2021 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team
Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2021 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team. As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). The Group of Five schools also includes all FBS independents with the exception of Notre Dame.
Unlike other All-American teams, the CSJ’s honor’s squad is designed to be like a real team, capable of taking the field and competing in a game possibly against a Top 5 Power Five School such as Clemson or Alabama. It includes everything from quarterbacks who can run or pass, to long snappers and other special teams performers. The Super Seventy team also emphasizes players who have exhibited character and other team-oriented traits, not just lofty statistics, or talent.
Seventy players were selected as this is typically the travel roster for a traveling team.
Three players were selected as CSJ’s Preseason Players of the Year on Offense, Defense, and Special Teams. These awards went to UTSA RB Sincere McCormick as the Offense Player, Cincinnati CB Ahmad Gardner as the Defensive Player, and Houston punt returner Marcus Jones as the Special Team Player.
McCormick ranked second in FBS with a UTSA program-record 1,467 rushing yards. The 2020 Conference USA Offensive Player of the Year totaled 11 touchdowns on 249 carries, both school records, while averaging 133.4 rushing yards per game to rank sixth nationally. He averaged 5.9 yards per tote and caught 20 passes for 131 yards. He broke UTSA’s all-time rushing yardage mark after tallying 122 yards on 23 carries vs. Louisiana in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. He also currently owns 2,450 rushing yards and 19 TDs in just 23 career games.
Gardner was a member of the First-Team All-American Athletic Conference selection last year as he tied for second in the AAC’s with nine passes defended and tied for fourth with three interceptions in the regular season. In nine starts, he added 28 tackles and shared a sack. According to ProFootballFocus.com, Gardner allowed the third-lowest passer rating in the FBS in coverage in 2020, making more plays on the ball than first downs allowed.
Jones enters the 2021 season with five career return touchdowns (four kickoff + one punt) and has recorded 1,565 kickoff return yards in his three-year career to go along with 507 punt return yards. The starting cornerback for the Cougars in seven games last year also finished with 24 tackles (18 solo), 2.0 tackles for loss, one interception and five pass breakups.
Nevada led the team with six selections, while Cincinnati and Tulsa were next each with five selections.
Conference-wise, the AAC led the team with 22 selections. The Mountain West was second with 14 selections.
Offensive Player of the Year: Sincere McCormick, RB, UTSA, Jr.
Defensive Player of the Year: Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati, Jr.
Special Teams Player of the Year: Marcus Jones, PR, Houston, Sr.
See the full team below:
| Pos. | Player | School | Conference | Class | Ht. | Wt. |
| QB | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | AAC | Sr. | 6’4″ | 215 |
| QB | Grayson McCall | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | Soph. | 6’3″ | 200 |
| QB | Carson Strong | Nevada | MWC | Jr. | 6’4″ | 215 |
| QB | Kaleb Eleby | Western Michigan | MAC | R-So. | 6’1″ | 215 |
| QB | Malik Willis | Liberty | Independent | Jr. | 5’9″ | 195 |
| RB | Sincere McCormick | UTSA | C-USA | Jr. | 5’9” | 200 |
| RB | Tyler Allgeier | BYU | Independent | Sr. | 5’11” | 220 |
| RB | Ronnie Rivers | Fresno State | MWC | Jr. | 5’9″ | 195 |
| RB | Ulysses Bentley IV | SMU | AAC | Soph. | 5’10” | 184 |
| RB | Toa Taua | Nevada | MWC | Sr. | 5’9″ | 210 |
| AP | Tyler Snead | East Carolina | AAC | Soph. | 5’7″ | 169 |
