Texas A&M fans have been hyping up the potential for the 2020 season for a while. But whether it’s the strengthened schedule or the recent player opt-outs, members of the media don’t seen to share Aggie fans’ optimism. The Preseason SEC Media Poll was released on Wednesday, and in that poll, A&M was picked to finish 4th in the SEC West, with no players making the All-SEC first team.

SEC PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

EASTERN DIVISION

1. Florida (53) - 624
2. Georgia (43) - 613
3. Tennessee - 434
4. Kentucky - 405
5. South Carolina - 287
6. Missouri - 224
7. Vanderbilt - 101

WESTERN DIVISION

1. Alabama (86) - 660
2. LSU (8) - 489
3. Auburn - 488
4. Texas A&M (2) - 454
T5. Ole Miss - 238
T5. Mississippi State - 238
7. Arkansas - 121

SEC CHAMPION

1. Alabama - 77
T2. Georgia - 7
T2.LSU - 7

4.Florida - 5

2020 PRESEASON MEDIA DAYS ALL-SEC TEAM

OFFENSE
First Team

QB - Kyle Trask, Florida
RB - Najee Harris, Alabama
RB - Kylin Hill, Mississippi State
WR - DeVonta Smith, Alabama
WR - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
TE - Kyle Pitts, Florida
OL - Alex Leatherwood, Alabama
OL - Trey Smith, Tennessee
OL - Landon Dickerson, Alabama
OL - Landon Young, Kentucky
C - Drake Jackson, Kentucky

Second Team

QB - Kellen Mond, Texas A&M
RB - Rakeem Boyd, Arkansas
RB - Isaiah Spiller, Texas A&M
WR - George Pickens, Georgia
WR - Terrace Marshall, LSU
TE - Jalen Wydermyer, Texas A&M
OL - Deonte Brown, Alabama
OL - Darian Kinnard, Kentucky
OL - Sadarius Hutcherson, South Carolina
OL - Ed Ingram, LSU
C - Trey Hill, Georgia

Third Team

QB - Mac Jones, Alabama
RB - Zamir White, Georgia
RB - Larry Rountree, Missouri
WR - Seth Williams, Auburn
WR - Elijah Moore, Ole Miss
TE - Arik Gilbert, LSU
OL - Austin Deculus, LSU
OL - Brodarious Hamm, Auburn
OL - Evan Neal, Alabama
OL - Wanya Morris, Tennessee
C - Landon Dickerson, Alabama

DEFENSE
First Team

DL - Big Kat Bryant, Auburn
DL - LaBryan Ray, Alabama
DL - Jordan Davis, Georgia
DL - Malik Herring, Georgia
LB - Dylan Moses, Alabama
LB - K.J. Britt, Auburn
LB - Nick Bolton, Missouri
DB - Patrick Surtain II, Alabama
DB - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
DB - Richard LeCounte, Georgia
DB - Jacoby Stevens, LSU

Second Team

DL - Bobby Brown, Texas A&M
DL - Dayo Odeyingbo, Vanderbilt
DL - Kobie Whiteside, Missouri
DL - Zachary Carter, Florida
LB - Henry To’o To’o, Tennessee
LB - Monty Rice, Georgia
LB - Jabril Cox, LSU
DB - Kaiir Elam, Florida
DB - Eric Stokes, Georgia
DB - Marco Wilson, Florida
DB - Israel Mukuamu, South Carolina

Third Team

DL - Aaron Sterling, South Carolina
DL - Glen Logan, LSU
DL - Josh Paschal, Kentucky
DL - DJ Dale, Alabama
LB - Ventrell Miller, Florida
LB - Erroll Thompson, Mississippi State
LB - Boogie Watson, Kentucky
DB - Demani Richardson, Texas A&M
DB - Smoke Monday, Auburn
DB - Tyree Gillespie, Missouri
DB - Christian Tutt, Auburn*
DB - Bryce Thompson, Tennessee*

SPECIALISTS
First Team

P - Max Duffy, Kentucky
PK - Brent Cimaglia, Tennessee
RS - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama
AP - Jaylen Waddle, Alabama

Second Team

P - Jake Camarda, Georgia
PK - Cade York, LSU
RS - Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss
AP - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU

Third Team

P - Zach Von Rosenberg, LSU
PK - Anders Carlson, Auburn
RS - Derek Stingley Jr., LSU
AP - Jerrion Ealy, Ole Miss

A&M only had five players on the All SEC Media team, after having eight on the coaches poll team. It’s also intreresting that while A&M finished fourth in the division voting, they also received two first place votes (third place Auburn received none). So there’s clearly some division about what the Aggies are capable of this season. And while we would love to act indignant about this placement, it’s to be expected. A&M has had previous seasons where despite a seemingly talented roster, they’ve failed to regularly compete with Alabama and LSU (and even Auburn, in recent seasons). In A&M’s eight seasons in the SEC, they’ve only finished higher than fourth on two occassions, so you can’t blame the media for being skeptical.

Let’s hope the Ags start proving them wrong on Saturday.