Georgia lands four players on preseason All-SEC first team

Georgia landed four players on the media's preseason All-SEC first team, which was announced Friday morning.

Running back Nick Chubb, tight end Isaac Nauta, defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and inside linebacker Roquan Smith all made the unit. Of the four, Nauta is the biggest surprise of the group, considering he was in competition with South Carolina's Hayden Hurst for the spot.

During his freshman season, Nauta caught 29 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns.

Chubb finished his junior year with 224 carries for 1,130 yards and eight touchdowns. It could be argued that it was his worst season statistically because his yards per carry average dropped to 5.0 after posting 8.1 (2015) and 7.1 (2016) in the prior two seasons. Chubb appeared in every game last year after sustaining a major knee injury against Tennessee as a sophomore.

Thompson finished third in tackles on Georgia's defense a year ago, highlighted by a three-sack performance in the Liberty Bowl against TCU. Thompson's play in that game earned him Liberty Bowl MVP honors. Thompson finished the 2016 season with 56 tackles and five sacks. Thompson is recovering from a shoulder injury that required surgery but is expected to begin preseason practice.

Smith led Georgia in tackles with 95, with 43 of those being of the solo variety. Smith also broke up five passes during the year. He recorded 13 tackles in each of Georgia's games against Georgia Tech and TCU. Smith was Georgia's lone defensive representative at this year's SEC Media Days.

Georgia also landed left tackle Isaiah Wynn and safety Dominick Sanders on the second team, as well as running back Sony Michel and outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter on the third team. Alabama put 10 players on the All-SEC first team, setting a new record for the conference.

Here are the preseason All-SEC teams in their entirety:

Offense

QB Jalen Hurts, Alabama (196 points)

RB Derrius Guice, LSU (223)       

RB Nick Chubb, Georgia (211)   

WR Calvin Ridley, Alabama (232)              

WR Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (197)   

TE Isaac Nauta, Georgia (134)    

OL Braden Smith, Auburn (201)       

OL Martez Ivey, Florida (198)                  

OL Jonah Williams, Alabama (187)                       

OL Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama (174)      

C Frank Ragnow, Arkansas (174)                         

Second team

QB Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State (121)                           

RB Bo Scarbrough, Alabama (151)   

RB Kamryn Pettway, Auburn (141)         

WR Antonio Callaway, Florida (152)                    

WR J'Mon Moore, Missouri (91)        

TE Hayden Hurst, South Carolina (115)                   

OL Isaiah Wynn, Georgia (116) 

OL Jashon Robertson, Tennessee (108)                     

OL K.J. Malone, LSU (101)              

OL Martinas Rankin, Mississippi State (101)                     

C Bradley Bozeman, Alabama (155)                              

Third team

QB Austin Allen, Arkansas (102)                                          

RB Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt (105)               

RB Sony Michel, Georgia (30)       

WR Deebo Samuel, South Carolina (64)                    

WR Jauan Jennings, Tennessee (42)             

TE DeAndre Goolsby, Florida (76)                         

OL Lester Cotton, Alabama (96)           

OL Greg Little, Ole Miss (94)          

OL Javon Patterson, Ole Miss (87)             

OL Koda Martin, Texas A&M (69)          

C  Will Clapp, LSU (66)                  

Defense

First team

DL Da'Ron Payne, Alabama (196)                             

DL Da'Shawn Hand, Alabama (180)                     

DL Trenton Thompson, Georgia (172)                 

DL Marquis Haynes, Ole Miss (159)                  

LB Arden Key, LSU (191)                 

LB Rashaan Evans, Alabama (180)                    

LB Roquan Smith, Georgia (157)                

DB Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama (232)            

DB Ronnie Harrison, Alabama (156)                 

DB Armani Watts, Texas A&M (137)             

DB Duke Dawson, Florida (137)         

Second team

DL Cece Jefferson, Florida (151)                                  

DL Marlon Davidson, Auburn (120)            

DL Christian LaCouture, LSU (107)             

DL Denzil Ware, Kentucky (78)    

LB Shaun Dion Hamilton, Alabama (156)                    

LB Skai Moore, South Carolina (128) 

LB Tre' Williams, Auburn (103)   

DB Tray Matthews, Auburn (126)                  

DB Donte Jackson, LSU (123)                 

DB Carlton Davis, Auburn (109)                    

DB Dominick Sanders, Georgia (109)       

Third team

DL Marcell Frazier, Missouri (77)      

DL Jabari Zuniga, Florida (76)  

DL Dontavius Russell, Auburn (70)                  

DL Rashard Lawrence, LSU (54)              

LB Jordan Jones, Kentucky (91)                   

LB Lorenzo Carter, Georgia (82)    

LB Oren Burks, Vanderbilt (58)                

DB Anthony Averett, Alabama (104)      

DB Marcell Harris, Florida (83)                  

DB Mike Edwards, Kentucky (71)               

DB Tony Brown, Alabama (62)                           

Specialists

First team

P JK Scott, Alabama (222)                               

PK Daniel Carlson, Auburn (218)                                    

RS Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (176)                               

AP Christian Kirk, Texas A&M (161)                            

Second team

P Johnny Townsend, Florida (99)                             

PK Eddy Piniero, Florida (106)                                   

RS Evan Berry, Tennssee (117)                    

AP Derrius Guice, LSU (133)                  

Third team

P Trevor Daniel, Tennessee (58)                        

PK Gary Wunderlich, Ole Miss (94)                                    

RS Antonio Callaway, Florida (84)             

AP Kerryon Johnson, Auburn (66)      

This story was originally published July 14, 2017 at 11:26 AM with the headline "Georgia lands four players on preseason All-SEC first team."