Every preseason All-America team begins with a debate at quarterback.

Georgia senior Carson Beck gets the nod as the first-team starter in the USA TODAY Sports preseason All-America team after throwing for 3,941 yards and 24 touchdowns in 2023, followed by second-team pick Dillon Gabriel. After starting his career at Central Florida and spending two years at Oklahoma, Gabriel takes over a loaded roster at Oregon as the Ducks step into the Big Ten.

The first and second teams are heavy on players from Ohio State. The Buckeyes lead all Bowl Subdivision teams with seven total selections, including first-team picks in running back Quinshon Judkins, offensive guard Donovan Jackson, cornerback Denzel Burke and safety Caleb Downs.

Four other programs placed at least three players in Georgia (four), Notre Dame (four), Alabama (four) and Oregon (three).

The preseason All-America teams were selected by a 19-person panel drawn from the USA TODAY Sports Network.

First team

OFFENSE

QB: Carson Beck, Georgia (Sr.)

While the Bulldogs fell short of the national championship in Beck’s debut, he outperformed former starter Stetson Bennett in most major statistical categories to establish himself as the favorite for the Heisman Trophy and the top spot in next year’s NFL draft.

RB: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State (Jr.)

RB: Quinshon Judkins, Ohio State (Jr.)

Gordon (1,732 yards in 2023) will make a run at becoming the third player in program history to crack the 2,000-yard mark. Judkins (1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns) transferred from Mississippi to give Ohio State the best backfield pairing in the country, joining second-team All-America pick TreVeyon Henderson.

WR: Tetairoa McMillian, Arizona (Jr.)

WR: Luther Burden III, Missouri (Jr.)

TE: Colston Loveland, Michigan (Jr.)

McMillian (90 reception for 1,402 yards) is the only returning Power Four receiver to average over 100 receiving yards per game last season. Burden (86 for 1,212) has blossomed into a star and matched his status as one of the top recruits in program history. Loveland (45 for 649) will take on an even more important role for Michigan’s new starting quarterback, whomever that may be.

OT: Will Campbell, LSU (Jr.)

OT: Kelvin Banks Jr., Texas (Jr.)

OG: Tate Ratledge, Georgia (Sr.)

OG: Donovan Jackson, Ohio State (Sr.)

C: Parker Brailsford, Alabama (So.)

Campbell anchors an offensive line that paced the way for the nation’s top scoring offense (45.5 points per game). As Quinn Ewers’ blind-side protector, Banks is one of the most important pieces behind the Longhorns’ quest for the national title. A third-year starter, Ratledge helped Georgia rank first in the SEC last season in sacks allowed per game. Jackson is a two-time All-Big Ten pick who carries a 26-game starting streak into 2024. One of the most promising young players in the country, Brailsford followed new coach Kalen DeBoer from Washington after an all-conference rookie season.

P: Alex Mastromanno, Florida State (Sr.)

K: Graham Nicholson, Alabama (Sr.)

Mastromanno averaged a career-best 45.5 yards per punt in 2023 to become the first Ray Guy Award finalist in program history. Nicholson (27 of 28 on field goals) was the only kicker in the FBS last season to make more than 20 field goals with just one miss.

DEFENSE

DE: James Pearce, Tennessee (Jr.)

DE: Ashton Gillotte, Louisville (Sr.)

DT: Mason Graham, Michigan (Jr.)

DT: Howard Cross III, Notre Dame (Sr.)

Pearce (10 sacks and 14½ tackles for loss) looks like the next great defensive end in Tennessee history. Gillotte (11 sacks) will finish in the top three in school history in career sacks with another all-conference season. With eye-opening explosiveness and athleticism that belies his 320-pound frame, Graham (7½ tackles for loss) is an absurdly disruptive interior lineman. Cross (66 tackles) sets the tone for a defense that could be even better after finishing fifth nationally in yards per game.

LB: Harold Perkins, LSU (Jr.)

LB: Jay Higgins, Iowa (Sr.)

LB: Danny Stutsman, Oklahoma (Sr.)

