Tennessee football takes the field in 43 days, which means it is preseason poll time. There was little surprise in Tennessee’s standings from SEC Media Days. 

The Vols were picked to finish second in the SEC East, behind Georgia. Overall in the SEC, Tennessee is slotted to finish fourth based on the poll. 

It’s the first time since 2015 that Tennessee has been selected to finish second in the east in the preseason poll. Georgia received 265 out of 291 first-place votes, and 181 votes to win the SEC Championship. To compare, the Vols received 14 first-place votes and just five votes to win the SEC. 

South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Missouri and Vanderbilt round out the rest of the SEC East, in that order. Vanderbilt, surprisingly, received eight first-place votes. 

On the other side of the conference, Alabama has been picked to win the SEC West. LSU came in second, with with 117 first-place votes compared to Alabama’s 165 first-place votes. Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Auburn and Mississippi State round out the west. 

The preseason All-SEC team also had its fair share of Vols featured. Despite featuring talented returners, no Vols earned a spot on the first-team. 

Wide receiver Bru McCoy got a second-team spot, while quarterback Joe Milton was featured on the third-team. Offensive linemen Javontez Spraggins and Cooper Mays were third-team selections as well, joining Milton. 

Tennessee did not have any defensive players make the three All-SEC teams. For comparison, the Vols had eight All-SEC team selections in 2022. Three of the eight players in 2022 were on the defensive side: Jeremy Banks, Trevon Flowers and Byron Young

Georgia and Alabama, the two schools slotted to win their divisions, led the way on the All-SEC Team. Both schools each had 16 Preseason All-SEC selections.

The Vols kick off the 2023 season in Nashville, Tennessee against Virginia on Sept. 2. The game will have a noon ET kickoff.