July 18, 2013

HOOVER, ALA. – South Carolina placed four players on the 2013 Preseason All-SEC squads selected by the media attending this year’s SEC Media Days, it was announced Thursday morning. South Carolina junior defensive end Jadeveon Clowney was a first-team selection as was Bruce Ellington, who earned first-team honors as an all-purpose specialist. Tight end Rory Anderson received second-team accolades with guard A.J. Cann a third-team pick.

Clowney, a 6-6, 274-pounder from Rock Hill, S.C., was a unanimous All-America selection as a sophomore last season. The SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy balloting after recording 54 tackles, including a school record 23.5 tackles for loss and a school record 13.0 quarterback sacks. Clowney was a finalist last year for the Bednarik Award and is one of only six defensive players in the country named to the Maxwell Award Watch List.

Ellington, a 5-9, 196-pound junior from Moncks Corner, S.C., has been the Gamecocks’ top kickoff returner the last two years. In 2012, he returned 18 kickoffs for a net average of 22.6 yards. After not having a kickoff return in the first four games, his first return came against Missouri when he went 50 yards to set up an eventual Gamecock touchdown.

“Busta” Anderson is a 6-5, 242-pounder from Powder Springs, Ga. Anderson saw action in all 13 games last year and caught 14 passes for 271 yards. In his first two seasons, he has averaged 20.9 yards per catch and scored eight touchdowns on 22 career receptions.

Cann is the most experienced offensive lineman on the Carolina team with 25 starts over the past two seasons, the most among any returning player on the Gamecocks’ roster. The 6-4, 314-pounder from Bamberg, S.C. was presented with the Everyday Hustle Award for the offense at the 2013 Garnet & Black Spring Game. He was a third-team All-SEC selection by Phil Steele last year.

South Carolina is picked to finish second in the Eastern Division behind Georgia. Georgia received 149 first-place votes with 1,570 overall points while South Carolina received 75 first-place votes and 1,474 overall points. In addition, 18 media members selected South Carolina to win the SEC Championship.

2013 PRE-SEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM
(* – Ties)

OFFENSE
First-Team
QB – Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M (119)
RB – T.J. Yeldon, Alabama (221)
RB – Todd Gurley, Georgia (206)
WR – Amari Cooper, Alabama (194)
WR – Jordan Matthews, Vanderbilt (106)
TE – Arthur Lynch, Georgia (148)
OL – Cyrus Kouandjio, Alabama (193)
OL – Jake Matthews, Texas A&M (176)
OL – Anthony Steen, Alabama (109)
OL – Gabe Jackson, Mississippi State (88)
C – Travis Swanson, Arkansas (92)

Second-Team
QB – AJ McCarron, Alabama (67)
RB – Tre Mason, Auburn (15)
RB – *LaDarius Perkins, Mississippi State (12)
RB – *Keith Marshall, Georgia (12)
WR – Donte Moncrief, Ole Miss ( 46)
WR – Mike Evans, Texas A&M (33)
TE – Rory Anderson, South Carolina (33)
OL – Antonio Richardson, Tennessee (76)
OL – Jon Halapio, Florida (51)
OL – Chris Burnette, Georgia (50)
OL – Ja’Wuan James, Tennessee (50)
C – Reese Dismukes, Auburn (33)

Third-Team
QB – Aaron Murray, Georgia (52)
RB – *Matt Jones, Florida (5)
RB – *Jeff Scott, Ole Miss (5)
RB – *Alfred Blue, LSU (5)
WR – Malcolm Mitchell, Georgia (28)
WR – Jarvis Landry, LSU (19)
TE – Brian Vogler, Alabama (18)
OL – La’el Collins, LSU (37)
OL – Josh Williford, LSU (30)
OL – Wesley Johnson, Vanderbilt (18)
OL – *A.J. Cann, South Carollina (14)
OL – *Zach Fulton, Tennessee (14)
C – *James Stone, Tennessee (30)
C – *Jonotthan Harrison, Florida (30)

DEFENSE
First-Team
DL – Jadeveon Clowney, South Carolina (223)
DL – Dominique Easley, Florida (162)
DL – Anthony Johnson, LSU (127)
DL – Chris Smith, Arkansas (56)
LB – C.J. Mosley, Alabama (231)
LB – A.J. Johnson, Tennessee (107)
LB – Denzel Nkemdiche, Ole Miss (94)
DB – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, Alabama (203)
DB – Craig Loston, LSU (135)
DB – Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida (117)
DB – Deion Belue, Alabama (77)

Second-Team
DL – Xzavier Dickson, Alabama (49)
DL – Ed Stinson, Alabama ( 39)
DL – Dee Ford, Auburn (38)
DL – Jeoffrey Pagan, Alabama (31)
LB – Adrian Hubbard, Alabama (66)
LB – Jordan Jenkins, Georgia (64)
LB – Lamin Barrow, LSU (29)
DB – Damian Swann, Georgia (70)
DB – Andre Hal, Vanderbilt (69)
DB – Marcus Roberson, Florida (50)
DB – Vinnie Sunseri, Alabama (36)

Third-Team
DL – Garrison Smith, Georgia (26)
DL – Daniel McCullers, Tennessee (23)
DL – Alvin Dupree, Kentucky (23)
DL – C.J. Johnson, Ole Miss (22)
LB – Ronald Powell, Florida (24)
LB – Tahj Jones, LSU (20)
LB – *Trey DePriest, Alabama (16)
LB – *Avery Williamson, Kentucky (16)
DB – E.J. Gaines, Missouri (34)
DB – Charles Sawyer, Ole Miss (25)
DB – Jalen Mills, LSU (22)
DB – Chris Davis , Auburn (20)

SPECIALISTS
First-Team
P – Kyle Christy, Florida (108)
PK – Carey Spear, Vanderbilt (100)
RS – Odell Beckham Jr., LSU (74)
AP – Bruce Ellington, South Carolina (69)

Second-Team
P – Cody Mandell, Alabama (54)
PK – Cody Parkey, Auburn (71)
RS – Bruce Ellington, South Carolina (62)
AP – Odell Beckham Jr., LSU (44)

Third-Team
P – Steven Clark, Auburn (33)
PK – Zach Hocker, Arkansas (39)
RS – Andre Debose, Florida (53)
AP – Loucheiz Purifoy, Florida (36)

PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH

SEC CHAMPION
Alabama 182
Georgia 38
South Carolina 18
Texas A&M 4
LSU 1

EASTERN DIVISION
Georgia (149) 1570
South Carolina (75) 1474
Florida (19) 1300
Vanderbilt 858
Tennessee 694
Missouri 577
Kentucky 331

WESTERN DIVISION
Alabama (225) 1681
Texas A&M (11) 1333
LSU (7) 1324
Ole Miss 883
Auburn 579
Mississippi State 516
Arkansas 488