The attending media at the 2008 Southeastern Conference Football Media Days named four Vols to the SEC preseason first team and selected Tennessee to finish third in the Eastern Division on the third and final day of the annual preseason media days at the Wynfrey Hotel.
Eric Berry, Arian Foster, Rico McCoy and Anthony Parker all were named to the first team in the media’s preseason picks. Berry and Parker were selected by 56 of the 70 media members who voted. Berry, Georgia tailback Knowshon Moreno and Auburn punter Ryan Shoemaker were the only sophomores named to the first team.
Florida was voted to capture the SEC football championship. The Gators were selected as Eastern Division champions while Auburn was selected to represent the Western Division.
Florida was named SEC Champion on 36 ballots, Georgia on 18, Auburn 13 and LSU, Tennessee and Ole Miss one each. In the Eastern Division, Florida had 45 first-place votes, Georgia (23) and Tennessee (2). The Gators, Bulldogs and Volunteers were selected 1-2-3 in the Eastern Division followed by South Carolina, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
In the Western Division, Auburn was named first place on 48 ballots, while LSU received 21 first place votes and Ole Miss 1. The predicted order of finish in the Western Division was Auburn, LSU, Alabama, Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Arkansas.
In the pre-season All-SEC Team voting, Auburn had nine representatives on the first and second teams while LSU had eight. Alabama, Florida, Georgia and South Carolina each had five players selected. Florida had the most first-team selections with five followed by LSU and Tennessee with four each.
There were no unanimous selections to the All-SEC Team. Florida linebacker wide receiver Percy Harvin and Georgia’s Moreno were the leading vote-getters with 68 votes while Gator linebacker Brandon Spikes had 65 votes. Alabama offensive lineman Andre Smith, Ole Miss offensive lineman Michael Oher and Florida quarterback Tim Tebow were named on 64 ballots.