Perkins has already accumulated 27 tackles for loss through two years and may be only beginning to crack into his loaded skill set. Higgins (171 tackles) is fresh off one of the most productive seasons for a defender in program history. After weighing the NFL draft, Stutsman (16 tackles for loss) opted for another year at OU and gives the Sooners an all-conference difference maker to ease the defense’s transition to the SEC.

CB: Will Johnson, Michigan (Jr.)

CB: Denzel Burke, Ohio State (Sr.)

S: Malaki Starks, Georgia (Jr.)

S: Caleb Downs, Ohio State (So.)

Johnson (four interceptions) may not leapfrog over Charles Woodson to be viewed as the best cornerback in program history, but he’s building a case for being placed alongside the former Heisman winner as the top defensive backs to come through Ann Arbor. Also in the Big Ten, Burke is a stopper on the outside who routinely draws the Buckeyes’ toughest assignments. Starks (52 tackles and three interceptions) was a day-one starter for the Bulldogs who continues to ratchet up his game. After a superb rookie year, Downs (107 tackles) left for Ohio State as the most impactful transfer of the offseason.

Returner: Zachariah Branch, Southern California (So.)

All-Purpose: Travis Hunter, Colorado (Jr.)

Branch (20.8 yards per punt return and two combined return touchdowns) is a game-changing returner set to take on a bigger role in the Trojans’ passing game. Hunter (721 receiving yards, three interceptions) does it all for the Buffaloes.

Second team

OFFENSE

QB: Dillon Gabriel, Oregon (Sr.)

RB: Omarion Hampton, North Carolina (Jr.)

RB: TreVeyon Henderson, Ohio State (Sr.)

WR: Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State (Sr.)

WR: Tez Johnson, Oregon (Sr.)

TE: Brant Kuithe, Utah (Sr.)

OT: Ajani Cornelius, Oregon (Sr.)

OT: Wyatt Millum, West Virginia (Sr.)

OG: Tyler Booker, Alabama (Jr.)

OG: Clay Webb, Jacksonville State (Sr.)

C: Cooper Mays, Tennessee (Sr.)

P: James Ferguson-Reynolds, Boise State (Jr.)

K: Andrew Borregales, Miami (Sr.)

DEFENSE

DE: Mykel Williams, Georgia (Jr.)

DE: Nic Scourton, Texas A&M (Jr.)

DT: Tyleik Williams, Ohio State (Sr.)

DT: Deone Walker, Kentucky (Jr.)

LB: Deontae Lawson, Alabama (Jr.)

LB: Nick Martin, Oklahoma State (Jr.)

LB: Barrett Carter, Clemson (Sr.)

CB: Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame (Jr.)

CB: Travis Hunter, Colorado (Jr.)

S: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame (Sr.)

S: Dillon Thieneman, Purdue (So.)

Returner: Jayden Harrison, Notre Dame (Sr.)

All-Purpose: Barion Brown, Kentucky (Jr.)

In an unauthorized biography titled ‘Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers’ that will be released next week, Rodgers admitted that he regretted his comments made in August 2021, when he was a member of the Green Bay Packers, that he had been ‘immunized’ against the virus. His statement came in response to a question asking if he had been vaccinated, leading to the widespread belief that he had been vaccinated.

Rodgers later tested positive for COVID-19 in November 2021, triggering the NFL’s protocols for quarantine and time away from football. Since the protocols were different and more rigorous for unvaccinated players, Rodgers’ facing stiffer requirements revealed that he had in fact not been vaccinated.

‘If there’s one thing I wish could have gone different, it’s that, because that’s the only thing (critics) could hit me with,’ Rodgers said in the book, according to ESPN.

After testing positive, Rodgers made one of his regularly scheduled appearances on ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ and attempted to explain his reasoning. He said then that he learned he was allergic to polyethylene glycol, an ingredient in the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. He also said he had concerns about the Johnson & Johnson vaccines after reports surfaced of adverse reactions and side effects.

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‘But if I could do it again, I would have said (in August), (expletive) the appeal. I’m just going to tell them I’m allergic to PEG, I’m not getting Johnson & Johnson, I’m not going to be vaxxed,’ ‘ Rodgers said in the book. 

