Hogs fifth in SEC Media Days poll; Rocket only player first team

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It actually shouldn’t be that surprising Arkansas didn’t get much respect in the poll for ranking the teams in the SEC, but as we guessed, quarterback KJ Jefferson wasn’t named to the first team, either. Rocket Sander was on there, though.

The Razorbacks were tabbed fifth in the last year of the SEC West. As expected, Alabama is the odds-on favorite to come out on top in the West with 165 first-place vote while LSU was second with 117 votes. Georgia dominated in the East (Tennessee got 14 “so-what” votes) and the Bulldogs were tabbed the league favorite with 181 votes and the Crimson Tide 62.

Sanders was the only Hogs’ player picked on the first-team selection, four Razorbacks were named on one of the teams of preseason league honors on Friday morning.

Jefferson and offensive lineman Brady Latham were second team All-SEC praise. Defensive back Dwight McGlothern was the Razorbacks’ lone representative on the defensive side of the football, picking up preseason second-team All-SEC honors.

Sanders, the first Razorback running back to earn preseason first-team All-SEC recognition since Knile Davis in 2012, is coming off one of the greatest seasons by an Arkansas running back in recent memory after rushing for 10 touchdowns and 1,443 yards – fourth-most in a single season in school history – in 2022. Sanders became just the second Razorback to ever run for 1,400+ yards and return to school the following year, joining Arkansas legend Darren McFadden, who ran for a then school record 1,647 yards in 2006 before breaking his own record in 2007 with 1,830 yards. Sanders finished second in the SEC in rushing yards en route to being named First-Team All-SEC by the Associated Press and USA Today.

Jefferson, the first Razorback quarterback to earn preseason All-SEC accolades since Tyler Wilson in 2012, is poised to rewrite a large portion of the Arkansas record book this fall as he heads into his third season as the Hogs’ full-time starter. Jefferson already sits inside the career top 10 in school history in completions (436 – 7th), yards (5816 – 7th), touchdown passes (48 – 6th), 300-yard passing games (5 – 3rd), total plays (1028 – 6th), total yards (7245 – 5th) and touchdown responsibility (67 – 4th). Jefferson’s name is already dotted throughout the school record book for numerous single-season records, including twice for completion percentage in 2021 (.673 – 3rd) and 2022 (.680 – 2nd).

Latham, a third-team All-SEC selection by Pro Football Focus last year, has been a staple on the Arkansas offensive line over the last three seasons, starting in a team-leading 36 consecutive games dating back to 2020. In 2022, he tied for the team lead in offensive snaps played (983) while allowing only two sacks and committing just two penalties.

McGlothern, who earned second-team All-SEC honors from the league’s coaches last year, had an impressive season for the Hogs in 2022, staring all 13 games and racking up a career-high 52 total tackles. He led the Arkansas defense and finished second in the SEC with four interceptions, picking off passes in each of his first two games as a Razorback against Cincinnati and South Carolina before adding interceptions against Alabama and Kansas in the Liberty Bowl.

The Razorbacks open the 2023 season Sept. 2 against Western Carolina in Little Rock at 3 p.m. The only way to watch the game is ESPN+, but you can listen to everything, starting with the pregame show and stay after the game for a postgame wrapup on ESPN Arkansas 99.5 in Fayetteville, 95.3 in the River Valley, 96.3 in Hot Springs and 104.5 in Harrison-Mountain Home.

Information from Arkansas Communications is included in this story.