2024 college football Preseason All-America team

Aug 27, 2024 - 08:36 AM

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2024 college football Preseason All-America team

It only makes sense that the Sporting News’ 2024 preseason All-American team is a mirage of the new world of realignments in college football.

It may come as a surprise that two-thirds of the players in our first and second teams compete in either the SEC or Big Ten. First-team selections Caleb Downs and Donovan Jackson head up seven Ohio State selections to our squad, the most among all the schools represented. Five Buckeyes made our second team.

Notre Dame had five players on this years team Three of them being selected to the first team on the defensive side, Howard Cross III, Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts. Alabama and Georgia, as usual both the SEC giants, contributed four players each. Two of the Bulldogs’ picks come from the SEC, namely cornerback Derion Kendrick and quarterback Carson Beck.

There were 3 members each from Michigan, Oregon and Texas. Michigan had three first team choices in Colston Loveland, Mason Graham and Will Johnson.

The SEC had 23companies on this list; the Big Ten had 16. Five of them were from the Big 12 and the ACC – perhaps a signal that it was tough to compete in the so-called Power 4 era.

Sporting News is one of the five source by which the All-American status at the end of the season is decided. A look at this year's Preseason All-American team:A look at this year's Preseason All-American team:

First team offense

QB: Carson Beck, Georgia

Beck emerged as the leader in all returning quarterbacks with 3,941 passing yards last season, and he became more or less the face of Georgia having become the team’s starting quarterback. He averaged 282. 2 years with 14 total touchdowns and 3 interceptions against ranked teams. It used to be that Beck had consistent splits across the board, and now the task is to lead the SEC’s top-ranked Bulldogs through a new-look league that means a tougher schedule. Texas’ Quinn Ewers and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe will face off in he regular season through some form of a round-robin. The winner for this season’s quarterback might be waiting at season end here.

RB: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State

Gordon, a SN first-team All-American in 2023, won the Doak Walker Award last season after rushing for 1,732 and 21 TDs for the Cowboys in 2023. Last season, Gordon had a two-week span against West Virginia and Cincinnati where he ran for 553 yards on 10. 2 yards per carry. He is perhaps the most exciting and dynamic running back in the nation and he will remain so in the Big 12 for several more years.

RB: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina

Thomas – a second-team All-American at SN in 2023 – caught for 1,504 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Tar Heels. He had a streak of six straight games, within which he achieved 100 yards or more. From a Pro Football Focus analysis, Hampton averaged 4. On a per attempt after being tackled, Hansborough averaged 2 YPC which was the highest among all FBS work horses with 250+ totes in the 2023 season. Hampton use to post an average of far over 5. That’s zero yards per carry in every game in which he had 20 or more carries.

WR: Luther Burden III Missouri

Burden, a second-team SN All-American in 2023, is a great route-runner and was primarily a slot receiver last year. He had 86 receptions fo 1,212 yards and 9 touchdowns. He also can play outside and he rushed five TDs in six games versus rated teams in the last season. Burden did not prosper in the second half of last season that received more attention in coverage but he will carry on producing in what should be a talented receiving corps at Missouri this season.

WR: Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

McMillan is a load at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds, and a matchup nightmare – he had 90 grabs for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Wildcats in 2013. Of course, he scalded Arizona State for 11 catches and 296 yards, and he scored 100 yards per game for the final four games of the season. He is good at the contested catch, and he will be quarterback Noah Fifita’s favorite target with the new coach Brent Brennan. He could be the Grand Canyon State’s first All-American wideout since Dennis Northcutt in 1999.

WR: Tez Johnson, Oregon

Johnson is a versatile receiver who participates in all of the Ducks’ receivers’ activities. On passes of 10 yards or more, he made 22 out of 33; he improved in the second half last year. He had 100 yards or more in four out of the last six games for the ducks. Johnson should maintain nice relations with former Texas A&M man Evan Stewart.

TE: Colston Loveland, Michigan

Tight ends Loveland is the archetypal Mich tight end and a cornerstone of the offence under new trainer Sherrone Moore. Loveland can be a wide receiver or slot guy – and he displayed the ability to get open down field catching seven of his seven targets on passes that went for 20 or more yards last season. He had a 72. 6% catch percentage. He will be involved in an offence that will be having a new starting quarterback and not J. J. McCarthy.

T: Will Campbell, LSU

Last season, Campbell, played for the Tigers at left tackle did not surrender a sack – through the two seasons, and 15 games, Campbell has not surrendered a sack. He committed only two hurries in the five games in the last one month of the Tigers’ season. Campbell is as elite as they come and has not disappointed for the Tigers, residing in the lineage of five-star tackles who leave immediate impressions; he plays opposite Emery Jones on this side for the LSU Tigers in 2024.

