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Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams of USC, Ohio State receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and Michigan running back Blake Corum are among the returning first-team players who were selected to the Associated Press preseason All-America team announced Monday.

Notre Dame offensive tackle Joe Alt and Miami safety Kamren Kinchens also followed up their stellar 2022 seasons by being named preseason All-Americans by voters in the AP Top 25.

Two-time defending national champion and No. 1 Georgia had the most players on the first team with four, tight end Brock Bowers, center Sedrick Van Pran, safety Malaki Starks and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson.

No. 3 Ohio State was second with three. Harrison was joined by fellow receiver Emeka Egbuka and linebacker Tommy Eichenberg.

Williams was named the AP Player of the Year before he won the Heisman last year, his first at USC after transferring from Oklahoma.

Corum was a Heisman contender last year until a late-season injury and returns to lead the second-ranked Wolverines, who are trying to reach the College Football Playoff for a third straight season. Michigan guard Zak Zinter was also selected to the first team.

The Wolverines — along with Big Ten rivals Penn State and Iowa, plus LSU and Washington — had two first-team selections.

The Big Ten led all conferences with 12 players on the first team, and the Southeastern Conference was next with seven.

The Pac-12 had five first-team selections, led by Williams and including Colorado two-way threat Travis Hunter, who is expected to play both receiver and cornerback for coach Deion Sanders.

FIRST TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Caleb Williams, third year, Southern California.

Running backs — Blake Corum, fourth year, Michigan; Quinshon Judkins, second year, Mississippi.

Tackles — Joe Alt, third year, Notre Dame; Olu Fashanu, fourth year, Penn State.

Guards — Cooper Beebe, fifth year, Kansas State; Zak Zinter, fourth year, Michigan.

Center — Sedrick Van Pran, fourth year, Georgia.

Tight end — Brock Bowers, third year, Georgia.

Wide receivers — Marvin Harrison Jr., third year, Ohio State; Rome Odunze, fourth year, Washington; Emeka Egbuka, third year, Ohio State.

All-purpose player — Travis Hunter, second year, Colorado.

Kicker — Joshua Karty, fourth year, Stanford.

DEFENSE

Edge rushers — Jared Verse, fourth year, Florida State; Bralen Trice, fifth year, Washington.

Interior linemen — Jer’Zhan Newton, fifth year, Illinois; Dontay Corleone, third year, Cincinnati.

Linebackers — Harold Perkins, second year, LSU; Jamon Dumas-Johnson, third year, Georgia; Tommy Eichenberg, fourth year, Ohio State.

Cornerbacks — Kool-Aid McKinstry, third year, Alabama; Kalen King, third year, Penn State.

Safeties — Kam Kinchens, third year, Miami; Malaki Starks, second year, Georgia.

Defensive back — Cooper DeJean, third year, Iowa.

Punter — Tory Taylor, fourth year, Iowa.

SECOND TEAM

OFFENSE

Quarterback — Drake Maye, third year, North Carolina.

Running backs — Raheim Sanders, third year, Arkansas; Braelon Allen, third year, Wisconsin.

Tackles — JC Latham, third year, Alabama; Kelvin Banks Jr., second year, Texas.

Guards — Donovan Jackson, third year, Ohio State; Christian Mahogany, fifth year, Boston College.

Center — Zach Frazier, fourth year, West Virginia.

Tight end — Oronde Gadsden, third year, Syracuse.

Wide receivers — Xavier Worthy, third year, Texas; Malik Nabers, third year, LSU; Jacob Cowing, fifth year, Arizona.

All-purpose player — Will Shipley, third year, Clemson.

Kicker — John Hoyland, third year, Wyoming.

DEFENSE

Edge rushers — J.T. Tuimoloau, third year, Ohio State; Dallas Turner, third year, Alabama.

Interior linemen — Tyler Davis, fifth year, Clemson; Mekhi Wingo, third year, LSU.

Linebackers — Jeremiah Trotter Jr., third year, Clemson; Barrett Carter, third year, Clemson; Cedric Gray, fourth year, North Carolina.

Cornerbacks — Josh Newton, sixth year, TCU; Ben Morrison, second year, Notre Dame.

Safeties — Calen Bullock, third year, Southern California; Javon Bullard, third year, Georgia.

Defensive back — Will Johnson, second year, Michigan.

Punter — Kai Kroeger, fourth year, South Carolina.

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.

Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.

Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”

“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.

But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.

Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.

Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.

Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”

“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”

Adding Wilson to the mix should help.

The Gators haven’t shown much depth at receiver. Freshman Vernell Brown III has been Lagway’s go-to guy, catching 18 passes for 219 yards. But Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant and Aidan Mizell have been mostly underwhelming.

Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.

“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.

Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.

“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.

“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.

Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.

Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.

Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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