2023 Walter Camp Preseason FBS All-America Teams, presented by 777 Partners

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The 2023 Walter Camp Preseason Football Bowl Subdivision All-America Teams are presented by 777 Partners, a Miami-based alternative investment firm that invests across several high-growth business sectors, including insurance, consumer and commercial finance, litigation finance, direct lending, aviation, and sports, media and entertainment. Within the latter, 777 Partners has acquired an unrivaled portfolio of seven international soccer clubs, the British Basketball League and a vast catalogue of sports media rights. These industries represent areas of unbridled performance, each one supported by the other in one world-class shared services model.

2023 Walter Camp Preseason Video

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/cy8f3ft4q8dpeym/AACRqLkgq96VDC3WMzrS1QuOa?dl=0&preview=WCFF2023+PreSeason+Program.MOV

A Little History

Walter Camp is the nation’s oldest college football All-America team.  Walter Camp, “The Father of American football,” first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp – a former Yale University athlete and football coach – is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side.

The Walter Camp Football Foundation – a New Haven-based all-volunteer group – was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting annually an All-America team.    

Typically announced in early December, the Walter Camp All-America teams are selected by the FBS head coaches and sports information directors.

• From 1889 to 1964, eleven players were selected.

• In 1965, both offensive and defensive teams were picked.

• In 1972, the first punter (Ray Guy, Southern Mississippi) was honored.

• In 1975, the first placekicker (Chris Bahr, Penn State) was selected.

• In 1998, the first-ever Second Team All-America team was recognized.

• In 2001, the first kick returner (Herb Haygood, Michigan State) was picked.

Good to See You Again

Twelve players who earned 2022 Walter Camp All-America First and Second Team honors are on the 2023 preseason list, led by USC junior quarterback Caleb Williams.  Williams, who was also selected as the 2022 Walter Camp Player of Year, was a First Team honoree last season.   Three other 2022 First Team honorees – Ohio State WR Marvin Harrison, Jr.; Michigan RB Blake Corum; and Indiana KR Jaylin Lucas – are 2023 preseason First Team All-Americans.  

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                       Hgt      Wgt.    Class            Hometown

WR      Marvin Harrison, Jr., Ohio State*           6-4       205       Jr.            Philadelphia, PA

WR      Rome Odunze, Washington                   6-3       211       Jr.            Las Vegas, NV

TE        Brock Bowers, Georgia #                      6-4       230       Jr.            Napa, CA

OL       Joe Alt, Notre Dame #                           6-7       317       Jr.            North Oaks, MN

OL       Olu Fashanu, Penn State #                     6-6       323       Jr.            Waldorf, MD

OL       Cooper Beebe, Kansas State                  6-4       332       Sr.            Kansas City, MO

OL       Graham Barton, Duke                            6-5       311       Sr.            Brentwood, TN

C          Drake Nugent, Michigan                       6-1       300       Gr.            Lone Tree, CO

QB       Caleb Williams, USC*                          6-1       220       Jr.            Washington, D.C.

RB       Blake Corum, Michigan*                       5-8       210       Sr.            Marshall, VA

RB       Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss                  5-11     210       So.            Pike Road, AL

PK       Joshua Karty, Stanford                          6-2       207       Sr.            Burlington, NC

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                       Hgt      Wgt.    Class            Hometown

DL       Jared Verse, Florida State                      6-4       248       Jr.            Dayton, OH

DL       Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois #                    6-2       295       So.       St. Petersburg, FL

DL       Dontay​ Corleone, Cincinnati                  6-2       320       So.            Cincinnati, OH

DL       Bralen Trice, Washington                      6-4       267       Jr.            Phoenix, AZ

LB       Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State #           6-2       239       Gr.            Cleveland, OH

LB       Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., Clemson               6-0       230       Jr.            Hainesport, NJ

LB       Harold Perkins, Jr., LSU                        6-1       220       So.            New Orleans, LA

DB       Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama              6-1       195       Jr.            Birmingham, AL

DB       Kamren Kinchens, Miami                      5-11     202       Jr.            Miami, FL

DB       Calen Bullock, USC                              6-3       190       Jr.            Pasadena, CA

DB       Kalen King, Penn State #                       5-11     190       Jr.            Detroit, MI

P          Kai Kroeger, South Carolina #               6-4       220       Sr.            Lake Forest, IL

KR       Jaylin Lucas, Indiana *                          5-9       185       So.            Houma, LA

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                       Hgt      Wgt.    Class            Hometown