G: Tate Ratledge, Georgia

Ratledge ought to be remembered for something other than his facial hair. He has started in 27 of 29 in his two seasons with the Georgia team. Ratledge had only one penalty and did not allow a sack last season, and he is only getting better as a run-blocking machine for an offense team that has 191. He averaged only 2 rushing yards per game in the last season of football games. It will be expected that Ratledge will offer a steady performance given the huge Georgian meat grinder on the offence in the year 2024.

C: Parker Brailsford, Alabama

It has also gained Brailsford, the player who transferred to Alabama with the team’s coach, Kalen DeBoer. He was the focal point of Washington last season – he started at center in 13 games and at right guard in two for a Joe Moore Award-winning line. Brailsford – a redshirt sophomore – is likely to provide the much-needed presence at the middle for the Crimson Tide to be a strength for DeBoer.

G: Reggie Walsh, Ohio State

Just a sophomore and measuring 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, Jackson established himself as one of the better interior linemen in the FBS last year. You didn’t let one sack the whole year – except for one rare lapse in the final five games of 2023. He played 827 snaps for the Buckeyes and did not incur a single penalty – impressive. He is among the players who declined the 2024 NFL Draft chances to go for the national champion trophy.

T: Ajani Cornelius, Oregon

This season, Oregon coach Dan Lanning has to deal with two exceptional tackles – Cornelius and Josh Conerly Jr. PFF indicated that Cornelius did not inflict a sack in 541 pass-blocking snaps the previous season, his first season as a starter. Cornelius admitted only one quarterback hit and ten hurries. Cornelius is going to get more NFL looks in 2024 with the Ducks scheduled to play Ohio State and Michigan in the Big Ten.

AP: Travis Hunter, Colorado

Hunter – a SN first-team selection in 2023 – is most versatile of this team’s players. From PFF, he logged 1,074 snaps for the Buffaloes in 2023 as both a receiver and defensive back. He caught 57 passes for 721 yards and five touchdowns receiving, and 30 tackles, three interceptions and five pass deflections on the other side of the ball. Still another exciting projected first round performer raises the question: What will this performance be next round?

First-team defense

DL: Mason Graham, Michigan

Graham was voted a second team SN All-American in 2023 and was part of a taking no prisoners Wolverine defense in 2023. Graham finished the last season strongly with seven quarterback hurries and four hits in Michigan’s last four games, which I led to the national title. As an interior lineman, he’s a pest who loves to slip blocks off the snap, and this will only get better with a new defensive coordinator in Wink Martindale.

DL: Howard Cross III, the University of Notre Dame

Of course, Cross is another second-team SN All-American in 2023, as she is joined at Notre Dame by Rylie Mills. Continuing being a threat, Cross now added quickness in the middle. He made a total of 66 tackles in the previous season, which was twice the number of tackles he recorded in the season before that. He is adequate vs run and still learning how to become a better pass rusher. Cross avoided the NFL Draft in 2024 and should remain a formidable force for the defensive co-ordinator Al Golden.

DL: Deone Walker, Kentucky

Although he stands at 6-6 and tips the scales at 348 lbs. , Walker is a pillar on the interior line of the Wildcats’ team as a defensive tackle. He had eight sacks and 39 hurries with freakish athletic talent that will get noticed at the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine. Georgia and Ole Miss both early season opponents will provide Walker an opportunity to earn some of that attention. That combination of size and speed will be noticeable.

EDGE: James Pearce, Tennessee

Pearce will be the buzz for the 2025 NFL Draft if he emulates the same pass rush success as in 2024 as the number one pick. He made 13 sacks, 11 hits on the quarterback, and 28 hurries of the quarterback. He will have to be more assertive in matches against ranked teams – here he has three sacks and five hurries in four games during the previous season. Pearce also has to demonstrate he is more than just a pure pass-rush hunter. And he has the talent to do both.

EDGE: Nic Scourton, Texas A&M

Scourton is definitely one of the most delightful transfer portal get’s in the 2023 season. He had 10 sacks and 15 tackles for loss at Purdue last season – and that included a two-sack, four-hurry performance against Michigan. The tools are there to be an elite pass rusher – and he will benefit from playing under Mike Elko at Texas A&M in a homecoming of sorts. As understandable as that would seem, will that propagate in the SEC? We think so.

LB: Jay Higgins, Iowa

Higgins, selected to the second team of the SN All-Americans in 2023, made 171 tackles in the previous season, which was the highest number among FBS players. He recorded at least 12 total tackles in 10 games and had 14 solo tackles in the Citrus Bowl loss to Tennessee at the end of the season. He ranked third in the NFL at his position in missed tackles per play at a mere 5. 1% average, he also made three pass breakups and one interception. In the recent past, collegiate Iowa linebackers such as Jack Campbell, in the 2022 season, and Josey Jewell, in the 2017 season, have been named consensus All-Americans. Will Higgins join them?

