HOOVER - Auburn is the runaway choice to win the Southeastern Conference West Division in Tommy Tuberville's 10th season as head coach..
Reporters attending Southeastern Conference Media Days gave the Tigers 48 first-place votes to LSU's 21. Ole Miss got one vote.
Florida was picked to win the East and the overall SEC championship.
Though junior defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks and punter Ryan Shoemaker were Auburn's only first team selections, a league-high nine Tigers were named to the preseason All-SEC team.
Chosen on the second team were running back Ben Tate, offensive guard Tyronne Green, offensive tackle Lee Ziemba, defensive end Antonio Coleman, cornerback Jerraud Powers, linebacker Tray Blackmon and place-kicker Wes Byrum.
Picked on the second team were Tuberville said he was somewhat surprised to be picked at the top with ucertainty at quarterback, where sophomore Kodi Burns and junior college transfer Chris Todd will compete for the starting job, but he acknowledged that LSU also has questions at quarterback.
The Tigers, Tuberville said, can make a run at it if players deal with the expectations in the right way.
"The experienced guys will understand that's more talk than anything and has nothing to do with reality," Tuberville said. "We have a lot of room for improvement. We have two new coordinators who really don't have a clue about this league.
"You have to have a plan. We have a great plan going into two-a-days trying to get the most out of this team. If we can get the most out of this team, we'll give it a run."
Here is the voting breakdown:
WESTERN DIVISION
1. Auburn (48) 99
2. LSU (21) 120
3. Alabama 228
4. Mississippi State 299
5. Ole Miss 338
6. Arkansas 386
EASTERN DIVISION
1. Florida (45) 98
2. Georgia (23) 121
3. Tennessee (2) 222
4. South Carolina 266
5. Kentucky 356
6. Vanderbilt 407
For the overall All-SEC team, GO HERE.
