Auburn picked for sixth-place finish in SEC West; multiple Tigers given All-SEC marks

Auburn football's first season under Hugh Freeze will come with tempered expectations, as the Southeastern Conference announced its All-SEC teams and predicted orders of finish Friday.
The Tigers are slated to finish sixth in the SEC West according to the league's preseason poll, despite receiving four first-place votes. The program also had six members selected to All-SEC status.
USF transfer running back Brian Battie was named a first-team kick returner. Running back Jarquez Hunter, defensive backs DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett, kicker Alex McPherson and punter Oscar Chapman all selected to the league's third team.
The teams and projected standings are selected by members at the league's Media Days, which took place in Nashville, Tennessee, this week.
Auburn's projected finish has it sandwiched between Arkansas and Mississippi State, which received three and one vote, respectively, to win the division. Every member of the West except for Ole Miss received at least one first-place vote.
The all-league accolades were a first for McPherson and Pritchett. Battie, James and Chapman have all been previously been named All-SEC by other outlets and Hunter garnered a freshman All-SEC honor in 2021.
Battie headlining Auburn's six-player contingent isn't much of a shock, as he was an All-American kick returner in 2021. He was also named preseason All-SEC by Phil Steele. He transferred to Auburn after logging his first 1,000-yard rushing season a year ago, and he's generated 1,427 kick return yards in three seasons.
Hunter follows Battie as perhaps the most exciting player of the bunch. He's expected to take over for Tank Bigsby as the program's feature back this season, and rushed for a career-high 675 yards in 2022.
The duo of James and Pritchett passed up professional opportunities to return to Auburn for this season. They led the program last season in pass breakups while combining for 74 tackles.
Like Hunter, McPherson is also expected to fill big shoes, taking over for former kicker and Auburn legacy Anders Carlson. Chapman will enter this fall as one of the more seasoned kicking specialists in the league. He was top 10 in the SEC in both average yards per punt and punts downed inside the 20-yard line last fall.