UA tailback Sanders named 1st-team All-SEC

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- University of Arkansas tailback Raheim Sanders earned first-team preseason All-SEC honors Friday, while quarterback KJ Jefferson, offensive lineman Brady Latham and cornerback Dwight McGlothern picked up second-team recognition.
The Razorbacks were picked to finish fifth in the SEC West in balloting conducted at SEC media days with 291 media respondents.
Two-time defending College Football Playoff national champion Georgia was the overwhelming choice to win the SEC championship and the Eastern Division, while Alabama narrowly edged out LSU as the media pick to win the SEC West.
The media has correctly predicted the SEC champion nine times in 31 years of voting since 1992. Ten teams received votes to win the SEC championship, including two for Arkansas.
Georgia and Alabama led with 16 players selected to the three all-conference teams.
LSU had 10 selections, including first-team quarterback Jayden Daniels, who edged out Jefferson for the top marquee spot on the team.
Sanders joined Ole Miss sophomore Quinshon Judkins as the first-team running backs. Judkins led the SEC with 1,567 rushing yards with Sanders second at 1,443 yards. Sanders led the SEC with 1,714 all-purpose yards, while Judkins was second with 1,697 yards.
Sanders is the first Arkansas running back to earn first-team preseason All-SEC honors since Knile Davis in 2012.
Jefferson ranked second behind Tennessee's Hendon Hooker with 298.9 total yards per game last season, while Daniels was seventh with 271.3. Jefferson is the first Arkansas quarterback to earn preseason All-SEC recognition since Tyler Wilson in 2012.
Latham, a third-team All-SEC pick by Pro Football Focus last season, has a team-high 36 consecutive starts dating to 2020. He led the Razorbacks with 983 offensive snaps in 2022, allowing just two sacks and committing two penalties.
McGlothern, a second-team All-SEC choice by league coaches last season, is the leading returner in the SEC with four interceptions. A first-year transfer from LSU last season, McGlothern ranked second in that category behind Mississippi State's Emmanuel Forbes, who had six interceptions.
Arkansas, which is coming off a 7-6 season and a fifth-place finish in the SEC West, opens the season on Sept. 2 against Western Carolina at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock. The Razorbacks open conference play at LSU on Sept. 23