so much attrition, it’s not crazy to see these guys make both lists. And it’s not crazy to see nobody else from Knoxville on there. After all, there is a ton of talent on the roster, but so much of it is unproven.
About the only other players who may have had a strong case are Todd Kelly Jr., Darrin Kirkland Jr. and maybe Ethan Wolf.
However, everybody else on the team this year has to prove they deserve national recognition. So the look of the Coaches All-SEC team is pretty accurate for the Vols.
To nobody’s surprise, the Alabama Crimson Tide led the league with 15 selections overall. They also had an impressive nine first-team All-SEC selections.
But hey, Tennessee football is at least elite in one area. Since Berry made the group as a kick returner, they had two special teams guys make Preseason All-SEC.
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And quite honestly, if it weren’t for his season-ending injury, the brother of Eric Berry likely would’ve been first-team All-SEC. So there is some respect for the Vols. But Butch Jones’s team needs to earn a lot more if they’re going to have a successful season.