Deebo Samuel adds AP and ESPN All-American honors to preseason accolades

South Carolina senior wide receiver Deebo Samuel earned spots on both the Associated Press and ESPN preseason All-American teams Tuesday as an all-purpose player.

ESPN put Samuel on its first team, while the AP slotted him into its second team.

Samuel electrified college football through three weeks last season, scoring six touchdowns before breaking his leg and missing the rest of the year. The hype leading up to his return in 2018 has included him being named first-team All-SEC in three different spots in the league’s preseason poll.

The player selected as the AP’s first team all-purpose player ahead of Samuel, Washington running back Myles Gaskin, scored 24 touchdowns last season for the Huskies. However, he was not named to the ESPN All-American team.

The Gamecocks’ last player to earn AP All-American honors at year’s end was Jadeveon Clowney in 2012. The AP began selecting preseason All-Americans before the 2017 season.

Clemson and Alabama tied for the most players included by the AP, with five each. ESPN’s selections, which only included one team, included four Wisconsin players.

AP ALL-AMERICANS

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

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

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

This story was originally published August 21, 2018 at 12:17 PM.