College Football
2023 AFCA All-Americans : 6 SEC standouts named First Team
By Andrew Olson
Published:
The American Football Coaches Association has named its 2023 All-America Teams.
Jayden Daniels adds to his 2023 accolades, headlining the group of 6 SEC selections to be named first-team All-Americans. Daniels has already won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and was named the Walter Camp and AP Player of the Year.
Here’s the full first- and second-team honorees:
*denotes 2022 AFCA All-American
| First Team-Offense | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| WR | *Marvin Harrison Jr. | 6-4 | 205 | Jr. | Ohio State | Ryan Day | Philadelphia, Pa. (St. Joseph’s Prep) |
| WR | Malik Nabers | 6-0 | 200 | Jr. | LSU | Brian Kelly | Youngsville, La. (Southside) |
| TE | *Brock Bowers | 6-4 | 240 | Jr. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | Napa, Calif. (Napa) |
| OL | *Joe Alt | 6-8 | 322 | Jr. | Notre Dame | Marcus Freeman | North Oaks, Minn. (Totino-Grace) |
| OL | Cooper Beebe | 6-4 | 335 | Sr. | Kansas State | Chris Klieman | Kansas City, Kan. (Piper) |
| C | Jackson Powers-Johnson | 6-3 | 320 | Jr. | Oregon | Dan Lanning | Draper, Utah (Corner Canyon) |
| OL | Zak Zinter | 6-6 | 322 | Sr. | Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | North Andover, Mass. (Browne & Nichols School) |
| OL | Olumuyiwa Fashanu | 6-6 | 317 | Jr. | Penn State | James Franklin | Waldorf, Md. (Gonzaga College HS) |
| QB | Jayden Daniels | 6-4 | 210 | Sr. | LSU | Brian Kelly | San Bernardino, Calif. (Cajon) |
| RB | *Blake Corum | 5-8 | 213 | Sr. | Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | Marshall, Va. (St. Frances Academy) |
| RB | Ollie Gordon II | 6-1 | 211 | So. | Oklahoma State | Mike Gundy | Fort Worth, Tex. (Euless Trinity) |
| First Team-Defense | |||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| DL | Jared Verse | 6-4 | 260 | R-Jr. | Florida State | Mike Norvell | Dayton, Ohio (Central Columbia) |
| DL | T’Vondre Sweat | 6-4 | 362 | Sr. | Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Huntsville, Tex. (Huntsville) |
| DL | Laiatu Latu | 6-5 | 265 | Sr. | UCLA | Chip Kelly | Sacramento, Calif. (Jesuit) |
| DL | Jer’Zhan Newton | 6-2 | 295 | Jr. | Illinois | Bret Bielema | St. Petersburg, Fla. (Clearwater Central Catholic) |
| LB | Dallas Turner | 6-4 | 252 | Jr. | Alabama | Nick Saban | Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (St. Thomas Aquinas) |
| LB | Payton Wilson | 6-4 | 238 | Gr. | NC State | Dave Doeren | Hillsborough, N.C. (Orange) |
| LB | Edgerrin Cooper | 6-3 | 230 | Jr. | Texas A&M | Elijah Robinson | Covington, La. (Covington) |
| DB | Cooper DeJean | 6-1 | 207 | Jr. | Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Odebolt, Iowa (OA-BCIG) |
| DB | Trey Taylor | 6-0 | 210 | Sr. | Air Force | Troy Calhoun | Frisco, Tex. (Lone Star) |
| DB | Xavier Watts | 5-11 | 204 | Jr. | Notre Dame | Marcus Freeman | Omaha, Neb. (Burke) |
| DB | Malaki Starks | 6-1 | 205 | So. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | Jefferson, Ga. (Jefferson) |
