Florida quarterback Tim Tebow became the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy last season, while Georgia tailback Knowshon Moreno rushed for 1,334 yards and Tennessee tailback Arian Foster rushed for 1,193.

Southeastern Conference football coaches didn’t have many decision-making pains with that trio, which headlined the annual preseason teams released Monday by the league office. For a fifth consecutive year, league coaches selected first, second and third teams in conjunction with the annual media days event, which begins Wednesday in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover.

Defending national champion LSU led the way with 14 representatives on the coaches’ three teams, while Florida had 10 and Georgia had nine. Alabama, Auburn and South Carolina each had eight players picked, while Tennessee had seven.

SEC coaches did not vote on a preseason poll, leaving that up to the media later this week.

“There is something noticeably missing from LSU that may cause them to drop a little bit when the media votes,” said Charles Bloom, the SEC associate commissioner who coordinated the voting. “There is no quarterback from LSU on this list, and that’s proven to be pretty important.”

Florida led in first-team selections with five — Tebow, receiver Percy Harvin, tight end Cornelius Ingram, linebacker Brandon Spikes and return specialist Brandon James. LSU had four with offensive lineman Herman Johnson, defensive lineman Tyson Jackson, linebacker Darry Beckwith and kicker Colt David, as did Tennessee with Foster, offensive lineman Anthony Parker, linebacker Rico McCoy and defensive back Eric Berry. The two first-team offensive selections were two more than the Vols had last July.

Georgia didn’t have any offensive or defensive first-team picks last summer but scratched through this year with Moreno and linebacker Dannell Ellerbe. Matthew Stafford was tabbed as the second-team quarterback, with Alabama’s John Parker Wilson third.

Tennessee’s Parker and Georgia’s Moreno were among seven unanimous first-team selections. Joining them were Alabama offensive lineman Andre Smith, Ole Miss offensive lineman Michael Oher, Arkansas center Jonathan Luigs, Ole Miss defensive lineman Greg Hardy and Florida linebacker Brandon Spikes.

In addition to compiling a preseason poll, the media also will provide an All-SEC team. Media members correctly picked LSU to claim last year’s league title, snapping a streak of 11 straight years in which the eventual SEC champ was not chosen.

Bloom said a record 850 people are scheduled to attend media days, a number that includes media members, coaches, players and the league’s corporate sponsors.

A crowded lobby

The SEC does not encourage fans to descend on media days, but they are allowed to mingle in the Wynfrey Hotel’s lobby where the coaches and players arrive and depart. Bloom said the biggest problem at previous events has been autograph seekers intent on turning a profit.

“What they’ll do is hire children to run up to coaches and players and get their autographs,” he said. “We’ve caught our share of them. We don’t take their property away, but we tell them to leave.”

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