Missouri football is starting the preseason in the lower half of the SEC, at least according to the league’s media.
The Southeastern Conference released its preseason poll Friday, with votes cast by reporters who attended SEC Media Days in Tampa, Florida. Missouri landed at No. 10 in the 16-team field, while Georgia was picked to win the conference and Texas was projected to finish second.
Even with that middle-to-lower-tier league prediction, three Tigers earned spots on the preseason All-SEC team. Left tackle Cayden Green and running back Ahmad Hardy were both named first-team selections, and longsnapper Brett Le Blanc was placed on the third team.
The ballots came from SEC Media Days, which ran Monday through Thursday. Missouri head coach Eli Drinkwitz was there along with player representatives Green, linebacker Nicholas Rodriguez and running back Jamal Roberts.
Green and Hardy have each picked up multiple preseason all-conference and All-American honors already. Green has been a fixture on Missouri’s offensive line for the last two seasons and is expected to open the year as the Tigers’ starting left tackle. Several outlets also view the Kansas City native as a potential first-round NFL Draft pick in 2027.
Hardy’s availability for the start of the season remains unclear after he was shot in the femur in May in Mississippi. Drinkwitz gave a positive update Monday, saying the team expects Hardy to make a full recovery and putting a 5-8 week timeline on a possible return-to-play protocol.
Le Blanc has handled Missouri’s starting longsnapper duties on punts for the past three seasons and added field goal snapping in 2025.
The full SEC preseason order of finish had Georgia first with 88 first-place votes, followed by Texas with 57. Ole Miss came in third, then Texas A&M, LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Florida and Missouri. South Carolina, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi State and Arkansas rounded out the poll.
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