Five Auburn Tigers earn Phil Steele's Preseason All-SEC honors

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Auburn stars Xavier Atkins, Jeremiah Cobb, Rayshawn Pleasant, Hudson Powell, and Jo Simmons all earned Phil Steele's Preseason All-SEC honors from Steele's College Football Preview 2026 book.

The defensive side of the ball saw junior linebacker Xavier Atkins and senior cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant earn first-team honors; special teams was represented by long snapper Hudson Powell, making it on second-team honors. Offensively, running back Jeremiah Cobb and offensive tackle Jo Simmons both took home fourth-team honors.

Atkins made Steele's 2025 First Team All-SEC and Second Team All-American. In his sophomore season, he recorded 84 total tackles, 60 solo, 17 tackle-for-loss, and nine sacks. The man behind him, Pleasant, made it on Steele's 2025 Second Team All-SEC. Playing in 11 games for the Tigers, he totaled 16 tackles, 11 solo, 2 interceptions, and one touchdown.

The senior back is expected to be the lead running back in Golesh's offense for 2026 after his junior season, where he rushed for 969 yards and five touchdowns. Simmons comes in after transferring in from James Madison this offseason. He played in 29 games and made 14 starts in his four years at JMU.

Finally, the Miami transfer Powell played in 27 games as the main long snapper for the Hurricanes. Now he will be the guy for the Tigers in 2026 on special teams.

Auburn kicks off its season in Atlanta, Georgia, against Baylor for the Aflac Kickoff game on Saturday, Sept. 5. It will be the first game under head coach Alex Golesh leading the Tigers.

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This article originally appeared on Auburn Wire: Auburn football represented five times on Phil Steele's All-SEC teams

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