Three Wolverines Named to AP Preseason All-America Teams
7/31/2023 1:00:00 PM | Football
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan football student-athletes Blake Corum (first team), Zak Zinter (first team) and Will Johnson (second team) were named to the Associated Press Preseason All-America teams on Tuesday (Aug. 22). Also on Tuesday, J.J. McCarthy was named to the Johhy Unitas Golden Arm Award watch list, while Corum and William Wagner were named to the Comeback Player of the Year watch list.
Michigan's preseason watch list honorees (as of Aug. 22):
Blake Corum, Senior, Running Back
• Aug. 22: Comeback Player of the Year Watch List
• Aug. 22: Associated Press Preseason All-American (first team)
• Aug. 11: Walter Camp Player of the Year Award Watch List
• Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award Watch List (top college running back)
• July 31: Maxwell Award Watch List (player of the year)
• July 26: Big Ten Preseason Honors
• Unanimous first-team All-American (2022)
• Seventh in 2022 Heisman Trophy Balloting
• 2022 Chicago Silver Tribune Football winner, Ameche-Dayne Running Back of the Year
• 2022 Doak Walker Award Finalist
• Two-time All-Big Ten selection (consensus first team, 2022; third team, 2021)
• 30 career games out of the backfield with 13 starts
• Totaled 416 carries for 2,492 rushing yards with 31 touchdowns; added 40 receptions for 294 yards with two touchdowns and another 400 yards on kick returns
• 2022 season (1,463 rushing yards) was No. 8 single-season rushing total in U-M history
• Ranks 17th in all-time rushing yards (2,492), No. 6 in yards per carry (6.01) and tied for seventh in rushing touchdowns (31) at Michigan
• Team MVP, Toughest Player, Blue Collar Award (2022) and Offensive Skill Player of the Year (2021) winner
Will Johnson, Sophomore, Defensive Back
• Aug. 22: Associated Press Preseason All-American (second team)
• Aug. 10: Jim Thorpe Award Watch List (top defensive back)
• 2022 Freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus, 247Sports, The Athletic
• 14 games played with five starts at defensive back
• Totaled 27 tackles (25 solo) with six pass breakups, including three interceptions
• Set a career high with eight tackles against Ohio State last season
• Intercepted two passes against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game
• 2022 Team Defensive Freshman of the Year
J.J. McCarthy, Junior, Quarterback
• Aug. 22: Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Watch List
• Aug. 15: Manning Award Watch List
• Aug. 11: Walter Camp Player of the Year Award Watch List
• Aug. 8: Davey O'Brien Award Watch List (nation's best college QB)
• July 31: Maxwell Award Watch List (player of the year)
• July 26: Big Ten Preseason Honors
• 2022 Semifinalist, Davey O'Brien National Quarterback Award
• 2022 All-Big Ten (second team, media; third team, coaches)
• Responsible for 34 career touchdowns (27 passing, seven rushing) in 25 career games played with 13 starts
• Totaled 2,719 yards passing in 2022 on 208-of-322 pass attempts, the No. 8 single-season passing total in program history
• His 22 passing touchdowns in 13 starts last season were the No. 6 single-season mark in program history; created 10 total scores over the season's final three weeks
• Team's Offensive Player (2022) and Rookie (2021) of the Year winner
William Wagner, Graduate Student, Long Snapper
• Aug. 22: Comeback Player of the Year Watch List
• July 31: Patrick Mannelly Award Watch List (best long snapper)
• Twenty career games played as the team's long snapper, handling field goals, PATs and punts
• Started every game in which he was healthy from the beginning of his sophomore season in 2020
• Snapped to 2021 Lou Groza Award winner Jake Moody, delivering the ball for all 125 of Moody's points scored that season
• Handled snaps for 197 kick-scoring points in his career
• Helped deliver a 52-yard field goal last season at Maryland, matching his 2021 long against Washington
Zak Zinter, Senior, Offensive Lineman
• Aug. 22: Associated Press Preseason All-American (first team)
• Aug. 15: Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List (outstanding lineman of the year)
• Aug. 1: Outland Trophy Watch List (best interior lineman)
• Part of two Joe Moore Award-winning offensive lines (2021-22), the first back-to-back winners in award's history
• 2022 CSC Academic All-American
• Two-time All-Big Ten (consensus first team, 2022; second team, 2021)
• Blocked for consecutive 1,000-yard backs in Hassan Haskins (2021) and Blake Corum (2022) with a second back reaching 900-plus yards in both seasons
• 33 career games played with 31 starts; all but one at right guard
Junior Colson, Junior, Linebacker
• Aug. 15: Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List (outstanding lineman of the year)
• Aug. 14: Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List (best defensive player)
• Aug. 10: Butkus Award Watch List (best college linebacker)
• Aug. 1: Bronco Nagurski Trophy Watch List (defensive player of the year)
• Freshman All-American by the Maxwell Football Club (2021)
• 2022 All-Big Ten (second team, coaches; third team, media)
• 28 career games played at linebacker with 21 starts
