2024 CFB Preseason Awards

My preseason awards and All-American team for the 2024 CFB season:

Heisman

Winner: Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)

Runner ups: Quinn Ewers (Texas), Luther Burden III (Missouri)

Dillon Gabriel is the best QB in the country for the best offense in the country, and he will put up the best stats this season. For all of those reasons, he’s my pick to win it.

Quinn Ewers is one of the best QBs in the country, and he will be the QB for the no. 1 team. I don’t think he’ll win because Texas runs too much for him to put up eye-popping stats.

Luther Burden III is the best skill player in the country and will be playing for a very good team. He’ll put up some good stats, and he might be more valuable to his team than either Gabriel or Ewers. I just don’t think he’ll win because he is a receiver, and I doubt he will do anything historic because Brady Cook isn’t the best QB in the world.

Coach of the Year

Winner: Spencer Danielson (Boise State)

Runner Ups: Kalen DeBoer (Alabama), Mark Stoops (Kentucky)

I think, when it’s all said and done, Spencer Danielson will deserve the award. 12-1 is what the record will probably look like, and he’ll get Boise State ranked way higher than anyone was expecting in his first full season as coach. BSU could probably make some noise in the playoffs as well.

I know what you’re thinking, Kalen DeBoer won Coach of the Year last year, but hear me out. DeBoer will be with a new team, and everyone is expecting Alabama to take a step back. Almost nobody thinks that they can make it to the SEC championship. I think he will though, and that will be very impressive as they finish in the top 5.

Kentucky is being written off in the new-look SEC, but I think they will be much improved this year, and better than many think. They have a lot of continuity (rare in today’s game) and they have a lot of places where they will improve. Kentucky will be a dangerous team, and Mark Stoops should at least be considered for the award.

DPOY

Winner: James Pearce Jr (Tennessee)

Runner Ups: Harold Perkins Jr (LSU), Caleb Downs (Ohio State)

James Pearce Jr is the most dominant pass rusher in college football, and he will lead the nation in sacks. He should also be a top 10 draft pick.

Harold Perkins Jr is one of the most versatile players in college football. They didn’t quite use him right last year, but I believe he will have a bounce back year. He is a great pass rusher as well as a good player in coverage.

Caleb Downs is the best DB in college football as he is a great run defender as well as a great coverage safety. It sucks that he had to leave Alabama, but he is elite, and I cannot ignore that.

Breakout Player

Winner: Avery Johnson (Kansas State)

Runner Ups: Garrett Nussmeier (LSU), Miller Moss (USC)

Okay, my criteria is that they have low expectations/little playing time, and they are surprisingly good and exceed expectations. Avery Johnson is a guy that nearly no one talks about, but I think he could be one of the best QBs in the Big 12. There is a reason why Will Howard transferred. It was because this guy is better. Yeah, KSU has a better QB than Ohio State.

Garrett Nussmeier has a very good situation around him, and he looked really good in limited time last year. Everyone is doubting him because he will be a downgrade from Jayden Daniels, but He should be very productive behind one of the nation’s best O-lines.

Miller Moss benefits greatly by having Lincoln Riley as his head coach, but who cares. People expect a drop off from Caleb Williams, but I think Moss could put up just as good if not better stats this season.

Surprise Team

Winner: Boise State

Runner Ups: Miami (FL), Kentucky

Boise State was on a decline for a while until they turned things around late last season. They have a lot of talent for a MW team, and they could shock some people this year.

I don’t think people really know just how good Miami is. They could have an All-American at QB, RB, and WR as well as multiple lineman and defensive players. They are STACKED, and yet almost no one is picking them to win the ACC.

I gave a lot of my reasoning when I was talking about Mark Stoops, but seriously, I’m not usually big on Kentucky, but I feel like they are going to be really good this year.

Disappointing Team

Winner: Georgia

Runner Ups: Penn State, Iowa

A lot of people think this season’s national championship is a two man race between Ohio State and Georgia, but I don’t think Georgia is even a top 2 SEC team. They are in for a rude awakening with one of the toughest schedules in the country, and they don’t have the veteran talent they normally have.

Everyone and their dog have Penn State going to the playoffs, but I am skeptical. They don’t seem like they will be any better than last year, and the rest of the Big Ten (for the most part) is on the rise. If Drew Allar doesn’t get better, Penn State may miss the playoffs.

A lot of people seem to think that just having a new OC will make Iowa a 10 win team, but is simply not true. The defense will have to go against much better offenses than usual as they must play more teams from the Pac 12 and the East, and the talent on offense is still bad.

