ESPN’s 2024 college football preseason All-America team
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Chris Low, ESPN Senior Writer
College football like we’ve never experienced it is on the doorstep, with games less than two weeks away, so it’s time to unveil ESPN’s 2024 preseason All-America team.
Teams have moved to new conferences, players to new teams, and for the first time, 12 teams (and not four) will take part in the College Football Playoff.
Our preseason All-America team includes only four players who were also first-team selections on our 2023 postseason team: Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon II, Georgia safety Malaki Starks, Alabama place-kicker Graham Nicholson and USC return specialist Zachariah Branch.
Alabama, Georgia and Michigan lead the way with three first-team selections each. Ohio State has one first-team selection, but four second-teamers.
OFFENSE
In his first season as a starter a year ago, Beck almost made it look too easy at times in leading the SEC and ranking third nationally with 3,941 passing yards. Some of his top playmakers have moved on, including tight end Brock Bowers, but Beck is at his best spreading the ball around and finding open targets. He completed 72.4% of his passes and was intercepted only six times in 417 pass attempts.
Second team: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon
Gordon went from a little-used freshman to the Doak Walker Award winner as the top running back in college football last season. He led all FBS players with 1,732 rushing yards and scored 22 touchdowns. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound junior has a little bit of everything in his repertoire. He tied for second nationally a year ago with 1,056 yards after contact and led all players with 14 rushes of 30 yards or longer. He’s plenty durable too, as evidenced by his 285 carries.
Second team: Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech
As a true sophomore a year ago, Hampton burst onto the scene by finishing fifth nationally in rushing (1,504 yards), and he led all FBS players with 1,072 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-foot, 220-pound Hampton showcased his versatility by catching 29 passes for 222 yards and scored 16 touchdowns (15 rushing and one receiving). Not only did Hampton average 5.9 yards per rush on 254 attempts, but he also had five runs of 50 yards or longer.
Second team: Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State
When he came out of high school in East St. Louis, Burden was touted as the top receiving prospect in the country. He has lived up to that billing and then some at Mizzou. The 5-11, 208-pound junior has scored 18 touchdowns in his first two seasons. He was second in the SEC and ninth nationally a year ago with 1,212 receiving yards. Burden finished with 86 receptions and is absolutely electric in the open field. He ranked third nationally with 725 yards after the catch.
Second team: Tez Johnson, Oregon
One of the best pass-catch combos in college football this season will again be Noah Fifita to McMillan, and it has been that way since they were teammates in high school. The 6-5, 210-pound McMillan is a challenging matchup for any defensive back. He doesn’t drop passes and excels at making contested catches. As a true sophomore, McMillan finished with 90 catches for 1,402 yards and 10 touchdowns. He should be even more polished as a junior.
Second team: Tory Horton, Colorado State
Now that Brock Bowers is playing in the NFL, Loveland takes his rightful place as the premier tight end in college football, especially with his skills as both a receiver and blocker. The 6-5, 245-pound junior is incredibly athletic and finished third on Michigan’s national championship team last season with 45 catches, averaging 14.4 yards per catch. He pulled in four touchdown receptions and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Second team: Brant Kuithe, Utah
Campbell has been LSU’s starting left tackle since his first game as a true freshman. The 6-6, 323-pound junior has started 26 straight games and could be the first offensive lineman taken in the 2025 NFL draft. He’s a polished pass protector and didn’t allow a sack last season in 491 pass-blocking situations, according to Pro Football Focus. Campbell’s power and strength also make him an excellent run blocker.
Second team: Aireontae Ersery, Minnesota
Georgia could have its best offensive line of Kirby Smart’s tenure, and Ratledge is one of the leaders of that unit after bypassing a chance to enter the NFL draft. The 6-6, 310-pound senior is a two-year starter at right guard. His first start came three years ago, but he broke his foot in the first game against Clemson and missed the rest of the season. Ratledge earned AP second-team All-America honors a year ago and returns as one of the best pass-blocking guards in the country.
Second team: Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
One of Kalen DeBoer’s major acquisitions in the offseason was Brailsford, who followed his coach from Washington to Alabama. The 6-2, 275-pound Brailsford was a Freshman All-American last season for the Huskies. He started 13 games at center and two at right guard. What Brailsford lacks in size, he makes up for with quickness and burst. Brailsford missed spring practice but having him in the middle of the Alabama offensive line is a big reason the Tide should be dominant up front.
Second team: Cooper Mays, Tennessee
There’s no reason Alabama shouldn’t be able to run the ball between the tackles with Booker back at left guard and Brailsford settling in at center. At 6-5 and 352 pounds, Booker is massive and equally powerful as both a run blocker and pass protector. He’s a true junior and one of the leaders on the team after playing 427 snaps as a true freshman and earning first-team All-SEC honors as a sophomore.
