Today, the Associated Press announced their awards for the Southeastern Conference. Among these were Coach of the Year and the All-SEC teams. The first-team AP All-SEC selections from the Mississippi State Bulldogs are junior QB Dak Prescott and senior OG Ben Beckwith. They joined, among others, Alabama WR Amari Cooper, Georgia RB Nick Chubb, and Ole Miss TE Evan Engram on the offensive All-SEC team. This is a huge honor for Dak Prescott who was a Heisman front-runner for most of the 2014 season. Senior OG Ben Beckwith has been an anchor on this team, even through the suspension of fellow senior Dillon Day. Winning three Offensive Lineman of the Week awards from the SEC, Ben was able to win these awards at two different positions (2 at Offensive Guard and 1 at Center, replacing Dillon Day).

For the second-team selections, the Associated Press decided to include junior RB Josh Robinson, senior DE Preston Smith, and junior LB Benardrick McKinney. They joined stellar Texas A&M freshman DL Myles Garrett, Ole Miss safety Tony Conner, Alabama QB Blake Sims, and Auburn WR Sammie Coates. Capping off a stellar senior season for the Bulldogs, Preston Smith should not be ashamed for how he performed this season. Being the first defensive lineman to ever win the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week award three straight weeks, Smith established himself early in the season as a force to be reckoned with in the trenches. Benardrick McKinney is a NFL draft hopeful, who will leave the Bulldogs as one of the best talents at the Linebacker position in school history. Josh “Bowling Ball” Robinson dazzled week after week as he ran over would-be tacklers en route to an amazing junior season. Sometimes it seemed that Robinson was impossible to bring down, which was quite evident in this run against Kentucky.

The Associated Press also named their yearly award winners for the conference. Earlier today, Dan Mullen was named the AFCA Region II Coach of the Year by the American Football Coaches Association. Now he can add another award to this year’s list as he was named the AP SEC Coach of the Year. The Offensive Player of the Year award was given to Alabama WR Amari Cooper. Defensive Player of the Year was Shane Ray from Missouri. Freshman of the Year was given to Georgia RB Nick Chubb.