SEC preseason all-SEC team takeaways: Texas, Georgia dominate; Arch Manning snub?

The SEC released its preseason all-SEC team on Friday, and it creates a picture of the teams that are considered contenders ahead of the 2026 season.

Georgia and Texas were picked at the top of the SEC rankings — based on the votes of 164 media members — and those two account for eight of the 23 first-team selections on offense and defense.

There were a few surprises on the list, too, including the absence of a notable name at quarterback.

This is what you need to know from the SEC’s preseason all-SEC teams.

Georgia and Texas dominate

It wasn’t just the first team where Georgia and Texas cleaned up. They accounted for seven players on the second and third teams, too. 

In total, eight of Texas’ offensive starters and three of its defensive starters were preseason all-conference selections. Georgia, for its part, had six selections on offense and six on defense.

That means both teams had at least half of their starting lineups accounted for in the preseason all-conference selections. 

There’s a reason why those two are projected to sit atop the SEC.

LSU followed the Bulldogs and Longhorns with eight total offensive and defensive selections, while Oklahoma (7), Alabama (6) and Ole Miss (6) each had more than five.

Arch Manning didn’t get the first-team QB nod

And that’s totally fair.

Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got the nod instead. It’s well earned. He dragged the Rebels to the playoffs a season ago, emerging as one of the most dynamic players in the sport despite playing Division II football just one year prior.

Frankly, it’s not close between Chambliss and Manning. Look at a 2025 stats comparison between the two passers:

• Chambliss: 3,937 yards, 22 TDs, 3 INTs, 66.1 CMP%, 8.8 YPA | 527 yards rushing, 8 TDs
• Manning: 3,163 yards, 26 TDs, 7 INT, 61.4 CMP%, 7.8 YPA | 399 yards rushing, 10 TDs

Manning was good. Chambliss was a program-changing presence and led his team to the CFB Playoff.

Do I expect Manning to be better in 2026? Yes. I think he’ll emerge as the No. 1 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft after a full year as the starter and with a much more talented group around him in Austin.

But Chambliss earned the right to be the SEC’s top QB entering this season based on his production from a year ago.

A Questionable Ryan Coleman-Williams Selection

Sometimes, media votes can be a bit more about reputation than production. That seems to be the case with Coleman-Williams, who is coming off a disappointing drop-filled 2025 campaign that saw him finish with 689 yards and four touchdowns.

He regressed from his standout true freshman campaign (885 yards, 8 TDs) and only had one touchdown across Alabama’s final nine games.

Coleman-Williams could rediscover his 2024 form. He’s a first-round talent.

But picking him over Mario Craver (917 yards, 4 TDs) or Isaiah Sategna (965 yards, 8 TDs) seems to be voting more based on name recognition than actual production.

The year of the RB?

The SEC is loaded at running back.

Florida’s Jadan Baugh would be a first-team preseason selection in any other league. He’s not in the SEC, however, because of Ole Miss’ Kewan Lacy and Missouri’s Ahmad Hardy.

You could realistically argue that the SEC has the nation’s top three running backs entering 2026. Those are certainly the trio of backs getting the most first-round hype, peeking ahead to the 2027 draft.

I haven’t even mentioned second-team selection Nate Frazier (947 yards, 6 TDs in 2025) or third-team backs DeSean Bishop (1,076 yards, 16 TDs) and Hollywood Smothers (939 yards, 6 TDs).

And only one of Texas’ two backs made the preseason list. The other, Raleek Brown, was a first-team all-Big 12 selection just last year.

There’s a real argument to be made that more than half of the nation’s top 10 running backs call the SEC home.

Quarterbacks are getting all of the attention entering the year in the SEC. But given the talent at the running back position, this could be the year of the running back. 

2026 preseason All-SEC selections

First Team Offense

First Team Defense

First Team Special Teams

Second Team Offense

Second Team Defense

Second Team Special Teams

Third Team Offense

Third Team Defense

Third Team Special Teams

* Indicates a tie.