On Friday, the Walter Camp preseason All-American team was announced. South Carolina football legends like Jadeveon Clowney, Alshon Jeffery, and Marcus Lattimore have been named to the preseason All-American teams in the past, and the Gamecocks were represented on the 2023 list.
Punter Kai Kroeger was selected as a preseason first-team All-American, and for those that were paying attention last season, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Kroeger led college football in punts downed inside the 20-yard line, and was among the nation’s leaders in both punt yardage, hangtime, and punt net yardage. His 79-yard bomb in the season opener was also the 4th longest boot of the entire season by any player (he also had a 69-yard field flipper against Vanderbilt).
Arguably the best punter in Gamecock history, Kroeger also has been a weapon throwing the football in his career. He is 6-6 passing in his three years as the South Carolina punter, and he has racked up 173 yards and 3 touchdowns. With another season of Pete Lembo as his special teams coordinator, Kroeger could add to those numbers in 2023.
The rest of the Walter Camp preseason All-American team is listed below:
First-Team
QB: Caleb Williams, Southern Cal
RB: Blake Corum, Michigan
RB: Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss
WR: Marvin Harrison, Jr., Ohio State
WR: Rome Adunze, Washington
TE: Brock Bowers, Georgia
OL: Joe Alt, Notre Dame
OL: Olu Fashanu, Penn State
OL: Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
OL: Graham Barton, Duke
OL: Drake Nugent, Michigan
DL: Jared Verse, Florida State
DL: Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
DL: Dontay Corleone: Cincinnati
DL: Bralen Trice, Washington
LB: Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
LB: Harold Perkins, Jr., LSU
LB: Jeremiah Trotter, Jr., Clemson
DB: Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
DB: Kamron Kinchens, Miami
DB: Calen Bullock, Southern Cal
DB: Kalen King, Penn State
K: Joshua Karty, Stanford
P: Kai Kroeger, South Carolina
KR: Jaylin Lucas, Indiana
Second-Team
QB: Drake Maye, North Carolina
RB: Braelon Allen, Wisconsin
RB: Raheim “Rocket” Sanders, Arkansas
WR: Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
WR: Xavier Worthy, Texas
TE: Brevyn Spann-Ford, Minnesota
OL: Zak Zinter, Michigan
OL: Christian Haynes, UConn
OL: Beaux Limmer, Arkansas
OL: JC Latham, Alabama
OL: Zach Frazier, West Virginia
DL: Mykel Williams, Georgia
DL: Mekhi Wingo, LSU
DL: Chop Robinson, Penn State
DL: Leonard Taylor, Miami
LB: Jason Henderson, Old Dominion
LB: Barrett Carter, Clemson
LB: Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
DB: Quinyon Mitchell, Toledo
DB: Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame
DB: Malaki Starks, Georgia
DB: Cole Bishop, Utah
K: Jonah Dalmas, Boise State
P: Tory Taylor, Iowa
KR: Lideatrick Griffin, Mississippi State
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