Six Ole Miss Rebels Named Preseason All-SEC by Media

The Southeastern Conference has unveiled the 2015 Preseason Media Days All-SEC Teams, which features four Ole Miss Rebels on the first team and six overall across three teams.

Juniors Laquon Treadwell (WR), Evan Engram (TE), Laremy Tunsil (OL) and Robert Nkemdiche (DL) were selected to the first team by a vote of league media at the annual SEC Media Days in Hoover, Alabama. Junior Tony Conner (DB) made the second team, while sophomore Marquis Haynes (DL) was on the third team.

Treadwell received the most votes among wide receivers with 169, while Engram was the top vote getter among tight ends with 128 and Nkemdiche the top vote getter among defensive linemen with 173. Only four players at any position received more votes than Nkemdiche’s 173.

All six Rebels had previously earned preseason All-SEC accolades by various outlets this summer.

The coaches’ preseason All-SEC teams are expected to be announced in August prior to the start of the 2015 season.

Treadwell enters his third year of college ranked 13th in school history with 120 career receptions. The Crete, Illinois, native was a second team All-SEC selection by Athlon last year despite missing the last four games of the season with a broken fibula and dislocated ankle. He had 100-yard receiving games against Boise State, Memphis and Auburn and caught five touchdowns a year ago. He was SEC Freshman of the Year in 2013 when he hauled in an Ole Miss freshman record 72 catches and caught five TDs.

A native of Powder Springs, Georgia, Engram has established himself as one of the nation’s top receiving tight ends through his first two years of college with 59 career catches for 930 yards and five touchdowns. Last year, he was a second team All-America pick by Sports Illustrated and a unanimous All-SEC first team selection after he led SEC tight ends with 662 receiving yards (Ole Miss TE record) and led the nation’s tight ends with 17.4 yards per catch. He was a second team All-SEC pick in 2013 when he set an Ole Miss freshman tight end record with three TDs on 21 catches for 268 yards.

Tunsil is one of the country’s top returning offensive linemen. He has been the Rebels’ full-time starting left tackle since the early portion of his freshman year and has been personally responsible for only two sacks during that time. The Lake City, Florida, native earned several second- and third-team All-America accolades and was an All-SEC first team pick by the Associated Press last year.

Nkemdiche is regarded as one of the nation’s premier defensive players as a 6-foot-4, 296-pound defensive tackle. The Loganville, Georgia, native was a second team All-America pick and first team All-SEC selection last year when he tallied 35 tackles, 4.0 TFLs and two sacks and helped Ole Miss lead the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 16.0 points per game. In his two-year career, he has 69 tackles, 12.0 TFLs and 4.0 sacks.

Conner, from nearby Batesville, Mississippi, has been a force in the Rebels’ defensive backfield during his first two seasons. He has racked up 135 tackles, 14 TFLs, two sacks and two interceptions. A two-year starter at the hybrid Huskie position (a safety who has to cover passes and often lines up in the box, as well), Conner has the size (6-0, 215) and speed to create big problems for the opposing offense. He was a second team AP All-SEC pick last season.

Haynes, the only Rebel sophomore picked preseason All-SEC by the media, was a Freshman All-America selection after he set a school freshman record with 7.5 sacks, which ranked ninth among SEC players. The defensive end from Jacksonville, Florida, was tied for fourth among all freshmen in the nation in sacks. On the year, he compiled 31 tackles, 9.0 TFLs, three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, two passes defended and eight QB pressures.

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Courtesy of Ole Miss Athletics