College Football: The FOX Sports 2023 preseason All-America team
The 2023 college football season is thankfully upon us.
After an offseason filled with NCAA tumult and conference realignment away from the field, it's time for the focus to return to the action between the lines.
This year doesn't lack storylines or star power either, between the returning Heisman Trophy winner leading a strong group of quarterbacks out West, a stacked group of playmakers out of the Midwest, and plenty of future NFL stars emerging from down South.
Of all the stars returning to action this fall, who are the best of the best for this upcoming year?
As selected by our distinguished panel of writers and analysts, here are the members of the FOX Sports' 2023 All-American team:
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB Caleb Williams, USC
Williams will attempt to do what nobody aside from Archie Griffin has done: repeat as the Heisman Trophy winner. Even if he doesn't reach the level he did a year ago – 4,537 yards passing, 52 total touchdowns – it's possible he could still have the best shot at doubling up on the most outstanding player award if he can position the Trojans for the Playoff and continue to dazzle outside the pocket when the play breaks down.
RB Blake Corum, Michigan
Last season, the Wolverines' star tailback was on his way to earning an invite to New York as a Heisman finalist before an injury that kept him out most of the team's last three games. Despite missing that time, he still recorded 1,463 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground. Healthy, should equal or exceed those numbers as the primary threat out of the backfield in Ann Arbor.
It felt like, outside the state of Mississippi, Judkins was one of the best players you didn't regularly hear about in the national conversation last season. As a freshman, all he did was rush for 1,567 yards and 16 touchdowns — both the best marks in the SEC by a solid margin. Lane Kiffin will continue to lean heavily on him given the number of new pieces at Ole Miss, allowing for Judkins to be the best back in the South even with defenses stacking the box more.
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
The question is not whether Harrison is the best receiver in the country — he pretty clearly is — but rather if he's the best player in college football at the moment. He won't have C.J. Stroud throwing him passes after posting 1,263 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2022, but whoever takes over under center in Columbus will get the benefit of just throwing it up and watching Harrison come down with it given his elite body control and raw strength.
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WR Xavier Worthy, Texas
The junior from California has started and caught a pass in all 25 career games he's played but is primed to take things to an even higher level in 2023. Texas' offense was centered on Bijan Robinson last season, but with the tailback off to the NFL, the focus will shift to Worthy becoming the big-play threat in Austin.
AP: Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
It's hard to be "the other guy" in the Buckeyes' stacked receiving corps, but Egbuka is far more than Robin to Harrison Jr.'s Batman at OSU. He finished ninth in receiving yards a year ago, scored twice running the football, was the primary return man in Columbus and probably is in line to throw it a few times this season. Given how his teammates may take the focus of defenses this year, don't sleep on the former five-star having a monster campaign.
TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
Ever since arriving in Athens, all Bowers has done is line up and help Georgia win titles. The reigning Mackey Award winner has a chance to earn an unprecedented two such honors in a row and remains the primary passing game threat for the nation's No. 1 team. He's not just a guy who gets flexed out to catch passes, however, as Bowers' real separator is how he can find touches running the ball or getting involved as a blocker.
Had Fashanu declared for the NFL Draft after last season, he could have been a top-10 pick. Instead, he's returned not just to cement his status as the best offensive lineman in the country but to help lead the Nittany Lions reach new heights.
OL Joe Alt, Notre Dame
While the Irish may have had a rollercoaster ride of a season in 2022, Alt was as steady as ever at left tackle. According to Pro Football Focus, he didn't allow a sack and is in line to become the next first-round tackle out of South Bend.
OL Zak Zinter, Michigan
A key member of an offensive line that has won the Joe Moore Award the past two years, Zinter is the leader of a group aiming for three in a row. In addition to keeping Wolverines QB J.J. McCarthy upright, the top guard in the country has also paved the way for a rushing attack that has averaged more than 215 yards a game the last two seasons.
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Just about every photo of Deuce Vaughn bursting through a wide open running lane over the past two years in Manhattan has often been accompanied by Beebe paving the way. The All-Big 12 pick in the past two years has started 35 games and is stellar as a pass blocker when lining up either inside or out.
OC Sedrick Van Pran, Georgia
Van Pran has been a focal point for the two-time national champions and will have even more on his shoulders with a host of new linemen flanking him, plus a new quarterback to bring up to speed. Either way, all can count on the best center in the country paving the way.
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
NFL scouts were shocked when Verse decided to return to school, especially after a breakout campaign that included nine sacks and 16.5 TFLs off the edge. The former FCS transfer from Albany has a good shot at besting those numbers considerably to help the ‘Noles get back to the national spotlight.