WR      Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State                    6-1       205       Jr.            Steilacoom, WA

WR      Xavier Worthy, Texas                           6-1       164       Jr.            Fresno, CA

TE        Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota              6-7       270       Sr.        St. Cloud, MN

OL       Zak Zinter, Michigan                             6-6       315       Sr.            North Andover, MA

OL       Christian Haynes, Connecticut               6-3       305       Sr.            Bowie, MD

OL       Beaux Limmer, Arkansas                      6-5       306       Sr.            Tyler, TX

OL       JC Latham, Alabama                             6-6       335       Jr.            Oak Creek, WI

C          Zach Frazier, West Virginia                   6-3       306       Jr.            Fairmont, WV

QB       Drake Maye, North Carolina                  6-4       225       So.            Huntersville, NC

RB       Braelon Allen, Wisconsin                      6-2       236       Jr.            Fond Du Lac, WI

RB       Raheim Sanders, Arkansas                    6-2       237       Jr.            Rockledge, FL

PK       Jonah Dalmas, Boise State                     5-8       172       Sr.            Meridian, ID

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Pos.      Name, School                                       Hgt      Wgt.    Class            Hometown

DL       Mykel Williams, Georgia                      6-5       265       So.            Columbus, GA

DL       Mekhi Wingo, LSU                               6-1       295       Jr.        St. Louis, MO

DL       Chop Robinson, Penn State                    6-3       253       Jr.            Gaithersburg, MD

DL       Leonard Taylor, Miami                          6-3       305       Jr.            Miami, FL

LB       Jason Henderson, Old Dominion            6-1       225       Jr.            Dingsman Ferry, PA

LB       Barrett Carter, Clemson                         6-1       225       Jr.            Suwanee, GA

LB       Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia            6-1       245       Jr.            Hyattsville, MD

DB       Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo #                   6-0       200       Jr.            Williston, FL

DB       Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame           6-0       179       So.            Phoenix, AZ

DB       Malaki Starks, Georgia                          6-1       205       So.            Jefferson, GA

DB       Cole Bishop, Utah                                 6-2       206       Jr.            Peachtree City, GA

P          Tory Taylor, Iowa                                 6-4       230       Sr.            Melbourne, Australia

KR       Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State #    5-10     185       Sr.            Philadelphia, PA

* – 2022 First Team Walter Camp All-America selection

# – 2022 Second Team Walter Camp All-America selection

www.waltercamp.org

Former USC SID Tim Tessalone Recognized as the William E. Keish Jr. Sports Communicator Award Recipient

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The Walter Camp Sports Communicator award is named in memory of Bill Keish, who was a longtime Foundation member and chairman of the public relations committee. The award originated as the Foundation’s “Media Appreciation” award. It was awarded to local sports media professionals in recognition of their contributions on behalf of the WCFF. It has recently been expanded to a broader scope, recognizing contributions to sports communications.

Bill served as the public spokesman for the Connecticut State Department of Transportation, DOT, for many, many years. He retired in 1997 having served under ten DOT Commissioners and six governors, responding to thousands of crises: including bridge collapses, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, ice storms and train crashes. He was a former city reporter in New Haven and the state bureau in Hartford for the New Haven Register from 1954

through 1967. He was also a U.S. Army veteran of the Korean War. Bill passed away at age 69 on September 21, 2001. 

This year, the Keish award goes to Tim Tessalore, the recently-retired University of Southern California sports information director.    Tessalone was recognized by Foundation President Tony Mortali at the Walter Camp Alumni Brunch in New Haven.

Tim spent 43 years at USC. Tim began his USC career as a journalism student who was passionate about writing and sports, and that passion translated into propelling the USC athletic department to the front page of the sports section with other highly successful Los Angeles teams that intensely compete for news coverage. The other teams? They included the Lakers, Dodgers, Rams and USC’s bitter-rival UCLA.

During his time at USC, the school produced 54 national championship teams, 305 Olympians, and 26 CoSIDA Academic All-Americans.  For the Trojans’ football program, Tessalone helped promote 225 NFL draft picks, 40 Walter Camp All-America selections and two Walter Camp Players of Year (quarterback Matt Leinart, 2004 and running back Reggie Bush, 2005).  More impressively, Tim worked 517 USC football games over 43 years. He is a member of the CoSIDA Hall of Fame.

In 2018, Tessalone was named to the USC Athletics Hall of Fame which includes many of the great names in college and Olympic sports.