Media: Florida Gators to finish second in SEC East; nine voted to preseason All-SEC teams

Football

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Image Credit: ESPNI

The Florida Gators will enter 2017 looking for their third straight SEC East title, and for the third consecutive season, they will do so as underdogs — at least per the media in attendance at the 2017 SEC Media Days.

Florida was picked to finish second in the SEC East to Georgia, though the voting was relatively close (1,572-1,526). The Gators and Bulldogs are far and away the top two teams in the division, according to voters. UF only received three votes to win the SEC, finishing tied with LSU for fourth overall behind Alabama (217), Auburn (11) and Georgia (6).

A total of 10 Gators were named to the preseason All-SEC teams, though Florida received just two first-team nods: junior left tackle Martez Ivey and senior defensive back Duke Dawson. UF’s top-tier specialists, redshirt senior punter Johnny Townsend and redshirt junior kicker Eddy Pineiro, were both voted to the second team along with junior wide receiver Antonio Callaway and junior defensive end Cece Jefferson.

Callaway also earned a spot on the third team as a return specialist; he was joined by junior tight end DeAndre Goolsby, sophomore defensive lineman Jabari Zuniga and redshirt senior DB Marcell Harris.

Alabama set a new league record with 10 selections to the preseason All-SEC first team.