2024 SEC Conference Preview: Sleepers, Busts and All-Conference Teams

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Published on August 15, 2024

Conference realignment sent shockwaves throughout the college football world, and it was initially spurred by the news of Texas and Oklahoma (or Oklahoma and Texas, depending on where you're from) announcing a move from the Big 12 to the SEC. Well, that move is finally official in 2024, and a number of players from the conference's two new additions are littered among the All-Conference teams, as well as the sleepers and busts for 2024. Without further adieu, let's jump into it.

2024 College Football Fantasy Draft Kit

SEC All-Conference Fantasy Teams

All-SEC 1st Team (Overall position rank)

QB: Jaxson Dart, Mississippi (4)

RB: Gavin Sawchuk, Oklahoma (17)

RB: Jaydon Blue, Texas Texas (22)

WR: Luther Burden, Missouri (2)

WR: Tre Harris, Mississippi (14)

WR: Kyren Lacy, LSU LSU (22)

TE: Caden Prieskorn, Mississippi (7)

All-SEC 2nd Team

QB: Nico Iamaleava, Tennessee (7)

RB: Marcus Carroll, Missouri (30)

RB: Trevor Etienne, Georgia Georgia (34)

WR: Eugene Wilson, Florida Florida (17)

WR: Germie Bernard, Alabama Alabama (20)

WR: Squirrel White Tennessee (28)

TE: Luke Hasz, Arkansas (10)

All-SEC 3rd Team

QB: Jalen Milroe, Alabama Alabama (9)

RB: Dylan Sampson, Tennessee (36)

RB: Montrell Johnson, Florida Florida (49)

WR: Nic Anderson, Oklahoma (40)

WR: Antwane Wells Jr., Mississippi (62)

WR: Kelly Akharaiyi, Mississippi State (58)

TE: Oscar Delp, Georgia Georgia (20)

2024 SEC Sleepers

Carson Beck, QB, Georgia Georgia

The returning signal-caller for the Bulldogs is getting massively downgraded, largely because he'll be missing his two favorite targets heading into the 2024 campaign. Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey are gone, but Beck still completed an impressive 72.4 percent of his passes last season. Dominic Lovett and Dillon Bell also return at the wideout position, and Beck already began developing a rapport with new starting tight end Oscar Delp last year. Georgia's offensive line should still be dominant, and Beck gets the added play-making skills of Florida transfer Trevor Etienne coming into the fold. Etienne is a dangerous threat catching the ball out of the backfield. All told, Beck might even be able to improve on his statistics from last season of 3,941 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six picks.

Dylan Sampson, RB, Tennessee

After sharing touches with both Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small for the past two seasons, the junior Sampson should be the bell cow for Tennessee's ground game in 2024. Sampson still averaged 5.7 yards per tote last season, finishing the campaign with 604 yards and a team-tying seven rushing scores. The aforementioned triumvirate rushed for over 2,000 yards combined last season, so expect Sampson to gain a sizeable chunk of the vacated touches and yards from a year ago. Sampson also served as the de facto goal line back for the Vols the last two seasons, and he also improved his pass-catching skills out of the backfield in 2023. Add in the first year starting at quarterback for the former highly touted quarterback recruit Nico Iamaleava, and the Vols should lean heavily on Sampson this year.

Raheim Sanders, RB, South Carolina

It could be a rough season for the Gamecocks, as South Carolina attempts to replace Spencer Rattler at quarterback as well as virtually the entire wide receiving room through the transfer portal. Sanders also comes by way of the transfer route; in fact, Sanders spent parts of three seasons at a fellow SEC school, Arkansas. Sanders struggled with injury last season, but shined in 2022, racking up 1,443 yards on the ground along with 10 touchdowns. This came during a mediocre season for the Hogs, who finished just 7-6 on the season. Despite the likely losing record for the Gamecocks in 2024, Sanders could provide a silver lining.

Isaiah Bond, WR, Texas Texas

Bond transferred from Alabama to Texas, and should immediately provide an impact in the Longhorns passing game. Bond led the Tide in receptions and was second in receiving yardage, finishing with 48 grabs for 668 yards and four touchdowns. Texas lost its top five pass catchers from a season ago, leaving a massive void and a staggering 3,000-plus yards of offense through the air to fill. Bond should be the primary beneficiary of targets, along with Houston transfer Matthew Golden and sophomore Johntay Cook. Expect Bond to be a huge component of the Texas passing game in 2024.