| WR | Khalil Shakir | Boise State | MWC | Sr. | 6’0″ | 188 |
| WR | Jalen Tolbert | South Alabama | Sun Belt | Jr. | 6’3″ | 195 |
| WR | Reggie Roberson, Jr. | SMU | AAC | Sr. | 6’0″ | 200 |
| WR | Keylon Stokes | Tulsa | AAC | Gr. | 6’0″ | 194 |
| WR | Calvin Austin III | Memphis | AAC | So. | 5’9″ | 162 |
| WR | Justin Hall | Ball State | MAC | Sr. | 5’9″ | 186 |
| TE | Isaiah Likely | Coastal Carolina | Sun Belt | Sr. | 6’4″ | 240 |
| TE | Trey McBride | Colorado State | MWC | Jr. | 6’4″ | 260 |
| TE | Cole Turner | Nevada | MWC | Sr. | 6’6″ | 240 |
| OC | James Empey | BYU | Independent | Jr. | 6’4″ | 303 |
| OC | Ahofitu Maka | UTSA | C-USA | Sr. | 6’3″ | 320 |
| OG | Cole Schneider | UCF | AAC | Jr. | 6’4″ | 312 |
| OG | Dylan Parham | Memphis | AAC | R-Jr. | 6’3″ | 290 |
| OT | O’Cyrus Torrence | Louisiana | Sun Belt | R-So. | 6’5″ | 332 |
| OT | Jack Snyder | San Jose State | MWC | Gr. | 6’5″ | 310 |
| OL | Kayode Awosika | Buffalo | MAC | Sr. | 6’5″ | 315 |
| OL | Tyler Smith | Tulsa | AAC | R-So. | 6’5″ | 332 |
| OL | Aaron Frost | Nevada | MWC | Sr. | 6’5″ | 310 |
| OL | Max Mitchell | Louisiana | Sun Belt | Sr. | 6’6″ | 297 |
| OL | Isaac Moore | Temple | AAC | Jr. | 6’7″ | 310 |
| DE | Myjai Sanders | Cincinnati | AAC | Sr. | 6’5″ | 258 |
| DE | Demetrius Taylor | Appalachian State | Sun Belt | Sr. | 6’1″ | 295 |
| DT | Keenan Stewart | UTEP | C-USA | R-So. | 6’2″ | 305 |
| DL | DeAngelo Malone | Western Kentucky | C-USA | Sr. | 6’4″ | 240 |
| DL | Durrell Johnson | Liberty | Independent | Jr. | 6’4″ | 235 |
| DL | Cade Hall | San Jose State | MWC | Sr. | 6’3″ | 270 |
| DL | Logan Hall | Houston | AAC | Jr. | 6’6″ | 260 |
| DL | Dion Novil | North Texas | C-USA | Sr. | 6’4″ | 330 |
| DL | Jaxon Player | Tulsa | AAC | Jr. | 6’0″ | 290 |
| LB | Carlton Martial | Troy | Sun Belt | Jr. | 5’9” | 210 |
| LB | Kadofi Wright | Buffalo | MAC | Sr. | 6’3″ | 230 |
| LB | Diego Fagot | Navy | AAC | Sr. | 6’3″ | 240 |
| LB | Justin Wright | Tulsa | AAC | R-Jr. | 6’2″ | 234 |
| LB | Noah Wilder | UAB | C-USA | Sr. | 6’0″ | 235 |
| LB | Trey Baldwin | Louisiana Tech | C-USA | Sr. | 6’2” | 235 |
| LB | Xavier Smith | East Carolina | AAC | Jr. | 6’0″ | 246 |
| LB | Arik Smith | Army West Point | Independent | Sr. | 6’0″ | 240 |
| LB | Antonio Grier | South Florida | AAC | Sr. | 6’1″ | 222 |
| LB | Chad Muma | Wyoming | MWC | Jr. | 6’3″ | 242 |
| CB | Ahmad Gardner | Cincinnati | AAC | Jr. | 6’2″ | 188 |
| CB | Coby Bryant | Cincinnati | AAC | Gr. | 6’1″ | 198 |
| S | Bralen Trahan | Louisiana | Sun Belt | R-Jr. | 6’0″ | 191 |
| S | Keith Gallmon | South Alabama | Sun Belt | Jr. | 5’9″ | 205 |
| DB | Rashad Wisdom | UTSA | C-USA | Jr. | 5’10” | 205 |
| DB | Dishon McNary | Central Michigan | MAC | Jr. | 6’1″ | 190 |
| DB | Derrick Canteen | Georgia Southern | Sun Belt | R-Soph. | 5’11” | 190 |
| DB | Reed Blankenship | Middle Tennessee St | C-USA | Sr. | 6’1″ | 204 |
| DB | Berdale Robins | Nevada | MWC | Gr. | 5’9” | 170 |
| DB | Steven Gillmore | Marshall | C-USA | Jr. | 5’11” | 175 |
| K | Jake Oldroyd | BYU | Independent | R-So. | 6’0″ | 195 |
| K | Brayden Narveson | Western Kentucky | C-USA | R | 6’0″ | 191 |
| P | Jake Julien | Eastern Michigan | MAC | Sr. | 6’5″ | 230 |
| P | Lucas Dean | UTSA | MWC | Sr. | 5’11” | 180 |
| PR | Marcus Jones | Houston | AAC | Sr. | 5’9″ | 188 |
| PR | Romeo Doubs | Nevada | MWC | Sr. | 5’11” | 174 |
| KR | Chris Smith | Louisiana | Sun Belt | Sr. | 5’10” | 180 |
| KR | Tre Tucker | Cincinnati | AAC | So. | 5’8″ | 175 |
| LS | Adam Higuera | Tulsa | AAC | Sr. | 6’1″ | 210 |
| LS | Jacob Westberry | Fresno State | MWC | Sr. | 6’1″ | 225 |
All photos courtesy of each school’s athletic department.
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
Reach him at this email or click below:
