Where will South Carolina finish in the SEC East? Here’s what the media think
South Carolina is trending upward, according to Southeastern Conference media members.
The Gamecocks were picked to finish fifth in the SEC East by the league’s reporters who attended SEC Media Days this week. USC also received three first-place votes in East and three votes to win the league outright.
“I think the most noise we made at SEC Media Days last year was when we re-enacted the Coach Spurrier Arby’s picture on the way back to the airport,” head coach Shane Beamer said on Tuesday. “But there was very little talk about our football team. That’s different this year. People are talking about us nationally, which is what we want.”
South Carolina for 2021 was picked to finish sixth in the East during Beamer’s debut season as head coach. The Gamecocks finished fifth in the division with a 7-6 record and 3-5 mark in conference play. They picked up their final win of the season with a 38-21 victory over North Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
USC hasn’t been picked to win the division since 2014. It was selected to finish second in 2018, but ended the year fourth place in the East.
“We made great strides last season going from two wins to seven wins,” Beamer said. “A challenge for us is making sure our guys understand that going from seven (wins) to the next step, the next level, is going to take even more work. Everything that I’ve seen from our guys since they came back shows me that they understand that.”
Four Gamecocks earn preseason All-SEC nods
A quartet of South Carolina players were also selected as preseason All-SEC honorees by the conference’s media members.
Defensive lineman Zacch Pickens and cornerback Cam Smith earned second-team spots. Tight end Jaheim Bell and receiver Josh Vann were chosen as third-team members.
2022 Preseason SEC Media Poll
First place votes in ( ). Points are a cumulative reflection of where teams were ranked in each ballot; each place has a designated point value per vote. More points = higher cumulative slot in the voting.
EASTERN DIVISION
Georgia (172) 1,254 points
Kentucky (4) 932
Tennessee (1) 929
Florida 712
South Carolina (3) 662
Missouri 383
Vanderbilt (1) 196
WESTERN DIVISION
Alabama (177) 1,262 points
Texas A&M (3) 968
Arkansas (1) 844
Ole Miss 675
LSU 591
Mississippi State 390
Auburn 338
SEC CHAMPION
Alabama (158)
Georgia (18)
South Carolina (3)
Vanderbilt (1)
Texas A&M (1)
This story was originally published July 22, 2022 at 11:07 AM.
