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Alabama produces disappointing first in preseason SEC poll era

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Alabama football has been associated with first-class defense for a long time, especially during the long-running tenure of Nick Saban. Across his time in Tuscaloosa, the Crimson Tide produced some elite defensive numbers and a bevy of first-round NFL Draft picks on the defensive side of the ball.

Even last year, Alabama produced a pair of first-team All-SEC defensive contributors during the first season under Kalen DeBoer. Those players were linebacker Jihaad Campbell and defensive back Malachi Moore, but things could be changing this fall.

On Friday, the preseason All-SEC nominations were dropped, and Alabama did not produce a single first-team selection on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, Alabama did land wide receiver Ryan Williams and offensive tackle Kadyn Proctor among the first-team picks.

So, just how rare is it for Alabama to fail to produce a first-team All-SEC defensive pick on the preseason poll? Well, according to AL.com’s Creg Stephenson, it’s never happened before in the era of the SEC’s preseason poll.

The SEC began issuing its preseason poll in 1985:

My friend @jbeanpoll asked me: When was the last time Alabama did not have a defensive player picked first-team preseason All-SEC at Media Days?

I didn't know, so we looked it up.

And the answer is: Never.

Media Days started in 1985 and this is the first time.

Crazy.

— Creg Stephenson the First (@CregStephenson) July 18, 2025

Of course, preseason polls are all expectations and educated guesswork. That doesn’t mean Alabama will not produce a first-team defender at the end of the season, but it points to a potential area of concern with some question marks entering the season.

Come the end of August, we’ll quickly find out if the preseason poll was accurate in that regard.

Paul Harvey

Paul Harvey lives in Atlanta and covers SEC football.