University of Missouri linebacker Nick Bolton has been named a pre-season All-SEC first-team selection by the coaches, just over one week before the Tigers open the 2020 football season battling Alabama. Bolton is the only Mizzou product named to the first team, coming off a season where he led the conference in tackles, with 104.
Named preseason all-SEC second team for the Tigers are safety Tyree Gillespie and defensive end Kobie Whiteside, with Gillespie’s 50 tackles in 2019 ranking second on the MU defense, while Whiteside looks for continued improvement off a season with 6 1/2 sacks and 27 tackles in 2019.
Named to the third team was returning running back Larry Rountree, coming into his senior season in Columbia with 2,748 rushing yards, 450 shy of second all-time in the Missouri program. As a junior, Rountee had 829 yards rushing and nine touchdowns for then-head coach Barry Odom.
On Saturday night, Missouri hosts #2 ranked Alabama at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, with pregame at 4 o’clock on kick at 6 on KTTN FM 92.3. The game will be shown nationally on ESPN. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide had eight players named All-SEC preseason first-teamers, in the announcement made by the league office on Thursday afternoon.