Toughest Schedules

Winner: Florida

Runner Ups: Oklahoma, Georgia

Florida: vs Miami (FL), vs Samford, vs TAMU, at MSST, vs UCF, at Tennessee, vs Kentucky, vs Georgia, at Texas, vs LSU, vs Ole Miss, at Florida State

Oklahoma: vs Temple, vs Houston, vs Tulane, vs Tennessee, at Auburn, vs Texas, vs South Carolina, at Ole Miss, vs Maine, at Missouri, vs Alabama, at LSU

Georgia: vs Clemson, vs Tennessee Tech, at Kentucky, at Alabama, vs Auburn, vs MSST, at Texas, vs Florida, at Ole Miss, vs Tennessee, vs UMass, vs Georgia Tech

Most Anticipated Game

Winner: Georgia at Alabama – September 28

Runner Ups: Georgia at Ole Miss – November 9, Miami at Florida State – October 26

This will be the ultimate measuring stick for Kalen DeBoer’s first season at Bama. Alabama has owned Georgia for a long time, but that was all under Saban. We’ll see if DeBoer is ready for the big dawgs.

I think Ole Miss will likely be undefeated going into this game, and we’ll see what they can do against the top competition in the conference. Lane Kiffin hasn’t won the big games in the past, but this is his chance.

This game should give us a good look at who we can expect to win the ACC. This a is a classic rivalry that hasn’t meant much in a long time at the national scale, and there is a good chance that both of these teams could be undefeated going into it.

All America First Team

Offense

QB – Dillon Gabriel (Oregon)

RB – Ollie Gordon II (Oklahoma State)

RB – Donovan Edwards (Michigan)

AP – Travis Hunter (Colorado)

WR – Luther Burden III (Missouri)

WR – Tez Johnson (Oregon)

WR – Tetairoa McMillan (Arizona)

TE – Colston Loveland (Michigan)

OL – Will Campbell (LSU)

OL – Emery Jones Jr (LSU)

OL – Tyler Booker (Alabama)

OL – Donovan Jackson (Ohio State)

OL – Kelvin Banks Jr (Texas)

Defense

DL – James Pearce Jr (Tennessee)

DL – JT Tuimoloau (Ohio State)

DL – Howard Cross III (Notre Dame)

DL – Abdul Carter (Penn State)

LB – Harold Perkins Jr (LSU)

LB – Jay Higgins (Iowa)

LB – Mykel Williams (Georgia)

LB – Deontae Lawson (Alabama)

CB – Will Johnson (Michigan)

CB – Denzel Burke (Ohio State)

S – Caleb Downs (Ohio State)

S – Malaki Starks (Georgia)

Special Teams

K – Graham Nicholson (Alabama)

P – James Burnip (Alabama)

KR – Jayden Harrison (Notre Dame)

PR – Zachariah Branch (USC)

All-America 2nd Team

Offense

QB – Cam Ward (Miami)

RB – TreVeyon Henderson (Ohio State)

RB – Quinshon Judkins (Ohio State)

AP – Ashton Jeanty (Boise State)

WR – Evan Stewart (Oregon)

WR – Emeka Egbuka (Ohio State)

WR – Xavier Restrepo (Miami)

TE – Brant Kuithe (Utah)

OL – Parker Brailsford (Alabama)

OL – Tate Ratledge (Georgia)

OL – Josh Conerly (Oregon)

OL – Ajani Cornelius (Oregon)

OL – Darius Washington (Florida State)

Defense

DL – Mason Graham (Michigan)

DL – Deone Walker (Kentucky)

DL – Ashton Gillotte (Louisville)

DL – Jack Sawyer (Ohio State)

LB – Barrett Carter (Clemson)

LB – Danny Stutsman (Oklahoma)

LB – Francisco Mauigoa (Miami)

LB – Nickolas Martin (Oklahoma State)

CB – Jabbar Muhammad (Oregon)

CB – Benjamin Morrison (Notre Dame)

S – Xavier Watts (Notre Dame)

S – Malachi Moore (Alabama)

Special Teams

K – Andres Borregales (Miami)

P – Alex Mastromanno (Florida State)

KR – Barion Brown (Kentucky)

PR – Jacob DeJesus (UNLV)

All-America 3rd Team

Offense

QB – Quinn Ewers (Texas)

RB – Damien Martinez (Miami)

RB – Tahj Brooks (Texas Tech)

AP – Omarion Hampton (North Carolina)

WR – Tre Harris (Ole Miss)

WR – Isaiah Bond (Texas)

WR – Ricky White III (UNLV)

TE – Tyler Warren (Penn State)

OL – Wyatt Milum (West Virginia)

OL – Luke Kandra (Cincinnati)

OL – Cooper Mays (Tennessee)

OL – Jalen Rivers (Miami)

OL – Aireontae Ersery (Minnesota)

Defense

DL – Princely Umanmielen (Ole Miss)

DL – Landon Jackson (Arkansas)

DL – Patrick Payton (Florida State)

DL – Antwaun Powell-Ryland (Virginia Tech)

LB – Nick Jackson (Iowa)

LB – Collin Oliver (Oklahoma State)

LB – Jihaad Campbell (Alabama)

LB – Jeffrey Bassa (Oregon)

CB – Maxwell Hairston (Kentucky)

CB – Trey Amos (Ole Miss)

S – Billy Bowman Jr (Oklahoma)

S – Shyeim Brown (Florida State)

Special Teams

K – Jonah Dalmas (Boise State)

P – Brett Thorson (Georgia)

KR – Brashard Smith (SMU)

PR – Tucker Holloway (Virginia Tech)