Michael Conroy/Associated Press

Will Grier, Nick Bosa, Bryce Love Headline AP 2018 Preseason All-America Team

Timothy Rapp

The Associated Press released its preseason All-America team on Tuesday, with West Virginia quarterback Will Grier, Ohio State defensive end Nick Bosa, Stanford running back Bryce Love and all-purpose Washington standout Myles Gaskin highlighting the first-team list. 

Clemson led the way with three first-team selections: offensive tackle Mitch Hyatt, defensive end Clelin Ferrell and defensive tackle Christian Wilkins. Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence was a second-team selection.

Grier is looking to build upon a strong 2017 season that saw him throw for 3,490 yards, 34 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while completing 64.4 percent of his passes. If he can build upon that success, he'll be in the Heisman conversation.

Both first-team running backs—Love and Wisconsin's Jonathan Taylor—are likely to be in that conversation as well. All Love did last year was run for 2,118 yards and 19 touchdowns, while Taylor managed 1,977 yards on the ground and 13 scores.

Bosa, meanwhile, is already in the conversation as next year's top overall pick in the NFL draft. He was dominant in 2017, registering nine sacks and 15 tackles for loss. And Gaskin did a little bit of everything for Washington, registering 1,612 yards from scrimmage and 24 total touchdowns.

As for the rest of the selections, the full All-America selections are as follows:

            

First-Team Offense

Quarterback: Will Grier, senior, West Virginia.

Running backs: Bryce Love, senior, Stanford; Jonathan Taylor, sophomore, Wisconsin.

Tackles: Jonah Williams, junior, Alabama; Mitch Hyatt, senior, Clemson.

Guards: Beau Benzschawel, senior, Wisconsin; Nate Herbig, junior, Stanford.

Center: Ross Pierschbacher, senior, Alabama.

Tight end: Noah Fant, junior, Iowa.

Receivers: A.J. Brown, junior, Mississippi; David Sills V, senior, West Virginia.

All-purpose player: Myles Gaskin, senior, Washington.

Kicker: Matt Gay, senior, Utah.

           

First-Team Defense

Ends: Nick Bosa, junior, Ohio State; Clelin Ferrell, junior, Clemson.

Tackles: Ed Oliver, junior, Houston; Christian Wilkins, Senior, Clemson.

Linebackers: Devin White, junior, LSU; Devin Bush, junior, Michigan; T.J. Edwards, senior, Wisconsin.

Cornerbacks: Greedy Williams, sophomore, LSU; Deandre Baker, senior, Georgia.

Safeties: Jaquan Johnson, senior, Miami; Taylor Rapp, junior, Washington.

Punter: Mitch Wishnowsky, senior, Utah.

           

Second-Team Offense

Quarterback: Trace McSorley, senior, Penn State.

Running backs: A.J. Dillon, sophomore, Boston College; Damien Harris, junior, Alabama.

Tackles: David Edwards, junior, Wisconsin; Greg Little, junior, Mississippi.

Guards: Alex Bars, senior, Notre Dame; Michael Dieter, senior, Wisconsin.

Center: Sam Mustipher, senior, Notre Dame.

Tight end: Kaden Smith, junior, Stanford.

Receivers: K'Neal Harry, junior, Arizona State; Anthony Johnson, senior, Buffalo.

All-purpose player: Deebo Samuel. senior, South Carolina.

Kicker: Rodrigo Blankenship, junior, Georgia.

                                   

Second-Team Defense

Ends: Rashan Gary, junior, Michigan; Raekwon Davis, junior, Alabama.

Tackles: Dexter Lawrence, junior, Clemson; Jeffrey Simmons, junior, Mississippi State.

Linebackers: Cameron Smith, senior, Southern California; Troy Dye, junior, Oregon; Mack Wilson, sophomore, Alabama.

Cornerbacks: Byron Murphy, sophomore, Washington; Julian Love, junior, Notre Dame.

Safeties: Lukas Dennis, senior, Boston College; Andrew Wingard, senior, Wyoming.

Punter: Jake Bailey, senior, Stanford.

   

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