Texas A&M defensive lineman Nic Scourton and Shemar Turner received an honor Thursday afternoon as they were both announced as preseason members of the All-SEC second team, voted upon by conference coaches.
Scourton arrived in College Station after leading the Big Ten with 10 sacks an ranking fourth with 15 tackles for a loss. Not a bad sophomore season for the former Purdue Boilermaker. He started every contest for the Boilermakers.
The Bryan, TX native played real well in the Maroon & White game in the spring, tallying seven tackles, including 3.5 for loss, while contributing to both teams.
This preseason, Scourton has also been named to the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award watch lists, while earning first-team All-America honors from ESPN and Sporting News as well as second-team All-America accolades from the Associated Press.
Turner returns for his senior season after helping the Aggies compile the best rush defense in the SEC. They also ranked third in the league in total defense (316.2) last season.
Texas A&M limited its opponents to just 108.8 rushing yards per game and nine touchdowns on the ground, while leading the league in sacks (42.0) and ranking second in tackles for loss (99.0).
Turner started every game he played in over the last two seasons. The DeSoto, Texas, native was top-three on the team last year with 6.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, good for eighth and ninth, respectively, among SEC defensive linemen. He totaled 33 tackles and blocked a pair of kicks as a junior, being named to the All-SEC Second Team by season's end.
Turner has also earned Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award Preseason Watch List nods, and was named to the Preseason All-SEC Second Team by the league's media.
The Aggies open their season against Notre Dame on Saturday, Aug. 31 at 7:30 ET. The game will be televised on ABC.
