Vanderbilt’s Lea, Alabama’s Simpson and Texas A&M’s Howell among winners in SEC midseason awards

It’s not easy to stand out in the Southeastern Conference’s crowd of 10 AP Top 25 teams. Coach Clark Lea and Vanderbilt are pulling it off.

No. 17 Vanderbilt, which 5-1 overall and 1-1 in the SEC, was voted the SEC’s most surprising team at the midpoint of the season by Associated Press journalists who cover the conference. Lea was voted the top coach.

Lea began his time at Vanderbilt in 2021 with three consecutive losing seasons before making dramatic changes. The Commodores shocked fans last season with a 40-35 win over then-No. 1 Alabama, giving Vanderbilt its first win over a top-ranked team. The 2024 team finished 7-6 and this year’s version hopes to better that.

Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson, who threw for 340 yards and two touchdowns in a win over Vanderbilt, was the landslide winner. Simpson leads the SEC with 16 touchdown passes and has thrown only one interception while completing 70.9% of his attempts. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia also received a vote.

Texas A&M defensive end Cashius Howell leads with SEC with eight sacks. He recorded three sacks in a 31-9 win over Mississippi State on Oct. 4 and is a big reason the No. 4 Aggies are undefeated and are the SEC’s highest ranked team.

Juan Gaston became the first true freshman offensive lineman to start a season opener at Georgia since right tackle and future NFL player Andrew Thomas in 2017. He has started at right guard and right tackle as No. 9 Georgia has dealt with injuries on its offensive line and had his own ankle injury last week. Another true freshman, Dontrell Glover, also has started on the line.

“We’re blessed to have the two freshmen can come along as fast as they did, because those two guys have helped us,” coach Kirby Smart said.

Quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, a transfer from Division II Ferris State, has been a difference-maker for No. 5 Mississippi. Chambliss has the attention of Smart as the Rebels prepare to play at Georgia on Saturday.

Smart says Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin’s staff “should get the greatest award there is for finding this guy. I don’t know who scouted, who found him, but he is a really good football player that they went out and got and did a tremendous job.”

Chambliss has passed for 1,286 yards and rushed for 281. He has passed for seven touchdowns with only one interception.

This is the fifth consecutive week Vanderbilt has been ranked in the Top 25, the most in program history. The Commodores had been ranked four weeks in each of 2008, 1941 and 1937.

South Carolina drew the fifth-most votes in the preseason poll at SEC media days. The Gamecocks (3-3, 1-3) have failed to meet those expectations and have lost three of their last four games.

Florida coach Billy Napier wins this midseason award for the second consecutive year. The Gators fell to 2-4 overall and 1-2 in the conference with last week’s 34-17 loss at Texas A&M. Napier fell to 0-14 on the road against ranked opponents. The heat increased with an 18-16 home loss to South Florida on Sept. 6.

Tennessee cornerback Jermod McCoy was an AP preseason first-team All-America pick but has yet to take the field as he continues to recover from an ACL injury in January.

“”He’s got more to go,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said last week. “You look at the position he plays, all the reactionary work that you have to have in so your always balancing his ability to be prepared and short-term, long-term health as well.”

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AP Sports Writers Cliff Brunt, Mark Long, David Skretta and Teresa M. Walker contributed to this report.