Pair of Oregon Ducks named Athlon preseason All-Americans
Earlier this month, Athlon released its preseason All-American teams earlier this week in anticipation of the 2023 campaign.
A pair of Oregon Ducks made the cut.
Oregon junior running back Bucky Irving and junior defensive lineman Brandon Dorlus were each tabbed by Athlon as fourth-team preseason All-American selections.
This marks the second consecutive season that Dorlus has been named to the publication’s preseason fourth team. Noah Sewell (first-team defenses) and T.J. Bass (first-team offense) were also selected last season.
Irving, who transferred to Oregon from Minnesota last May, ran for Irving ran for 1,058 yards and five touchdowns on 157 carries (7.3 yards per carry) in 12 games. He also caught 31 passes for 299 yards and three touchdowns. He received honorable mention all-conference honors.
Along with Noah Whittington, Jordan James, Dante Dowdell, and Jayden Limar, Irving will feature in an Oregon running back room that figures to be one of the nation’s best.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning and running backs coach Carlos Locklyn each said during spring ball that they are hoping to see Irving and Whittington take on greater leadership roles this spring.
“The football part, I’m gonna help them take care of that,” Locklyn said. “I’m gonna have them on that. But the biggest part is helping them become better leaders and showing the young guys what the standard is.”
Dorlus, a fifth-year senior, tallied 39 tackles, a career-high 9.5 tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks last season. His 40 quarterback hurries were tied for the eighth-most in the nation and ranked fourth in the Pac-12.
While speaking with reporters this spring, Lanning was asked what areas he has seen Dorlus improve upon since the end of last season.
“Playing with better pad level, using his hands consistently better understanding,” Lanning said. “I think he did a good job of assessing, ‘Okay, here’s what my film said last year, and here are the things that I can tweak to get there.’ So, some technical things that he’s been able to improve and then just his overall compete.
There’s an expectation for him, and really all those guys, that can play along the front for us to play to a certain level.”
Athlon Preseason All-American teams
First-Team Offense
QB Caleb Williams, USC
RB Blake Corum, Michigan
RB Quinshon Judkins, Ole Miss
All-Purpose Travis Hunter, Colorado
WR Marvin Harrison Jr., Ohio State
WR Rome Odunze, Washington
WR Emeka Egbuka, Ohio State
TE Brock Bowers, Georgia
C Zach Frazier, West Virginia
OL Joe Alt, Notre Dame
OL Cooper Beebe, Kansas State
OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu, Penn State
OL JC Latham, Alabama
First-Team Defense
DL Jared Verse, Florida State
DL JT Tuimoloau, Ohio State
DL Jer’Zhan Newton, Illinois
DL Bralen Trice, Washington
LB Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Georgia
LB Harold Perkins Jr., LSU
LB Tommy Eichenberg, Ohio State
LB Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Clemson
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alabama
CB Kalen King, Penn State
S Malaki Starks, Georgia
S Kamren Kinchens, Miami
