Photo: Robin Alam/Icon Sportswire

As we approach the beginning of the 2023 college football season, we want to highlight some of the top players in each conference by announcing our SIS Preseason All-Conference teams. We used our all-encompassing player value stat, Total Points, along with other metrics and our scouting work as leading references in putting together our selections.

You can learn more about Total Points and the statistics referenced here.

Offense

The offense is dominated by Notre Dame and Army players with very few schools remaining independent. Sam Hartman transferred from Wake Forest to Notre Dame in the offseason, and he should provide an immediate boost down the field after leading the ACC with an Avg Throw Depth of 12 yards last season. Audric Estime had nearly 1,000 yards rushing last season while Jayden Thomas caught nearly 96% of On-Target passes. 

Army’s Ay’Juan Marshall is moving from RB to WR and is an explosive playmaker wherever he lines up. Isaiah Alston is a big play threat in his own right with an Avg Depth of Target of over 16 yards, and Joshua Lingenfelter was one of the best blocking TEs in the country last season, earning the most Blocking Total Points among FBS TEs.

Notre Dame’s offensive line is stacked with Joe Alt, Blake Fisher, and Zeke Correll making the team. Alt had the 2nd-most Total Points among FBS tackles last season while Fisher and Correll were impact blockers in both the passing and running games. Connor Finucane was 2nd among FBS guards last season in Run Blocking Total Points, and Christian Haynes is getting NFL buzz after posting a 0.3% Pass Blocking Blown Block Rate last season.

Defense

Rylie Mills is an interior disruptor, generating over 50% of his pressures when aligned as a DT. The UMass defense earns two selections with Billy Wooden and Jordan Mahoney. Wooden had nearly a 13% Pressure Rate when lined up as a DT, which was Top-15 in the FBS last season, and Mahoney earned a place with his effectiveness in coverage and underrated run defense abilities. The two EDGE spots go to UConn defenders Pryce Yates and Eric Watts as Yates had an Average Depth of Tackle of 0, and Watts generated 37 Pressures last season.

Leo Lowin was all over the field and showed his value in coverage. Jackson Mitchell is a stat-sheet stuffer who led the FBS in fumble recoveries with 5. As only a true freshman last season, Benjamin Morrison was a lockdown CB. When targeted, Morrison had a QBR Against of just 18.3. Jabari Moore is a leader of a tough Army defense, and his numbers per-snap are even more impressive. Malik Dixon-Williams and Quindrelin Hammonds earned their spots in very different ways as Dixon-Williams had impressive numbers against the pass (a Bust% of almost 40%), while Hammonds had impressive numbers against the run.

Specialists

Noe Ruelas was an effective kicker last season, and his long of 54 shows his impressive leg strength. George Caratan showed incredible control last season, pinning 19 punts inside of the 20 with only 1 touchback. Greg Desrosiers Jr. had nearly 600 kickoff return yards last season, including 3 separate games with 100+ KOR yards.