Assembling the All-American team is always a difficult task, because more than 130 programs are in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

How do you balance a player's production and overall contributions while factoring in competition level? What's the weight given to each one? How do you consider team success?

They're all fair questions. But it's a challenge we love to undertake.

Bleacher Report's college football crew—David Kenyon, Adam Kramer, Morgan Moriarty, Joel Reuter and Brad Shepard—had a chance to submit a ballot for their All-Americans in 2023.

The results are based on plurality voting.

Quarterback

QB: Jayden Daniels, LSU

Whether he's won the Heisman Trophy will be revealed on Dec. 8, but Jayden Daniels doesn't need hardware to validate his season.

Daniels completed 72.2 percent of his passes for 3,812 yards, leading the nation with 11.7 yards per attempt and 40 touchdowns. He tossed only four interceptions in 327 attempts. Daniels also scampered for 1,134 yards—the most among FBS quarterbacks—and 10 more scores.

Under his guidance, LSU finished atop the country in yards per play, yards per game and points per game.

Running Backs

RB: Ollie Gordon II, Oklahoma State

The unanimous choice in our backfield voting, Ollie Gordon II emerged as one of the most unexpected stars this season. Gordon held a backup role until Week 4...and then he exploded. Highlighted by three straight games of 280-plus scrimmage yards in October, he amassed an FBS-high 1,940 yards with 21 touchdowns. Gordon averaged 6.3 yards per carry and caught 37 passes for the Big 12 runner-up.

RB: Ashton Jeanty, Boise State

By far, the wildest part about Ashton Jeanty's production is he basically missed three games. Nevertheless, he trailed only Gordon in scrimmage yards (1,814) thanks to elite versatility. Jeanty scampered for 1,262 yards and 14 touchdowns, adding 39 receptions for 552 yards and five scores while helping Boise State win the Mountain West.

Wide Receivers and Tight End

WR: Malik Nabers, LSU

After clipping the 1,000-yard barrier last season, Malik Nabers put together a spectacular 2023. He made 86 receptions for a nation-leading 1,546 yards with 14 touchdowns. Each of those numbers ranked no worse than seventh among FBS receivers.

WR: Rome Odunze, Washington

Rome Odunze, meanwhile, finished second with 1,428 yards. He reeled in 81 passes and scored 13 times, helping the Dawgs rattle off a perfect season, win a Pac-12 crown and reach the College Football Playoff.

WR: Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State

Marvin Harrison Jr. checked in with the ninth-most yards (1,211), but he snared 14 touchdowns on his 67 receptions. Ohio State's offense dealt with injuries throughout the season, yet Harrison still produced at an elite rate. He added a 15th score on a misdirection handoff.

TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia

Even though he missed a few games, Brock Bowers collected the second-most yards at his position. The likely first-round NFL draft pick registered 56 catches for 714 yards and six scores and rushed for one touchdown.

Offensive Linemen

OT: Joe Alt, Notre Dame

OG: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State

C: Jackson Powers-Johnson, Oregon

OG: Clay Webb, Jacksonville State

OT: Taliese Fuaga, Oregon State

Joe Alt entered the season with hefty NFL draft expectations and lived up to them. He's a likely early pick in the 2024 draft.

This is a second B/R All-American honor for Cooper Beebe. More impressively, the veteran guard also repeated as the Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year.

Clay Webb, meanwhile, hadn't yielded a single pressure by mid-November. Rounding out the group, Jackson Powers-Johnson and Taliese Fuaga both earned first-team All-Pac-12 recognition. Fuaga in particular stood out as a sensational run-blocker this season.

Defensive Linemen

DE: Laiatu Latu, UCLA

Previously at Washington, Laiatu Latu medically retired after the 2020 season due to a neck injury. However, he was later cleared and joined UCLA. Latu's interesting journey hit a high point in 2023. The Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year registered an FBS-leading 21.5 tackles for loss with 13 sacks, chipping in two interceptions and two forced fumbles.

