SEC announces 2025 postseason players, coach of the year awards

The Southeastern Conference unveiled its 2025 Football individual honors on Wednesday as voted on by the league’s 16 head coaches. Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Year after leading the SEC with 4,018 total yards and 36 combined touchdowns, while Texas A&M pass rusher Cashius Howell was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year with a SEC-best 11.5 sacks this season.

Pavia wasn’t the Commodores’ only award winner Wednesday, joined by head coach Clark Lea, who was named the 2025 SEC Coach of the Year after directing No. 13 Vanderbilt (10-2, 6-2 SEC) to the program’s first-ever 10-win season and back-to-back bowl berths for the first time since 2011-13. ‘Dores junior linebacker Nick Rinaldi, a one-time preferred walk-on, was also named the SEC Scholar-Athlete of the Year after graduating with a 3.972 GPA in economics.

Other individual award winners included Ole Miss senior QB Trinidad Chambliss, a former Ferris State transfer who was named Newcomer of the Year after sparking the Rebels to the College Football Playoffs as the No. 6 seed with 3,486 total yards and 24 touchdowns while averaging 300 yards of total offense in SEC play this season. Alabama junior tackle Kadyn Proctor and Texas A&M senior tackle Trey Zuhn III were named co-winners of the Jacobs Blocking Trophy awarded to the best offensive linemen every year.

Tennessee redshirt freshman receiver Braylon Staley was named the Freshman of the year after ranking sixth in the SEC with 806 receiving yards and 67.2 receiving yards per game while starting all 12 regular-season games this season. Oklahoma junior kicker Tate Sandell was named Special Teams Player of the Year after converting 23-of-24 field goal attempts this season, including setting a school and single-season SEC record with 23 consecutive made kicks on the year.

Check out the full list of SEC Football honors below:

2025 SEC Football Individual Awards

Offensive Player of the Year
Diego Pavia, Vanderbilt

Defensive Player of the Year 
Cashius Howell, Texas A&M

Special Teams Player of the Year
Tate Sandell, Oklahoma

Freshman of the Year
Braylon Staley, Tennessee

Newcomer of the Year
Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss

Jacobs Blocking Trophy
Kadyn Proctor, Alabama 
Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M

Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Nick Rinaldi, Vanderbilt

Coach of the Year
Clark Lea, Vanderbilt