The 1998 All-SEC football team consists of

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

players selected to the All-

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) chosen by the ''

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

'' (AP) and the conference coaches for the

1998 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in e ...

. The

Tennessee Volunteers The Tennessee Volunteers and Lady Volunteers are the 20 male and female varsity college athletics, intercollegiate athletics programs that represent the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Volunteers compete in NCAA Division I, ...

won the conference, beating the

Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs is the name given to the athletic teams of Mississippi State University, in Mississippi State, Mississippi. The university is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and competes in NCAA Division I. Sports sp ...

24 to 14 in the

SEC Championship The SEC Championship Game is an annual American football game that has determined the Southeastern Conference's season champion since 1992. The championship game pits the SEC East Division regular season champion against the West Division regula ...

game. The Volunteers then won the

National Championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

game over the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivis ...

23 to 16.

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

quarterback

Tim Couch Timothy Scott Couch (born July 31, 1977) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for five seasons with the Cleveland Browns. He played college football at Kentucky, where he set the Southeaster ...

was voted the AP SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

Jevon Kearse Jevon Kearse (born September 3, 1976), nicknamed "the Freak", is a former American football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons during the late 1990s and 2000s. Kearse played college football f ...

was voted AP SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

Offensive selections

Quarterbacks

†, Kentucky (AP-1, Coaches-1) *

Clint Stoerner Clinton Jacob Stoerner (born December 29, 1977) is a former American football quarterback, who played in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins. He also played in the Arena Football League and NFL Europe. He p ...

, Arkansas (AP-2)

Running backs

Kevin Faulk Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

, LSU (AP-1, Coaches-1) *James Johnson, Miss. St. (AP-1) *

Shaun Alexander Shaun Edward Alexander (born August 30, 1977) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Seattle Seahawks and Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the ...

, Alabama (AP-2) *

Deuce McAllister Dulymus Jenod "Deuce" McAllister (born December 27, 1978) is an American former football running back who played eight seasons for the New Orleans Saints in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Ole Miss and was dr ...

, Ole Miss (AP-2)

Wide receivers

Travis McGriff William Travis McGriff (born June 24, 1976) is an American former college and professional football player who was a wide receiver in two different professional football leagues. McGriff played college football for the University of Florida, ...

, Florida (AP-1) *

Craig Yeast Craig Nelson Yeast (born November 20, 1976) is an American gridiron football coach and former player. He is the head football coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College, a position he has held since December 2018.He now is the head coach of the Mercer Cou ...

, Kentucky (AP-1) *Anthony Lucas, Arkansas (AP-2) *

Peerless Price Peerless LeCross Price (born October 27, 1976) is a former American football wide receiver who played nine seasons in the National Football League (NFL). Price played college football for the University of Tennessee Volunteers and was drafted ...

, Tennessee (AP-2)

Centers

Todd McClure Ryan Todd McClure (born February 16, 1977) is a former American football Center (American football), center who spent his entire 13-year career playing with the Atlanta Falcons in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Falcons in the ...

, LSU (AP-1, Coaches-1) *Eric Allen, Miss. St. (AP-2)

Guards

Brandon Burlsworth Brandon Vaughn Burlsworth (September 20, 1976 – April 28, 1999) was an offensive lineman for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1995 to 1998. He joined the team as a walk-on and eventually became an All-American. Football career Bu ...

, Arkansas (AP-1) *Cosey Coleman, Tennessee (AP-1) *Randy Thomas, Miss. St. (AP-2)

Tackles

Matt Stinchcomb Matthew Douglas Stinchcomb (born June 3, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons. He played college football for the University ...

, Georgia (AP-1, Coaches-1) *Kris Comstock, Kentucky (AP-1) *Zach Piller, Florida (AP-2) *Chad Clifton, Tennessee (AP-2)

Tight ends

Rufus French Rufus French (born March 15, 1978) is a former American football tight end who played college football at the University of Mississippi and attended Amory High School in Amory, Mississippi. He was a consensus All-American in 1998. He was also a ...

, Ole Miss (AP-1, Coaches-1) *

Reggie Kelly Reginald Kuta Kelly (born February 22, 1977) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Atlanta Falcons in the second round of the 1999 NFL Draft and played the majority of his career for the Cincinnati Bengals. He played ...

, Mississippi State (AP-1) *Larry Brown, Georgia (AP-2)

Defensive selections

Defensive ends

*Edward Smith, Miss. St. (AP-1) *Leonardo Carson, Auburn (AP-1) *Kenny Smith, Alabama (AP-2) *Willie Cohens, Florida (AP-2) *Antonio Cochrane, Georgia (AP-2) *C. J. McLain, Arkansas (AP-2)

Defensive tackles

* Anthony McFarland, LSU (AP-1) * Reggie McGrew, Florida (AP-1) *Darwin Walker, Tennessee (AP-1) *Melvin Bradley, Arkansas (AP-2) *Charles Dorsey, Auburn (AP-2) *Ed Chester, Florida (AP-2)

Linebackers

Al Wilson Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and ...

†, Tennessee (AP-1, Coaches-1) *

, Florida (AP-1, Coaches-1) *Raynoch Thompson, Tennessee (AP-1) *

Mike Peterson Porter Michael Peterson (born June 17, 1976) is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the outside linebackers coach at the University of Florida. He most recently was the outside linebackers coach at the University of S ...

, Florida (AP-2) * Johnny Rutledge, Florida (AP-2) *

Jamie Winborn Jamie Winborn (born May 14, 1979, in Wetumpka, Alabama) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. He played college football at Vanderbilt. Winborn has also pl ...

, Vanderbilt (AP-2) *Armegis Spearman, Ole Miss (AP-2)

Cornerbacks

Champ Bailey Roland "Champ" Bailey Jr. (born June 22, 1978) is an American former professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he earned consensus All-A ...

*, Georgia (AP-1, Coaches-1) *

Tony George Anton Hulman "Tony" George (born December 30, 1959) is the former Chairman, President, and CEO of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and Hulman & Company, serving from 1989 to 2009. He was also formerly on the Board of Directors of both entities. ...

, Florida (AP-1) *

Fernando Bryant Fernando Antoneyo Bryant (born March 26, 1977) is a former American football cornerback of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars 26th overall in the 1999 NFL Draft. He played college football at Alabama. ...

, Alabama (AP-1) *Jimmy Williams, Vanderbilt (AP-2) *Dwayne Goodrich, Tennessee (AP-2)

Safeties

*Zac Painter, Arkansas (AP-1) *

Kirby Smart Kirby Paul Smart (born December 23, 1975) is an American football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach of the Georgia Bulldogs, his alma mater. He coached the 2021 Bulldogs to a national championship victory, their fi ...

, Georgia (AP-1) *Teako Brown, Florida (AP-2) *Kenoy Kennedy, Arkansas (AP-2) * Rob Pate, Auburn (Coaches-2)

Special teams

Kickers

*Jeff Hall, Tennessee (AP-1) *Todd Latourette, Arkansas (AP-2)

Punters

*Daniel Pope, Alabama (AP-1) *Jeff Walker, Miss. St. (AP-2)

All purpose/return specialist

, Kentucky (AP-1) *Kevin Prentiss, Miss. St. (AP-2)

Key

*Bold: Consensus first-team selection by both the coaches and AP
AP:

Coaches: selected by the SEC coaches
*Unanimous selection of AP
†Unanimous selection of both AP and Coaches

References

{{All-SEC football teams

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: * 1 ...

All-SEC football teams