Second team: Luke Kandra, Cincinnati
Both tackles on our All-America team have been starters since they were true freshmen. The 6-4, 320-pound Banks has started 27 straight games and been a fixture at left tackle for the Longhorns since the day he stepped on campus. He allowed just one sack in 550 pass-blocking situations last season and earned AFCA second-team All-America honors. Banks won’t have to wait long to hear his name called in the 2025 NFL draft.
Second team: Emery Jones, LSU
A true two-way player, Hunter doubles as a receiver and cornerback, and like his coach, Deion Sanders, is dynamic in both roles. The 6-1, 185-pound junior played 436 snaps on offense and 566 snaps on defense last season on his way to winning the Paul Hornung Award as the most versatile player in college football. Hunter caught 57 passes, including five touchdowns, on offense and intercepted three passes on defense.
Second team: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State
DEFENSE
Pearce was one of the sport’s breakout stars a year ago and enters his junior season as one of the most feared pass rushers in the country. He tied for the SEC lead last season with 10 sacks and tied for fifth nationally with 38 total pressures, according to Pro Football Focus. The 6-5 Pearce has bulked up since arriving on campus and is now 243 pounds. Some scouts think he could be the top defender taken in the 2025 NFL draft.
Second team: Abdul Carter, Penn State
Get ready for a fight on every snap with the 6-3, 320-pound Graham, who also wrestled four years in high school. He’s a disrupter in the middle of the Michigan defensive line whether he’s smothering ball carriers or chasing down quarterbacks. Graham, who played with a broken thumb through much of last season, was named the Rose Bowl MVP in the playoff semifinal win over Alabama. He’s the complete package as an interior defensive lineman.
Second team: Tyleik Williams, Ohio State
The 6-6, 348-pound Walker is a Big Blue mountain in the middle of Kentucky’s defensive line. He was a first-team All-SEC selection a year ago as a sophomore and will be among the most coveted interior defensive linemen in the 2025 NFL draft. Despite battling constant double-teams, Walker led the Wildcats with 12.5 tackles for loss, including 7.5 sacks. For a man his size, he’s a remarkable athlete and ran the 100 meters in high school.
Second team: Peter Woods, Clemson
Scourton is back home after transferring from Purdue. He’s from nearby Bryan, Texas, and was a big score for new Aggies coach Mike Elko in the transfer portal after leading the Big Ten with 10 sacks last season. The 6-4, 285-pound junior had 42 total quarterback pressures a year ago, and both Michigan and Ohio State had problems blocking him. Scourton’s deep array of pass-rush moves, according to Pro Football Focus, is the best in the country.
Second team: Mykel Williams, Georgia
Clemson’s defense received great news when Carter announced last December he was returning for his senior season. He’s a 6-1, 230-pound dynamo who has shown versatility throughout his career by moving around and playing different roles. He’s as effective rushing the passer as he is dropping into pass coverage. Dabo Swinney called Carter “one of the best pure football players I’ve had in 20 years.”
Second team: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
Few linebackers in college football possess the experience, production and playmaking ability of Stutsman, whose return for his senior season was huge for an OU defense looking for more consistency as the Sooners move to the SEC. The 6-4, 241-pound Stutsman has racked up 26.5 tackles for loss his past two seasons (19 for loss or no gain last year), and he led the Sooners with 104 total tackles.
Second team: Deontae Lawson, Alabama
After considerable debate about where Perkins should play, he will return to inside linebacker while also moving outside and rushing the passer on third down. The 6-1, 225-pound junior had 7.5 sacks as a true freshman in an edge rusher role. He moved inside as a sophomore, and while his sack numbers dipped somewhat, he matched his freshman total with 13 tackles for loss. Wherever Perkins lines up, quarterbacks have to be wary of him.
Second team: Jay Higgins, Iowa
Johnson specializes in taking away opponents’ best receiver. He allowed a 29.1 passer rating into his coverage last season, according to Pro Football Focus, fifth best among all cornerbacks in college football. The 6-2, 202-pound junior locked down both Marvin Harrison Jr. and Rome Odunze last season and was named the defensive MVP in the national championship game. He’s a likely top-five pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
Second team: Denzel Burke, Ohio State
When you talk about a player always being around the football, that’s Morrison personified. He has intercepted nine passes in two seasons at Notre Dame and was a Thorpe Award semifinalist a year ago as the top defensive back in college football. The 6-foot, 190-pound Morrison enters his junior season as one of the nation’s elite corners. He’s outstanding in single coverage, and the scouts love his ball skills.