In April 2023, the Packers traded Rodgers to the Jets, the team owned by Woody Johnson, an heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical who previously served as chairman and CEO of the company.

‘I had an immunization card from my holistic doctor, which looked similar,’ Rodgers said. ‘I wasn’t trying to pawn it off as a vaccine card, but I said, ‘Listen, here’s my protocol. Here’s what you can follow to look this up.’ And it was an ongoing appeal. So, if I had just said (I was unvaccinated) in the moment, there’s no chance that the appeal would have been handled the exact same way.’

The NFL preseason slate only just began last week, but hyperbole season throughout the league is in full swing.

As teams advance from training camp work to facing actual opponents in exhibitions and joint practices, it’s routine for fans to start drawing hasty conclusions. But with most franchises sitting out stars in the early going – and others entirely abstaining from trotting out any starters – there is only so much meaning that can be gleaned from the August setup. Still, it’s clear that some teams and young players stood out more than others – for better or worse.

With that in mind, here are the biggest winners and losers of the NFL’s first week of preseason action:

Winners of NFL preseason Week 1

Caleb Williams

Impossibly lofty expectations are a fact of life at this point for Williams, who was compared to Patrick Mahomes and Aaron Rodgers before ever taking an NFL snap. Somehow, the No. 1 pick in this year’s still managed to deliver in his debut Saturday for the Chicago Bears, as he showed glimpses of his singular playmaking prowess against the Buffalo Bills. Williams’ most highlight-worthy play came on a 26-yard dart on the run to tight end Cole Kmet. There were several other notable moments from a day that ended after just two drives. Above all, however, Williams reinforced that the Bears finally have someone behind center who looks capable of elevating an attack rather than weighing it down.

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Other first-round rookie QBs

As part of a historic quarterback class that featured six passers being taken in the top 12 picks, Williams was hardly alone in commanding a significant spotlight for his first game. And several of his peers also put together notable outings. Among them:

Jayden Daniels: The No. 2 pick saw just one drive of action, going 2-of-3 for 45 yards before exiting the Washington Commanders’ contest Saturday against the New York Jets. The reigning Heisman Trophy winner exhibited his big-play flare, however, when he audibled into a deep toss down the right sideline to hit Dyami Brown for a 42-yard gain. Coach Dan Quinn said afterward he didn’t mind his signal-caller going rogue. Best of all: Daniels had limited exposure to injury on a day when the Commanders’ top three offensive tackles were all inactive.
Michael Penix Jr.: The most surprising pick of the NFL draft delivered a performance in line with expectations from his college days. With Kirk Cousins sitting out and Penix getting the start for the Atlanta Falcons on Friday against the Miami Dolphins, the Heisman Trophy runner-up showed a knack for pushing the ball downfield – connecting with Chris Blair on a 41-yard gain – while missing out on other looks due to erratic ball placement.
J.J. McCarthy: After Sam Darnold enjoyed a nice opening drive with the Minnesota Vikings, McCarthy strung together the kind of showing Saturday against the Las Vegas Raiders that will leave many wondering when he’ll have the reins to the offense handed to him. The No. 10 pick from Michigan launched two deep touchdown tosses and completed 11 of 17 throws for 188 yards, along with an interception.
Bo Nix: Carrying over his play from his Oregon days, the No. 12 overall pick for the Denver Broncos seemed to understand the assignment against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Nix got the ball out quickly and on point to his playmakers, completing 15 of 21 passes for 125 yards and earning praise from Sean Payton for his decisiveness.

Should any of these showings be taken as a likely indicator of a successful season to come? Almost certainly not. But a strong start can build confidence – even if only for fan bases desperate for encouragement.

Austin Booker

After Williams wrapped up his day, a far less-heralded Bears rookie began to turn heads. Booker, a fifth-round pick out of Kansas, racked up 2 ½ sacks and three quarterback hits. The 6-6, 245-pound defensive end projects as a developmental edge rusher after the Minnesota transfer made just one start in his collegiate career. If Booker can maintain his disruptiveness against a higher level of competition, however, coach Matt Eberflus might be compelled to find opportunities for him on a defense that ranked 31st in sacks last season with 30.

