Bama Football QB Bryce Young, LB Will Anderson Jr. Sweep SEC Coaches' And A.P. Awards

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On Wednesday, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young and outside linebacker Will Anderson Jr. swept the SEC individual awards by two separate voting entities -- the SEC coaches and the Associated Press.

Young, a favorite to win the Heisman Trophy on Saturday, won offensive player of the year in both after finishing fourth in the nation with 4,322 passing yards and second in touchdowns with 43. Anderson, who leads the nation with 15 sacks and with 32 tackles for loss, won defensive player of the year in both.

Alabama wide receiver/kick returner Jameson Williams and Tennessee wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. shared the SEC special teams player of the year by the league coaches. Williams leads the league with a 37.4-yard per kickoff return average and became the first Alabama player in history to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in the same game. He scored on a 100-yard and an 83-yard return in the win over Southern Mississippi.

Jones leads the SEC in punt return average at 16 yards a return and is second in kickoff returns at 28.1 yards a return.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart was voted the coach of the year by the league coaches and by the Associated Press. And Georgia tight end Brock Bowers won the SEC coaches' freshman of the year and took the Associated Press newcomer of the year. Bowers led the league's tight ends in touchdown catches with 11. Missouri tailback Tyler Badie was voted scholar athlete of the year by the league coaches. Kentucky offensive tackle Darian Kinnard won the SEC coaches' blocking trophy.

The SEC All-Freshmen team as voted on by the league coaches will be announced Thursday.

The A.P. first All-SEC offense: QB Bryce Young, Alabama; RB Tyler Badie, Missouri (unanimous); RB Chris Rodriguez, Kentucky; T Darian Kinnard, Kentucky; G Kenyon Green, Texas A&M; C Michael Maietti, Missouri; G Justin Shaffer, Georgia; T Charles Cross, Mississippi State; TE Brock Bowers, Georgia; WR Jameson Williams, Alabama; Treylon Burks, Arkansas.

The A.P. first All-SEC defense: DE Sam Williams, Ole Miss; DT DeMarvin Leal, Texas A&M, DT Jordan Davis, Georgia; DE Josh Paschal, Kentucky; LB Will Anderson Jr., Alabama (unanimous), LB Nakobe Dean, Georgia; LB Damone Clark, LSU; DBs Lewis Cline, Georgia; Jaylan Foster, South Carolina, Jordan Battle, Alabama, Roger McCreary, Auburn.

The A.P. first All-SEC special teams: K Harrison Mevis, Missouri; P Nik Constantinou, Texas A&M; All-Purpose Velus Jones, Tennessee.

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Guilbeau joined OutKick as an SEC columnist in September of 2021 after covering LSU and the Saints for 17 years at USA TODAY Louisiana. He has been a national columnist/feature writer since the summer of 2022, covering college football, basketball and baseball with some NFL, NBA, MLB, TV and Movies and general assignment, including hot dog taste tests. A New Orleans native and Mizzou graduate, he has consistently won Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) and Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) awards since covering Alabama and Auburn at the Mobile Press-Register (1993-98) and LSU and the Saints at the Baton Rouge Advocate (1998-2004). In 2021, Guilbeau won an FWAA 1st for a game feature, placed in APSE Beat Writing, Breaking News and Explanatory, and won Beat Writer of the Year from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association (LSWA). He won an FWAA columnist 1st in 2017 and was FWAA's top overall winner in 2016 with 1st in game story, 2nd in columns, and features honorable mention. Guilbeau completed a book in 2022 about LSU's five-time national champion coach - "Everything Matters In Baseball: The Skip Bertman Story" - that is available at www.acadianhouse.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble outlets. He lives in Baton Rouge with his wife, the former Michelle Millhollon of Thibodaux who previously covered politics for the Baton Rouge Advocate and is a communications director.