• Notched 162 career tackles (70 solo) with 6.5 for loss and 2.5 sacks; also recovered one fumble and broke up three passes
• Team's Roger Zatkoff Award (2022) and Defensive Rookie of the Year (2021) winner
Kris Jenkins, Senior, Defensve End
• Aug. 15: Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List (outstanding lineman of the year)
• Aug. 14: Chuck Bednarik Award Watch List (best defensive player)
• All-Big Ten (honorable mention, 2022)
• 29 career games played with 18 starts along the defensive line
• Produced 76 tackles (37 solo) with 4.0 for loss and 2.0 sacks across his career
• Responsible for multiple stops in all 14 contests last season, including four-plus tackles in four of the final five weeks
• Set a career high with seven stops against Georgia in the 2021 CFP Semifinal game
Drake Nugent, Graduate Student, Offensive Lineman
• Aug. 15: Rotary Lombardi Award Watch List (outstanding lineman of the year)
• Aug. 4: Rimington Trophy Watch List (most outstanding center)
• Aug. 1: Outland Trophy Watch List (best interior lineman)
• Readying for his first season as a Wolverine after earning four letters at Stanford, where he was a captain
• Two-time All-Pac 12 honorable mention
• Charged with just four sacks across 2021 and 2022 seasons combined (993 pass-blocking snaps)
• Watch List member of both Outland and Rimington Trophies (2022)
• 27 career games played with 24 starts at center
Michael Barrett, Graduate Student, Linebacker
• Aug. 10: Butkus Award Watch List (best college linebacker)
• 2022 All-Big Ten (third team)
• 49 career games played with 20 starts at linebacker; appeared in every game over the last four seasons
• 143 career tackles (76 solo) with 8.5 for loss and 5.5 sacks
• Made two interceptions at Rutgers last year, the first of his career, returning one for a touchdown
• Matched career best with 11 stops at Ohio State; had 10 against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship game, including a sack
• Team's Most Improved Player on Defense last fall
Donovan Edwards, Junior, Running Back
• Aug. 9: Doak Walker Award Watch List (top college running back)
• 2022 Big Ten Griffin-Grange Championship Game MVP
• Totaled 991 yards rushing on 140 carries across 11 games in 2022; No. 3 single-season yards-per-carry average in program history and NCAA leader for 2022
• Added 200 yards receiving; totaled 465 receiving yards on 38 career catches (12.2 yards per catch) with three touchdowns
• In his three starts to close 2022 season, carried 22 times for 220 yards with two touchdowns at Ohio State; 25 carries for 186 yards and one touchdown against Purdue; and 23 carries for 127 yards against TCU
• Set program record for single-game catches by a running back (10) as a freshman at Maryland, reaching 170 yards with a touchdown
• 23 career games out of the backfield with three starts
• 2021 Team Offensive Rookie of the Year
A.J. Barner, Senior, Tight End
• Aug. 4: John Mackey Award Watch List
• Readying for his first season as a Wolverine after earning three letters at Indiana, where he was a captain
• Caught 42 passes for 361 yards with four touchdowns in his career
• 30 career games played with nine starts at tight end
Colston Loveland, Sophomore, Tight End
• Aug. 4: John Mackey Award Watch List
• 14 games played with five starts at tight end
• 16 receptions for 235 yards and two touchdowns in 2022
• Set a career best with four catches against TCU in the 2022 CFP Semifinal
• 2022 Offensive and Special Teams (co-) Rookie of the Year
James Turner, Graduate Student, Kicker
• Aug. 2: Lou Groza Award Watch List (top collegiate placekicker)
• Earned four varsity letters at Louisville (2019-22), appearing in 42 games including five as a kickoff specialist
• Converted 47 of 59 field goal tries and 124 of 127 extra points in his career
• Two-time All-ACC (third team, 2022; honorable mention, 2020)
• Louisville's single-season record-holder for field-goal percentage (90.9, 2022)
• His 20 made field goals during the 2022 season were one short of the Louisville program record
Trevor Keegan, Graduate Student, Offensive Lineman
• Aug. 1: Outland Trophy Watch List (best interior lineman)
• Part of two Joe Moore Award-winning offensive lines (2021-22), the first back-to-back winners in the award's history
• Two-time All-Big Ten (first team, coaches; second team, media, 2022; honorable mention, 2021)
• Blocked for consecutive 1,000-yard backs in Hassan Haskins (2021) and Blake Corum (2022) with a second back reaching 900-plus yards in both seasons
• 30 career games played with 23 starts at left guard
Rod Moore, Junior, Defensive Back
• Aug. 1: Bronko Nagurski Trophy Watch List (defensive player of the year)
• All-Big Ten (honorable mention, 2022)
• 25 career games played with 17 starts at safety
• 103 career tackles with eight pass breakups (four interceptions)
• Led team's defensive backs with 71 tackles in 2022, including 1.5 for loss and a shared sack
• Team-best four interceptions among seven pass breakups
• Across the final three weeks: two PBU, one TFL at Ohio State; career-high 14 tackles against Purdue in the Big Ten Championship Game; team-high 12 tackles, one interception in CFP Semifinal against TCU
• 2021 Team's Defensive Rookie of the Year