Buffer
| First Team-Special Teams | |||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| P | Tory Taylor | 6-4 | 232 | Sr. | Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Melbourne, Australia (Haileybury College) |
| PK | Graham Nicholson | 6-0 | 185 | Jr. | Miami (Ohio) | Chuck Martin | Cincinnati, Ohio (Summit Country Day) |
| AP | Travis Hunter | 6-1 | 185 | So. | Colorado | Deion Sanders | Suwanee, Ga. (Collins Hill) |
| LS | James Rosenberry Jr. | 6-0 | 230 | R-Sr. | Florida State | Mike Norvell | Delaware, Ohio (Olentangy) |
| Second Team-Offense | |||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| WR | Malik Washington | 5-8 | 194 | Gr. | Virginia | Tony Elliott | Lawrenceville, Ga. (Parkview) |
| WR | Rome Odunze | 6-3 | 215 | Jr. | Washington | Kalen DeBoer | Las Vegas, Nev. (Bishop Gorman) |
| TE | Dallin Holker | 6-4 | 235 | Jr. | Colorado State | Jay Norvell | Lehi, Utah (Lehi) |
| OL | Graham Barton | 6-5 | 314 | Sr. | Duke | Mike Elko | Brentwood, Tenn. (Ravenwood) |
| OL | Taliese Fuaga | 6-6 | 334 | Jr. | Oregon State | Jonathan Smith | Tacoma, Wash. (Mount Tahoma) |
| C | Sedrick Van Pran | 6-4 | 310 | Jr. | Georgia | Kirby Smart | New Orleans, La. (Warren Easton) |
| OL | Troy Fautanu | 6-4 | 317 | Jr. | Washington | Kalen DeBoer | Henderson, Nev. (Liberty) |
| OL | Kelvin Banks Jr. | 6-4 | 324 | So. | Texas | Steve Sarkisian | Humble, Tex. (Summer Creek) |
| QB | Michael Penix Jr. | 6-3 | 213 | Sr. | Washington | Kalen DeBoer | Tampa, Fla. (Tampa Bay Tech) |
| RB | Cody Schrader | 5-9 | 214 | Gr. | Missouri | Eliah Drinkwitz | St. Louis, Mo. (Lutheran South) |
| RB | Omarion Hampton | 6-0 | 220 | So. | North Carolina | Mack Brown | Clayton, N.C. (Cleveland) |
| Second Team-Defense | |||||||
| Pos | Name | Ht. | Wt. | Cl. | School | Coach | Hometown (High School) |
| DL | Jalen Green | 6-1 | 245 | Sr. | James Madison | Curt Cignetti | Baltimore, Md. (Good Counsel) |
| DL | Kris Jenkins | 6-3 | 305 | Sr. | Michigan | Jim Harbaugh | Olney, Md. (Our Lady Good Counsel) |
| DL | JT Tuimoloau | 6-4 | 270 | Jr. | Ohio State | Ryan Day | Edgewood, Wash. (Eastside Catholic) |
| DL | Jonah Elliss | 6-2 | 246 | Jr. | Utah | Kyle Whittingham | Moscow, Idaho (Moscow Senior) |
| LB | Jeremiah Trotter Jr. | 6-0 | 230 | Jr. | Clemson | Dabo Swinney | Hainesport, N.J. (St. Joseph’s (Pa.) Preparatory) |
| LB | Jay Higgins | 6-2 | 233 | Sr. | Iowa | Kirk Ferentz | Indianapolis, Ind. (Brebeuf Jesuit Prep) |
| LB | Trey Moore | 6-3 | 235 | R-So. | UTSA | Jeff Traylor | San Antonio, Tex. (Smithson Valley) |
| DB | Terrion Arnold | 6-0 | 196 | R-So. | Alabama | Nick Saban | Tallahassee, Fla. (John Paul II Catholic) |
| DB | Quinyon Mitchell | 6-0 | 196 | Jr. | Toledo | Jason Candle | Williston, Fla. (Williston) |
| DB | *Kool-Aid McKinstry | 6-1 | 195 | Jr. | Alabama | Nick Saban | Birmingham, Ala. (Pinson Valley) |
| DB | Beanie Bishop Jr. | 5-10 | 184 | R-Sr. | West Virginia | Neal Brown | Louisville, Ky. (Pleasure Ridge Park) |
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
