Bleacher Report has created a list of their preseason SEC Awards. and Nick Saban and 4 Crimson Tide players made the list.

Head Coach of the Year: Kirby Smart and Nick Saban

Bleacher Report has predicted that either Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, or Alabama head coach Nick Saban will win the SEC coach of the year.

Here’s what Bleacher Report has to say about this prediction:

“Fun fact: A different SEC coach has been named coach of the year in each of the last 10 seasons. In fact, if you look at both the AP vote and the coaches vote, there have been 13 unique coaches with no duplicates over the past decade.

That’s largely because there’s no agreed-upon criteria for such an award. Does it go to the coach who accomplished the most with the least amount of talent? To the one who most exceeded preseason expectations? Or simply to the best one / best team?

In the preseason, you almost have to default to the latter option. And considering Alabama and Georgia are projected to meet in the SEC championship, it makes sense that we’re torn between Nick Saban and Kirby Smart for the league’s preseason coach of the year.

Each coach is looking for redemption after a 2019 season in which he suffered two losses and was humbled by a Joe Burrow-led freight train from Baton Rouge. Each coach also faces the challenge of breaking in a relatively new starting quarterback during an offseason like no other.

They’ll battle during the regular season, but expect this competition to be settled in the SEC championship.”

Offensive Player of the Year: DeVonta Smith and Najee Harris, Alabama

Both Najee Harris and DeVonta Smith chose to return for their senior year. Their experience and talent can help this Alabama team return to the College football playoff.

Here’s what Bleacher Report had to say about this prediction:

“Another split vote, but this time it’s between two players on the same team.

Alabama’s rushing star is Najee Harris. With limited exceptions (Trent Richardson’s junior year; Derrick Henry’s junior year), Nick Saban has typically divvied up rushing attempts somewhat evenly between two or three backfield phenoms. However, Harris was clearly the Crimson Tide’s bell cow in 2019, and their reliance on him figures to only increase now that they aren’t quite as loaded in the passing game.

Harris averaged 117.5 yards from scrimmage and 1.5 touchdowns per game last year. It would hardly be a surprise if those numbers spiked to 150 and 2.0, respectively.

And despite losing Tua Tagovailoa, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III, DeVonta Smith’s presence at wide receiver will ensure that Alabama still does a lot of damage through the air.

Smith led the Crimson Tide with 1,256 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns last year, and most of his best work came against SEC secondaries—an interesting data point in advance of a conference-only season. He lit up both Ole Miss and LSU, but he also had impressive performances against South Carolina, Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Auburn.

Smith will likely be covered differently this year now that he is clearly Alabama’s No. 1 wide receiver, but he’s plenty gifted enough to thrive in spite of that increased attention.”

Special Teams Player of the Year: Jaylen Waddle, Alabama

This comes as no surprise, especially with how well Waddle did last year on special teams. With his role on both offense and special teams, he’s a huge asset for the Crimson Tide this season. Bleacher Report agrees:

“If he remains Alabama’s primary return man, though, he should be the best in the nation.

Waddle led the nation in long punt returns last year, and it wasn’t even close. Despite only returning 20 punts, he took 11 of them back the other way for at least 20 yards. Per CFB Stats, no other player had more than six returns of that length in 2019, and Waddle was the only player in the past four seasons to have at least nine such returns.

Suffice it to say, this man is deadly in open space.

He garnered a lot of national attention with his 77-yard touchdown return in the first quarter of the marquee showdown with LSU, but he was already well-established as one of the best long before that. He had a 63-yard touchdown against Louisiana in 2018, had a big return at the beginning of the 2018 SEC championship—which had to have been weighing on Kirby Smart’s mind when he made that terrible fake punt decision in the fourth quarter—and had returns of 15, 28, 42 and 43 yards in a single game against Texas A&M last year.”

Comeback Player of the Year: Dylan Moses, Alabama

Comeback player indeed. After how last season ended for Moses, he’s certainly one of the defensive leaders on Alabama’s squad that has the most experience, and has a chance to really up his draft stock this season.

Here’s what Bleacher Report has to say about Moses:

“Comeback player of the year isn’t one of the SEC’s official awards. Neither is transfer of the year. But I thought they would make for fun debates.

This one was no debate whatsoever, though. It was Dylan Moses across the board.

The Alabama linebacker led the team in tackles as a sophomore in 2018 and was one of five finalists for the Dick Butkus Award. That award is given annually to the nation’s best linebacker at the pro, college and high school levels. It’s an award that Moses won in high school in 2016 and an award that he was a no-brainer preseason candidate for this past season.

Unfortunately, he suffered a season-ending knee injury (torn ACL) just days before Alabama’s 2019 season opener.

Despite missing the entire year, Moses probably would have been the first or second linebacker taken in the 2020 draft if he had declared for it. Instead, he’ll be back with the Crimson Tide to prove that he’s healthy and worthy of a top-five pick next spring.

Linebacker was arguably Alabama’s biggest weakness in 2019. But with Moses back in the fold, it may well be the Crimson Tide’s strong suit this year.”

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]