Advertisement
football Edit

Phil Steele's 2017 picks are out

College football guru Phil Steele publishes the most extensive preview of the sport's season every year, at least in print, and his magazine is out in hard copy form.

Here's a look at what he picks for the Cats.

GO PREMIUM AT CATSILLUSTRATED.COM

Dorian Baker (Logan Bowles-USA Today Sports)
Dorian Baker (Logan Bowles-USA Today Sports)

Steele projects that Kentucky will finish 4th in the SEC East behind Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

He has all three of those teams ranked in the Top 30 nationally, with the Gators 9th, the Bulldogs 22nd and the Volunteers at 30th.

Kentucky is ahead of South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Missouri in Steele's East projections. The Cats defeated all three of those teams last year. Kentucky has defeated Missouri two years in a row and they own a three-game winning streak against the Gamecocks.

According to Steele, junior linebacker Jordan Jones will be a first team All-SEC selection, junior safety Mike Edwards is a second team preseason All-SEC pick, and the third team includes running back Benny Snell, offensive guard Nick Haynes and linebackers Josh Allen and Denzil Ware.

Kicker Austin MacGinnis and tight end C.J. Conrad are on Steele's fourth team All-SEC.

For much more from Phil Steele, now and as the season approaches, visit his website here.

Advertisement