The Illini had a slew of defensive backs drafted last season, but they owe a debt to the relentless Newton forcing more than a few bad throws their way with the pressure he caused up the middle on the top-scoring defense in FBS.
DL Tyler Davis, Clemson
A team captain and Bednarik Award semifinalist, Davis is the latest in a long line of athletic and productive defensive linemen for the Tigers. He returned for his fifth year to help elevate his game and prove he can be healthy for a full campaign, but returns as one of the building blocks for Dabo Swinney's defense in 2023.
DL Mykel Williams, Georgia
You know you're good when opposing coaches say you're one to watch despite being just a freshman on a defensive line full of first-round picks. Williams was a force in the recent College Football Playoff run and has a huge ceiling in a starting role after notching six sacks a year ago as a rotation player.
There were a handful of defensive players that you couldn't take your eyes off during games last year and Perkins was one of them. The former five-star notched 8.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and an interception to help lead the Tigers to the SEC West title.
LB Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
A fifth-year senior, Eichenberg is a force in the middle of the Buckeyes defense. He led the team in tackles with 112 last season (11.5 for a loss) and had more solo tackles than any OSU players in nearly a decade.
LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
Though several others had better overall numbers than Dumas-Johnson, you only have to flip on tape of the Bulldogs defense to see his impact on the unit at the line or in space. One of the favorites to win the Butkus Award after being a finalist as a sophomore, he had the third-most QB hurries and most tackles for loss for the title winners.
DB Kalen King, Penn State
Joey Porter Jr.'s name and production garnered most of the attention on the backend of PSU's defense, but King was the player quarterbacks dreaded facing just as much. The star corner notched three picks in 2022 and finished third in passes broken up nationally.
DB Malaki Starks, Georgia
It's hard to believe Starks is just a sophomore given that the former five-star started 14 games last season, led UGA in defensive snaps and pass breakups, plus finished third on the team in tackles for good measure. With some additional seasoning, Starks will have Kirby Smart thankful he has another two years of Starks roaming the secondary in Athens.
DB Calen Bullock, USC
There's been a ton of talk about USC's defense — or lack thereof — but Bullock is certainly not to blame for any issues in Los Angeles. The hard-hitting safety tied for the third-most interceptions in FBS last year with five (one pick-six) and has earned All-American honors each of his first two years with the Trojans.
DB Cooper DeJean, Iowa
Kirk Ferentz knows a thing or two about developing defensive backs, and DeJean may be the most naturally talented player in the secondary he's ever had. He helped carry the offensively challenged Hawkeyes at times last year — three pick-sixes! — and added 75 stops on top of it.
A former walk-on and a current javelin thrower for the Bulls, McNulty's leg has been extra impressive given the conditions he typically faces late in the fall during MAC play. He hit a school-record 24 field goals last season (two from 50-plus yards), made 41-of-42 extra points and had three games of three or more made field goals in 2022.
P Tory Taylor, Iowa
A candidate for the "He's Still in School?" Award, the Aussie has been one of the best punters in the country since he first stepped on campus. He's broken the school record for punting yards in consecutive seasons and is equally adept at booming the ball 50-plus yards as much as he is pinning opponents inside the 20.
PR Anthony Gould, Oregon State
The speedster from Kansas led the nation in punt return average a year ago and took back a pair of them for touchdowns.
A speedy slot receiver who transferred from USF, he should have no shortage of opportunities to return kicks for the Buffs as long as the thin air in Boulder allows. He earned first-team All-AAC honors last season after averaging 20.2 yards per kick and took one return in for a touchdown as well.
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB Michael Penix Jr., Washington
RB Will Shipley, Clemson
WR Rome Odunze, Washington
WR Malik Nabers, LSU
AP: Travis Hunter, Colorado
TE: Brant Kuithe, Utah
OL: Sataoa Laumea, Utah
OL: Donovan Jackson, Ohio State
OL: Tyler Booker, Alabama
OL: Justin Dedich, USC
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL: JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
DL: Kris Jenkins, Michigan
DL: Chop Robinson, Penn State
DL: Laiatu Latu, UCLA
LB: Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson
LB: Abdul Carter, Penn State
LB: Dallas Turner, Alabama
DB: Will Johnson, Michigan
DB: Kamren Kinchens, Miami
DB: Josh Newton, TCU
DB: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
K: Joshua Karty, Stanford
P: Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
PR: Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
KR: Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State
Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
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