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The Southeastern Conference is loaded with talent year in and year out, and 2024 will be no exception. The SEC is the toughest league in college football and the players listed below are tough and talented football players who were productive and impactful in their first seasons in 2023. These six SEC super sophomores will certainly make an impact once again in 2024.
LB Taurean York, Texas A&M Aggies
Coming off a stellar prep career in Temple, Texas, York stepped on the practice field on the A&M campus in 2023 and made his presence felt immediately. York was second on the team with 74 stops, 8.5 tackles for loss, 3 sacks and 1 forced fumble. Against Auburn, York posted a season-high 11 tackles in a 27-10 victory.
After a standout 2023 campaign, York was named an ESPN Freshman All-American, and SEC All-Freshman Team, and he was a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Award, presented by the Maxwell Football Club. York has been named a team captain for the Aggies in 2024.
WR Eugene Wilson III, Florida Gators
A four-star prospect from Tampa, Fla., Wilson was a dependable target for quarterback Graham Mertz in 2023. Wilson caught 61 of Mertz’s passes for 538 yards and 6 touchdowns. Those numbers were good enough for No. 2 on the team. In addition, Wilson added 55 yards rushing. Wilson posted a season-high 90 yards receiving on 8 catches and 2 TDs in a three-point loss at home to Arkansas.
The awards and accolades for Wilson in 2023 were numerous:
FWAA Freshman All-American
247Sports True Freshman All-American
On3 True Freshman All-American
SEC Academic Honor Roll
Wilson will be counted on heavily in 2024 in what could be a make-or-break season for head coach Billy Napier.
S Jordan Castell, Florida Gators
Another talented freshman for the Gators in 2023, Castell led the team with 60 tackles, 1 INT and broke up 3 passes. Castell posted two games with double-digit tackles against Tennessee and Arkansas. Castell was named to the SEC All-Freshman Team, ESPN All-American and the SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll for his efforts last season. In high school, Castell was a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 10 safety and among the top 150 players nationally.
DB Jalon Kilgore, South Carolina Gamecocks
Kilgore was No. 2 on the team in tackles with 76 stops last season. In addition, Kilgore broke up 6 passes and forced a fumble. Kilgore recorded double-digit tackles in three games last season, including a season-high 15 stops and an INT in a losing effort on the road at Tennessee.
As a result of an outstanding freshman season, Kilgore earned the following honors:
First-Team Freshman All-American, ESPN and 247Sports
Third-Team All-American, College Football News
SEC All-Freshman, by the coaches
Shaun Alexander Award semifinalist
SEC Fall Academic Honor Roll
Kilgore is part of a Gamecocks defense that returns eight starters this season.
LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas Longhorns
The 2023 Co-Big 12 Conference Defensive Freshman of the Year, Hill was second on the team with 67 tackles. In addition, Hill posted 8.5 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 1 forced fumble for a unit that returns eight starters for the 2024 campaign.
Hill earned the following honors for his outstanding play in 2023:
FWAA Freshman All-American
Freshman All-American, ESPN, The Athletic, and College Football Network
True Freshman All-American, 247Sports
Freshman Linebacker of the Year, College Football Network
In his three years at Ryan High School in Denton, Texas, Hill recorded 303 tackles, 13 sacks and forced 9 fumbles.
DB Peyton Bowen, Oklahoma Sooners
A former five-star prospect and top 60 player at Guyer High School in Denton, Texas, Bowen posted 36 tackles, broke up 5 passes, forced a fumble and blocked 2 kicks. Bowen was named a semifinalist for the Shaun Alexander Award.
These are just a few of the talented sophomores who will showcase their skills on gridirons across the Southeast on any given Saturday this fall.
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