DT: Jer'Zhan Newton, Illinois

Illinois fell short of expectations, but Jer'Zhan Newton had another fantastic year. He closed the regular season with 52 tackles, including 8.5 for loss and seven sacks. Newton, who's also declared for the 2024 NFL draft, earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year.

DT: T'Vondre Sweat, Texas

Texas has showcased a dominant run defense, and T'Vondre Sweat is an integral part of that performance. He's a 6'4", 342-pound run-stuffer in the middle of the Longhorns' line. Entering the College Football Playoff, Sweat has generated 42 tackles with eight for loss and two sacks. As a bonus, the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year caught a touchdown in the conference championship game, too.

DE: Jalen Green, James Madison

No team created more tackles for loss than JMU, which amassed 109 for the season. Jalen Green accounted for 21 of them—and he even missed the last three games of the campaign. He racked up 15.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and returned an interception for a touchdown, winning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year.

Linebackers

LB: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion

When people say a defender is everywhere, they must be talking about Jason Henderson. Last season, he amassed 186 tackles with 10 for loss. This year, Henderson piled up 170 with 19.5 for loss and 4.5 sacks. If he returns in 2024, he'll make a serious run at the career tackles record.

LB: Payton Wilson, North Carolina State

Nearly the unanimous choice for ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Payton Wilson put a hurting on both ball-carriers and box scores. The veteran linebacker made 138 tackles with 17.5 for loss and six sacks, adding three interceptions and six pass breakups.

LB: Edgerrin Cooper, Texas A&M

Texas A&M had a rough season, but Edgerrin Cooper showed off some all-around excellence. In addition to being excellent in coverage, he tallied 84 stops with 17 tackles for loss and eight sacks.

Defensive Backs

CB: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama

Some of the highest praise you can give Kool-Aid McKinstry is that quarterbacks rarely threw in his direction. McKinstry ceded an incredibly low 4.9 yards per target, per Pro Football Focus. Between him and Terrion Arnold, the Crimson Tide showcased a pair of tremendous corners.

CB: Beanie Bishop Jr., West Virginia

West Virginia quietly won eight games in 2023, removing head coach Neal Brown from the hot seat. Beanie Bishop Jr., a transfer from Minnesota (and previously Western Kentucky) had a breakout season of his own. Bishop tallied 59 tackles with an incredible 20 pass breakups, and the first-team All-Big 12 corner snagged four interceptions.

NB: Sebastian Castro, Iowa

What a season for Iowa's defense. Despite the Hawkeyes' issues on the other side of the ball, they finished 10-2 behind this stingy unit. Sebastian Castro excelled at slot corner, totaling 61 tackles (eight for loss) with three interceptions and zero touchdowns allowed.

S: Tykee Smith, Georgia

Georgia fell narrowly short of the College Football Playoff, but Tykee Smith enjoyed a resurgent year. Once an All-American at West Virginia, Smith transferred to UGA and held a complementary role until 2023. He earned a starting spot and posted a co-team-best 68 tackles with 8.5 for loss and intercepted four passes.

S: Xavier Watts, Notre Dame

Recently presented with the coveted Nagurski Trophy, Xavier Watts demanded the ball-hawk label in 2023. He snared an FBS-leading seven interceptions, including two in consecutive games against USC and Pitt. Watts totaled 47 tackles.

Specialists

K: Graham Nicholson, Miami (Ohio)

The only two kicks Graham Nicholson missed all season happened in a pair of victories. In short: No worries. Nicholson hit 26-of-27 field goals—burying 9-of-10 in the 40-yard range and his lone attempt (52) from beyond 50—and 35-of-36 extra points for the MAC champs.

P: Tory Taylor, Iowa

Not only did Iowa's ineptitude on offense shift the spotlight to a spectacular defense, it meant Tory Taylor had plenty of work. On his FBS-high 86 punts, Taylor ranked third nationally with a 47.9-yard average. Taylor won his second Big Ten Punter of the Year honor.

KR/PR: Zachariah Branch, USC

Exactly one player returned a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in 2023. Makes it simple, right? Beyond that, though, Zachariah Branch paced FBS with 22.1 yards per punt return.