Eagles’ secondary options

A spot that was long a significant source of uncertainty for Philadelphia might now be rife with possibility. With veteran James Bradberry moving to safety, the Eagles have a wealth of promising options at cornerback, with several of them standing out Friday against the Ravens. First-round pick Quinyon Mitchell was the easiest to notice, as he had strong showing both on the outside and in the slot, save for a dropped would-be interception. But Kelee Ringo also fared well with two pass breakups. With Mitchell potentially manning the slot and Ringo backing up Darius Slay and Isaiah Rodgers on the outside, new defensive coordinator Vic Fangio could have ample flexibility on the back end.

Jaylen Wright

No one relishes – and utilizes – skill-position speed quite like the Dolphins. It was both fitting and somewhat of a surprise, then, when Mike McDaniel’s crew picked up Wright, the former track standout who averaged 7.4 yards per carry in his final season at Tennessee, in the fourth round of April’s NFL draft. Touches won’t be easy to come by in a backfield that already features burners in Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane. But Wright made a solid case for work by rushing for 55 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries against the Falcons. Maybe his only mistake: launching the ball into the stands after his score.

Evan Williams

In reconfiguring the Green Bay Packers’ defense, new coordinator Jeff Hafley has placed aggressiveness and generating takeaways at the center of his scheme. He might have found a major asset in Williams, the fourth-round safety from Oregon who has been lauded throughout training camp for repeatedly finding the ball. That style extended to the field Saturday against the Cleveland Browns, as he forced a fumble and tied for a team high with six tackles. Second-round safety Javon Bullard appears to have the inside track to start at free safety, but Williams might force his way into action in some fashion if he keeps producing big plays.

Jordan Whittington

Throughout Sean McVay’s run as coach, the Los Angeles Rams’ insistence on sitting his starters for the summer slate has fueled the preseason rise of some off-the-radar players. The latest unlikely standout might be Whittington, the sixth-round rookie receiver out of Texas who notched a team-high 74 yards on six catches Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys. Don’t go labeling him the next Puka Nacua or Cooper Kupp as the franchise’s next major pass-catching draft steal just yet. But McVay did tell reporters after the game that Whittington is ‘going to be a factor for us.’

Jake Haener

The New Orleans Saints are pitting Haener, the 2023 fourth-round pick out of Fresno State, against rookie Spencer Rattler in the battle to be starting quarterback Derek Carr’s backup. While that competition continues, Haener showed resiliency Saturday against the Arizona Cardinals by playing with 32 stitches in his face after to undergoing an operation last week related to his rare form of skin cancer. He fared well on the field, too, completing nine of 13 passes for 107 yards.

Charlie Smyth

The best preseason moments are often ones that can be celebrated independent of their predictive value. On its face, a 37-yard field goal to seal an exhibition win as time expired might not seem worthy of fanfare. But there was something undoubtedly special when Smyth, a former Gaelic football goalkeeper, converted his first ever field goal attempt at any level of American football. New Orleans blared U2 in the locker room to celebrate the Irish kicker before giving him the game ball. Regardless of what happens in his push against incumbent Blake Grupe, Smyth stands as the latest neat story for the NFL’s International Pathway Program.

Losers of NFL preseason Week 1

Kansas City Chiefs

Andy Reid’s decision to play his starters for the first quarter of Saturday’s tilt with the Jacksonville Jaguars could have regular-season ramifications for the two-time defending champions. Wide receiver Marquise ‘Hollywood’ Brown was hospitalized with a sternoclavicular joint dislocation and will miss ‘some time,’ Reid said, throwing into question Brown’s status for the season opener in less than a month. Brown was signed by the Chiefs this offseason as part of the effort to retool Patrick Mahomes’ receiving corps and rediscover an explosive element that had largely disappeared from the offense. Mahomes can still count on perennial Pro Bowl tight end Travis Kelce and receiver Rashee Rice, while speedy rookie Xavier Worthy could add an electrifying presence once he proves comfortable navigating the leap to the pros. But with a tough slate to start the season – the Chiefs face the Ravens, Bengals and Falcons in the first three weeks – any missed time for Brown could prove costly.