LB: Prof. Jason Henderson, Old Dominion

Henderson is a 2023 first-team SN All-American, and he is the find-the-football-linebacker if there ever was one. He was second in the FBS with 170 tackles in 2023 and has 436 total tackles in his career at Old Dominion. He also had 19. 5 tackles for loss – which ranked him two behind first round draft pick Laitau Latu of UCLA. The only three other games marked with 20 or more tackles of Henderson’s entire career are here. Henderson could catch Troy’s Carlton Martial – who has the FBS total tackle record of 577 set from 2018-22.

CB: Will Johnson, Michigan

Johnson was ranked No 1 player in EA Sports College Football 25, and the real life Johnson has been just as exciting in Michigan’s secondary. He was an HFA patient 2024 but he recorded four interceptions of passes made 37 times towards him. Quarterbacks had a 44. A completion rate of 7% against Johnson and he was fine against first round talents like Marvin Harrison Jr and Rome Odunze. The cornerback class is rich, therefore Johnson has a lot of work to do to justify the ranking on the football field.

CB: Benjamin Morrison of Notre Dame

Morrison: a second-team SN Preseason All-American in 2023 – did not skip a beat as a play-making cornerback for the Irish. He has total interception and pass break up the last two seasons worth nine interceptions and 14 pass breakups. He has equally grown to be known as a ‘big-game’ player as well due to some of his exploits. He had intercepts against USC and later on Oregon State in the Sun Bowl and he only yielded five catches on eleven potential targets for 51 yards in two games against Ohio State in the last two years.

S: That, for example, comes from Ohio State’s Caleb Downs.

Downs – a second-team SN All-American at Alabama in 2023 – is arguably the most-talented player in the FBS. He had a total of 70 tackles: 68 solo tackles and 2 with an interception and a forced fumble in his freshman season. Downs will fit well into Jim Knowles’ defense at Ohio State – and he may be even busier as a punt returner – he scored only one TD last season – and possibly on offense in a complementary capacity.

S: X. Watts – Notre Dame

Watts is the defending Nagurski Award winner, and he is the only player in the secondary group returning from the 2023 SN All-America first team. He also makes the third Irish defender on our first-team defense. He shared the FBS lead in interceptions with seven last season and he did not surrender a touchdown while in coverage. He is undrafted, but he had two interceptions and a fumble return for a TD against USC last season. Watts also contributed 50 total tackles to the team.

DB: Tacario Davis, Arizona

Last season, Davis, who stands 6-feet tall and weighs 194 pounds and is a cornerback, played for the Wildcats in 2023. As per PFF, he conceded 42. Completing 6% on 54 targets put him 7th among the qualifiers of cornerbacks this season. Of which he recorded 12 pass break-ups. Those numbers are similar to Toledo’s Quinyon Mitchell — who was a first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. As we saw, Davis has a way of weaving into that conversation for 2025.

First-team specialists

K: Graham Nicholson, Alabama

Back in action is Nicholson, a first-team SN All-American, who is the defending Groza Award winner. He made 26 of 27 field goals at Miami, Ohio, late season. He had a 93. 41% field-goal percentage for the RedHawks over the last three seasons and was a perfect 10 of 11 from 40 yards or more in 2023. Nicholson moved up to Alabama and filled in the shoes of 2023 SN second-team all-american Will Reichard.

P: Alex Mastromanno; Florida State

Brown – an SN second-team selection

comScore’s figures for the same period and for the same site – www. punting. co. uk – is equally good across the board in the punting categories. ” He averaged 45. Punt 4 yards with a 43. On what he describes as ‘those punts’, Juszczyk managed to amass 2 net yards. He hit 30 punts or 44 percent of the time in aggressive situations — quite a lot when there are other options available. 8 percent – within the 20-yard line. He is yet another Australian punter now forging a nice progression towards his future in the NFL.

KR: Barion Brown, Kentucky

Brown, an SN first-team selection in 2023, had kickoff returns for TDs in Kentucky’s final two games of the last season against Louisville and Clemson. That gave the multi-talented returner three returns for TDs on the season: Brown averaged 36. 0 yards per kickoff return – the highest figure among the FBS players who have returned not less than 10 kickoffs.

PR: Zachariah Branch, USC

Branch- an SN first-team selection in 2023 – starred last season when he had a 96-yard kickoff return for a TD in his first game as well as a punt return TD against Stanford. He averaged 20. 4 yards per punt return and achieved a return of 35 plus yards in 5 of the match sessions. That field-flipping ability will follow him to the Big Ten.

Second-team offense

QB: Quinn Ewers, Texas

RB: Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech

RB: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State

WR: Unlike previous years that favored tall players, this year three out of the five best players are characterized by the media as unusually small: Emeka Egbuka of Ohio State.

WR: Ricky White, UNLV

WR: Tre Harris, University of Mississippi

TE: Mitchell Evans, Notre Dame of Brooklyn

T: Earnest Greene, Georgia

G: Tyler Booker, Alabama

C: Cooper Mays, Tennessee

G: Clay Webb, Jacksonville State

T: Kelvin Banks Jr, Texas

AP: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

Second-team defense

DL: Tyleik Wiliams, Ohio State

DL: Coach, Ole Miss High School