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Kentucky picked to finish second in SEC East; 3 Cats make All-SEC teams

More preseason hype for Kentucky football.

By Jason Marcum
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Will Levis Drew Brown - Sea of Blue

The Kentucky Wildcats have been picked to finish second in the SEC East by league media, while three Cats were named to the All-SEC teams. The Georgia Bulldogs were picked to win the East, while the Alabama Crimson Tide were picked to win SEC outright.

Senior offensive guard Kenneth Horsey and senior running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. were named Second-Team picks, while senior quarterback Will Levis was a Third-Team selection.

Horsey, a native of Sanford (FL), is the Wildcats’ most experienced lineman with 25 career games and 21 career starts, most of which coming at left guard. This, after having open-heart surgery in April of 2018 prior to his freshman year at UK. He’s since won the 2020 Mayo Clinic Comeback Player of the Year Award while earning spots on the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team and the SEC Community Service Team in 2021.

Rodriguez, hailing from McDonough (GA), is the SEC’s leading returning rusher. In 2021, he averaged 106.1 yards per game, ranking 12th nationally and second in the SEC. His 1,379 rushing yards ranks fifth on UK’s single-season list. For his career, Rodriguez has 2,740 rushing yards (sixth on in program history), 26 rushing TDs (tied for second in program history) and 15 100-yard games (third in program history).

Levis, from Madison (CT), is entering his second year as the starting signal-caller. In 13 games last season, he threw for 2,827 yards and 24 scores while rushing for 376 yards and nine touchdowns. He totaled 3,203 yards of total offense, the seventh player in school history to reach 3,000 yards of total offense in a season.

Here’s a look at the complete media SEC predictions for how the league will finish (and yes, someone picked Vanderbilt to win the SEC).

SEC Predicted Order of Finish

SEC East (First-place votes in parentheses)

School/Points

  • Georgia (172) 1254
  • Kentucky (4) 932
  • Tennessee (1) 929
  • Florida 712
  • South Carolina (3) 662
  • Missouri 383
  • Vanderbilt (1) 196

SEC West

School/Points

SEC CHAMPION

School/Points

  • Alabama 158
  • Georgia 18
  • South Carolina 3
  • Vanderbilt 1
  • Texas A&M 1

All-SEC Selections

OFFENSE

First-Team

  • QB – Bryce Young, Alabama
  • RB - Tank Bigsby, Auburn
  • RB – Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
  • WR - Kayshon Boutte, LSU
  • WR - Jermaine Burton, Alabama
  • TE - Brock Bowers, Georgia
  • OL - Emil Ekiyor Jr., Alabama
  • OL - Warren McClendon, Georgia
  • OL - O’Cyrus Torrence, Florida
  • OL - Nick Broeker, Ole Miss
  • C - Ricky Stromberg, Arkansas

Second-Team

  • QB – Hendon Hooker, Tennessee
  • RB - Chris Rodriguez Jr., Kentucky
  • RB - Devon Achane, Texas A&M
  • WR - Cedric Tillman, Tennessee
  • WR - Jonathan Mingo, Ole Miss
  • TE - Cameron Latu, Alabama
  • OL - Layden Robinson, Texas A&M
  • OL - Kenneth Horsey, Kentucky
  • OL - Darnell Wright, Tennessee
  • OL - Javion Cohen, Alabama
  • C - Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia

Third-Team

  • QB – Will Levis, Kentucky
  • RB - Zach Evans, Ole Miss
  • RB - Kenny McIntosh, Georgia
  • WR - Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
  • WR - Josh Vann, South Carolina
  • TE - Jaheim Bell, South Carolina
  • OL - Brady Latham, Arkansas
  • OL - Tyler Steen, Alabama
  • OL - Javon Foster, Missouri
  • *OL - Jeremy James, Ole Miss
  • *OL – Kendall Randolph, Alabama
  • C - Cooper Mays, Tennessee

DEFENSE

First-Team

  • DL - Jalen Carter, Georgia
  • DL - BJ Ojulari, LSU
  • DL - Derick Hall, Auburn
  • DL - Byron Young, Tennessee
  • LB - Will Anderson Jr., Alabama
  • LB - Nolan Smith, Georgia
  • LB - Henry To’oTo’o, Alabama
  • DB - Jordan Battle, Alabama
  • DB - Kelee Ringo, Georgia
  • DB - Eli Ricks, Alabama
  • DB - Jalen Catalon, Arkansas

Second-Team

  • DL - Zacch Pickens, South Carolina
  • DL - D.J. Dale, Alabama
  • DL - Ali Gaye, LSU
  • DL - Colby Wooden, Auburn
  • LB - Bumper Pool, Arkansas
  • LB - Dallas Turner, Alabama
  • LB - Brenton Cox Jr., Florida
  • DB – Cam Smith, South Carolina
  • DB - Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
  • DB - Christopher Smith, Georgia
  • DB - Emmanuel Forbes, Mississippi State

Third-Team

  • DL - Gervon Dexter, Florida
  • DL - Justin Eboigbe, Alabama
  • DL - Maason Smith, LSU
  • DL - McKinnley Jackson, Texas A&M
  • LB - Owen Pappoe, Auburn
  • LB - Ventrell Miller, Florida
  • LB - Jeremy Banks, Tennessee
  • DB - Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
  • DB - Trey Dean III, Florida
  • DB - Trevon Flowers, Tennessee
  • DB - Malachi Moore, Alabama

SPECIALISTS

First-Team

  • P - Nik Constantinou, Texas A&M
  • PK - Will Reichard, Alabama
  • RS - Kearis Jackson, Georgia
  • AP - Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama

Second-Team

  • P - Oscar Chapman, Auburn
  • PK - Anders Carlson, Auburn
  • RS - Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
  • AP - Devon Achane, Texas A&M

Third-Team

  • P - Paxton Brooks, Tennessee
  • PK - Harrison Mevis, Missouri
  • RS - JoJo Earle, Alabama
  • AP - Ainias Smith, Texas A&M

* - Indicates a tie

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