STARKVILLE — Four Mississippi State football players were selected to the 2019 Media Days Preseason All-SEC Team Friday.
Junior linebacker Erroll Thompson led the charge as a first-team defensive selection. Senior center Darryl Williams and junior corner Cam Dantzler were honored as second-team members.
Both Thompson and Williams will serve as team captains this coming season.
Senior defensive end Chauncey Rivers also received third-team distinctions as he looks to fill the void left by Montez Sweat and Gerri Green on the Bulldog defensive line..
The Bulldogs were also selected to finish fifth in the SEC West by gathered media. Teams ahead of MSU in order were Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and Auburn. Both Ole Miss and Arkansas were chosen to finish behind MSU.
In the East, Georgia was picked to finish ahead of Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt.
Alabama also received 203 of the 260 votes to win the conference. Georgia was the second-highest vote getter at 49. MSU received one vote.
MSU will open preseason camp on Aug. 2 ahead of the season opener against Louisiana Aug. 31 in New Orleans.
In other local news, Alabama had 12 players selected as first-team All-SEC performers — six on offense and six on defense. The Crimson Tide also had three second-team and six third-team honorees.
Ole Miss did not place a single player on any of the three teams.
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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