USA TODAY International Edition
Love, McSorley, Oliver top All-Americans
Love. Trace McSorley. Ed Oliver. Clemson. Alabama. USA TODAY’s preseason All-America teams feature no shortage of star power.
Love was a no-brainer pick for first-team honors after rushing for more than 2,000 yards and finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting a season ago. McSorley, a senior at Penn State, earned first-team accolades ahead of a number of fellow contenders at quarterback.
Clemson’s defensive front is well-represented on both the first and second team. Oliver, a junior defensive tackle at Houston, is viewed as perhaps the best player in college football regardless of position and a contender for the first overall pick in next year’s NFL draft.
The Big Ten Conference leads all Football Bowl Subdivision leagues with a combined eight players earning first-team honors on offense and defense.
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Trace McSorley, Penn State, Sr. — McSorley threw for 3,570 yards and added 491 yards on the ground as a junior. RB: Bryce Love, Stanford, Sr. — Love’s 13 carries of 50 or more yards in 2017 set an FBS record. RB: Jonathan Taylor, Wisconsin, Soph. — Taylor’s 1,977 yards last season broke former Oklahoma star Adrian Peterson’s FBS record for rushing yards by a freshman. WR: A.J. Brown, Mississippi, Jr. — Brown (75 receptions for 1,252 yards in 2017) is the top returning receiver in the SEC and in the FBS, period. WR: David Sills V, West Virginia, Sr. — Sills’ size and body control make him the perfect target for quarterback Will Grier and the Mountaineers offense. TE: Noah Fant, Iowa, Jr. — Eleven of his 30 receptions a season ago went for touchdowns. OL: Jonah Williams, Alabama, Jr. — With great feet, high intelligence and prototypical length, Williams is ready for a stiffer level of competition. OL: Dalton Risner, Kansas State, Sr. — Risner graded out in 2017 as one of the top pass blockers in the country while helping the Wildcats post one of the top rushing seasons in school history. OL: Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin, Sr. — Benzschawel is simply a dominant force in the running game from his spot at right guard. OL: David Edwards, Wisconsin, Jr. — Teaming Benzschawel with Edwards, a quarterback recruit converted into a right tackle, provides the Badgers with an outstanding pair on the strong side. OL: Mitch Hyatt, Clemson, Sr. — A fixture on the outside since his true freshman season, Hyatt is among the most experienced and consistent linemen in the country.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL: Christian Wilkins, Clemson, Sr. — The leader of what is shaping up to be a legendary defensive front, Wilkins’ best asset might be his versatility. DL: Ed Oliver, Houston, Jr. — Oliver (73 tackles, 16.5 for loss in 2017) is, in a word, unstoppable. DL: Rashan Gary, Michigan, Jr. — The light turned on for Gary last season (12 tackles for loss and six sacks), which paints the junior as a player to watch on a national level. DL: Nick Bosa, Ohio State, Jr. — Ask Ohio State coaches about Bosa, and they’ll say something striking: He has the potential to be even better than his older brother, Joey. LB: Devin White, LSU, Jr. — White (133 tackles in 2017) is a missile of a defender — always moving fast, always explosive and impossible to ignore. LB: Cameron Smith, Southern California, Sr. — A starter since his early days on campus, Smith is a run-stuffing rock in the middle of a defense capable of carrying USC to another New Year’s Six bowl. LB: T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin, Sr. — Edwards fills the box score: He can get after the quarterback, stop the run and is very good defending the pass, as shown in his four interceptions last season. CB: Greedy Williams, LSU, Soph. — Williams made six interceptions as a freshman and seems poised for even greater feats in 2018. CB: Byron Murphy, Washington, Soph. — When healthy, Murphy’s ability to shut down one quarter of the field lifts Washington’s defense to another level. S: Jaquan Johnson, Miami (Fla.), Sr. — Johnson’s nose for the football (four interceptions in 2017) embodies the Hurricanes’ turnover-chain approach to defensive thievery. S: Andrew Wingard, Wyoming, Sr. — The most overlooked defender in the FBS, Wingard enters his senior year 100 tackles off the school’s career record.
FIRST TEAM SPECIALISTS
K: Matt Gay, Utah, Sr. — The former soccer playerturned-walk-on kicker won the Lou Groza Award last fall as the nation’s best at his position.
P: Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah, Sr. — Meanwhile, Wishnowsky took home the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter in 2016 and earned postseason All-America honors in each of the past two years.
RET: Tony Pollard, Memphis, Jr. — Pollard scored four times and averaged 40.1 yards per kickoff return in 2017 — and no, that’s not a misprint.
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB: Will Grier, West Virginia, Sr. RB: David Montgomery, Iowa State, Jr. RB: AJ Dillon, Boston College, Soph. WR: N’Keal Harry, Arizona State, Jr. WR: Stanley Morgan Jr., Nebraska, Sr. TE: Tommy Sweeney, Boston College, Sr. OL: Greg Little, Mississippi, Jr. OL: Nate Herbig, Stanford, Jr. OL: Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama, Sr. OL: Michael Jordan, Ohio State, Jr. OL: Max Scharping, Northern Illinois, Sr.
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL: Sutton Smith, Northern Illinois, Jr. DL: Dexter Lawrence, Clemson, Jr. DL: Raekwon Davis, Alabama, Jr. DL: Clelin Ferrell, Clemson, Jr. LB: Troy Dye, Oregon, Jr. LB: Mack Wilson, Alabama, Jr. LB: Devin Bush, Michigan, Jr. CB: Deandre Baker, Georgia, Sr. CB: Mark Gilbert, Duke, Jr. S: Taylor Rapp, Washington, Jr. S: Lukas Denis, Boston College, Sr.
SECOND TEAM SPECIALISTS
K: Rafael Gaglianone, Wisconsin, Sr. P: Jake Bailey, Stanford, Sr. RET: Deebo Samuel, South Carolina, Sr.