Justin Fields

With Russell Wilson sitting out the Pittsburgh Steelers’ preseason opener against the Houston Texans on Thursday, Fields was faced with what might have been his best platform to make a push for the team’s starting quarterback job. But two fumbled snap exchanges ‘negated a lot of good things’ from Fields’ performance, coach Mike Tomlin told reporters afterward. While Fields’ electric potential was evident as he went 5-of-6 for 67 yards, any more mistakes likely will prevent him from catching Wilson, whom Tomlin described as being in the ‘pole position’ of the race for the starting role.

Drake Maye

There’s no point in pillorying the No. 3 pick after he played just six snaps in the second series of Thursday’s contest against the Carolina Panthers. Still, as the rest of the top rookie signal-callers stood out and other young quarterbacks received extensive work, the lack of action feels like a missed opportunity for Maye and the Patriots. First-year coach Jerod Mayo has made it known that veteran Jacoby Brissett is the team’s starter at the moment, and that dynamic seems unlikely to change for some time. Even if Mayo is taking the long view on Maye’s development, why not test the hyperathletic gunslinger’s handle of offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt’s attack? It didn’t help that classmate Joe Milton III, the raw but rocket-armed sixth-round rookie out of Tennessee, sparked a few big plays on two scoring drives. No reason to draw any conclusions now, but how and when New England ramps up Maye’s workload bears watching.

Atlanta Falcons

Defensive depth is already a problem area for Atlanta, which is largely counting on former Day 2 draft picks and mid-level signings to carry the unit in lieu of splashy investments (outside of Pro Bowl safety Jessie Bates III). That issue was exacerbated by the team losing third-round outside linebacker Bralen Trice – who is out for the season after suffering an ACL injury against the Dolphins – and safety DeMarcco Hellams – whose outlook remains to be determined after he left Friday’s game with his left leg in an air cast. Neither player was set to be a starter, but this unit can’t afford many more hits after failing to add any difference-makers just one year after posting the league’s worst pass-rush win rate (31%), according to ESPN.

Jackson Carman

If an offensive lineman is being widely discussed in the preseason, it’s probably not for anything positive. Carman, the Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle, earned the wrong kind of attention Saturday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, drawing three flags for holding and another for a false start. The 2021 second-round pick out of Clemson hasn’t yielded anywhere close to a proper return on the draft capital spent on him, appearing in just two games last year after starting six as a rookie. As he continues on a downward trajectory, Carman looks like a candidate to be a casualty of the roster-cut deadline in two weeks.

Kickoff rule comprehension

Some sloppiness was to be expected as teams work through the kinks of the NFL’s newly implemented ‘dynamic kickoff.’ But the opening week of play served as a reminder that almost everyone has some studying to do on the fresh play, as penalties were commonplace. The lowlight came when Chiefs returner Mecole Hardman attempted to down a kick in the end zone after it first bounced there and then went into play. The result was a safety for the Jaguars – but not before some confusion from the officials, who originally ruled it as a touchback. Expect some serious consternation if any team makes these kind of blunders in the fall.

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‘This is a non-football-related question. I recently had a medical condition about two months ago, and thank God I had AFLAC … You’re an ambassador for them, a spokesman for them. How important is it for everyone to have AFLAC a part of their life? It’s amazing, right?’

Yes. Yes. That actually happened. In the year of our lord 2024.

Sanders also attacked a writer for the Denver Post. It was this dispute, with columnist Sean Keeler, which was the most telling of what is currently happening with Sanders.

‘You don’t like us, man,’ Sanders said, after Keeler attempted to ask a question. ‘Why do you do this to yourself?’

‘C’mon,’ Keeler said.

‘Why do you – you always on the attack,’ Sanders said. ‘What did we do?’

Sanders then asked him, ‘What happened to get you like this?’

‘That’s a good question,’ Keeler said.

‘No, I’m serious, because I want to help, because it’s not normal,’ Sanders said.

‘We can talk about that,’ Keeler said.

Keeler attempted to shift the talk back to football.

‘Can I ask you a football question, seriously?’ Keeler asked.

