Three Gamecocks on Phil Steele preseason list

If South Carolina is going to compete for an SEC title this season, they’ll have to overcome a large talent gap.

That’s the opinion, at least, of noted college football analyst Phil Steele, who released his All-America and All-Conference lists on Monday.

The Gamecocks, who finished 7-6 last year, have three players on Steele’s preseason All-SEC team – wide receiver Pharoh Cooper (first team), offensive tackle Brandon Shell (third team) and linebacker Skai Moore (fourth team). Vanderbilt, with two selections, was the only SEC team with fewer selections.

Alabama (13), Georgia (12), LSU (12), Texas A&M (11) and Auburn (9) are the most talented teams in the league, according to Steele. Steele lists a first-, second-, third- and fourth-team for offense, defense and special teams.

Number of positions represented by each SEC team on Phil Steele’s all-conference preseason team:

Alabama 13

Georgia 12

LSU 12

Texas A&M 11

Auburn 9

Missouri 8

Arkansas 6

Ole Miss 6

Tennessee 6

Mississippi State 5

Kentucky 5

Florida 5

South Carolina 3

Vanderbilt 2

This story was originally published June 1, 2015 at 1:24 PM.