College Sports Journal Names 2017 Preseason FBS Group of Five All-America Team

The best projected 84 student-athletes in the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five (G5) have been named to the inaugural College Sports Journal 2017 Preseason G5 All-America Team.

Unlike many other All-American teams, the CSJ honor’s squad is designed to be like a real team, capable of taking the field and competing in a game. It includes everything from quarterbacks, who can run or pass and often-overlooked fullbacks, to long snappers and other special team performers. The CSJ Group also emphasizes players who have exhibited character and other team-oriented traits, not just lofty statistics, or talent.

Quinton Flowers was named CSJ’s Offensive Preseason Player of the Year. The senior quarterback was in his second season as the starting quarterback last year and threw for 2,800 yards, 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also rushed for 1,609 yards (averaging 8.7 per carry) and 18 touchdowns, meaning he accounted for 55% of his team’s trips to the end zone.

Ed Oliver was named CSJ’s Defensive Preseason Player of the Year. The sophomore tackle finished his freshman season with 66 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, five sacks, nine pass breakups and three forced fumbles. He showcased his talents against Heisman Trophy winner Louisville quarterback Lamar Jackson. Oliver had two of Houston’s 11 sacks, but also helped contribute to several of the other plays including deflecting three passes.

Tony Pollard was named CSJ’s Special Teams Preseason Player of the Year. The sophomore had a tremendous freshman year as he ranked among FBS leaders in kick return total yards (2nd; 1,068), kick return average (8th; 28.1 ypr), kick return TD (2nd; 2) and total kick returns (6th; 38), He led the AAC in total kick returns, kick return yardage, kick return average and kick return touchdown. He set a school season record for most kick returns for touchdown (2), which is also the program all-time record.

After the College Football Championship game on January 8^th at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, the year-end team will be announced including the three major awards for top coach, offensive and defensive players. Other major awards will also be announced for Offensive Lineman of the Year, Special Teams Player of the Year, Freshmen of the Year, and Postseason Most Valuable Player.

This year’s preseason team has members from each of the five Group of Five Conferences of the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-America Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and Sun Belt Conference (SBC) as well as the three independent schools of Army, BYU, and Massachusetts.

USF was the leader with seven members on the team with Appalachian State second with five members. Houston, Memphis, Tulsa, and Wyoming each had four.

Below is the full team of 84 players:

Offensive Player of Year Quinton Flowers, USF, QB, Sr.

Defensive Player of Year Ed Oliver, Houston, DT, So.

Special Teams Player of Year Tony Pollard, Memphis, RS, So.

	First Team Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Year
QB	Quinton Flowers	USF	Sr.
RB	Jalin Moore	Appalachian State	Jr.
RB	Ito Smith	Southern Miss	Sr.
FB	Andy Davidson	Army	Jr.
WR	Courtland Sutton	SMU	Jr.
WR	Anthony Miller	Memphis	Sr.
WR	Richie James	Middle Tennessee State	Jr.
TE	Adam Breneman	Massachusetts	Sr.
OT	Chukwuma Okorafor	Western Michigan	Sr.
OT	Austin Corbett	Nevada	Sr.
OG	Will Hernandez	UTEP	Sr.
OG	O’Shea Dugas	Louisiana Tech	Jr.
OC	Chandler Miller	Tulsa	Jr.
	First Team Defense
DE	Jaylon Ferguson	Louisiana Tech	Jr.
DE	Ja’Von Rolland-Jones	Arkansas State	Sr.
DT	Ed Oliver	Houston	So.
DT	Deadrin Senat	USF	Sr.
LB	Jahlani Tavai	Hawaii	Jr.
LB	Auggie Sanchez	USF	Sr.
LB	Ulsees Gilbert III	Akron	Jr.
S	Andrew Wingard	Wyoming	Jr.
S	Sean Chandler	Temple	Sr.
CB	Deatrick Nichols	USF	Sr.
CB	Andre Chachere	San Jose State	Sr.
	First Team Special Teams
PK	John Baron II	San Diego State	Jr.
P	Spencer Smith	Memphis	Sr.
RS	Tony Pollard	Memphis	So.
LS	Matt Bayliss	UTSA	Sr.

	Second Team Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Year
QB	Josh Allen	Wyoming	Jr.
RB	Ray Lawry	Old Dominion	Sr.
RB	Ryquell Armstead	Temple	Jr.
FB	Nick Sharga	Temple	Sr.
WR	Cody Thompson	Toledo	Sr.
WR	Cedrick Wilson	Boise State	Sr.
WR	Michael Gallup	Colorado State	Sr.
TE	Mitchell Wilcox	USF	So.
OT	Max Scharping	Northern Illinois	Jr.
OT	Josh Jones	Houston	So.
OG	Colby Gossett	Appalachian State	Sr.
OG	Tyler Bowling	Tulsa	Jr.
OC	Will Noble	Houston	Jr.
	Second Team Defense
DE	Marcus Davenport	UTSA	Sr.
DE	Joe Ostman	Central Michigan	Sr.
DT	Cortez Broughton	Cincinnati	Jr.
DT	Folorunso Fatukasi	Connecticut	Sr.
LB	Genard Avery	Memphis	Sr.
LB	Eric Boggs	Appalachian State	Sr.
LB	Shaquem Griffin	UCF	Sr.
S	Jamar Summers	Connecticut	Sr.
S	Secdrick Cooper	Louisiana Tech	Sr.
CB	Amari Coleman	Central Michigan	Sr.
CB	Parry Nickerson	Tulane	Sr.
	Second Team Special Teams
PK	Jason Sanders	New Mexico	Sr.
P	Michael Carrizosa	San Jose State	Sr.
RS	Kylan Towner	Western Kentucky	Sr.
LS	Colton Oliver	East Carolina	Sr.

	Third Team Offense
Pos.	Player	School	Year
QB	Mike White	Western Kentucky	Sr.
RB	Jordan Chunn	Troy	Sr.
RB	Rashaad Penny	San Diego State	Sr.
FB	Drew Van Maanen	Wyoming	Sr.
WR	Linell Bonner	Houston	Sr.
WR	Tre’Quan Smith	UCF	Jr.
WR	Devonte Boyd	UNLV	Sr.
TE	Blake Mack	Arkansas State	Sr.
OT	Beau Nunn	Appalachian State	Sr.
OT	Evan Plagg	Tulsa	Sr.
OG	Nate Davis	Charlotte	Jr.
OG	Frank Sutton, Jr.	ULM	Sr.
OC	Jake Bennett	Colorado State	Sr.
	Third Team Defense
DE	Justin Lawler	SMU	Sr.
DE	Ryan Dee	Marshall	Jr.
DT	Bruce Hector	USF	Sr.
DT	Bryson Bridges	San Jose State	Jr.
LB	Logan Wilson	Wyoming	So.
LB	Josiah Tauaefa	UTSA	So.
LB	Malik Fountain	Central Michigan	Sr.
S	Tracy Walker	Louisiana	Sr.
S	Justin Clifton	Arkansas State	Jr.
CB	Heath Harding	Miami (OH)	Sr.
CB	Clifton Duck	Appalachian State	So.
	Third Team Special Teams
PK	Redford Jones	Tulsa	Sr.
P	Joe Davidson	Bowling Green	Sr.
RS	D’Ernest Johnson	USF	Sr.
LS	Nick Berus	Massachusetts	Sr.