Second team: Sebastian Castro, Iowa
Starks could become Georgia’s first two-time All-America safety in nearly 40 years. He has been a rock for the Bulldogs on defense since his true freshman season and excels in both stopping the run and playing coverage. The 6-1, 205-pound junior was fourth on Georgia’s team last season with 52 total tackles and had three interceptions. When the Bulldogs have needed a big play, Starks has been there to make it.
Second team: Dillon Thieneman, Purdue
Downs might be wearing a new jersey in 2024, but there’s nothing new about his skill set. After a sensational freshman season at Alabama, Downs joins an ultra-talented roster at Ohio State. The 6-foot, 205-pound sophomore led Alabama with 107 total tackles last year and intercepted two passes. He’s a sure tackler and has the coverage skills of a cornerback. Downs was the top portal addition in college football this offseason.
Second team: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame
SPECIAL TEAMS
A year removed from becoming the first MAC player to win the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top place-kicker, Nicholson is moving from Miami (Ohio) to Alabama. He made 27 of his 28 field goal attempts, hitting 10 from 40-plus yards. He has made 60 field goals during his career, and as a seasoned senior with great range and accuracy, Nicholson makes an already strong Alabama special teams unit that much stronger.
Second team: Andres Borregales, Miami
Mastromanno is exactly what a coach is looking for in a punter because very few of his punts are returned. One of three finalists for the Ray Guy Award last season, Mastromanno was second in the country with 37 fair catches and third with 30 punts inside the 20-yard line. The Seminoles ranked third nationally with a net average of 43.2 yards per punt. The Melbourne, Australia, native is back for his fifth season as FSU’s punter and also holds for kicks.
Second team: James Burnip, Alabama
Lincoln Riley has challenged Branch to provide more pop in USC’s passing game. He was ESPN’s top-rated receiver prospect in the 2023 signing class, and as a true freshman last season, he returned both a kickoff and punt for touchdowns. He had three punt returns of 60 yards or longer. If Branch can expand on his 31 catches from a year ago and continue to provide fireworks on special teams, he could blossom into one of the sport’s more electrifying players.
Second team: Jacob De Jesus, UNLV
While fans in Edmonton and Dallas are always singing about how they have friends in low places, only one of them has the high ground in the Western Conference finals. And that’s the Oilers after their 6-1 win Sunday in Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.
With the series tied heading into Sunday, the objective for Game 3 was to gain a firm grasp of the conference finals, and the Oilers did just that by having five players with multipoint performances. As for the Stars, losing Game 3 left them trailing a series for the second time this postseason, with the only other such occurrence coming after Game 1 against the Colorado Avalanche in the first round.
Now that the Oilers are in control of the series, what does it mean for them going forward? What must the Stars do differently ahead of Game 4 for them to return home tied rather than a game away from elimination? Ryan S. Clark and Greg Wyshynski examine those questions while delving into what lies ahead for two teams that not only faced each other in the conference finals last season but between them have been involved in every conference final since 2020.
Edmonton Oilers
Grade: A
Much could change between now and whenever the playoffs end. But for now, the argument could be made that this was the most important playoff game the Oilers have had this postseason.
The Oilers have had numerous strong performances, such as Game 3 against the Los Angeles Kings in the first round or their final two games against the Vegas Golden Knights in the conference semifinals. But what made the Oilers’ performance in Game 3 against Dallas arguably their most important was that they found a balance between being difficult in the defensive zone while not relying on a shutout to accomplish that objective.
The Stars finished with 37 shots, 13 high-danger chances in 5-on-5 play and scored only once. Connor McDavid has repeatedly stressed that the Oilers can play defense, and that has been made clear over their past five games. But Sunday proved they didn’t need Stuart Skinner or their defensive structure to blank an opponent to win. — Ryan S. Clark
Dallas Stars
Grade: C+
The final score doesn’t reflect the majority of this game, which Dallas coach Pete DeBoer can mine for positives among the many (many) negatives and some mitigating circumstances. Having Roope Hintz warm up but not be able to go because of the foot injury he suffered from a Darnell Nurse slash in Game 2? That’s deflating. Having the on-ice officials miss a delay of game call on Brett Kulak in the first period only to have Evan Bouchard open the scoring 10 seconds later? Also deflating.
So it’s to the Stars’ credit that they got to their game at 5-on-5 in Game 3 better than they have in any game of the series, at least before Edmonton ran up the score in the third. The results weren’t there and a loss is a loss — and a loss by this margin is difficult to stomach — but their second period and the performances from some of their slumbering depth players give the Stars at least a glimmer.
However, there’s no question Edmonton has this thing in well in-hand and the Stars have to find a way to solve Skinner, which is not something I thought I’d be writing at this stage of the postseason. — Greg Wyshynski
Three Stars of Game 3
Two goals and an assist for his seventh career multigoal playoff game. Hyman’s second goal was the Oilers’ fourth off the rush, the most in one game by any team this postseason. Hyman also was plus-5 Sunday.
Bouchard scored his sixth goal of the postseason and these two were on the ice for the first two Edmonton goals. At 5-on-5 this postseason, the Oilers are outscoring their opponents 7-1, and 5-0 in this series, when Bouchard and Kulak are on the ice.
0:48
Connor McDavid restores Oilers’ 2-goal lead
Connor McDavid finds the back of the net to restore the Oilers’ two-goal lead vs. the Stars.
3. Connor McDavid
C, Oilers
For all the talk about the lack of goals from the best hockey player in the world (which was odd because he had 20 points in 13 games and was a plus-7 entering Game 3 despite having only three goals), McDavid punched out a pair of tucks for his sixth career multigoal playoff game. Also, seeing McDavid with the puck barreling toward the net on a 3-on-1 is nightmare fuel for opponents. — Arda Ćcal
Players to watch in Game 4
Zach Hyman
LW, Oilers
To go from 16 goals last postseason to just three goals entering Game 3 of the conference finals is one way to assess Hyman. Another is to realize that he’s been the most physical player on a team that is among the tallest and heaviest in the NHL.
Hyman came into Game 3 leading the NHL with 99 hits. He remained physical Sunday by leading the way with six hits in a game that saw the Oilers continue their punishing style with 47. But to then see Hyman score two goals and finish with three points in addition to that physicality? It once again adds to the narrative that the Oilers might not only have more dimensions than last year’s team, they could be better than the team that finished Stanley Cup runner-up in 2024. — Clark
0:53
Zach Hyman’s 2nd goal puts Oilers up 4
Zach Hyman taps home his second goal of the game to put the Oilers up 5-1 vs. the Stars.
This is the first two-game losing streak for the Dallas goaltender in the playoffs. A lot of what happened in Game 3 wasn’t necessarily on him — a Connor McDavid beauty and a Zach Hyman breakaway were among the Edmonton tallies — but outside of the third period of Game 1, he’s not been a difference-maker in this series. Oettinger came into the game leading the playoffs with 5.58 goals saved above expected, according to Stathletes. The Stars have been able to depend on him as a slump-breaker. But this is his third game with a save percentage south of .900 in the series. As the Stars try to build on some positives from this game, they need Otter to provide the foundation for it — and in the process, silence those “U.S. backup!” chants from the Oilers fans. — Wyshynski
Big questions for Game 4
Are the Oilers about to do to the Stars what they did to the Golden Knights?
Simply put, the Oilers are where hope goes to die. Teams in a championship window that have yet to win a title are always being judged on their evolution. What the Oilers did to the Stars a year ago in the conference finals by winning the last three games showed that they could close out a series after trailing. This postseason Edmonton has shown a calculated and methodical coldness when it comes to putting away opponents.
The Golden Knights won Game 3 on a last-second goal to create the belief they may have found an opening. They didn’t score again for the rest of the playoffs after being in the top five of goals per game throughout the regular season. Breaking out for six goals to open the series seemed to be a sign the Stars may have found an opening. Since then? They’ve scored only once in the last six periods while facing questions about what’s happened to another team that went from being in the top five in goals per game in the regular season. — Clark
Can Dallas make Edmonton uncomfortable at all?
Our colleague Mark Messier made this point between periods of Game 3: The Stars have yet to do anything to get McDavid or Leon Draisaitl off their games. That extends to the rest of the Oilers. Outside of an anomalous run of three power-play goals in the third period of Game 1, there have been precious few instances of the Stars carrying play for long stretches or putting a scare into Edmonton at 5-on-5.
They had that for a bit in Game 3 with a dominant second period: plus-14 in shot attempts, plus-11 in scoring chances and a 10-1 advantage in high-danger shot attempts. But they were digging out of a 2-0 hole, only managed to get one goal of their own on the board and then McDavid stuck a dagger in them with 19 seconds left in the second.
The Stars need a lead. They need zone time. They need to get their rush game going: Skinner had a .897 save percentage on shots off the rush entering the game. Edmonton is playing with a champion’s confidence. Dallas has to find a way to inject a little doubt into its opponent or this series is going to end quickly. — Wyshynski
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