College football preseason 2025 All-America teams from The Athletic
Among the 50 players selected for our two All-America teams, Minnesota safety Koi Perich is the only one whose team didn't receive a vote in the preseason Associated Press poll — and the Gophers were still solid (8-5 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten).
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Clemson, Georgia and Ohio State, the defending national champs, lead the way with four picks. Alabama, LSU, Penn State and Texas are next with three apiece.
Here is The Athletic's 2025 preseason All-America team.
QB Cade Klubnik, Clemson: Klubnik, No. 1 in The Athletic's quarterback tiers, took a huge step forward in his development last season, increasing production (from 2,844 yards and 19 touchdowns in 2023 to 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns in 2024), reducing interceptions (from nine to six) and guiding the Tigers to an ACC championship and College Football Playoff appearance. The former five-star recruit is a dual threat (463 rushing yards and seven touchdowns last year) and checks every box you'd want in a QB.
RB Jeremiyah Love, Notre Dame: Love is the No. 1 running back in Dane Brugler's draft-eligible positional rankings for a reason. The 6-foot, 214-pound junior from St. Louis dealt with a knee injury late last season — he was limited to a combined 29 carries in four College Football Playoff games — but still rushed for 1,125 yards (on a 6.9-yard average) and 17 touchdowns.
RB Nick Singleton, Penn State: Guess who ranks right behind Love in Brugler's running back rankings? Singleton led the Big Ten with 1,805 all-purpose yards last season. He ran for 1,099 yards and 12 touchdowns on 172 carries and caught 41 passes for 375 yards and five scores. Singleton and Kaytron Allen form the best running back tandem in college football.
WR Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State: The No. 1 player on Bruce Feldman's Freaks List is perhaps the best offensive player in the country. As a freshman, Smith caught 76 passes for 1,315 yards and 15 touchdowns and tied for the national lead with six catches of at least 50 yards.
WR Jordyn Tyson, Arizona State: Tyson missed the postseason after suffering a collarbone injury in the regular-season finale against Arizona but still caught 75 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns for the Big 12 champs. The redshirt junior, who began his career at Colorado, had five 100-yard receiving games and another one with 99 yards.
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TE Eli Stowers, Vanderbilt: A former four-star quarterback recruit who signed with Texas A&M in the 2021 cycle, Stowers blew up with the Commodores last season after transferring from New Mexico State with quarterback Diego Pavia. He earned first-team All-SEC honors after catching 49 passes for 638 yards and five touchdowns. Stowers is No. 15 on Feldman's Freaks List.
OT Spencer Fano, Utah: Considered a top-10 NFL Draft prospect, Fano started 12 games at right tackle last season after starting at left tackle as a true freshman. The 6-5, 300-pound junior and former top-100 recruit from Spanish Fork, Utah, earned second-team All-America honors last season from the Associated Press.
OT Kadyn Proctor, Alabama: Brugler's top-ranked draft-eligible offensive tackle is No. 2 on Feldman's Freaks List. The 6-7, 366-pound junior and former five-star recruit from Iowa earned second-team All-SEC honors in 2024 after starting 11 games at left tackle.
OG Ar'maj Reed-Adams, Texas A&M: The sixth-year senior started at right guard for the Aggies in 2024 and helped pave the way for the SEC's No. 2 rushing offense (195.5 yards per game). Reed-Adams, a 2024 Kansas transfer, has started 26 games and played nearly 1,800 snaps in his career.
OG Vega Ioane, Penn State: The 6-4, 330-pound redshirt junior started all 16 games last season at left guard and was a second-team All-Big Ten selection. Ioane went viral last season for his bone-jarring block on UCLA defensive lineman Luke Schuermann.
C Jake Slaughter, Florida: Slaughter, a fifth-year senior and former three-star recruit from nearby Ocala, Fla., earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press last season. He's started 21 games over the last two seasons and played 800 of the 828 offensive snaps for the Gators in 2024.