Mason Taylor, TE, LSU LSU

Taylor was hyped coming into last season but only managed to more or less repeat his production from a solid freshman campaign. As a sophomore, Taylor caught 36 balls for 348 yards and a touchdown. Of course, Coach Brian Kelly's potent offense produced the Heisman Trophy winner in the form of Jayden Daniels, as well as two wideouts drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft in the form of Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas, so perhaps it is unsurprising that Taylor got lost in the shuffle. While opportunities should be plentiful with Nabers and Thomas gone, the caveat will be whether Garrett Nussmeier can fill the big shoes left by the aforementioned Daniels. While no one is expecting Nussmeier to run like Daniels, Nussmeier has seen the field in parts of each of the last three seasons for the Tigers, so he is far from an unknown commodity. The expectation is that Nussmeier, as predominantly a pocket passer, will rely much more on his safety valves, with Taylor being one of the chief beneficiaries. Taylor caught seven passes for 88 yards from Nussmeier in LSU's ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Wisconsin.

2024 SEC Fantasy Busts

Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas Texas

Ewers is a possible Heisman Trophy candidate, having set career highs across the board as a sophomore for the Longhorns. Ewers completed 69 percent of his passes for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns, and just six interceptions. This included a magnificent performance in the Big 12 Championship Game, throwing for 452 yards and four touchdowns in the 49-21 thrashing of Oklahoma State. He also shined in the CFP Semifinal versus Washington, passing for over 300 yards in a losing cause. Ewers could continue to ascend in 2024, but there are two rather large caveats. Firstly, Texas moves conferences to the SEC, meaning a tougher schedule and tougher opposing defenses. Secondly, there is also the looming presence of Arch Manning, whose name and pedigree will cast a shadow over the Texas program this season, especially if Ewers struggles or has a bad game. Ewers is the surefire starter heading into the 2024 campaign, but a lot can change in a short amount of time.

Blake Shapen, QB, Mississippi State

The Baylor transfer is going to have his work cut out for him in 2024, as he moves to the SEC to play for new head coach Jeff Lebby on an offense that returns just two starters from a season ago. That could be viewed as a positive, though, as the Bulldogs went just 1-7 in SEC play in 2023. However, the learning curve will likely be steep, especially in an SEC Conference that just added the likes of Texas and Oklahoma. In just eight games in 2023, Shapen passed for 2,188 yards and 13 touchdowns, but the schedule will likely be tougher, the offense will be new, and the surrounding weapons will not be as robust.

Sedrick Alexander, RB, Vanderbilt

Despite the program's overall struggles in recent years, the Commodores have seen some decent production from some running backs. Ray Davis rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2022, Ke'Shawn Vaughn accomplished the feat in consecutive seasons (2018 and 2019), and Ralph Webb rushed for over 800 yards in four straight campaigns between 2014 and 2017. Alexander was the leading rusher for the Commodores last season as a freshman and should be the primary back for Vandy heading into the season. The issue will be whether Vandy can keep games close enough so as to not abandon the run (the Commodores have not won a conference game in each of the last two seasons). Moreover, the offensive line will be completely revamped, including three graduate transfers. How the offensive line gels could go a long way toward determining Alexander's success in 2024, though the odds may not be in his favor.

Cam Coleman, WR, Auburn Auburn

This may be a hot take and is no by no means a referendum on Coleman's talent, which is exceptional. This is more a product of the system and, in particular, the quarterback. Quarterback Payton Thorne was inconsistent at best and downright dreadful at worst during the 2023 campaign for the Tigers. Thorne threw for more than 200 yards just twice in 13 games last season; by contrast, he threw for less than 100 yards on five occasions. Thorne returns under center in 2024 for the Tigers, and while having a year under his belt should help, there are still plenty of questions as to whether he can hold down the fort for the Auburn offense. The Tigers also brought in transfers Keandre Lambert-Smith, Robert Lewis and Sam Jackson, so Coleman is far from guaranteed the lion's share of the targets as well. There are simply too many question marks despite Coleman's obvious upside.

Deion Burks, WR, Oklahoma

A transfer from Purdue, Burke recorded 47 catches for 629 yards and seven touchdowns last season. He averaged 13.4 yards per grab in 2023. The leading receiver from last year's squad, Drake Stoops, is gone, though Nic Anderson returns the fold. Perhaps more importantly, though, the Sooners lost starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel to the transfer portal. Jackson Arnold steps into the spotlight after passing for 365 yards in the Alamo Bowl at the tail end of last year. However, Oklahoma also moves to the SEC this season, which could result in tougher opposing defenses and a much more difficult schedule overall. Burks also has a current legal issue concerning an arrest for DUI, which casts even more doubt as to his situation. Burke should be frequently targeted this season as more of a possession option when on the field, but success is far from guaranteed.