Key Tennessee Vols defender received plenty of motivation during SEC Media Days
One of the Tennessee Vols' most important defenders received plenty of motivation last week during SEC Media Days. Near the end of the SEC Media Days in Nashville, the All-SEC teams, which are voted on by the media, were released. And Vols redshirt senior linebacker Aaron Beasley was nowhere to be found on any of […]
One of the Tennessee Vols' most important defenders received plenty of motivation last week during SEC Media Days.
Near the end of the SEC Media Days in Nashville, the All-SEC teams, which are voted on by the media, were released.
And Vols redshirt senior linebacker Aaron Beasley was nowhere to be found on any of the three All-SEC teams.
Surprised? I know I certainly am.
Here are the linebackers that were included on the three All-SEC teams and their stats from last season (stats via Sports Reference).
First Team
Dallas Turner — Alabama — 37 tackles, 4 sacks, 8 TFL, 0 INT
Harold Perkins — LSU — 72 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 13 TFL, 1 INT
Jamon Dumas-Johnson — Georgia — 70 tackles, 4 sacks, 9 TFL, 0 INT
Second Team
Smael Mondon Jr — Georgia — 76 tackles, 1 sack, 8 TFL, 1 INT
Nathaniel Watson — MS State — 113 tackles, 6 sacks, 12 TFL, 1 INT
Ty'Ron Hopper — Missouri — 77 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 13.5 TFL, 1 INT
Third Team
Chris Braswell — Alabama — 20 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 4 TFL, 0 INT
Jalon Walker — Georgia — 9 tackles, 1 sack, 2 TFL, 0 INT
JJ Weaver — Kentucky — 47 tackles, 3 sacks, 6 TFL, 0 INT
And here are Aaron Beasley's stats from last season: 76 tackles, 3 sacks, 13 TFL, 0 INT.
Now, I'm not gonna suggest that Beasley should've been an All-SEC first team member, though his numbers are right there with All-SEC first teamer Jamon Dumas-Johnson (if anyone has an argument to be first team, it's Nathaniel Watson from Mississippi State).
But Beasley deserves to be at least either All-SEC second or third team. There are guys who barely put up any numbers last season who were included over Beasley. And it's no surprise that those players (Turner, Braswell, and Walker) went to either Alabama or Georgia (they tend to get the benefit of the doubt, fair or not).
Beasley doesn't seem like the type of player that needs extra motivation — he was one of the only Vols defensive players that received praise after Tennessee's blowout loss to South Carolina last season — but it certainly doesn't hurt to have some. The Georgia native should make it his mission to make the SEC media look silly in 2023.
Featured image via USA TODAY Sports