DE Mikail Kamara, Indiana: The 6-1, 262-pound former unranked recruit followed Curt Cignetti from James Madison to Bloomington last year and became a first-team All-Big Ten selection and second-team All-American. He produced 47 tackles, 15 TFLs and 10 sacks and helped lead the Hoosiers to the College Football Playoff.
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DE T.J. Parker, Clemson: Parker, ranked the No. 2 edge rusher in Brugler's draft-eligible positional rankings, set a school record with six forced fumbles last season while accumulating 19 1/2 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. In two seasons, the Alabama native has 32 tackles for loss and 16.5 sacks.
DT Zane Durant, Penn State: Durant, a former four-star recruit from Florida, started all 16 games for the Nittany Lions last season on their run to the national semifinals, tallying 42 tackles, including 11 for loss and three sacks. His 28 career starts are the most for any player on the Penn State defense.
DT Peter Woods, Clemson: The 6-3, 310-pound junior and former top-50 national recruit from Alabama, started 10 games last season for the ACC champions, producing 28 tackles, 8.5 TFLs and three sacks. He ranks No. 1 among Brugler's draft-eligible defensive tackles.
LB Anthony Hill Jr., Texas: Hill earned first-team All-America honors from The Athletic in 2024 when he led the Longhorns in tackles (113), TFLs (16 1/2) and forced fumbles (four) and ranked second in sacks (eight).
LB Sonny Styles, Ohio State: Styles, a 2022 five-star recruit from Pickerington, Ohio, ranks second among draft-eligible linebackers. The 6-4, 243-pound former safety earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season when he recorded 100 tackles, 10 1/2 TFLs and six sacks.
LB Whit Weeks, LSU: The former four-star recruit started 11 games in a breakout sophomore season. The 6-2, 225-pound Georgia native was second in the SEC with 125 tackles and was a first-team all-conference selection.
CB Leonard Moore, Notre Dame: The sophomore from Texas started 10 games last season for the national runner-up. He tallied 48 tackles and two interceptions and led the Irish with 11 pass breakups.
CB D'Angelo Ponds, Indiana: Ponds, a 5-9, 173-pound junior, is another former James Madison player who followed Cignetti to Bloomington and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors. The South Florida native started 12 games and recorded 57 tackles, 4 1/2 TFLs, three interceptions and nine pass breakups.
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S Caleb Downs, Ohio State: Downs was a unanimous All-American last season, winning a national championship in his first year with the Buckeyes after transferring from Alabama. The Georgia native is widely regarded as the best defensive player in the country.
S Koi Perich, Minnesota: The 6-1, 200-pound Esko, Minn., native and former top-100 recruit started only three games but earned Freshman All-American and first-team Big Ten honors last season. Perich tallied 46 tackles and grabbed five interceptions in only 424 snaps on defense. He also showed elite skills as a return man.
K Dominic Zvada, Michigan: The senior from Arizona was 21 of 22 on field goals, including 7 of 7 from 50-plus yards with a pair of 56-yarders. Zvada, who played his first two seasons at Arkansas State, was a unanimous first-team All-Big Ten selection last season.
P Palmer Williams, Baylor: The junior from North Carolina averaged 49.4 yards on his 43 punts last season with a season-long 79-yarder at Utah. He pinned 18 punts inside the 20-yard line and had a net average of 44.8 yards — third best in the nation.
AP Desmond Reid, Pitt: The 5-8, 175-pound senior and former unranked recruit from South Florida earned second-team All-America honors last season as a do-it-all threat. The 2024 Western Carolina transfer ran for 966 yards and five touchdowns, caught 52 passes for 579 yards and four scores and had a 78-yard punt return for a touchdown in the season opener against Kent State.
(Illustration: Kelsea Peterson / The Athletic; Photos: Grant Halverson, Jason Mowry / Getty Images)
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