Four Notre Dame players named Athlon Sports preseason All-Americans
Athlon Sports touts its four preseason All-America teams as projections for a player’s production in the upcoming season rather than an honor rooted in past performance. It apparently foresees several standout seasons from Notre Dame players.
Four Irish players were named Athlon preseason All-Americans Monday: tight end Michael Mayer, center Jarrett Patterson, defensive end Isaiah Foskey and safety Brandon Joseph. Each was a second-team selection.
Notre Dame’s four first- or second-team Athlon preseason All-Americans were tied for the second-most of any team with Georgia, Clemson and Alabama (three of Alabama’s were first-teamers). Ohio State led all FBS teams with five. All told, Ohio State had nine players appear on Athlon’s four teams, and Alabama eight.
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Projecting strong seasons from that foursome of Irish players requires little reaching. All have a history of high-end production, and in Joseph’s case, consensus All-American status from the 2020 season.
Mayer led all Power Five tight ends with 71 catches last season, turning them into 840 yards and seven touchdowns. Foskey’s 11.0 sacks were tied for 10th nationally and his six forced fumbles tied for first. Patterson has started 34 games over the last three seasons and had the best Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade among FBS centers who played at least 500 snaps in pass protection.
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Joseph’s 2021 season fell short of All-American standards, but he still made 80 tackles and intercepted three passes at Northwestern. He had an FBS-best six interceptions and 52 stops in 2020 for the Wildcats. He transferred to Notre Dame in January.
All four players have appeared in the first round of at least one early 2023 NFL mock draft. Mayer is a near-unanimous projected first-rounder, while Foskey and Joseph show up in most mocks.
Athlon preseason All-American teams
First-team offense
QB: Bryce Young, Alabama
RB: Bijan Robinson, Texas
RB: Sean Tucker, Syracuse
All-Purpose: Deuce Vaughn, Kansas State
WR: Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Ohio State
WR: Jordan Addison, USC
TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia
C: John Michael Schmitz, Minnesota
OL: Peter Skoronski, Northwestern
OL:Connor Galvin, Baylor
OL: Dawand Jones, Ohio State
OL: Andrew Vorhees, USC
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First-team defense
DL: Jalen Carter, Georgia
DL: Bryan Bresee, Clemson
DL: Will McDonald, Iowa State
DL: Calijah Kancey, Pittsburgh
LB: Will Anderson, Alabama
LB: Noah Sewell, Oregon
LB: Jack Campbell, Iowa
CB: Riley Moss, Iowa
CB: Kelee Ringo, Georgia
S: Jordan Battle, Alabama
S: Antonio Johnson, Texas A&M
First-team specialists
K:Harrison Mevis, Missouri
P: Adam Korsak, Rutgers
KR: Brian Battie, USF
PR: Ainias Smith, Texas A&M
Second-team offense
QB: CJ Stroud, Ohio State
RB: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
RB: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State
All-Purpose: Jahmyr Gibbs, Alabama
WR: Kayshon Boutte, LSU
WR: Xavier Worthy, Texas
WR: Josh Downs, North Carolina
TE: Michael Mayer, Notre Dame
C: Jarrett Patterson, Notre Dame
OL: Paris Johnson Jr., Ohio State
OL: Caleb Chandler, Louisville
OL: Jordan McFadden, Clemson
OL: Nick Broeker, Ole Miss
Second-team defense
DL: Isaiah Foskey, Notre Dame
DL: Zach Harrison, Ohio State
DL: Felix Anudike-Uzomah, Kansas State
DL: Myles Murphy, Clemson
LB: Nolan Smith, Georgia
LB: Payton Wilson, NC State
LB: Trenton Simpson, Clemson
CB: Clark Phillips III, Utah
CB: Cam Smith, South Carolina
S: Brandon Joseph, Notre Dame
S: Jalen Catalon, Arkansas
Second-tam specialists
K: Jake Moody, Michigan
P: Tory Taylor, Iowa
KR: Malik Knowles, Kansas State
PR: Jayden Reed, Michigan State