‘No,’ Sanders said, before adding to Keeler, basically, see you when I see you.

This presser was insane.

What exactly was happening with Sanders? It was actually a giant tell for something bigger at play. Let me explain.

First, overall, the us-versus-the-world stuff no longer works for Sanders. It just doesn’t. In fact, he looks weak trying to pull it off. Beating up on the media makes Sanders seem like he’s overcompensating for something else. Like he’s trying to distract instead of communicate.

Please don’t call me a Sanders hater. I’m not. I like him. Sanders has a chance to do big things at Colorado. He’s just wrong here. That type of motivation won’t work for him now. It could last season because it literally was Deion-vs.-Errybody. But not today.

We’re in a different stage for Sanders and that program. It’s the prove it part now. Sanders has to demonstrate to people what he can do beyond taking cheap shots at the media. I liked the fact that Sanders talked a lot of trash last season, but that act is rapidly getting old.

What I saw in that Sanders presser was concern. I think Sanders knows this could be an extremely rough season for the Buffaloes. The team started 3-0 last year but finished 1-8 in its final nine games. That’s because while the team has two of the more stunning players in all of college football in quarterback Shedeur Sanders and wide receiver/cornerback Travis Hunter, there are still huge talent gaps across the roster.

If Sanders has another bad season the microscope will get far bigger than it is now.

So Sanders is working the refs ahead of that possible outcome by attempting to intimidate the media. If things go bad, he wants to preemptively stop journalists from asking tough questions. He wants reporters and opinion writers to feel it’s not worth the trouble. That there will be pain in return if they do.

This is an old school move that I’ve seen coaches do numerous times. In fact, Sanders has done some of this before.

I’m also keenly aware that some people dislike Sanders for reasons that have nothing to do with him as a coach, and you know exactly what I mean when I say that. He’s held to different standards and yes, some of that is because of Sanders himself, but lots of college head coaches over the decades have been wanna be bullies. He’s not the first. Just sometimes treated like it.

But none of that applies to this situation.

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Some of you will say that this is who Sanders is. That he’s just a jerk. Think what you want but that’s not why he’s acting this way. What Sanders is doing is much more tactical than simply being jerky.

Will any of this work for Sanders? Absolutely not. If Sanders doesn’t win, and soon, more questions will come, and he won’t be able to shut them down.

With a star-studded roster of NBA MVPs, champions and All-Stars, Team USA defeated France 98-87 in the men’s Olympic basketball final on Saturday to claim its fifth consecutive gold medal. However, France’s Victor Wembanyama put the Americans on notice, signaling that Team USA’s Olympic dominance may soon face a serious challenge. 

Once again, France settled for second place, earning its second consecutive and fourth Olympic silver medal as Team USA denied France a basketball gold medal on home soil. But, the French national team, as a rapidly ascending program, has the opportunity to inflict ultimate revenge at the Los Angeles 2028 Games with Wembanyama poised to lead the charge.

Wembanyama, draped in his silver medal, told Mike Finger of the San Antonio Express-News: ‘I’m learning, and I’m worried for the opponents in a couple of years.’

When Finger asked whether he was referring to NBA or FIBA opponents, Wembanyama, who plays for the San Antonio Spurs, simply replied ‘everywhere.’

Although Team USA ultimately beat France by a double-digit margin thanks in part to Steph Curry’s eight made 3s, France repeatedly chipped away at the American lead throughout the game, reaching just a three-point deficit with 2:57 left in the fourth quarter. 

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At just 20 years old, Wembanyama recorded an impressive 26 points, seven rebounds and two assists against basketball’s all-time greats, including Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant. In four years, Wembanyama will be closer to the height of his career and an even greater threat to Team USA’s reign of dominance. Since NBA players started competing in the Olympic Games in 1992, the Americans have lost gold only once – in Athens 2004.

The French national team boasts no shortage of talented young stars. Alongside Wembanyama, the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year and the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft, rising stars Zaccharie Risacher and Alex Sarr, the No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the 2024 NBA draft, are expected to make a significant impact in 2028.

It’s safe to say a French-American basketball rivalry is alive and well. 

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