With the 2021 college football season just weeks away, our panel of college football experts were faced with plenty of difficult decisions when convening to select the 2021 CBS Sports / 247Sports Preseason All-America teams. Experts from CBS Sports and 247Sports joined forces once again to project the players we expect to shine as college football gets back to normal with a full season ahead.
Oklahoma quarterback Spencer Rattler was not only chosen as a Preseason All-America first team selection, he is also the CBS Sports / 247Sports Preseason Player of the Year. It should come as no surprise that Sooners coach Lincoln Riley is the Preseason Coach of the Year with OU opening the season No. 2 in the AP Top 25.
There are only three unanimous All-America selections this preseason with Iowa State running back Breece Hall, Oregon defensive end Kayvon Thibodeaux and LSU cornerback Derek Stingley Jr. receiving first-team votes from all participants. Hall is also one of three players back as a first-team selection from the 2020 postseason team. Ohio State defensive tackle Haskell Garrett and Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph are the others.
In total, 29 programs are represented across the two teams of 54 selections. Ohio State and Iowa State lead the way with three first-teamers, while Alabama tops every program with six All-America nods overall. No team other than the Crimson Tide has more than four total selections.
Eight SEC teams are represented among the league's total of 19 selections, while seven Big Ten teams and five Big 12 teams constitute their conferences' 10 picks each.
| Conference | First team | Total selections |
|---|---|---|
| SEC | 8 | 19 |
| Big 12 | 7 | 10 |
| Big Ten | 6 | 10 |
| ACC | 3 | 7 |
| Pac-12 | 1 | 3 |
| American | 1 | 3 |
| Independent (Notre Dame) | 1 | 2 |
2021 CBS Sports Preseason All-America
* unanimous selection | classes listed according to official team rosters
First team
| Offense | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
QB | Spencer Rattler | Oklahoma | Redshirt sophomore |
RB | Breece Hall * | Iowa State | Junior |
RB | Bijan Robinson | Texas | Sophomore |
WR | Chris Olave | Ohio State | Senior |
WR | Justyn Ross | Clemson | Redshirt junior |
TE | Charlie Kolar | Iowa State | Redshirt senior |
C | Tyler Linderbaum | Iowa | Junior |
OL | Darian Kinnard | Kentucky | Senior |
OL | Evan Neal | Alabama | Junior |
OL | Thayer Munford | Ohio State | Senior |
OL | Kenyon Green | Texas A&M | Junior |
| Defense | | | |
| DL | Kayvon Thibodeaux * | Oregon | Sophomore |
| DL | DeMarvin Leal | Texas A&M | Junior |
DL | Haskell Garrett | Ohio State | Graduate |
DL | Bryan Bresee | Clemson | Sophomore |
LB | Nik Bonitto | Oklahoma | Redshirt junior |
LB | Mike Rose | Iowa State | Senior |
LB | Will Anderson Jr. | Alabama | Sophomore |
CB | Derek Stingley Jr. * | LSU | Junior |
CB | Ahmad Gardner | Cincinnati | Junior |
S | Kyle Hamilton | Notre Dame | Junior |
S | Brandon Joseph | Northwestern | Redshirt sophomore |
| Special teams | | | |
K | Cade York | LSU | Junior |
P | Lou Hedley | Miami (FL) | Redshirt junior |
KR | Aron Cruickshank | Rutgers | Junior |
PR | Philip Brooks | Kansas State | Junior |
AP | Jerrion Ealy | Ole Miss | Sophomore |
Second team
| Offense | | | |
|---|---|---|---|
QB | Sam Howell | North Carolina | Junior |
RB | Mohamed Ibrahim | Minnesota | Redshirt senior |
| RB | Tank Bigsby | Auburn | Sophomore |
WR | Garrett Wilson | Ohio State | Junior |
| WR | John Metchie III | Alabama | Junior |
TE | Jalen Wydermyer | Texas A&M | Junior |
C | Alec Lindstrom | Boston College | Redshirt senior |
OL | Jamaree Salyer | Georgia | Senior |
OL | Cain Madden | Notre Dame | Senior |
OL | Zion Johnson | Boston College | Graduate |
OL | Jaxson Kirkland | Washington | Junior |
| Defense | | | |
| DL | Jordan Davis | Georgia | Senior |
DL | George Karlaftis | Purdue | Junior |
DL | Aidan Hutchinson | Michigan | Senior |
DL | Myjai Sanders | Cincinnati | Senior |
LB | Christian Harris | Alabama | Junior |
LB | Edefuan Ulofoshio | Washington | Sophomore |
LB | James Skalski | Clemson | Redshirt senior |
CB | Josh Jobe | Alabama | Senior |
CB | Kaiir Elam | Florida | Junior |
S | Tykee Smith | Georgia | Junior |
S | Jordan Battle | Alabama | Junior |
| Special teams | | | |
K | Gabe Brkic | Oklahoma | Redshirt junior |
P | Jake Camarda | Georgia | Senior |
KR | Trestan Ebner | Baylor | Senior |
PR | Marcus Jones | Houston | Senior |
AP | Deuce Vaughn | Kansas State | Sophomore |
