Tennessee was picked to finish sixth in the SEC East in the league's annual preseason poll released Friday morning, one day after SEC Media Days concluded in Atlanta.

The Vols, who have never been picked lower than fifth in the division in the history of the SEC Media Days preseason poll, were picked to finish ahead of only Vanderbilt.

Defending SEC champion Georgia was the overwhelming favorite to win the East, but Alabama got the nod to win the SEC title, the Crimson Tide earning 193 votes to Georgia's 69. Auburn (14), South Carolina (four), Florida (two), Mississippi State (one) and Missouri (one) also received votes to win the SEC.

Tennessee actually did receive one first-place vote in the SEC East, but Georgia racked up all but 14 of the first-place votes in the division. After the Bulldogs (1,977 points), South Carolina (1,535) was picked to finish second in the SEC East, followed by Florida (1,441), Missouri (1,057), Kentucky (874), Tennessee (704) and Vanderbilt (392).

The Crimson Tide received 263 out of a possible 284 first-place votes to win the SEC West. Behind the Crimson Tide (1,971 points), Auburn (1,664) was picked to finish second followed by Mississippi State (1,239), Texas A&M (1,091), LSU (1,025), Ole Miss (578) and Arkansas (412).

The Vols are coming off a miserable 2017 season in which they finished with a 4-8 overall record — the first eight-loss season in the program's history — and failed to win an SEC game with five of their eight conference losses coming by at least 18 points.

After being picked to finish third in the SEC East behind Georgia and Florida, the Vols finished in the division's cellar.

The emphatic collapse after back-to-back nine-win seasons cost Butch Jones his job as Tennessee's coach, and a whirlwind coaching search that included Phillip Fulmer, the Hall of Fame former coach of the Vols, taking over as athletic director ended with the hire of defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

Defensive lineman Kyle Phillips said during Tennessee's turn at SEC Media Days on Wednesday that the Vols are "very eager" to bounce back from last season's disaster.

"We know what last year was not up to the University of Tennessee's par," he added. "We're just ready to work hard each and every day, get better and hopefully come out with a lot of wins this upcoming season."

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Tennessee was picked to win the division in 2016 and finished second to Florida, and the Vols have been picked to finish fifth four times (2014, 2013, 2012, 2010) in the past decade.

"I feel like last year was a learning process," wide receiver Marquez Callaway said Wednesday. "We took last season and we know we did bad, but we look at it as a learning experience. We look at it like, 'We had this year, so next year won't be like that.' Having a new coach bringing in a new staff and new everything, really, I feel like this year is going to be a really different year."

Sophomore offensive lineman Trey Smith, a first-team selection, was the only Tennessee player named to the preseason All-SEC team also released on Friday. Callaway and linebacker Daniel Bituli were the only other Vols on the ballot. Safety Nigel Warrior was a surprising omission from the ballot.